BY CLIF GARBODEN

THURSDAY 13

8:00 (64) BASEBALL | National League Championship Series game #2.

8:00 (2) BATTLEFIELD BRITAIN | HASTINGS — 1066 | Saxon dogs; Norman frogs. After William invaded and beat up King Harold, Britain was never the same. Military archaeologists Peter and Dan Snow (father/son) explain and dissect the Norman invasion. | Until 9 pm

5:00 am (44) SOUNDSTAGE | Featuring music from Martina McBride.

FRIDAY 14

8:00 (64) BASEBALL | American League Championship Series game #3.

8:00 (44) NOVA | EINSTEIN’S BIG IDEA | Repeated from last week. On the 100th anniversary of Albert E.’s theory of relativity (and that E-mc2 business), we get John Lithgow narrating a dramatized explanation of what it all really means — relatively speaking. Aidan McArdle stars as the frizzy-haired genius. | Until 10 pm

10:00 (44) EINSTEIN’S WIFE | Wouldn’t it be cool if Einstein’s greatest work was really accomplished by a woman? Not sure if that’s true, but he did have a first wife whose existence was pretty much kept secret until long after the old man died, in 1955. Apparently back in the Old Country, Al wed his college sweetie, Mileva Maric, and she was no slouch when it came to math and physics. | Until 11 pm

SATURDAY 15

Noon (2, 44) VIEWER FAVORITES | The alien hovercraft landed deftly on the sidewalk in front of the electrical-supply store. "I don’t mind their business," quipped the man behind the counter, "but I wish they’d park that thing somewhere else." What more can we say? Viewer favorites are not our favorite flavor of PBS programming. We have no idea which faves will be showcased today, but if we catch them running that damn André Rieu concert again, we’re going to have someone arrested. | Until 6 pm on Channel 2, and until midnight on Channel 44

Noon (12) FOOTBALL | Alabama versus Mississippi, or Auburn versus Arkansas.

Noon (10) FOOTBALL | College game to be announced.

3:30 (12) FOOTBALL | Florida versus LSU.

3:30 (6) FOOTBALL | Notre Dame versus USC.

3:30 (10) FOOTBALL | College game to be announced.

4:00 (64) BASEBALL | National League Championship Series game #3.

6:00 (2) GREAT PERFORMANCES | THE NUTCRACKER FROM THE ROYAL BALLET | Julie Andrews hosts Peter Wright’s Royal Ballet edition of Tchaikovsky’s classic. With Ivan Putrov as the doll with the hinged jaw, Aline Cojoaru as his little friend Clara, and Miyako Yoshida as the Sugar Plum Fairy. To be repeated on Wednesday at 8 pm, on Channel 44, and on Thursday at 9 pm, on Channel 2. | Until 8:30 pm

7:30 (64) BASEBALL | American League Championship Series game #4.

11:00 (2) IN THE LIFE | SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST | A look at how gays and lesbians learn to like themselves despite all the derogatory shit they have to put up with. Billy Porter hosts. Guests include Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network director Kevin Jennings, author James Howe, and actors Alan Cumming and Andre De Shields. | Until midnight

4:00 am (44) INDEPENDENT LENS | PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC: ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE | Repeated from last week. Once they were a doo-wop group called the Parliaments. Then leader George Clinton turned them into Parliament Funkadelic and mightily increased the ways it was possible to think about music. Every contemporary musician (except possibly Helmut Lotte and André Rieu) owe them something. To be repeated at a civilized hour later this week — on Sunday at 9 pm on Channel 44, and, on Channel 2, on Thursday at 1:30 am. | Until 5 am

SUNDAY 16

10:30 am (2) VIEWER FAVORITES | A man walks into a bar and says, "Bartender, how do I get this cabbage off my head?" "Feed it to the chicken next door," answers the bartender. "Good idea," replies the man, who leaves without finishing his drink. | Until 9 pm

1:00 (12) FOOTBALL | The Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.

1:00 (64) FOOTBALL | The New York Giants versus the Dallas Cowboys.

4:00 (12) FOOTBALL | The Pats versus the Denver Broncos.

4:00 (64) BASEBALL | American League Championship Series game #5, if necessary. If more ALCS games are needed, they’ll show up on Tuesday and Wednesday.

7:30 (64) BASEBALL | National League Championship Series game #4.

9:00 (2) MYSTERY | THE MURDER ROOM | part two | The murder room is actually a museum gallery featuring paintings of dreadful murders and other unpleasant events through British history. The murderer seems to be imitating the scenes. A P.D. James puzzler starring Martin Shaw as detective Adam Dalgleish. To be repeated tonight at 4 am, and, on Channel 44, at 1 and 4 am, and, for you Rome loyalists, on Channel 44 again, on Monday at 8 pm | Until 10:30 pm

9:00 (12) WALKER, TEXAS RANGER: TRIAL BY FIRE | movie | Chuck Norris returns as Ranger Walker. In this he’s chasing a 13-year-old boy who is running away from the mob because he happens to have possession of a missile-guidance system. Happens all the time. | Until 11 am

9:00 (44) INDEPENDENT LENS | PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC: ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE | See Saturday at 4 am.

10:00 (44) AMERICAN MASTERS | JAMES BROWN: SOUL SURVIVOR | The question is why did he feel so good. A chance to hear it all explained by the soul-man himself. The write-up for this show suggests that Brown invented funk. Not so; if anyone did, it was George Clinton. Still, Brown is a major music influence. Lots of great performance clips, plus interviews with Little Richard (who claims he invented rock and roll), Al Sharpton, Dan Aykroyd, and Chuck D. To be repeated on Thursday, on Channel 2, at 2:30 am. | Until 11:30 pm

MONDAY 17

8:00 (64) BASEBALL | National League Championship Series game #5, if necessary. If more NLCS games are needed, they’ll show up on Wednesday and Thursday.

8:00 (44) MYSTERY | THE MURDER ROOM | part two | See Sunday at 9 pm.

9:00 (2) THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | TWO DAYS IN OCTOBER | It’s official now — the Vietnam War was awful. This show looks at a pair of almost simultaneous events in October 1967: the bloody ambush of US troops by the Viet Cong and a protest at the University of Wisconsin against Dow Chemical recruiters on campus. (Explanation for the young folk: Napalm was a liquid-fire "defoliation" chemical that US forces dropped all over Vietnam’s forests. It often landed on people as well as on trees. Dow manufactured napalm and was a major military contractor. The anti-war movement used the chemical company as a prime example of immoral corporate America. "Making money burning babies!" When Dow job recruiters came to campuses, the good guys complained. One of the Dow guys literally stepped on our stomach while trying to escape the blockaded placement office at BU.) To be repeated tonight at 2 and 4 am, and, on Channel 44, at 1 and 4 am, and, again on Channel 44, on Thursday at 9 pm | Until 10:30 pm

9:00 (6) FOOTBALL | The St. Louis Rams versus the Indianapolis Colts.

TUESDAY 18

7:30 (2) LA PLAZA | CONVERSATIONS WITH ILAN STAVANS: JORGE RAMOS | The topic is the current wave of Latino immigration to the US. Ramos is an Emmy-winning Univision anchorman, newspaper columnist, and best-selling author (The Other Face of America). | Until 8 pm

8:00 (2) NOVA | NOVA SCIENCENOW | Nightline correspondent Robert Krulwich hosts a science-mag-format edition of Nova, during which he considers genetic markers for major diseases (doomed from birth), smaller and smaller computers, and private space exploration. To be repeated tonight at 4 am, and, on Channel 44 at 3 am | Until 9 pm

8:00 (44) GLOBE TREKKER | PERU | Lots of real trekking in this one. Trekker Neil Gibson experiences the highs (Lake Titicaca, Macchu Picchu) and lows (Amazon River, the rainforest) of Peru. | Until 9 pm

9:00 (2) FRONTLINE | THE TORTURE QUESTION | Do desperate times call for inhumane measures? A look at Bush’s policy of "coercive interrogation" and the evil that’s been done in the name of fighting terrorists. To be repeated tonight at 4 am on Channel 44. | Until 10:30 pm

WEDNESDAY 19

8:00 (44) GREAT PERFORMANCES | THE NUTCRACKER FROM THE ROYAL BALLET | See Saturday at 6 pm

9:00 (2) DESTINATION AMERICA | THE GOLDEN DOOR AND THE ART OF DEPARTURE | We all came from one Old Country or another. A documentary series devoted to the immigration to America. Part one surveys the 350-year history of immigration. Part two (at 10 pm) highlights talented artists who left their homes to perform here. To be repeated tonight at 2 and 4 am, and, on Channel 44, at 1 and 4 am | Until 11 pm

THURSDAY 20

9:00 (2) GREAT PERFORMANCES | THE NUTCRACKER FROM THE ROYAL BALLET | See Saturday at 6 pm

9:00 (44) THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | TWO DAYS IN OCTOBER | See Monday at 9 pm.