Blue Glow

Salon's TV picks for Holiday Weekend, Dec. 22-25, 2000

Published December 22, 2000 6:34PM (EST)

Series

Dateline NBC (9 p.m. Fri., NBC) reports on competition among kids. On CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (9 p.m. Fri., CBS), a woman is seemingly murdered by her abusive husband, but Grissom thinks otherwise, judging from the bugs on the corpse. And bugs don't lie. Get the pole out of the attic: Seinfeld (check local times Sat. and Sun., syndicated) is airing the Festivus episode on either Dec. 23 (the date of the holiday) or Dec. 24, depending on where you live. Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m. Sat., NBC) reruns an episode of classic holiday sketches. King of the Hill (7:30 p.m. Sun., Fox) takes us back to last year's Y2K paranoia with a rerun of the 1999 Christmas episode. The Sopranos (8 p.m. Sun., HBO) flashes back to Tony's childhood, where we meet the legendary Johnny Boy Soprano and a young, scary Livia. Everybody Loves Raymond (8:30 p.m. Mon., CBS) reruns back-to-back Christmas episodes. In the first, Ray and Debra can't get their desire in synch on Christmas; the second (9 p.m.) is the one where Ray buys Frank and Marie an engraved toaster for Christmas.

Specials

Winona Ryder, Claire Danes and Susan Sarandon star in the glowing 1994 adaptation of Little Women (8 p.m. Sat., NBC). Marc Anthony, Tony Bennett, Brian McKnight and Jessica Simpson are on the bill for the Holiday Music Spectacular from Miami Beach (9 p.m. Sat., Fox), a benefit for the American Red Cross. Detached chads roasting on an open fire ... Willard Scott hosts Christmas Across America (8 p.m. Sun., Home & Garden Television), a three-hour sampling of holiday celebrations in 39 cities across the U.S. 'N Sync, Frankie Muniz, Billy Gilman, 98 Degrees and the guys from "Whose Line Is it Anyway?" get a free trip to Disney World in 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (7 p.m. Sun., ABC), a concert special interspersed with "news updates" about Santa's flight. The annual 'A Christmas Story' Marathon (8 p.m. Sun., TNT) puts the yuletide classic on an endless loop for 24 hours. The 12 Sitcoms of Christmas (9 p.m. Sun., Nickelodeon) unspools six hours of holiday episodes from "The Brady Bunch," "Gilligan's Island," "The Beverly Hillbillies" and other Nick at Nite faves. Gone With the Wind (4 p.m. ET/ 1 PT, Mon., Turner Classic Movies) gets a four-hour Christmas Day airing. Der Bingle swings with David Bowie and other guests in A Bing Crosby Christmas (11 p.m. ET/ 8 PT, Mon., Bravo), a compilation of clips from Crosby's 13 holiday specials. What would Christmas be without It's a Wonderful Life (8 p.m. Mon., NBC)? We don't want to know. And for purists, A Charlie Brown Christmas (8 p.m. Mon., CBS) gets another airing on Christmas Day.

Sports

Basketball:
Magic at Pacers (3 p.m. Mon., NBC)
Trail Blazers at Lakers (5:30 p.m. Mon., NBC)

Football:
Jaguars at Giants (12:30 p.m. Sat., CBS)
49ers at Broncos (4 p.m. Sat., Fox)
Bills at Seahawks (8:30 p.m. Sat., ESPN)
Bears at Lions, Buccaneers at Packers, Rams at Saints or Cardinals at Redskins (1 p.m. Sun., Fox)
Dolphins at Patriots, Jets at Ravens, Chiefs at Falcons or Bengals at Eagles (1 p.m. Sun., CBS)
Panthers at Raiders or Colts at Vikings (4 p.m. Sun., Fox)
Steelers at Chargers (4 p.m. Sun., CBS)
Cowboys at Titans (9 p.m. Mon., ABC)

College football:
Oahu Bowl (8:30 p.m. Sun., ESPN)
Aloha Bowl (3:30 p.m. Mon., ABC)

Talk

David Letterman (CBS) John Malkovich, Brian Regan
Jay Leno (NBC) Penelope Cruz, Sea World animals
Conan O'Brien (NBC) Tom Hanks, Boyd Matson

All times Eastern unless noted.

Blue Glow will return on Jan. 3, 2001.


By Joyce Millman

Joyce Millman is a writer living in the Bay Area.

MORE FROM Joyce Millman


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