SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : Carmen Sandiego offers more lessons on KCET; ‘Kablam!’ and ‘Arnold!’ get Nickelodeon excited

Kirk (Kirk Cameron) is torn between accepting the job of his dreams and another that pays the bills (WB, Sunday at 7 p.m.). The young man struggles with making himself happy and finding a way to pay private school tuition for his sister, Phoebe. For the family.

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Arthur Read, an 8-year-old aardvark, comes to television with his sister D.W. and their family and friends in Arthur (KCET, weekdays at 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.). The animated series, with each episode offering two different stories, is based on Marc Brown’s children’s books. In the first episode, Arthur learns some hard lessons on what a difference wearing glasses can make. For ages 5 to 10.

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Arch villainess Carmen Sandiego will wreck havoc on history in the new series Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego (KCET, weekdays at 4:30 p.m., starting Monday). In this PBS show based on the popular computer game, comic book colors are used to create a video-game atmosphere. In each episode, Carmen and her gang steal an important historical object. Three young contestants--using logic, judgment and their knowledge of history--chase the crooks in a time machine in hopes of recovering the item and returning it to the proper place in history. For ages 9 to 12.

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A Nick toon joins prime time. Hey Arnold! is a show about a 9-year-old boy with a head shaped like a football (Nickelodeon, Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m., beginning Monday). The animated series revolves around the world of a fourth-grader as he navigates through subways, sandlot baseball, bus stops and rooftops in the city. Arnold shares his experiences with his best friend, the resourceful Gerald. For ages 7 to 12.

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Kablam! (Nickelodeon, Friday at 8 p.m.) is a sketch-comedy series that uses multimedia animation techniques to create stories with a kids’ point of view. For ages 5 to 10.