Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work for PBS

The Wall Street roller coaster has been America's hottest ride this summer. But don't be seduced by the excitement: The economy is still carried on the shoulders of 100 million working men and women. Fittingly, we observe that fact today with a new installment of "Livelyhood," the lighthearted but earnest PBS series about the American work force. This hour the focus is on people who take the matter of employment into their own hands, either through solo entrepreneurship or by joining with co-workers to buy their company. Hard hats off to Channel 19 for airing this installment of "Livelyhood" in prime time (8 p.m., repeating at midnight), and a friendly blast of the shift-change whistle for showing encores of the first two "Livelyhood" installments at 1 and 2 p.m. Comedian Will Durst, the show's amiable host, introduces us to a fast-talking franchiser who's building a chain of portable car-wash businesses; a Hopi Indian who quit her high-powered career to install solar energy units on the reservation; a cab company that seems to be a magnet for nonconformists; and a private eye whose offices are 200 feet below ground level in a mine shaft. Entrepreneurship is a funny industry; it's perfect for people who don't fit in, yet to really succeed you need to know your clients almost better than they know themselves. Despite a high failure rate, 22 million people work for themselves, and more than 10,000 businesses are employee-owned. Durst, who by his own admission has held more than 100 jobs, is one of them. In one amusing segment, he works the night shift at a convenience store, part of it cleverly filmed through a security camera. "There's a lot of pieces that make up the American dream," Durst says. "But the chunk that gives us control of our own destiny, well, that might be the most enticing one." In the show's second half-hour, the emphasis shifts to employee-owned businesses and takes on a more serious and conventional tone. A textile mill's existence is threatened by corporate cutter Al Dunlap, leading to an employee buyout. A profit-sharing plan at a Montana aluminum plant goes sour when management doesn't uphold its end of the deal. Throughout, the writing and production are superb. Why PBS doesn't just yank a "Frontline" repeat every month or two and put this show on instead is beyond me. It's the most original thing public TV has put on in years. "Livelyhood" 8 tonight Channel 19