TV THIS WEEK: Dec. 19 - 25
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Click here to download TV listings for the week of Dec. 19 - 25 in PDF format
TV listings for the week of Dec. 19 - 25 in PDF format (alternate link)
Weekly TV Listings can also be found at: www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv
‘INDEPENDENT LENS: THE CALLING’
SUNDAY
“Survivor: Nicaragua” is not the story of Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega but rather the most recent edition of the long-running reality competition, which announces a winner in its season finale, followed by the usual cast reunion special. (CBS, 8 and 10 p.m.)
The farce is strong with “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III.” Series co-creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich cross over to the dark side for their latest stop-motion-animated send-up of the George Lucas space saga. (Cartoon Network, 11:30 p.m.)
MONDAY
Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim Americans (including Bilal Ansari, above) follow in the priestly footsteps of their respective faith traditions in the two-part documentary “The Calling” on “Independent Lens.” Concludes Tuesday. (KCET, 9 p.m.)
TUESDAY
We’re still paying off our student loans and probably will be until we die. So imagine the financial burden on today’s young scholars, a sore subject tackled in the new special “Price of Admission: America’s College Debt Crisis.” (CNBC, 6, 7, 9 and 10 p.m.)
WEDNESDAY
No, you can’t adopt Katy Perry. But you can watch the pop vixen and Melissa Etheridge, Ricky Martin, Nelly and Maroon 5 perform for a worthy cause — raising awareness of adoption — at “The 12th Annual A Home for the Holidays.” (CBS, 8 p.m.)
THURSDAY
ABC pairs the animated classic “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” with the live-action 2000 remake starring Jim Carrey. We’re fond of the former, but we wouldn’t touch the latter with… wait for it… a 391/2-foot pole! (8 and 8:30 p.m.)
FRIDAY
James Stewart faces crises financial and spiritual in the 1946 holiday fable “It’s a Wonderful Life,” while Peter Billingsley wants a Red Ryder BB gun in the worst way in the annual 24-hour marathon of 1983’s “A Christmas Story.” (NBC, 8 p.m.; TBS, 8 p.m.)
SATURDAY
Everyone loves a dame: Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson (below) and Fergie — and grand dames Judi Dench and Sophia Loren — star alongside Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2009 film version of the Broadway musical “Nine.” (Showtime, 9 p.m.)
‘NINE’