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SATURDAY
DECEMBER 14
2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 
RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

If you’re into vintage holiday specials, CBS presents two of the early ones back to back tonight. First is this one, from 1964, with Burl Ives telling the story as Sam the Snowman, and taking us to the Island of Misfit Toys. Then, at 9 p.m. ET, is a Christmas special from five years later: 1969’s Frosty the Snowman, with Jimmy Durante as the narrator and Jackie Vernon as the voice of Frosty.

 
  
 
 
THE SOUND OF MUSIC LIVE!

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Under any other circumstances, NBC’s decision to pre-empt one of its annual scheduled telecasts of It’s a Wonderful Life would be considered holiday heresy – the Scroogest kind of TV humbug. But the network has pulled tonight’s scheduled showing of the 1946 holiday classic to present a same-month repeat of its own brand-new holiday tradition: a second showing of The Sound of Music Live!, starring Carrie Underwood and performed and broadcast live Dec. 5. This special TV event proved so popular, it’s already influenced networks to pursue similarly risky ventures. For the full story, see Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.
 
  
 
 
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

IFC, 8:00 p.m. ET

With a new Coen Brothers film, Inside Llewyn Davis, hitting theaters later this month, this is a fine time to revisit their 2007 Oscar-winning drama, just as a reminder of the range, and the skill, of these particular filmmaking siblings. Javier Bardem shot to stardom because of his performance here, and Tommy Lee Jones earned his star status all over again. What an intense, original movie.
 
  
 
 
THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW

BBC America, 10:00 p.m. ET

Reliably on this British import, we’re treated to a few celebrities not often seen on talk shows, a U.K. pop-culture institution, and one homegrown celebrity that hasn’t registered at all in the States. But on Graham Norton, they all share the same couch, and the same air time, and the loose democratic format is a delightful way to get to know them all. Tonight’s couchmates include a couple of Sirs: composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber and pre-Beatles British rocker Cliff Richard. Oh, and former Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, and then a couple of (to the U.S. viewers) relative unknowns: comic Harry Hill and Great British Bake Off winner Mary Berry. All presided over by Graham Norton, a TV host too endearing and playful to resist for long.

 
  
 
 
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET

On tonight’s new edition, John Goodman is the guest host, for the 13th time. Veteran guest hosts usually get booked in December, during the last stretch before the holidays, because that sort of experience makes it infinitely easier on the writers, director and other cast members. Welcome back, John. Musical guest: Kings of Leon.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.
 
 
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