‘My Dog Skip’ on CBS worth a look
The holidays have gone to the dogs. And that’s a good thing.
On Thanksgiving, NBC attracted a huge family audience with its daytime special broadcast of “The National Dog Show,” “starring” Eddie, the Jack Russell terrier from “Frasier.”
Tonight, CBS celebrates Christmas with “My Dog Skip” (8 p.m. tonight, CBS) the heartwarming but never sticky 2000 memoir starring Frankie Muniz.
Based on a book by Willie Morris, “Skip” is thoroughly in the tradition of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory,” a very adult tale as seen through the eyes of a child.
Harry Connick Jr. narrates “Skip,” a grown man’s recollections of his pet English fox terrier, his constant companion and best friend in a small Southern town during World War II. If you’ve never seen “Skip,” you should.
But consider yourself warned. Even the most cynical among you will require multiple hankies to dab your eyes before it’s over.
OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for “The Sound of Music” (8 p.m. tonight, ABC). It airs at least once a year, and every year I vow not to get pulled in. Then four hours later, I’m cheering as the nuns rip the distributor cap out of the Nazis’ car as the Von Trapps traipse their way across the Alps.
After nearly 40 years, “Sound” remains a consistent hit when it airs on network television, and over the past 10 years it has been broadcast on NBC, Fox and now ABC.
Fans of Julie Andrews get a double helping this weekend. She appears in her Oscar-winning role in the 1964 musical “Mary Poppins” (8 p.m. Sunday, Disney) co-starring Dick Van Dyke as Bert the chimney sweep with one of the fakest Cockney accents ever captured on film. As the song says, “It’s a happy holiday with Mary.”
BBC America rebroadcasts the faux documentary “The Office Special” (8 p.m. tonight, BBC America). This hourlong film catches up with the characters of the brilliantly accurate depiction of white-collar drudgery and managerial delusions and manages to be brutally funny and rather sweet at the same time. A real gem.
If you’ve been missing “Desperate Housewives” (10 p.m. Sunday, ABC) and wonder what the fuss is about, ABC offers another look at the pilot episode. The show kicks off with a bang, when Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), a wife and mother who appears to have everything going for her, takes her own life and becomes the all-knowing narrator of the series. Mixing dark humor, farce, over-the-top sex appeal and clever writing, “Housewives” is the television event of 2004.
Broadcast TV will come full circle early in 2005 when Ryan O’Neal guest-stars on “Housewives” as Lynette’s (Felicity Huffman) father. Viewers of a certain vintage may recall the O’Neal made his reputation as the young star of another much talked-about and tempestuous prime-time soap, the TV adaptation of “Peyton Place” that had tongues wagging way back in the 1960s. His co-star was a young actress named Mia Farrow.
Today’s highlights
Spend Christmas with Bond – James Bond. Spike offers a marathon of 007 adventures, beginning with the 1987 thriller “The Living Daylights” (2 p.m., Spike) starring Timothy Dalton.
Laurel and Hardy star in the 1934 fairy tale fantasy “March of the Wooden Soldiers” (1 p.m., WGN).
It wouldn’t be Christmas without the rebroadcast of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (8 p.m., NBC), Frank Capra’s 1946 holiday favorite starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
Scheduled on “48 Hours Investigates” (10 p.m., CBS): the future of the Kennedy dynasty.
Kate Winslet hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC) with musical guest Eminem.
Sunday’s highlights
Repeat stories scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): the children of the baby Boomers; winning secrets of the NFL; a profile of the late Ray Charles.
A widower with eight kids gets needed help on a two-hour helping of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8 p.m., ABC).
Matt Damon and George Clooney lead an all-star cast in the 2001 heist movie “Ocean’s Eleven” (9 p.m., CBS).
A pompous doctor’s patients have a habit of dying of unexpected strokes, and losing their jewelry, to boot, on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (9 p.m., NBC).
Jon Stewart offers a glib retrospective on 2004 on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents the Five Most Important Half-Hours of Television Ever” (9 p.m., Comedy Central).
On a similar note, E.D. Hill hosts “Rewind 2004: What a Year!” (6 p.m., Fox News).
A sci-fi writer’s ending is right out of the mystery genre on “Crossing Jordan” (10 p.m., NBC)