Making merry with Christmas TV specials
Photo credit: Classic Media | Just a couple of 'misfits': Hermey and Rudolph
Christmas is the time of year when every TV channel gets into the same act.
Only different.
They all want to premiere holiday programming. But they all want their seasonal shows to be "on brand," as those crazy-competitive tube execs like to say. In fact, this is one swell opportunity for them to bring new viewers to their "brand" by luring them in with seasonal festivity. It's a ratings grab, an audience grab and a "brand" reinforcement grab, all in one.
(And you thought it was just yule cool.)
This year, Lifetime positions itself as chick-flick central with the new TV movie "12 Men of Christmas" (Saturday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m.), where fish out of water Kristin Chenoweth chums for small-town charity by putting together a hunk-a-month calendar.
Hallmark gets sentimental with weekly TV-movie premieres, evoking remember-friends-and-family- with-greeting-cards warmth by casting nostalgic tube stars - "Everybody Loves Raymond" mom Doris Roberts ("Debbie Macomber's Mrs. Miracle," Dec. 5 at 8 p.m.), "Doc" star Billy Ray Cyrus ("Christmas in Canaan," Dec. 12) and "Lois & Clark" hunk Dean Cain with "Family Matters" dad Reginald VelJohnson in "The Three Gifts" (Dec. 19).
History demonstrates it's contemporary now, too, using caustic comedy to explore seasonal traditions in its new two-hour special "Surviving the Holidays With Lewis Black" (encoring Sunday at 3 p.m.).
A&E reminds us that "arts and entertainment" is just a ghost of Christmas past by premiering its Very Special Holiday Episode of unscripted mainstay "Dog the Bounty Hunter" (Dec. 23).
ABC Family rifles the remnants racks of pop culture, reaching beyond today's pregnant teens and college Greeks to collect all kinds of Christmas tube the family can watch together - vintage Rankin-Bass animation, sitcom character reunions, slick TV movies and channel-owner Disney's holiday doings ("Mickey's Christmas Carol," Dec. 8). They stack it up all day, every day to hold everyone from kids to grandma hostage for nonstop seasonal shopping commercials.
PBS stations also take the opportunity to remind us that Christmas is for giving - by asking us to give them money in December pledge drives filled with Christmas music.
Two broadcast networks give "American Idol" stars their own spotlight specials, hoping the show's blockbuster immediacy rubs off a bit - Fox has Carrie Underwood Dec. 7, and ABC goes home with Jennifer Hudson Dec. 14.
Meanwhile, CBS diligently reaffirms that it's still a full-service network. The eye guys check everything off their Christmas list, delivering the new Hallmark Hall of Fame movie "A Dog Named Christmas" (Sunday at 9 p.m.), the new animated half-hour "Yes, Virginia" (Dec. 11), vintage "Rudolph" / "Frosty" animation, even its annual adoption-boosting variety special "A Home for the Holidays" (Dec. 23).
And WPIX/11 reaffirms its New York-ness with its time-honored local airing of the "Yule Log" (Christmas morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.).
Pick any particular channel, and you get a particular take on Christmas. That's why it's so hard for today's new specials to get any traction in the tradition sweepstakes. America was still one mass mainstream back in the '60s when perennials "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted. Now we've splintered into any number of niches.
There's less chance to achieve classic status. Yet there's more holiday viewing than ever. Christmas TV is different indeed.
IT'S A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TV LINEUP
(First/main airdates listed. Many programs repeat through the holiday season. Check channel Web sites for additional times.)
Animated/family favorites
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Monday and Dec. 23 at 8 p.m., ABC) - 1966 cartoon.
Shrek the Halls (Monday at 8:30 p.m., Dec. 9 at 8 p.m., ABC)
The Year Without a Santa Claus (Tuesday at 7 p.m., Dec. 8 at 8 p.m., ABC Family) - 1974 stop-motion special.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Tuesday at 8 p.m.; Dec. 8 at 8 p.m., ABC)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Wednesday at 8 p.m., CBS)
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (Friday at 9 p.m., CW)
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (Dec. 7 at 8 p.m., ABC; Dec. 9 at 8 p.m., Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., ABC Family)
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (Dec. 11 and 19 at 8 p.m., NBC)
Frosty the Snowman / Frosty Returns (Dec. 18 at 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS)
Yule Log (Christmas Day, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., WPIX/11)
Movies
Miracle on 34th Street (Sunday at 3 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., Fox Movie Channel) - Sebastian Cabot's 1973 TV movie.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Monday-Friday at 8 and 10:15 p.m., AMC) - Chevy Chase comedy.
White Christmas (Saturday at 8 and 10:45 p.m., AMC) - Bing Crosby musical.
The Santa Clause (Dec. 9 at 10 p.m. and midnight, TNT) - Tim Allen comedy.
It's a Wonderful Life (Dec. 12 and Christmas Eve at 8 p.m., NBC) - James Stewart's 1946 holiday tearjerker.
A Very Brady Christmas (Dec. 22 at 1 p.m., ABC Family) - Sitcom bunch reunites in 1988 TV movie.
Miracle on 34th Street (Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m., ABC Family) - Richard Attenborough's 1994 version.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Christmas Eve at 6 p.m., Starz Kids) - Jim Carrey film airs continuously for 24 hours.
Home Alone (Christmas Eve at 8 p.m., FMC) - Macaulay Culkin comedy airs every two hours through Dec. 26 at 6 a.m.
A Christmas Story (Christmas Eve at 8 p.m., TBS) - 1983 family tale airs every two hours for 24 hours.
Marathons
Countdown to Christmas (daily-Dec. 25, noon-midnight, Hallmark) - Features TV movies such as George C. Scott's "A Christmas Carol" (Sunday at 2 p.m. and midnight).
25 Days of Christmas (Dec. 1-25, ABC Family) - Nightly holiday animation, movies, episodes, more. Look for weekend marathons (Rankin-Bass animation Dec. 12).
Vintage Christmas movies (Dec. 3, 10, 17 and 24 from 8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies) - This week's lineup includes Reginald Owen's 1938 "A Christmas Carol" at 8.
Merrython (Dec. 13, 6 a.m.-6 a.m.; Christmas Eve, 8 p.m.-6 a.m.; Christmas Day, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., TV Land) - Holidays on "M*A*S*H," "Roseanne," "All in the Family," "The Andy Griffith Show" and more.
New for 2009
Andrea Bocelli & David Foster: My Christmas (Sunday at 9 p.m., WLIW/21)
Radio City Christmas Spectacular Starring the Rockettes (Sunday and Monday at 7:30 p.m., WLIW/21)
The Dog Who Saved Christmas (Sunday at 8 p.m., ABC Family) - TV movie with Dean Cain and Gary Valentine; Mario Lopez voices the guard dog.
A Dog Named Christmas (Sunday at 9 p.m., CBS) - Bruce Greenwood in Hallmark Hall of Fame movie about a pet shelter.
Larry the Cable Guy's Hula-palooza Christmas (Sunday and Tuesday at 10 p.m., CMT) - With Kenan Thompson, Caroline Rhea, Tony Orlando.
Disney's Prep & Landing (Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., Dec. 16 at 8 p.m., ABC) - Animated half-hour with elves prepping houses for Santa.
Christmas in Rockefeller Center (Wednesday at 7 p.m. on WNBC/4) - Tree-lighting guests include Alicia Keys, Shakira, Barry Manilow and Aretha Franklin.
Debbie Macomber's Mrs. Miracle (Saturday at 8 p.m., Hallmark) - Doris Roberts TV movie.
12 Men of Christmas (Saturday at 9 p.m., Lifetime) - Kristin Chenoweth TV movie.
Carrie Underwood: All-Star Holiday Special (Dec. 7 at 8 p.m., Fox) - Two hours with Dolly Parton, David Cook and Brad Paisley.
Yes, Virginia (Dec. 11 at 8 p.m., CBS) - Neil Patrick Harris and Jennifer Love Hewitt voice new animation.
Christmas in Canaan (Dec. 12 at 8 p.m., Hallmark) - Billy Ray Cyrus TV movie.
Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe (Dec. 13 at 8 p.m., ABC Family) - Jenny McCarthy TV movie.
Jennifer Hudson: I'll Be Home for Christmas (Dec. 14 at 8 p.m., ABC) - With Michael Bublé.
The Three Gifts (Dec. 19 at 8 p.m., Hallmark) - TV movie with Dean Cain, Reginald VelJohnson.
Christmas in Washington (Dec. 20 at 8 p.m., TNT) - Rob Thomas, Sugarland, Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond and Usher.
Diane Werts' extended listings of these and hundreds of other holiday shows can be found at tvworthwatching.com.
