So here we are, grievances aired over Zoom yesterday, another equally important holiday coming up tomorrow. Tonight, Ebenezer is visited by three ghosts, George Bailey is talked off the bridge, and Big Bird hopefully does not freeze his gizzards. We’ve also got a battle between and old lady and a crow for the soul of the planet, the Cold War as seen through the eyes of the Finns and lots and lots of yetis! It’s 2020!

JASON’S PICK:
Shadow Lines [Sundance Now]
This gritty thriller looks at the 1950s battle between east and west, communism and capitalism, U.S. and the Soviet Union as it played out in Helsinki in the Scandanavian country of Finland. 

KATHERINE’S PICK:
Summer Camp Island [HBO Max]
Oscar and Hedgehog travel far beyond their cabins for a sacred ceremony at the Yeti meadow.

BRAD’S PICK:
The Stand [CBS All Access]
In this latest episode, we get to meet a few more of King’s iconic characters. “Baby Can You Dig Your Man” singer Larry Underwood, Nadine Cross and more. Welcome to a post-plague New York. Getting out.. well it ain’t easy.

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE:

• If you love period Canadian detective serials and classical music, well, you probably know about A Music Lover’s Guide To Murdoch Mysteries, an Acorn TV special examining the evocative soundtrack for the long-running (13 seasons?!) crime drama set in 1895 Toronto. This special looks into the significance of pieces by Brahms, Strauss, and others as well as the originals they inspired, composed by Rob Carli.
• When we think of Christmas, who doesn’t think of Chrisley Knows Best? Well, we don’t and we’re guessing most people, but the USA Network family led by that particularly particular patriarch has a double-shot of Xmas episodes tonight (visited by Ghosts of Kardashians Past?).
• Travel Channel makes the odd decision to go spooky with the season, with the titles Tidings of Terror (hosted by the Freddy Krueger’s Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund) and Merry Scary Christmas–not to be confused with A Mary Berry Christmas which is less gory and more gooey. It’s also something I thought I’d made up as a joke, but actually kind of exists. They also air the beautifully named Yuletide Yeti, which just kind of gives me hope for 2021 and the rest of our future.
• Although the oddest new tradition may come from Starz where they piggyback off the famous WPIX yule log–a beloved NYC TV tradition going back to at least the 1960s which would eventually go national–but with the twist that their Men In Kilts, Scotsmen Graham McTavish and Sam Heughan, are sitting next to the roaring fireplace reading newspapers… in kilts.