WORTH NOTING ON TV

August 9, 1994

* TUESDAY

TV Nation (NBC, 8-9 p.m.):

Reporter Michael Moore's wise-guy attitude, as he probes a range of public issues, gives certain segments of this magazine show a deep-cutting edge, with results that are sometimes as revealing as they are humorous.

The segments in this week's show include a look at a ``threat'' by Moore to move the program from New York to New Jersey unless New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani makes concessions - such as agreeing to increase the water pressure in Moore's shower. Other reporters make equally unorthodox probes into the practical results of official policy and bureaucratic decisionmaking.

P.O.V. (PBS, 10-11 p.m.):

The Iran-contra hearings spawned endless media speculation about crime, conspiracy, and huge, ill-gotten financial gains. ``The Times of a Sign: A Folk History of the Iran/Contra Scandal'' recounts how the only person who actually spent time in jail was a little-known counterculture activist named Bill Breeden.

His offense: stealing a sign reading ``John Poindexter Street.'' It had been put up in honor of the former admiral and national security adviser in his hometown of Odon, Ohio. Breeden held the sign ``for ransom'' - $30 million - in a seriocomic gesture of protest against United States policy and in support of the children of Nicaragua.

The tale pieced together here - with clips, newspaper headlines, interviews - takes a sardonic view of the incident typical of ``P.O.V.'' (``Point of View''), a series of films offering unabashedly opinionated documentaries by independent filmmakers. * WEDNESDAY

Summer Camp (PBS, 10:30-11 p.m.): Some loved it, some were homesick the whole time, not to mention mosquito plagued. This special samples a range of reactions to the time-honored summer experience, presenting a picture of summer camp over the years through interviews and camp scenes without narration. It's all there: the counselors, the equipment, the mail call - and the differences between then and now.

Please check local listings for these programs.