New Year’s Eve specials
There are so many NYE specials, and honestly, they’re all pretty similar: annoying host, fame-whore cameos, ball countdown, and some questionable live music performances. Here’s a rundown of the major entries: the venerable “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” will air on ABC starting at 10pm, preceded by a two-hour special at 8pm that will recount great moments from the 38(!) previous installments. Ryan Seacrest will continue primary hosting duties, with musical guests Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Pitbull, and Hot Chelle Rae. NBC’s coverage starts at 10pm, is hosted by Carson Daly, and will feature performances by Drake, Jessie J, “Voice” coaches Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green, and Tony Bennett, and NBC News’ Brian Williams will give his music review of 2011. Fox is going a twangier route with a country-themed special featuring “American Idol” runner-up Lauren Alaina and Rodney Atkins starting at 11pm. MTV is going for a younger crowd with its 11pm special hosted by “Teen Wolf’ star Tyler Posey and trying-too-hard Demi Lovato, with music by Selena Gomez, Mac Miller, Jason Derulo, and other folks who were fetuses in the 1990s.
“South Park”
Saturday 9pm-midnight, Comedy Central
As you may have heard, the Mayans made this fabulous stone calendar way back when, and it happens to expire in 2012. Some people think this means they knew the date of the end of the world. Some people think it signals a new age of cosmic enlightenment. I think they ran out of rock, or their chiseling hands cramped up. Unsurprisingly, the “South Park” gang falls on the cynical side of things, and has decided to celebrate our impending extinction with a “Countdown to the End of the World” marathon. The “South Park” kids will help viewers prepare for the possible doomsday with three hours of apocalyptic episodes, including the brilliant “Make Love, Not Warcraft.”
“Intervention,” “Hoarders”
Monday 7am-11pm, A&E
Start off your new year by scaring yourself into a productive, healthy lifestyle by taking in marathons of two of the most confronting shows currently on television. You could argue that documentary series like “Intervention” and “Hoarders” are incredibly manipulative, and you would be right. But the bottom line is, these shows are more powerful than any anti-drug PSA, and more useful than any home-improvement show. New episodes of both series start at 9pm Monday. Prior to that you can catch up with repeats of “Intervention” from 7am-3pm, and “Hoarders” from 3-9pm.