BY CLIF GARBODEN

CHRISTMAS EVE 24

3:00 (64) Football. The Green Bay Packers versus the Minnesota Vikings.

7:00 (5) Chronicle: Holiday Lights. We can only assume this "encore" is of the tree lighting and concert on the Common where Mayor Menino and the Rockettes were last seen together in public. A touch of New York hoopla in Boston, and it worked well enough. Now we too are a world-class city. (Until 8 p.m.)

8:00 (64) The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (movie). The 2000 feature film starring René Russo, Jason Alexander, Randy Quaid, Robert De Niro, Janeane Garofalo, and Carl Reiner. Plus the title animated figures. (Until 10 p.m.)

8:00 (44) Dickens: Secrets, Blazing Away, and Terror to the End. Repeated from last week. Despite the good-cheer association of the author of "A Christmas Carol" with the holidays, we’re celebrating with this fairly negative three-part profile of the great writer hosted by Chas biographer Peter Ackroyd. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m. on Channel 2. (Until 11 a.m.)

9:00 (10) A Christmas Carol. And what might have made Dickens so disagreeable? A repeat of the recent musical version in which we learn that the TMOC (True Meaning of Christmas) died when Kelsey Grammer lost touch with Jennifer Love Hewitt. Jason Alexander, Jesse l. Martin, Jane Krakowski, and Geraldine Chaplin help out. (Until 11 p.m.)

11:35 (10) Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Haul out the pope; it’s time for his close-up. (Until 1:05 a.m.)

1:15 a.m. (6) Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St. Philip. It’s in Atlanta (and it’s Anglican), we think; all the local cathedrals have been sold off to pay for child-molestation suits. (Until 2:05 a.m.)

2:00 a.m. (44) On Stage at the Kennedy Center: A Holiday Concert for the Troops with Marvin Hamlisch. Unfortunately, the troops are on the other side of the world from the Kennedy Center killing and being killed for Donald Rumsfeld and the Bushies’ oil cronies. Hamlisch joins the National Symphony Orchestra Pops division and special guest stars soprano Harolyn Blackwell, the Children’s Chorus of Washington, Cyndi Lauper, the Master Chorale of Washington, Kathy Mattea, the US Army Brass Quintet, and the US Army Soldiers Chorus. To be repeated at 5 a.m. on Channels 2 and 44. (Until 3 a.m.)

CHRISTMAS DAY 25

Noon (2) The French Chef Will Not Die. An entire day devoted to venerable episodes of Julia Child’s award-winning classic cooking show, The French Chef. If you can endure Child’s stuffy-nosed pretentious accent for 12 hours, you might pick up a few tips about pots and gâteaux. The episodes (do we sense an impending DVD release or is that just cynical wishful thinking?) will air at half-hour intervals in this order: "Bouillabaisse (And Why It Doesn’t Matter How You Spell It)"; "Napoleon’s Chicken (Don’t Tell Josephine)"; "Spinach Twins (Explore Haunted New England Attics"); "Cake with a Halo (Where’s the Extinguisher?!"); "Hamburger Dinner (Beyond Your Basic Mousse)"; "Salad Niçoise (Just Kidman)"; "Lasagna (For a Hungry Mob)"; "Waiting for Gigot (Whatever That Means)"; "How About Lentils (But Never Why)"; "Fish in Monk’s Clothing (Another Friars Pun)"; "Gâteau in a Cage (Something Regrettably Lost in Translation from the Appetizingly Titled Spanish B-movie Gato enjaulado)"; "Cheese and Wine Party (Vote a Straight Ticket)"; "Curry Dinner (Not Favor!)"; "Apple Dessert (When Pie Seems Too Obvious)"; "Meat Loaf Masquerade (Come As You Are)"; "To Roast a Chicken (Not a Mockingbird)"; "Hard-Boiled Eggs (Talk Out of the Side of Their Mouths and Carry Blackjacks)"; "Bœuf Bourguignon (The Last of the Red-Hot Tenors)"; "Strawberry Soufflé (And Her All-Girl Revue)"; "Spaghetti Flambé (Circus Star)"; "French Bread (British Born)"; "More About French Bread (Take Notes This Time)"; "Vegetables for All (And To All a Good Night)"; and "Pot au feu (Starring Jacques Tati)." (Until midnight.)

Noon (6) Christmas at Washington National Cathedral. Jeb Bartlett presiding. (Until 1 p.m.)

3:00 (6) Basketball Under the Tree. The Miami Heat versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

4:00 (44) Doctor Zhivago (movie). The MGM version with Julie Christie and Omar Sharif. (Until 8 p.m.)

5:00 (12) Football Under the Mistletoe. The Oakland Raiders versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

7:00 (6) The Sound of Music (movie). No Andrea Bocelli concert to watch. Here you go, kids. (Until 11 p.m.)

8:00 (12) My Dog Skip (movie). Frankie Muniz does a touching job as Skip’s young master in this pleasant 2000 American nostalgia drama — pleasant until the end, of course, when Skip dies. Merry Christmas, kids, the dog always dies. (Until 10 p.m.)

8:00 (10) It’s a Wonderful Life (movie). If you can stand it again. Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed find the TMOCIBF (True Meaning of Christmas in Bedford Falls) with help from Lionel Barrymore and Thomas Mitchell. That’s Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Freddie, the kid who opens the swimming pool, we recently learned. Switzer, who in addition to starring in the Our Gang comedy shorts played uncredited roles in hundreds of films, was also spotted as Herman the Reluctant Choir Boy in the miserable sentimental classic Going My Way. (Until 11 p.m.)

8:00 (44) Josh Groban Live at the Greek. The international sensation takes the stage at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. (Until 9 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Fiesta in the Sky. Apparently the programming folks at Channel 44 want to give "Hot Dots" a Christmas present. Perhaps they’re just kidding; perhaps the Josh Groban concert runs all the way to 9:30 p.m., and perhaps that "broadcast change alert" was sent only to us. No matter. They’ve given us an excuse to list this half-hour documentary on hot-air ballooning, and we’re not asking any questions. When we last left our hero, Gilfaethwy the Intrepid But Basically Unpronounceable, he was . . . well, that was two weeks ago. This is Christmas week, and the stations (including PBS) are airing non-stop dreck, so we have time to retell the "Legend of How Gilfaethwy the Intrepid But Basically Unpronounceable Found the True Meaning of Christmas." Long ago, in the Kingdom of Der-Fong, not far from the Bridge to Fong-Der, Gilfaethwy and his daughter, Li’le Bran-Bran, approached the gate of the Field of Fong-Der-Fong, where Gilfaethwy’s uncle, King Goewin the Mechanical, kept tethered his hot-air balloon. Or-Umpf the Mercenary Guard challenged the pair, saying, "Halt and answer my questions three." Gilfaethwy sighed and replied: "Light blue; a warbling vintner; and ‘more moons than the tides have wings.’ " "Just so," harumphed Or-Umpf as he let them pass. "Here I shall die for love," cried Li’le Bran-Bran, feigning a swoon. "Nonsense," said Gilfaethwy. "just get in the balloon." Li’le Bran-Bran obeyed her father, and soon the two were high in the air over Der-Fong, gazing down at the colored lights on the houses and the trees. "Why, father," asked the young girl, "do the peasants illuminate the trees and houses in the name of our Lord?" "To light the way to the Der-Fong Mall," replied Gilfaethwy. "There I shall die for love?" suggested Li’le Bran-Bran. "Perhaps," confided Gilfaethwy. "Or perhaps we’ll just hit the food court and be home by midnight. You know how your mother worries." (Until 9:35 p.m.)

9:35 (44) The Great White Hope (movie). A 1970 adaptation by Howard Sackler of his Broadway play about the stormy career of boxing champ Jack Johnson and his notorious liaison with a white woman (played here by Jane Alexander). (Until 11:30 p.m.)

SUNDAY 26

1:00 (64) Football. The New York Giants versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

4:00 (12) Football. The Pats versus the New York Jets.

4:00 (64) Football. The Washington Redskins versus the Dallas Cowboys.

9:00 (2) Masterpiece Theatre: Doctor Zhivago, part two. The conclusion of the weak TV remake starring Keira Knightley as Julie Christie. (Until midnight.)

9:00 (12) Ocean’s Eleven (movie). With Twelve in the theaters, what would you expect? And yes, this is the George Clooney remake. (Until 11:30 p.m.)

9:00 (44) Independent Lens: Los Angeles Now. A documentary (with interviews with Salma Hayek and other LA natives) exploring the city’s modern diversity. (Until 10 p.m.)

10:00 (44) Indie Select: Last Call: Dreams, Main Street, and the Search for Community. A film about how the once quaint island of Nantucket was bullied by big bucks into an exclusive international resort. (Until 11 p.m.)

11:00 (44) Austin City Limits. Featuring music from Lyle Lovett and Jamie Cullum. (Until midnight.)

MONDAY 27

9:00 (2) The American Experience: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, part one. A three-part documentary about the Lincolns. Tonight’s show explains their very differing childhoods (his poor; hers rich), their courtship, their shared political ambitions, and their marriage (no word on whether that will take up recent arguments that Abe was gay). To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m. (Until 11 p.m.)

9:00 (6) Football. The Philadelphia Eagles versus the St. Louis Rams.

9:00 (44) Mystery: Death in Holy Orders, part two. We believe this is the terribly complicated conclusion to a show of which you missed part one, so you might as well watch Abe and Mary instead. (Until 11 p.m.)

TUESDAY 28

9:00 (2) The American Experience: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, part two. As Abe leads the nation through the Civil War, the Lincolns’ son, Willie, dies, and that sends Mary over the edge. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m. (Until 11 p.m.)

8:00 (44) Three Globe Trekker City Guides: Tokyo, Paris, and Amsterdam. Trekker Ian Wright does Tokyo’s karaoke bars circuit, sleeps in a capsule hotel, eats raw fish at dawn, and ventures out to Mount Fuji. Trekker Justine Shapiro has a similar but more civilized experience in Paris without the karaoke or the raw fish. And Trekker Jonathan Atherton bikes around Amsterdam from one gay event to another. (Until 11 p.m.)

WEDNESDAY 29

8:00 (44) The Civil War: Simply Murder (1863) and The Universe of Battle (1863). For the first part of the year, it looked as if the South could do no wrong (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg). Then the Confederate Army got to Gettysburg. The remastered Ken Burns classic continues. (Until 10:30 p.m.)

9:00 (2) The American Experience: Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided, part three. Historical-landmark-wise, things are looking up, Abe — the Gettysburg Address, the surrender at Appomattox. But while Lincoln seeks to reunite with the South, his wife is plotting revenge. And then Abe is shot and things get worse fast. To be repeated tonight at 1 a.m. (Until 11 p.m.)

THURSDAY 30

8:00 (2) Sir James Galway at the Penthouse. Performing undisclosed numbers with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. (Until 9:30 p.m.)

8:00 (6) My Best Friend’s Wedding (movie). Julia Roberts wants to marry her best friend now that he’s marrying someone else. With Dermot Mulroney and Cameron Diaz. From 1997. (Until 10 p.m.)

10:00 (44) Jack Paar: Smart Television. Where now there is The Rebel Billionaire’s Search for the Fat Obnoxious Boss Who Wants To Marry the Biggest Loser (or an Andrea Bocelli concert), we once had mild-mannered Jack Paar talking with Muhammad Ali, Fidel Castro, Woody Allen, Richard Nixon, and Bobby Kennedy. It was entertaining and informative, and nobody got hurt. Memories of Paar from Regis Philbin, Hugh Downs, Jonathan Winters, and the Smothers Brothers. (Until 11 p.m.)