MONDAY

DECEMBER 22

2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

AMC, 6:30 p.m. ET

AMC is televising two versions of this movie tonight. At 8:45 p.m. ET, it presents the 1994 remake, starring Richard Attenborough as the modern embodiment of Santa Claus, and Mara Wilson as the little girl who believes this particular department-store Santa is real. But the one to watch is the original, which starts at 6:30 p.m. ET. The 1947 holiday classic stars Edmund Gwenn as the Macy’s store Santa, and, as the young girl who believes in him, a very, very young Natalie Wood.

A SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE CHRISTMAS

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Another few hours of prime-time weekday TV to fill – and, on this night, another compilation of Saturday Night Live holiday clips, this time tied to Christmas. That means, of course, a cornucopia of singing trios, Schweddy Balls, and, of course, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon as the dueling “wrappers” from Wrappinville.

12 YEARS A SLAVE

Cinemax, 8:00 p.m. ET

I know. This powerful but grim 2013 drama, about a free northern black man’s descent into slavery in the antebellum southern states, isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy holiday fare. But it’s the best movie shown tonight anywhere on TV, so it deserves mention. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars.

HIS GIRL FRIDAY

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

This movie must have been seen by Aaron Sorkin dozens of times, because it’s the unofficial template for the way his characters talk in anything he writes. Every character. But that’s not an insult or even necessarily a criticism, because glib dialogue doesn’t get any glibber than this. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell star as cynical newspaper co-workers, in this cleverly reworked version of Ben Hecht’s The Front Page.

MAJOR CRIMES

TNT, 9:00 p.m. ET

Having a guy dress as Santa Claus to pull off a robbery isn’t very original, much less sporting, for the Christmas holidays. But in this new Major Crimes episode, having him organize the heist so that he gets to escape by blending into a Santa-costume flash mob – that’s a modern twist worth noting.

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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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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

AMC, 6:30 p.m. ET

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Cinemax, 8:00 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

TNT, 9:00 p.m. ET

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