Screen Shots

Taking aim at the best and worst of movies and television.

Here's a list of special holiday programming on TV in the coming weeks

Article

By David Martindale

Special to DFW.com

Posted 1:09pm on Thursday, Dec. 01, 2011

Charlie Brown has been railing against the commercialization of Christmas for decades.

"Isn't there anyone," he lamented in the first animated Peanuts television special in 1965, "who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Dr. Seuss weighed in on the same subject in 1966, when the Grinch who stole Christmas concluded that maybe Christmas "doesn't come from a store."

A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas have endured as annual holiday viewing favorites ever since.

But did anybody really listen to the message?

In the weeks to come, at virtually any time of day, you'll be able to find festive holiday-themed programming somewhere on the TV landscape. Yet it's also worth noting that 'tis-the-season television is so abundantly available because sponsors/retailers are eager to promote the spirit of shopping and buying.

Not saying it's wrong. Just pointing out the irony while directing your attention to countless hours of Christmas-themed movies, specials, TV series episodes and returning favorites.

To help in your yuletide viewing, we made a list of highlights. (And, yes, we checked it twice.)

Original movies

Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! (7 p.m. Friday, Disney Channel): The Duncan family, from the Disney sitcom Good Luck Charlie, scramble to reunite with each other in time for the holiday after they are separated en route to their family vacation in Palm Springs.

A Princess for Christmas (7 p.m. Saturday, Hallmark Channel): Roger Moore stars as Edward, Duke of Castlebury, a reclusive grandfather who invites his American grandchildren to their ancestral home for Christmas.

The Heart of Christmas (6 p.m. Sunday, GMC): Residents in a small town decorate their houses for Christmas several weeks early in honor of a boy battling a rare form of leukemia. Candace Cameron Bure stars.

Becoming Santa (8 p.m. Wednesday, OWN): This SXSW Film Festival award-winning documentary is about a man who transforms himself into Santa Claus and immerses himself in Santa culture.

Annie Claus Is Coming to Town (7 p.m. Dec. 10, Hallmark Channel): Santa and Mrs. Claus have a daughter. Who knew? She takes her first trip away from the North Pole hoping to find adventure and love in sunny Los Angeles. Maria Thayer plays Annie.

Snowmageddon (8 p.m. Dec. 10, Syfy): A mystical snow globe that has the power to destroy the world when shaken makes a series of very bad things happen. With a couple of former Syfy series stars: Michael Hogan of Battlestar Galactica and Magda Apanowicz of Caprica.

12 Dates of Christmas (7 p.m. Dec. 11, ABC Family): Amy Smart and Mark-Paul Gosselaar star in the story of a young woman who relives the same first date on Christmas over and over until she learns to open up her world to new things and stop living in the past.

The Christmas Pageant (7 p.m. Dec. 11, Hallmark Channel): Melissa Gilbert stars as a tyrannical, career-driven Broadway director who's out of work. While slumming it at the helm of a small-town Christmas pageant in upstate New York, she'll start to get her priorities straight.

Christmas Comes Home to Canaan (7 p.m. Dec. 17, Hallmark Channel): In this sequel to Christmas in Canaan, Billy Ray Cyrus stars as a Texan who takes his young son to California for an experimental surgery to help the boy walk again.

Christmas Magic (7 p.m. Dec. 18, Hallmark Channel): Before a New York event planner can earn her heavenly wings, she is sent back to Earth to help a suicidal single dad and restaurateur.

Deck the Halls (8 p.m. Dec. 20, TNT): Kathy Najimy stars as a cleaning woman-turned-private eye who investigates a kidnapping case. Based on the first book in Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark's series of holiday mystery novels.

Specials

Invasion of the Christmas Lights 3: Europe (8 p.m. Saturday, TLC): Proof that Americans aren't the only ones guilty of holiday decorating excess.

A Michael Bublé Christmas (7 p.m. Tuesday, NBC): The Grammy-winning singer performs songs from his new Christmas album; guests include Justin Bieber, Kellie Pickler and Naturally 7.

Hollywood Christmas Parade (5 p.m. Dec. 12, Hallmark Channel): Marie Osmond is the grand marshal of the 80th annual event.

Christmas With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (7 p.m. Dec. 13, PBS): Pop singer David Archuleta and actor Michael York join the renowned choir for a Christmas performance.

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (7 p.m. Dec. 14, PBS): The New York City Ballet's holiday favorite is performed live from the Lincoln Center.

Christmas in Washington (7 p.m. Dec. 16, TNT): Conan O'Brien hosts; the musical lineup includes Justin Bieber, Cee Lo Green, Jennifer Hudson, Victoria Justice and the Band Perry.

A Home for the Holidays (7 p.m. Dec. 21, CBS): The 13th annual holiday special features musical performances and story segments, with celebs sharing their adoption experiences.

Christmas Crazy (7 p.m. Dec. 24, Travel Channel): Spanning the country for over-the-top Christmas celebrations.

TV series

The Closer (8 p.m. Monday, TNT): It's a case of ho-ho-homicide. Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) investigates a murder at a seasonal Christmas village. With Fred Willard as a not-so-nice Santa.

Eureka (7 p.m. Tuesday, Syfy): When a mysterious kaleidoscopic wave of color crashes over the town of scientific geniuses, residents of Eureka are transformed into animated versions of themselves.

Modern Family (8 p.m. Wednesday, ABC): Realizing there's only one day in early December when they spend the holiday together, everyone scrambles to throw together an "Express" Christmas.

Community (7 p.m. Thursday, NBC): A musical episode! The study group fills in for Greendale's absentee glee club and the holiday pageant is saved.

The Simpsons (7 p.m. Dec. 11, Fox): The Simpsons flash-forward 30 years to find themselves in a tech-savvy, futuristic Springfield.

Raising Hope (8:30 p.m. Dec. 13, Fox): In a nod to It's a Wonderful Life, Jimmy (Lucas Neff) experiences what life would be like had he never met Hope's serial-killer mom.

Other new holiday-themed episodes include: The Sing-Off (7 p.m. Monday, NBC), Last Man Standing (7 p.m. Tuesday, ABC), Warehouse 13 (8 p.m. Tuesday, Syfy), Haven (9 p.m. Tuesday, Syfy ), The Middle (7 p.m. Wednesday, ABC), Suburgatory (7:30 p.m. Wednesday, ABC), Happy Endings (8:30 p.m. Wednesday, ABC), The Office (8 p.m. Thursday, NBC), Whitney (8:30 p.m. Thursday, NBC), Cops (7 p.m. Dec. 10, Fox), The Cleveland Show (6:30 p.m. Dec. 11, Fox), Family Guy (8 p.m. Dec. 11, Fox), American Dad (8:30 p.m. Dec. 11, Fox), Glee (7 p.m. Dec. 13, Fox), New Girl (8 p.m. Dec. 13, Fox).