Turner Classic Movies turns over its November prime-time movie selection to 29 celebrity guest programmers and a nonstar named Paul Aguirre, the winner of a network contest.

Every night this month, actors, writers and directors, including Gore Vidal (Sunday), Danny DeVito (Nov. 10), Paul Mazursky (Nov. 16) and Alec Baldwin (Nov. 20), choose three or four movies that are alternately interesting, predictable and revealing.

Whoopi Goldberg kicks off the proceedings tonight with “Beauty and the Beast” (7 p.m., TCM), the 1946 fantasy directed by French dramatist and poet Jean Cocteau. Goldberg chose “Beauty,” “Because magic happens, and that is what the movies are about.” Viewers should not miss this one – a “Beauty” that has nothing to do with Disney musicals.

Tycoon and TV host Donald Trump (Saturday) picks three dependable and respected favorites, “The African Queen,” “Gone with the Wind” and “Citizen Kane.” None of “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening’s (Nov. 14) choices are more recent than the 1941 “Blues in the Night.” Composer Mark Mothersbaugh (Nov. 29) shows the greatest range, having selected one of my favorite B-movies, “Hot Rods to Hell” as a chaser to the Federico Fellini favorite “Juliet of the Spirits.”

Graydon Carter (Nov. 18) has edited “Vanity Fair” since 1992, but his choice of “The Philadelphia Story” makes a cheeky reference to his earlier publication, “Spy Magazine.” Novelist James Ellroy (Nov. 13) remains dependably hardboiled, offering “Stakeout on Dope Street,” “Murder by Contract,” “The Lineup” and “Armored Car Robbery.” And Martha Stewart (Nov. 30) wraps up the festival with cinematic selections that some may find apt and a tad revealing: “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House,” “Anna Karenina,” “Enchanted April” and “Madame Bovary.” And that’s a good thing.

¢ Can grieving mothers solve the mother of all crises? The documentary “To Die in Jerusalem” (8 p.m., HBO) takes a painful and personal look at the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. In 2002, an 18-year-old Palestinian girl, Ayat al-Akhras, strapped a bomb to her body and blew herself up in a Jerusalem market. Among her victims was a 17-year-old Israeli girl, Rachel Levy, who looked remarkably like Ayat.

“To Die” visits with the parents of Ayat and the mother of Rachel and follows efforts to bring the two women together for a dialogue. Don’t go looking for hugs and quick fixes here. Both women hold their ground in a loud and frequently emotional confrontation that gets to the heart of the conflict.

¢ All season long, viewers of “The Office” (8 p.m., NBC) have wondered where Karen (Rashida Jones) could be. We know Jim left her waiting by a Manhattan fountain and that she cleaned out her desk at the Scranton office. But tonight we learn that she’s still working for Dunder-Mifflin when she tries to recruit the taciturn Stanley (Leslie David Baker) to a rival branch.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Georgia Tech hosts Virginia Tech in college football action (6:30 p.m., ESPN).

¢ A reality show visits Camden County on an hour-long episode of “My Name is Earl” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ Marlo Thomas guest stars on “Ugly Betty” (7 p.m., ABC).

¢ Life imitates art on the set of a slasher film on “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ Guys night out on “Grey’s Anatomy” (8 p.m., ABC).

¢ A survivor of an office shooting can’t be found on “Without a Trace” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ A new staffer helps lighten the workload on “ER” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ Duncan makes a play for Lisbeth on “Big Shots” (9 p.m., ABC).

¢ The new series “Don’t Die Young” (9 p.m., Discovery Health) offers advice for diet, exercise and stress reduction.