Animations tie into the holiday season
Cartoon holiday specials, both old and new, adorn tonight’s schedule.
Jimmy Durante narrates the 1970 animated favorite “Frosty the Snowman” (8 p.m., CBS), followed by “Frosty Returns” (8:30 p.m., CBS), the 1995 sequel featuring the voices of John Goodman and Jonathan Winters.
Cartoon stars of a more recent vintage appear in “Ed, Edd ‘n Eddy’s Jingle Jingle Jangle” (8 p.m., Cartoon Network). I’ve never been the biggest fan of this loud cartoon’s depiction of young boys as crass, crude clowns. But then again, it’s been a long time since I was 8.
In “Jangle,” Eddy discovers his parent’s secret cache of Christmas presents, opens them and finds out that they all stink. In a desperate effort to improve his chances of a better holiday, he attempts to get adopted by a different family with better taste.
After inviting himself into a series of homes, he discovers how each family celebrates the holiday in their own unique fashion and, along the way, finds himself touched by the spirit of the season.
In other holiday fare, “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Patricia Heaton appears in the 2001 fantasy “A Town Without Christmas” (9 p.m., Lifetime) as a reporter searching for the meaning of a disenchanted boy’s letter to Santa. Peter Falk appears as the angelic figure Max, a role he reprised in last Sunday’s CBS fantasy “When Angels Come to Town.”
On a more practical note, “Home to Go for the Holidays” (8 p.m., HGTV) offers tips on how to inject some youthful twists into traditional decor, including the use of some nontraditional color schemes and advice on how to minimize the storage area required for your annual decorations.
The Canadian high school soap opera “DeGrassi: The Next Generation” (5 p.m., Noggin/The N) tackles the topics of bullying and school violence. Things get ugly when three cruel classmates push the nerdy but brilliant star of the school’s trivia team one step too far. The story concludes next Friday.
The sports biography series “Untold” (9 p.m., Spike) looks at the troubled life and career and unfulfilled promise of Darryl Strawberry.
Discovered as a teenager and long touted as the next Ted Williams, Strawberry’s brilliant career flamed out after a series of drug busts, bouts of domestic violence and traffic infractions. “Untold” follows Strawberry’s path from Mets star to a single season with the Dodgers and his final years as a reclamation project of Yankees’ manager George Steinbrenner.
After a string of second chances and broken promises, Strawberry ended up back in the minor leagues.
Narrated by Marv Albert, the series also catches the former slugger on a recent speaking tour where he discusses with at-risk youth his past demons and addictions.
Other highlights
Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi, Oksana Baiul and Kurt Browning participate in the skating special “Ice Wars 2004: USA vs. the World” (9 p.m., CBS).
Monroe gets a reputation as a snitch on “Third Watch” (9 p.m., NBC).
A flesh-eating virus spreads rapidly on “Medical Investigation” (10 p.m., NBC).
“In the Moment” (10 p.m., CMT) profiles Deana Carter.
Cult choice
A distraught woman (Glynis Johns) confides her feelings of claustrophobia in the 1962 shocker “The Cabinet of Caligari” (7 p.m., Fox Movie Channel), a remake of the 1919 German silent classic with a script by Robert Bloch (“Psycho”).
Series notes
Donna’s whole new hue on “That ‘70s Show” (8 p.m., Fox) … A life-altering discovery on “Star Trek: Enterprise” (8 p.m., UPN) … Ben’s big break on “What I Like About You” (8 p.m., WB).
Drama queens on “Quintuplets” (8:30 p.m., Fox) … Casual flings on “Grounded for Life” (8:30 p.m., WB).
On back-to-back repeats of “Bernie Mac” (9 Fox), Christmas is canceled (9 p.m.), and a holiday tale with feet of clay (9:30 p.m.) … One girl feels the heat of peer pressure on “America’s Next Top Model” (9 p.m., UPN) … Ladies night on “Reba” (9 p.m., WB) …. Altar-ed states on “Blue Collar TV” (9:30 p.m., WB).