The Christmas TV Thread

[Pip Madeley]

The thread to chat about all the good stuff on TV this Christmas!





Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (starring David Tennant & Catherine Tate)
Little Britain Xmas Special (guest stars Peter Kay, Steve Coogan and Ronnie Corbett)
The Vicar Of Dibley (final ever episode)
The Ruby In The Smoke (starring Billie Piper & Julie Walters)
Dracula (starring Marc Warren)
Wind In The Willows (starring Matt Lucas & Bob Hoskins)
Eastenders (Pauline's departure)
Strictly Come Dancing (finale)
High School Musical
Mrs Henderson Presents (film)
Pirates Of The Caribbean (film)
Calendar Girls (film)
Monsters Inc (film)





This Life (one-off 90-minute episode)
Swap Shop (2 hour celebration with Noel Edmonds, Keith Chegwin, Maggie Philbin and John Craven)
Nigella's Christmas Kitchen
Never Mind The Buzz****s: Xmas Special
QI: Xmas Special
Mock the Week: Xmas Special
Cosi Fan Tutte
Giselle
Spirited Away (film)
Kill Bill (film)
The Hours (film)



Tittybangbang: Xmas Special
Anthea's Perfect Christmas



The Thick Of It: Xmas Special
Arena: The Archers
Number 13
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe: Xmas Special
New Year's Day Concert From Vienna



The Sarah Jane Adventures
TMi Christmas



Bob The Builder
Charlie And Lola
Postman Pat

TV listings are out on Monday.

[Milky Tears]

Doc Martin is on ITV1.

[michael]

well so far over charismas I will watching Pirates Of The Caribbean (film) again & again

and Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (starring David Tennant & Catherine Tate)

This Life (one-off 90-minute episode)

more to come

[Teresa]

*CHRISTMAS*

I like Christmas TV....

i will definately be watching...

Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (starring David Tennant & Catherine Tate)
The Vicar Of Dibley (final ever episode)
The Ruby In The Smoke (starring Billie Piper & Julie Walters)
and of course the QI Christmas Special!
(and Charlie and Lola too )

Teresa
xx

[Larry]

Dracula (starring Marc Warren)

is Dracula a mini series - ?

[SiHart]

No-one's watching the Sarah Jane Adventures then?

I will! I'll watch Doctor Who and This Life and Swap Shop for sure!

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

It annoys me when they are announce they are "bringing back" a show, only for us to ultimately get one talking heads documentary and a few clips. It's not quite the same. Anyway, I suspect "Swap Shop" won't mean Edmonds, Chegwin and co back on Saturday morning interviewing stars from TV's Doctor Who and being silly.

I don't watch much over Christmas really, there's never time and the video timer is always clogged up with millions of soaps.

Wonder if I'll watch new Doctor Who pissed again this year? That was a weird experience.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

ITV Winter Highlights

Perfect Parents
drama thriller starring Christopher Eccleston, directed by Joe Ahearne

Primeval
Ex-S Club singer Hannah Spearritt stars alongside Douglas Henshall in this new six-part drama, which follows a team of government scientists investigating the reappearance of extinct creatures.

Jane Austen season
with Billie Piper in one role

Al Murray's Happy Hour
comedian Al Murray hosts his own prime time chatshow

The Bad Mother's Handbook
an adaptation of the best-selling novel starring Catherine Tate

Benidorm
new comedy with Johnny Vegas

Bonkers
starring Lisa Tarbuck, about people obsessed with sex

Confessions Of A Diary Secretary
a "saucy look" at the affair between Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and his diary secretary Tracey Temple, starring John Henshaw and Maxine Peake

Fortune
hosted by Richard Madeley - members of the public battle to win a share of 1m funded by successful business people

[Teresa]

Perfect Parents
drama thriller starring Christopher Eccleston, directed by Joe Ahearne

Ooooh... is this the first thing he has been in since being the Doctor...
it'll be the first thing I've seen him in anyway!!

Teresa
xx

[Matthew T]

For the past 2-3 years I've watched next to no TV but I still get excited by the appearance of the Christmas schedules! Can't wait to get the Christmas Radio Times...a real tradition.

[Anthony Williams]

I'm actually tempted by quite a lot of this year's Christmas TV, in addition to our beloved Doctor Who!

Here's what else I'm looking forward to:

Primeval
Perfect Partners
The Ruby in the Smoke
QI
Dracula
The Vicar of Dibley
Charlie and Lola
Monsters Inc.

and I might even give The Sarah-Jane adventures a try!

Ant x

[Andrew Curnow]

Doctor Who and Sarah Jane will be essentials for all three of us.
Swap Shop will be an essential for me.
And it's quite possible that the lure of Eccleston and Piper may make their respective shows pretty essential for me & Zel.

We'll probably watch The Vicar of Dibley again, like we did in 2004, but I'll moan about how rubbish it is. So be warned!

Edited to add: Looking again at that pic of Billie getting out of the train, how long will it be before some clever devil photoshops the TARDIS over the train door, so that it looks like a period adventure featuring Rose?

[Larry]

Think I might try and watch Swap Shop - I grew up with that as a kid and for me it's still by far the best chilldrens Saturday morning tv ever.Pirates Of The Caribbean. is a film i've never seen so again depending on when it's on i'll either be watching it ot taping it.

[Jonno]

Obvious ones for me include Who, Sarah Jane, EE, Dracula and the Swap Shop retrospective (which I believe includes 80s and 90s kids Saturday morning shows to celebrate 30 years of them). I'll watch Primeval and that's about it from ITV - let's hope it's better than Prehistoric Park or whatever it was called!

I do like this time of year when the Radio Times issues leading up to the big double one start coming out quicker than every 7 days, and at one stage you have about 4 weeks worth of TV listings on your coffee table!

[Rob McCow]

Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (starring David Tennant & Catherine Tate)

Oh, that sounds awful. I think we'll be watching ITV when that's on.

[Larry]

Oh, that sounds awful. I think we'll be watching ITV when that's on.

oh I know what you mean who would be silly enough to spend Christmas Day watching some daft story about a man and a Police Telephone Box..

[Milky Tears]

Looks like Doctor Who might be up against "OMG!! Explosive Emmerdale!!" on Christmas Day. Unless ITV bottle it again like last year.

This realistic looking ITV1 Christmas Schedule has appeared on Digital Spy:

ITV Christmas and New Year schedules

It looks about spot-on... or at least a really good fake. 9/10

[Paul Clement]

Doctor Who: Runaway Birde, Sara Jane Adventures, Dracula and Primeval are about the only things I've noticed that are worth watching.

[Pip Madeley]

Edited to add: Looking again at that pic of Billie getting out of the train, how long will it be before some clever devil photoshops the TARDIS over the train door, so that it looks like a period adventure featuring Rose?

It's your fault, Curnow.

[Andrew Curnow]

Excellent work, Pip - I demand a wallpaper of that now, so that I can totally confuse my brother next time he drops in!

Edited to add:Obviously when I say 'demand' I mean, 'it would be awfully nice of you if it were possible to do so'

[Pip Madeley]

If you can find a big enough version of the Billie pic, I'll do it

[Milky Tears]

"OMG!! Rose returns in Series Three historical adventure set in a railway station!! SQUEE!!"

Pip should post that pic on some other Who forums.

[Andrew Curnow]

I'll see if I can find a bigger one, Pip. I agree with the mischievous James though...

[Milky Tears]

Channel 4's Christmas Highlights (nabbed from Digital Spy):

Ugly Betty
Green Wing Special
The Big Fat Quiz of the Year (with Jonathan Ross, Russell Brand, Rob Brydon and David Walliams)
Desperate Housewives
What Monty Python Did Next
The Secret Life of Brian
Deal or No Deal (500,000 jackpot)
The Charlotte Church Show Christmas Special (with Paul O'Grady, Ben Elton and the Sugababes)
The Fame Review 2006
The Friday Night Project

Ricky Gervais Meets Christopher Guest/ Garry Shandling
Derren Brown: Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Secret Family of JesusPeter & the Wolf
Not Forgotten: Shot at Dawn
God Gave Rock and Roll to You
Time Team: Big Royal Dig
Is Benny Hill Funny?
Man on the Moon
AFIs 100 Years 100 Cheers

Come Dine with Me Christmas Special
Countdown (Des O'Conner's first show)

The Alternative Christmas Message (Details to be announced soon)

FILM PREMIERE: City of God
FILM PREMIERE: The Wild Thornberrys
FILM PREMIERE: Rugrats Go Wild!
FILM: Home Alone
FILM: Thunderpants
FILM: Gremlins
FILM: A Christmas Carol
FILM: Life of Brian

Hoping that the AFIs 100 Years 100 Cheers w*nkfest takes up the full Christmas Day schedule... repeated on New Year's Day.

[Larry]

well looking at that lot I don't think i'll be spending much time over christmas watching channel 4..