TCM, 4:15 p.m. ET
What a holiday treat! This 1964 ABC telemovie, basically buried after its initial telecast until TCM dug it up this month, is yet another variation on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – but this one is by Rod Serling, and stars Peter Sellers, and, given the time, is overtly political. And what a supporting cast: Sterling Hayden, who had just starred with Seller that same year in the Stanley Bubrick movie Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, is here. So are – ready? – Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara, Robert Shaw, Steve Lawrence, and Britt Ekland. And they’re all directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, with music by Henry Mancini. Set your DVRs!
TNT, 7:00 p.m. ET
This 1939 children’s classic gets its annual holiday showing – on cable these days, not the broadcast networks, but still an event of note. If you have little ones around this weekend, and most people do, there are few better places to be, once you’ve gathered in front of the TV set. Set your DVRs!
NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
Though I still hold that A Charlie Brown Christmas remains the best holiday special ever made, I submit this one, a musical version of A Christmas Carol starring Quincy Magoo (voiced by Jim Backus), as a firm second place. Made in 1962, it’s the first prime-time animated TV special ever made – and on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, is getting a rare prime-time showing by the networks that first presented it. Here’s hoping it becomes an annual event from now on – so that I won’t be the only one humming Christmas songs about “Razzleberry dressing.” Set your DVRs!
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Burning off inventory during a slow holiday period, tonight CBS presents not just one, but two, fresh episodes of this clunky legal drama series, the first casualty of the 2012 fall season. I note this, but the note is not accompanied by a recommendation. Don’t set your VCRs!
HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET
Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton take the Glee formula – a singing competition at regionals, or nationals, or somewhere – and transfer it to a 2012 movie plot. This time it’s a choir – but, as always, it’s really all about the music.