What’s Hot On TV Tonight – The Start of the Bowl Season

It’s the start of the bowl games today with the New Mexico Bowl and the St. Petersburg Bowl games. Not exactly the Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl. We also have a Saturday night NFL game. If you’re not into football, we have a lot of college basketball on, and if you’re avoiding sports altogether, we’ve got a new Hallmark movie starring Dean Cain, and Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married. That is, if you’re not procrastinating and have all your shopping done.

1. College Basketball: Michigan at Kansas. Jayhawks are putting their 47-game winning streak at home on the line. 11:00 AM CT ESPN

2. Cheaper By the Dozen. Fun remake with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt raising a family of twelve kids, while managing separate careers. 12:00 PM CT TNT

3. College Basketball: UCLA at Notre Dame. Last year Notre Dame took quite the beating. 1:00 PM CT CBS

4. College Basketball: North Carolina vs. Texas. This match takes place at Cowboys Stadium. 1:00 PM CT ESPN

5. College Basketball: Xavier at Butler. An A-10/Horizon matchup. 1:00 PM CT ESPN2

6. Firehouse Dog. This was actually a very cute family movie, with a terrier mix that happens to look a lot like my dog. 2:30 PM CT FX

7. College Basketball: Duke at Gonzaga. Both teams feature outstanding shooters. 3:00 PM CT CBS

8. College Basketball: Western Kentucky at Louisville. Louisville was upset by Western Kentucky last season 68-54. 3:00 PM CT ESPN2

9. New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. Wyoming. We’re kicking off the bowl season! 3:30 PM CT ESPN

10. College Basketball: Memphis vs. Massachusetts. The Tigers handed UMass quite a beating last season. 5:00 PM CT ESPN2

11. Elf. I caught this for the first time last year, surprisingly enough. I thought it would have some off-color humor in it, not that I would mind, but I figured it would. Instead, it was a really cute family holiday flick with Will Farrell. 7:00 PM CT CBS

12. Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. The Muppets accidentally stop three letters from reaching Santa Claus, prompting Kermit and the others to attempt to deliver the letters themselves. Guest appearances include Whoopi Goldberg, Uma Thurman, and Nathan Lane. 7:00 PM CT NBC

13. The Santa Clause 2. Tim Allen is Santa again, and finding out it will all end if he doesn’t get himself a Mrs. Claus. It’s fun, but not as magical as the first. 7:00 PM CT ABC

14. The Three Gifts. Dean Cain stars as Jack Green, a toymaker who, along with his wife (Jean Louisa Kelly), temporarily takes in three unruly orphans during the holiday season.  The troublemakers soon turn their act around when they think that the Greens are considering adopting one of them, and do their best to get off the Naughty List.  The film also stars Mimi Kennedy and Reginald Vel Johnson. 7:00 PM CT Hallmark

15. St. Petersburg Bowl: Central Florida vs. Rutgers. UCF has never won a bowl game, while Rutgers has won four straight. 7:00 PM CT ESPN

16. Saturday Night Football: Cowboys at Saints. Dallas is on a two-game losing streak, and New Orleans is still unbeaten on the season. 7:00 PM CT NFL

17. Californication. In the season finale, Hank gets a surprise visit from Mia and her lowlife boyfriend. Karen discovers Hank’s past involvement with her. Charlie needs to realize his relationship with Marcy could be over.  7:00 PM CT Showtime 2 West

18. WWE Tribute to the Troops. It’s the WWE’s seventh annual trip to Iraq. 8:00 PM CT NBC

19. America’s Most Wanted. A look at the FBI’s Highway Serial Killings Initiative which focuses on bodies of murdered women left along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, and an update on the ID process of twelve bodies found in a mass grave in NM. The fugitives featured include a woman who stands accused of murdering her husband and fleeing to her native Brazil, and an ex-Chicago police sergeant wanted on drug and racketeering charges. 8:00 PM CT Fox

20. My Name Is Bruce. Bruce Campbell has one giant undead homicidal problem 8:00 PM CT Syfy

21. Rachel Getting Married. Anne Hathaway stars in this very dark story as a young woman who gets out of rehab to go to her sister’s wedding. It’s much darker than Hathawa y’s usual roles. 8:00 PM CT Starz

22. 48 Hours Mystery. A federal prosecutor recalls being kidnapped at gunpoint on his birthday.  9:00 PM CT CBS

23. Wanda Sykes Show. It’s a holiday theme with Tim Meadows, Paula Poundstone, and Michelle Rodriguez. 10:00 PM CT Fox

24. Saturday Night Live. Guest host is James Franco and Muse is the musical guest. 10:30 PM CT NBC