All times Eastern.

• 6PM, Science Channel - How It’s Made: Golf balls; furniture handles; parking meters; room dividers.
• 6PM, National Geographic - Explorer: Ultimate Bear. A scientific look at the speed, size and strength of some of the world’s largest bears. Included: polar bears, brown bears and black bears, all native to North America.
• 6PM, Military Channel - Battle of Normandy: Part 1 of 2. The pivotal 1944 battle is detailed, as the Allies begin to force back German forces occupying western Europe.
• 6PM, ATMAX - Back to the Future Part II (movie): Marty McFly shuttles between the years 2015 and 1955 to rescue his kids and repair the space-time continuum.
• 6PM, MAXEAL - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (movie): 1983 classic follows the final battle between the Empire and the Rebels.
• 6:30PM, Science Channel - How It’s Made: Suits of armor, streetlight poles, bent hardwood, membrane switches.
• 7PM, Food Network - Good Eats: Cubing a Round. Cube steak is the subject.
• 7PM, Discovery Channel - I Shouldn’t Be Alive: Jaws of Death. A conservationist in Zimbabwe crashes his plane during a windstorm, breaking his legs and pelvis and leaving him to seek refuge in the fuel soaked wreckage.
• 7PM, Science Channel - Beyond Tomorrow: Reporters gauge the impact of innovations in science, medicine and environmental studies.
• 7PM, Military Channel - Wings of the Luftwaffe: Nazi Germany’s JU-88 bomber.
• 7PM, Discovery Health - Impact: Stories of Survival: Knockout Punch. Segments include a boxer who is paralyzed by a blow to the head; a woman whose scalp is torn off by a dog; a hand transplant; and a man who was trapped underwater for 30 minutes.
• 7PM, Encore - Edward Scissorhands (movie): A young man with pruning-shear hands is taken in by a kindly saleswoman.

It’s Friday, so this is a long one. 8PM and on after the jump!

• 8PM, Discovery HD - 1000 Places to See Before You Die: Alaska. A scenic travelouge of Alaska includes natural beauty, wildlife, culture and history.
• 8PM, ENCWAM - The Hitchhiler’s Guide to the Galaxy (movie): An alien and an earthling trip through space in this adaptation of the Douglas Adams Sci-Fi tale.
• 9PM, Science Channel - How It’s Made: Yacht wheels; braided rugs; automobile thermostats; chisels.
• 9PM, Discovery Channel - Man vs. Wild: The Rockies. Host Bear Grylls parachutes alone into a remote area of the Rocky Mountains equipped with only the clothes on his back.
• 9PM, Travel Channel - Mysteries of the Smithsonian: An insider’s look at the extraordinary exhibits, storehouses and basements of the Smithsonian Institution, a distinguished museum that spans 9 locations across Washington D.C.’s historic Mall and features treasures from the typical to the macabre.
• 9:30PM, Science Channel - How It’s Made: Photographs; fur tanning; welding electrodes; electric violins.
• 10PM, Discovery Health - Skeleton Stories: Buried Secrets. Renovations in a South Philly row house reveal a wooden box filled with tiny human bones; a park ranger’s rounds are disrupted when a human skull is found in the brush.
• 10PM, Discovery HD - Fantastic Festivals of the World: Carnival The Carnival festival in the US virgin Islands.
• 10PM, MTV - Jackass: The Movie (movie, duh): A series of rude and crude stunts.
• 10PM, MAXEAL - V for Vendetta (movie): A masked avenger leads a revolution against tyranny in a futuristic Brittan.
• 10:30PM, DIY - Classic Car Restoration: Thunderbird and Restoration Overview. The project car, a 1962 Thunderbird “Sport Roadster”, is introduced. Included: the history of the Thunderbird; how to authenticate a “Sports Roadster” model.
• 11PM, Food Network - Good Eats: Espress Yourself. The essentials of brewing the perfect cup of espresso are explored.