Holiday TV: 'Mr. Magoo,' 'Andy Griffith'
Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol
CW, Thursday, 8 ET/PT
Charlie Brown, Rudolph and the Grinch may be better known, but the honor of being the first made-for-TV animated Christmas special belongs to this 1962 version of the Charles Dickens classic, which has found a home on CW. If you’ve never seen it, you may be surprised by how (relatively) faithful it is to the source — and how well Jim Backus's nearsighted hero works as Scrooge. The animation is basic, but the story is well-served and the score, from Funny Girl’s Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, is one of the best ever written for the medium. So heat up the razzleberry dressing, lend a hand for each hand, and get ready for one of TV's brightest holiday blessings.
The Andy Griffith Show Christmas Special
CBS, Friday, 8 ET/PT
On the heels of CBS’s colorized editions of I Love Lucy comes a similar effort aimed at Andy Griffith fans. You get two episodes linked: The Christmas Story and The Pickle Story.
The Sound of Music Live
NBC, Saturday, 8 ET/PT
If all the well-deserved praise heaped on The Wiz left you curious to compare it to the first of NBC’s live musicals, The Sound of Music, here’s another chance. As with any version, the Rodgers & Hammerstein score is lovely, but the staging is leaden and star Carrie Underwood is staggeringly wooden.