TVSquad

• TBS has A Christmas Story all night.
• At 8, NBC has It's A Wonderful Life.
• The CW has The Flight Before Christmas at 8, followed by The Story of Santa Claus.
• ABC Family has the live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas at 8.
• Comedy Central has two Christmas episodes of Futurama at 8, then several Christmas episodes of South Park.
• FOX News Channel has A Fox and Friends Christmas at 8.
• Also at 8: Disney has The Santa Clause 2.
• At 8:40, BBC America has a new Catherine Tate Christmas episode, followed by an Absolutely Fabulous Christmas special.
• At 9, Lifetime has the movie The Christmas Shoes.
• TruTV has a new Most Shocking at 9, then two new episodes of World's Wildest Vacation Videos.
• Hallmark has the movie The Most Wonderful Time of the Year at 9.
• Nickelodeon has two Christmas episodes of Home Improvement at 9.
• Showtime has a new Inside The NFL at 9.
• At 10, Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food.
• At 11, Lifetime has two Christmas episodes of Will & Grace, followed by two Christmas episodes of Frasier.
• At 11:30, CBS and NBC has Christmas Eve Mass and music.
• At 1am, ABC has Christmas Eve Mass and music also.

• At 8, ABC has How The Grinch Stole Christmas (movie), followed by a new 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8.
• NBC has Greatest Holiday Moments: TV & Film Countdown at 8, then new episodes of Lipstick Jungle, and Dateline.
• FOX has new episodes of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? and Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• The CW has Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer at 8, then The Story of Santa Claus.
• There's a new Washington Week on PBS at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• Alton Brown makes fruitcake on Good Eats, on Food Network at 8.
• HGTV has Decked for the Holidays at 8.
• Cartoon Network has a new Batman: The Brave and the Bold at 8, followed by new episodes of The Secret Saturdays, The Clone Wars, and Ben 10: Alien Force.
• Disney has a new Suite Life on Deck at 8, then new episodes of Bedtime Stories and Phineas & Ferb.
• Also at 8: Nickelodeon has Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis, followed by a new Sanctuary.
• Discovery has a new Survivorman at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new Numb3rs.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.

• At 8, ABC has Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, followed by two (yes, two!) new episodes of According To Jim and a new Eli Stone.
• CBS has a new NCIS at 8, then new episodes of The Mentalist and Without A Trace.
• NBC has a new Biggest Loser at 8, followed by a new Law and Order: SVU.
• FOX has new episodes of House and Fringe.
• TCM has Citizen Kane at 8.
• IFC has a new IFC Media Project at 8, then a new Hell Girl.
• At 8:40, BBC America has a new Gavin & Stacey.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs.
• There's a new episode of The Universe on History Channel at 9.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Orange County.
• Biography Channel has the series premiere of Shatner's Raw Nerve at 10.
• Sci-Fi has a new Cha$e at 10.
• MTV has a new Paris Hilton's My New BFF at 10.
• IFC has a new IT Crowd at 10.
• Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.
• At 10:30, Disney has a new Life with Derek.

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.

• At 7, ABC has Elmo's Christmas Countdown, followed by a new Duel and The Santa Clause 2.
• NBC has a new Football Night in America at 7, then the Redskins/Vikings game.
• The CW has a new CW Now at 7.
• At 8, CBS has a new episode of The Amazing Race, then the special In God's Name.
• The CW has The Story of Santa Claus at 8.
• ESPN has the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has Christmas in Connecticut, followed by Holiday Affair.
• At 9, Lifetime has the movie A Very Married Christmas.
• HGTV has Decorating Cents Home for the Holidays at 9.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Xavier: Renegade Angel, followed by Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, NBC has the season finale (fall finale?) of Chuck, then the season finale (fall finale?) of Heroes, and then a new Life (special night - part 2 airs Weds at 10).
• ABC has A Charlie Brown Christmas at 8, followed by new episodes of Samantha Who?, Notes from the Underbelly, and October Road.
• ABC Family has Christmas specials starting at 8: The Year Without A Santa Claus, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer & The Island of Misfit Toys, and Nestor The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey.
• TNT has a new Christmas episode of The Closer at 8, then a new Saving Grace.
• Also at 8: Food Network has a new Good Eats, followed by a new The Secret Life Of...
• At 8:30, ESPN has the Patriots/Ravens game.
• At 9, FOX has a new K-Ville.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• Lifetime has the movie A Dad For Christmas at 9.
• Sci-Fi has the second part of Tin Man. It's on at 9 as well.

Check your local TV listings for more.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Gretchen Wyler: She was a veteran TV, Broadway, and film actress and animal rights activist. On TV she had regular stints on Dallas and On Our Own, and guest starred on many series: MacGyver, Charlie's Angels, Judging Amy, Providence, Designing Woman, Who's The Boss, Falcon Crest, Remington Steele, Benson, St. Elsewhere, The Wonderful World of Disney, Hart to Hart, Naked City, and a ton more. The show I'll always remember her for is Friends. In the episode where Monica and Phoebe catered a funeral, she was the widow who wouldn't pay them and sang a song. She died at age 75 of complications from breast cancer.

• At 7, CBS has 60 Minutes.
• NBC has a new Football Night In America at 7, followed by It's A Wonderful Life.
• Lifetime has All She Wants For Christmas at 7, followed by Holiday Wishes.
• ABC Family has Frosty's Winter Wonderland at 7, then 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, The Year Without A Santa Claus and Rudolph's Shiny New Year.
• There's an Xmas episode of The Honeymooners on American Life at 7.
• Nickelodeon and Food Network are running holiday programming all night.
• AMC is running Miracle on 34th Street all night.
• TBS has A Christmas Story all day and night.
• Nickelodeon is showing Xmas eps of many shows, including Fairly Odd Parents, Full House, and The Cosby Show.
• TV Land is doing the same, with The Andy Griffith Show, Three's Company, Little House on the Prairie, Good Times, All in the Family, and others.
• Also: Hallmark has various holiday movies all night.
• At 9, CBS has A Very Married Christmas.
• Comedy Central has Bad Santa at 9.
• At 10:30, TCM has Christmas In Connecticut.
• At 11:30, ABC, CBS, and NBC have Christmas Eve services from Rome and other places around the world.

Here's a cute little video, courtesy of Spolerbuzz (by way of YouTube) that places jolly old Santa into the world of 24. Entitled 24th it takes place between 11:58 PM and midnight. Santa has a dilemma: there's no chimney to climb down. So, who does he call? Well, his favorite C.T.U. (that would be Christmas Toy Unit) elf Chloe, who gives him the schematics of the house and a way to get in.

Along the way he encounters a nosy little girl and a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Sorry, no one gets kidnapped, maimed or killed, and the United States is not obliterated by nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. Heck, I'm sure Jack Bauer was probably sleeping when Santa went on his yearly Ops mission. It's just a sweet little piece of film that promotes the newest season of 24, which premieres in January.

You can view the clip by clicking on this link.

• At 8, NBC has It's A Wonderful Life.
• FOX has a new Cops at 8, followed by a repeat episode and a new America's Most Wanted.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8, then Trading Spaces: All-Stars.
• AMC has Prancer at 8, followed by Miracle on 34th Street.
• There's a new reDesign on HGTV at 8.
• More holiday cooking on Food Network at 8: Emeril Live (with guests Alton Brown, Mario Batali, Tyler Florence and Dave Lieberman), followed by the All Star Holiday Party and All Star Holiday Gifts.
• Also at 8: Sci-Fi has a new ECW.
• At 9, CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show.
• HGTV has a new Designer's Challenge at 9.
• At 10, Jay Mohr stars in Christmas Do-Over on ABC Family.
• At 11, FOX has a Christmas Mad TV, with Jeff Probst, followed by a new Talk Show With Spike Feresten.
• At 11:30, NBC has a new Saturday Night Live with Justin Timberlake.

• At 8, ABC has a new Show Me The Money, followed by new episodes of Day Break and Primetime.
• CBS has a new King of Queens at 8, then another new episode, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has the season finale of The Biggest Loser at 8, then a new Medium.
• There's a new Bones on FOX at 8, then a repeat ep.
• The CW has a new, two-hour ep of America's Next Top Model at 8.
• Also at 8: AMC has George Clooney: An American Cinematheque Tribute.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Mythbusters.
• Lifetime has the movie Deck the Halls at 9.
• ABC Family has I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus at 9.
• A new Challenge airs on Food Network at 9, featuring a gingerbread competition.
• At 10, TNT has the special Christmas in Washington 2006.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10, followed by a new Twentyfourseven.
• Also at 10: TV Land has a new installment of 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catchphrases.

Remember the days when they would take characters from a TV commercial that you would see all year long and then put them in a Christmas-oriented ad around the holiday season? This commercial for Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles will bring back memories for those of a certain age. I'm not certain when this is from, maybe the 1980s? One thing's for certain: they don't even say "Merry Christmas" in the ad. Even back then there was a war on Christmas! Bill O'Reilly was right, those bastards!

It shows Santa coming down the chimney at Fred's house (Wilma and Betty must be out shopping, not sure if this was before Pebble's was born or not), and Fred gives him some Fruity Pebbles, which of course makes Barney jealous until Santa tells them to share. Can someone tell me what the hell Barney is wearing? A dress? Did he get that from Mrs. Claus? And Dino is carolling? I thought he couldn't speak? Is he just going "ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh?"

Another thing I'm not clear on: what exactly is the timeline that The Flintstones follows? They're from B.C. but they celebrate Christmas? Video after the jump.