Here are a few programs to look out for in the upcoming week ...

THURSDAY 10:30 P.M. Gary the Rat, TNN. Oh, the confusion. First of all, Kelsey Grammar, who brilliantly voiced Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons, is the voice of Gary the Rat in this adult-oriented animated series. He's a lawyer so contemptuous, he has actually turned into vermin. The confusion? As you might recall, TNN was all set to become Spike TV, but a New York judge put the kibosh on that. Seems Spike Lee had a problem with that moniker. Video/movie director Spike Jonze, '40s novelty recording artist Spike Jones and the blonde guy from Buffy The Vampire could not be reached for comment.

THURSDAY 11 P.M. Stripperella, TNN. Well, since they lost their new name, we thought we'd help them out with a rare double mention in Groove Tube. The also animated Striperella is voiced by Pamela Anderson. She's an exotic dancer by day, crime fighter by night. She battles the likes of Queen Clitoris, who shouldn't be rubbed the wrong way. There's a lot of that crammed into 30 minutes. Nice. Oddly the animated character looks more like a real woman than man-made Ms. Anderson.

FRIDAY 10 P.M. Inside Warner Brothers Movie World Gold Coast, Travel Channel. In Australia, the Warner Bros. Movie World provides a unique theme park experience featuring heart-racing rides and a chance for actors to play characters like Austin Powers and Batman. Nearby Seaworld boasts the world's best polar bear exhibit. You could say they've turned the whole theme park experience upside-down.

FRIDAY 10 P.M. Dead Like Me, Showtime. Perhaps Spinal Tap's manager, the late Ian Faith, was right when he told the band, "Death sells." Georgia "George" Lass (Ellen Muth) is a young college dropout who has no job skills and seems unable to take an interest in anything, including her own life with her mother Joy (Cynthia Stevenson). Insisting that she get a job, George applies to a temp agency that sends her out as a file clerk. Her lunch break -- and her life -- is cut short when a toilet seat from the MIR space station drives her into the pavement. She doesn't realize she's dead until Rube (Mandy Patinkin), the kindly leader of a team of grim reapers, points out her remains. He takes George under his wing and introduces her to the other members of his undead group. He sings like an angel, by the way.

SATURDAY 8 P.M. Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked, The History Channel. Comic books -- serious or escapist fantasy? This two-hour special shows how comic book superheroes reflect their times -- from the 1930s to the 21st century -- and how these wish-fulfillment figures became role models for generations of children who will go on to live in their parents' basement among boxes of comic books. Follow the most representative cartoon crusaders and villains, as well as the industry that formed them, and see how they mirrored society -- from the Depression, WWII, the Cold War, and the turbulent '60s to today -- and how they proved adaptable to other media.

MONDAY 9 P.M. Red Cap, BBC America. The Brits borrow the premise for our own JAG (CBS) and come up with this. Tamzin Outhwaite (ex-Eastenders) is our heroine, Jo McDonagh. The cast is rounded out by James Thornton as the resentful Sgt. Major Burns and Gordon Kennedy who plays Jo's supportive colleague, Bruce Hornsby. The Brits apparently don't know we have a Pop star by that name.

NEWS & NOTES: ESPN's first-ever original drama series will premiere Aug. 26. Playmaker will be about a fictional pro football team (no, not the Bengals). ... Matt LeBlanc will develop a sitcom for NBC, based on his Friends' character Joey. Uh, oh.

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