DEC. 4 & 7
Pope John Paul II
CBS
Airing in two-hour installments Sunday at 9 p.m. and Wednesday at 8 p.m., this premiere miniseries bio of the late Vicar of Christ was blessed by Pope Benedict XVI after he saw a partial version of it in mid-November. In the first part, Cary Elwes plays the young Karol Wojtyla in his Polish years and in the second, Catholic actor Jon Voight plays him as Pope John Paul II, fighting Communism and the culture of death.
MONDAY, DEC. 5
Design on a Dime
Home & Garden TV, 3 p.m., 11 p.m.
In this episode, “Mexican-Inspired Christmas,” the design team helps Rudy and Maria Jimenez turn a plain room into a place of celebration, and Maria and her mom take part in the Christmas tradition of making tamales for all their relatives and friends.
DEC. 6 & 9
‘Peanuts’ Christmas Specials
ABC
On Tuesday at 8 p.m., the 40th-anniversary showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas adds on short 'toons that each feature a “Peanuts” character. On Saturday at 8 p.m., I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! spotlights toddler ReRun Van Pelt.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7
Remembering Pearl Harbor
History Channel
Starting at 8 a.m., four specials, all re-airs, tell the story of the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The same slate of shows starts again at 2 p.m.
THURSDAY, DEC. 8
Meditations on the Immaculate Conception
EWTN, 6:30 a.m., 5 p.m.
“O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!” Franciscan Friar of the Renewal Father Benedict Groeschel speaks in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
FRIDAY, DEC. 9
Christmas Animals
Animal Planet, 8 p.m.
We learn about lots of animals that are associated with Christmas — including, nowadays, reindeer and, tangentially, to say the least, even chipmunks.
SATURDAY, DEC. 10
Black Pharaohs, Golden War
History Channel, 6 p.m.
An inscription in the tomb of an ancient governor in El Kab, Egypt, says an invasion by Kushites “covered the landscape of Egypt.” Archaeologists cite this and other indications that the Kingdom of Kush fought the pharaohs and even ruled Egypt for a century.
SATURDAY, DEC. 10
Rick Steves’
European Christmas
PBS, 8 p.m.
Choirs, chapels, cathedrals and families abound in veteran travel host Rick Steves’ 90-minute special on Christmas customs, concerts and celebrations in Bath, Burgundy, Nuremberg, Oslo, Paris, Salzburg and Tuscany.
Santa Barbara, California.