BEST BETS FOR MARCH 16, 2008

RAGING BULL

ESPN Classic, 8 p.m. ET

Made in 1980 by Martin Scorsese, this movie, starring Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta, remains the best boxing movie ever made... and, most likely, will retain that title for quite a long time. It may even retire undefeated.

JOHN ADAMS

HBO, 8 p.m. ET

HBO presents the first two episodes of this excellent new historical miniseries tonight, and by the time they're over, you'll know why John Adams, like John Adams, is so special. Paul Giamatti plays Adams, and we meet him fully formed - a lawyer in Boston in the colony of Massachusetts in 1770, taking the case of British soldiers imprisoned for shooting on colonial civilians. The lengthy, fascinating trial is like Perry Mason with powdered wigs - or, for a more modern simile, the very first installment of Boston Legal. And the second episode follows Adams to Philadelphia and the Continental Congress, where there is talk of independence, and war... but also lots of talk of diplomacy. Just not from Adams.

THE L WORD

Showtime, 9 p.m. ET

In tonight's episode, all the sneaky moves that Adele has been making come to the surface, as she blackmails the movie production with footage of an incendiary sex tape. What does she want for keeping the video under wraps? My guess is as old as Hollywood: what she really wants to do is direct.

WITCH BOARD: BUNSHINSABA

Sundance, midnight ET

This 2004 film, made in Korea, isn't associated with the 1986 movie Witchboard, but uses the same basic premise: young friends, goofing around with a Ouija board, summon a deadly spirit from beyond. The American version, starring Tawny Kitaen, was tacky. This new one, by Phone director Ahn Byung-ki, is creepy, even from just the promos.

METROPOLIS

TCM, 12:15 a.m. ET

This 1927 silent classic, directed by Fritz Lang and starring Brigitte Helm as both a woman and her evil robot duplicate, was ahead of its time in so many ways it's hard to count them all. But watching this movie, now more than 80 years old, never fails to fascinate. The same year Al Jolson was singing "Mammy" in the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, Lang was doing this.