TVSquad

• At 8, ABC has Shrek the Halls, followed by How The Grinch Stole Christmas, two new episodes of Samantha Who? and a new Boston Legal.
• NBC has a new Chuck at 8, then new episodes of and HeroesMy Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has new episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Prison Break. .
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, then a new Privileged.
• There's a new Good Eats on Food Network at 8.
• Also at 8: TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• History has a new Cities of the Underground at 9, followed by a new Ancient Discoveries.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, MTV has a new episode of The Hills.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

I always get a little bummed out after Christmas and New Year's. The holiday buzz has died down, and the lights still up around town look a little sad and lonely. It doesn't help when the January weather is sunny and 63 degrees (that's just not right people). So forgive me if I post one more story about the holiday season.

TiVo got stats from 20,000 of their users and figured out what Christmas special was the most popular this year. It wasn't any show starring Charlie Brown or Frosty. It was that animal with the shiny nose that wasn't allowed to participate in any organized sports. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer was the most watched special with TiVo users, and that includes people who watched the show live and those who recorded it.

After the jump, the top 10.

• TV Land is showing Christmas episodes of various shows all night.
• At 8, ABC has Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
• NBC has It's A Wonderful Life at 8.
• CNN has What Would Jesus Do? Holiday Edition at 8.
• AMC has 1984's A Christmas Carol at 8.
• Also at 8: Great American Country has a Holiday Wrapping Party.
• At 8:30, Nickelodeon has a Christmas episode of Full House, then two Christmas episodes of Home Improvement.
• At 9, Lifetime has the movie Deck the Halls.
• Food Network has the All-Star Holiday Party special at 9, followed by All-Star Holiday Dishes.
• Comedy Central has Bad Santa at 9.
• At 11, Lifetime has two holiday episodes of Will & Grace, then two holiday episodes of Frasier.
• At 11:35, CBS and NBC have Christmas Eve Mass.
• At midnight, TCM has The Bells of St. Mary.
• At 12:15, AMC has the 1947 movie Christmas Eve.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

A big week for ABC, as they grab the first five spots and eight spots overall in the top 20. That will change next week when Dancing with the Stars is no longer around (and will someone please tell all of the entertainment shows to stop talking about and/or to Marie Osmond? The show is over!). It's always great to see Christmas specials in the top 20 year after year.

1. Dancing with the Stars - Tues (ABC)

• At 8, CBS has a new Kid Nation, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has Christmas in Rockefeller Center at 8, followed by new episodes of Bionic Woman and Life.
• ABC has the Christmas special Shrek The Halls, then the 40th Anniversary Special Edition of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, then new episodes of Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money.
• FOX has a new 'Til Death at 8, followed by a new Kitchen Nightmares.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8, then a new Gossip Girl.
• CNN has a Republican Presidential Debate at 8.
• At 9, PBS has a new Great Performances, with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Sheryl Crow, Bill Murray, and others.
• Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9.
• ABC Family has The Christmas List at 9.
• Hallmark has A Christmas Visitor at 9.
• Also at 9: Food Network has All Star Holiday Gifts.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Project Runway.
• HBO has a new Inside the NFL at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

A Charlie Brown Christmas will always be about eight billion light years above all other holiday specials in my mind, but that's not to say I don't enjoy those other old standards that pop up on TV this time of year. How the Grinch Stole Christmas remains one of my favorites: a perfect blend of all things Seussian and Jonesian.

To be honest, from a visual standpoint How the Grinch Stole Christmas is pretty much a Chuck Jones special. The only characters who really resemble Dr. Seuss' graphic style are The Whos, and even the precocious Cindy Lou Who (who was no more than two) is given the doe eyes and adorable but dopey face that made Jones' characters instantly recognizable. Jones did much the same thing when he took over the Tom and Jerry shorts for MGM which were originated by William Hanna and Joe Barbera: he redesigned the characters and made it his own thing.