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

Byline: David Kronke

``Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade''

(The Westerns Channel; 8 tonight)

In a nutshell: Documentary on the man's-man filmmaker who gave the world ``The Wild Bunch'' and ``Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.'' Director/producer Tom Thurman and writer Tom Marksbury serve up a perceptively critical portrait of a most misunderstood director.

Shark Week 

(Discovery Channel; 8 tonight through Friday)

In a nutshell: Maneaters threaten sundry humans yet don't quite sink their teeth into our species in the Discovery Channel's annual week of specials: ``Primal Scream'' (8 tonight); ``Tiger Shark Attack: Beyond Fear'' (9 tonight); ``Monster House: Shark House'' (8 p.m. Monday); ``Great White Shark: Uncaged'' (8 p.m. Tuesday); ``Dive to Shark Volcano'' (8 p.m. Wednesday); ``Bull Shark: World's Deadliest Shark'' (8 p.m. Thursday); ``Sharks: Size Matters'' (8 p.m. Friday).

``Dead Like Me''

(Showtime; 10 tonight and 10 p.m. Friday)

In a nutshell: Second-season premiere of the black comedy about the misadventures of a guilt-ridden grim-reaper (Ellen Muth). Tonight, she and her cohorts mop up after a gas leak; things look up for her when she's asked to train a cute co-worker (Steven Grayhm), then look back down again when she realizes her parents are separating. A promising premise is undone by tonal inconsistency and sprawling, problematic subplots. If you're patient, the smartly comic moments compensate.

``Family Guy's'' Seth McFarlane week

(Cartoon Network; 11 p.m. Monday through Friday)

In a nutshell: ``Family Guy'' creator Seth McFarlane offers fun anecdotes while introducing his favorite episodes of the cult series. Many 14-year-olds will be staying up past their bedtime this week.

``Stevie''

(Cinemax; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday)

In a nutshell: ``Hoop Dreams'' co-director Steve James reflects on the chasm that has grown between him and Stevie Fielding, for whom he formerly served as a Big Brother. Stevie has gotten into a world of trouble since their previous relationship. Sobering and disturbing, yet undeniably compelling.

``The Devil's Playground''

(Trio; 9 p.m. Tuesday)

In a nutshell: Documentary on the Amish custom of rumspringa, in which teens are given the opportunity to explore the culture beyond their own - drugs and alcohol seem to be involved a lot. ``It's like a vaccination: You get a dose of the outside world, just enough so you won't get tempted later on,'' explains one of its participants. A thoughtful, melancholy documentary of deeply tormented souls that somehow inspired the show below.

``Amish in the City''

(UPN Channel 13; 8 p.m. Wednesday)

In a nutshell: Reality series in which five young Amish adults bunk in a posh Hollywood Hills home with six trend-crazy ``city kids,'' whose bratty behavior somehow explains why 90 percent of Amish who explore the outside world return to their roots. The Amish offer fascinating insights into both their and our world, but most of the others seem vapid reality-show cliches.

``Blue Collar TV''

(The WB Channel 5; 8 p.m. Thursday)

In a nutshell: Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall star in a down-home sketch-comedy series. Foxworthy says at the outset, ``We're not here to change the world, we are here to make it a little more bearable.'' Depends on your definition of ``bearable,'' I guess. What will WB viewers, accustomed to watching nearly anorexic teen girls, make of middle-age guys pouring gravy over steamed veggies and parfaits? On the other hand, they'll deal with the pee-pee and burping gags just fine. It would need more sophistication even to aspire to low-brow; it's not without its idiot charms, but seems a better fit for Spike TV than the WB.

``O'Grady'' (The N; 9 p.m. Friday)

In a nutshell: Animated series about characters with very large, poorly drawn mouths who attend a very eccentric high school bedeviled by an entity referred to only as ``the weirdness.'' Tonight, everyone's insecurities are amplified to humiliating extents during the production of a video yearbook as part of a fast-food chicken restaurant competition. Complications, as one might expect from such a description, ensue. Droll and deadpan, it's ``Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist'' for 'tweens.

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

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