History of ‘Crimes’; KCET airs ‘Evening at Pops’ with k.d. lang; Karen Black is ‘Hungry’ for Showtime

Sunday

“Crimes in Time” / 6 and 10 p.m. History Channel

Producers of this two-hour special have selected four crimes that ostensibly “tell the story of an era.” Well, you can be the judge of that while watching an account of the man who in 1911 stole the Mona Lisa--not for money, but for revenge. Other segments tell of Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall gang, the 1933 kidnapping of an Oklahoma millionaire by gangster Machine Gun Kelly and a sensational murder case in turn-of-the-century America.

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“The Hunger” / 9 p.m. Showtime

Directors Tony and Ridley Scott (“Alien,” “Blade Runner,” “Top Gun”) are executive producers of this artsy, empty and raunchy anthology based on short stories hosted by Terence Stamp (“Billy Budd” and “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”) as the Prince of Darkness. Karen Black, as a weird invalid whose nurse (Lena Headey) makes love to a handyman (Daniel Craig), stars in the opening-night trilogy, which will be followed by weekly episodes.

Monday

“Mission Genesis” / 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. Sci-Fi Channel

“Star Trek” meets Generation X in the Sci-Fi Channel’s first original drama. Set on a damaged ship in the 27th century, the half-hour series revolves around six crew members who gradually realize they are genetically altered clones with a vital mission: to restore human life on Earth, which has been devastated by a deadly virus. Two of the characters are Yuna (Nicole deBoer) and Reb (Gordon Michael Woolvet), who awaken from a cryogenic slumber in deep space.

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“Evening at Pops” / 8 p.m. KCET

Anything but a “Drag,” singer-songwriter k.d. lang makes her first appearance with conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra. The three-time Grammy Award winner puffs up for songs from her latest album, including “Don’t Smoke in Bed” and “The Air That I Breathe.” The evening’s other performer is fiddler Eileen Ivers, who offers a lively suite from the rousing “Riverdance.”

Wednesday

“American Justice” / 6 and 10 p.m. A&E;

Jesse James. The Daltons. The Youngers. And let’s not forget Butch Cassidy (clearly a popular figure this week) and the Sundance Kid. Peel back the myths about these legends of the Old West, and what you have are mere thieves, outlaws and murderers. That’s the chief assertion of this hour recounting their robberies and wayward adventures via interviews with authors and historians.

Friday

“Television’s Comedy Classics” / 8 p.m. CBS

Lou Costello was flummoxed by Bud Abbott, patiently trying to tell him “who’s on first.” John Belushi wielded a mean sword as owner of the Samurai Delicatessen on “Saturday Night Live.” And wasn’t Dana Carvey special in his SNL sketches as the impish Church Lady? Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Newhart, Roseanne, Bill Cosby and Billy Crystal also surface on this hourlong salute to small-screen comics. Leslie Nielsen, who knows a thing or two about deadpan comedy, is the host.

Saturday

Pro Football / 11:30 a.m. ABC

With Mike Tyson and interleague baseball, sports fans have had plenty to gnaw on this summer. Now along comes the return of kicking, screaming and heavy hitting on the gridiron. The 1997 season begins with the AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings in Canton, Ohio. ESPN2 opens the day at 8 a.m. with live coverage of the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony honoring Coach Don Shula, cornerback Mike Haynes and offensive lineman Mike Webster.

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“Hostile Waters” / 9 p.m. HBO

The time: October 1986, eight days before world leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met at the Reykjavik Summit. The place: the Western Atlantic. As Soviet Captain Igor Britanov (Rutger Hauer) moves his nuclear sub 600 miles east of Bermuda, he carries a deadly cargo: 16 thermonuclear missiles with warheads aimed at U.S. targets. In close pursuit is an American sub with an intense skipper (Martin Sheen). Their subsequent collision poses a perilous situation for the Eastern Seaboard in this docudrama based on an official Soviet investigation.