TV Highlights: Saturday, Dec. 18

SERIES

Secrets of Christianity: Mysteries historical, archaeological and spiritual are probed in this new series (10 and 11 a.m., noon History).

Saturday Night Live: Jeff Bridges (“Tron: Legacy,” “True Grit”) hosts, with musical guest Eminem (11:29 p.m. NBC).

SPECIALS

A Soldier’s Story: From basic training to deployment, three recruits share their experiences with life in uniform in this new special (5, 8 and 11 p.m. CNN).

Ten Commandments of the Mafia: Former mobsters break the code of silence for this new exposé (8 and 11 p.m. Discovery).

The Naturalized: Immigrants on the path to U.S. citizenship are profiled in this new special (8 p.m. History).

WWE Tribute to the Troops: Pro wrestling’s finest perform for U.S. armed services members at Ft. Hood, Texas, in this annual special (9 p.m. NBC).

Ricky Gervais: Out of England 2 — The Stand-Up Special: The tart-tongued British comic performs in Chicago for his latest comedy special (10 p.m. HBO).

MOVIES

Battle of the Bulbs: Christmas decorating gets out of control in this new made-for-cable holiday fable starring Daniel Stern and Matt Frewer (8 and 10 p.m. Hallmark).

The Book of Eli: Denzel Washington stars in this post-apocalyptic 2010 action tale (8 p.m. HBO).

Madagascar: Ben Stiller and Chris Rock lend their voices to this 2005 animated tale (9 p.m. ABC).

SPORTS

College basketball: The Trojans take on Kansas (9 a.m. ESPN), and the Bruins battle BYU (2:30 p.m. FS Prime).

Hockey: The Ducks face the Hurricanes (4 p.m. KDOC), and the Kings play the Predators (5 p.m. MyNet).

Basketball: The Clippers visit the Bulls (5 p.m. FS Prime).