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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
1) “I Love Lucy Christmas Special,” 8 p.m., CBS. This fun hour changes only partially from year to year. Each time, it has two old episodes, with color added by computer; the first is a 1956 Christmas show. Only the second one varies: This time (shown here), it’s set in Paris. Both episodes have slow build-ups, leading to a sight gag that’s worth the wait. The opener has three dandy flashbacks, including Lucy’s-having-her-baby, a comic masterpiece; the second has a hilarious jailhouse translation scene. Read more…
1) “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball,” 8-9:30 p.m., CW. Taped last week (on Friday the 13th), this had Taylor Swift (shown here) performing on her 30th birthday. Others included the Jonas Brothers, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Niall Horan, Lizzo, Monsta X, Fletcher, Dan + Shay and Five Seconds of Summer. Read more…
1) “All in the Family” and “Good Times,” 8-9:32 p.m., ABC. Here’s an idea worth repeating (often). Take original scripts from Norman Lear comedies; with Lear, 97, co-hosting, perform them live. That was a big success in May; now it’s back, again with Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei (shown here) as the Bunkers, plus Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz. This time, the second show switches from “Jeffersons” to “Good Times”; Andre Braugher and Viola Davis star, with Tiffany Haddish and Corinne Fox. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 9-11 p.m., NBC. It’s time to name the 17th champion. None of the previous 16 have found mega-success – the closest was Cassadee Pope – but the show draws big ratings. A recap is at 8 p.m., including Monday’s performances. Then the finale has music from the judges, others and the final four – Ricky Duran, 29; Jake Hood, 30; Rose Short, 34 (shown here); and Katie Kadan, 38. Read more…
1) “Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 9 p.m., PBS. Each year, this offers music on a massive scale – a 360-voice choir plus more than 200 musicians and bell-ringers, inside a packed, 21,000-seat hall. And this year, that revolves around one tiny soul: Kristin Chenoweth, all 4-foot-11 of her, jokes, dances (shown here), rings a big bell, reads part of “The Gift of the Magi” and, of course, sings beautifully. Read more…
