What to Watch on Christmas: Leverage, Doctor Who Christmas Special & More

News & Notes

On cable tonight, BBC America has the Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe special Christmas episode.

Last minute gifts that you can still get today: Give an Amazon Gift Card and they receive it via email or buy them a Kindle book and they will get instructions on how to download it sent to them via email. They don’t even need a Kindle device, as ebooks can be read via Kindle apps for pretty much any PC, mobile phone, or tablet. I actually read more on my phone than I do on my Kindle.

Prime Picks

The Simpsons (FOX): Repeat. This season’s holiday episode, “Holidays of Future Passed,” replays. Runs 30 minutes.

Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (BBC America): New Christmas Special. A woman and her children get relocated to a house in Dorset and come in contact with the Doctor. Runs 80 minutes. Plays again later.

Doctor Who: Best of the Christmas Specials (BBC America): Repeat. Watch clips and interviews in regards to the Christmas Specials. Starts 20 minutes after the hour and runs 60 minutes. Plays again later.

Solid Selections

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (ABC): Repeat. The classic animated holiday tale replays. Runs 30 minutes. The live action film version starring Jim Carrey follows.

Leverage (TNT): New. The team is looking for a man’s missing wife and run into a grifter ring running scams on rich men. Plays again later. Fantastic episode that includes guest-star Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (ABC Family): Released 1989. The Griswolds deal with family, including a certain cousin and his RV. Runs two hours. This is one of my favorite Christmas movies.

Other Options

• Homeland (Showtime): Repeat. The season finale episode, “Marine One,” replays. Runs 90 minutes.
• Iron Chef America (Food Network): New. Chef Zakarian, the winner of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chef, takes on Chef Casanova. Plays again later.

Sports Notes

• ABC has doubleheader NBA action with the Miami Heat at the Dallas Mavericks followed by the Chicago Bulls at the Los Angeles Lakers in the second two games of the day.
• ESPN has doubleheader NBA action with the Orlando Magic at some team followed by the Los Angeles Clippers at the Golden State Warriors the last two games of the day.
• ESPN2 has doubleheader college basketball action with the third place game and championship game of the Diamond Head Classic.
• NBC has the Sunday Night Football with the Chicago Bears at the Green Bay Packers.
• TNT has NBA action with the Boston Celtics at the New York Knicks in the first game of the day.

Christmas TV Marathons

There are a plenty of marathons over the Christmas weekend and here are the best of today’s bunch:

BBC America has 17 episodes of Doctor Who.
Cloo has 24 episodes of House.
Science has episodes of Firefly all day.
TBS ends their 24 hours of A Christmas Story tonight.