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Christmas Eve: Wednesday December 24th
101 Dalmatians (BBC1, 4.45pm)
Yes, another premiere of a Disney film, this time from 1961.
Skyfall (ITV, 8pm)
James Bond’s 23rd outing, and the third with Daniel Craig as 007, was a disappointment for me, but ITV have the terrestrial premieres coming around two years after the cinema release, and Bond’s loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. Whilst MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Note that while the film was presented in 2.35:1 in most cinemas, it was opened up to around 1.90:1 for IMAX, and Sky showed it in 16:9 so expect the latter format to be the presentation of choice, and it looked alright from Sky’s screening.
Dross includes Harry Hill in The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm (BBC1, 8.30pm) and Christmas specials for Not Going Out (BBC1, 9.30pm) and the godawful Gogglebox (C4, 9.30pm).
Christmas Day: Thursday December 25th
Doctor Who (BBC1, 6.15pm)
The Doctor and Clara face their last Christmas… Trapped on an Arctic base, under attack from terrifying creatures, who are you going to call? Santa Claus! Nick Frost and Dan Starkey co-star alongside Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. However, this did look pretty iffy from the trailer.
Scrooged (C4, 2.05pm)
Bill Murray stars in Richard Donner‘s comedic take on the Dickens classic as Frank Cross, a misanthropic, penny-pinching TV executive whose career rests on producing a ratings-busting version of A Christmas Carol. And just before Christmas, he’s visited by the three ghosts… Featuring Carol Kane as a scene-stealing, psychopathically violent Ghost of Christmas Present, although sadly this afternoon showing has been edited for language and violence, so if you have it on DVD, put that on instead.
Elsewhere, BBC1’s Christmas Day premiere is Puss In Boots (3.10pm), while ITV don’t try and compete with a film. Channel 4 are also showing Arthur Christmas at 6pm. And there’s also Blackadder’s Christmas Carol on BBC2, at 8.30pm, and QI Christmas “No L” at 10.30pm, also on BBC2, as is a repeat of Marvellous at 11pm, starring Toby Jones as Neil Baldwin.
Dross includes Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1, 5pm), Miranda (BBC1, 7.15pm), Call The Midwife (BBC1, 7.50pm), Frozen at Christmas (C4, 8pm), Downton Abbey (ITV, 9pm), Mrs Brown’s Boys (BBC1, 10.05pm) and Michael McIntyre’s Very Christmassy Christmas Show (BBC1, 10.40pm).
Boxing Day: Friday December 26th
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (BBC1, 4.40pm)
Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. The film is directed by Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt, and stars Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek.
Marvel Avengers Assemble, aka The Avengers (BBC1, 8.30pm)
When Loki returns and threatens to steal the Tesseract and use it to take over the world, Nick Fury must form a team of elite agents and superheros – featuring Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, Agent Natasha Romanoff and Agent Barton – to save New York.
The film stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner, and is directed by Joss Whedon.
There’s also repeats of Morecambe & Wise Live 1973 (C5, 8pm) and Tommy Cooper’s Christmas Special (C5, 9.25pm)
Dross includes a new series of Still Open All Hours (BBC1, 6.25pm), David Walliams‘ The Boy In The Dress (BBC1, 6.55pm), a new series of Birds of a Feather (ITV, 9pm) and Keith Lemon‘s Through The Keyhole Christmas Special (ITV, 9.30pm).
Check back soon for my look at the TV Programme and Film highlights leading into the New Year.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.