SUNDAY, Jan. 15, 7pm

Lost Gold of the Dark Ages

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL In 2009, an amateur treasure hunter outside Lichfield in Staffordshire, England, unearthed a trove of 1,500 Anglo-Saxon silver and gold objects. This documentary spotlights the beautifully crafted items, which date from the seventh century A.D. warlike kingdom of Mercia and include sword hilt fittings, helmet decorations and other military-related items, as well as three Catholic crosses and a band that bears, in Latin, part of the Bible verse Numbers 10:35: “Arise, O Lord, and may your enemies be scattered …” A re-airing.

SUNDAYS, 5:30pm

Crash Course in the Saints

EWTN This series’ 13 shows teach the basics of Catholicism by discussing the lives of various saints. Father John Trigilio opens with comments about a saint, Father Kenneth Brighenti joins him, and former Lutheran pastor Noah Lett adds his thoughts. Re-airings at 5:30am and 10:30pm Wednesdays.

TUESDAY, Jan. 17, 8pm

American Experience: Custer’s Last Stand

PBS This new two-hour special examines the tumultuous life and cavalry career of George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) and analyzes his final clash, the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In that fight, on June 25, 1876, in Montana Territory, around 2,000 Lakota (Sioux), Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors killed Custer and 267 of his men.

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18, 9pm

Nova: 3-D Spies of World War II

PBS This new special reveals details about Allied air photo intelligence analysis in World War II. A British and American team used 3-D stereoscopes to examine aerial photos of Germany, and the equipment enabled them to locate German rocket bases. Subsequent Allied bombing raids crippled the German bases and helped the D-Day invasion succeed.

SATURDAY, Jan. 21, 1:30pm, live

8th Annual Walk for Life West Coast

EWTN This year’s marchers will assemble in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza to cheer speakers such as ex-Planned Parenthood worker Abby Johnson, the Rev. Clenard Childress, and Lori Hoye, wife of heroic sidewalk counselor Rev. Walter Hoye. They will then march the 1.8 miles down Market Street to Justin Herman Plaza.

SUNDAY-MONDAY, Jan. 22-23, live

39th Annual March for Life

EWTN At 6:30pm Sunday is the annual Solemn Vigil Mass for Life in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which thousands of pro-lifers attend. At 7:30am Monday, also in the basilica, is the Solemn Mass for Life. At 11am Monday, EWTN begins four hours of coverage of the 2012 March for Life. The pre-march rally will start at noon on the National Mall, west of 8th Street near the Smithsonian Castle. The march itself will begin at 1:30pm and proceed up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill. Note: C-SPAN sometimes airs the march as well.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.