Sometimes we forget what a wonderful, magical world we live in. We take for granted the birds that live in our backyards, the cats that sleep on our couches and the dogs that greet us with unabashed enthusiasm. But every now and then something comes along that jabs us in the side, reminding us that the planet we live on is much more than politics, fashion and, yes, celebrity gossip.

For me, it was the Discovery Channel series "Planet Earth." Last Sunday, I watched in amazement as fungi grew from the Amazon floor and monkeys staked out their fig-tree territories with a series of eerie calls. In the "Jungles" episode, the cameras captured the mating dance of a rare species of bird of paradise.

This seemingly ordinary black bird had a trick up his, well, wing that was guaranteed to attract the ladies. He tidied up his dance floor and got ready to rumble. In walked a female bird of paradise, looking for a show and maybe a mate.

The male bird

obliged by opening his wings, revealing a "face" consisting of two neon-blue dots and a slash that looked like a smile. He shimmied and hopped, much like male humans at a dance club (or Patrick Dempsey in "Can't Buy Me Love"), calling to his would-be lady love. However, she was not impressed.

Perhaps she preferred a more subtle form of courtship. Girlfriend hopped off, and my sister and I came up with a dialogue. Female bird: "Umm, that was really good, right?

Look, I have your number, I'll call you sometime." Male bird: "But, but, but ..

. ." Female bird: "Yeah, I'll call you.

Bye!" Poor, heartbroken bird of paradise. Well, until the next lady bird comes along, anyway.

Run, caribou, run In the "Pole to Pole" episode, thousands of caribou -- and their calves -- trekked across the northern Canadian tundra, happily following the herd, swimming (or in the case of the little ones, bounding) through streams. Then came Mother Nature's dark side. A pack of wolves decided that the herd looked pretty good for dinner.

They managed to single out a calf, chasing it for miles. (The Discovery Channel Web site says that wolves will chase caribou for up to five miles. ) As this is happening, my brother and and I are screaming at the TV, "Run, baby caribou, run!

Don't let the wolves get you!" "Oh, no, no, no. Poor little thing," I said.

The little caribou ran and ran, but eventually fell victim to the wolves. Such is nature. It is cruel.

The scenario was repeated later on in the program, with an impala and a pack of African wild dogs. In that case, the impala won. Whew.

Score one for the hooved set. Through "Planet Earth," we get to see animals that don't snuggle up to us or follow us around until we fetch them food. We get to see the variety and beauty that is Earth.

We also see a reason to take care of it -- so that our children and our children's children will be awed by our Earth's amazing diversity and knack for keeping everything running smoothly. So that they, too, will have caribou migrations and bird of paradise mating rituals to watch. For more information on the "Planet Earth" series, go online to http://dsc.

discovery.com. Bravo to those who worked to get the CW to El Paso.

After months of reading the recaps, I can finally watch "Gilmore Girls." Woo hoo! CW programming begins at 7 p.

m. weekdays on cable Channel 13. Catch up on network shows at www.

cwtv.com.