Weekend TV: 'Back to the Beginning,' 'Call the Midwife'

by Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

Posted December 27, 2012

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Christiane Amanpour travels to the lands of the Bible to explore the history and stories behind the Old Testament during ABC's special 'Back to the Beginning.' Here, she talks with Egyptians while riding on the Nile in Luxor. (Credit: Shawn Baldwin, Hyperion)


Back to the Beginning

ABC, Friday, 9 ET/PT

ABC fills one of TV's emptiest periods - the gap between Christmas and New Year's - with the second half of its two-part, four-hour special, Back to the Beginning With Christiane Amanpour. The report sends Amanpour to the Middle East, where she explores the roots of three of the world's major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, examining their philosophies and visiting many of the holy sites they share. Considering what ID is running in the same time slots - Pretty Bad Girls and Wives With Knives - you can think of this Beginning as a karmic cleanse.

Storage Wars

A&E, Sunday, 7 ET/PT

Remember the fuss made in some media corners over fired Storage warrior David Hester's lawsuit claiming, among other things, that the show is staged? A&E responds this weekend with multiple marathon runs of the show's various versions, including a Sunday run of the original, which pretty much tells you how seriously the TV world takes those allegations. Feel free to embrace the message the marathon sends: To one degree or another, all of these shows are fake. The networks assume you know and don't care.

Call the Midwife

PBS, Sunday, 7:30 ET/PT, times may vary

You think American networks are the only ones that do holiday-themed episodes? Well, so do the Brits, who often produce "special" Christmas episodes of popular series, from Downton Abbey to Sunday's American arrival, Call the Midwife. It's Chummy and Nurse Jenny Lee's first Christmas in Nonnatus House, and they're planning a Nativity play.