Was LBJ the stuff of Shakespeare? With his latest television movie “Path to War,” (7 p.m., today, HBO), director John Frankenheimer explores Lyndon Johnson’s (Michael Gambon) doomed character. “Lyndon Johnson did more for civil rights, more for the poor, and more for American society than any other president in our history, with the possible exception of Lincoln,” says Frankenheimer. “This is a movie about the downfall of a really great man a larger-than-life person brought down by his own weaknesses.”

While Shakespeare’s dramas painted history in broad strokes, “Path” gets bogged down in a quagmire of details. Just as Johnson thought he could pay for “guns and butter” without raising taxes or overheating the American economy, “Path” attempts, unsuccessfully, to demonstrate the enormity of Johnson’s domestic agenda and show he was dragged into an Asian war he little understood.

“Path” includes fine performances by Donald Sutherland as adviser Clark Clifford and Bruce McGill as early Vietnam critic George Ball. Felicity Huffman (“Sports Night”) deserves special mention as Lady Bird Johnson. Gary Sinise, who appeared in Frankenheimer’s television biography of George Wallace, reprises his role as the Alabama governor.

Ambitious, intelligent and downright long, “Path” remains a noble failure. It fails to convey the destructive emotional turmoil of the period, and it never comes close to capturing Lyndon Johnson. Gambon wears Johnson’s clothes, speaks Johnson’s words and affects many of the familiar poses of the much-photographed president, but he never soars to the heights of hubris or depths of paranoid pettiness attributed to the extroverted Texan.

“The Cosby Show: A Look Back” (8 p.m., Sunday, NBC) demonstrates how this hugely popular comedy managed to be heart-warming, intelligent and funny at the same time. Taped before a live audience in New York, “Cosby” mixes clips and reminiscences from every cast member except Lisa Bonet. Bill Cosby also offers some of his patented riffs about children and parenthood, proving that he has lost none of his knack for “finding the funny” in everyday observations about human nature. Unfortunately, at two hours, this is an hour too long.

Today’s other highlights

Harrison Ford stars in the 1997 thriller “Air Force One” (7 p.m., ABC).

Patrick Stewart stars in the 1998 adventure sequel “Star Trek: Insurrection” (8 p.m., NBC).

Singer/songwriter Barry Manilow makes sure that this one’s for you with his hour-long concert special “Ultimate Manilow!” (8 p.m., CBS).

An out-of-control gang war puts Mannion’s life in danger on the season finale of “The District” (9 p.m., CBS).

Teri Garr, Method Man and Eve Plumb (“The Brady Bunch”) appear on the seventh season finale of “Mad TV” (10 p.m., Fox).

Winona Ryder hosts the 27th season finale of “Saturday Night Live” (10:30 p.m., NBC).

Sunday’s other highlights

Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): the war in Sierra Leone and repeat reports on Joseph Bonanno and Cuba.

Homer faces the electric chair on the season finale of “The Simpsons” (6:30 p.m., Fox). This episode follows a repeat “Simpsons” at 6 p.m.

Computer graphics animated the 2000 adventure “Dinosaur” (6 p.m. ABC).

“Survivor: Marquesas” (7 p.m., CBS) takes two hours to choose its winner. The conclusion is followed by “Survivor: Marquesas: The Reunion” (9 p.m.), a live event in New York’s Central Park hosted by Rosie O’Donnell.

David Duchovny returns for the two-hour series finale of “The X-Files” (7 p.m., Fox).