TV program notes -- week of March 2

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Here are some television program notes for the week of March 2 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, March 2, 9-11 p.m. EDT (Discovery) "Strength"/"Sight." The series "Human Body: Pushing the Limit" premieres with two back-to-back episodes. The first explores how the human body is engineered for strength, power and endurance. How does a man survive being sucked up by a tornado, or being pinned by a half-ton boulder, or swimming for 14 hours? The second examines the "king of the senses," using real-life stories, including police dodging traffic on foot, a lifeguard spotting someone in trouble in a sea of thousands and a firefighter battling thick black smoke. (TV-14/DSLV -- parents strongly cautioned; intensely suggestive dialogue, intense sexual situations, strong coarse language, intense violence).

Sunday, March 2, 9-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) (check local listings) "Andre Rieu: In Wonderland." Concert recorded at Holland's Efteling theme park featuring Andre Rieu, his orchestra, choir and soloists. Featured performers include Suzan Erens and Carmen Monarcha, the Platinum Tenors, ballet soloists from the Vienna State Opera, the International Dance Theatre and the Berlin Folk Music Sparrows. The music includes selections from "Swan Lake" and "Hansel and Gretel" (TV-G -- general audience).

Sunday, March 2, 9:30-10 p.m. EDT (Fox) "Unhitched." Edgy new sitcom from the Farrelly brothers ("There's Something About Mary" and "Dumb & Dumber") about four newly single thirtysomething friends -- Gator (Craig Bierko), Kate (Rashida Jones), Freddy (Shaun Majumder) and Tommy (Johnny Sneed) -- who room together as they face the prospect of dating again. The accomplished and personable cast ensures likable portrayals (and the creators score one for diversity in featuring an Indian character), while the writing is fitfully funny, but these good points are outweighed by the outlandish gross-out humor (try a little bestiality for starters), high sexual content (nonmarital), crass language and, of course, the basic premise.

Monday, March 3, 9-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) (check local listings) "The Osmonds 50th Anniversary Reunion." Concert recorded in Las Vegas at the Orleans Hotel Showroom. All seven Osmonds reunite to perform many of their best-selling songs. Video clips and historical photos are also featured, along with cameo appearances by well-known guests, including Andy Williams (TV-G -- general audience).

Monday, March 3, 10-11 p.m. EDT (Discovery) "Violence Along the Nile." Archaeologist host Scotty Moore travels to a remote village along the Nile where an ancient fortress once stood. Here several mummies have been unearthed that seem to have been buried at the same time. Moore unwraps one mummy and discovers a mystery: The man's skull has a severe wound that was almost certainly the cause of his death. Moore learns this mummy wasn't from the time of the Pharaohs, but later when the Romans ruled Egypt and Christianity was spreading across the country. A "Bone Detectives" presentation (TV-14 -- parents strongly cautioned).

Tuesday, March 4, 10-11 p.m. EDT (Fox) "New Amsterdam." Clever police drama about a New York City homicide detective, John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who knows his native city unusually well because he has been living there since the 1640s. After Amsterdam, then a Dutch soldier, risked his own life to save the life of a Native American medicine woman, she granted him a limited form of immortality. He would not die, she assured him, until he met the one person he was destined to love. Amsterdam's only confidant is jazz club proprietor Omar (Stephen Henderson). Eva Marquez (Zuleikha Robinson), his latest cop partner, seems more determined than her many predecessors to put up with his sometimes cynical attitude, while Dr. Sara Dillane (Alexie Gilmore) is intent on figuring out just how Amsterdam, a "John Doe" patient who appeared to be dead, managed to escape from the morgue where she left him. A low-key but appealing central character and the sly humor with which the writers handle their premise enhance this otherwise straightforward procedural. Moderate adult material.

Tuesday, March 4, 10:30 p.m.-midnight EDT (PBS) (check local listings) "The High Kings." Four well-known Irish vocalists and musicians -- Finbarr Clancy, Brian Dunphy, Martin Furey and Darren Holden -- have come together to form the High Kings, who here perform familiar pieces and introduce new songs that reflect a wide range of moods. The special also features Irish dancer Mick Donegan, formerly of "Riverdance" (TV-G -- general audience).

Wednesday, March 5, 8-10 p.m. EDT (PBS) (check local listings) "James Taylor: One Man Band." This concert performance of Taylor's greatest hits is interspersed with personal anecdotes as well as home movies and photographs from Taylor's personal archives. A "Great Performances" presentation (TV-G -- general audience).

Wednesday, March 5, 10-11 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Byzantine Catholic Expression." Tour of an exhibition in the community gallery of Pittsburgh's Heinz History Center that honors the 75th anniversary of the first mission of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the United States. It was established by Pius XI.

Thursday, March 6, 9-10:30 p.m. CST (PBS) (check local listings) "Sarah Brightman: Symphony in Vienna." Concert performance, taped in January in Vienna, Austria, that features the singer's most familiar hits and selections from her new CD, "Symphony." Spanish countertenor Fernando Lima ("Pasion") and Italian tenor Alessandro Safina ("Sarai Qui") join her (TV-G -- general audience).

Saturday, March 8, 8-9 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "A Little About Don Orione." Documentary telling the story of Orione, the founder of the order Little Work of Divine Providence, and his wholehearted care for orphans and street children.

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Saturday, March 8, 9:30-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) (check local listings) "Historic Pubs of Dublin." A tour of Dublin's most notable public houses, as well as the many places of interest that surround them, with "Angela's Ashes" author Frank McCourt (TV-G -- general audience).

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