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Thursday, December 22
DEAL OR NO DEAL Former local TV carpet flogger Howie Mandel hosts this Americanized version of the UK game show from the producers responsible for Fear Factor, Big Brother and Extreme Makeover. 8 pm on NBC/Global
ABBA IN CONCERT Documentary crew follows the Swedish quartet on their final pre-divorce North American tour. 9 pm on MuchMoreMusic, repeated at midnight and 4 pm Friday
Friday, December 23
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951, D: Brian Desmond Hurst , w/ Alastair Sim , Hermione Baddeley ) Seminal seasonal flick stars Sim as Dickens’s Scrooge. This is the definitive version. 9 pm on CTV
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE Former Beach Boy Brian Wilson and ensemble perform from his recently released holiday CD. 12:05 am ABC/City
Saturday, December 24
A VERY GOTTI CHRISTMAS Victoria and mob celebrate the season by shopping conspicuously at the mall and watching home videos of New Jersey Christmases past. 4 pm on A&E
TRAILER PARK BOYS XMAS SPECIAL In this holiday prequel set in 97, Julian, Ricky and Bubbles drink, drug, squabble – and drink again! – in the true spirit of the season. 9 pm on Showcase, repeated 9 and 11:10 pm Sunday, and 9 pm Monday
Sunday, December 25
THE BIGGEST LOSER Caroline Rhea coaches extreme dieters. 2 pm on CHCH
Ali G IN DA USA Ali G interviews and unnerves feminist author Naomi Wolf . 2 pm on Showcase
Monday, December 26
UNSTOPPABLE WAVE Last Boxing Day’s tsunami in the Pacific killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more. In its wake, are scientists better equipped to predict the next big global disaster? 10 am on Discovery, repeated at 5, 9 pm and midnight
FLY WITH ME: THE HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT Coffee, tea or pepper spray? Documentary explores the not-so-glamorous post-9/11 life of air stewards. 9 pm on History, repeated at 1 am
Tuesday, December 27
DICKENS Three-hour Brit dramatization chronicles how the rags-to-riches life of the Victorian author inspired his novels. 2 am on PBS
Wednesday, December 28
IMAGINING AMERICA: ICONS OF 20th CENTURY AMERICAN ART Mixing interviews, archival footage and popular song, this thematic doc traces the development by artists like Georgia O’Keefe , Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol of an innovative relationship with nature, identity and media. 9 pm on PBS
