WEEKEND TV : Gulf War Dominates the Viewing

As the war against Iraq enters its second weekend, much of the television schedule will be preoccupied with the latest events from the Middle East.

Of note: “60 Minutes” presents a war diary Sunday at 7 p.m. (2)(8) that includes reports on Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf III, commander of the allied forces, chemical warfare, Iraqi uranium mining, the Israeli air force and Iranian feelings toward the United States.

“Midday Sunday,” airing Sunday at 11 a.m. on Channel 11, deals with the outbreak of anti-Arab sentiment in this country as a result of the war with Iraq. Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on Channel 2, local Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Robert Dornan (R-Garden Grove) debate the war’s moral and political merits or lack thereof.

And today at 3 p.m., CNN will air a live discussion titled “The Press Goes to War” with a panel of journalists that includes Bill Moyers, Walter Cronkite, David Halberstam and Helen Thomas, UPI’s longtime White House correspondent. The program will repeat at 10 p.m.

Early risers and children might want to tune in ABC’s “War in the Gulf: Answering Children’s Questions” today at 7:30 a.m. (7)(3)(10)(42), a live program designed to ease young people’s fears of war. It will feature an 800 number for children to call in and pose questions to Peter Jennings and other ABC reporters. NBC (4)(36)(39) will also air a special “Today” program at 7:30 a.m. that will also include a call in segment for children.

And, on a different note, ABC (7)(3)(10)(42) will try to capitalize on the Super Bowl’s enormous audience Sunday when it premieres its new sitcom “Davis Rules” immediately after the game at 7:30 p.m. Based on the 1987 movie “The Principal,” the series stars Randy Quaid and Jonathan Winters.