Month: December 2021

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 pm., NBC. Billie Eilish (shown here) becomes the first person this season to double as host and music guest. She’s also the first to do it since Nick Jonas in February; since then, three people who had previously hosted – Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and Halsey – settled for being music guest. Eilish also may be the youngest person to do both; she’ll be a teen until next Saturday. When she was 17, she became the second person ever (after Christopher Cross) to sweep the top four Grammys Read more…

1) “West Side Story” (1961), 8 p.m ET., Turner Classic Movies. On the day Steven Spielberg’s version reaches theaters, TCM has the original from 60 years ago. It’s flawed – heavy-handed plot, cliched (almost cartoonish) characters and the casting of non-singers (Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, shown here) who were then dubbed. But all of that is overridden by a confluence of genius – music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, choreography by Jerome Robbins. The flaws fade; this won 10 Oscars, including best picture. Read more…

1) “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” 9 p.m., NBC. For a dozen years, Chris Meloni was Stabler, a sturdy “SVU” cop. (He’s shown here with Mariska Hargitay as Benson.) He left in 2011, but returned a decade later – on this show and the one that follows – as Stabler probed his wife’s murder. Now Wheeler – a businessman/mobster – faces trial for ordering the killing. Benson fumes when her ex-colleague Barba (Raul Esparza) is the defense lawyer. Read more…

1) “CSI: Vegas” finale, 10 p.m., CBS. Since its debut (shown here) in October, this has focused on a key story: Evidence suggests Hodges faked his lab work. His old friends (Grissom and Sidle) have been trying to show he’s been framed; if they fail, he’ll go to prison and countless convictions will be thrown out. Now – in the 10th and final episode of the season (and maybe the end of the series) – Hodges is missing. His friends desperately search for him. Read more…

1) “Abbott Elementary” debut, 9:30 p.m., ABC. A slow year for situation comedies is suddenly brightening. Too terrific ones get advance peeks – “Abbott” tonight and NBC’s “American Auto” next Monday – before getting weekly spots next month. Quinta Brunson (shown here) created this, produces it and stars as an earnest elementary-school teacher. Indeed, all the teachers here try hard, despite meager fundling and a clueless principal. The result manages to be both warm and funny. Read more…

1) “The Voice” semi-finals, 8-10 p.m., NBC. A week from the finale, “Voice” is down to eight acts – three on Blake Shelton’s team, two each with Kelly Clarkson and John Legend, only one with Ariana Grande. Now they perform and viewers vote; on Tuesday, five – tonight’s top four and one instant save – will advance. Tonight is all-music for NBC, with Michael Buble (shown here in a previous year) offering a special at 10, marking the 10th-anniversary of his best-selling Christmas album. Read more…