SUNDAY, AUG. 14
Spy on the Wild
Animal Planet, 8 p.m.
Scientists use technology to study animals in their habitats.
MON.-FRI., AUG. 15-19
Taking a Stand
EWTN, 4:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m.
In this five-part series of half-hour episodes, Mary Beth Bonacci and Dr. Tom Curran explain God's plan for chastity and marital love. They also urge Catholics to take a stand for truth and against the world's lies about life and love.
MONDAY, AUG. 15
A Man Who Became Pope
Hallmark Channel, 8 p.m.
Pope John Paul II was said to be “very impressed” with this four-hour dramatized “biopic” of himself, and Pope Benedict XVI lauded its portrayal of young Karol Wojtyla's bravery against Nazis and communists. Re-airs Sunday, Aug. 21, at 9 a.m. Advisory: TV-PG; Catholic News Service says it's “best for older adolescents and up” because of “wartime violence, including firing-squad executions, and scenes of dead and wounded, partial prison nudity, some unsavory verbal imagery, some crude language and brutal beatings.”
TUESDAY, AUG. 16
Civil War Journal
History Channel, 7 a.m.
This episode, “Yank vs. Reb: The Foot Soldier's Life,” mines a new trove of Civil War photos of the suffering in soldiers’ daily life, but also their diversions, including baseball.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 17
Millau Viaduct
Discovery Channel, 8 p.m.
The beautiful Millau Viaduct, built 2001-2004, spans the valley of the Tarn River in Languedoc and bypasses a traffic bottleneck on the road from Paris to southern France.
THU.-SAT., AUG. 18-20
World Youth Day 2005, Cologne
EWTN
Pope Benedict XVI's exact arrival time in Cologne on Thursday wasn't announced as of our deadline, but EWTN will air a 31/2-hour welcoming ceremony live that day at 10 a.m. A 9:30 p.m. re-air of that ceremony follows an 8 p.m. live edition of Life on the Rock direct from Cologne. A Way of the Cross airs live at 10 a.m. on Friday, with a re-air at 9 p.m. A special vigil is live at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with a re-air at 8 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUG. 19
Homes Across America
Home & Garden TV, 10:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m.
This episode's dwellings are a Texas farm house, a Puerto Rican plantation-style house and a Louisiana plantation bought by a couple whose ancestors were slaves there.
SATURDAY, AUG. 20
Everyday Italian
Food Network, 12 noon
Hostess Giada De Laurentiis throws a party with all sorts of her pizzas and calzones.
Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.