TV program notes -- week of March 9

NEW YORK (CNS) - Here are some television program notes for the week of March 9 with their TV Parental Guidelines ratings if available.

Sunday, March 9, 7-8 p.m. EDT (Animal Planet) "Snow Leopard's Lair." Cameraman Mark Smith and journalist Nisar Malik travel to the Chitral mountains of Pakistan to find the snow leopard, a cat so elusive that it has rarely been filmed. Their footage focuses on the snow leopard's battle for survival. A presentation of "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom."

Sunday, March 9, 9-10:15 p.m. EDT (ABC) "Oprah's Big Give." High-energy reality show in which contestants compete to see who can do the most good for someone in need. Participants are given a cash advance and a limited time period in which to have a major impact on the lives of those they've been asked to help. Projects featured on the premiere included a successful block party to benefit the widow of a murdered store clerk and a hastily organized fashion show to raise funds for a young doctor burdened by his massive student loans. This second episode reveals which of the original volunteers are to be eliminated by the three judges -- British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, comedian Chris Rock's wife, philanthropist Malaak Compton-Rock. Along with a spirit of altruism, the program showcases outsized emotions as people whoop for joy, weep in gratitude and seemingly never pass up a chance to hug. And, since it's all for a good cause, why not?

Sunday, March 9, 10-11 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Lenten Parish Mission." The fifth in a series of six parish mission talks given by Father William Casey of the Fathers of Mercy, at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Ala., explores the sacrament of penance.

Sunday, March 9, 10-11:30 p.m. EDT (check local listings) (PBS) "Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical Treasure." Shirley Jones hosts a celebration of 1940s' and 1950s' Hollywood musicals. Pat Boone, Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney and others supply commentary (TV-G -- general audience).

Monday, March 10, 9-10:30 p.m. EDT (check local listings) (PBS) "Visions of Austria." A journey to the heart of the Alps showcasing the highlights of Austria: Vienna, the capital and residence of the ruling Habsburgs for centuries; Hohensalzburg, the architectural embodiment of the power of the prince-archbishops; Innsbruck, site of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games; Linz, straddling the banks of the Danube River and the industrial and modern Austria; Bregenz, popular vacation destination for sun and skiing; and the Danube, lined by castles, Renaissance palaces, churches and abbeys that have borne witness to the region's international history. Part of the "Visions" series (TV-G -- general audience).

Monday, March 10, 10:30 p.m.-midnight EDT (check local listings) (PBS) "Daniel O'Donnell at Home in Ireland." In this musical special, Irish tenor O'Donnell, with his longtime singing partner, Mary Duff, performs at a new concert hall in Letterkenny, located in his home county of Donegal. The program presents a combination of familiar Irish tunes and American favorites. Throughout the special, O'Donnell also sings at some of his favorite locations in Ireland (TV-G -- general audience).

Wednesday, March 12, 8-9:30 p.m. EDT (check local listings) (PBS) "James Last at the Royal Albert Hall." Bandleader Last returns to what he calls his "second home," London's Royal Albert Hall, with a performance of classic standards, singalong favorites and up-tempo selections (TV-G -- general audience).

Wednesday, March 12, 10-11 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Pilgrimage: A Rediscovery of Catholic Tradition." This look at the renewal of Catholic tradition examines pilgrimages made in honor of the 10th anniversary of "Ecclesia Dei" and the founding of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

Thursday, March 13, 10-11 p.m. EDT (ABC) "Eli Stone." The ongoing series in which a high-powered but disillusioned San Francisco lawyer (Jonny Lee Miller) experiences a series of visions, which may or may not have to do with a recently diagnosed brain aneurism, and undergoes a spiritual conversion, affecting both his career path (he starts doing pro bono work) and his relationship with his materialistic fiancee, Taylor Wethersby (Natasha Henstridge), his boss Jordan's (Victor Garber) daughter. Based on the pilot episode screened, the program has humane -- if not specifically religious -- values, with Stone feeling himself called to be a modern prophet. But the nature of Stone's visions can be odd to say the least: In the pilot, they involved 1980s pop idol George Michael serenading him. (Michael's music was, we learn, playing when Stone lost his virginity in college.) The series has the usual casual attitude towards premarital sex as we see Stone and Taylor in bed together. On the positive side, there are apparently periodic musical set pieces throughout the series, such as the one in the pilot involving crowds of workers who suddenly break into dance in the lobby of his office building. These are good fun, as too is Loretta Devine's performance as Stone's sassy secretary, Patti.

Friday, March 14, 8-9 p.m. EST (Fox) "The Return of Jezebel James." Sarah Tompkins (Parker Posey), a children's book editor, learns that she can't conceive and asks her kid sister, Coco (Lauren Ambrose), from whom she's long been estranged, to carry a child for her. Coco initially resists, but when she learns Sarah commissioned a book about "Jezebel James," Coco's imaginary childhood companion, the sentimental bonds of sisterhood come to the fore, and the sisters move in together for the usual comedic squabbles and mishaps. Based on the pilot and a screening of the third episode, the series would seem not much out of the ordinary for a domestic sitcom, but the underlying premise is, of course, problematic from a Catholic standpoint in the casual way in which it dismisses the unitive dimension of the action of sexual intimacy between a man and woman and glosses over the troubling fact that in the process of artificial conception a virtual abortion of one or more fertilized eggs often takes place. So, too, there's a too-casual attitude towards premarital sex (Sarah's relationship with boyfriend Marcus -- played by likable Scott Cohen -- includes his sleeping over), and there's some eyebrow-raising dialogue, as in Sarah's jokey come-on line to Marcus about having "carnal naughty Catholic-schoolgirl-uniform kind of thoughts" and other flippant sexual banter, including references to birth control pills and condoms. Morality matters aside, the series would seem to be fairly lackluster, with two fine actresses, and an accomplished supporting cast that includes Dianne Wiest and Ron McLarty delivering lines that are often, no pun intended, labored.

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