Holiday TV: New Year's Eve specials, 'Fargo' marathon

New Year's Eve Specials
ABC, Fox, NBC, PBS, Wednesday, 8 ET/PT (times may vary)

As usual, the year goes out singing on TV, a tradition that harks back to the '50s when Guy Lombardo introduced most viewers to the Times Square countdown. Traditionalists can still find Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on ABC, though now it's hosted by Ryan Seacrest, but that's hardly your only musical choice. Fox has Pitbull's New Year's Revolution (8 ET/PT), NBC has New Year's Eve with Carson Daly (10 ET/PT), and PBS combines Live From Lincoln Center's New York Philharmonic New Year's Eve: Gershwin Celebration (8 ET/PT) with Michael Feinstein's New Year's Eve at the Rainbow Room (10 ET/PT). Happy new year!

Fargo Marathon
FXM, Thursday, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better way to welcome 2015 on TV than this complete 10-episode run of one of 2014's highest achievements and most unexpected pleasures. Written by Noah Hawley and starring a pitch-perfect cast, this thoroughly original take on the Joel & Ethan Coen film is an idiosyncratic joy from start to finish.

Bad Judge/A to Z
NBC, Thursday, 9 ET/PT

And then there's NBC, which is starting off the new year by continuing its burn-off of these two flop sitcoms. You'd say there's nowhere to go but up, except you wouldn't want the networks to take that as a challenge.