Year: 2019

Best-bets for Dec. 27: “Godfather,” games and guitars

1) “The Godfather” (1972) and “Casablanca” (1942), cable. It’s a dandy day for film buffs: These are the No. 2 and 3 movies on the American Film Institute’s all-time list, trailing only “Citizen Kane.” You can catch “Casablanca” at 6:15 p.m. ET on Turner Classic Movies; “Godfather” (shown here with Marlon Brando) is 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on AMC. And a bonus: “The Godfather, Part II” (1974) is at 1 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 2 a.m.; it’s ranked No. 31 by the AFI, the only sequel on a 100-movie list. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 26: A Moody post-Christmas

1) “The Moodys,” 9 and 9:30 p.m., Fox. This has been a surprise – a three-hour Christmas tale with subtle layers of comedy, drama and character depth. On Wednesday, Fox reran the first two hours; here’s the rest: It’s been hectic for everyone. Dan (Francois Arnaud of “Midnight, Texas”) broke up with his girlfriend — twice and fell for his friend’s girlfriend (Maria Gabriela de Faria, shown here with him) … his sister cheated on her husband … his brother’s scheme (sending the ashes of a deceased via fireworks) has sputtered. Now their dad has a key job at Mass and invites a homeless couple for dinner. Chaos ensues. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 25: From perky parade to Grinchy scheme

1) Disney Parks parade, 10 a.m. to noon ET, 9-11 a.m. in all other time zones, ABC. Christmas Day starts – once the gifts are unwrapped – with lots of upbeat pop music. That’s taped in advance from the parks, with Sting, Shaggy, Pentatonix, Portugal, Ingrid Michaelson, Ally Brooke and Grace VanderWaal. Hosting the parade are Matthew Morrison and Emma Bunton (they’re shown here) plus Jesse Palmer. Read more…

It’s a busy New Year’s Eve

Television has come far from the days when it showed the Guy Lombardo Orchestra each Dec. 31
.Dick Clark’s creation, “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” keeps prospering under Ryan Seacrest (shown here). But its competitors keep growing, including Fox with Steve Harvey and Maria Menounos (who’s feaured here under “stories,” at left) and NBC.
Here’s a round-up for this year: Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 24: Ralphie’s story is oft-told

1) “A Christmas Story” (1983), 8 p.m., TBS, 9 p.m., TNT. In Ralphie’s 1940s world, winter is precarious. Santas are scary (shown here) … tongues get stuck on metal poles … and kids want BB guns, despite warnings that they’ll shoot an eye out. All of this is wryly recalled in the script by Jean Shepherd, who also narrates. Alternately warm and cynical, it’s rerun every two hours on the Turner stations, for 24 hours. This time, they stagger the starts, so you can catch the beginning at the top of any hour. Read more…

She thrives (and weds) amid New Year chaos

Maria Menounos (shown here) will be back on Times Square this year, amid crowds, chaos and commotion.
Whatever happens, it’s bound to be easier than 2017, her first time with Fox’s New Year’s Eve.“It was the coldest (Eve) in New York ever,” she recalled. “And it was after I had brain surgery.”
One thing more: She was getting married – live, on the air – surprising everyone, including her parents. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 23: Hawaii, Houghs & holiday tunes

1) “Same Time, Next Christmas,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. As Olivia (Lea Michele) sees it, “White Christmases are for suckers.” Ever since childhood, she’s has Hawaiian holidays; that’s where she had her first kiss, as a teen, with Jeff. Now he (Charles Michael Davis, shown here with Michele) is back; they’re grown-ups, with complicated lives. Making its broadcast debut after airing on Freeform, this has a predictable story, but is gorgeous enough to have us re-examine our holiday plans and/or our lives. Read more…

“Murdoch” brings some more good-guy mysteries

During the holidays, our TV tastes might mellow a tad.
We don’t need to probe the darkest recesses of our souls. We might settle for a decent drama about some nice folks.
So it’s logical that a streaming service (www.acorn.tv) is releasing the new “Murdoch Mysteries” season on Christmas Day.
This is nice-guy television. It’s pleasant, precise and likable; in short, it’s Canadian. Read more…

Best-bets for Dec. 22: Music and emotion blend

1) “A Home For the Holidays,” 9 p.m., CBS. Each year, this blends great music with passionate stories about adoption. This time, the music is from Idina Menzel (who hosts), Adam Lambert (shown yere), Kelly Rowland and Ne-Yo; in the stories, we meet: A couple that married later in life and adopted siblings, 4 and 2 … A couple that already had four sons, then adopted two ballerinas, 5 and 3 … And a single man who adopted sisters, 9 and 7. A fourth story will be told, followed by its adoption ceremony. Read more…

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…