Holiday TV offerings

THE CLASSICS

"It's a Wonderful Life" (Saturday 8-11, NBC/4) gets its first of two annual airings; James Stewart's 1946 fantasy film also runs Christmas Eve. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Tuesday 8-9 p.m., CBS/2): Burl Ives narrates the 1964 stop-motion perennial. "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (Tuesday 8-9 p.m., ABC/7): Fred Astaire gets a network run ('60s fave returns several times on ABC Family). "A Christmas Carol" (Thursday at 9 p.m., HMM) is the 1951 must-see with Alastair Sim's quintessential Scrooge portrayal.

VINTAGE EPISODES

There's '50s fun from "The Lone Ranger" (Saturday at 7 a.m., Monday at 7 a.m., Wednesday at 10 a.m., Cozi TV, "Ozzie & Harriet" (late Saturday/ early Sunday 3-5 a.m., Cozi), "I Love Lucy Christmas Special" (Sunday 8-9 p.m., CBS/2), and "Make Room for Daddy" (Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., Thursday at 6 p.m., Cozi). Some '60s thrills include "The Avengers" (Sunday at 7 p.m., Thursday at 1 p.m., Cozi) and Diahann Carroll's "Julia" (Friday at 7:30 a.m., Aspire). Into the '70s and '80s, we get "The Golden Girls" (Saturday at 1 p.m., Logo; Sunday 8-9 p.m., TV Land), Dennis Weaver's "McCloud" (Sunday at noon, Cozi), "Highway to Heaven" (Sunday at 10 p.m., Wednesday at 6 a.m., Cozi), "Starsky & Hutch" (Tuesday at 9 p.m., Cozi) and "Magnum P.I." (Thursday at 11 p.m., Cozi). From the '90s to now: eight years of Christmas from "The Simpsons" (Sunday 4-8 p.m., FXX), a merry marathon from "Everybody Loves Raymond" (Sunday 9 p.m.-midnight, TV Land) and a Santa stint for

"Roseanne" (Sunday night/early Monday 3-4:30 a.m., TV Land).

NEW EPISODES

Holidays are happening on network series "The Simpsons" (Sunday at 8 p.m., Fox/5), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Sunday at 8:30 p.m., Fox/5), "Family Guy" (Sunday at 9 p.m., Fox/5), "Bob's Burgers" (Sunday at 9:30 p.m., Fox/5), "The Originals" (Monday at 8 p.m., CW/11), "Castle" (Monday at 10 p.m., ABC/7), "The Flash" (Tuesday at 8 p.m., CW/11), "New Girl" (Tuesday at 9 p.m., Fox/5), "The Mindy Project" (Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., Fox/5), "Arrow" (Wednesday at 8 p.m., CW/11), "The Middle" (Wednesday at 8 p.m., ABC/7), "black-ish" (Wednesday at 9:30 p.m., ABC/7), "The Vampire Diaries" (Thursday at 8 p.m., CW/11), "Last Man Standing" (Friday at 8 p.m., ABC/7) and "Cristela" (Friday at 8:30 p.m., ABC/7). Cable's new contributions include ABC Family series "The Fosters" (Monday at 8 p.m.), "Switched at Birth" (Monday at 9 p.m.), "Pretty Little Liars" (Tuesday at 8 p.m.), "Chasing Life" (Tuesday at 9 p.m.), "Melissa & Joey" (Wednesday at 8 p.m.) and "Baby Daddy" (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m., all on ABC Family).

NUTTY NOELS

Seeking twisted times? Try the 1,000-pound chocolate Santa sculpture on Saturday's "Outrageous Christmas" (9, Food), Sunday's irreverent new "Robot Chicken" (11:30 p.m., Cartoon) and the swamp holiday of "Duck Dynasty" (Wednesday at 9:30 p.m., A&E).