SUNDAY, 5 p.m.
National Memorial Day Concert
PBS Before a throng on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise will host this tribute to our country and the military personnel who have protected us and the cause of liberty. Erick Kunzel will direct the National Symphony Orchestra. Guests include Charles Durning, Gladys Knight, Sarah Brightman, Rodney Atkins, Gail OGrady, Denis Leary, John Schneider, Idina Menzel and Caitlin Wachs.
MONDAY, all day
Memorial Day Shows
History International This salute to our fighting forces includes A Complete History of the Navy SEALS (8 a.m./2 p.m.), The Battle of Tripoli (10 a.m./4 p.m.), the three-part Battle History of the U.S. Marines (11 a.m./5 p.m., 12 p.m./6 p.m., 1 p.m./7 p.m.) and the premiere of the three-part Hero Ships, with USS Arizona (8 p.m.), USS Enterprise (9 p.m.) and LST 325 (10 p.m.). Advisory: Scenes of war.
MONDAY, 12 noon
Archdiocese for the Military Services: Memorial Day Mass
EWTN Celebrating Mass will be Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Two hours.
MONDAY
Memorial Day Movies
Turner Classic Movies, American Movie Classics At 2 p.m., TCM presents Since You Went Away (1944), a moving portrait of home front life in World War II that features Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple (TV-G). At 8 p.m., AMC honors our troops sacrifices with the 1962 star-studded D-Day epic The Longest Day, scripted by Cornelius Ryan and based on his nonfiction book of the same title (TV-PG).
TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS
Commitment: Key to Christian Maturity
Familyland TV This shows title is that of a book, subtitled Discovering God through Faithfulness to Our Daily Commitments, by Dr. Susan Muto and the late Spiritan Father Adrian van Kaam. At 12 a.m. Tuesdays and 10:30 p.m. Thursdays, the program tells us how to make not just a promise but a lasting commitment in our Catholic spiritual life.
WEDNESDAY, 9 p.m.
Great Performances: Maestro: Portrait of Valery Gergiev
PBS The Russian conductor and opera director Gergiev heads the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg and holds other top posts in the USA and Europe.
FRIDAY, live
The 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee
ESPN, ABC Parochial and homeschool kids always do well in this contest. At 11 a.m., ESPN will air the preliminary championship rounds and at 8 p.m. ABC will broadcast the final rounds. Last years winner was homeschooler Evan ODorney, 13, of California.
Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.