TV Picks 07.26.2009

SUNDAY, JULY 26, 1:30p.m., live

National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

MLB NETWORK Some 50 Baseball Hall of Famers will be on hand at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y., as the class of 2009 enters the hall. This year’s inductees: Rickey Henderson (the all-time leader in runs scored and bases stolen), Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice, and Yankees and Indians second baseman Joe Gordon.


SUNDAY, JULY 26, 9 p.m.

Hudson Plane Crash — What Really Happened

TLC Crew members, passengers and rescuers relive the events of Jan. 15, 2009, when pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s US Airways Airbus A320, which had taken off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City, had to ditch in the Hudson River. All 155 on board survived. Advisory: TV-PG.


WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 8 p.m.

EWTN Live

EWTN Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa’s guest is scholar, author and columnist Jim Likoudis, the president emeritus of Catholics United for the Faith, who lectures worldwide on the Mass, catechetics, the role of Catholic laity in the Church, family life, sex education and efforts at reunification with the Eastern Orthodox churches.


THURSDAY, JULY 30, 3 p.m.

Living on the Moon

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL NASA’s Constellation Program is designing spacecraft and booster rockets that could help establish a colony on the moon, perhaps by 2020 if funding is available. Advisory: TV-PG. Re-airs 11 p.m. Sunday, Aug 2.


FRIDAY, JULY 31, 10 p.m.

Inside: Lord of the Rings

on Stage

PBS This special about the stage version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy follows the designers, crew and cast at London’s Royal Drury Lane Theatre on opening night in 2007 as they ready the play’s sets, props and special effects. A re-air.


AUGUST — VARIOUS

Pledge Programs

PBS This August’s pledge drive shows include Immaculée: Hold on to Hope, excerpts from a lecture in 2008 by Catholic author Immaculée Ilibagiza, who survived the Rwanda genocide of 1994, and Soundstage: Josh Groban, “Awake” Live, a concert by that singer from 2007. Check local listings.


TUESDAY, AUG. 4, 8 p.m.

Nova: Underwater Dream Machine

PBS American entrepreneur Peter Robbins designed and built a $1.5-million miniature submarine to explore sunken German U-boat wrecks in the English Channel.


SATURDAY, AUG. 8, 3:30 p.m., live

The Hambletonian Stakes

NBC The 84th annual Hambletonian, harness racing’s most revered event, takes place at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.

Pope Approves Newman Miracle

Pope Benedict XVI recognized the healing of a Massachusetts deacon as a miracle, resulting from the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God John Henry Newman. This declaration clears the way for Cardinal Newman’s beatification.

Obama’s Conscience Promise

When President Obama met the Catholic press, he promised “robust” conscience protections for medical personnel. But those watching the debate wonder what the administration has in store.