T E L E V I S I O N Biography A&E Mon.-Sat. 8 p.m. EST/9 p.m. PST - - - - - - - - - - - - T O D A Y THE STORIES OF A LIFETIME: Lives 'R' us By Joyce Millman A&E's "Biography" is the People magazine of famous lives The Art of Life By Jay Parini A renowned biographer discusses the biographies that have inspired, enthralled and moved him most Parini's list The best literary biographies of the century The Salon List Our favorite bios of the year - - - - - - - - - - - - ALSO THIS WEEK MOVIES The Wings of the Dove The Man Who Knew Too Little One Night Stand

____LIVES 'R' US SEVEN SHOWS A WEEK AND A MARKETING BLITZ -- A&E'S "BIOGRAPHY" ASSEMBLY LINE NEVER RESTS. BY JOYCE MILLMAN | IN THE EARLY '80S, the hottest programming trend in TV was "real people." In shows like "Real People" and "That's Incredible!" ordinary folk -- some with heartwarming tales, some with bizarre talents -- were saluted for their ordinariness. Of course, you could argue that being saintly or weird enough to get on TV didn't exactly make these people ordinary, but no matter. Real people were presented as being morally superior to the rich and famous, simply because they possessed the one thing celebrities didn't have: obscurity. The real-people trend lives on in "Cops" and "Jerry Springer" and in those home video blooper shows and disasters-caught-on-tape specials. But, as you can see, Average Joe has lost his luster; these days, he's usually depicted as a slobbering freak. It's the Unreal People -- the famous and celebrated -- who are admired for their "common" touches now, their "humanity." For even in their darkest moments, they are flawed, just like us. Even as they sin and self-destruct and commit actual crimes, they are treated with respect and dignity by Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer. Right now, the most successful and imitated chronicler of famous lives is A&E's "Biography," the programming flagship of the Arts & Entertainment cable network. "Biography" is the most popular series on A&E, with shows every weeknight plus a Saturday person-of-the-week edition. Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary season, the Emmy and CableACE-winning "Biography" is one of the longest running documentary series on TV. It's also one of the most influential shows of the past decade, despite its resolutely low-tech archival-footage-and-talking-head format. "Biography" has inspired not only copycat series like Lifetime's "Intimate Portraits" and E!'s "True Hollywood Stories," but entire cable networks based on dusty -- and cheap -- stuff from the vaults (A&E's History Channel, CBS's Eye on People). Together, "Biography" and its progeny have all but replaced the once-popular made-for-TV biopics. Why settle for actors pretending to be Madonna or Sinatra when you can get the official-looking dish from "Biography"? N E X T+P A G E +| HAIL, CAESAR! (AND JIM CARREY TOO)