Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET
SPECIAL: For the holidays, Netflix is trying its hand at yet another programming form established by broadcast TV networks: the Christmas special. Bill Murray is the host, and while that might scream sarcasm and satire,
A Very Murray Christmas actually plays it very straight – and enjoyably so. For full reviews, listen to
my report on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, or
my Bianculli’s Blog right here. Or, for another TVWW perspective, see
Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
CYCLE FINALE: I’ve given up on this series as being too repetitive over the years, a common curse of even the most watchable tenured reality competition series. But one of our TVWW contributors insists, quite persuasively, that The Amazing Race still matters. For his take, see Alex Strachan’s TV That Matters. And for the show itself, tune in CBS tonight at 8 p.m. ET for the finale to this latest global race.
Encore, 8:00 p.m. ET
Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film, written by Paul Schrader, really is one of the key movies from the Seventies – a moody masterpiece that contains some indelible performances, and some even more unforgettable set pieces and sequences. Robert De Niro, as loner Travis Bickle, captures with frightening credibility the ramp-up of a societal outcast to acts of violence – which is even more pertinent, and frightening, today than it was four decades ago. And watch for the supporting performances by Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle and Harvey Keitel. Each, in its own way, is perfectly pitched.
Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET
As part of its 50th anniversary tour, surviving members of The Who literally banded together for a concert in London’s Hyde Park, transmitted live to select cinemas worldwide in October. That’s the concert event shown here tonight, complete with a Tommy medley and, no avoiding it, the anthemic “My Generation” and its immortal line, “Hope I die before I get old.”
Cinemax, 10:00 p.m. ET
Thackery (Clive Owen) is very busy tonight. He introduces a new "cure" to patients in his inebriation ward -- and also, at long last, gets to perform plastic surgery on poor Abby (Jennifer Ferrin).