Weekly TV Picks

SUNDAY, SEPT. 5

Garden Giants — Bigger and Better

Home & Garden TV, 9 p.m.

Have you ever seen thousand-pound pumpkins, or corn almost as tall as a house, or lily pads big enough to stand on? You will on this show. You'll also find out the special secrets expert gardeners use to produce these and other prize-winning plants.

MONDAY, SEPT. 6

The Creative Life: Indian Summer

PBS, 5 p.m.

Today's how-to home activities show features corn crafts, primitive-style quilts and preserving autumn leaves.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 7

Skyscraper Specials

History Channel, 10 a.m.

At 10 and 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m., with repeats at 4, 5, 6 and 7 p.m., these shows describe the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, Malaysia's Petronas Towers and how to build a skyscraper's skeleton. At 8, 9 and 10 p.m., see how to construct a skyscraper's exterior, its human environment and its “arteries” (elevators and plumbing).

WEDNESDAYS

Pope Pius XII

EWTN, 11 p.m.

EWTN debuts 14 new series this month, and we'll cover all of them in the coming weeks. In her new series, Religious Teachers Filippini Sister Margherita Marchione, a professor emerita at Fairleigh Dickinson U., outlines the life of Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) and defends him from calumnies. Also airs at 2:30 a.m. on Sundays.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 9

NFL Football

ABC, 9 p.m., live

The Monday Night Football crew switches to Thursday to air the NFL's regular-season opener — a rematch of last season's AFC championship between the Indianapolis Colts and the host New England Patriots. (The Pats won that game and went on to claim the Vince Lombardi trophy in the Super Bowl.)

FRIDAYS

The Gospel of Life in Health Care

EWTN, 10:30 p.m.

In this new series, Father Stephen Torraco, a theologian and medical-ethics expert, describes the qualities that medical professionals need and explains that, in the field of medicine, it is always necessary to defend the right to life of patients — including preborn babies, the disabled and the elderly. Also airs at 5 a.m. on Sundays and 4 a.m. on Wednesdays.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 11

Mass and Rosary in Remembrance

EWTN, 8 a.m., live

This 90-minute broadcast of Mass and a Rosary in remembrance of the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will repeat at noon, 7 p.m. and midnight.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 11

Notre Dame Football

NBC, 3:30 p.m.

In their first home game of 2004, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame host the Michigan Wolverines.

Dan Engler writes from Santa Barbara, California.