WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 31
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Syfy, 8:00 a.m. ET

For 20 years now, Syfy – starting from when it called itself SciFi – has been presenting New Year’s Eve marathon showings of The Twilight Zone. This Rod Serling showcase is one of the most tenured TV marathons around, and with good reason: Whether the show is a classic you know by heart or an obscure episode you’ve somehow managed never to see until now, every single program pulls you into the Zone, in the very best way. The two-day marathon begins this morning. Today’s highlights include a great block beginning at 7:30 pm. ET, in which “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” (pictured) leads into, in succession, “The Dummy,” “The Invaders,” “To Serve Man,” “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “A Stop at Willougby” – each and every one a classic.

 
  
 
 

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

The prime time portion of this live special begins at 8 p.m, ET, with the festivities resuming after local news ends at 11:30. This is the network that boasts the best lineup of any New Year’s celebration. It has Taylor Swift, who performed on this same show two years age (pictured), along with Elton John, Iggy Azalea and One Direction. And, unlike CNN, it doesn’t have Kathy Griffin.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

I’m a sucker for George Gershwin’s music, so I’ll be popping in here as well – and recording it for later consumption, as I have with previous PBS Gershwin concerts. You can’t have too many recordings of “Rhapsody in Blue.” This year, singers Dianne Reeves (pictured) and Norm Lewis are featured. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

TCM, though it usually stresses the classics, is devoting tonight to a little “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” of its own – by presenting a mini-marathon of rock ’n’ roll movies. First up: 1973’s Elvis on Tour, a record of Elvis Presley’s sizzling 1972 concert tour.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 9:45 p.m. ET

Made in 1964, this Richard Lester film captures the Beatles, and Beatlemania, perfectly. This film isn’t long enough to take you into midnight – but as a way to start sending out the old year in the interim, you couldn’t ask for anything more infectiously enjoyable.

 
  
 
 

NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET

With a 10 p.m. ET prime time hour, and more festivities beginning at 11:30 p.m. ET, NBC’s Carson Daly manages to present a lineup that’s both super-traditional and oddly modern. His guests include Pharrell Williams and occasional crooner Seth MacFarlane, along with the generations-spanning duo of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.