Tube Notes

MUST-SEE: "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided" second part, 9-11 p.m., PBS, concludes tomorrow: Stepping into the White House, Abraham Lincoln faced low expectations. He had been a one-term congressman and a failed Senate candidate; now, suddenly, he was president and viewed by many insiders as a country rube. His wife, Mary, threw herself into the social scene and refurbishing the White House. There was a burst of joy, then despair. This film, the mid-section of a three-night "American Experience" documentary, captures the Lincolns’ deep agony early in the Civil War.

"Intimate Portrait," 7 p.m., Lifetime; and "Biography," 10 p.m., A&E. Here are two very different Black History Month subjects. The first has Rosa Parks, whose refusal to move to the back of a bus propelled the Memphis boycott and the civil rights movement. The second details the life of singer Patti LaBelle.

"JAG," 7 p.m., CBS. The Russians accuse the Americans of destroying their submarine. That’s trouble for Harm, the U.S. military lawyer who has befriended a Russian captain.

"Dharma and Greg," 8 p.m., ABC. Dharma learns that people are plotting to take over her father’s company.

"Frasier," 8 p.m., NBC. Frasier accidentally breaks an important employment rule: Never date your boss’s wife.

"Ed," 9 p.m., NBC. There’s no reason to waste a new episode tomorrow against the Grammy Awards. So "Ed" borrows this slot for a show that has John Goodman as the bowling alley’s former owner who is determined to get the alley back.

[back to top]