Syfy, 12:00 a.m. ET
Whenever you read this, tune to Syfy, and you’ll see an episode of Rod Serling’s classic series The Twilight Zone – then another, then another, all presented in chronological order. Imagine, if you will, a New Year’s tradition that, this year, offers up the entire series, in order. rather than random episodes presented out of sequence.
TCM, 10:00 a.m. ET
All day until 8 p.m. ET, tune to TCM, and you’ll see a Marx Brothers movie. What better way to end a year? Their classic A Night at the Opera, from 1935, is at noon ET, and my favorite, their 1933 Duck Soup (pictured), is presented at 6:45 p.m. ET. But whenever you tune in, you’ll laugh. That’s a TVWW promise…
ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET
Split between Los Angeles and New York, and Fergie and Ryan Seacrest, here’s the now-tenured New Year’s Eve TV celebration. Times Square is the province of Seacrest – and his free-range assistant correspondent, Jenny McCarthy. Scheduled to perform live: One Direction, Demi Lovato, Carrie Underwood and others…
PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
This year’s musical celebration takes on even more importance. Following in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, this year’s New York Philharmonic musical special is an all-French program. The compositions performed include Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess, as well as Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals – for which Nathan Lane provides the introductory poems. Check local listings.
CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET
Over on CNN, Anderson Cooper rings in the New Year, trying to inject dignity into the CNN proceedings – while co-host Kathy Griffith, for the most part, tries to do just the opposite.