Shows that may be worth watching this busy holiday season

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With Christmas nearly upon us, some viewers are so frantic trying to finish their shopping that they have no time for TV. For others, television can provide solace from loneliness or an escape from the chaos of a family gathering.With that in mind, these programs may be worth watching during this busy season:"In God's Name"French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, who made the 2002 CBS documentary "9/11," return to the network with a look at the world's religions."In God's Name" (9 p.m. EST Sunday, CBS) features vignette interviews with 12 of the world's most influential spiritual leaders from a variety of faiths, including Roman Catholic, Muslim, Southern Baptist, Lutheran, the Church of England, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist.The Naudets were filming at Ground Zero on 9/11 when the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed."The genesis of the idea (for 'In God's Name') simply came from my own personal experience of thinking I was going to die on that day," Jules Naudet said in a phone interview last week. The possibility of death raised existential questions -- about life and death, faith and doubt -- that the brothers sought to explore. "A couple of years later, these questions were still nagging us and we decided to make this documentary and take this journey on behalf of the audience. Who better to answer these questions than the great spiritual beacons of our time?"Susan Zirinsky, the program's executive producer for CBS, acknowledged that "In God's Name" is an unusual program for the network."This is not a 'CSI' with a beginning, middle and end. It's not even a '48 Hours,' " she said. "These are phenomenally charismatic people and I was struck by the commonality and humanity of each of them."Zirinsky said she initially turned down the Naudets, saying the film wasn't "a CBS project." But after they showed her 15 minutes of their footage in September, she screened it for CBS Corp. President Leslie Moonves."It touched something in him," she said."It's very easy when you hear about this project to be scared, to think it's a big theology lesson, but that was not the angle we did," Zirinsky said. "What best way to connect with the audience than to show these people not just as great philosophers and theologians but to show them as a father, as a husband, as a grandfather, as a person who loves God and tries to find his own solace in worship.""Elmo's Christmas"The story of Stiller the Elf (voice of Ben Stiller) and the magical Christmas Counter-Downer he loses is not a classic, but it does set up an excuse for the types of musical numbers and sketches that were once highlights of Christmas specials. That old-time feel alone makes the live-action, Muppet-filled "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" (7 p.m. Sunday, ABC) worth a look.Elmo may annoy some parents, but adults will appreciate many of the sketches in this new one-hour special. The best one features "Sopranos" players Tony Sirico and Steve Schirippa getting schooled in how to play Bert and Ernie by Bert and Ernie. Never mind that it makes no sense to have the "Sopranos" stars playing Bert and Ernie with felt and fur Muppets watching them. It's a hoot to see Sirico threaten to go off Paulie Walnuts-style on "Sesame Street" characters.Brad Paisley, Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, Jennifer Hudson and Jamie Foxx all show up to sing with Muppet characters. Actress Anne Hathaway duets with Big Bird on a new version of "I Want a Snuffleupagus for Christmas" and "ABC World News" anchor Charles Gibson gives voice to a reindeer news anchor who passes gas. (OK, so maybe that last one was a bad judgment call on Gibson's part.)Disney paradeABC's 24th annual commercial for, er, celebration of its corporate-cousin theme parks, the "Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade" (10 a.m. Tuesday), will again be hosted by Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa in Florida and Ryan Seacrest at Disneyland in California.The parade will be broadcast in high definition for the first time this year. Stars scheduled to appear include Miley Cyrus ("Hannah Montana"), Josh Groban, cast members from "High School Musical 2," The Jonas Bros. and the Harlem Gospel Choir."Kennedy Center Honors"Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys will be lauded on CBS's "Kennedy Center Honors" (9 p.m. Wednesday), along with director Martin Scorsese, comedian-writer Steve Martin, singer Diana Ross and pianist Leon Fleisher.A&E goes to "Camp"A&E premieres the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Jesus Camp" (10 p.m. Dec. 30), which follows three evangelical Christian youngsters as they attend a summer camp that encourages children, some as young as 6, to become Christian soldiers in "God's army" and to "take back America for Christ."(TV editor Rob Owen can be reached at rowen(at)post-gazette.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)