Trauma center

Doctors and nurses will be working triple shifts in a 50-hour marathon of classic episodes of "General Hospital" (9 p.m. Friday, Soap Net), starting with the very first 1963 installment and including shows from every decade. Look for appearances by Elizabeth Taylor, Ricky Martin and Rick Springfield.

What's up, Doc?

"Doctor Who" (7 p.m. Saturday, BBC America) celebrates 50 years of time traveling with eight new episodes, starting with the Doctor (Matt Smith) taking on a new enemy, the Spoonheads, who are not to be confused with the much more dangerous Coneheads.

Babies and bicycling

"Call the Midwife" (7 p.m. Sunday, TPT, Ch. 2), the British drama that manages to appease "Downton Abbey" fans when the latter is not on the air, returns for a second season of birthing babies and bicycling in 1950s East End London.

Games people play

The civil war continues, as does the death toll, with the third-season premiere of "Game of Thrones" (8 p.m. Sunday, HBO), one of TV's bloodiest adventures. The story lines are still engaging, but can't the fighters settle at least a couple differences with a vigorous game of Scrabble?

Neal Justin