ABC invites viewers to follow up Thanksgiving dinner with a bittersweet dessert of pure pop nostalgia. Directed by Spike Lee, “Bad 25” (8:30 p.m.) recalls Michael Jackson’s chart-topping 1987 album a quarter-century after its release.
‘‘Bad 25” is filled with contemporary interviews with Jackson, as well as producers, directors and choreographers involved with the album’s many music videos and its unmatched five consecutive No. 1 singles on the Billboard pop chart.
Released in the wake of “Thriller,” one of the biggest-selling records of all time, “Bad” always risked being anticlimactic. And some had doubts about Jackson’s ability to stay on top of the music world as pop, influenced by hip-hop, took an increasingly hard edge.
Jackson surprised the critics and the doubters, as “Bad” went on to sell more than 45 million copies. It marked the third and final collaboration between Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones. And the album was arguably the last time Jackson was known more for his music than for his attendant controversies, real and manufactured.
This inside look at the making of “Bad” only serves to remind us of the unmaking of Michael Jackson that followed.
• A photographer and an ornithologist team up to document birds of paradise species in the 2012 special “Winged Seduction: Birds of Paradise” (9p.m., National Geographic).
Today’s other highlights
• The 86th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade airs at 9 a.m. in all time zones (NBC).
• John O’Hurley and David Frei co-host the National Dog Show (noon, NBC).
• The Detroit Lions host the Houston Texans in NFL action (11:30 a.m., CBS).
• The gang revisits the Pilgrims’ story in the repeat special “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (7 p.m., ABC).
• “The Real Story of Thanksgiving” (7 p.m., History 2) recalls the stories behind the holiday and the evolution of its observance over the years.
• AMC invites folks to spend Thanksgiving with the Corleones in the 1972 gangster epic “The Godfather” (7 p.m.).
• The New York Jets host the New England Patriots in NFL action (7:30 p.m., NBC).
• A love triangle animates a singing competition on “Glee” (8 p.m., Fox).
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Commenting has been disabled for this item.