THURSDAY
DECEMBER 20
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

It’s another chance to see the finest Christmas TV special ever made. I saw it for the first time when it premiered in 1965. I was 12 years old then, but not too old to fall under its spell. In fact, you’re never too old. Tune in and see – and listen, to the great jazz score by Vince Guaraldi.

 
  
 
 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

Showing the movie A Christmas Story on TV has been a holiday tradition for a while now – but here’s a “tradition” that began only last year. A year ago, on Dec. 17, 2017, this full-length musical version of A Christmas Story Live really was performed live, as a Fox Christmas special. Today, this year, it’s repeated. And I’m already betting it’ll be repeated next year as well.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

MOVIE PREMIERE or SERIES FINALE: Take your pick, because this new NBC Timeless “movie,” actually consisting of two one-hour episodes, serves both functions. It’s a telemovie premiere, because it’s a stand-alone story, called “The Miracle of Christmas.” And it’s a way for this time-travel cult series – which presented its last installment when NBC canceled it in May – to take time, so to speak, to end with a proper finale. Lucy and Wyatt get some help from their future selves in this last adventure, which takes them to the California Gold Rush, the Korean War, and elsewhere. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower

 
  
 
 

ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: These shows have been keyed to the holiday season, so the decision to end the series this week, as decisions go, is hardly half-baked.
 
  
 
 

CBS, 9:30 p.m. ET

Looking a bit ahead, tonight’s new episode is keyed to the New Year – and has Murphy (Candice Bergen) attending a function while worrying about her son, who’s spending the holidays in harm’s way, reporting from a war zone.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
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Jun 17, 2026   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
Howdy pardner,

Did you pass out on your keyboard after getting drunk, and then just kept bouncing your head over and over and over???

ROTFFLMBFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously dude, watch more TV, drink less alcohol!!!!

Warmly,

Dave
Jun 20, 2026
 
 
 
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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.