WEDNESDAY

DECEMBER 25

2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

WPIX, 9:00 a.m. ET

Shown on New York’s WPIX-TV, and syndicated to local stations across the country, this is the “original” Yule Log show – well, as original as it gets. (The tradition was begun on TV in 1966, but new video, at a different location, was reshot in 1970.) But the vintage carols and holiday pop songs are what turn this seven-minute video loop into hours of musical entertainment. Turn on the high-def TV, turn up the volume, and warm up to this four-hour Christmas Day special. Try it – Yule like it. Check local listings.

WOODY ALLEN MOVIE MARATHON

MGM HD, 10:00 a.m. ET

Woody Allen movies, shown all day yesterday, continue to be shown all day today, along with the recent PBS Woody Allen documentary. You can tune in any time, but look at this stretch from 5:10 p.m. ET to almost midnight. The action begins with 1972’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, and continues with 1973’s Sleeper at 6:45 p.m. ET, 1984’s Broadway Danny Rose at 8:25 p.m. ET, and 1979’s Manhattan at 10 p.m. ET – all of them delightful, memorable movies.

MEL BROOKS MOVIE MARATHON

Sundance, 3:30 p.m. ET

Mel Brooks is one of our favorite people here at TV Worth Watching. He’s done exclusive interviews for this website on two different occasions, as well as chatted with me on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. And today on TV turns out to be his day, an irony that surely isn’t lost on him at all. Sundance’s marathon of Mel Brooks films includes 1993’s Robin Hood: Men in Tights at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by 1981’s History of the World: Part I at 5:45 p.m. ET (pictured), 1974’s Young Frankenstein at 7:45 p.m. ET, and 1968’s The Producers at 10:15 p.m. ET. Watch any one of these, and you can’t help but have a Merry Christmas.

FRED ASTAIRE MOVIE MARATHON

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

It’s the last Wednesday of the month, which means TCM’s last day-long salute to its star of the month, Fred Astaire. And tonight’s all-night lineup begins with one of his best and most representative efforts: 1935’s glamorous musical comedy Top Hat, co-starring Ginger Rogers. Just for fun, watch for the flower shop girl – she’s played by a young actress named Lucille Ball. Other Astaire movies shown tonight include 1936’s Swing Time at 10 p.m. ET, 1937’s Shall We Dance at midnight ET, 1938’s Carefree at 2 a.m. ET and 1949’s Barkleys of Broadway at 3:30 a.m. ET – all of which co-star Ginger Rogers.

DOCTOR WHO: THE TIME OF THE DOCTOR

BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET

This new Christmas Day episode is Matt Smith’s final episode as the Eleventh Doctor – set in a town called Christmas, and with all sorts of ramifications for what, and Who, happening next…

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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

WPIX, 9:00 a.m. ET

MGM HD, 10:00 a.m. ET

Sundance, 3:30 p.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET

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