Spanish harbor
A telenovela is confusing enough without the language barrier. "La Reina Del Sur" (7 p.m. Sunday, Mun2) hopes to erase some of the intimidation factor by presenting Telemundo's most successful soap with English subtitles. That's much better than my suggestion to have Gilbert Gottfried dub every voice.
Shuttering the mansion
"Downton Abbey" (8 p.m. Sunday, KTCA, Ch. 2) wraps up its second season with a Christmas episode in which the aristrocrats reward their staff by dancing with them. Personally, I'd rather have a day off. "Abbey" fans about to go into withdrawal will be delighted to know that next season will include Shirley MacLaine.
That's life
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant take another whack at making fun of egomaniacs in "Life's Too Short" (9:30 p.m. Sunday, HBO), a new series that does nothing to alter the duo's reputation as TV's best troublemakers. The scene in which Liam Neeson attempts to do comedy may end up being the most hilarious bit of the year. For an interview with Gervais, check out Sunday's Variety section.
Will always love you
There's been a lot of talk about how much the late Whitney Houston meant to the record industry, but let's not forget that she also had a healthy run at the moviehouses. Catch some of her finest work in "Waiting to Exhale" (7 p.m. Friday, Encore), "The Preacher's Wife" (9:05 p.m. Friday, Encore) and "The Bodyguard" (7 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime).
