Times such as these make us crave escapist entertainment and the holidays are the perfect time for you to find those uplifting, heartwarming, and entertaining programs that provide respite from the chaos. You have your choice of prime holiday movies and specials this week of Thanksgiving:
A Very Brady Thanksgiving Witch Hunt (Nick At NIte, Tuesday, 8:00 EST) A revisit of a timeless TV special. During a re-enactment of the first Thanksgiving, America's favorite blended family accidentally conjures the spirit of Salem-era witch who possesses the soul of housekeeper Alice. Also, Greg accidentally locks Cindy in a closet and they must feed her dinner under the door.
Ice Spiders Capades (SyFy, Thursday, 9:00 EST) A Thanksgiving tradition like no other. This underrated sequel to the 2007 creature feature Ice Spiders combines a small town ice show and a top government experiment awry sprinkled with some Christmas magic. Shanna (Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan) has been tasked with staging the 100th Glacier Forge Annual Outdoor Holiday Icetravaganza. The planning goes off the rails when the costumes go missing, the star of the show quits, and giant mutated spiders from a secret government lab begin killing the townspeople. The town fights back with the help of a youth hockey team. Tanya Harding, Brian Boitano, and Johnny Weir guest star.
A Paranormal Christmas Carol (Travel Channel, Saturday, 10:00 EST) New this season! In this contemporary twist on the classic Dickens tale, a media mogul (Holly Robinson Peete) is haunted by three spirits who only wish to remind her of the true meaning of Christmas. So, she hires a group of paranormal investigators to rid her home of the ghosts so she can get back to being a miserable tyrant.
Check your local listings as times and airings may vary.