Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Monday, December 23. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
Hollywood Game Night (NBC, 10 p.m.): It’s two nights before Christmas. Many in this great nation of ours have work off. Some are frantically scrambling to pull their family celebrations together. Some don’t celebrate the holiday. Still others are all prepared, and we hate them for it. And then there are the blessed few who are known to the good people of NBC and have been invited down to their studios in Burbank to play games and laugh and gab about them in an all new episode of this surprise summer hit. C’mon. It’s December 23. What else are you gonna watch?
WHAT ELSE IS ON
Duck Dynasty (A&E, 7 p.m.): A&E and the Robertson family may be at odds this Christmas, but that doesn’t mean that the network can’t exploit the broadcast rights it already holds to air nine straight hours of the “reality” “sitcom.” Let that be a lesson to you, Robertsons! Never sign a contract!
Shrek The Halls/A Chipmunk Christmas (ABC, 8 p.m.): ABC found these two specials in the back of the pantry a couple of days ago, gave ‘em a whiff to see if they were still good, and is now shoveling them onto the air because it can. Will we partake of their left-over holiday special foodstuffs? Probably not.
The Sing-Off (NBC, 8 p.m.): This a cappella singing competition is one of our favorite reality shows, if only because we get to see Ben Folds judge things on a regular basis. It wraps up tonight, and then we won’t get more of Ben Folds judging things, maybe ever! We’ll just have to imagine him judging us. Sexy.
Christmas In Norway With The St. Olaf Choir (PBS, 9 p.m.): They celebrate Christmas in Norway?!?!?! But our father assured us they were all Communists!
The Great Christmas Light Fight (ABC, 9 p.m.): We’ve heard precisely no one talking about this ABC holiday reality show “event,” but the big finale with eight families going for the grand prize airs tonight. If you’ve been following this one, please tell us about it, because we don’t think anyone is watching it.
My Cat From Hell (Animal Planet, 9 p.m.): Animal Planet has thought of every possible angle on how a cat could ruin your holiday, including one urinating over all of your gifts. If it’s hard-core urination you’re looking for in your holiday special, well, Animal Planet has you covered.
Home Alone (AMC, 7:15 p.m.): AMC breaks out the movie that made Macaulay Culkin a star, that he might later spend his time in a Velvet Underground cover band that alters the band’s lyrics to be about pizza. If that’s not enough, it’s immediately followed by the first sequel, which is just awful. Just awful.
Back To The Future (Encore, 8 p.m.): This isn’t a Christmas movie in the slightest, but we’re going to declare it to be a movie that makes us feel vaguely Christmas-y. Why? Because we declared it to be true. Now we can watch it alongside The Royal Tenenbaums and Toy Story 2 every year!
Meet Me In St. Louis (TCM, 8 p.m.): This movie gets broken out at this time of year annually because it features Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (always and forever the best Christmas song), but it’s a pretty darn great movie outside of that number, too. Check it out.
NHL Hockey: Wild at Flyers (NBC Sports, 7:30 p.m.): The Wild beat the Flyers back in early December by a score of 2-0, but that’s not the point of highlighting this. We want to ask you this: Have you ever met a happy Philadelphia Flyers fan? Because we sure haven’t. They all seem frustrated and preoccupied.
Monday Night Football: Falcons at 49ers (ESPN, 8:30 p.m.): The 49ers close out their tenure at Candlestick Park. It’s a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game, but where the 49ers are still doing well for themselves, the Falcons have fallen on hard times. Sucks to be you, greater Atlanta!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Getting On (Sunday): We loved this episode when we watched it on screener back before the season began, and we hope you also enjoyed its hushed, stage-play feel. Or at the very least that you found it as funny as Sonia Saraiya did. We don’t get why critics were lukewarm on this one. It’s a terrific show.