As it has for decades, the night before Easter belongs to “The Ten Commandments” (6 p.m., ABC). Narrated and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Charlton Heston, the 1956 Technicolor film is as much about old Hollywood as the Old Testament.

Like Betty White, it has endured. It’s still a constant long after contemporary films and former prime-time stalwarts, including “The Robe” and “Ben-Hur,” have been consigned to the classic movie channels. It’s hard to imagine Easter weekend, or television, without it.

• Viewers in search of something completely different could watch “Holy Flying Circus” (9 p.m., Ovation), a 2011 British film offering a comedic re-creation of the controversy surrounding the Monty Python religious satire “Life of Brian” (1979). More than a parody of the excesses of biblical epics like “The Ten Commandments,” ”Brian” sparked controversy by ridiculing religion in general and Christianity in particular.

It’s always a tad painful to watch actors playing iconic performers. Bad re-enactments of the lives of deceased “Saturday Night Live” stars or the Beatles come to mind. One British reviewer took this film to task because actor Darren Boyd was not playing John Cleese so much as his character, Basil, from “Fawlty Towers.”

Tonight’s highlights

• Adventures in New York on “Escape Routes” (7 p.m., NBC).

• Annie travels to purgatory on “Being Human” (8 p.m., BBC America).

• Scheduled on “48 Hours Mystery” (9 p.m., CBS): A hit-and-run investigation spans the globe.

Cult choice

A feral child observes a reluctant hero (Mel Gibson) in a gasoline-starved wasteland in the 1981 adventure “The Road Warrior” (9:15 p.m., BBC America).

Today’s series

Glancing back on “How I Met Your Mother” (7 p.m., CBS) … On two episodes of “COPS” (Fox): gunfire (7 p.m.), drugs (7:30 p.m.) … Buddy cops no longer on “Mike & Molly” (7:30 p.m., CBS).

Pranks on “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” (8 p.m., NBC) … Storm chasing is dangerous on “Bones” (8 p.m., Fox) … A single makes a couple a triangle on “Best Friends Forever” (8:30 p.m., NBC) … An NFL legend solicits an underage girl on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).