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Weekend TV: 'Virginia,' 'In-Laws'

Robert Bianco, USA TODAY
Yes, 'Virginia' is coming back for the 2012 holidays. Beatrice Miller gives voice to the role of 8-year-old Virginia , a young girl who always loved Christmas, but when told that Santa Claus doesn't exist, questions her beliefs in one of the most famous letters of all time.
  • 'Yes, Virginia' is an 'animated charmer'
  • 'Merry-in-Laws' is a new holiday film worth trying
  • 'Family Guy' tells a Nativity Story unlike any other

Yes, Virginia
CBS, Friday, 9 ET/PT

CBS repeats one of the best Christmas specials of the last decade, this sweet, gentle animated charmer built around the famous letter a little girl sent to the editor of The New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real. Extremely well-voiced by Beatrice Miller, Alfred Molina, Michael Buscemi, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Neil Patrick Harris, its simple message about faith and kindness makes it a good tonal match for the classic CBS is repeating as its lead-in, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Merry-in-Laws
Lifetime, Saturday, 8 ET/PT

Holiday comedies are less common than cartoons, uplift or romances, which may be a reason to try this Lifetime film that finds a very smart single mother and her equally bright young son headed to meet her fiance's parents. Imagine her surprise when they turn out to be Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, which brings us to another reason to try this film: The Clauses are played by George Wendt and Shelley Long, united for the first time since Cheers.

Family Guy
Fox, Sunday, 9 ET/PT

Tired of seasonal sweetness and light? Then you may be up for the Nativity Story as told by Family Guy — with Peter as Joseph, Lois as Mary and, yes, Stewie as the Baby Jesus. This is not a show that pays much heed to the boundaries of good taste; if the idea of the outing strikes you as offensive, odds are the show will too. So do yourself a favor and just don't watch, while being grateful that you live in a country where spoofs like this can run without causing mayhem in the streets.

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