TV guide for Christmas viewing fare
ANDREW FENTON IF you find time to watch television over Christmas, there is plenty for the entire family – if you know where to look. TODAY, CHRISTMAS EVE Carols by Candlelight, Channel Nine, 8pm Lisa Wilkinson and David Campbell host the annual Christmas tradition with acts including Marina Prior, Lucy Durack, Shane Jacobson, Hi-5 (the next generation) and – I’m only speculating here – an appearance by Santa. Father Brown Christmas Special, ABC, 7.30pm Fresh from its UK broadcast this week is this special for the cosy crime show. Includes a mysterious stranger, a missing donkey, an outbreak of laryngitis in the church choir and a kidnapped baby – not to mention Martin Kemp from Spandau Ballet. CHRISTMAS NIGHT The Royal Variety Performance, ABC, 7.30pm Hosted by comedian David Walliams, there are some top flight acts including Barry Gibb, Sting, Take That’s Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams, plus Emeli Sande and the cast of Cirque Du Soleil’s Beatles show LOVE (and plenty more acts) performing for royalty at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Network Ten, 8.30pm Forget It’s A Wonderful Life, the best Christmas movie ever made is Die Hard. And the second best Die Hard movie ever made is Die Hard 2. “How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?” Bruce Willis wonders as terrorist take over Washington’s Dulles Airport. Over the top action goodness. Russell Coight’s Celebrity Challenge, ONE, 7.30pm From the rapturous reception Ten received to the news it’s resurrecting Russell Coight, we can only presume everyone’s forgotten the original show. Remind yourself with this special from 2004. Or skip it, and watch Flying High 2 (Airplane II: The Sequel) straight after. Andre Rieu: Christmas Forever Live In London, Foxtel Arts, 12.40pm The perfect thing to have on the background as you sit down to Christmas lunch (if you’re my mum) with Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra playing all your Christmas faves. Free to air viewers can catch Rieu doing essentially the same thing on SBS at 7.30pm. BOXING DAY Second Cricket Test – Australia v Pakistan, Channel Nine, 9.30am My childhood memories are of nothing being open at Christmas (we had family in Adelaide) so we’d lie on the couch watching the cricket for a week. If you have the week off, this is the Test match to watch. It’s the biggest day on the cricket calendar and Australia is hoping to capitalise on its narrow victory in the First Test. KFC Big Bash League, Ten, 7pm For the less patient, there are Big Bash matches every day this week. This evening its Hobart Hurricanes v Melbourne Stars. Gogglebox, Lifestyle, from 8.30am Catch up on the last season of Gogglebox – now you can rewatch, watching them, watch those shows they watched. Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio, ABC, 7.30pm The Christmas special pays homage to comic book movies. The Doctor teams up with an investigative journalist and a superhero to save New York from a deadly alien threat. Travel Man, SBS VICELAND, 8pm The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade heads off with Jo Brand for 48 funny hours in Venice.