With those last-minute gifts to score and the kids crawling the walls it’s a relief to know that television is flying to the rescue. With scores of Christmas specials — and not just for the kiddies — the tube can ease the burden of gift wrapping, coupon counting, and devising ways to keep the dog away from the tree.
Apple TV+ has kicked off the season for the kiddies with the old “Peanuts” gang. Now streaming is “It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown,” and the classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as well as a brand new saga starring the piquant characters created by Charles Schulz. In “Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne,” Lucy plans a huge New Year’s Eve party while Charlie tries to keep just one of his New Year’s resolutions.
PBS is offering a new version of the evergreen “Nutcracker,” with “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” on Tuesday. This tale takes off where the the ballet leaves off answering those evasive questions like who really IS the nutcracker and what happens to the prince and the girl after the ballet slippers are put to rest? The music of Tchaikovsky remains and the puckish Alan Cumming narrates.
Hulu is streaming “A Very Boy Band Holiday,” (which aired on ABC) and features a gaggle of groovy guys from the salad days of the “boy band era ” including Joey Fatone and Lance Bass from (NSYNC), Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men, Bobby Brown of New Edition and Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees, plus many more.
There are scores of versions of Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol,” available this season. You can find the 1935 “Scrooge” free in Prime Video, but Albert Finney’s rendition will cost a few pence as well as Patrick Stewart’s definitive 1999 version.
Jim Carrey overacting as Ebenezer also lands on Amazon Prime for a price. The Taylor Holmes starrer in 1949 (with Vincent Price narrating) is free on the Dove channel via Prime, and Michael Hordern’s 1977 grumpy Scrooge is nested on BritBox. Fredric March’s classic 1954 rendition is streaming free on IMDb TV. TCM is airing the 1938 edition starring Reginald Owen as Scrooge on Dec. 21 and 24, while the 1984 TV movie starring George C. Scott is available on Hulu.
Various noteworthies will unscroll a comic epitaph for 2021 on Fox Dec. 23. “TMZ’s Merry Elfin’ Christmas: Bye, Bye 2021” will include Howie Mandel, Joel McHale, WWE Champ Becky Lynch and a roster of other celebs.
Brooke Shields stars in a new holiday flick for Netflix, “A Castle for Christmas,” in which she plays a wealthy author who hopes to purchase a castle in Scotland. But, alas, the supercilious owner (Carey Elwes) is not so sure he wants a Yank to infect his hallowed halls.
Like you weren’t spooked enough on Halloween, starting next Monday BritBox will turn the tables with a series of Christmas ghost stories based on the short stories of M.R. James. It seems that it’s a custom in the U.K. to tell ghost stories on Christmas. These adaptations include such shivery tales as “The Ash Tree,” “The Signalman” and “A Warning to the Curious.”
Netflix is streaming a tale about the origins of Father Christmas called “A Boy Called Christmas.” And on Dec. 24, TBS will come through with its 24-hour marathon of that great family flick, “A Christmas Story” beginning at 8 p.m. ET. It’s a treasured tradition that every year fans can’t wait to see if Ralphie will finally get his devoutly desired Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.
Beverly d’Angelo will be hosting the AMC and AMC+ holiday programming “Best Christmas Ever,” with a full lineup of seasonal treats. Saturday’s edition, “Holiday Hijinks Marathon,” will boast “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” (in which d’Angelo co-starred), “The Polar Express,” “Four Christmases” and “Fred Claus.”
Agatha Raisin (Ashley Jensen) returns with a holiday special of yuletide crime-solving with “Kissing Christmas Goodbye,” an original on Acorn TV next Monday. Agatha is engaged to protect a woman from ghosts of Christmas past, but when the client is found dead, Agatha must, once again, solve the baffling case — all the while dealing with Christmas.
Ovation, the channel dedicated to the arts, is collating a passel of Christmas movies for the season. “The 12 Dogs of Christmas,” airing on Saturday, is about a girl who uses dogs to teach the true meaning of Christmas and “Eve’s Christmas,” airing Sunday, finds a career woman earning a second chance at happiness.
The piece de resistance arrives on Christmas day when PBS airs the first “Downton Abbey” movie on its “Masterpiece” program from 7 to 9 p.m. The film plays again on Jan. 2 from 9 to 11 p.m. And the incomparable Michael Buble assembles a glittery crowd (including Kermit the Frog) for his tribute to the season with “Michael Buble Christmas in the City” hovering on Hulu.
Scott inspired by his father
Six episodes of the thriller, “Crime,” arrive on BritBox Tuesday. Based on the book by “Trainspotting” author Irvine Welsch, it stars Dougray Scott as the police inspector who must disregard his own problems to trace the disappearance of a young girl. Scott, best known for his roles in “Ever After” and “Mission: Impossible II,” tells me he didn’t start out to be an actor.
“When I was a boy I was brought up in a very industrial place in Fife, a very working class area and I kind of really wanted to be a footballer or soccer player because my dad had done that years before,” he says.
“But I was never really good enough for it. And my father ended up being a salesman. He sold refrigerators and freezers. I used to follow him around when I was a kid, used to watch him and I used to stowaway in his car as well. I used to hide in the back of his car until he drove so far away from the house that he couldn’t take me back. I used to be fascinated by his preparation in the morning. And what it taught me — it didn’t teach me then because I wasn’t sure what I was looking at — but looking back on it, I realized why I had a fascination for it, because what I watched him do was try to form himself in the morning into this character so he could go out into the world and sell fridges and freezers. And whatever he was feeling he had to suppress that in order to present this happy, likable, charismatic character to the people he wanted to buy his wares. And I just loved watching him do that. I was fascinated by it,” he recalls.
“I read ‘Death of a Salesman’ when I was 14, and I just made the connection between my father’s life with Willy Loman and with writing in general. I’d always enjoyed reading as a kid and when I read plays by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, I just fell in love with it.”
‘MacGruber’ struts on Peacock
Based on a "Saturday Night Live" skit and later a movie, “MacGruber” hits the Peacock streamer on Thursday. Starring and produced by Will Forte, it tells the tale of ex-con MacGruber seeking revenge against the hyper-villain played by Billy Zane. The show also features Sam Elliott, Laurence Fishburne (“Don’t call me Larry, call me Laurence”) and Kristen Wiig.
Zane, who’s played his share of villains, comes from a family of actors. “I opted for Hollywood after I graduated from high school,” he says. “My parents said, ‘Don’t leave your wallet in the dressing room and don't bump into the furniture.’ They were totally supportive. I couldn’t have done it without them. We had a deal: I was taking a year off from college in order to pursue a career. If I got work within one year, then run with it. If it doesn’t pan out, go back to school. Fortunately, it panned out.”
'The King's Man' holds court
The movie “The King’s Man” opens Dec. 22 and is based on the comic book, "The Secret Service," by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. A gathering of the world’s most evil masterminds plot to wipe out millions, and one man must thwart their dastardly deeds. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode and Tom Hollander. Hollander, who seems to be working in every current project, “Us,” “Baptiste,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “The Night Manager,” tells me that his chosen profession may not be so enviable.
“Show business isn't particularly healthy for people I don’t think, mentally,” he says. “I don’t think it’s good for people, which is why people in show business, when their children say, ‘I want to be an actor’ their parents always wring their hands and always say, ‘I tried to stop them!’ But they never manage it.
“It’s not a healthy thing to do, but it’s our life. But there are wonderful, wonderful moments. And I tried to describe it the other day — that what actors get from people — they get love from strangers.”
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