In England, it’s a tradition for certain series to serve up special movie-length episodes for the holidays. One of them is Doctor Who – and another, starting this year, is Call the Midwife, with a special installment that has Cynthia thinking about becoming a postulant. Check local listings.

2014

Dec

CHRISTMAS WITH MEL BROOKS By David Bianculli

TCM is of the opinion that there are fewer better ways to spend Christmas night than some films by one of Hollywood’s most celebrated Jewish comic actor-writer-directors. I couldn’t agree more – and for tonight’s Mel Brooks mini-marathon, TCM focuses on the films in which Brooks himself stars or is featured. His affectionate Alfred Hitchcock spoof, 1977’s High Anxiety, starts things off, with Madeline Kahn (pictured, with Brooks) doing a perfect imitation of Hitch&r

2014

Dec

DOCTOR WHO: LAST CHRISTMAS By David Bianculli

A marathon of all 12 episodes of Season 8, the most recent season of Doctor Who, is shown on BBC America today, beginning at 8 a.m. ET. That’s the season that introduced Peter Capaldi as the current and Twelfth Doctor – and the marathon serves as an all-day warm-up, and primer, for tonight’s all-new 2014 Doctor Who Christmas special, Last Christmas. Nick Frost from Shaun of the Dead plays Santa Claus, in an episode that also prominently features Jenna Coleman as Clara, my all-t

2014

Dec

THE WRONG MANS By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: Today on Hulu, the streaming network presents Season 2 of its co-production with the BBC, starring and co-created by James Corden and Matthew Baynton. The series takes Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man concept to comedic extremes, with Corden’s Phil and Baynton’s Sam the victims of mistaken identity. Season 1 left them in a lot of trouble, but Season 2 hands them even more – including an unexpected incarceration in jail. In the United States. In Texas. And it&rsq

2014

Dec

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE By David Bianculli

It’s Christmas Eve – so if you’re into the holiday, and awash with company, there’s no better time than tonight to watch this durable, lovable holiday classic.

2014

Dec

MR. MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL By David Bianculli

It’s Christmas Eve – so if you’re into the holiday, and awash with company, there’s no better time than tonight to watch this durable, lovable holiday classic.

2014

Dec

A CHRISTMAS STORY By David Bianculli

It’s Christmas Eve – so if you’re into the holiday, and awash with company, there’s no better time than tonight to watch this durable, lovable holiday classic. And while you may have to choose between It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, also showing at 8 p.m. ET, you can procrastinate on this one without penalty. TBS is showing this 1983 movie in its traditional holiday marathon burst, so any time you tune in to TBS for the next 24 hours, st

2014

Dec

THE YULE LOG By David Bianculli

A few local stations and teeny-tiny cable and satellite networks will show the Yule Log at some time on Christmas Eve. Most begin showing it early Christmas morning. Either way, avoid all imitations. Seek out the original, distributed via WPIX Tribune. In New York, WPIX first televised its Yule Log, with music taken from the Christmas music collection of the wife of then-station president Fred M. Thrower, in 1966. In 1970, the crackling fireplace image was replaced with a new fireplace (from a C

2014

Dec

VISITING TERRY GROSS ON ‘FRESH AIR’ TO REFLECT ON TV’S YEAR – AND MINE By David Bianculli

Today (Dec. 24) on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, I’ll be visiting with Terry to talk about the year in TV. That gets me in a reflective mood to think about my year, and to give thanks…

2014

Dec

MOZART IN THE JUNGLE By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Amazon Prime allowed its subscribers to sample, and vote on, this new series back in February, when its pilot was streamed for viewers to sample and, potentially, support with positive votes – which they did, for good reason. Based on the book Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music, by Blair Tindall, this comedy-laced drama, or vice versa, features Lola Kirke as Haley, an ambitious and talented young oboist who tries out for the fictional New York Symphony. S

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