A&E; plunges into the ‘Prohibition’ era; TNT dissects the western; Fox visits Bosnia’s kids

Sunday

“Prohibition: 13 Years That Changed America” / 5 and 9 p.m. A&E;

How dry they were ... People who ran the speak-easies, transported the rum, bought the police and defended Al Capone reflect on the remarkable era in which legislators banned booze. That includes a Congress that kept its own still in the Senate Library and a chief executive who remained a hard drinker. The three-hour documentary also chronicles how the righteous rejoiced and gangsters squared off with G-men. So grab a brew and indulge.

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“Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western” / 5 and 7 p.m. TNT

An assortment of actors and historians weighs in with reasons why the genre has endured since “The Great Train Robbery.” Tom Selleck, Clint Eastwood, Sam Elliott and Bruce Dern (who shot John Wayne in the back in “The Cowboys”) appear in segments interwoven with familiar clips from “Stagecoach,” “High Noon,” “Shane,” “The Wild Bunch” and others. Kris Kristofferson has a funny story involving forgotten blood in his death scene from Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.” James Garner (“Maverick”) hosts.

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“The Last Wild River Ride” / 6 p.m. TBS

Five men return “to fulfill a dream” by running Africa’s Tekeze River (translated as “terrible”) in white water rafts. Explorer Richard Bangs, who co-wrote the documentary, explains how he and his adventurous friends initially attempted to conquer the river in 1973, but were stymied by the death of a partner and the subsequent overthrow of the Ethiopian government. Think of the show as “Deliverance” with man-eating crocodiles.

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“Solar Empire” / 7 and 10 p.m. through Friday TLC

Here’s a collection of six shows for anyone dazzled by Pathfinder’s pictures of Mars. Narrated by Michael Dorn (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”), the one-hour programs serve as an illustrated guide to the solar system--from raging gas storms and cosmic snowballs to frozen lakes and rocky “faces” among the otherworldly landscapes. Images, by the way, come courtesy of the Hubble Telescope and various space shuttles.

Monday

“Win Ben Stein’s Money” / 7:30 and 11:30 p.m. Comedy Central

If you don’t know the name, you certainly will recognize the face. The Richard Nixon speechwriter-turned-actor dares contestants to take his money on this new game show. The format: Three contestants answer questions from pun-filled (I Remember Yo-Yo Ma Ma) or offbeat categories (Rednecks Who Don’t Marry Their Own Kin) for a chance to win $5,000 in the final round against the smug Stein, who assures us he has no knowledge of the queries.

Tuesday

“A Touch of Frost” / 6 and 10 p.m. A&E;

The latest episode of this series opens in a confessional where a man reveals his compulsion to kill a woman, then disappears. Meanwhile, Inspector Jack Frost (David Jason) investigates an apparent suicide involving a husband whose first wife had died 10 years earlier under mysterious circumstances. Is this guy unlucky or guilty as sin? Frost’s legwork results in a suspension, making it all the more difficult to snare his man.

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“Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy” / 8 p.m. Fox

The network says this is the fifth and final TV movie based on its short-lived series about a cop and his alien partner. It finds detective Matt Sikes (Gary Graham) and sidekick George Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) looking into crimes committed by two law-abiding Newcomers who are linked to freedom fighters thought to have disbanded. And unfortunately for Francisco, the case also hits close to home and his son (Sean Six).

Friday

“Through the Eyes of Children: War in Bosnia” / 10:30 p.m. Fox

Visiting the war-torn country last spring, reporter Christina Gonzalez asked young survivors of the four-year conflict to document their experiences through photographs. Using donated cameras and film, 15 children ranging in age from 7 through 16 returned with poignant images of loss, hope and renewal. The project was tied to a nonprofit organization that documents the conditions of children in trouble zones around the world.