All times Eastern

SUNDAY, JAN. 4

Franciscan University Presents

EWTN, 7 p.m.

Tonight's guest, Dr. Wanda Franz, president of the National Right to Life Committee, discusses the growing number of medical studies that prove what pro-lifers have long said: Abortions not only kill babies, but they also deeply harm their mothers, and any subsequent brothers and sisters, physically, psychologically and spiritually.

SUNDAY, JAN. 4

Secrets of the Viking Warriors

National Geographic Channel, 9 p.m.

This two-hour premiere special presents the latest theories on why Viking seafarers burst forth from Scandinavia in the mid-eighth century and attacked coastal England, Ireland and the rest of Europe for the next 300 years. Examination of a 1,100-year-old Viking ship and a lab-created ship model uncovers naval technology advances that aided the Norsemen. But some experts think the Vikings’ main consideration, aside from plunder, might have been their pagan myth about entering Valhalla, an abode of slain warriors.

MONDAY, JAN. 5

Battlefield Medicine

History Channel, 7 p.m.

This documentary shows us the physicians, nurses, stretcher-bearers, ambulance-drivers and combat medics who have rescued and treated wounded soldiers throughout history.

TUESDAY, JAN. 6

Reporters at War

Discovery Times, 8 p.m.

This special covers war correspondents past and present, examining the nature of their high-risk assignments. Advisory: Necessarily involves scenes of warfare.

TUESDAY, JAN. 6

Nova: Mars, Dead or Alive

PBS, 8 p.m.

Takes an in-depth look at the U.S. space mission that soon is to parachute the Spirit, a Mars rover, onto the red planet's Gusev Crater, a possible dry lakebed. The Spirit has made a seven-month, 300 million-mile journey since its launch last summer.

THURSDAY, JAN. 8

Top 5 Food Fads

Food Network, 9 p.m.

This fun show not only picks the five biggest food fads to hit the U.S., but it also names the top fad diets — and surveys vintage houseware for good measure.

FRIDAY, JAN. 9

Save Our History: The Star-Spangled Banner

History Channel, 7 a.m.

This show discusses the latest painstaking effort to preserve the original Star-Spangled Banner, the huge American flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to compose our national anthem when he witnessed its survival of a British naval barrage in the War of 1812.

SATURDAY, JAN. 10

The New Yankee Workshop

PBS, 1 p.m.

At historic Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, host Norm Abram finds a beautiful 200-year-old butterfly table made of cherry and shows us in detail its perfect drop leaves and wing-like supports.

Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.