“The Madness of Prince Charles” (8 p.m. today, WE) takes a glib and irreverent look at the Prince of Wales and heir to the British crown. The “Madness” in question is Charles’ habit of making controversial statements about architecture, medicine and religion.

A British-produced documentary about a foreign monarch, this shouldn’t be of too much interest or concern to Americans, except that it champions the triumph of gossip-driven stupidity and a kind of tabloid tyranny to which we are not immune. The lesson here is clear: If you hold a public position, you should avoid all ideas, books and strong opinions. If you want to be loved under the New Order of the Tabloid Dictatorship, you should be like Princess Diana – pretty, innocuous and perpetually protected by the silence of the grave.

I don’t have any strong feelings about Charles or his stances on organic gardening, coffee cancer cures or Carl Jung. But I rather like the thought of an individual – even the possible King of England – having the freedom to be eccentric.

¢ “Godspeed to Jamestown” (7 p.m. today, History) documents efforts to build a replica of the original Godspeed, the ship that carried 52 men and boys from England to the Jamestown colony in Virginia in the year 1607.

“Godspeed” combines the on-the-job interviews of “This Old House” with the scholarly approach of “History Detectives” to show how difficult it can be to create a 17th-century artifact – even with 21st-century technology.

¢ MSNBC kicks off a series of Sunday-night documentaries with “Beyond Conviction” (7 p.m. Sunday, MSNBC). A film-festival favorite, “Conviction” follows two female crime victims as they come face-to-face with the men who victimized them.

Today’s highlights

¢ “True Hollywood Story” (4 p.m., E!) looks at online nightmares.

¢ Scheduled on “Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC): a Florida gang’s homicide spree.

¢ College football action (7 p.m., ABC).

¢ More than 3,000 dogs representing hundreds of breeds travel to Long Beach, Calif., to compete for best in show at the AKC National Championships (7 p.m., Discovery and Animal Planet, concludes Sunday).

¢ Three teen corpses sport similar tattoos on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ Matthew Fox hosts “Saturday Night Live” (10:30 p.m., NBC), featuring musical guest Tenacious D.

Sunday’s highlights

¢ Three American teens span the globe in search of environmental hotspots in the 90-minute special “A Year on Earth” (4 p.m. and 8 p.m., Discovery Kids).

¢ Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Netflix founder Reed Hastings; a survivor of Rwanda’s genocide; classical pianist Gabriela Montero.

¢ Denver hosts Seattle on “Sunday Night Football” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ College Football Bowl participants are announced on the BCS Selection Show (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ The AKC National Championships (7 p.m., Discovery and Animal Planet) concludes.

¢ A cancer patient vanishes on “Without a Trace” (9 p.m., CBS).