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

Byline: David Kronke

``The Team That Changed the World''

(KCET; 4 p.m. today)

Think: Chuck D narrates this documentary about the Harlem Globetrotters - from a team that tore down NBA color barriers to a national comic institution. Phil Jackson, Bill Cosby, Samuel L. Jackson, Larry Brown, Barack Obama and others provide commentary.

Don't think: Honestly, I could care less what this is about, just as long as it keeps me from seeing Joan, Melissa and all those other awful Oscar red-carpet shows.

In a nutshell: Informative, enlightening and entertaining, but really - can't they retire that bucket-of-confetti routine, already?

``Summerland''

(WB, Channel 5; 9 p.m. Monday)

Think: Return of the summer success starring Lori Loughlin as 20-something career-gal Ava, who raises her sister's three children - including 16- year-old Brad (heartthrob Jesse McCartney), who looks more likely to date Ava than to take orders from her - with the help of three hipster pals.

Don't think: Jesse'll get into some trouble but charm everyone silly to get his way. Apparently, the thought process of everyone on the planet approximates that of 15-year-old girls.

In a nutshell: Monday's episode was not available forreview, though, oddly enough, episodes for March 14 and 21 were. Wall-to-wall pulchritude, but compared to this, other WB shows boast the gritty realism of ``The Battle of Algiers.''

``Half & Half''

(UPN, Channel 13; 9:30 p.m. Monday)

Think: Winners of the sitcom's real-life talent contest to find a soul act for Mona's (Rachel True) record label are chosen by producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Meanwhile, Dee Dee (Essence Atkins) loses her gig at a law firm before she has a chance to start.

Don't think: The series' faux-``American-Idol'' gimmick hardly translated into anything resembling ``A.I.'' ratings ...

In a nutshell: ... but enough of tonight's punch lines are amusing enough that the show shouldn't need to resort to such pandering.

``The Amazing Race 7''

(CBS Channel 2; 9 p.m. Tuesday)

Think: Eleven more two-person teams scramble around the globe - tonight the trek from Long Beach to all around Peru. One team, famously, features Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano, who cleaned up on ``Survivor: All-Stars'' (they're none too popular); another team is an ex-fighter pilot/POW from the war in Iraq and a former beauty queen.

Don't think: Why does everyone dash crazedly to airports? Airports are the game's great reset button - once you deplane, you're tied with at least a few of the other teams. Why not take it leisurely and preserve your energy? (You see now why I'd never get on this show.)

In a nutshell: Opens with the usual braggadocio (everyone spouts a variation of ``We're gonna win 'cause we're ruthless''), followed by the language barriers, fun stunts and bizarre tasks (wrangling recalcitrant, spittle-hurling llamas). Still, with gorgeous locales and entertaining team dynamics, it remains reality TV's class act.

``Breaking Vegas''

(History Channel; 9 p.m. Tuesday)

Think: Documentary miniseries on sundry casino cheats, card-counters and ambitious lowlifes. Tonight: A past-poster (who furtively and considerably ups his bet on the table after winning) and a slot-machine manipulator try their oily hands against Vegas odds and succeed - for a while.

Don't think: Try this at home, maybe, but not in Vegas, unless you want a broken kneecap or two.

In a nutshell: Chips ahoy! Compulsively watchable exploration of those who brazenly challenge the monolithically unbeatable entity that is Las Vegas.

``America's Next Top Model''

(UPN, Channel 13; 8 p.m. Wednesday)

Think: Tyra Banks proclaims: Let the catfights begin! And the fourth-season premiere of broadcast television's equivalent of ``Girls Gone Wild'' begins.

Don't think: They have two gay guys on hand to discover the feminine ideal? Honestly, they couldn't find at least one straight guy to volunteer to help out?

In a nutshell: Have you seen an avant-garde fashion spread lately? Tom Poston could throw on a wig and be in one. Ugly is the new beautiful these days. Otherwise, ``ANTM'' is more of the (bitchy/vacuous) same: In fact, previous contestants return to rerun the same sort of melodrama.

``Product Placement Film Festival'' (Turner Classic Movies; beginning 5 p.m. Friday)

Think: The idea of cynically placing commercials in films isn't as fresh as it seems, this series informs us, with films such as ``Scarface'' (Paul Muni puffing a brand-name cigar), ``Gold Diggers of 1935'' (hawking cars at 7 p.m.) and ``You'll Never Get Rich'' (selling cigarettes at 9 p.m.). On Fridays throughout the month, more movies will peddle more products, ending with ``Superman II'' (whoring the kryptonite of cigarettes on Feb. 25).

Don't think: The series is hosted by a guy whose job is to put products in movies, so, in effect, the whole festival serves as product placement for his services! Is that meta or what?

In a nutshell: They don't include ``The Big Store,'' in which the Marx Brothers anxiously grabbed advertisers just to get the film finished, or ``Octopussy''; the lame James Bond thriller that featured a shameless car chase past a bunch of billboard ads; or ``Days of Thunder,'' the Tom Cruise smash-'em-up that was more ad than movie, probably still the all-time product-placement champ. But then, the network is called Turner Classic Movies, not Turner Unwatchable Movies.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) TYRA BANKS, ``AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL''

(2) ``THE AMAZING RACE 7''