AMC, 7:00 p.m. ET
From now until Christmas, AMC is selecting a Christmas-themed movie and checking it twice – or allowing you to, by showing and repeating it as an evening double feature. The first film to receive that treatment, tonight at both 7 and 9 p.m. ET, is a good one: 2003’s Elf, starring Will Ferrell as a human boy raised on the North Pole, surrounded by Santa and his elves, who eventually makes his way to New York. The supporting cast is inspired, and includes Ed Asner, Bob Newhart, James Caan – and Zooey Deschanel, who plays a department-store elf and gets to show off her lovely singing voice by singing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in the shower, while Ferrell’s Buddy, unknown to her, is sitting nearby and making it a duet.
NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
The contestant field has been pared to the Top 11 – and this evening, on live TV, the paring continues, as remaining finalists (included Lynnea Moorer, pictured from last week’s show), once again, sing for their survival. And this time, the songs are suggested by fans.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
The good news is this: While this new documentary makes a strong case for the increasing pervasiveness and potential dangers of robots and robotics (thanks for the early warning signs, Isaac Asimov), the robotic female “hosts” presenting some of the information are not fully convincing as human beings. Not yet, anyway. But apparently, they’re getting closer all the time…