Day: December 19, 2019

Week’s top-10: A merry, Grinchy time

1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (shown here), 8 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. Consider this a great way to wrap up Christmas Day – one more chance to see a TV gem. It started with Dr. Seuss’ book, which ripples with both humor and (in its final minutes) warmth. Chuck Jones – the genius behind Road Runner and some of the best Bugs Bunny cartoons – added great animation, Boris Karloff narrated and Thurl Ravenscroft boomed the song. It’s a tidy 30 minutes – followed by two-and-a-half hours of Jim Carrey’s “Grinch.” Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 21: It’s Eddie Murphy’s night

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Eddie Murphy was just a talented teen when he helped save “SNL”; now he’s hosting it … for the first time in 35 years. Back in 1980, the show was reeling. The original stars and producer were gone … the new ones were inept … but Murphy (shown here in an old Christmas sketch) was 19 and brilliant. He left in ‘84 (hosting later that year) and became a movie star. Now he’s back, with music from Lizzo. Read more…