"Baghdad ER" (8 p.m., HBO): If there's hope to be found in the war in Iraq, "Baghdad ER" is a good

"Baghdad ER" (8 p.m., HBO): If there's hope to be found in the war in Iraq, "Baghdad ER" is a good place to look. This fine documentary profiles the doctors and nurses at the 86th Combat Support Hospital -- the U.S. Army's premier medical facility in Iraq -- and no matter how you feel about the conflict, you are sure to take pride in these caregivers. Directed by independent filmmakers Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill, "Baghdad ER" has its raw moments, both in the operating room and on rescue missions. (In an early scene, a medic deposits a severed arm into a plastic bag, presumably for disposal.) But this is not a shock film, nor does it resemble that other, fictitious "ER." The camera observes, without judging or flinching or getting in the way. What results is a display of skill, dedication, efficiency and heroism on the part of the film's subjects. It also finds flashes of normalcy: The docs have pirated cable so they can stay connected with ESPN. Once a week, they gather on the rooftop for a few hours of calm: Cigar Night. And in the operating room, they might even exchange a sick joke. "It helps keep us sane," a doctor tells the camera apologetically.
"10.5: Apocalypse" (9 p.m., NBC): This miniseries is the sequel to the 2004 seismic hit "10.5." The deadly seismic activities that peaked with a 10.5 earthquake in the first film, devastating the West Coast, have altered Earth's core structure. Now the whole North American continent, even the entire Western hemisphere could be in jeopardy. You've heard of the Continental Divide? This time, it could literally earn its name! A rocking cast includes Beau Bridges, Kim Delaney, Frank Langella, Dean Cain, Carly Pope, Carlos Bernard and Melissa Sue Anderson. Fasten your seat belts Sunday and Tuesday at 9 p.m.
"Desperate Housewives"(9 p.m., ABC): The ladies close the curtain on a maddeningly uneven second season with a two-hour episode that starts with Bree in a mental institution and just gets wilder from there. Creator Marc Cherry is promising a corker of a cliff-hanger involving those star-crossed lovers, Susan and Mike.