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Revered as an aviation hero and reviled as a Nazi sympathizer, Charles Lindbergh may be the most controversial American of the 20th Century. Harry Smith hosts a one-hour "Biography" (7 p.m., A&E) of the "Lone Eagle."

In addition to his celebrated trans-Atlantic flight and the kidnapping and murder of his infant son, this documentary examines little known aspect of Lindbergh's life, including his contributions to the Allied war efforts during World War II and his work as a conservationist.

Interviews include his daughter, Reeve, and his biographer, A. Scott Berg. A condensation of a two-hour "Biography" that aired last spring.

� Archaeology and skullduggery converge on "Ancient Ancestors: The Princess and the Pauper" (9 p.m., TLC). Archaeologists have recently unearthed mass graves containing thousands of skeletons in the heart of London. After digging deeper, they arrived upon a perfectly preserved Roman sarcophagus. Using cutting edge forensics, scientists hope to find out who or what killed these medieval victims and discover the identity of the mysterious Roman.

� Last year ABC canceled the critically acclaimed Aaron Sorkin comedy, "Sports Night" because it received cable-like ratings. Now it returns to the air, on Comedy Central, beginning tonight at 9 p.m. The network will air back-to-back repeat episodes every Thursday night at this time.

� The bloom may be off the dot.com rose, but two computer companies will at least live long in the college football record books.

College football fans have their pick of two oddly named bowl games this evening. Minnesota takes on North Carolina in the Micronpc.com Bowl (6 p.m., TBS) live from Miami.

Iowa State challenges Pittsburgh in the Insight.com Bowl (6:30 p.m., ESPN) live from Phoenix, Ariz.

� "On the Inside" (7 p.m., Discovery) looks at the return of riverboat gambling to the mighty Mississippi. A documentary glance at the politics of gambling in Louisiana as well as the complex engineering of these floating gambling dens.

Tonight's other highlights

� Curious kids unleash a spirit (Robin Williams) trapped in an enchanted board game in the 1995 fantasy, "Jumanji" (7 p.m., Fox).

� Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey and Michael York star in the 1973 screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, "Cabaret" (7 p.m., AMC).

� Scheduled on a repeat "48 Hours" (8 p.m., CBS): four Texas teen-age girls who spent their summer vacation on a crime spree.

� Jack and Will can't believe it when two party animals settle down to domesticity with an adopted daughter on "Will & Grace" (8 p.m., NBC). Very similar to a story line from "Absolutely Fabulous" some years back.

� "From Jesus to the Christ" continues on "Frontline" (8 p.m., PBS).

� Scheduled on a second "48 Hours" (9 p.m., CBS): profiles of Debbie Reynolds, Joan Collins, Dr. Gloria Wilder Braithwaite, Madeleine Albright, and a dance troupe of elderly women.

� Kovac makes a rash rescue of a hit-and-run victim on a repeat of "ER" (9 p.m., NBC).

Series notes

While on a cruise ship Sloan encounters a bitter wife with murder on her mind on "Diagnosis Murder" (7 p.m., CBS) ... Monica discovers that her folks have squandered her wedding fund on "Friends" (7 p.m., NBC) ... On back-to-back episodes of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (ABC), Quasimodo (7 p.m.), and superheroes (7:30 p.m.) ... Wrestling on "WWF Smackdown" (7 p.m., UPN) ... Rory's teacher has eyes for Lorelai on "Gilmore Girls" (7 p.m., WB).

An injured thumb spells trouble on "The Weber Show" (7:30 p.m., NBC).