MONDAY, Jan. 17, 9:15am

Jim Thorpe — All American

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES “There was one thing he guarded in the interior of his soul — that was his religion,” said Father Claude Sons at the funeral Mass of the great athlete Jim Thorpe (1888-1953). Michael Curtiz directed this 1951 biopic in which Burt Lancaster played Thorpe, a Sac and Fox Indian (Wa-Tho-Huk, or Bright Path) whom King Gustav of Sweden called “the greatest athlete in the world” for winning the decathlon and pentathlon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. Advisory: TV-PG.

WEDNESDAYS, Jan. 19-Feb. 9, 9pm

Nova: Making Stuff

PBS Tonight’s episode, “Making Stuff Stronger,” examines steel, Kevlar and carbon nanotubes. Next week, “Smaller” examines nanocircuits and microrobots. On Feb. 2, “Cleaner” studies materials such as batteries grown from viruses and plastics made of sugar. On Feb. 9, “Smarter” looks at an Army tanker truck that repairs damage to itself, an airplane wing that changes shape in-flight, and clothing that can monitor a wearer’s physical condition.

FRIDAY, Jan. 21, 9pm

Modern Marvels: Grease

HISTORY This new episode visits a grease factory and spotlights uses of grease in assembly lines, aircraft carriers, giant excavators, the Panama Canal and more.

SATURDAY, Jan. 22, 2pm, live

Seventh Annual Walk for Life West Coast

EWTN “Bravo to Walk for Life West Coast for their courage and commitment to the unborn,” says Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput. In this two-hour show, Father Mark Mary and Doug Barry will interview attendees, cover pre-march speeches, and join tens of thousands of pro-lifers in procession along San Francisco’s waterfront.

MONDAY, Jan. 24, 11am, live

38th Annual March for Life

EWTN This four-hour broadcast will cover the Rally for Life on the National Mall at 4th Street NW and then follow hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers as they march up Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Supreme Court to protest the abortion ruling Roe v. Wade (1973) and to support a Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

TUESDAY, Jan. 25, 8pm

Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle — Vespers

CATHOLICTV On this feast day, Pope Benedict XVI will preside at vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, near where St. Paul was martyred ca. A.D. 65-67.

TUESDAY, Jan. 25, 8pm

Pioneers of Television: Westerns

PBS Tonight’s episode spotlights series of the 1950s and 1960s, interviewing Maverick star James Garner, The Big Valley star Linda Evans, as well as the late star of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, Fess Parker (1924-2010), and going on to analyze Bonanza, Gunsmoke and other series. TV-G.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.