Do video games and television mix?
Why watch “real” football when you can watch eight players compete in the “EA Madden NFL 18 Challenge” (8 p.m., CW)? Winners get a share of a $150,000 prize.
It’s no secret that video games have changed the way many movies and television series look and how their stories unfold. “Heroes” must surmount one challenge after another and endure extraordinary violence that is simultaneously gory and yet oddly consequence-free. Until, at least, a character or “player” is eliminated, then it’s “game over.” Doesn’t that sound like “The Walking Dead”?
Given the popularity and ubiquity of such games, you’d think there might be more TV showcases like this. At the same time, I suppose video gamers would probably just prefer playing games to watching others.
The idea for such showcases is hardly new. The Shout Factory Streaming service offers fans the chance to watch “Starcade,” a
vintage video game and arcade game competition series that ran on TBS from 1982-83. It looks like something the kids might watch on “Stranger Things.”
VIKING VOYAGE
“Expedition Unknown” (9 p.m., Travel, TV-PG) enters its fourth season with the accent on legends, lore and icons. The first two of 12 episodes focuses on Viking-related sites in Denmark, Iceland, the United States and Canada.
Explorer Josh Gates ponders just how far the Vikings traveled and what sustained them over their long voyages. He visits the North American settlement “Vinland,” from AD 1000, speaks with experts and discusses controversial ideas about other Viking settlements in the New World.
DINOSAURS’ DEMISE
History, or, rather, prehistory takes center stage on a new “Nova” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG) that examines evidence about the cataclysm that may have ended dinosaur life here on Earth.
DOLLY’S CHRISTMAS
Children sacrifice their Christmas presents so their father can buy his wife the wedding ring she never had in the 2016 holiday melodrama “Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-G).
Alyvia Alyn Lind stars as the young Dolly Parton. Unlike much sentimental fare, “Circle of Love” was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. When first broadcast, it was seen by more than 11 million viewers.
BURNETT IS BACK
“The Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special” (8 p.m., CBS, repeat, TV-PG) reconnects the star with surviving cast members who recall their favorite sketches, pratfalls and outfits. As she has done for a half a century, Burnett breaks out of character and addresses her studio audience and answers questions about the show, which ran from 1967 to 1978.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› A message received on “Vikings” (9 p.m., History, TV-14).
› Alec Baldwin hosts “Match Game” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
› Isabella is betrayed on “Knightfall” (10 p.m., History, TV-14).
› A Very Bad Santa on “Happy” (10 p.m., Syfy, TV-MA).
› Mended fences on “The Goldbergs” (8 p.m., ABC, repeat, TV-14).
› Maya inspires fellow parents on “Speechless” (8:30 p.m., ABC, repeats, TV-14).
› Vanessa Williams guest-stars on “Modern Family” (9 p.m., ABC, repeat, TV-PG).
› Aspiring illusionists audition on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (9 p.m., CW, repeat, TV-PG).
› Minor infractions on “American Housewife” (9:30 p.m., ABC, repeat, TV-PG).
› The squad must put rivalries aside on “Seal Team” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin.tvguy@gmail.com.