TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
This is a thoroughly modern movie, by TCM standards. Made in 1973, it stars Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford as star-crossed lovers in a period romance with a very famous theme song. And in a few days, this movie will be 40 years old. The way we were? Younger.
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Write-Off Theatre, Take One: With only a few days left before the end of the fiscal year, CBS is burning off two first-run episodes of a series it’s already canceled, just to get the loss on the books before the New Year arrives. That’s my deduction – and the network’s, too. Just an observation. Not a recommendation.
Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET
Write-Off Theatre, Take Two: With only a few days left before the end of the fiscal year, Fox is burning off a first-run episodes of a series it’s already canceled, just to get the loss on the books before the New Year arrives. That’s my deduction – and the network’s, too. Just an observation. Not a recommendation.
History, 10:00 p.m. ET
Werner Herzog filmed this 2010 documentary in 3-D – but even in 2-D, it’s breathtaking. Herzog takes us into the Chauvet Cave in southern France, and its Paleolithic cave paintings estimated to be more than 30,000 years old. Herzog, who narrates, has a whispery, reverent, poetic tone, as he explains how the paintings were found, how difficult they were to film, and how experts have interpreted them. They’re thought to be the oldest cave paintings in existence – and, thus, among the oldest works of art ever found.
BBC America, 10:20 p.m. ET
This episode originally aired on Christmas Day, so it’s likely most people missed it. But the guests for this year’s Christmas special include not only Jennifer Saunders, Bill Connolly and Dustin Hoffman, but current Doctor Who star Matt Smith. And, by the way, his Christmas Day Doctor Who special, The Snowmen, is repeated tonight as well, at 9 p.m. ET. On a slow Saturday night, it makes for a delightful double bill.