It may seem unduly harsh to beat up on a kids’ Christmas cartoon, but that seems to be my job. To be blunt, the main characters in “Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure” (6 p.m., Family) are just plain ugly. OK, to be kind, let’s call them homely.

Moose are best photographed in profile. Look up any picture of Bullwinkle, and he’s almost always shot from the side. Not only is he funnier looking that way; it avoids the problem of keeping his nose and face in focus in the same frame. I think it’s called a depth-of-field problem.

The makers of the computer-generated “Holly and Hal Moose” seemed to have overlooked this little detail, and the results are often visually ghastly.

For the record, Holly is a teenage moose who yearns to sing, and her little brother Hal wants to fly with Santa’s reindeer. I’m not making promises here, but would it be an “Uplifting Adventure” if all of their dreams did not come true?

• A winner emerges on the ninth-season finale of “Dancing with the Stars” (8 p.m., ABC), a show I catch more out of duty than desire. Watching Donny Osmond way back during the Nixon era, I was always struck by his manufactured twinkle and studied, razzle-dazzle phoniness. I never imagined that he could become any more plastic. He has.

Osmond will compete with fellow star finalists Kelly Osbourne and Mya. The latter seems the most talented.

• It’s a given that most people don’t obsess about industrial design. But those who do, do so all the time. That is the lesson of “Objectified” on “Independent Lens” (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings).

Braun, Apple and Target are cited as the best examples of how design sets both products and companies apart from their competition.

Some decry the use of design as just another way to get consumers to consume even more stuff. Others argue that designers can better solve issues of sustainability than politicians.

Informed that the oceans are filled with discarded toothbrushes, one designer looks to create a handle to last a lifetime adapted for replaceable brushes.

“Objectified” is not nearly as tightly focused as director Gary Hustwit’s previous film “Helvetica,” which looked at the origins, aesthetics and politics of a single typeface. But it remains riveting nonetheless, featuring interviews with people who think deeply about objects many of us hardly notice before we buy, use and discard them.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Fears of a biological attack on “V” (7 p.m., ABC).

• “What Are Dreams?” on “Nova” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) contrasts established theories and explores new research about our nocturnal adventures.

• “How the Earth Was Made” (History, TV-PG) looks at the origins of the Mariana Trench (7 p.m.) and the Grand Canyon (8 p.m.).

• A chief petty officer’s killing fits into a more sinister pattern on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (8 p.m., CBS).

• The head of Alicia’s firm needs representation on “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Lockdown mode on “Sons of Anarchy” (9 p.m., FX).

• “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” (9 p.m., HBO) examines efforts to help paralyzed football players.