TV Smarts

Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are weekend home-viewing tips:

* Today--”The Living Edens” (KCET, 8-9 p.m.) This documentary about biological diversity focuses on the Himalayan nation of Bhutan. Donald Sutherland narrates. VCR+43356.

* Friday--”Turning Point” (TLC, 4-5 p.m.) This is a documentary about the June 1964 slayings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. VCR+690115. “The Century on Fridays” (KABC, 6:30-7 p.m.) ABC’s “World News Tonight” inaugurates a series of reports on 20th century historical events with “The Scopes Monkey Trial.” In 1925, a teacher was prosecuted in Tennessee for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. Peter Jennings reports.

* Saturday--”A 20th Century Medicine Man” (A&E;, 11 a.m.-noon) This is a documentary about medicinal plants found in exotic locales by researcher Mark Plotkin. VCR+989018. Also, “Inherit the Wind” (TCM, 1:30-3:30 p.m.) The play by Jerome Lawrence and R.E. Lee on which this movie is based is often studied in high school English classes. It is a fictionalized version of the Scopes trial. Spencer Tracy and Fredric March star. VCR+521158. Available on video.

* Sunday--”Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: A Historical Perspective” (KNBC, 1-2 p.m.) Airing in connection with the observance of the national holiday Monday celebrating his birth, this documentary uses rare and largely unseen film footage to trace the evolution of King’s ideas and methodology during the height of the civil rights struggle.

Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, California State University Office of the Chancellor. Columns available at www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/TVENT/TVSMARTS.