News flash I: Diana, Princess of Wales, is still dead.

News flash II: As the 10th anniversary approaches of her Aug. 31 death in a Paris car crash, expect to see plenty of Diana on your TV screen.

The Learning Channel jumps into the frenzy with Sunday night's Diana: Last Days of a Princess, two hours of scripted and archival footage that follow her in the 12 weeks leading up to her death.

It's diverting stuff, but hardly compelling.

Diana (Genevieve O'Reilly) feels under siege from the monarchy. Her marriage to Charles has unraveled, the kids are away on vacation and whenever she tries to go off on holiday the spotlight follows.

That changes when Harrods' owner, Mohamed Al Fayed, invites her to sail on his yacht. There, she meets his rakish son Dodi (Patrick Baladi) and embarks on a love affair that will end with their deaths.

Interspersed with these scenes is news footage of Diana doing charitable work, going to the opening of sundry functions and giving TV interviews.

The novelty here is that the filmmakers have gotten actual participants in her life - the senior Al Fayed and bodyguard Kez Wingfield - to face the camera and relate what they knew of Diana and that fateful night. Wingfield is especially moving, since it's clear he blames himself for not being with her when she died.

There's also talk of how lax the planning was for Diana and Dodi; Wingfield claims Dodi's habit of changing plans at the last minute led to the accident.

Do we learn anything new from this show? Nope. Do we feel much sympathy for Diana or anyone else? Again, nope. There's a perfunctory feeling to this production, as if it were assembled from newspaper headlines, instead of insider knowledge.

It might have helped if O'Reilly's portrayal of Diana didn't include her mostly sighing unhappily or whining to friends on the phone about her problems. She comes across less as a princess than a desperate housewife.

And the paparazzi are still portrayed as evil vultures, though the production makes it clear that Diana loved publicity - unless she couldn't control it.

If you want compelling insight into the British monarchy and Diana's death, you might be better off renting The Queen.

Diana: Last Days of A Princess

? What: Docudrama about the final weeks of the life of the Princess of Wales

? When and where: 8 and 10 p.m. Sunday (repeats several times on Monday), The Learning Channel

pearsonm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2592