Fashion crimes litter a ‘Sweet Deception’; PBS has a Dance with ‘Rebecca’ the prime-time ‘Nightline’

Sunday

“Sweet Deception” / 7 p.m. Family Channel

An unassuming woman (Joanna Pacula) is framed for the murder of her wealthy husband in this ridiculous knockoff of “The Fugitive.” Pacula plays a convicted killer on the lam gathering evidence to clear her name with a determined cop (Rob Stewart) in pursuit. Along the way, she steals the cop’s car, breaks into a props shop and conspicuously walks the streets in a tacky leopard-spotted coat. That offense alone should’ve put her back behind bars.

****

“Masterpiece Theatre” / 9 p.m. KCET. Concludes Monday 9 p.m.

“Rebecca,” the haunting romance novel by Daphne du Maurier, is a wonderfully stylish piece from 1997. Charles Dance is excellent in this four-hour production as Maxim de Winter, the moody, wealthy widower whose shy young bride (a beguiling Emilia Fox) discovers she is living in the shadow of her glamorous predecessor, the late mistress of Manderley. Diana Rigg is Mrs. Danvers, the frosty head housekeeper whose devotion to Rebecca has no bounds. Overall, it’s a worthy successor to Alfred Hitchcock’s fine 1940 Oscar winner with Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson.

****

“Lolita” / 9 p.m. Showtime

Jeremy Irons turns in a vivid, beautifully textured performance in Adrian Lyne’s somber and ultimately violent version of Vladimir Nabokov’s unsettling 1954 novel. Irons’ sophisticated professor Humbert Humbert falls for the playful and petulant teen (Dominique Swain) he calls “the fire of my loins.” Lyne focuses on the mood and the menace, while Irons gives us a Humbert who is not so much repellent as pathetic. Swain is also quite good as the object of his obsession, and Melanie Griffith is moving as her scorned mother.

Wednesday

“Countryfest ‘98” / 9 p.m. CBS

Thus far it’s been an especially arid summer for the major networks, with ratings reaching their seasonal lows as viewers seek entertainment elsewhere. In a bid to reverse those flagging prime-time fortunes, CBS offers the third annual celebration of country music. It’s a two-hour special featuring concert performances by Alabama, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Chris LeDoux, Steve Wariner, Wynonna and Reba McEntire, who serves as host with Neal McCoy, the voice of the network’s ongoing “Welcome Home” promotional campaign.

****

“Whose Line Is It Anyway?” / 9:30 p.m. ABC

Ryan Stiles, always a howl as the lanky Lewis on “The Drew Carey Show,” shines in this American version of the British series. It’s a comedy in which four quick-witted performers improvise in unscripted scenes based on suggestions from host Carey and the studio audience. The format yields some chuckles and big laughs, many from Stiles (his “foal being born” is a pip) and a fellow named Wayne Grady, who comes up with clever lyrics to “accounting songs” such as “Deduct This.”

Thursday

“Nightline in Primetime” / 10 p.m. ABC

Ted Koppel brings his acclaimed late-night news program into prime time for a five-week report on crime and punishment. The one-hour programs draw on material from 10 “Nightline” broadcasts of the last four years that have focused on the controversial topic. Reporting from maximum security prisons, Koppel talks with inmates, wardens and guards as well as families of victims who are calling for retribution. In the opening installment from 1994, Koppel examines the aftermath of a murder through the perspective of the convicted killer, now serving time in North Carolina.

Friday

“Dead Man’s Gun” / 10:45 p.m. Showtime

The anthology series loads up for a second season as part of Showtime’s “Sci-Friday” lineup. This is the drama with supernatural elements (hence the weekly coupling with “Stargate SG-1”) about a weapon passing from hand to hand in the Old West. In “The Judgment of Joe Dean Bonner,” Brian Austin Green of “Beverly Hills, 90210” plays a remorseless killer arriving in a town where a jury has assembled to render a verdict.