NEW YORK (AP) — John Safran is out to get God.But not as in "defeat" or "undermine". More like "comprehend" — but with an audacious, some might even say irreverent, style.

This is the premise for a most ungodly documentary series, "John Safran vs. God", which makes its US premiere on Sundance Channel at 10 p.m. Bermuda time on Thursday.

The eight-part series, originally produced for Australian television, stars the Melbourne-born Safran as he road-tests (his term) a wide range of religious beliefs. He explores Buddhism in Japan and voodoo in Haiti, attempts to convert devout Mormons to atheism, and even undergoes an exorcism. Despite his Jewish background, he tries to convince the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan to sign him up.

It's all in the spirit of compare-and-contrast, and of searching for what possibly might be the one true way. (Safran is also searching for a few laughs, although the deadpan, bespectacled Aussie seldom even cracks a smile.)

In the first edition, Safran journeys to Arizona for a spirit walk with the Peyote Way Church of God, under whose auspices he ingests the sacred peyote drug (losing his cookies while gaining divine insight) and dabbles with becoming a Scientologist.

And just to kick things off, he travels to England for an experiment: Can he persuade a Muslim extremist with a reputation for being fatwa-friendly to place a fatwa (the handing down of a death sentence for blasphemy) on a rival TV personality who, in Safran's view, once slighted him?

No worries. This fatwa is a false alarm.

But Safran is the real deal, and "John Safran vs. God" is a fascinating, often hilarious, face-off.

Other shows this week to look out for (all times Bermuda):

[box] Don't forget to catch the 399th episode of "The Simpsons" 9 p.m. tomorrow on Fox. And while you're at it, why not stick around for the 400th episode (convenient how that works out, isn't it?) at 9.30 — all part of the gala 18th-season-ender for the cartoon series that just might run forever. In "24 Minutes", Jack Bauer (guest voice Kiefer Sutherland) and Chloe O'Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub) help Bart and Lisa, agents of the Counter Truancy Unit, stop bullies from releasing the ultimate stink bomb at the school's annual bake sale (tick, tick, tick). Then, in "You Kent Always Say What You Want", TV news anchor Kent Brockman uses a shocking expletive on the air, prompting Ned Flanders to wage an anti-indecency campaign which costs Brockman his job and leads to him moving in with the Simpsons.

[box] She was the Nigella Lawson or Martha Stewart of Victorian England. "The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton", airing on PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" at 10 p.m. tomorrow, tells the story-behind-the-story of the author of "Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management", a domestic how-to guide (published in 1861) that sold millions of copies worldwide. A woman who couldn't cook yet produced the world's most famous recipe book, she was a sassy, feisty and talented journalist with an equally entrepreneurial husband. Together they shared a fiery love story that led to her death at 28. Anna Madeley ("Inspector Lewis: Whom the Gods Would Destroy") stars as Isabella Beeton, and JJ Feild ("To the Ends of the Earth") as husband Samuel.

[box] "On the Lot" could put a talented aspiring filmmaker in the movie business — and puts Steven Spielberg in the reality-TV business. Partnered with Mark Burnett ("Survivor", "The Apprentice"), Spielberg is producing this competition, which offers Spielberg-wannabes the chance for a $1 million DreamWorks development deal. Each week, finalists will produce short films from a chosen genre, with access to professional writers, actors and crew members to help create their masterpieces. Then viewers will render the verdict. Actress, author and screenwriter Carrie Fisher, as well as directors-producers Brett Ratner, Garry Marshall and Jon Avnet serve as judges for the Fox series' audition episodes airing on Tuesday at 10 p.m. and Thursday at 10.30 p.m., when the top 50 applicants arrive in Los Angeles. This group must endure a rigorous "Hollywood boot camp", after which the judges will select 18 finalists.

[box] Can a typical American marriage stand the test of time? Celebrated filmmaker Michael Apted examines wedded life in "Married in America 2". This warts-and-all follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2002 documentary, "Married in America", premieres at 10 p.m. on Wednesday on the Hallmark Channel. The project began in 2001, when Apted interviewed nine American couples as they prepared to tie the knot. For the sequel five years later, he checked back with them for a progress (or damage) report. New footage and interviews, juxtaposed against scenes from the original film, offer insight into how marriages change, grow — and sometimes collapse. Apted is perhaps best known for his "7 Up" documentary series, which has profiled the same British subjects at seven-year intervals spanning more than 40 years. He is also the director of such feature films as "Coal Miner's Daughter", "Gorillas in the Mist" and "The World Is Not Enough".