WORTH NOTING ON TV

October 31, 1990

FRIDAY 20/20 (ABC, 10-11 p.m.): Former president Ronald Reagan talks at length with Barbara Walters, touching on topics from Iran-Contra to his two marriages. Yes, he is schleping a new book, but the interview also gives him a chance to answer charges that he was a president for the rich, whose policies got us into the current fiscal mess. Great Performances (PBS, 9-midnight): Thoughtful, highly accessible production of ``Hamlet'' by the New York Shakespeare Festival. In the title role is one of America's most acclaimed classical actors, Kevin Kline, who co-directs with Kirk Browning.

TUESDAY West Side Story: The Making of an Album (A&E cable, 9-11 p.m.): In a compelling 1984 documentary, Leonard Bernstein conducts his own musical for the first time since the classic show's 1957 Broadway premi`ere. You see recording sessions and background profiles, and can almost feel the late Bernstein's concentration as he oversees a complex mix of technology and awesome musical talent.

Frontline (PBS, 9-10 p.m.): Probe of the $20-billion-a-year government gambling industry and what it's doing to the national soul. ``Betting on the Lotteries'' reveals jackpots now in the tens of millions. Correspondent James Reston Jr. examines how lotteries are promoted, who's betting on them, and why they're a sacred cow politically.

Please check local listings for all programs, especially on PBS.