Ho, ho, ho! Here come the Christmas shows

Dog saves the day in Christmas movie sequel

— December arrives Wednesday. Then it’s a short 24 days until Christmas.

Oh, there’s barely enough time to watch everything to get us in the proper mood. But we’ll try.

And who better says Christmas spirit than Paris Hilton?

Nobody! Even the mention of mistletoe and holly and eggnog brings an image of Paris Hilton to my mind.

She’s just so ... so festive.

Hilton, or rather Hilton’s voice, is one of the stars in the ABC Family original movie The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation. It airs at 7 p.m. today.

Record it for posterity.

Before you ask, yes, it’s a sequel to last year’s family favorite The Dog Who Saved Christmas.

The new film marks Hilton’sfirst voice-over role and the return of the voice of Mario Lopez as lovable and loyal Zeus.

Hilton lends her voice in the role of French poodle Bella.

Others on board include Gary Valentine, Dean Cain, Elisa Donovan, Casper Van Dien, Joey Diaz, Kayley Stallings, Brennan Bailey, Mindy Sterling, Catherine Oxenberg, Carlson Young and Adrienne Barbeau.

The film is debuting as part of ABC Family’s “Countdown to 25 days of Christmas programming event.” Do not confuse that with the channel’s “25 Days of Christmas.” This is merely the countdown to that.

In the film, “one lovesick dog must single-pawedly save his family’s Christmas vacation.” Here’s what happens.

Warning. Spoilers ahead.

The Bannister family and their well-intentioned pooch, Zeus, plan for a nice, relaxingChristmas vacation at an idyllic Rocky Mountain resort, but their ideal getaway goes awry when Belinda Bannister’s (Donovan) obnoxious brother, Randy (Van Dien), arrives with his son and their new poodle, Bella, proving there is such a thing as too much family togetherness.

Zeus is immediately smitten and twitterpated over Bella and is desperate to win her affection, but she will have nothing to do with him.

Things get worse.

A pair of inept thieves, Ted (Cain) and Stewey (Diaz), arrive at the resort to steal the $250,000 diamond necklace belonging to starlet London James (Young).

Initially successful, Ted and Stewey are forced to ditch the necklace to avoid being caught.

That opens the door for George Bannister (Valentine) to buy it as a dog collar for Bella.

Once Ted and Stewey realize where the priceless jewelry has disappeared to, they snatch Bella, leaving it up to Zeus to once again foil their nefarious plans.

Will Zeus rescue Bella in time and reunite the family, saving Christmas vacation and winning Bella’s heart? Or will Ted and Stewey finally get the better of Zeus and spoil everything?

Here’s a clue: The title of the movie is The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation. I’m going out on a limb and predict Zeus saved the day.

Here are some of the highlights of ABC Family’s “25 Days of Christmas.”

Wednesday: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 7 p.m.

Thursday: The Santa Clause, 6 p.m.

Friday: The Polar Express,7:30 p.m.

Saturday: Harry Potter Marathon all day; The Nightmare Before Christmas, 10 p.m.

Dec. 5: Harry Potter Marathon all day.

Dec. 6: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Island of Misfit Toys, 6 p.m.; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 7: Cranberry Christmas, 6:30 p.m.; Frosty’s Winter Wonderland, 7 p.m.; Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8: Miracle on 34th Street, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 9: The Gruffalo, a new ABC Family original special, 6 p.m.

Dec. 11: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, 8 p.m.

Dec. 12: Christmas Cupid, a new ABC Family original movie, 7 p.m.

Dec. 14: The Cat in the Hat, 5 p.m.; Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? 5:30 p.m.; The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, 6 p.m.

Dec. 15: Finding Nemo, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 16: The Incredibles, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 17: Wall-E, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18: Toy Story, 7 p.m.

Dec. 19: Toy Story 2, 7 p.m.

TV Week, Pages 89 on 11/28/2010

Upcoming Events