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

Byline: David Kronke

``D-Day: Reflections of Courage''

(Discovery Channel; 8 tonight)

Think: Veterans on both sides of the Normandy Invasion recall the cataclysmic events of June 6, 1944.

Don't think: Boy, we can cheapen anything by hype these days: This must be the 200th D-Day retrospective in the past month. But at least this tribute to the ``Greatest Generation'' is more understandable than next week's documentary love-letter to the baby-boomer generation.

In a nutshell: Lame re-enactments diminish the reality of the drama, but recollections of the actual participants remain riveting nonetheless.

``Flops 101: Lessons From the Biz''

(Trio; 8 and 11 tonight; 9 p.m. and midnight Monday)

Think: Famous Hollywood failures are recalled, including ``The Chevy Chase Show,'' ``Cop Rock'' and ``Ishtar.''

Don't think: Trio is actually running a 12-hour marathon of the notoriously awful sitcom ``My Mother, The Car'' before ``Flops 101,'' at which point the documentary itself might seem redundant.

In a nutshell: The classroom framing sequences are pretty corny, and much of the information is fairly well-known to those who'd be interested. Nonetheless, Hollywood hubris amusingly gets taken down a notch or two.

``Love Rules!''

(ABC Family; 8 tonight)

Think: Speaking of flops. All goes well for an engaged couple (Joseph Lawrence, Maggie Lawson) until their family and friends get involved in wedding preparations. Marilu Henner stars as the blushing - and with good reason - bride's mother.

Don't think: Another movie from the ABC Family Network that exudes good old-fashioned values for the whole family: Living together out of wedlock is casually celebrated in an ostensibly kid-friendly film. Can't wait until Nickelodeon starts advocating heroin use.

In a nutshell: One of basic cable's most ubiquitous of genres: the romantic comedy without comedy. Does anyone vet scripts at ABC Family?

``The Dead Zone''

(USA Network; 10 tonight)

Think: Third-season premiere of the adaptation of the Stephen King novel about a man (Anthony Michael Hall) who sees other's futures by touching them; ``24's'' Sarah Wynter appears as a documentarian covering a sinister political campaign.

Don't think: Our hero confronts a populist politician surrounded by a religious cabal who may bring on Armageddon and a potentially corrupt computer voting system - where do these guys get this stuff?

In a nutshell: Equal parts compelling and confusing. Longtime fans are addicted; neophytes may scratch holes into their skulls.

``The Vice''

(BBC America; 9 p.m. Monday)

Think: London's police Vice Unit gets busy, with Inspector Pat Chappel (an excellent Ken Stott) both going undercover in a prison and reuniting with a former love, who, conveniently enough, is a former prostitute (Sarah Parish).

Don't think: ``Law & Order: Special Limey's Unit.''

In a nutshell: Like ``Law & Order: SVU,'' it explores the potentially devastating effects of such work on officers' psyches. Otherwise, it's comparable to most solid/lurid American cop shows.

``Return to Titanic'' (National Geographic Channel; 9 p.m. Monday)

Think: Speaking of flops - II. The tale of the unsinkable sunken ship is revisited, with the added bonus of live footage of the wreckage.

Don't think: That live feed of Titanic at ocean's bottom should be revealing, especially since it's lain dormant and virtually unchanged for decades. It's not like Jay Leno'll be yukking it up with Gov. Schwarzenegger down there.

In a nutshell: ... not to mention the possibility for glitches that a live production set 2 1/2 miles beneath the ocean's surface invites. Aimed at the tragedy's aficionados only.

``Perfect Romance''

(Lifetime; 9 p.m. Monday)

Think: Busybody mom (Kathleen Quinlan) begins an Internet search for an appropriate mate for her divorced daughter (Lori Heuring); complications - well, you know.

Don't think: Who'd've thought that anyone'd get nostalgic about the days Lifetime did all those women-in-peril flicks?

In a nutshell: Not awful as romantic comedies go - there's actually a laugh or two - but awfully earnest and predictable.

``Blow Out''

(Bravo; 9 p.m. Tuesday)

Think: Reality series focusing on Jonathan Antin, a monumentally narcissistic Beverly Hills hairdresser, and his staff and clientele.

Don't think: Speaking of flops - III. If the NBC/Universal brain trust thought ``The Restaurant'' was worthy of a broadcast network, and it flopped, what does the fact that this is on Bravo say about their opinion of this show? On the other hand, it is a good lead-in for ``Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.''

In a nutshell: If this guy was just half as interesting as he's convinced he is, this would be the ``Citizen Kane'' of reality television. Unsurprisingly, he's not, so this is more the ``Gigli'' of the genre.

``Reno 911!''

(Comedy Central; 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Saturday)

Think: Second-season premiere of the improvised ``Cops'' parody finds the sexually ambiguous Lt. Dangle (Thomas Lennon) preparing to take a job in Carson City, getting his bicycle stolen and preparing his farewell party the same night the rest of the dangerously inept force wants to go to a basketball game. Next week, Officer Wiegel (Kerri Kenney) may be dating a serial killer. But of course.

Don't think: Are Dangle's short-shorts regulation or did he just play in the NBA in the early '80s?

In a nutshell: Hit-and-miss gags have much better aim than Reno's squad, particularly tonight's trampoline fire rescue and the ostensible canine euthanasia and next week's cops declining to rescue a man's novel inside a burning building because it's derivative.

``Jane Goodall's State of the Great Ape'' (Animal Planet; 8 p.m. Saturday)

Think: More monkey business from the celebrated primatologist: Goodall assesses environmental conditions confronting chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos today.

Don't think: ``I'd give anything to be in the mind of a chimpanzee,'' Goodall says; insert your own punch line involving your most least-favorite politician or Britney Spears here. Research says only 1 percent differentiates the DNA of chimps and humans; ditto.

In a nutshell: A perfunctory overview of Goodall's career, with an eye toward casting the most positive eye on the future rather than seriously exploring more serious environmental ramifications.

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) ``JANE GOODALL'S STATE OF THE GREAT APE''

(2) ''BLOWOUT''

(3) ``RENO 911!''