THE TROUBLES PBS AIRS A CAREFUL RE-EXAMINATION OF THE BRITISH-IRISH CONFLICT.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

IN NOVEMBER of last year, a bomb exploded in Birmingham, England, or sort of did - the car containing the bomb blew, but most of the explosives inside did but a fraction of the damage they potentially could have wrought.

The palpable sense of relief felt by British news readers as they discovered the bomb had been planted by the Irish Republican Army underscored that the world faced newer, graver dangers than such now-seemingly quaint homegrown bickering.

With tensions roiling apparently without containment in the Middle East and America's war on terrorism threatening to expand beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan, can the world devote as much concern as in the past to the turmoil in Ireland? That's the question facing ``Endgame in Ireland,'' a four-hour documentary produced and directed by Nick Gold and based on a book by Eamonn Mallie and David McKittrick, debuting tonight on PBS.

Drawing from interviews with Bill Clinton; British prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair; Irish Taoiseaches (Irish prime ministers) Garrett FitzGerald, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern; Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness; secret assassins; and a host of others, ``Endgame in Ireland'' examines the past two decades of The Troubles.

Like another recent PBS documentary, ``Shattered Dreams of Peace,'' which examined the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the film at times feels like an endless tape loop of violence, negotiations and political posturing.

On superficial levels, Ireland v. England and Israel v. a Palestinian state share several similarities. Religious intolerance and a quest for self-governance define both conflicts, as does repeated failed peace talks and a sense that any concessions will be too many for some players. There's also the deflating suspicion that some of those involved have grown so addicted to the mistrust and acts of violence that they consider any peaceable agreement thoroughly untenable. And both dramas, with their petty political and personal posturings, would play as terrific black comedies if the human tolls weren't so devastating.

``Endgame in Ireland'' is divided into four sections. Tonight, ``Bomb and Ballot Box'' and ``Talking to Terrorists'' covers 1981-93, opening with the 1984 IRA bombing of the Conservative conference in Brighton, in which Prime Minister Thatcher narrowly escaped harm. Thatcher steadfastly refused to negotiate with the Irish - after the attack, you could scarcely blame her, but her hard-line position only firmed the IRA's violent resolve.

IRA martyr Bobby Sands won a position in Parliament while participating in a hunger strike in prison; his death in 1981 provided the fuel for more rioting. Nonetheless, the Irish movement Sinn Fein realized that politics could be at least as fruitful an avenue as terrorism for getting their positions heard.

Once Thatcher was gone, John Major attempted to make inroads in covert negotiations with Irish Catholics seeking their own voice amid the majority Protestants - who had their own murderous extremists, the Loyalists - through a shadow group called The Link. Whenever a breakthrough seemed at hand, the secret talks were exposed; however, the proper parties were scandalized, and everything, again and again, fell apart.

Next week, ``Ceasefire'' and ``Guns and Government'' continues the sorry story. The Clinton Administration took a brash, bold stand, acknowledging Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and granting him a visa to visit the United States - this was Clinton's own idea, in defiance of his advisors, who argued America risked alienating the British, who considered Adams a thug and a terrorist. ``In all these places in the world, no one would ever get anything done if somebody didn't take a chance,'' Clinton explains.

It nearly works - peace talks get under way, with Sen. George Mitchell negotiating, for a time, a cease-fire - the Catholic IRA would give up some of its weapons, the Protestants would issue a heartfelt apology. Both sides, inevitably, seek a few too many concessions from their opponents, and peace repeatedly seems to slip from everyone's grasp. And bombs burst at intervals both regular and irregular, ever threatening the tenuous progress that has been made.

Unlike the Middle East, fortunately, the clashing here has resulted in a weariness that suggests compromise may be tantalizingly close.

``Endgame in Ireland'' was obviously created for British and Irish audiences who are more familiar with the story, and some of the history's context and nuances may not be readily apparent to American viewers. But it frequently plays as a gripping spy thriller, made all the more urgent by the horrific loss of lives - nearly 4,000 in 30 years, a

stunning number for so small an area - and the suggestion that its story serves as a template for impasses throughout the world.

ENDGAME IN IRELAND - Three stars

What: Documentary history of the past 20 years of the Irish-British conflict.

Where: KCET.

When: 9 tonight and July 18.

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The current conflict between Britain and Ireland has continued for 30 years, resulting in nearly 4,000 deaths.