Mike Hughes on TV

1) “Agatha Christie” opener, 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. England’s top novelists often saw wealth from inside and out. As preachers’ kids, Jane Austen and the Brontes were welcome in mansions, but didn’t have the riches. Christie grew up comfortably, but (as a wartime nurse) saw doctors’ arrogance; some of her tales had outsiders (Poirot, shown here, Marple, etc.) solve mysteries, while rich folks floundered. This three-week profile has too much focus on host Lucy Worsley, but remains interesting. Read more…

1) “Christmas at the Opry,” 8-10 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” 65 years ago, when she was 13; she first sang at the Grand Ole Opry (and met Elvis Presley) a year before that. Now this special has singers of all sizes, from the 4-foot-9 Lee to the 6-foot-6 Trace Adkins (shown here). Others are Kelly Clarkson, Chris Janson, Mickey Guyton, Adam Doleac, Lauren Alaina, Wynonna Judd (who hosts) and more. Read more…

1) College football conference championships. Last week’s mega-game saw Michigan (ranked No. 3) beating Ohio State (No. 2). This week’s big one has top-ranked Georgia (shown here in red) facing Alabama (ranked No. 8) for the SEC championship. That’s 4 p.m. on CBS; then we can switch to Fox at 8, for Michigan and Iowa (No. 17) in the Big Ten game. Read more…

1) “25 Days of Christmas” begins, Freeform. Ever since 1996, Freeform has turned December into a Christmas marathon. That seemed big at the time … and almost modest now. Still, there’s a lot to see here. “Eloise at Christmas” (11 a.m.) has lovely visuals and Julie Andrews (shown here). “The Star” (1 p.m.), is a cartoon about animals at the nativity. Then Jim Carrey is Scrooge and the Grinch (3 and 5 p.m.), followed at 7 by “Home Alone” films. Read more…

1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (shown here), 8 p.m., NBC. Let’s put this with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (now on Apple TV+) as one of TV’s all-time best half-hours. It blends Dr. Seuss’ brilliant story with Chuck Jones’ vibrant animation, adding droll narration from Boris Karloff and a booming song from Thurl Ravenscroft. It will be back on NBC on Christmas Night … after seven runs on TNT and TBS, between Dec. 10 and Dec. 23. Read more…

1) “Christmas at Graceland,” 10 p.m., NBC. Here’s a new idea: There have been three romance movies called “Christmas at Graceland,” but no concert specials. Now we have one; from the late Elvis Presley’s home (shown here), we hear holiday songs plus others made famous by Elvis. They’ll be sung by Lana Del Rey, Post Malone, Lainey Wilson, John Legend, Alanis Morissette, Kane Brown, Kacey Musgraves and War and Treaty. Read more…