Off the Wall: Heapings of holiday fare

Off the Wall tries not

to play holiday favorites.

BUT IT'S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET! So for you anti-early yule folks, we now focus on The Pilgrim Holiday. Former "Family Ties" couple Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter reunite on the Thanksgiving-themed second-season premiere of "Dan Vs." (Saturday at 8 p.m., The Hub). Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray and other celebrity chefs go interactive on "Thanksgiving Live!" (Sunday noon-2 p.m., Food). Here's a Thursday night pair of specials you never thought you'd see together -- "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (Thursday at 8 p.m., ABC/7) and "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" (Thursday 9:30-11 p.m., ABC/7). Also ABC's Wednesday night sitcom slate of "The Middle" (8 p.m.), "Suburgatory" (8:30 p.m.) and "Modern Family" (9 p.m., all Wednesday night on ABC/7).

NEW FOR CHRISTMAS This week, TV is seriously in the seasonal spirit -- four new Christmas movies, the season's first network elf episode, and four fresh animated specials. Get ready for Jennie Garth and Tom Arnold in "A Christmas Wedding Tail" (Saturday at 6 p.m., Hallmark); Dean Cain and Rachel Blanchard in "The Case for Christmas" (Saturday at 8 p.m., Hallmark); Bruce Greenwood in "A Dog Named Christmas" (Sunday at 6 p.m., Hallmark), and Edward Herrmann and Kristy Swanson in "A Christmas Wish" (Sunday at 8 p.m., Hallmark). Sitcomland's "2 Broke Girls" (Monday at 8:30 p.m., CBS/2) apply for jobs as Santaland elves. Christmas cartoonery delivers "Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas" (Thursday at 8 p.m., Fox/5), "Jingle All the Way" (Friday at 7 p.m., Hallmark), "Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas" (Friday at 8 p.m., CBS/2), and "The Elf on the Shelf" (Friday at 8:30 p.m., CBS/2). And there's one classic of classics -- 1947's original "Miracle on 34th Street" (Thursday at 6 p.m., Turner Classic Movies), with Edmund Gwenn as Santa Claus and a very young Natalie Wood as a nonbeliever.

AWARDS ALERT Nicki Minaj and David Buetta, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and Pitbull lead the performers list for this year's "American Music Awards" (Sunday 8-11 p.m., after 7 p.m. preshow, ABC/7). Details at ama.abc.com.

ROBIN WILLIAMS ON DRUGS? We explain: Robin Williams hosts this week's entry on Discovery's documentary showcase "Curiosity" (Sunday at 9 p.m., Discovery), which is called "Your Body on Drugs." It's a look at substances that have altered human consciousness throughout history, the reasons for their ingestion, their chemical makeup, and their social impact. Show site at curiosity.com.

MUCH ADO ABOUT MOVIES A famously shy director finally opens up in "Woody Allen: American Masters -- Part One." This new study (Sunday 9-11 p.m. and Monday's "Part Two" 9-10:30 p.m., PBS/13) comes from big-time bio guy Robert B. Weide, the guy behind previous portraits of W.C. Fields and Lenny Bruce. Then learn more about "Sons of Anarchy" star Ron Perlman when he's this month's Turner Classic Movies guest programmer. He'll co-host four fine picks Tuesday night: "Sweet Smell of Success" (8 p.m.), "Red River" (9:45 p.m.), "Gunga Din" (12:15 a.m.), and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (2:30 a.m., all Tuesday night on TCM). Explore more at pbs.org/americanmasters and tcm.com/guest-programmer.

NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT Jerry Seinfeld is the first post-Regis guest host on the retitled "Live With Kelly" (Monday-Wednesday at 9 a.m., WABC/7). More at dadt.com/live.