THE DAILY NEWS WATCH-O-RAMA HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS OF THE COMING TV WEEK.

Byline: David Kronke

``Night Cats on the Prowl''

(Animal Planet; 7 tonight)

Think: Evocatively photographed ``Wild Kingdom'' installment on wildcats, caracals, servals and zorillas seeking prey in the Serengeti. Alec Baldwin narrates, his husky whisper convincing you that he's sitting right next to the cats as they prepare to pounce.

Don't think: It's kind of hard to root for these fellas to eat all those other cute animals. How will PETA deal with this quandary?

In a nutshell: Creates an edgy sense of tension as the animals stealthily prepare to pounce. There's also a little nocturnal romance between wildcats. Fascinating, bloodthirsty fun - even my dog was enthralled by this. Honest.

``Cirque du Soleil: Solstrom''

(Bravo; 7 tonight)

Think: The French-Canadian acrobatic troupe returns in a fanciful series about an oddball astronomer who discovers a solar wind (actually portrayed as a character) that transforms people into acrobats.

Don't think: You know, they really don't need to bother with thinking up plots. The acrobatics are entertainment enough. In fact, it'd probably be better if they didn't bother with plots.

In a nutshell: Happily, the plot's not that distracting, and the amazing feats are mesmerizing. The trampoline stunt at the end is both simple and very cool.

``Dora's Super Silly Fiesta''

(Nickelodeon; Monday at 8 p.m.)

Think: ``Dora the Explorer,'' the popular Nick Jr. series about a young girl and her educational adventures, gets a prime-time special, and John Leguizamo provides the voice of the Silly Mail Bird, who delivers a party invitation to Dora.

Don't think: This show has a talking map and backpack. Who does this show, Sid and Marty Krofft?

In a nutshell: Be glad your kids would rather watch this than ``Fear Factor.''

``Two and a Half Men''

(CBS Channel 2; Monday at 8 p.m.)

Think: A two-hour, four-episode mini-marathon of the season's only new sitcom hit, starring Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer as brothers with little in common except their affection for Cryer's son (Angus T. Jones).

Don't think: So that would be a grand total of 10 men, right?

In a nutshell: CBS is preparing for when ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' departs and this show will have to anchor Monday nights.

``The Gilmore Girls''

(The WB Channel 5; Tuesday at 8 p.m.)

Think: Lorelei (Lauren Graham) gets cozier with her boyfriend Jason (Chris Eigeman), while Rory (Alexis Bledel) heads to Florida on spring break, where she cozies up with ... Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell.

Don't think: As the Gilmores necessarily grow further apart, expect the cell phone to become the show's third main character.

In a nutshell: Consistently funny stuff, with the added bonus of a girl-on-girl kiss. Except that one of the girls is eternally uptight Paris (Lisa Weil), so you've been warned.

``Showbiz Moms''

(Bravo; Tuesday at 9 p.m.)

Think: Stage parents compensate for their own miserable lives by bullying their children into stardom in this new reality series. Except in one case, where the bratty, talent-free kid steamrollers her mom. And another, where mom and daughter seem to have a healthy relationship - what are they doing on this show?

Don't think: As bad as the show-biz moms are, the stage father (appropriately surnamed Nutter) - who moved his wife and seven kids from a nice house in Vermont to a cramped New York apartment so they could all become reticent stars - outdoes them all. Well, the pageant mom - Patricia Ramsey revisited - is pretty awful, too.

In a nutshell: Train-wreck TV, far scarier than ``Steven King's Kingdom Hospital.'' Hard to watch, harder not to.

``Looking for Fidel''

(HBO; Wednesday at 8 p.m.)

Think: Oliver Stone interviews Castro in the wake of last year's executions in Cuba of three plane hijackers and arrest of 75 political dissidents.

Don't think: Stone had a more sympathetic documentary about Castro in the can just as the dissidents were arrested - oops!

In a nutshell: Documentaries on serious subjects are probably best when not edited like a music video, as this one is. Kind of a jumble. Apparently we're just supposed to be impressed to see Stone and Castro together in the same room.

``The Hired Hand''

(Sundance Channel; Wednesday at 9 p.m.)

Think: Television premiere of Peter Fonda's little-seen 1971 directing debut, a Western about a cowboy (Fonda) who returns to the family he abandoned and discovers changes have taken place. Verna Bloom and Warrant Oates co-star.

Don't think: McG (``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'') or Raja Gosnell (``Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'') could tell this film's 90-minute story in 30 seconds. Of course, it would be 30 execrable seconds.

In a nutshell: Slow, enigmatic and gorgeously photographed (by Vilmos Zsigmond), edited (Frank Mazzola) and scored (Bruce Langhorne). A lyrical contemporary of Robert Altman's equally unjustly overlooked ``McCabe and Mrs. Miler'' and a precursor to Clint Eastwood's anti-Western masterpiece ``Unforgiven.''

``Chris Rock: Never Scared''

(HBO; Saturday at 10 p.m. (also April 20, 22, 27, 30; May 5, 10, 19, 27; HBO2: April 18, May 15, 24)

Think: The comic's fourth HBO concert finds him tackling strippers and rap music, the Jacksons, Kobe Bryant and, inevitably - and most bitingly - social and political issues ranging from abortion to the war with Iraq.

Don't think: If Entertainment Weekly called him the funniest person in America, how funny can he really be?

In a nutshell: ``White man makes guns - no problem. Black rapper says 'gun'' - Congressional hearing,'' Rock proclaims, as part of some of his most pointed material to date. And, as usual, his takes on relationships are grimly, hilariously dead-on: ``Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in a South African prison - beaten and tortured every day for 27 years and did it with no problem. ... He got out of jail, spent six months with his wife and said, 'I can't take this no more!' '' But there's also more facile material than previous specials offered.

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(color) ``DORA'S SUPER SILLY FIESTA''