SHE MADE THEM DO IT
Saturday, 8 p.m., Lifetime
BOB’S CHRISTMAS EVE PICKS
Monday, 8 p.m.-5:45 a.m., TCM
THE KENNEDYCENTER HONORS
Wednesday, 9 p.m., CBS
LIVE’S CHRISTMAS EVE SPECIAL
Monday, 9 a.m., ABC
Holiday ‘Who’
Not to be left out of the “very special Christmas” episodes that accompany so many American series, “Doctor Who” brings us “The Snowmen,” which introduces a new companion, a new look for the Doctor plus a new monster in this movie-scale episode. Starring Matt Smith as the Doctor and introducing Jenna-Louise Coleman as his new companion Clara, “The Snowmen” follows their adventures as they embark on a mission to save Christmas from the villainous Doctor Simeon (Richard F. Grant) and his army of icy snowmen.
DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Tuesday, 9 p.m., BBC America
Bible belt
ABC News correspondent Christiane Amanpour, an Iranian raised as a Catholic, goes back to the Middle East in a special that explores stories of the Bible from Genesis to the time of Jesus Christ. Her travel companion is her 12-year-old son, Darius. Amanpour’s dad was a Shiite Muslim; her husband is Jewish-American. She had a traditional Catholic and Jewish wedding. So she knows about mixing religions and goes to the places where Abraham and Moses are said to have walked. First stop: Bethlehem. The Amanpours also retrace the Exodus route and take a hot-air balloon ride over Egyptian ruins.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
Friday, 9 p.m., ABC
When careers die
Just what you wanted for Christmas: Mackenzie Phillips! Train wreck extraordinaire Phillips — she of the horrifying personal problems — is back on TV, but not to hawk her book about incest with her dead rock- musician dad, but to co-star in a Lifetime movie. “She Made Them Do It” tells the tale of charismatic Sarah Pender (Jenna Dewan-Tatum), a college student and drug dealer. When her two roommates are found dead in what appears to be a drug sale gone bad, Sarah is found guilty of masterminding the double murder and is sentenced to 110 years in prison. Life behind bars finds our heroine studying the law (noble!) in hopes of appealing her case (self-involved!) but Sarah also helps other inmates with their legal problems. When her appeals are consistently turned down by the court, Sarah decides to escape (desperate!), Enter Miss Phillips, who plays Sarah’s cellmate, Jamie, who helps her break out. A surefire Emmy winner, this film.
SHE MADE THEM DO IT
Saturday, 8 p.m., Lifetime
Osborne’s yuletide picks
Each year, TCM maestro Robert Osborne selects films to watch on Christmas Eve while you’re wrapping presents, sipping eggnog or knocking back a holiday cocktail. All the films are old-timey classics, and they start at 8 p.m. “The Shop Around the Corner,” about co-workers in a Budapest notions shop who don’t realize that they are pen pals, stars Margaret Sullavan and Jimmy Stewart. “Come to the Stable” follows at 10 p.m.. and this one might be hard to take. Loretta Young and Celeste Holm play French nuns who try to build a hospital in New England. You’ll have more fun at midnight when “Auntie Mame” comes on. Rosalind Russell plays the flamboyant Mame, who believes that “life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.” No Christmas Eve would be complete without Bette Davis, who shows up at 2:30 a.m. in “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” the story of an acerbic radio commentator forced to stay with a Midwestern family. You’ll probably be asleep when the last two films come on: “And So They Were Married,” at 4:30 a.m., and “Boys Town,” which won an Oscar for Spencer Tracy, at 5:45 a.m.
BOB’S CHRISTMAS EVE PICKS
Monday, 8 p.m.-5:45 a.m., TCM
Whole lotta love
It’s pretty slim pickings the week of Christmas for quality viewing, but people always seem to like the Kennedy Center Honors, which have already been given out in Washington, D.C. This year, the honorees include Led Zeppelin members John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, talk show host David Letterman, blues great Buddy Guy, Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman and ballerina Natalia Makarova. Among the highlights are an all-star version of “Sweet Home Chicago” during the Guy tribute, with Bonnie Raitt on lead vocals and guitar, backed by Tracy Chapman and Jeff Beck. Robert De Niro pays tribute to Hoffman and Tina Fey honors Letterman, saying that he “began his career as a choreographer and black opera singer in the 1950s.”
THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS
Wednesday, 9 p.m., CBS
Aretha in the kitchen
The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, takes to the stove when she visits Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan on Christmas Eve. She cooks a glazed ham and takes off her apron to sing a Christmas classic. Hollywood good-sport Matt Damon will stop by to promote his movie “Promised Land.” And then some unfortunate soul has to dress up as Santa to sing carols with Kelly.
Live’s Christmas Eve Special
Monday, 9 a.m., ABC