Some Big Stars Will Be Out on Sunday

You have to own several TV sets and VCRs to catch all the high-profile movies being shown Sunday evening.

Oscar winners Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine star in Showtime’s drama “Mandela and De Klerk,” at 8 p.m. Shot on location in South Africa, the film chronicles Nelson Mandela’s rise from political prisoner to South African president. Caine plays South Africa’s former President F.W. de Klerk, who negotiated Mandela’s release from prison.

A&E;, which scored a big hit last year with its miniseries version of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” presents its new adaptation of Austen’s delightful “Emma,” at 5 and 9 p.m. Kate Beckinsale plays the headstrong heroine who decides to become the self-appointed matchmaker for all her friends.

Michael Biehn (“The Terminator”) and Annabella Sciorra star in NBC’s “Asteroid,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 4. The four-hour disaster thriller deals with a disintegrating comet on a collision course with Earth. The conclusion airs Monday at 9 p.m.

Meryl Streep returns to network TV after nearly two decades in the ABC drama “ . . . first do no harm,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 7. The two-time Oscar winner plays a “ferociously determined mother” who defies conventional wisdom to enroll her 4-year-old epileptic son in a controversial diet treatment.

CBS counters with the 1993 hit comedy “Dave,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 2. Kevin Kline, in a dual role, plays the president of the United States and his look-alike, the head of a small employment agency. Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley also star.

Elsewhere this weekend:

Thursday

Mike Connors returns as shamus Joe Mannix on CBS’ “Diagnosis Murder,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 2. Mannix teams up with Dr. Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) to solve an old murder case.

“Martin” takes a love cruise that is staffed by “Love Boat” stars Lauren Tewes, Ted Lange, Jill Whelan and Bernie Kopell, 8 p.m. on Channel 11.

Acclaimed Scottish actor Ewan McGregor (“Trainspotting,” “Emma”) guests on “ER,” at 10 p.m. on Channel 4, as a gunman who holds nurse Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) hostage in a convenience store when his robbery attempt goes awry.

Friday

Valentine’s Day programming includes “Live by Request . . . Tony Bennett,” 6 p.m. on A&E.; Bennett returns for his second year of performing songs requested by fans via a special (800) number, fax and the Internet. Bennett won an Emmy for last year’s special.

Devoted “All My Children” fan Rosie O’Donnell makes a special Valentine’s Day appearance on the daytime soap, at noon on Channel 7.

Charlton Heston and his wife, Lydia, are among the couples chatting about their happy marriages on AMC’s special “Isn’t It Romantic?,” at 6 p.m.

Peter Funt and Lorianne Crook host CBS’ “Candid Camera Looks at Love,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.

Saturday

The Family Channel repeats the popular 1993 CBS miniseries “Alex Haley’s Queen” at 8 p.m. Halle Berry stars in the six-hour drama, which recounts Haley’s paternal roots. Part 2 airs Feb. 22 and concludes on March 1.

A&E;’s “Investigative Reports,” airing at 6 and 10 p.m., examines the controversy around same-sex marriages. Bill Kurtis hosts.

John Schneider pops up as Sully’s old friend Dan on a special two-hour “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” airing at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.

James Coburn guests in a two-hour “Profiler,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 4, as a billionaire who appears to be connected to a series of bizarre murders.

Chevy Chase returns to “Saturday Night Live” as host, 11:30 p.m. on Channel 4.

Sunday

The TBS special “African Garden of Eden,” at 6 p.m., chronicles the annual transformation of grasslands and flats as they become an oasis during Africa’s rainy season.

The Discovery Channel series “Eco Challenge,” at 7 and 9 p.m., looks at the hundreds of adventurers who meet in British Columbia to compete in a grueling 323-mile course across mountains, glaciers and rivers. The series continues through Wednesday at 10 p.m.

James Earl Jones, Jasmine Guy and Maureen McCormick guest on CBS’ “Touched by an Angel,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.