Effective bio flick a literal Rush job

Geoffrey Rush stars in “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers” (8 p.m. Sunday, HBO), offering a remarkable series of impersonations of the famous actor’s many characters and comic incarnations. “Sellers” has one rather sad point and makes it forcefully and repeatedly: Peter Sellers gave so much to his brilliant characters that there wasn’t much left over for himself or his loved ones. Emily Watson stars as his first wife, who stands by him as he flirts rather pathetically with co-star Sophia Loren (Sonya Aquino). Charlize Theron (“Monster” star and no slouch in the mimicry department) plays Sellers’ second wife, Britt Ekland, whom he lusts after and then rebuffs after she give birth to their child.

John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci appear, respectively, as Blake Edwards and Stanley Kubrick, the directors of Sellers’ most celebrated films. A must for movie buffs, “Sellers” artfully recreates moments from many of the actor’s films, including “Dr. Strangelove.” But rather than dwell on the familiar, it explores Kubrick’s attempts to force Sellers to play one more role in “Strangelove” (that of Maj. Kong, immortalized by Slim Pickens) and the lengths Sellers went to avoid playing him.

An ambitious, intelligent and often lavish production, “Sellers” depends on the viewer’s own knowledge of Sellers’ body of work, including his radio success on the BBC’s “Goon Show.”

Sellers struggled for years to make “Being There,” the 1979 film about an empty vessel of a man whom others considered a genius. It was Sellers’ second-to-last film, before his death in 1980 at age 54. He knew “Being There” was the role of a lifetime.

Today’s highlights

  • George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg star in the 2000 drama “The Perfect Storm” (7 p.m., NBC).
  • Scheduled on “48 Hours Mystery” (9 p.m., CBS): a cop accused of murder has at least 11 witnesses who say it can’t be possible.

Sunday’s highlights

  • Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): an interview with Bob Dylan.
  • Jon Voight, Michael Imperioli, Jeff Daniels and Ellen Burstyn star in the 2004 TV fantasy “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” (7 p.m., ABC).
  • Joe Mantegna and Jean Smart star in the 2004 TV holiday drama “A Very Married Christmas” (8 p.m., CBS).
  • The documentary “Rameses: Wrath of God or Man?” (8 p.m., Discovery) kicks off a week of Egyptian-themed programming.