TV program notes -- week of April 13

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Here are some television program notes for the week of April 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, April 13, 1-3:30 p.m. EDT (PBS HD) "Macbeth." Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic and Ukrainian soprano Maria Guleghina play the thane and his lady in Giuseppe Verdi's operatic telling of Shakespeare's tragedy. James Levine conducts this new production on "Great Performances at the Met," directed by Adrian Noble, former head of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Great Britain.

Sunday, April 13, 8-11 p.m. EDT (Animal Planet) "Life in Cold Blood." Premiere of a new series hosted by David Attenborough that explores the life of cold-blooded amphibians and reptiles. Three episodes air back-to-back. The first examines the evolutionary success of these creatures, with 14,000 species currently flourishing; the second focuses on the wide variety of amphibians that can be found around the world, from Japanese salamanders to Panamanian frogs; the third looks at lizard life.

Sunday, April 13, 9-10:30 p.m. EDT (PBS) "A Room With a View." A new adaptation of E.M. Forster's gently satiric novel in which a young Englishwoman must choose between an insufferable snob and the working-class young man she really loves. A "Masterpiece" presentation (TV-PG -- parental guidance suggested).

Sunday, April 13, 10-11 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Pope Benedict XVI: My Vatican." A documentary look at the life of Pope Benedict XVI, featuring interviews before and after his papal election and a glimpse of his daily routine in the Vatican.

Tuesday, April 15, 12:30-2 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Visit to the U.S." Pope Benedict XVI arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and is greeted by President George W. and Laura Bush, local dignitaries of the church, and the apostolic nuncio.

Tuesday, April 15, 8-9:15 p.m. EDT (TCM) "Role Model: Gene Wilder." Alec Baldwin hosts this lighthearted and intimate profile of the veteran actor best known for his comedic roles. They discuss his training in the craft, his creative collaboration with director Mel Brooks and his marriage to the late Gilda Radner. Some sexual humor makes this appropriate for older viewers.

Tuesday, April 15, 9-10 p.m. EDT (PBS) "Sick Around the World." An examination of various national health care systems, including those of Britain, Germany and Japan, and the lessons they may offer for future reform of U.S. policy. Part of "Frontline."

Thursday, April 17, 9:30 a.m.-noon, EDT (EWTN) "Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Visit to the U.S." Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass at the new Nationals Park in Washington.

Thursday, April 17, 7:30-8 p.m. EDT (EWTN) "Cardinal Newman: The Littlemore Years." This documentary on the life of John Henry Newman focuses on the years the cardinal spent in the small town of Littlemore where his life of retired study led to his eventual conversion to the Catholic faith.

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