TV
What’s new this week
01:00 AM EST on Sunday, December 17, 2006
Mrs. Claus is at her wits’ end because Santa has awakened with a cold and wants a holiday in The Year Without a Santa Claus. The animated holiday special originally aired in 1974; you can see it Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ABC Family. Mickey Rooney, Shirley Booth, Dick Shawn and George S. Irving provide voices.
ABC
Renee Fleming does double duty Wednesday night at 8 and then again at 9 on PBS.
A coyote walks through sagebrush in the snow in Christmas in Yellowstone, a PBS Nature presentation, Friday at 9 p.m. on Channel 2.
WNET / Tom Murphy
Survivor: Cook Islands: Tonight’s two-hour finale begins with five of the original 20 castaways still in contention for the $1 million prize. As usual host, Jeff Probst, will welcome the castaways to a one-hour reunion, telecast live from Los Angeles at 10 p.m. (4) (12)
Tsunami: The Aftermath: Tim Roth, Chiwetel Ejifor, Sophia Okonedo, Hugh Bonneville, Sophie McKee and Toni Collette star in the conclusion of a two-part fictionalized look at the aftermath of the 2004 South Asian tidal wave as it affected residents and visitors on Thailand’s Andaman Coast. HBO
Dexter: Michael C. Hall wraps his first season as Dexter Morgan, a forensics expert with the Miami police whose sideline is murder. SHO
Antiques Roadshow: This is a repeat of course, but one of interest to local viewers. It’s hour two of Roadshow’s second three-part visit to Providence. Segments include a Mark Walberg visit to Johnson & Wales University for a look at its collection of vintage kitchen equipment. Appraisers at the Rhode Island Convention Center discover a set of dollhouse furniture made in the 1920s by Providence manufacturer Tynie Toys and decorated by students at RISD; original production puppets from the 1964 animated film Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, and a rare 1908 first-edition copy of Anne of Green Gables. (2) Also Tuesday, 8 pm (44)
Identity: Magician Penn Jillette is the host for this new game show, in which contestants try to match 12 strangers with a list of 12 identities in a quest for the top prize of $500,000. New episodes also air Tuesday through Friday, at 8 p.m. (7) (10)
A Perfect Day: Rob Lowe, Paget Brewster, Christopher Lloyd and Meggie Geisland star in an original holiday movie about an author who finds fame and fortune but loses sight of what matters most. See Andy Smith’s story on the cover. TNT
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown: Rerun, the younger brother of Linus and Lucy, is the star of this animated holiday hour featuring Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts characters as he gets Snoppy to invite his canine brother Spike for a visit. (5) (6)
Secrets of the Dead: The recent assassination of a Russian dissident in London makes this hour looking back at one of the most bizarre incidents of the Cold War particularly timely. Umbrella Assassin reopens the investigation into the murder of a Bulgarian dissident who was shot with a poison pellet from an umbrella gun while waiting at a bus stop on a London street. (36)
Everest: Beyond the Limit: This six-part series wraps up tonight as the team continues its struggle to reach the top of the world’s tallest peak. Triumph mixes with tragedy as the team encounters a dying climber from another expedition and team member Mark Inglis suffers severe frostbite. DSC
The Year Without a Santa Claus: NBC premiered a new live-action version of this tale last week (it repeats this Saturday night at 8 on Ch. 7 and 10); now ABC Family Channel telecasts the 1974 animated original from Rankin-Bass. Mickey Rooney, Shirley Booth, Dick Shawn and George S. Irving provide the voices. FAM
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Opera superstar and two-time Grammy Award-winner Renée Fleming and actress Claire Bloom join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square for their annual holiday concert. Fleming’s solos include “What Child Is This,” “Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle,” “Ding Dong! Merrily on High” and “Poor Mary,” while Bloom reads the Christmas story from the Book of Luke in a high-definition, surround-sound production, taped during four sold-out concerts last December. (2)
Next Top Model: British Invasion 2: The CW lets viewers in on the British version of its hit series. Tonight’s two-hour special features British cover girl and show host Lisa Snowden, with model Paula Hamilton, hair/make-up agency owner Jonathan Phang, and former model Lisa Butcher as the judges. (28) (38)
Mr. Christmas: Jace McLean and Jen Celene Little star in this holiday film about a struggling young family in 1941 who find it impossible to give their young daughters (Ireland Rose Maddox and Abigail Kinslow) the Christmas gifts they’ve requested from Santa. (36) Also Saturday, noon (2)
Great Performances: It’s a Renee Fleming night as the soprano stars in a holiday concert, Sacred Songs and Carols, taped last year in Germany’s Mainz Cathedral. Trevor Pinnock conducts the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in selections from Handel’s Messiah, Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ; Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Gounod’s “Ave Maria,” along with “Adeste Fidelis” and “O Holy Night.” (2) Also Friday, 8 pm (44)
One Symphony Place: A World Premiere from Music City: The Nashville Symphony celebrates the opening of its new hall, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, with performances of Shostakovich’s Festive Overture; Samuel Barber’s Essay No. 2 for Orchestra and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 Resurrection (4th & 5th movements). Soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade are the guest soloists, with Leonard Slatkin conducting. (2)
Holiday Party with the Pops: WGBH dips into its Boston Pops archives for a musical hour featuring clips from holiday concerts past conducted by Keith Lockhart, John Williams and the late Arthur Fiedler. (2) Also Friday, 10 pm
Independent Lens: This series kicks off a new season with The World According to Sesame Street, a look at how the world’s most watched children’s television program takes the Sesame Street Americans know and love and adapts it to the many countries around the world where it airs. The 90-minute program looks in on productions in Bangladesh, Kosovo and South Africa, with Terrence Howard serving as host. (36)
A Home For the Holidays: Rod Stewart, Rene Russo, Miley Cyrus, Angie Harmon, Cedric the Entertainer, Melina Kanakaredes, Jeri Ryan, Katharine McPhee and John Legend join CBS for its 8th annual special spotlighting adoption. (4) (12)
Nature: Linda Hunt narrates as PBS’ natural history series celebrates the season with a look at Christmas in Yellowstone. The park, considered by many the crown jewel of the National Parks system, is mesmerizing in its winter beauty as its animal inhabitants cope with the winter’s inhospitality amid unmatched serenity and eerie beauty. (2)
Monk: Tony Shalhoub stars as this series pays tribute to Hollywood film noir in a special episode filmed in black and white. The obsessive-compulsive detective is hired by a missing millionaire (Paul Blackthorne) with leprosy to recover some papers from his estate. Sarah Brown plays the millionaire’s wife. The episode is repeated in color at 11 p.m. USA
Blood Diamonds: Never one to miss an opportunity to ride on the hype surrounding a theatrical film (in this case the Leonardo DiCaprio movie currently in theaters), the History Channel does its own look at the human cost of the underground trade in illicit diamonds. HIST
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