It made a huge impression on me as a kid: TV’s first animated Christmas special, with a clever approach to the Charles Dickens story that would soon become so overplayed on TV, with a familiar cartoon character and a terrific set of songs.“Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol” (NBC, 8 p.m.) had laughs and pathos, deep emotion about death and being left behind, and the giddiness of having another chance. And yet it faded from TV in subsequent years while other, later specials got the automatic annual treatment.
Let’s hope tonight’s 50th anniversary telecast of the special, for the first time in decades, will now be part of an annual tradition. One drawback about the modern age is that eight minutes had to be cut from the original running time (you can watch the full thing streaming on Netflix).
Its a night seemingly programmed for me, with the best movie ever made, “The Wizard of Oz” (TNT, 7 and 9:15 p.m.) twice.
And there’s a Tom Waits performance from 1978 is on “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings).
“Rebel Without a Cause” (TCM, 8 p.m.) kicks off a night of essential movies from the 1950s, with “The Wild One” (TCM, 10 p.m.), “Blackboard Jungle” (TCM, 12:30 a.m.), “Anatomy of A Murder” (TCM, 2:15 a.m.) and “The Thing from Another World” (TCM, 5 a.m.). In the middle of it, there’s a documentary about the era’s films, “Hidden Values: The Movies of the’50s” (TCM, 11:30 p.m.).
Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton star in “Joyful Noise” (HBO, 8 p.m.), making its premiere on premium cable, as does the stop motion animated “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” (Starz, 9 p.m.), from the people behind “Wallace & Gromit,” with the voices of Hugh Grant, Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayak.
“Bowling for Columbine” (Current TV, 8 p.m.) gets a timely replay.
A one hour version of the “WWE Tribute to the Troops” (NBC, 9 p.m.), which played Wednesday on the USA network, is replayed on broadcast TV.
Already canceled, “Made In Jersey” (CBS, 8 p.m.) returns to show two previously unaired episodes.
It was a year for the dogs, according to the special “The Year in Pup Culture” (Animal Planet, 9 p.m.), in which canines re-enact human scenes from the year in a special that runs three hours.
The Obscura Antiques & Oddites shop in New York’s East Villaige opens its doors for the “Oddities: Christmas Special” (Science, 9 p.m.).
It’s Atlanta at Detroit (ESPN, 8:30 p.m.) in Saturday night football.
Two college bowl games are on today: The New Orleans Bowl with East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (ESPN, noon) and the Las Vegas Bowl with Washington vs. Boise State (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.).
Men’s college hoops includes Syracuse vs. Temple (ESPN2, noon), McNeese State at North Carolina (ESPNU, noon), Murray State at Dayton (CBS Sports, noon), Texas at Michigan State (ESPN2, 2 p.m.), LSU at Marquette (ESPNU, 2 p.m.), Florida State at Charlotte (CBS Sports, 2 p.m.), George Mason vs. Richmond (NBC Sports, 3 p.m.), Kansas at Ohio State (CBS, 4 p.m.), Marshall at Kentucky (ESPN2, 4 p.m.), Indiana State vs. Mississippi (ESPNU, 4 p.m.), Old Dominion vs. Virginia (NBC Sports, 5:30 p.m.), Missouri vs. Illinois (ESPN2, 6 p.m.), San Diego State vs. San Francisco (ESPNU, 6 p.m.), Florida State at Kansas State (ESPN2, 8 p.m.), Davidson at Drexel (NBC Sports, 8 p.m.), Louisville vs. Western Kentucky (ESPNU, 8:30 p.m.), Arizona vs. East Tennesse State (ESPNU, 10:30 p.m.) and Miami at Hawaii (ESPNU, 12:30 a.m.).
The Bruno Mars-hosted edition of “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m. is back.