LITTLE ROCK — Christmas arrives Tuesday, but your regular TV schedule will be messed up for another month.
There’s a good reason for that. The merry elves who set the TV programming schedules know that at this time of year many viewers are off doing other things not involving sitting around and watching TV.
They send all their regular programs off on winter hiatus.
The shows have to take a break because the normal number of episodes is only 22. They have to cover September to May. Without a break, TV shows would run out of episodes sometime in March.
Some shows will get another break when the midseason series debut with their short runs.
Others will use reruns to kill a few weeks.
But reruns don’t play all that well these days, when so many viewers have DVRs that allow them to watch episodes on their own schedules. If you miss an episode the first time around, you can catch up with it on your own and not rely on the network to encore it for you.
So we’re stuck with a disrupted schedule for at least half of December and part of January.
It’s been that way for years, but I still get weekly phone calls and e-mail from panicked viewers.
“What happened to [fill in the blank]?” They ask. “Please, please tell me it hasn’t been canceled.” Most shows are just off the air for a few weeks, but some of them do get quietly canceled.
I suggest the dedicated couch potato use this break to explore other options on the tube. Check the listings up and down the lineup to see what odds and ends are airing. Think of it as an adventure. You might find a hidden treasure.
Here are a few shows set for today, Monday and Tuesday to help you pass the time.
TODAY 6 p.m. The Sound of Music (ABC). Sure, you’ve seen it 12 times before, but ABC plans to kill four hours with this 2-hour, 54-minute movie. Sing along with the Von Trapps.
7 p.m. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (ABC Family).
If you’re feeling querulous because all your regular Sunday shows are reruns, sit back and enjoy the Grinch stealing all the toys in Whoville. This is the 2000 Jim Carey movie. If you like it, you can watch it again at 8:30.
7 p.m. Christmas at Luther: Tidings of Comfort and Joy (AETN).
The one-hour special features the choirs of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, singing lots and lots of holiday music. There are 500 (count ’em!) choristers and a symphony orchestra.
7 p.m. Miracle on 34th Street (AMC). If you’re weary of the classic 1947 version, try this 1994 remake with Elizabeth Perkins and Dylan McDermott. Never fear, Santa wins again.
MONDAY 7-10 p.m. ABC has an evening of animated fun beginning at 7 with Disney Prep & Landing, featuring two wacky elves who ensure homes around the world are prepared for Santa. Shrek the Halls follows at 7:30, with Shrek the Third arriving at 8 p.m.
7 p.m. It’s a Wonderful Life (NBC). The 1946 Jimmy Stewart classic returns to show us how every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.
7-9 p.m. It’s a Raising Hope rerun marathon tonight on Fox with four episodes. At 7:30, “The Last Christmas” encore deals with Virginia’s belief the world will end Dec. 21 as she thinks the Mayan calendar predicted.
8 p.m. Christmas With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Featuring Jane Seymour and Nathan Gunn (AETN). The title sort of says it all.
7-10 p.m. A Duck Dynasty five episode marathon on A&E features the one-hour special “I’m Dreaming of a Redneck Christmas” at 9 p.m.
CHRISTMAS 9-11 a.m. Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade (ABC). Consider it a two-hour infomercial for Disney World. Mario Lopez and Maria Menounos host, with performances by Lady Antebellum, Backstreet Boys, Brad Paisley and Phillip Phillips.
2 p.m. NBA basketball (ABC).
Two games should pretty well kill the afternoon.
7 p.m. Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special (Comedy Central). Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his cast of characters.
7 p.m. Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas! (Disney). A movie based on the Disney TV series.
It’s followed at 8:30 by the Good Luck Charlie episode “A Duncan Christmas”; A.N.T. Farm’s “sANTa’s little helpers”; and Phineas and Ferb’s “A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas: S’winter.” 8-10 p.m. Finally, are you feeling irreverent? Comedy Central’s South Park presents four past Christmas episodes: “Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo,” “Mr.
Hankey’s Christmas Classics,” “A Very Crappy Christmas” and “Christmas in Canada ?”
TV Week, Pages 83 on 12/23/2012