Worth Noting on TV

WEDNESDAY

Live From Lincoln Center (PBS, 8-10 p.m.): It's a black-tie event when violin virtuosos Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman perform at the opening-night concert of the Mostly Mozart Festival.

THURSDAY

3rd Rock From the Sun (NBC, 9:30-10 p.m.): The inspired zaniness of America's favorite aliens moves to Thursday for a rebroadcast of the pilot. The Solomons adjust to life in human form as Dick (John Lithgow) discovers the pleasures and pitfalls of true love.

This fall, the aliens' outrageous antics move to Sundays.

FRIDAY

Signal to Noise: Life With Television (public television stations, broadcast time varies): Who does TV think you are? And what is the average American getting in his four-hour daily installment? This three-part series examines the effect of the medium on society.

"Watching Television Watching You," the first part, takes a look at TV's commercials and commercialism. The statistics are sobering, as are some of the comments. Some may not agree with the idea of a family camping out in front of the TV as "quality time," or one adman's gleeful assertion that commercials are "heightened-reality vignettes."

The show is presented in a slick, rapid-fire format more suited to a music video, but there is food for thought as well as fast-food journalism.

Please check local listings for these programs.