Highlights for the week ahead in TV

We don't mean to be $narky, but we're a little $keptical about "Wall $treet Week with Fortune but without Louis Rukeyser," making its grand debut Friday at 7:30 p.m. on PBS.

Co-hosts of the revamped, officially retitled "Wall $treet Week with Fortune" are Geoff Colvin, editorial director of Fortune magazine, and former Fox News Channel business correspondent Karen Gibbs.

Meanwhile, "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street" is in its third month on financial cable network CNBC, going head-to-head with the program Rukeyser created 32 years ago before being forced out in March by Maryland Public Television, which was seeking a younger audience.

What we $uspect: The new "Wall $treet Week" will be brisk, fact-packed and $uspiciously like the many hours of market analysis already on TV -- whereas the veteran Rukeyser was, and is, one of a kind.

At least the change has been fortunate for Fortune magazine, lodging this full-scale product placement in a public-TV institution. And there's still time to tie in even more AOL Time Warner publications: How about "Wall $treet Week with Fortune, Sports Illustrated and People"? It could feature box scores and Britney Spears updates.

Other shows to watch, or watch out for:

"Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood" flows Sunday on PBS and concludes June 30 as a four-part series addressing human blood and its impact on everything from religion and medicine to commerce and popular culture (such as bloodthirsty Dracula) throughout history. This week: "Magic to Medicine" (that is, blood ceremonies to blood transfusions), followed by "Blood and War."

Speaking of bloodletting, don't get too close to those crocodiles as Animal Planet features "Croc Week" with Steve Irwin, the kookie, khakied Crocodile Hunter, airing nightly through Saturday.

Former NBC-CBS-ABC newswoman Connie Chung begins her CNN news-talk show Monday. She goes up against ratings boss Bill "No Spin Zone" O'Reilly over on Fox News Channel.