Ice Age: The Great Egg-scapade
Fox, 7:30 ET/PT
It’s Palm Sunday, and Fox is celebrating Easter with two unusual specials. The first is this holiday spinoff of the animated hit Ice Age. When Squint (Seth Green) steals some eggs being watched by Sid (John Leguizamo), the theft triggers what Fox is calling “the world’s first Easter egg hunt.” OK, sure: There’s no point being a stickler when dealing with a cartoon built around talking prehistoric animals. Still, good luck to the parent who has to explain why any creature, human or animal, who lived some 12,000 years before the birth of Christ would be celebrating a Christian holiday.
The Passion
Fox, 8 ET/PT
The second Fox special is this modern, musical twist on the traditional Passion Play from Tyler Perry, who adapted it from a European format. Chris Daughtry (Judas), Jencarlos Canela (Jesus), Seal (Pontius Pilate) and Trisha Yearwood (Mary) lead the cast in this retelling of Christ’s last days, airing live from several locations in New Orleans.
Ben-Hur
TCM, 8 ET/5 PT
TCM counters with this Easter-themed epic, long a seasonal favorite. Charlton Heston stars as a Jewish prince in Judea, tricked by his Roman best friend (Stephen Boyd) and sold into slavery. Come for the spirituality; stay for the chariot race.
