A Family movie about 1993 Midwest floods; dolphins and whales and mobster widows, oh my

Sunday

“The New Explorers” / 5 and 9 p.m. A&E;

Moving over from PBS, this science-adventure series opens its eighth season with a look at a bottlenose dolphin interacting with humans. Host Bill Kurtis visits Holly--did you think they would name her Flipper?--in the Sinai Peninsula, where she swims with Bedouins and tourists alike. The program also recounts the birth--and subsequent death--of her calf, which led villagers to think she would flee the area.

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“Flood: A River’s Rampage” / 6 p.m. Family Channel

Richard Thomas survived the Depression as one of “The Waltons.” Who thinks he can’t live through a natural disaster? In this cable drama about the 1993 floods in the Midwest, he plays Herb Dellenbach, a small-town family man taking on the rising waters of the Mississippi. Help for the devastated area comes in the form of a U.S. Army engineer (Kate Vernon) who grew up in Missouri, where she loved Herb before leaving for brighter prospects in the big city.

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“The Ultimate Guide: Whales” / 8 p.m. and midnight Discovery Channel

Following previous installments on snakes, elephants, dogs, apes and big cats, this nature series delves into the underwater world of whales. Filming near Somerset Island, one cameraman captures footage of beluga whales massing in an estuary riverbed to molt their skins. Another cinematographer tracks the elusive bowhead whale despite treacherous weather in Isabella Bay. The segments further knowledge of their growth, development, mating and migrating.

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“Bella Mafia” / 9 p.m. CBS. Concludes 9 p.m. Tuesday

If it weren’t for last season’s surprising success of Mario Puzo’s “The Last Don,” we might not be writing about this two-part Mafia tale. Adapted by Lynda La Plante (“Prime Suspect”) from her novel about Sicilian love, honor and revenge, the four-hour saga gives us Vanessa Redgrave, Nastassja Kinski, Jennifer Tilly and Illeana Douglas as women whose husbands are killed by the mob. Dennis Farina and Tony Lo Bianco are cast as rivals.

****

“Medusa’s Child” / 9 p.m. ABC. Concludes 9 p.m. Thursday

Buckle up for the roller-coaster ride of the sweeps. Though this two-part thriller based on the book by John Nance (“Pandora’s Box”) gets off to a sluggish start, once it’s airborne (particularly in Thursday’s conclusion), it’s one suspenseful turn after another. And while there’s no flying around the cliches in this doomsday genre, the script about a nuclear device aboard a cargo plane gives it a fun, fresh spin. Vincent Spano, Lori Loughlin, Gail O’Grady and Kevin Dillon are an appealing ensemble.

Tuesday

“Hidden Hollywood” / 5 and 9:30 p.m. AMC

This hourlong treat for fans of Tinseltown musicals features sprightly outtakes from 20th Century Fox films. Shirley Temple and Jimmy Durante share a cute courtroom duet in “Little Miss Broadway,” Victor Mature sings (shakily) to Betty Grable in “Song of the Islands” and irrepressible Carmen Miranda shimmies in “Four Jills in a Jeep.” As host Joan Collins notes, “In Hollywood, landing on the cutting room floor is an occupational hazard.”

Wednesday

“Scientific American Frontiers” / 8 p.m. KCET

Alan Alda makes like David Duchovny by conducting an alien autopsy in “Beyond Science?,” a new installment of the inquisitive PBS series. Other segments dealing with the boundaries of rational belief involve a persuasive palm-reader, Vermont dowsers (who claim they can sense changes in the natural world), handwriting analysis and a low-cost, inexhaustible energy source.

****

“Our Favorite Toys” / 10 p.m. Discovery Channel

Boomer alert: Go behind the scenes at New York’s Toy Fair and meet the makers of popular playthings. The goods are sorted into four categories: dolls and action figures (Barbie, GI Joe); drawing and building (LEGO and Etch-A-Sketch); wheels (Matchbox cars and Radio Flyer wagons), and unexpected hits (Mr. Potato Head, the first toy advertised on TV).