"Cats!" (A&E Channel, 8-10 p.m. E/P) It's a mighty question of whether dogs are man's best friend. Statistics show that cats are America's favorite pets. This program looks at domestic cats in an historical as well as cultural and sociological light -- breeds, behavior, the business of cats, feline superstitions, and cats' place in pop culture.

"Now With Bill Moyers" (PBS, 8-9 p.m. E/P -- be sure to check local listings) Here's a program that deserves to be called 'reality tv' much more than the ones filmed on tropical islands. This show involves money and shopping and how you can get into a perilous situation right where you and your live. When financial expert Elizabeth Warren set out to write a book about overspending by America's two-income families, she discovered something that defied conventional wisdom. "I thought this... book is gonna be about too many trips to the mall, too many Game Boys," Warren says. "Expenses have more than eaten up all of mom's income... and eroded what dad earned.... They actually have less money to spend than their one-income parents had a generation ago." Warren, a Harvard Law professor, reveals some surprising facts about the plight of America's two-income families. "Today's family, even with two people in the work place, is in a much riskier economic position than its equivalent was a generation ago," she says.

Saturday, February 7

"Civil Rights Heroes" (History Channel, 6-7 p.m. E/P) Some of the civil rights movement's greatest leaders are included in this program which is airing during Black History Month: actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, whose 50-year marriage has spanned the history of the movement; Beverly Carter and Gloria Carter Dickerson, who suffered abuse when they broke the color line at Mississippi schools in the 1960s; and Bill Russell, the star basketball player who became the first black head coach in the National Basketball Association.

"Tuskegee Airmen" (History Channel, 8-10 p.m. E/P) Laurence Fishburne stars in this drama based on true WWII events of the first African-American combat fighter pilots of the U.S. Army Corps. At the college where they trained, Tuskegee Institute, bigoted officers and the military establishment refused to accept them as equal to white counterparts, until Eleanor Roosevelt intervened and the men of the "Fighting 99th" were able to prove themselves. The movie also stars Andre Braugher and Cuba Gooding, Jr. Available on video.

Sunday, February 8

"Diamonds" (PBS 8-9 p.m. E/P) This episode of the "Nature" series tells the story Earth's most valued and mysterious stone. It began thousands of millions of years ago, 100 miles beneath the surface of the planet. The program describes how diamonds are born, mined, cut and polished, sold, and even what the future might hold for them. More info at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/

"Discovery Sunday" (Discovery Channel, 8-9 p.m. E/P) This episode of Discovery Channel's Sunday magazine definitely has things in it where I have to warn you, don't' try this at home: A report entitled Penny Drop explores whether dropping a penny from a skyscraper can be lethal to pedestrians on the sidewalk below. Another report looks at the effects of microwaves and whether or not tanning beds really bake sun-worshipers from the inside out. No wonder this show is rated TV-PG.

"America's Top Dog" (A&E Channel, 8-10 p.m. E/P) No matter what kind of dog is your favorite, here's a TV special for you. It features all types of dogs, including family pets, competing in such categories as appearance, performance, talent, and intelligence. The pooches will be judged by an entertaining panel of judges, making this an "American Idol" for the canine set. It also gets into the unique relationship between pets and their human owners. The program repeats Monday, February 9 at 2 p.m. E/P.

Monday, February 9

"Cell Dogs: Branchville" (Animal Planet Channel, 8-9 p.m. E/P) There is a little known training program for dogs to become service-dogs for disabled people -- happening inside prisons. Inmates acquire skills and a sense of purpose as they train abused and abandoned dogs as companions and guides for adoption outside to disabled people. This show describes a competition between several prison programs to compare the skills level of the dogs they've trained.

Tuesday, February 10

"Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property" (PBS, 10-11 p.m. E/P) In this dramatized historical special, the "troublesome property" is a slave named Nat Turner. Not only a problem for his slave-owning master, Turner has been a troublesome subject for historians and others who have attempted to understand the leader of the famous 1831 slave rebellion. This film explores how the many interpretations of Nat Turner are critical to understanding the racial history of the United States. The accompanying website contains important additional information: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/natturner/

Wednesday, February 11

"Inherit the Wind" (A&E Channel, 2-4 p.m. E/P) There are public arguments currently going on in several U.S. states about whether the theory of evolution should be taught in public schools. The alternative theory, that God created the world and all its creatures in six days is being proposed as a substitute or equal explanation which should be put into the science textbooks. This debate is not new. Here's a movie about the matter, a dramatization of events in 1925, "Scopes Monkey Trial", that pitted two great lawyers -- played here by Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott -- against each other in the landmark case about a science teacher who dared to teach Darwin's theory of evolution. Rated TV-PG. Available on video.

"Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance" (PBS, 9-11:30 p.m. E/P) This is the story of a family whose name became a synonym for "power". In 15th-century Florence, Italy, the Medici family amassed unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They also ignited the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history: the European Renaissance. But the forces of change they helped unleash ultimately toppled their well-ordered world. This broadcast includes episodes 1 and 2, entitled "Birth of a Dynasty" and "The Magnificent Medici", of a 4-part miniseries. On February 18, the series continues with episodes entitled "The Medici Popes" and "Power Versus Truth", tracing the papal power of Giovanni de Medici and examining the rise and fall of Galileo Galilei. Taking the name Pope Leo X, a member of the Medici family embarks on a frenzy of overspending, depleting papal funds. To raise money, he sells Indulgences (permission to sin). A German monk, Martin Luther, protests and sparks a revolution that quickly spreads across Europe. The website is: http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/

Thursday, February 12

"Frontline: Beyond Baghdad" (PBS, 9-10 p.m. E/P) In the Media Hour there have been requests to discuss events in Iraq. Here is a program that contains background material for a future session about what's going on in that troubled part of the world. As the U.S. struggles to figure out its policies there,  PBS Frontline reporters have been traveling across Iraq -- from Mosul and Kirkuk in the Kurdish north, to the anti-U.S. Sunni lands of central Iraq, then on to Baghdad and farther south to the Shia cities of Najaf and Nasiriya -- looking at that diverse land and its peoples. A website with more information on the situation outside of Baghdad is at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/beyond/dispatches/

Friday, February 13

"George Washington's Workshop" (History Channel, 8-9 p.m. E/P) George Washington, the soldier and politician, was also one of North America's wealthiest men and a remarkable entrepreneur. Here's a look at what he did at Mount Vernon, his country estate. You'll learn many fascinating and little-known aspects of America's 'Father Of The Country' though interviews with experts, original and archival materials and on-location demonstrations of his agricultural, manufacturing and commercial activities. There's a related website about the new archaeology dig at Mount Vernon, which turned up details about how Washington made money distilling and selling whiskey. http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/mtvernon/