TV Daily

Friday/weekend: Religious leaders tackle big questions in "In God's Name." Plus: What did you think of Thursday's "The Wire Odyssey"?

Published December 21, 2007 11:00AM (EST)

Weekend Pick

Photo: CBS

Remember the French film crew that was filming some New York City firefighters on Sept. 11, 2001, and ended up bringing the world some of the most heartbreaking footage of the events of that day in their film "9/11"? Well, brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet found themselves on shaky existential ground after that day, so they tackled some of their big, important questions by traveling around the world and visiting with prominent religious leaders. The results are found in the soul-searching documentary "In God's Name" (premieres 9 p.m. EST Sunday, Dec. 23, on CBS). Featuring footage of leaders such as the Dalai Lama and Pope Benedict XVI, the film offers a glimpse of spiritual figureheads in their everyday lives, and shares their insights on the world's most pressing problems.

Also…

On Friday, Judd Apatow's hilarious comedy "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," starring Steve Carell, airs at 8 p.m. EST on USA, while CBS airs adoption awareness special "A Home for the Holidays" (8 p.m. EST). The finale of "The Next Great American Band" airs at 9 p.m. EST on Fox, and Nelly films Allen Iverson on the strange star-shoots-athletes show "Framed on IFC" (10:30 p.m. EST on IFC). "The Wire: The Last Word" (10:30 p.m. EST on HBO) offers critical commentary on the impact of "The Wire" and gives fans a glimpse of the upcoming final season, which premieres on Jan. 6. On Saturday, catch up on Sundance's hilarious doc series with a "Nimrod Nation" marathon, starting at 3 p.m. EST. Find out how to make time for important projects on "Time Makeover" (8 p.m. EST on the Fine Living Network). Lucinda Williams performs on "Austin City Limits" (9 p.m. EST on PBS, check listings), and "Return of the Jedi" airs at 9:30 p.m. on HBO. On Sunday, the remaining teams on "The Amazing Race" head to Italy (8 p.m. EST on CBS), an encore of the finale of Masterpiece Theatre's "Prime Suspect" airs at 9 p.m. EST on PBS (check listings), and the season finale of photography competition "The Shot" airs at 10 p.m. EST on VH1.

Last night

What did you think of Thursday's "The Wire Odyssey"? Go here to discuss.

On the talk shows -- Friday

Regis and Kelly

ABC, 9 a.m. EST

Denzel Washington, Charles Grodin

The View

ABC, 11 a.m. EST

Hilary Swank, the Broadway cast of "The Lion King"

Ellen DeGeneres

Syndicated, check local listings

Maria Sharapova, the winner of "The Biggest Loser"

Oprah Winfrey

Syndicated, check local listings

Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker (repeat)

Charlie Rose

PBS, check local listings

Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Thomas Anderson

Larry King

CNN, 9 p.m. EST

James Blunt, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion

David Letterman

CBS, 11:30 p.m. EST

Drew Barrymore, Rod Stewart (repeat)

Jay Leno

NBC, 11:35 p.m. EST

Dustin Hoffman, Abigail Breslin, African Children's Choir (repeat)

Tavis Smiley

PBS, check local listings

Patti LaBelle

Jimmy Kimmel

ABC, 12:05 a.m. EST

Angie Harmon, David Koechner, Talib Kweli (repeat)

Conan O'Brien

NBC, 12:35 a.m. EST

Jeff Garlin, Hot Hot Heat (repeat)

Craig Ferguson

CBS, 12:35 a.m. EST

Téa Leoni, Amy Tan, Brian McKnight, RZA (repeat)

Contributors: Megan Doll, Heather Havrilesky, Eryn Loeb, Amy Reiter


By Salon Staff

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