Let TV animate your holidays

‘Twas two weeks before Christmas, and on every conceivable channel, holiday toons are repeating, from the classic to the merely banal:

  • Narrated by Boris Karloff, animator Chuck Jones’ 1966 “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (7 p.m., WB) remains a favorite, in spite of the recent blockbuster desecration at the hands of Ron Howard and Jim Carrey.
  • Not even the combined voices of Steven Weber, Dom DeLuise, Sheena Easton, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Nelson Reilly and Bebe Neuwirth will ever make me consider the 1998 cartoon “An All Dogs Christmas Carol” (6:20 p.m. Toon Disney) anything but forgettable. But wouldn’t you love to see that gang on “Hollywood Squares”?
  • Nobody can open his or her presents until the gang solve the mystery of Winter Hollow on “A Scooby-Doo Christmas” (7:30 p.m., WB).
  • Creator Mike Judge channels the spirits of CB-radio songs past in the Christmas-themed episode of “King of the Hill” (7:30 p.m., Fox) in which Hank and Bobby commandeer an 18-wheeler.
  • Classic-rock dinosaurs Kiss make a guest appearance on the Christmas episode of “Family Guy” (8 p.m., Fox), followed by another holiday episode (8:30 p.m.) featuring the voice of Ben Stein.
  • And finally, “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening collaborated with Drew Barrymore to create the 1998 fantasy “Olive, the Other Reindeer” (7 p.m., Cartoon Network), about a dog with an imaginative sense of hearing who volunteers to help Santa when Blitzen shows up on the disabled list.

Tonight’s other highlights

  • Diving into the deep end on “Joan of Arcadia” (7 p.m., CBS).
  • Scheduled on “Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC): an interview with Billy Crystal about his new one-man Broadway show, “700 Sundays.”
  • Elijah Wood stars in the 2001 fantasy “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings” (7 p.m., TNT), the first film in the trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd and Montgomery Gentry join forces on “Crossroads” (9 p.m., CMT).