Sundance, 5:45 p.m. ET
After a full season of Aaron Sorkin’s take on HBO’s The Newsroom, now’s a good time to revisit James L. Brooks’ 25-year-old (!) exploration of the same themes: love and news ethics in a broadcast newsroom. In this one, the anchor is William Hurt, the talented reporter is Albert Brooks, and the feisty female producer is Holly Hunter. And somewhere in here is the question posed to me by my son, shortly before his wedding. And the answer. But I’ll keep it to myself.
ABC, 7:00 p.m. ET
This may seem longer than previous telecasts, and, if so, it’s not just because you’re getting older. It’s because this 1965 musical has been restored to its original length, thereby gobbling up all four hours of ABC’s Sunday night prime-time slot. So tonight, if you tune in to Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and company, you’re likely to feel even more (von) Trapped.
CBS, 7:00 p.m. ET
Though there’s been plenty of breaking news to explore of late, 60 Minutes is taking the easy holiday way out, and presenting a compilation of recent personality profiles under the umbrella title An Evening of Music. The featured artists, whose stories and profiles are well worth encores, are Adele, Taylor Swift, and the lesser-known but just as inspirational Rodriguez.
NBC, 8:15 p.m. ET
NBC was supposed to show a New York Jets-San Diego Chargers game tonight, but, since those teams have won only 11 games between them, used its “flex time” contractual option to select and substitute another game instead. This one features the San Francisco 49ers (10-3-1) and the Seattle Seahawks (9-5), and two young quarterbacks on the rise: Seattle rookie QB Russell Wilson and 49ers second-year QB Colin Kaepernick, whose record since coming off the bench has been 4-1.
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
Season 3 is just around the corner, once the New Year begins – so wallow in Season 2, and get back up to speed, while you can. Besides, on what usually is TV’s most competitive night among quality TV dramas, there’s nothing else on. Check local listings.