Daily Best Bets

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Steve Martin and Martin Short (or Steve Martin Short for, well, short) combine to host., with Brandi Carlile as music guest. Martin has hosted “SNL” 14 times – going back 46 years — but hasn’t done it in the past dozen years. He also co-hosted once (with Short and others), co-hosted the Oscars (with Alec Baldwin) and stars with Short and Selena Gomez in the dandy “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here). Read more…

1) Christmas classics, 8-10 p.m. Here are three of the best holiday films — each made for theaters, not TV. “A Christmas Story” (1983), on TNT, alternates between nostalgia and cynicism, as a boy (Peter Billingsly, shown here) struggles with a 1940s holiday. “Scrooged” (1988), on the Paramount Network, is a satire, with Bill Murray as a cold-hearted TV executive. “Elf” (2003), at 8 and 10 on AMC, has a guy (the 6-foot-3 Will Ferrell) realizing he’s not really an elf. Read more…

1) “CMA Country Christmas,” 9 p.m., ABC. Some great back-up musicians make all the difference here. A house band, with a rousing horn section, backs many of the vocals; also, Molly Tuttle brings her gifted bluegrass group. And yes, the singers are quite good. There’s Carly Pearce (shown here), who hosts, plus Scotty McCreery, Maren Morris, Dan + Shay and more. At times, the music is too relentlessly peppy, but then the War and Treaty duo blasts a powerful “O Holy Night.” Read more…

1) “The Amazing Race” finale, 9 p.m., CBS. History says the first “Bachelorette” was a former Miami dancer who choose a firefighter; they’re still married. Now we see a similar duo – a Miami dancer (Michelle Burgess) and her husband, a firefighter (Luis Colon). They face a couple that met on “Big Brother” and twins (shown here), adopted from Korea, who accidentally discovered each other via DNA tests; they met in person this year, on their 36th birthday. Read more…

2) “People’s Choice Awards,” 9-11 p.m., NBC and E. For three years, this was confined to cable, where it belongs. Last year, it added NBC, with Kenan Thompson hosting; now it does that again. Categories range from silly (“favorite bromance”) to solid (movie of the year). There are special awards for Ryan Reynolds, Shania Twain and Lizzo – who also has nominations for her reality show and her “About” Damn Time” song. Read more…

1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), 7:30 and 8 p.m., TNT, with “Oz” repeating at 10:15. Here are two of the all-time greats, proving that family-friendly tales – ones with warmth and optimism – can be done with intelligence. “Grinch” (shown here) reflects the brilliance of Dr. Seuss and animator Chuck Jones. “Oz” peppers a lively story with strong music, including the Oscar-winning “Over the Rainbow.” Read more…

1) “George & Tammy” opener, 9 p.m., Showtime and Paramount Network. In 1967, George Jones was soaring (17 top-10 country hits) and sinking (twice-divorced and deeply alcoholic). Tammy Wynette had three singles on the country charts; she had three daughters, no money and a wobbly second marriage. Showtime’s six-parter (with Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, shown here) starts strongly, with great music and a cinematic feel. This opener is also on Paramount, right after “Yellowstone.” Read more…

1) Football. It’s conference-championship day, peaking at 4 p.m. ET on CBS, with top-ranked Georgia (shown here) and 5th-ranked Louisiana State. At 8 p.m., it’s Michigan (No. 3) and Purdue on Fox; and Clemson (No. 8) and North Carolina (No. 17) on ABC. That’s in an ABC tripleheader, with Texas Christian (No. 4) and Kansas State (No. 12) at noon, then Tulane (No. 19) and Central Florida (No. 22) at 4. There’s more at noon and 3:30 on ESPN and 4 on Fox. Read more…

1) “SWAT” (shown here), 8 p.m., CBS. Earlier we met Sanchez, who schemed to get Hondo’s job. He had it, briefly; then the team took a stand and he took a VIP security job. Now an intruder breaks into an actress’ home and the team must work with him. In a week with few new drama hours, CBS is all-new tonight. On “Fire Country” (9 p.m.), the guys are accused of stealing a valuable watch; on “Blue Bloods” (10), Anthony’s daughter is the only murder witness. Read more…

1) “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas” (shown here), 8-10 p.m., NBC. There’s a ragged feeling to this odd hybrid. But there are great moments … and a reminder that Parton, 76, is an amazing songwriter. She tosses off a couple of her hits (way too briefly) at the start, then does less-familiar ones, from gospel to pop, that are brilliantly done. The scripted parts are weak; the music – with Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Allen and more – soars. Read more…