Thanksgiving TV Picks: 35 Holiday Shows, Specials and Marathons
by Kim Potts, posted Nov 19th 2010 11:30AM

Thanksgiving is just a few days away (hope you're ready to feast). As you get ready for a week of delicious goodness, check out our TV picks for Turkey Week.
FRIDAY, NOV. 19
'Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas' – Doesn't matter how many times you've seen it ... your own heart is two sizes too small if you're not still charmed by the cartoon Grinch and his long-suffering sidekick pooch Max (8PM, TBS)
SATURDAY, NOV. 20
'The Night Before the Night Before Christmas' – Jennifer Beals is a workaholic mom whose kids wish she and her hubby could work less, and spend more time with them. And their wish just may come true, courtesy of Santa -- who else? -- who crashes into their house and is plagued with amnesia, threatening Christmas for everyone. If only there were two work-obsessed people who could carry out Santa's holiday present distribution ... (8PM, Hallmark)
SUNDAY, NOV. 21'Sandra's Money Saving Meals' – Love Sandra Lee and her commitment to proving that yes Virginia, even on Thanksgiving, there is a way to make a feast on a budget, from turkey breast with herb gravy to cheesy mashed potatoes with bacon to pumpkin pie martinis (11:30AM, Food Network)
'Futurama Holiday Spectacular' – Al Gore and Coolio lend their voices as the Planet Express crew tries to save Christmas. And Kwanzaa. And Robanukah. (10PM, Comedy Central)
MONDAY, NOV. 22
'X-Play's Holiday Buyer's Guides' – In the first part of the three-part special, the show has scoop on the best Nintendo Wii and DS games of the year (6:30PM, G4)
'How I Met Your Mother' – Things to be thankful for in TV land this week: That we get to see 'Lost' star Jorge Garcia on 'HIMYM,' where he's co-starring as "The Blitz," a hard-partying old college pal of the gang's (8PM, CBS)
'The Real Story of Thanksgiving' – Think of this as a 'Behind the Music' or 'E! True Hollywood Story' of Turkey Day. But with less drugs. We're assuming (9PM, History)
'Mike & Molly' – When Mike's mom buys her a gift, Molly is guilted into inviting her potential future mother-in-law to Thanksgiving dinner ... a dinner for which Molly is ill-equipped to prepare (9:30PM, CBS)TUESDAY, NOV. 23
'X-Play's Holiday Buyer's Guides' – In the second part of the three-part special, the show has scoop on the best Xbox 360 games and accessories, including, of course, the Kinnect (6:30PM, G4)
'Raising Hope' – Jimmy has invited Hope's maternal grandma and grandpa to Thanksgiving dinner, and the Chances find out that Hope's mama's law-breakin' ways seem to be a family trait (9PM, Fox)
'Parenthood' – If it's a tension-filled family Thanksgiving you're looking for, try this one on for size: Adam gets some surprising news from boss Gordon (guest star Billy Baldwin, er, sorry William Baldwin) that makes him worry about his job security, and guess who sis Sarah is bringing to the family's holiday dinner? 10 points if you guessed Gordon! (10PM, NBC)
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 24
'X-Play's Holiday Buyer's Guides' – In part three of the three-part special, it's all about the hottest games for the PS3 and the PSP (6:30PM, G4)
'The Middle' – Norm Macdonald guests as Mike's brother, who joins the Hecks for Turkey Day dinner. Meanwhile, Sue wants to start a pie-baking tradition with Frankie, and Brick's just happy that Bob's bringing his new girlfriend -- a librarian -- to the house (8PM, ABC)'Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special' – Jack Black as Po, along with Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan and David Cross reprise their movie roles in this new holiday special, which finds Po having to choose between work or spending Winter Feast with his dad (8:30PM, NBC)
'Drake Live From Radio City Music Hall' – It may not be a holiday-themed concert specifically, but we're about to tie it all together for ya: We're sure this live performance won't be a turkey. You're welcome (9PM, Fuse)
'Everybody Loves Raymond' – Four Thanksgiving-themed episodes from the Barone family vault (9PM, TV Land)
'Modern Family' – The holidays mean we finally get to meet the mama (guest star Celia Weston, from 'Memphis Beat') from whence the fabulous Cameron sprang (9PM, ABC)'Cougar Town' – Grayson doesn't respond when Jules tells him she loves him, so she gets the bright idea to force the issue with a pressure-packed "romantic" Thanksgiving dinner (9:30PM, ABC)
'Roseanne' – "Gee, I wonder what the Conners are up to at Thanksgiving," you said to yourself. And TV Land provides the answer, with four consecutive eps of 'Roseanne'-y goodness (11PM, TV Land)
THURSDAY, NOV. 25
'Burn Notice' Marathon – It may not be the first thing you think of when you think of the show, but Michael, Sam, Fiona, Jesse and Maddie have formed their own little family unit of sorts, as you get a chance to remember in this 15-hour marathon (6AM, USA)
'Biography' Marathon – George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Leo DiCaprio and Julia Roberts are among the famous faces profiled in this 20-hour marathon (8AM, Bio Channel)
'I Dream of Jeannie' and 'Bewitched' Marathons – It's a magic-al Thanksgiving with Jeannie and Samantha (8AM, TV Land)James Bond Movie Marathon – Bond, on Syfy? Ours is not to question why. Ours is to try to convince everyone to stop watching football for a bit so we can watch 'Goldeneye' at 3:30PM, part of this 12-movie 007 fest (8AM, Syfy)
'Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade' – 'Today' trio Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera and Al Roker host the 84th Macy's Turkey Day parade, which includes more than 800 clowns, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, Kanye West, The Muppets and the cast of the Green Day Broadway musical 'American Idiot' (9AM, NBC)
'Man Vs. Food' Marathon – You may have your own food challenge today, trying to choke down Aunt Gladys' dry turkey, but that's nothing compared to the mammoth-sized foods Adam tackles in this 19-hour run (9AM, Travel)
'MythBusters' Marathon – 11 hours of myth-bustin' fun! (9AM, Discovery)
'Campus PD' Marathon – Every episode of the first and second seasons makes for a lot of moments that will make you realize whatever your fam is up to today, it could be worse. And a lot more drunken (12:30PM, G4)
'Holiday in the Hills: Beverly Hills 90210' Marathon – Six installments of '90210' (the original series!) holiday fun (6PM, SoapNet)'Family Game Night' Marathon – Fams compete in life-sized versions of Hasbro board games in the name of cash and prizes. You'll so want to be the one playing with the life-sized Operation game! (7PM, The Hub)
'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' – Peter Brady had pork chops and applesauce, Snoopy has jelly beans and popcorn (plus buttered toast and pretzel sticks, don't forget) (8PM, ABC)
'Punkin Chunkin 2010' – It's that time-honored tradition, the annual gathering of the engineers who've concocted new ways to launch pumpkins into the air. Why? Why not (8PM, Discovery)
'Taylor Swift: Speak Now' – The country diva performs nine tunes and gives fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the release of her latest CD (8PM, NBC)'Elf' – Will Ferrell has never been more charming than he is as Buddy in this new holiday classic (9PM, USA)
'Beyonce's World Tour' – Kanye West and her hubby, Jay-Z, pop in during this behind-the-scenes look at her world tour, including, of course, performance, and a peek at her glitzy line-up of costumes (9:30PM, ABC)

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