Back-to-back NCAA Tournament basketball games (6 p.m. and approximately 8:30 p.m., CBS) dominate Good Friday programming, and the night unfolds without a single programming nod to the solemn religious occasion.

Some time back, TV schedules brimmed with Easter, Passover and Good Friday-themed movies and miniseries. But much like the sweeps spectacular and the network miniseries, these holiday specials have become a thing of the past.

The expense of these productions can be daunting given the uncertain audience. And sometimes, as in the case of a 2006 TV remake of “The Ten Commandments” (starring “Lost” regular Naveen Andrews), these efforts can just seem silly. The 1956 “Ten Commandments,” a long-standing TV tradition will be seen Saturday night on ABC.

As we saw with Mel Gibson’s 2004 hit “The Passion of the Christ,” religious films can be fraught with controversy. This hardly started with Gibson. Cecil B. DeMille’s 1927 “King of Kings” was criticized by some as anti-Semitic, and director Nicholas Ray’s 1961 “King of Kings” was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency as theologically flawed.

With all of these caveats in mind, TV productions of Bible stories have become as rare as network presentations of Shakespeare. And that’s too bad. They don’t call it the greatest story ever told for nothing.

¢ Speaking of classic adaptations, AMC offers viewers a rare chance to compare and contrast two very different versions of “Dr. Dolittle.” Eddie Murphy stars in the 1998 “Dolittle” (7 p.m., AMC) as a contemporary scientist with the ability to talk to smart-aleck animals. The comedy abandons all pretense of sticking to the literary original and seems more faithful to Murphy’s “Nutty Professor” franchise.

Rex Harrison stars in the 1967 musical version of “Dolittle” (8:45 p.m., AMC). While the story hews a little closer to the books by Hugh Lofting, the film was a box-office disaster. It was begun at a time when Hollywood was enamored of big-budget musicals like “The Sound of Music” (7 p.m., Family), but audiences did not warm to Harrison’s performance.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ The gang hunts for Neptune’s stolen crown in the 2004 adventure “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” (6 p.m., Nickelodeon).

¢ Jeff makes the most of his birthday on “‘Til Death” (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ An explosion at an apartment complex fills the hospital with patients on “Grey’s Anatomy” (7 p.m., ABC).

¢ An acting dog exhibits stage fright on “The Dog Whisperer” (7 p.m., National Geographic).

¢ Juno loses half of her following on “Lemur Kingdom” (7:30 p.m., Animal Planet).

¢ Sarah pursues a new author on “The Return of Jezebel James” (7:30 p.m., Fox).

¢ Clive Owen, Keira Knightley and Ioan Gruffudd star in the 2004 adventure “King Arthur” (7:30 p.m., FX).

¢ A patient wants the staff to end his life on “House” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ Scheduled on a two-hour edition of “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC): a new look at the world’s oldest profession.

Cult choice

Two carwash employees (Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg) save their boss (George Wallace) from a kidnapper in order to keep their jobs in the 2001 comedy “The Wash” (7 p.m., BET).