Television's February salute to Black History Month featured several worthy documentary and historical programs.

Missing was a timely drama detailing a pressing problem existing in the black community.

HBO rectifies that situation Saturday with an original movie, Life Support (6 p.m.), a candid look at the HIV crisis in the black community as seen through the eyes of a mother, a former drug addict who's now an AIDS activist.

Actually, unknown to most viewers, the production was on HBO's on-demand cable system the last week in February.

The official premiere is Saturday.

Life Support stars Queen Latifah as a Brooklyn mother who became HIV-positive earlier while addicted to drugs through the use of needles. Now her life is dedicated to educating black women of all ages about the scourge of HIV, either intravenously or through sexual contact with partners who may have the virus.

While a fictional drama, Life Support was inspired by the life of the sister of Nelson George, the film's director and co-writer.

George and HBO executives delved into the project because of the startling facts regarding AIDS and HIV in black communities around the nation.

According to Newsweek, HIV has increasingly become a disease of color. Blacks, making up 13 percent of the U.S. population, account for 51 percent of new HIV diagnoses.

Newsweek reported that black men are diagnosed at more than seven times the rate of white men and black females at 20 times the rate of white women.

Obviously, this is a message movie. So be prepared for lecture sessions - perhaps too many - spelling out the problem.

But Queen Latifah and her supporting cast generate legitimate, if depressing, drama. Anna Devere Smith (The West Wing) plays Latifah's mother, while Wendell Pierce (The Wire) is her HIV-infected husband.

Two young performances stand out - Rachael Nicks as Latifah's clear-headed daughter; and Evan Ross as her friend, a gay HIV-positive teenager.

The drama's main problem, particularly early-on, is an over-populated cast.

The on-the-street filming in Brooklyn provides needed authenticity. And the urgent, thoughtful performances of Latifah and her costars put a major problem into needed focus.

Dusty's picks for tonight

The pickins' are a bit slim, since a good share of the broadcast network series are in reruns and public television outlets are in pledge drives. Nathan Lane chews a lot of comedic scenery on 30 Rock (8:30 p.m., 9News), playing Alec Baldwin's brother.

Meanwhile, KBDI-Channel 12 brings Elvis "back to life" and reunites him with a band in Elvis Lives: The 25th Anniversary Concert (9 p.m.).

Warming up

You've probably read or heard about the pros and cons of An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's Oscar- winning documentary feature. If you haven't seen the film, Showtime provides the opportunity at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Immediately following this cable premiere, Showtime will air an updated special, released after the movie, in which the former vice president further discusses his views about how the global warming problem has grown.

Double duty

Anthony LaPaglia, the star of CBS' Without a Trace, shows off his writing skills in Sunday night's installment in a story about a missing U.S. senator.

He co-wrote the tale that has a decided plot twist. Unlike most episodes of the FBI series, viewers will know from the outset what happened to the senator.

• 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS4

A night without Knights

You probably were disappointed last night if you tuned in Denver's 7 at 7:30 p.m. to see The Knights of Prosperity.

A rerun of According to Jim replaced the above average ABC comedy.

ABC has pulled Knights, the "heist" series that spent early episodes detailing a plot to rob Mick Jagger's New York apartment.

The series is one of many to be steamrolled in audience ratings this winter by Fox's American Idol. Reruns of George Lopez' comedy will air in the 7:30 p.m. time period for the next two weeks.

ABC says Knights is "not on the schedule" - a euphemism for "canceled."

The network didn't announce if the three remaining completed episodes would be aired.

Today's nostalgia

On March 8, 1973, CBS aired a TV movie, The Marcus-Nelson Murders, based on an actual case in New York City. The film was later turned into Kojak, a weekly crime drama, starring Telly Savalas as a lollypop-sucking detective.

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