WORTH NOTING ON TV

FRIDAY

NBA Final (if needed) (NBC, 9-11:30 p.m., EDT): In Game 5 of the pro basketball championship, the Orlando Magic face the Houston Rockets in the latter's home arena, the Summit.

John Denver: the Wildlife Concert (A&E, 8-10 p.m.): The concert is a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and John Denver is the right man for the job. He's not only a WCS advisory board member, but some of his signature songs - like "Rocky Mountain High" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - exult in nature or the rural life.

Backed by a seven-piece band and a string quartet, Denver sings more than 20 songs - rock, blues, pop, country, and folk. The show also offers nature clips and interviews with Denver about his career.

Once known as the New York Zoological Society, the WCS championed wildlife long before it became a broadly popular cause. This concert in its honor was taped last February before an audience in the distinctly nonrustic setting of Manhattan's Sony Music Studios.

National Geographic Explorer (TBS, 9-11 p.m.): Clint Eastwood is getting lots of press for his new film, "The Bridges of Madison County." He plays a romanticized National Geographic photographer on assignment - and plays it well, according to some critics.

But if you'd prefer to see what the life of a National Geographic photographer is really like, "The Photographers" is designed to provide some reality. The job is gritty, sometimes dangerous, and hugely rewarding. And talk about competitive! Out of some 1,683,600 frames shot by these artists in 1993, about 1,408 were published.

With some of the world's best photo journalists, the documentary goes into jungles, underwater, onto the African plains, and elsewhere to capture the feel of the job and its tremendous demands.

Please check local listings for these programs.