SUNDAY, April 25, 6pm

Cut It in Half

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL Do-it-yourself expert and country singer Eric Stromer takes things apart to show how they work. At 6pm, in “Airplane” (re-airs at 9pm), he examines a Boeing 727’s black box, doors, windows and more. At 7 pm, in “Fire Truck” (re-airs at 10pm), he probes a retired Ford Grumman fire truck’s 50-foot hydraulic ladder, 600-gallon water tank, and powerful water pump.

THURSDAY, April 29, 10:30pm

Sliced: Kitchen

HISTORY “The kitchen is the heart of the home,” the saying goes. In this episode, John McCalmont traces the history of refrigerators, stoves and garbage disposals, dismantles them to show their workings, and offers safety tips about appliances.

SATURDAY, May 1, 5pm, live

Kentucky Derby

NBC Post time is roughly 6:15pm at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for the 136th running of the first leg of thoroughbred horse racing’s Triple Crown. Some 155,000 fans will view this historic 1 1/4-mile, $2 million stakes race for 3-year-olds.

SUNDAY, May 2, live

Papal Visit to Turin

EWTN Pope Benedict XVI will arrive (3:15am), celebrate Mass and lead the Regina Coeli (4am), address young people (10:30am), venerate the holy shroud in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (11:15am), and visit the sick at the Cottolengo Little House of Divine Providence (12:15pm).

VARIOUS, May 3, 5 and 7

The Curé of Ars: Our Path to Heaven

CATHOLICTV As the Year for Priests nears its close, Father Roger Landry of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., describes the life, holiness and spiritual counsels of the patron of priests, St. John Vianney (1786-1859), the Curé d’Ars, in three installments: “Perseverance” at 8pm Monday, “The Eucharist” at 10:30am Wednesday, and “Heaven, Holiness and the Saints” at 3:30pm Friday.

TUESDAY, May 4, 8pm

Nova: Mt. St. Helens Back From the Dead

PBS Biologist Charlie Crisafulli has been charting the surprisingly swift return of plant life and animals to the area around Mount St. Helens, a Cascade Range stratovolcano in Skamania County, Wash., since its massive eruption on May 18, 1980. In this new documentary, Crisafulli and geologists monitor signs of new volcanic activity.

WEDNESDAY, May 5, 9pm

Live From Lincoln Center

PBS In this 90-minute program, pianist Emanuel Ax, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and violinist Itzhak Perlman perform the piano trios of early Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and other pieces in the Kaplan Penthouse of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.