The 12 TV saves of Christmas
From Top Gun to Paddington - these are the viewing options to help pull you through. James Croot lines up the best.
When you’re used to a multitude of viewing options, going home for the holidays can be a chastening experience.
With the festive family gathering potentially somewhere remote or in a truly wi-fi free zone, that can mean the terror of limited TV options to help get you through that intense time either side of Santa’s delivery window.
If you’re trapped in a free-to-air Christmas,
Stuff is here to help. We’ve come up with the list of the 12 TV saves of Christmas, a dozen options to help give you some extra cheer this festive season – and there’s not an ice-capade or sitcom special in sight.
CHRISTMAS EVE
The Nightmare Before Christmas (3.45pm, TVNZ2):
Stop-motion animation never looked so good. This Tim Burton-produced 1993 macabre masterpiece features toe-tapping songs, memorable characters and a wicked sense of humour, as he and director Henry Selick posit the theory that Halloween is better than December 25.
Arthur Christmas (7pm, TVNZ2):
Aardman refreshes the old ‘‘son of Santa’’ storyline with both wit and aplomb in this 2011 animated adventure.
The visuals are crisp and clean, and the script is jam-packed full of zingers and action.
Among a universally impressive vocal cast, Bill Nighy threatens to steal the show as the cantankerous and crafty Grandsanta.
The Graham Norton Christmas Special
(9.05pm, Three):
The popular chat show host brings a touch of magic to the couch for this year’s festive season spectacular.
Virtually the entire episode is devoted to the new Disney movie Mary Poppins Returns, with cast members Emily Blunt, Lin-manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer all making an appearance.
And there’s a special throwback treat providing the music – Boy George and Culture Club. While You Were Sleeping (10.30pm, TVNZ2): Sandra Bullock is at her winsome best in this 1995 rom-com about a woman who decides to play the role of fiancee when a man falls into a coma at her workplace.
‘‘A formula film, but it has the kind of good cheer and fine tuning that occasionally give slickness a good name,’’ wrote The New York Times’ Elvis Mitchell. Just the tonic if you’re a little prechristmas ennui.
Flashdance (12.30am,
Bravo):
For many, this is the apex of 1980s musical dramas.
Jennifer Beals plays a woman juggling two jobs (welder and an exotic dancer) who wants to get into ballet school.
It’s 1983 so that means frizzy hair, sweat pants and Kim Carnes.
‘‘It charms us, makes us want to refrain from scrutinising it too closely,’’ wrote the Boston
Globe’s high-minded Jay Carr.
Top Gun (2.05am, Bravo):
If you still can’t get to sleep or are trying to stay up to see Santa, then what better way to while away the time than with this 1986 cult-classic action movie.
If you’ve got the need for speed or like your action ‘‘young and dumb’’, then this should more than satisfy.
Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Kelly Mcgillis and Val Kilmer star.
‘‘The story is risible, the direction routine, the underlying ethic highly questionable; but the flying stirs the blood like speed,’’ wrote Time Out magazine.
CHRISTMAS DAY
Planet Earth (From 9.15am, Prime): There’s nothing like a good dose of stunning visuals, coupled with the sonorous narration of David Attenborough, to help while away the hours between initial present opening and the inevitable delayed Christmas dinner.
On offer here is the ultimate binge-watch, as nine episodes of the critically acclaimed 2006 BBC series screen back-to-back.
You’ve Got Mail (10.35am, TVNZ1):
One of the best romantic-comedies of all time, in this 1998 tale Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan play business rivals who unwittingly fall in love over the internet.
‘‘A valentine to the happenstance miracle of lovers and other strangers, a movie that regards
modern romance as something that is, ultimately, old-fashioned to its core,’’ wrote Austin Chronicle’s
Steve Davis.
The House of Magic (1pm, Choice):
Despite the presence of a selection of Hollywood royalty (William Shatner, Ewen Mcgregor, Ed Asner and Emily Blunt) in minor vocal roles, this Belgian-made 2014 animated-adventure’s charm comes from its low-key approach.
The story of Thunder the ginger tomcat’s desperate search for a new home, it combines a cat’s-eye view of proceedings with choice soundtrack cuts from 1980s favourites like Madness, The Cure and Shakin’ Stevens.
Kiwi Christmas (4.40pm, TVNZ2):
There will be humbugs who suggest the plotting of this 2017 locally-made festive tale is a touch predictable, the action overly knockabout, the tale too twee, but this perfectly pitched, magnificently paced film is a delight for audiences of all ages. A kind of a hybrid of Santa Clause: The Movie, The Santa Clause and Raymond Briggs’ muchloved book Father Christmas Goes on Holiday, Tony Simpson’s (Kiwi Flyer) story sees Santa (Finnish actor Kari Vaananen) crash land off the coast of the North Island just three days before the big night.
Paddington (7.40pm, Prime):
The perfect way to follow the Queen’s annual Christmas message (6.50pm, TVNZ1), this 2014 British tale is a sensitive, sweet and supremely silly film that will delight audiences of all ages.
Director Paul King (TV’S The Mighty Boosh) was clearly at pains to look after Michael Bond’s beloved bear and from his lush, plush looks to the gentle, wistful tones of Ben Whishaw, Paddington was brought to life in a way that has endeared him to a whole new generation of fans.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
(10.40pm, TVNZ2):
If you’ve made it all the way to this time of night, then why not reward yourself with this outrageous 1989 comedy?
You can chuckle along with the Christmas excess, painful pratfalls and unfortunate conversations on display, and remind yourself that maybe your own festive experience wasn’t that bad after all.
‘‘The human frailty at the centre of the story makes the jokes all the funnier. Holiday films are rarely as priceless,’’ wrote Matinee Magazine’s
Chuck Rudolph.