OCT., VARIOUS DATES

The Gift of Life

PBS, check local listings

An international registry of potential donors of bone marrow assists people afflicted by blood disorders. This new documentary follows the stories of a donor and a recipient.

SUNDAY, OCT. 5

Robinson Crusoe: The True Story

Discovery Channel, 10 p.m.

Daniel Defoe based his popular novel Robinson Crusoe (1719) on the real-life adventures of Alexander Selkirk, a sailor who was marooned on a tropical island in 1704 but survived until his rescue four years later. This new special tells Selkirk's story.

MONDAY, OCT. 6

Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip

PBS, 9 p.m.

Back in 1903, the newfangled “horseless carriage” got a national publicity jump-start when auto enthusiast Horatio Nelson Jackson, a retired doctor, wagered he could drive from San Francisco to New York City in less than three months. This Ken Burns documentary tells how Jackson and his dog, Bud, in their open-seat, 20-horsepower Winton touring car, made the arduous trip in “only” 63-1/2 days.

TUESDAY, OCT. 7

NL Championship Series

Fox, 8 p.m., live

Baseball's National League, in business since 1876, plays Game 1 of the best-of-seven series that determines its 2003 pennant-winner. The American League, around since “only” 1901, plays Game 1 of its deciding series tomorrow at 8 p.m., also on Fox.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8

EWTN Live

EWTN, 8 p.m.

Guest Carl Olson, who edits the Catholic apologetics magazine Envoy, discusses his new book, Will Catholics Be “Left Behind”? The book relates authentic Catholic teaching about the last things and the Book of the apocalypse, or Revelation. It also debunks Protestant “end times” and “Bible prophecy” errors, and the 1830s “rapture” misinterpretation of the premillennial dispensationalist John Nelson Darby.

THURSDAY, OCT. 9

Life on the Rock

EWTN, 8 p.m., live, call-in

Guest Dr. Peter Rudegeaire's topic tonight is, “Sorting Through Agendas: The Truth About Homosexuality.”

FRIDAY, OCT. 10

America's Stonehenge

History Channel, noon

Christopher Columbus landed on San Salvador on Oct. 12, 1492. But did Europeans reach the Americas in prehistory? This show explores Mystery Hill, near Salem, New Hampshire, a 30-acre complex of walls, tunnels and caves, dated by some to 2,000 B.C.

SATURDAY, OCT. 11

Explorations

National Geographic Channel, 5 p.m.

“Ad astra per aspera,” or “To the stars through difficulties,” the Latin saying goes. This show, “Space: Reaching for the Stars,” assesses challenges involved in reaching the stars.

Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.