O TV set, O TV set, how many are thy channels — and stuffed like Santa's bag with holiday treats. Here we are, past the winter solstice, with the Big Day imminent, and there are still Christmas and Christmassy programs we have yet to discuss — each adding to the accumulating mass of specials past, good, bad, indifferent, but each, like a worn toy rabbit, undoubtedly loved by someone. Indeed, these waning days of the calendar, marked by anticipation and exhaustion, may be the most crucial of all for what such programs bring.
So let's discuss.
Dolly Parton, the Christmas spirit in human form, has been a regular creator of yuletide specials. Her latest is "Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas," now streaming on Peacock. Filmed at Dollywood, the singer's personal Disneyland, the show takes as its narrative the creation of the show — it's a backstage musical, featuring Tom Everett Scott as her producer and Ana Gasteyer as a studio executive, not without conflict. Dolly — who at 76 is in fine voice and fettle — wants to bring something authentic to her experience, while the suits want something even splashier than the splash she makes just by walking into a room. (The marriage of the authentic and the splashy is her brand: note bejeweled banjo.) Guests include Willie Nelson, who arrives in a spray of fairy dust to duet on his own "Pretty Paper," Jimmy Fallon and the Cyruses (Billy Ray and Miley).
