An All for the Family Experience

Family programming is alive and well this weekend.

ABC unveils its new animated series “Nightmare Ned,” Saturday at 10 a.m. on Channel 7, which chronicles the dreams of an 8-year-old boy. Kids vote for their favorite celebrities in the fields of TV, music and sports on the 10th annual “Kids’ Choice Awards,” airing Saturday at 8 p.m. on Nickelodeon. Rosie O’Donnell hosts the 90-minute special from L.A.’s venerable Grand Olympic Auditorium.

After the special, Nickelodeon kicks off its new animated series “Angry Beavers” at 9:30 p.m. The comedy follows the adventures of those bickering beaver brothers, uptight Daggett and carefree Norbert, as they struggle to survive.

Shari Lewis and Lamp Chop host the PBS special “Shari’s Passover Surprise,” airing Sunday at 6 p.m. on KCET-TV Channel 28. Lewis and special guests Dom DeLuise, Robert Guillaume and Alan Thicke use stories and humor to explain the Exodus and the freeing of Jews from slavery.

The Disney Channel presents “James and the Giant Peach,” Sunday at 7 p.m., the 1996 animated musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s tale of an orphan’s adventures in a giant peach. Other weekend fare:

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Today

Bravo’s “Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz,” airing at 7 and 10 p.m., is a two-part documentary examining the famous jazz record company. (See review on Page 45). The special concludes April 24.

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Friday

Richard Crenna hosts CBS’ “Cold Case,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 2. The two-hour reality special follows veteran detectives in their investigations of three unsolved murders.

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Saturday

The manic, frantic Howie Mandel headlines the HBO comedy special “Howie Mandel on Ice,” airing at 9:30 p.m.

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Sunday

Pat Boone and Robb Weller are the national hosts for the “Easter Seals Network Celebration ‘97” telethon, airing from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on KCOP-TV Channel 13.

Steven Waddington stars as “Ivanhoe,” A&E;’s six-hour adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s swashbuckling epic. Part 1 airs at 5 and 9 p.m. The series continues through Tuesday at 6 and 10 p.m.

TBS’ “The Coming Plague,” airing at 6 and 9:05 p.m., is a four-hour documentary based on research from Laurie Garrett’s book chronicling infectious diseases. The series concludes April 27.

Oscar nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl (“Shine”), Chad Lowe and Charles Dance star in Showtime’s “In the Presence of Mine Enemies,” airing at 8 p.m. Jennifer Garner, Casey Siemaszko and David Newsom star in the romantic western drama “Rose Hill,” airing at at 9 p.m. on Channel 2.

Kelli Martin plays a manic depressive in the NBC movie “On the Verge of Innocence,” airing at 9 p.m. on Channel 4. Christopher Reeve makes his directorial debut with the HBO drama “In the Gloaming,” premiering at 9 p.m. Glenn Close, Robert Sean Leonard, Bridget Fonda, David Strathairn and Whoopi Goldberg star. Liam Neeson narrates the Discovery Channel’s new documentary “Jerusalem: City of Heaven,” airing at 9 p.m.