TV program notes -- week of Jan. 13

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Here are some television program notes for the week of Jan. 13 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available. They have not been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by the Office for Film & Broadcasting.

Sunday, Jan. 13, 8-11 p.m. EST (NBC) "The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards." Celebrating the achievements of both television and motion pictures, the ceremony will be broadcast live (to the East Coast) from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. Steven Spielberg is the 2008 Cecil B. DeMille Award winner.

Sunday, Jan. 13, 9-10:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "Persuasion." Sally Hawkins appears as Anne Elliot, destined for spinsterhood at age 27 after being persuaded eight years earlier to refuse the proposal of dashing Captain Wentworth (Rupert Penry-Jones). Then chance brings them together again. While her better days are past, his are definitely ahead as he's now rich and free to play the field among eligible young beauties. Anthony Head co-stars as Anne's spendthrift father. The first in a "Masterpiece" (formerly "Masterpiece Theatre") presentation of several Jane Austen adaptations (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Monday, Jan. 14, 8-9:30 p.m. EST (TCM) "Val Lewton: Man in the Shadows." Excellent and comprehensive documentary about the life and work of innovative producer and scriptwriter Val Lewton, master of low-budget horror films that were really artful, psychological thrillers such as "Cat People" and "I Walked With a Zombie." Written and directed by Kent Jones, it is reverentially narrated by director Martin Scorsese, who also co-produced.

Monday, Jan. 14, 9-10:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "Oswald's Ghost." The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, left a psychic wound on America that remains today. Few Americans then or now accept that a lone, inconsequential gunman could bring down a president and alter history. That event gave rise to a culture of conspiracy that points to sinister forces at work in the shadows. This "American Experience" film features interviews with authors Norman Mailer and Edward J. Epstein, politician Gary Hart, news anchor Dan Rather, activist Tom Hayden, attorney Mark Lane and others. Drawing upon these interviews and rarely seen archival footage, "Oswald's Ghost" takes a fresh look at Kennedy's assassination, the public's reaction to the tragedy and the government investigations that led to a widespread loss of trust in the institutions that govern American society (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Tuesday, Jan. 15, 7-8:30 p.m. EST (Cinemax) "Andrew Jenks, Room 335." An unusual, extended look inside an assisted living facility, told from the viewpoint of a 19-year-old college student who spent a month there.

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 9-11 p.m. EST (PBS) "The Jewish Americans." The second part of this six-hour documentary which follows 350 years of Jewish-American history, from the first settlement in the 17th century to the present, and explores the experience of immigration and assimilation. Liev Schreiber narrates (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 10-11 p.m. EST (EWTN) "A House Built on Hope." This documentary takes you inside the McGuire Memorial Home, a place where the Felician sisters and staff struggle to embrace, with tender love, children who cope with difficult handicaps.

Saturday, Jan. 19, 7:30-8 a.m. EST (Disney) "Johnny and the Sprites." Preschoolers are introduced to original Broadway-style songs by some of the theater world's most celebrated composers including Stephen Schwartz, Lawrence O'Keefe, Carmel Dean and Mariana Elder, along with various puppet characters. Starring John Tartaglia (season 2 premiere).

Saturday, Jan. 19, 1:30-3 p.m. EST (EWTN) "Walk for Life West Coast Live." The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word bring you live coverage of the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco, including special interviews, participant commentary and speeches from dynamic pro-life leaders.

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