Also Tonight: Lighting Up the Tree
Time to light the giant tree on "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" (NBC, 8 p.m.) with Al Roker and the "Today" show crew hosting a the 83rd annual event, now as…
Tuesday TV: Hopeful AIDS Day Report
Time to consider George W. Bush in a more kindly light? Not only in his efforts to quell anti-Muslim behavior after 9/11 (which sets him apart from every one of…
Monday TV: Two Hours of Charlie Brown
The best thing about "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (ABC, 9 p.m.) is its simplicity in the face of holiday excess. Nevertheless, over the years it's been bulked up to an…
Sunday TV: Badu Hosts Soul Train Awards
Erykah Badu gets the chance to wear all manner of eccentric headgear tonight while hosting the Soul Train Awards 2015 (BET, Centric 8 p.m.) in Las Vegas where performers include…
Saturday TV: CIA ‘Spymasters’ Talk
The Central Intelligence Agency began as an international spy agency that has in recent decades become something of its own military force. The 12 living current or former directors of the…
Friday TV: Springsteen’s ‘Ties That Bind’
Just as Bruce Springsteen's 2010 project of outtakes from "Darkness on the Edge of Town," called "The Promise," came with its own accompanying short promotional documentary by Thom Zimmy, so…
Holiday Special: Slow Train Running
America is understandably slow in getting into the Slow TV racket. I fell under the spell of the Scandinavian trend this summer while on a visit there. (I wrote about…
Also on Thursday: Parade, Dogs, Football
The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade (NBC, CBS, 9 a.m.), that three hour cornucopia of commercialism, show biz and balloons kicks off with performers that include Mariah Carey, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Nettles,…
Wednesday TV: Peek at ‘Wiz’ Preparations
It would seem to be a good night to stage one of those live network musicals that have been popular during holiday times. But no, NBC’s staging of “The Wiz”…
Tuesday TV: Stuffing Charlie Brown Special
Doubtlessly one of the lesser Peanuts holiday specials — behind Christmas and Halloween — “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (ABC, 8 p.m.) is still something of an annual tradition. Like other…