‘MASH’ and ‘Planet of Apes’ Get the Marathon Treatment

Get your VCRs ready for two marathons scheduled for Sunday.

AMC is going ape with its two-day “Planet of the Apes” movie marathon, which starts at 6 a.m. with “Battle of the Planet of the Apes.” The first and best of the sci-fi thrillers, 1968’s “Planet of the Apes,” is scheduled for 12:30 and 5 p.m. Premiering at 2:30 and 7 p.m. is the two-hour documentary “Behind the Planet of the Apes,” hosted by “Apes” star Roddy McDowall and featuring behind-the-scenes footage, screen tests and interviews with stars Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter and Linda Harrison.

FX presents the “MASH Bootcamp Marathon,” beginning at 9 a.m. with the 1972 pilot episode. Other episodes featured in the daylong lineup of the Emmy-winning classic series includes the two-part “Goodbye Radar,” at 5 p.m.; the final 30-minute episode “As Time Goes By,” at 7 p.m.; and the 2 1/2-hour series finale, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” at 7:30 p.m.

Today

USA presents the U.S. Open tennis tournament at 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Coverage continues Friday on USA at the same times. CBS takes over Saturday at 8 a.m. on Channel 2. USA’s coverage will return Sunday at 9 a.m.

A&E;’s “The Unexplained,” at 6 and 10 p.m., looks at the man who murdered actress Rebecca Schaeffer, and teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, who had sex with a 13-year-old student.

Ted Koppel concludes his five-part “Nightline” series on crime and punishment with a look at two executions, at 10 p.m. on Channel 7.

On “Vis-a-Vis,” at 10 p.m. on KCET-TV Channel 28, a South African police sergeant and his African American counterpart in Philadelphia discuss crime, race relations and life in their countries.

Friday

The Learning Channel’s “Secrets of the Lost Tribe,” at 7 and 10 p.m., reports on how archeologists discovered remnants of an extinct tribe in the Dominican Republic that existed thousands of years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

Nickelodeon premieres its new kids’ series “Animorphs,” at 8:30 p.m. It’s a fantasy about five teens who can transform themselves into any animal they touch. Their mission is to save the world from an alien invasion.

Saturday

Huell Howser presents a one-hour “Visiting . . .” special at the Joshua Tree National Park, at 6 p.m. on Channel 28.

The Learning Channel’s documentary “Marilyn in Manhattan,” at 7 and 10 p.m., profiles how Marilyn Monroe’s life changed when she moved to New York.

“The Roots of Evil,” at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel, is a three-part documentary that explores heinous crimes, torturers and tyrants.

Sunday

The NFL kicks off a new football season at 10 a.m. on CBS Channel 2 with the Pittsburgh Steelers playing the Baltimore Ravens, followed by the New York Jets at the San Francisco 49ers. At 5:15 p.m., ESPN broadcasts the Oakland Raiders’ meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jerry Lewis is back as host of the annual “MDA Labor Day Telethon,” which begins at 6 p.m. on KCAL-TV Channel 9.

“Siskel & Ebert” begins its 24th season with “The Breakout Stars of 1998,” at 6:30 p.m. on KABC-TV Channel 7.

Tom Arnold stars as a hapless ex-golf pro in the Fox Family Channel comedy “National Lampoon’s Golf Punks,” at 8 p.m.

Matt Frewer, Rhea Perlman and Benny the dog star in the Showtime family comedy “In the Doghouse,” at 8 p.m.

E! Entertainment Television presents “Phil Hartman: “E! True Hollywood Story,” at 8 p.m.