CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
When Sheldon (Jim Parsons) was sick, and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) was put in the unfortunate position of having to care for the highly needy patient, the result was a very funny episode showcasing both performers. Tonight, the shoe’s on the other foot, as Sheldon becomes the caregiver – to an even more demanding Amy (Mayim Bialik).
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
This classic of classics is now 70 years old. Think of that. I mean, really think about that – that a movie made during WWII, about WWII, could be so potent, and so revered, so many, many decades later. Give most of the credit to Humphrey Bogart, whose performance as Rick is the very definition of screen stardom.
Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET
Last week, at Sectionals, the New Directions group wowed them “Gangnam Style,” but at the end of the number, Marley (Melissa Benoist) collapsed – a victim of Kitty’s campaign to make the new arrival so concerned about her weight that she became bulimic and ill. Dramatically, it’s overdone, but there’s an underlying message here that young viewers, and many are watching, would be smart to digest.
HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET
Like the magazine that now has 120 years of history behind it, this HBO documentary about Vogue is almost overwhelmingly glossy. It’s interesting, though, for some of the unexpected or forgotten turns the magazine has taken, editorially and visually. And, of course, for being able to see (and, more memorably, hear) the editors who make the decisions that shape women’s fashion, Anna Wintour included.
NBC, 9:31 p.m. ET
Tonight’s Christmas episode is almost ridiculously overloaded with guest stars. Megan Mullally, the real-life wife of Nick Offerman (who stars as Ron), returns yet again as Tammy 2, another of Ron’s easily excitable ex-wives. So does Lucy Lawless as Diane, his current significant other. And, in a first-time role as the formerly unseen wife of office buffoon Jerry Gergich (Jim O’Heir), look who shows up for Christmas: Christie Brinkley. God bless us, everyone. (And thanks for the shout-out last week, folks! Gives me major street cred with my college students.)