As his body is prepared for burial this weekend, Nelson Mandela is paid tribute this afternoon as three films in which he was the subject are shown. First is the Oscar-nominated documentary “Mandela” (Encore, Starz, noon), followed by Sidney Poiter andd Michael Caine in “Mandela and de Klerk” (Encore, Starz, 2 p.m.). Finaly the revolutionary power of music is shown in “Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony” (Encore, Starz, 4 p.m.).
More dueling Christmas movies. In one, “Hats Off to Christmas” (Hallmark, 8 p.m.), Haylie Duff stars as a mother who falls in love with a guy who gets the job she wants. In the other, Ed Asner plays Papa Noel for “Christmas on the Bayou” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.), a film that also stars Hilarie Burton and Tyler Hilton.
New on cable tonight is Bryan Singer’s “Jack the Giant Slayer” (HBO, with Bill Nighy, Wean McGregor and Nicholas Hoult.
Wbat if George Bailey never existed? It’s the plot of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but it’s also what happened tonight, when the network changed the scheduled showing of the Frank Capra classic to rerun the recent ratings bonanza, “The Sound of Music” (NBC, 8 p.m.), with Carrie Underwood as Maria and some very claustrophobic outdoor scenes.
There are some holiday specials, though, with “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (CBS, 8 p.m.), “Frosty the Snowman” (CBS, 9 p.m.) and “Frosty Returns” (CBS, 9:30 p.m.).
A couple holiday specials from earlier this season get a replay, though, including the “CMA Country Christmas” (ABC, 9 p.m.) which comes after a same-week replay of “The Great Christmas Light Fight” (ABC, 8 p.m.), which was actually pretty good.
The Heisman Trophy Presentation (ESPN, 8 p.m.) will honor a college football MVP.
It’s followed by “Youngstown Boys” (ESPN, 9 p.m.), another in its “30 for 20” documentary series, this one aboutformer Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel and runnign back Maurice Clarett.
Claudette Colbert gets the spotlight tonight on Turner Classic Movies with “The Palm Beach Story” (8 p.m.) “Tomorrow is Forever” (9:45 p.m.) and “Midnight” (11:45 p.m.).
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform on a replay of “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings).
John Goodman is well beyond the five-timer’s club; he returns to host a new “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) for the 13th time. Kings of Leon is musical guest.