ENTERTAINMENT

Holiday TV viewing is gift that keeps on giving

Mike Hughes
For the Lansing State Journal

If some people have their way, our schedule for the next month is packed.

American actors James Stewart (1908 - 1997) and Donna Reed (1921 - 1986) star in the film 'It's a Wonderful Life', 1946. The children are Jimmy Hawkins (Tommy Bailey), Karolyn Grimes (Zuzu Bailey), Larry Simms (Peter Bailey) and Carol Coombs (Janie Bailey).

There’s no time for sledding or sleighing or roasting chestnuts at an open fire; we’ll be watching TV.

It will be Christmas movies, Christmas cartoons, Christmas music. It will start Thanksgiving morning with a parade and end Dec. 25 with a “Christmas Story” marathon. We may need extra TV sets.

Yes, this trend started long ago. The classic specials for the Grinch, Charlie Brown and Rudolph are 51, 52 and 53 years old.

But it hit overdrive when The Family Channel created “25 Days of Christmas” in 1996. That channel kept changing identities — Fox Family, then ABC Family, now Freeform — but the idea stayed and was widely copied and expanded upon.

This year, Freeform — stuffed with old Christmas movies and cartoons — has only one new film, “Angry Angel.” By comparison, there are five new ones on Ion, six on Lifetime, a deluge on Hallmark.

The main Hallmark Channel has a dozen new ones, including (this Saturday) the latest under the prestigious “Hallmark Hall of Fame” banner. Its sister channel (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) has six more.

Then there are all the reruns, which is where this list had to draw the line.

We’ve included everything new that’s been scheduled so far — there will be more, plus changes — and the perennials that people might consider can’t-miss. But that’s just the start, with lots of other reruns, plus Christmas episodes of series. You’d better cancel those sledding/sleighing/roasting plans.

Parades

•New York Thanksgiving Day Parade, 9 a.m. to noon (Nov. 23), NBC. There will be bands and balloons and such, concluding with Santa. And early in the telecast, there will be the Broadway casts of “Anastasia,” “Once on This Island,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and the current Tony-winner, “Dear Evan Hansen.”

•Detroit parade, 9 a.m. to noon, WLNS (Channel 6). Big Sean will be a grand marshal.

• “Hollywood Christmas Parade,” 8-10 p.m. Dec. 15, CW.

Peter Billingsley sits on Santa's lap in a scene from the film 'A Christmas Story', 1983.

“A Christmas Story”

• The Broadway musical will be done live, from 7-11 p.m. Dec. 17 on Fox.

• A week later, TBS has its annual marathon of the delightful 1983 movie. That starts at 8 p.m. Dec. 24 and repeats every two hours, until 8 p.m. Dec. 25.

New cartoon

•“Trolls Holiday,” 8:30 p.m. Friday, NBC; also, 7 p.m. Dec. 24. It’s a musical with Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake and Zooey Deschanel.

The cartoon classics

•“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 8 p.m. Friday, NBC; also, 8 p.m. Dec. 25. It’s a 30-minute masterpiece.

•“Frosty the Snowman,” 8 p.m. Friday, CBS. Its non-classic sequel is at 8:30; they;re also 9 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 9.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" - When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests he become director of the school Christmas pageant.

•“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” one of TV’s greatest moments, 8 p.m. Nov. 30 on ABC. The hour is rounded out with briefs in “Charlie Brown Christmas Tales.”

•“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 8-9 p.m. Nov. 28, CBS; also, 8 p.m. Dec. 9.

•“Mickey’s Christmas Carol” is a half-hour gem; shown in theaters in 1983, it has few laughs, but exquisite craftsmanship. It’s on Freeform at 9 a.m. Dec. 2; 11 a.m. Dec. 14; 9:35 a.m. Dec. 16; 7 a.m. Dec. 20. On the first two days, it’s followed by the 90-minute “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.”

More key cartoon reruns

•“Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 8-9 p.m. Friday, ABC; then often on Freeform.

• “Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire” and its sequel, 8 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS.

• “The Story of Santa Claus,” 9-10 p.m. Saturday, CBS.

•“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” 8-9 p.m. Dec. 1, CW; reruns at 8 p.m. Dec. 20 on CW, also, 7 a.m. Dec. 21 and 22 on Freeform.

• “Shrek the Halls” and “Toy Story That Time Forgot,” 8 and 8:30 p.m. Dec. 7, ABC.

•“Disney’s Prep & Landing” is a slick, fast-paced look at Santa’s advance team. ABC has it at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 14, with its sequel at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 19; Freeform has them together, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Dec. 17 and 7:30-8:30 a.m. Dec. 25.

• “I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown,” 8-9 p.m. Dec. 16, ABC.

•“How Murray Saved Christmas,” 7:30 p.m. Dec. 24,, NBC. The 60-minute original rippled with clever songs; this is a 30-minute version.

• Also: PBS Kids plans Christmas specials for its “family movie night” on Fridays through Sundays (check local listings). That starts this weekend with “Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas.” Coming are “The Gruffalo,” Dec. 1-3; “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas,” Dec. 8-10; “Splash and Bubbles” and “Peg and Cat,” Dec. 15-17; and “Ready, Jet, Go” and “Wild Kratts,” Dec. 22-24.

• And much more: There are plenty of Christmas cartoon reruns, as evidenced on Freeform. We counted 73 hours of animation, between 7 a.m. and midnight on Dec. 1-25. On 16 of those days, there’s 7 a.m. animation.

Comedy

•“Greatest Holiday Commercials,” 8 p.m. Dec. 12, CW.

•“I Love Lucy Christmas Special,” 8-9 p.m. Dec. 22, CBS. This again has colorized versions of two episodes. One (a Christmas episode) is repeated annually; the other has Lucy in a fashion show with movie stars’ wives. It’s followed at 9 by colorized “Dick Van Dyke Show” episodes.

Mostly music

• “CMA Country Christmas,” 8-10 p.m. Monday (Nov. 27), ABC. Reba McEntire hosted at theGrand Old Opry. Performers included Luke Bryan, Kelsea Ballerini, Alan Jackson, Brett Eldredge, Trisha Yearwood, Chris Young, Dustin Lynch and gospel’s CeCe Winans, plus Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, CB30 and Dan and Shay.

•“A Very Pentatonix Christmas,” 10 p.m. Monday (Nov. 27), NBC, rerunning Dec. 6. Jennifer Hudson links with the group; others range from “Voice” winner Darci Lynne Farmer, 13, to Jay Leno, 67.

•“Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” 8 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 29), NBC. There’s music by Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Nettles, Brett Eldredge, Leslie Odom J., Pentatonix and The Tenors.

•“Magical Holiday Celebration,” 9-11 p.m. Nov. 30, ABC. Nick Lachey hosts in the Disney parks with Julianne Hough and Jesse Palmer. Performers include Ciara, Darius Rucker, Jason Derulo and Lea Michele, plus Hanson, Fitz and the Tantrums and In Real Life, which was assembled from ABC’s failed “Boy Band” show.

•“Disney Channel Holiday Celebration,” 8:30 p.m. Dec. 1 on (duh) the Disney Channel. It has music by Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Asher Angel, Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly, plus a look at Disney World’s “Toy Story Land” opening next summer and at three philanthropic families.

•“A Nashville Christmas” is 8 p.m. Dec. 7 on getTV, available locally on WLNS digital (Channel 6.2) or on Dish channel 373. It has Wynonna Judd, Pam Tillis, Emmylou Harris, Raul Mallo and Vincent & Dailey. It reruns on getTV at 10 p.m. Dec. 10; 10 p.m. Dec. 12; 9 p.m. Dec. 14; 10 p.m. Dec. 18; 8 p.m. Dec. 20; 8 p.m. Dec. 23; 8 p.m. Dec. 25.

• “Gwen Stefani’s “You Make It Feel Like Christmas,” 9 p.m. Dec. 12, NBC. It mixes music (Blake Shelton, Ne-Yo) and comedy, with Chelsea Handler, Ken Jeong and Seth MacFarlane.

•“iHeart Radio Jingle Ball,” 8-9:30 p.m. Dec. 14, rerunning 8-9:30 p.m. Dec. 25. It includes Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Camila Cabello, Fifth Harmony and the Chainsmokers.

• “Taraji’s White Hot Holidays,” 8 p.m. Dec. 14, Fox. Taraji Henson has her “Empire” co-star Jussie Smollett, plus Ciara, Chaka Khan, Fergie, Leslie Odom Jr., Salt-N-Pepa and the Ying Yang Twins. There’s also humor, with Jay Pharoah, Titus Burgess and Niecy Nash.

•“Showtime at the Apollo: Christmas,” 9 p.m. Dec. 14, Fox. Steve Harvey hosts, in an hour that has newcomers plus Snoop Dogg, Boyz II Men, Fifth Harmony and DMS.

•“Magical Christmas Celebration,” 10 a.m. to noon, Dec. 25, ABC. Here are the same people who perform in the Nov. 30 special, this time adding 98 degrees (Lachey’s group) and Telly Leung and Arielle Jacobs from Broadway’s “Aladdin.”

Some variety

•“Masters of Illusion: Christmas Magic,” 8 p.m. Dec . 1, CW.

•“Great Christmas Lights Fight,” 8 and 9 p.m., Dec. 4, 11 and 18, ABC. We meet families that have awesome holiday displays; each hour, the hosts (Carter Oosterhouse -- a Central Michigan grad from Traverse City -- and Taniya Nayak) pick a winner.

• Each weekday morning, Dec. 11-15, Ovation will have a different international “Nutcracker” ballet. That’s at 7 a.m.; viewers will pick a favorite, to rerun at 7 a.m. Dec. 18.

• “The Great American Baking Show” -- 9-11 p.m. Dec. 7, 14 and 21 on ABC – returns, putting some of its focus on holiday goodies.

•“Decorating Disney,” 8 p.m. Dec. 18, Freeform, views work at the parks and resorts. Also: 12:20 p.m. Dec. 19; 9:30 a.m. Dec. 20; 10:05 a.m. Dec. 22.

•“Greatest Christmas Movies of All Time,” 9 p.m. Dec. 20, CW; Turner Classic Movies covers similar ground with “A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas” (2011), 6:45 p.m. Dec. 11 and 8:45 a.m. Dec. 17.

• “Christmas Cribs,” 10 p.m. Dec. 20, ABC, is a “20/20” special, visiting celebrities’ homes.

The movie classics

•“It’s a Wonderful Life,” 8-11 p.m. Dec. 3, NBC, rerunning Dec. 24.

•“Mary Poppins” (1964), 8-11 p.m. Dec. 10, ABC.

•“Frozen” (2013), 8-10 p.m. Dec. 11, ABC; then on Freeform, at 8:15 p.m. Dec. 17 and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 18.

• “The Sound of Music” (1965), 7-11 p.m. Dec. 17, ABC.

• Judy Garland’s “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944), 6 p.m. Dec. 24, Turner Classic Movies; surrounded by “Christmas in Connecticut” (1945) at 4 p.m. and “The Bishop’s Wife” (1947) at 8.

“Miracle on 34th Street”

• This film (with a 9-year-old Natalie Wood) turned 70 this year. It has a marathon Dec. 10 on Sundance (3, 5:15, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m.) and Dec. 16 on AMC (8 and 10:15 p.m.

• Also, AMC has it at 8 a.m. Dec. 23 and 12:30 p.m. Dec. 24; Sundance has it at 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Dec. 25. Those three days are part of Christmas movie marathons.

• The 1994 remake – brighter and briefer, with Richard Attenborough – is 1 p.m. Dec. 23 and 5 a.m. Dec. 24 on AMC.

Reginald Owen, playing Scrooge, confronts the Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Lionel Braham, in the 1938 MGM production of "A Christmas Carol." Undated movie still.

“A Christmas Carol”

• The Jim Carrey version (2008) ia 11:25 p.m. Dec. 1 on Freeform. Also: 1:05 p.m. Dec. 2; 4:45 p.m. Dec. 7; 2:45 p.m. Dec. 8; 2:15 p.m. Dec. 10; 11:30 a.m. Dec. 11; 12:10 p.m. Dec. 25.

• A blistering Patrick Stewart version (1999) is 8 p.m. Dec. 3 on GetTV. Also, 8 p.m. Dec. 12; 8 p.m. Dec. 22.

• Older versions are on Turner Classic Movies. They’re from 1951 (Alistair Cook) at 8 p.m. Dec. 8; 1935 (Seymour Hicks) at 9:45 p.m. Dec. 8; and 1938 (Reginald Owen), at 12:15 p.m. Dec. 16.

• A lush 1984 version with George C. Scott airs at 10 p.m. Dec. 23 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 24 on AMC, then 10:45 a.m. and 8:15 p.m. Dec. 25 on Sundance.

• Then there’s “Scrooged,” the 1988 Bill Murray take-off. AMC has it at 8 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Dec. 23 and at 10 p.m. Dec. 24; Sundance has it at 6:15 and 10:45 p.m. Dec. 25.

More key movies

There are plenty of ones that started out in movie theaters: some of the highlights:

• “Love Actually” (2003), noon Friday, CMT.

• Tim Burton’s animated “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 2 p.m. Dec. 1, Freeform. Also: 3:10 p.m. Dec. 2; 2:15 p.m. Dec . 3; 1 p.m. Dec. 7; 11 a.m. Dec. 8; 2:20 p.m. Dec. 12; 12:10 p.m. Dec. 13; 1:05 p.m. Dec. 16; 10:40 a.m. Dec. 17; 11:15 a.m. Dec. 23; 11 a.m. Dec. 25.

• Chevy Chase’s “Christmas Vacation” (1989), 11:30 a.m. and 8:50 p.m. today (Nov. 23) on Freeform. Also, 4:15 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 26); 7:05 p.m. Dec. 1; 4:50 p.m. Dec. 2’ 8:50 p.m. Dec. 4; 6:45 p.m. Dec. 5; 2:35 pm. Dec. 7’ 10:45 p.m. Dec. 9; 6:30 p.m. Dec. 10; 12:10 p.m. Dec. 12; 7:30 a.m. Dec. 13; 8:50 p.m. Dec. 14; 7:10 p.m. Dec. 15; 10:45 p.m. Dec. 17; 10:40 a.m. Dec. 18; 8:50 p.m. Dec. 19; 6:40 p.m. Dec. 20; 11:05 a.m. Dec. 22; 7 a.m. and 7:10 p.m. Dec. 23; 4:25 p.m. Dec. 24; 2:35 and 8:50 p.m. Dec. 25.

• Will Ferrell’s “Elf” (2003), 6:40 p.m. today (Nov. 23), Freeform. Also, 9:15 p.m. Dec. 1; 7 p.m. Dec. 2; 6::40 p.m. Dec. 4; 4:35 p.m. Dec. 5; 8:50 p.m. Dec. 6; 6:50 p.m. Dec. 7; 8:40 p.m. Dec. 10; 5:50 p.m. Dec. 11; 4:30 p.m. Dec. 13; 1:30 p.m. Dec. 14; 9:20 p.m. Dec. 15; 7:05 p.m. Dec. 16; 9 p.m. Dec. 18; 4:30 p.m. Dec. 19; 8:50 p.m. Dec. 20; 6:40 p.m. Dec. 21; 11:50 p.m. Dec. 22; 12:50 p.m. Dec. 23; 9:15 p.m. Dec. 24; 6:45 p.m. Dec. 25.

• Jim Carrey’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000), 9:10 p.m. Dec. 2, Freeform. Also: 6:05 p.m. Dec. 3; 9:15 p.m. Dec. 16; 5:35 p.m. Dec. 17; 9:20 p.m. Dec. 23; 6:5 p.m. Dec. 24.

• Tom Hanks’ “Polar Express” has a so-so story, but splendid visuals. Freeform has it at 11:50 p.m. Dec. 2; 3:55 p.m. Dec. 3; 8:55 p.m. Dec. 5; 6:45 p.m. Dec. 6; 9 p.m. Dec. 11; 6:40 p.m. Dec. 12; 2:45 p.m. Dec. 16; 12:20 p.m. Dec. 17; 8:50 p.m. Dec. 21; 5:25 p.m. Dec. 22; 2:15 p.m. Dec. 24; 12:35 p.m. Dec. 25.

• Tim Allen’s “The Santa Clause” (1994) is 2:30 p.m. Dec. 4 on Freeform. Also: 6:25 p.m. Dec. 9; 4:20 p.m. Dec. 10; 8:50 p.m. Dec. 12; 6:40 p.m. Dec. 13; 4:55 p.m. Dec. 16; 3:30 p.m. Dec. 17; 3 p.m. Dec. 23; 11:25 p.m. Dec. 24; 4:45 p.m. Dec. 25. In several cases, the lesser “Santa Clause 3” follows.

•Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” (1954) is on AMC at 10:15 a.m. Dec. 23 and 2:45 p.m. Dec. 24, then it’s on Sundance Dec. 25, at 1:15 p.m. and 12:45 a.m.

TV-movie reruns

There are plenty of them on cable, but we would single out a few:

•“Once Upon a Christmas” (2000) and “Twice Upon a Christmas” (2001), 4 and 6 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 26), GetTV.

•“Snow” (2004), midnight next Thursday night (Nov. 30), Freeform.

•“Eloise at Christmastime” (2003), 7:30 a.m. Dec. 1, Freeform. Also, 2:05 p.m. Dec. 6; 12:40 p.m. Dec. 8; 9:05 a.m. Dec. 9; 7:30 a.m. Dec. 12; 11 a.m. Dec. 15; 12:30 p.m. Dec. 20; 10:35 a.m. Dec. 21.

•“Snowglobe” (2007), 7:30 a.m. Dec. 6, Freeform.