Either the new TNT movie "James Dean" is an authentic reproduction of the legendary actor's brief and turbulent life or it is simply another embroidering of the Dean myth, loosely based on what little we actually knew about him. This much we can say for sure: Of the thousands of songs, poems, stories, books and film tributes made in Dean's honor, this is one of them. Premiering 7 p.m. Sunday on TNT, "James Dean" stars James Franco, who says he relied heavily on Dean's performance in "East of Eden." Franco depicts the actor as a lonely, self-obsessed brooder, barely capable of conversation when off camera. A key moment in Dean's life is the arrival of his director on "East of Eden," Elia Kazan (Enrico Colantoni). He befriends the young actor, and in one scene accompanies him to a visit with his dad (Michael Moriarty), from whom he is estranged. The encounter goes badly, but afterward, the cagey director tells Dean, "That must've hurt. We'll use it." And use it they do. Kazan wrings a magnificent performance out of his young charge, who leaps out of his shell in freaky outbursts that are now part of film lore. Dean takes Hollywood by storm. Everybody loveshim and wants him, as evidenced by his relationship with studio boss Jack Warner (played by "James Dean" director Mark Rydell). Warner is accustomed to ordering his actors around, but his intimidation tactics simply don't work on Dean, who lives for the drama, not his Warner Bros. paycheck. Even Warner can't help but admire the kid. Regardless of whether this is how it actually happened, it's a great story, and well-told in this engaging movie. To know what is best for our environment, declares acclaimed natural-history broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, we must first know what we don't know about our world. Sir David calls it "the scale of our ignorance," and as detailed in "State of the Planet," that scale is staggeringly high. In the first part of this lushly photographed three-hour report, which makes its premiere at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Discovery, Attenborough takes us around the world, showing us places where scientists are learning how to count new species of animal, mammal, bacteria and other forms of life. Innovative researchers are discovering previously unknown species left and right, adding not only to the 1.5 million species known to man but also to the growing sense among scientists that we ain't seen nothin' yet. With that, Attenborough shifts the discussion to the opposite of discovery - the extinction of species. In interviews with renowned naturalists, he argues that Earth is on the brink of a "mass extinction," the likes of which have only been seen five other times in our planet's history. The last mass extinction was 65 million years ago, and Attenborough makes the case that the next one will come soon ... and with our abetting, it will come quickly. There's no question my favorite show when I was 10 years old was the spy parody "Get Smart," with Don Adams as bumbling Agent 86 and luscious Barbara Feldon as his rock-steady partner, Agent 99. Maybe I've matured, or maybe I'm sick of watching low-rent documentaries on cable, but "Inside TV Land: Get Smart," a new whatever-happened-to airing 7 p.m. Wednesday on TV Land, did not make me nostalgic in the least. On the other hand, I didn't know that Ed "Chief" Platt, Max's boss on "Get Smart," did such a stirring rendition of "Old Man River." That's just some of the filler used to stretch what should have been a 15-minute segment into an hourlong "special." Mel Brooks, who merely co-produced the show, isn't interviewed here, but Eric McCormack of "Will & Grace" is; he is listed as a "fan" of the show. Well, isn't that special? Time Warner Cable is carrying ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" telecasts in Spanish on Channel 55. Games begin 7 p.m. Sundays. According to Time Warner, this is the first time Kansas City merchants have been able to advertise in Spanish on cable. I don't think they were counting those "Yo quiero Taco Bell" ads. Reach Aaron Barnhart at (816) 234-4790 or www.tvbarn.com. On the Web For related links to shows mentioned in this column, go to KansasCity.com and click on FYI. @ART CAPTION:James Franco as James Dean @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:TNT

