TV Picks 11.06.11

SUNDAYS, 5pm

Faith & Culture

EWTN Colleen Carroll Campbell, former White House speechwriter for George W. Bush, interviews prominent Catholics about their Catholic faith and about social and cultural issues. Re-airings at 2:30pm Mondays and 11pm Wednesdays.

SUNDAY, Nov. 6, 2pm (tape)

New York City Marathon

NBC In the 42nd year of this event, runners race 26.2 miles through New York’s five boroughs. Last year, Gebre Gebrmariam of Ethiopia was the fastest man at 2:08:14, and Edna Kiplagat of Kenya was the fastest woman at 2:28:20.

TUESDAY-THURSDAY, Nov. 8-10, 9pm nightly

Vietnam in HD

HISTORY In three two-hour installments, this new documentary chronicles the U.S. and South Vietnamese fight against the Vietnamese communists by presenting previously unseen combat footage, much of it shot by U.S. forces. Army, Marine, Navy and Air Force veterans recount their roles in battles such as the A Shau Valley, Ia Drang and Hamburger Hill, as well as the Tet offensive, a U.S. victory misreported as a defeat. Also commenting are POW wife Anne Purcell, Army nurse Elizabeth Allen and UPI reporter Joe Galloway, who received a Bronze Star for rescuing U.S. wounded under fire. Advisory: scenes of war’s horrors.

FRIDAY, Nov. 11, various

Veterans Day

EWTN At 3:30am, For God and Country remembers Jesuit Father Aloysius Schmitt, a chaplain who died saving others on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. At 5:30pm, The Miracle of Father Kapaun tells the story of Army chaplain Father Emil Kapaun, who died in a communist POW camp in the Korean War but gave his men the will to survive.

FRIDAY, Nov. 11, all day

Veterans Day Films

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES TCM’s all-day slate of war films begins at 6am. Of special note are, at 9am, God Is My Co-Pilot (1945), the true story of U.S. ace Robert Scott and the Flying Tigers, and, at 10:30am, The Fighting 69th (1940), the fact-based World War I story of beloved chaplain Father Francis Duffy and his men.

SUNDAY, Nov. 13, 10pm

Great Performances: Placido Domingo: My Favorite Roles

PBS The tenor Placido Domingo calls Cavarodossi from Tosca his favorite performance. He also recalls his co-stars, such as Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, his “Three Tenors” partners.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, Nov. 18-19, various

Pope Benedict XVI Visits Benin

EWTN, CATHOLIC TV The Holy Father will arrive in Cotonou on Friday and visit the cathedral. On Saturday, he will visit Ouidah, stop by a Missionaries of Charity house in Cotonou, and meet with Benin’s bishops. CatholicTV will cover the visit at noon and 8pm daily, and EWTN will also offer coverage throughout the visit.

Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.

Iraq's Hope for Peace

In the wake of President Obama’s announcement that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year, what are the prospects for Christian Iraqis who remain?