Tuning in: On TV this week.
Sunday Dec. 5
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (TNT, 8-10 p.m.): Noah Wyle stars as Flynn, a perpetual college student who finds a job in a mysterious library that houses, among other legendary treasures, the Ark of the Covenant and Pandora's Box. The plucky Flynn (imagine Indiana Jones as a naïf) must locate the powerful "Spear of Destiny" and return it to the library before miscreants find it.
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (HBO, 9-11 p.m.): Geoffrey Rush captures the manic glee of the comic actor's genius. But this is a sad story about a dissolute man who could invent numberless characters but who, apparently, had very little real character of his own. As depicted here, he could not return the love he desperately needed. As good as Rush is in the role, he misses Sellers's lightness and grace. Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, and Stanley Tucci star. For mature audiences.
12 Days of Christmas Eve (USA, 8-10 p.m.): Dickens's "Christmas Carol" meets "Groundhog Day" in director Martha Coolidge's warmhearted, if long-winded, tale about a CEO of a major department store chain who can't seem to get the Christmas spirit. He has to do the day over until he gets it right - if he can get it right. It's a mild chuckle for the PG set.
100 Greatest Discoveries (Science Channel, 8-9 p.m., continuing Wednesdays): The original "Science Guy," Bill Nye made science palatable for kids. Now, in a colorful eight-part series, he clarifies difficult concepts for adults. Tonight, Nye describes Darwin's theory of evolution and how it has changed scientific investigation.
