BEST BETS FOR APRIL 06, 2008

	NATURE: WHAT FEMALES WANT AND MALES WILL DO PBS, 8 p.m. ET (Check local listings) I don’t mean to grouse, but this entertaining two-part documentary does. One of the segments in this analysis of courtship behaviors in nature – proving how females do much of the deciding in many of the species – has scientists building a robotic female sage grouse in order to lure, and photograph, the antics and displays of male grouses trying to win its affections. A bird fembot? Sure, why not? In a show that also deals with the twisty sex organs of certain ducks and the cruel rejection tactics of certain baboons. If the title of this two-parter is posed as a two-part question, the answers, basically, are “Everything” and “Anything.” As the narrator notes during the baboon segment: “This is what happens when a male gets rejected. He never gets another chance.” Hmm. Sounds like high school.
	MONK NBC, 8 p.m. ET The recycling of cable shows on prime-time network TV continues. This very entertaining USA Network series (followed at 10 ET by another, the equally affable Psych) begins a spring rerun showcase on NBC, echoing the successful ongoing experiment by CBS to present repeats of the Showtime drama Dexter.
	KING History Channel, 8 p.m. ET The 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King (well, 40 years and two days) is noted in this new History Channel documentary, which has Tom Brokaw presenting not only his personal recollections of the civil rights movement and news coverage of King and his achievements, but a new interview Brokaw conducted with Martin Luther King III.
	RAGING BULL IFC, 8:45 p.m. ET Martin Scorsese didn’t win an Oscar for directing this 1980 movie, but boy, he should have. The boxing scenes are unsurpassed, and probably always will be. And Robert De Niro – this was back when he threw everything, and more, into a part. It’s all on the screen, and it’s all astounding. Best boxing movie ever made? No question. This film is the all-time heavyweight champion.
	JOHN ADAMS HBO, 9 p.m. ET This segment, part five, has John Adams fulfilling – and detesting – the minimal duties of the Vice President of the United States. His anguish and frustration is very real, very funny, and, history and this program record, fairly temporary.
	DEXTER CBS, 10 p.m. ET Where else on TV can you root for one serial killer while simultaneously rooting against another? By the way, we’re getting very close to the episode where CBS will have a literal boodbath on its hands. How much it will show intact, of scenes shot originally for Showtime, has yet to be seen… and may remain that way.