SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : Kris Kristofferson is Abraham Lincoln--honest--in film about Abe’s son

If you think that Kris Kristofferson doesn’t look a thing like Abe Lincoln, you’re not the only one.

“When they first pitched it to me, I thought, I don’t look anything like him,” Kristofferson says from his Virginia hotel room, where he’s doing publicity for the Family Channel original film Tad, in which he stars as the 16th President. “But I once turned down the role of Woody Guthrie ‘cause I thought I didn’t look anything like him . And I regretted it ever since.”

So, after a moment of thinking about it, he took the part. Despite the 2 1/2 hours it took to transform him into Lincoln, Kristofferson says, “It’s a great opportunity to play a hero, someone you admire.” The movie focuses on Lincoln’s relationship with his rambunctious son Tad.

“Lincoln’s relationship with Tad was very interesting and chronicled in many biographies,” the actor says. “He treated children very well.”

As the father of eight children, who range in age from 6 1/2 months to 33, Kristofferson says he believes Lincoln “got the same pleasure out of Tad as I do with my kids.”

“My kids have been watching our copy of the movie over and over,” he say of his family, back in Hana, Maui. “They might have a special interest in the kids who played Tad and Willie (Lincoln’s other son) or seeing their old man not looking like their father, but I think the story is very special.”

It means something slightly different to 10-year-old Bug Hall (Alfalfa from last year’s “The Little Rascals”), who plays Tad. “Sure, I knew who he was before I got the part,” he says from his Santa Clarita Valley home. “I see him a lot,” he says with a giggle. “We always have pennies in our pocket.”

Bug says he knows his peers will enjoy the film: “Parts of it will make you laugh, and parts of it will make you cry.”

Kristofferson says that “Tad” is an opportunity for families to watch television together, to learn about history and be entertained.

“Even though many were killed in America while he was President, here was a man who couldn’t even wring the neck of a chicken,” Kristofferson says. “He was a man of principle. He believed in the notion of a nation dedicated to liberty and justice for everyone.”

“Tad” airs Sunday at 7 p.m. on the Family Channel. For ages 5 and up.

More Family Shows

This week (Monday-Friday), Nickelodeon gives its “Rotating Timeslot” (5-5:30 p.m.) to The Adventures of Pete & Pete, the CableAce Award-winning series about two offbeat brothers. Tuesday’s show, “The Valentine’s Day Massacre,” raises the questions: Can a dead squid named Edna come between Big Pete and the math teacher he loves? Can Big Pete’s friend Ellen keep the squid’s bizarre death a secret as promised? Will Little Pete make it through all the mayhem and mush? Singer Syd Straw and Richard Edson are guests. For ages 5 and up.

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A look at love and romance, Muppet style, with Kermit, Miss Piggy and their guest, Mia Farrow, who dances with a giant blue dog and teaches a grumpy Muppet about love in The Muppets Valentine Show (Tuesday 10:30 a.m. Nickelodeon). Kermit stars in a version of “Froggie Went A-Courting,” and reports from the planet Kuzbain, where he observes bizarre rituals of the local inhabitants. For ages 2 and up.

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Love is in the air on Nickelodeon on Tuesday in the cable network’s Valentine’s Day Celebration (3-8 p.m.), which presents love-filled episodes of “Clarissa Explains It All,” “The Secret World of Alex Mack,” “Roundhouse,” “Doug” and “The Adventures of Pete & Pete.” For ages 4 and up.