TV: Five shows worth watching tonight: December 20
A select viewing guide for Thursday, December 20
FAMILY Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (CBC, 8 p.m.) Talk about a festive special with legs. First broadcast in 1964, this low-tech story has become a holiday perennial for many kids and parents. Loosely based on the pop tune by Johnny Marks, it tells the story of Rudolph, a shy reindeer whose shiny red nose has made him an outcast in Christmastown. Rudolph finds redemption and meaning in life with help from a dental-obsessed elf named Hermey and the grizzly prospector Yukon Cornelius. The payoff: Watching that jerk Santa forced to beg for Rudolph’s services.
COMEDY Parks & Recreation (Citytv, 8:30 p.m.; NBC, 9:30 p.m.) Some politicians really do care about helping the people who voted them into office. Case in point: Newly-elected Pawnee city council member Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), who shifts into helpful mode in tonight’s show when she discovers the town’s senior citizenry are stricken by an STD epidemic. Leslie’s solution: A sex-education class complete with a graphic slide show. In other news, Tom (Aziz Ansari) tries to go cold turkey with his electronic gadgetry, while Ben (Adam Scott) and April (Aubrey Plaza) attempt to track down the mysterious Congressman Murray.
COMEDY Futurama (Teletoon, 9 p.m.) If it’s the dark side of Christmas you seek, look no further. Hailing from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, in consort with David X. Cohen, this animated series follows the misadventures of a present-day slacker named Fry, who is cryogenically frozen in 1999 and woken up over a thousand years later to a brave new world. In tonight’s second-season outing, Fry is pining for Christmas until he learns of the existence of “Robot Santa,” a murderous automaton with a machine gun who mows down anyone he deems to be “naughty.” Which is pretty much everyone.
REALITY Jersey Shore (MTV, 10 p.m.) TV simply won’t be the same anymore on Thursday nights. After six seasons, the unusual journey that has been MTV’s Jersey Shore will finally come to a close following tonight’s much-hyped series finale. No program details are available, so expect the entire hour to feature the lovable guidos and guidettes saying arrividerci to each other. And really, most of the cast isn’t going anywhere. The eponymous Snooki, now a mom, will return with her bestie Jwoww in their reality spinoff series slated to return for a second season in January; Pauly D’s spinoff runs in rotation constantly; and MTV will launch a talk show hosted by Vinny Guadagnino next year. And immediately following tonight’s finale, there’s a reunion show in the MTV studio.
MOVIE Miracle on 34 th Street (AMC, 10:15 p.m.) Steeped in feelgood postwar optimism, this 1947 comedy introduced the world to Natalie Wood. The late Ms. Wood was only nine years old when she was cast in the role of Susan, a New York kid who refuses to believe that the Macy’s department store Santa is the real thing. At the behest of her icy mother (Maureen O’Hara), Susan is skeptical about the entire holiday seasons, but her attitude changes when she meet a charming old codger, played by Edmund Gwenn, who insists he’s the real Kris Kringle.