Tuesday’s Highlights: Khandi Alexander guest stars on ‘Better Off Ted’

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Click here to download TV listings for the week of Dec. 20 - 26, in PDF format This week’s TV Movies

MOTHER: Lem’s (Malcolm Barrett, center) visiting mother (Khandi Alexander) begins an affair with Bhamba (Maz Jobrani) on ‘Better Off Ted’ at 9:30 p.m. on ABC. SERIES

NCIS: In this repeat, Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and the rest of the team are forced to put in overtime while searching for a suspect on a case over Christmas. With Michael Weatherly and Pauley Perrette and guest stars Peter Coyote and Kay Lenz (8 p.m. CBS).

The Biggest Loser: More than 40 former contestants from the show’s first seven seasons reveal how they look now and what they’ve been doing since they left the series. Trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels also are featured in this repeat (8 p.m. NBC).

Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special: The Grammy-winning and multiplatinum country singer performs holiday songs in addition to selections from her albums, including her new release, ‘Play On,’ in this encore presentation of her two-hour holiday special. Among the performers joining Underwood onstage are Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth, and ‘American Idol’ winner David Cook (8 p.m. Fox).

Scrubs: Lucy (Kerry Bishe) searches for the courage to perform a basic medical procedure on a real human in this new episode (9 p.m. ABC).

The Good Wife: Will and Alicia (Josh Charles, Julianna Margulies) have only 72 hours to prove who is responsible for a freight train crash that officials are trying to blame on three engineers, whose widows are being denied their pensions in this repeat (10 p.m. CBS).

Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel: Bryant Gumbel leads correspondents in a round-table discussion of events from the year including Nick Schuyler’s survival, the shooting of baseball player Robbie Tolan, professional bull riding and NFL players carrying guns (10 p.m. HBO).

SPECIALS

How the Earth Was Made: This new episode of the miniseries documents the formation of Yosemite, in the Sierra Nevada -- North America’s highest mountain range (9 p.m. History). That’s followed by a look at the formation of the Rocky Mountains (10 p.m. History).

MOVIES

The Miracle Worker: Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won Oscars for their work in this 1962 drama, as the young, inexperienced and nearly blind teacher (Bancroft) who gives deaf, blind Helen Keller (Duke) the gift of language (3 p.m. TCM).

He’s Just Not That Into You: Friends and lovers try to navigate their way through the complexities of modern romance in this 2009 comedy starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston (7:45 p.m. HBO).

The Nightmare Before Christmas: In this surreal 1993 animated fantasy from Tim Burton, the Pumpkin King, ruler of Halloween Town, hatches a plan to kidnap Santa Claus and put his own ghostly spin on the yuletide season. Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon and Catherine O’Hara supply voices. (8 p.m. Disney).

SPORTS

College football: MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon State (5 p.m. ESPN).

Pro basketball: The Clippers visit the Houston Rockets (5:30 p.m. FS Prime); the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Lakers (7:30 p.m. FSN).

Hockey: The Ducks visit the Colorado Avalanche (7 p.m. KDOC).