TV picks for Dec. 19:  Christmas Carol, "The X Factor," "Four Weddings and a Funeral"

December 18, 2013 at 7:40PM
Alastair Sim stars as Scrooge in the 1951 movie version of the story "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens. Here, Scrooge sees his own tombstone. Handout file photo courtesy of United Artists.
Alastair Sim plays Scrooge in the 1951 version of “A Christmas Carol,” which airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on TCM. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

'X' does not mark the spot

Speaking of humbug, hard to be anything but grumpy about this season of "The X Factor" (7 p.m., KMSP, Ch. 9), which failed to generate any real sparks, at least not on the judges' panel. It's time, once and for all, that Fox makes a choice between Simon Cowell's folly and "American Idol," with the winner getting the full attention of the network, and hopefully, the burnt-out fans.

I think I love you

Writer Richard Curtis and actor Hugh Grant may have both reached their creative peaks when they teamed up for 1994's "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (7 p.m., Ovation), a nearly seamless romantic comedy that established Grant as the most charming stutterer since Jimmy Stewart.

A cure for the humbugs

The Guthrie Theater isn't the only institution that has a take on "The Christmas Carol." TCM hosts an evening of five Hollywood interpretations of the Charles Dickens classic, starting with 1970's "Scrooge" (7 p.m., TCM), featuring a definitive performance from Albert Finney. If you get through all five, treat yourself to a Christmas goose.

Neal Justin

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