Steve Irwin displays his boyish, breathless zest. His nerve and know-how in the company of wild animals. And, most importantly, his love and respect for them.

It's a winning formula, which helps explain Irwin's reign as "the Crocodile Hunter," the world's favourite animal expert and conservationist. And it's there in full measure on "Ocean's Deadliest," a 90-minute documentary to be simulcast tomorrow at 9 p.m. EST on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. The show's tragic subtext ? that Irwin died during filming last fall ? is, of course, unseen, and essentially unaddressed, which is as it should be.

At 10.30 p.m., a half-hour tribute features Irwin's wife, Terri Irwin, and family and friends, as well as never-before-seen footage of Irwin in his wildlife element.

Even so, during "Ocean's Deadliest," his fatal sting from a stingray's barb is never far from the viewer's mind. (You will doubtless shudder when Irwin, standing in the water with a six-foot-long poisonous sea snake, dodges the creature's hair-trigger strike, then gamely observes, "Lucky he didn't have his mouth open there, or Stev-o could've taken a bit of a hit.")

Irwin is joined in his native Australia by oceanographer and adventurer Philippe Cousteau (grandson of the famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau) as they explore the waters between the Gold Coast and the Great Barrier Reef. Cousteau narrates the programme.

Together they locate ? and introduce viewers to ? venomous fish, great white sharks and enormous saltwater crocodiles, each of which is billed as the deadliest this or that.

But, bottom line: You wouldn't want to mix it up with any of them. Which makes you feel glad (and amazed) that someone like Irwin loved giving these fascinating creatures the close-up they deserve.

Just hear Irwin, speaking of that sea snake, when he declares, "We are so lucky, we are so honoured" to be in its presence.

Watching "Ocean's Deadliest," viewers will likely feel, one more time, the same thing about Irwin.

They make as much as $600 a day putting their lives on the line in Iraq. Sometimes referred to as mercenaries, these private security contractors transport critical supplies and protect VIPs, while they serve as moving targets for insurgents. Some 25,000 such contractors currently work in Iraq, with more than 100 killed since the war began. Does a fat payday fully explain why anyone would put himself in such harm's way? Embedding with private contractors to document their missions, their tactics and their brushes with death, "Explorer: Iraq's Guns for Hire" investigates the hows and whys of a most dangerous job. It airs on National Geographic Channel at 10 p.m. tomorrow.

Want to watch another kind of dangerous work that's safely fictional? Catch the escapees of "Prison Break," who, since the Fox drama's premiere last season, have laboured mightily to bust out of jail and stay free. Now, after a two-month hiatus, their saga resumes for this season's final nine episodes. When last seen, brothers Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) had been recaptured and were being returned to Fox River State Penitentiary. But then FBI agent Paul Kellerman shot fellow agent Alex Mahone and vowed to help the brothers take down President Caroline Reynolds, who is responsible for the conspiracy that originally landed Michael and Lincoln in prison. What will happen to them, as well as their fellow escapees? "Prison Break" returns on Monday at 9 p.m. on Fox.

The estimated 50 to 80 million evangelical Christians living in America today are a formidable force in its culture and democracy. But just who are they? What do they believe? And how do they live their faith? To find out, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi hit the road. Her yearlong cross-country trek led to encounters with leaders of the evangelical community including recently disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard and superstar TV minister Joel Osteen, whose Houston arena holds a flock of 16,000. Pelosi also found evangelical faith reflected in the Christian Wrestling Federation, among Cruisers for Christ (a car club), and by fans of Brad Stine, "America's Christian Comedian," who packs churches with his act. Premiering Thursday at 10 p.m. on HBO, "Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi" is the latest from a filmmaker whose first work, "Journeys with George," covered 18 months on the campaign trail with future president George W. Bush. She is the daughter of California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who earlier this month became the nation's first woman Speaker of the House.