Weekend TV : New Hampshire Primary Is Focus for Candidates, Commentators

While the Winter Olympics gets rolling in Calgary, the marathon race for the presidency will heat up the cold, snowy hamlets of New Hampshire this weekend as Democratic and Republican candidates feverishly stump the state in preparation for Tuesday’s crucial primary.

Fresh off his surprising second-place finish in the Republican half of the Iowa caucus, Pat Robertson will try to woo his “invisible army” of supporters on “Face the Nation” Sunday at 5 p.m. (2), 4:30 p.m. (8).

“This Week With David Brinkley” will counter with presidential aspirants Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) and Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.) assessing their chances in New Hampshire Sunday at 8 a.m. (7), 3 p.m. (3)(42) and 4 p.m. (10).

Rival candidates Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), former Sen. Gary Hart and Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) will also campaign hard Sunday on “Meet the Press,” 8:30 a.m. (4)(36), 9 a.m. (39).

Earlier, “Sunday Today” will spend a day on the campaign trail with the top Democratic vote-getter in the Iowa caucus, Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, as he tries to overtake the Democratic favorite in New Hampshire, Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, 7 a.m. (4)(36), 7:30 a.m. (39). The program will also profile U.S. figure skating champ Debi Thomas and report on rioting in the Gaza Strip.

“The McLaughlin Group” on Sunday also will handicap the political race, debating how the results from Iowa will affect the outcome of the New Hampshire vote, 9:30 a.m. (4), 5:30 p.m. (50).

And Cable News Network will broadcast the final face-to-face debates between the candidates before the New Hampshire electorate goes to the polls. The Democrats square off today at 2 p.m. in St. Anselm’s College in Manchester, while the Republicans do battle at 2 p.m. Sunday. Edwin Newman will moderate both debates.

Here are other weekend programs.

TODAY: Teen-agers talk about moving on “Teen Talk,” 8 a.m. (9). . . .

“Great Weekend” comments on the New Hampshire primary and visits a chocolate factory and the Winter Olympics, 9 a.m. (9). . . .

Cable News Network’s “Newsmaker Saturday” interviews President Miguel de La Madrid of Mexico at his residence in Los Pinon on the eve of his meeting with President Reagan, 10:30 a.m. . . .

Malcolm Forbes, editor in chief of Forbes magazine, discusses whether capitalists go too far on “Firing Line,” 3 p.m. (28). . . .

“Year of the Dragon” looks at Chinatown’s New Year celebrations including the Firecracker 10K run, the Miss Chinatown pageant and the Year of the Dragon parade, 5:30 p.m. (2). . . .

David Horowitz takes the Wiltshire stay-sharp knife challenge and provides tips on preventing rip-offs while traveling on “Fight Back,” 6 p.m. (4). . . .

James Stewart and Kim Novak star in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” 8 p.m. (13). . . .

“The Golden Girls” reminisce about the show’s first three seasons, 9 p.m. (4)(36)(39). . . .

“West 57th” examines the much-exploited student loan program, profiles singer Anita Baker, reports on what happens when a child accuses her father of sexual abuse and the mother takes the law into her own hands, and visits New York’s marriage license bureau just before Valentine’s Day, 10 p.m. (2)(8). . . .

Rodney Dangerfield stars in his own comedy special entitled “Rodney Dangerfield: Nothin’ Goes Right,” 10 p.m. Home Box Office (cable). . . .

Justine Bateman hosts “Saturday Night Live” with musical guest Terrence Trent D’Arby, 11:30 p.m. (4). . . .

David Frost interviews Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson, 12:30 a.m. (13).

SUNDAY: “Headlines on Trial” debates the banning of handguns, 6:30 a.m. (4). . . .

American Jewish reaction to the recent violence on Israel’s West Bank and Gaza Strip, literary figures who’ve been attracted to boxing and an in-studio performance by pianist Andre Michel Schub are segments planned for “Sunday Morning” 7:30 a.m. (2)(8). . . .

“Business World” looks at current U.S. trade figures with guest Bruce Smart, undersecretary for international trade, Commerce Department, 7:30 a.m. (7). . . .

“Tony Brown’s Journal” examines black migration from the South to the North in the first half of the 20th Century, 10 a.m. (28). . . .

“Police Squad,” the former ABC series from the creators of “Airplane,” starts a Sunday run (through March 27) at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Arts & Entertainment (cable). Leslie Nielsen stars. . . .

“Siskel & Ebert” review the film career of Robin Williams, 6:30 p.m. (7). . . .

A report on Teamsters Local 560, the first government-run union because of organized crime infiltration; an investigation into charges of drug dealing and other crimes committed by police in Brooklyn’s 77th Precinct, and a look at life in the oil-rich Arab country of Kuwait are the segments on “60 Minutes,” 7 p.m. (2)(8). . . .

A one-hour documentary, “Under the Gun: Democracy in Guatemala,” explores the problems of democracy in that troubled Central American nation, 10 p.m. (28). . . .

Garry Trudeau of “Doonesbury” fame wrote “Rap Master Ronnie,” billed as an irreverent musical look at the Reagan years, 11 p.m. Cinemax (cable). . . .

ABC White House correspondent Sam Donaldson and columnist George Will are Howard Cosell’s guests on “Speaking of Everything,” 11:30 p.m. (8), 12:15 a.m. (4).