What's on TV? Sunday, December 25, 1966

Happy Boxing Day! It isn't often that us Americans get the day off, but when Christmas falls on a Sunday, as it did yesterday, today becomes the legal holiday. I don't know what you're planning on, but I intend to be in front of the TV watching the English Premier League and their annual Boxing Day matches.

You won't find the Premier League, or any other soccer, on tap for Christmas 1966, but there's plenty more to choose from. As always on occasions such as this, I'm grateful to be able to turn to a Twin Cities TV Guide, since I would have had such an issue in our home (though not the physical one I'm looking at now; who knows where the original wound up?), and would have watched some of these very programs. Let's see what they are.

	WCCO, Channel 4 (CBS)
	Morning
	07:45a	Sacred Heart
	08:00a	The Story (color)
	08:30a	The Christophers (color)
	09:00a	L’Enfance du Christ (special)
	10:00a	Movie – “Hold That Hypnotist”
	11:00a	Popeye and Friends (color)
	11:30a	Let’s Go Traveling (color)
	11:45a	World of Aviation (color)
	Afternoon
	12:00p	News (Dean Montgomery) (color)
	12:15p	Weather (Bob Potter) (color)
	12:20p	Sports (Don Dahl) (color)
	12:30p	The Year in Sports (special) (color)
	01:00p	Minnesota ’66 (special) (color)
	02:00p	CBS News 1966 (special) (color)
	03:00p	Moscow State Circus (special)
	04:00p	Password (panelists Lee Remick, Peter Lawford) (color)
	04:30p	Original Amateur Hour (return) (color)
	05:00p	Christmas in Spanish Harlem (special) (color)
	05:30p	News (Dean Montgomery) (color)
	05:45p	Weather (Bud Kraehling) (color)
	05:50p	Sports (Don Dahl) (color)
	Evening
	06:00p	Lassie (color)
	06:30p	It’s About Time (color)
	07:00p	Ed Sullivan (European circus acts) (color)
	08:00p	Garry Moore (guests Mel Torme, Buddy Rich and his orchestra, Randy Kirby) (color)
	09:00p	Candid Camera (color)
	09:30p	What’s My Line? (panelists Suzy Knickerbocker, Martin Gabel, Arlene Francis, Bennett Cerf) (color)
	10:00p	News (Dean Montgomery) (color)
	10:15p	Weather (Bud Kraehling) (color)
	10:20p	Sports (Hal Scott) (color)
	10:30p	Movie – “A Private’s Affair” (color)

Channel 4 spends part of the afternoon doing year-end retrospectives on the year in sports and the year in Minnesota news. Do local stations do these anymore? I'm not being snarky; I don't watch enough local programming these days to know.

	KSTP, Channel 5 (NBC)
	Morning
	07:45a	Light Time
	08:00a	Bible Story Time (color)
	08:30a	Hymn Time (color)
	09:00a	Do You Believe? (color)
	09:30a	Faith for Today (color)
	10:00a	Church Service (Episcopal) (special) (color)
	11:00a	This is the Life (color)
	11:30a	Forest Rangers i(color)
	Afternoon
	12:00p	News (Gene Berry) (color) 10 Business News (color)
	12:15p	Jane’s Christmas Day (special) (color)
	12:30p	Meet the Press (guest McGeorge Bundy, president of the Ford Foundation) (color)
	01:00p	Movie – “The Holly and the Ivy”
	02:30p	Movie – “The Detective”
	04:00p	Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (color)
	04:30p	G-E College Bowl (Puget Sound vs. Smith or North Central) (color)
	05:00p	Bell Telephone Hour (special) (color)
	Evening
	06:00p	News (Bob Ryan) (color)
	06:15p	Weather (Peter Evensen) (color)
	06:20p	Sports (Steve Cannon) (color)
	06:30p	Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (color)
	07:30p	Hey Landlord! (color)
	08:00p	Bonanza (color)
	09:00p	Andy Williams (guests Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd, the Osmond Borthers, Peggy Fleming, Julian and His Dogs, Gil Dova, Channing Pollock) (color)
	10:00p	News (Bob Ryan) (color)
	10:15p	Weather (Peter Evensen) (color)
	10:20p	Sports (Steve Cannon) (color)
	10:30p	Joe Pyne (guests Dr. Frank Stranges, Chris Sauer, John Cason Black) (color)
	12:00a	Movie – “Portrait of Jennie”

Jane's Christmas Day, at 12:15 p.m., is hosted by Jane Johnston, a local TV personality and current host of Dialing for Dollars. It's 15 minutes of her singing Christmas music and reading the story of the Nativity to staff members' children. 

	KMSP, Channel 9 (ABC)
	Morning
	08:00a	Insight (color)
	08:30a	Soul’s Harbor
	09:00a	Oral Roberts
	09:30a	Peter Potamus (color)
	10:00a	Bullwinkle (color)
	10:30a	Discovery ’66 (color)
	11:00a	Beany and Cecil (color)
	11:30a	Grandpa Ken
	Afternoon
	12:00p	ABC Scope (color)
	12:30p	Organ Notes
	01:00p	Christmas Tyme (special)
	01:30p	The Gift (special)
	02:00p	The Eleventh Hour
	03:00p	Saga of Western Man – “Christ is Born” (special) (color)
	04:00p	Surfside 6
	05:00p	The Greatest Show on Earth (color)
	Evening
	06:00p	The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood (special) (color)
	07:00p	The FBI (color)
	08:00p	Movie – “The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones” (color)
	10:00p	News (Bill Fahan)
	10:15p	Weather (Jerry Smith)
	10:20p	Sports (Tony Parker)
	10:30p	Movie – “Daddy Longlegs” (color)

Between The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood and "The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones," I think we can all agree on one thing: ABC is the network of danger.

	WTCN, Channel 11 (Ind.)
	Morning
	09:00a	News (local)
	09:15a	Christmas Cartoons
	09:30a	Film Feature
	10:00a	Joyful Hour (special)
	11:00a	Church Service (Methodist)
	Afternoon
	12:00p	Sunday Report
	12:30p	God is the Answer
	01:30p	Echoes from Calvary
	02:00p	Fremont Church Choir
	02:30p	Northwest Bible Institute Choir
	03:00p	A Star Shall Rise (special)
	03:30p	Osseo High School Choir
	04:00p	Southwest High School Choir
	04:30p	Stillwater High School Choir
	05:00p	Rocky and His Friends (color)
	05:30p	Ice Show (special)
	Evening
	06:30p	To Be Announced
	07:00p	Movie – “The Road to Glory”
	09:00p	Bishop Sheen
	09:30p	News (Stuart A. Lindman)
	09:45p	Weather (Rodger Kent)
	09:50p	Sports (Frank Beutel)
	10:00p	Movie – “Chicken Every Sunday”

I find Channel 11's afternoon lineup charming - an almost constant run of local high school choirs singing Christmas music. You don't see that much anymore; I'm not even sure public school students are allowed to sing religious carols. When I lived in The World's Worst Town™, KCMT presented an hour of these concerts, two schools back-to-back, every weekday, taped live, just before the network news. One year, our school's choir was chosen. The show ran a little short, and to fill out the last minute or so, the choir director had them sing an additional verse of the carol they were doing. One problem: they'd only rehearsed the first two verses, and most of them didn't know the third verse. Let me tell you, it made for hilarious viewing. TV