What do you call a singing insect that can't remember the words? A humbug -- and that's what I've got to say about tonight's tepid TV lineup.
* "Disney's Christmas Fantasy on Ice" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., Channel LTC 11) -- This repeat from December 1992 offers a chance to catch a solo performance by Nancy Kerrigan before the hype and scandal. CBS.
* "All I Want For Christmas" (9 p.m.-11 p.m., Channel 2) -- Speaking selfishly, all I want for Christmas is to see fewer TV dramas such as this 1992 repeat. NBC.
* "Step By Step" (9 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Channel 13) -- For his portrayal of Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show," Don Knotts was awarded with five Emmys as Best Supporting Actor. Earlier this season, in an episode repeated tonight, he guest starred on "Step by Step" as a bumbling deputy. He shouldn't get his hopes up. ABC.
* "Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., Channel 11) -- CBS is all excited about this special because it marks the first appearance by tiger trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams since his retirement in 1990, but I find it difficult to generate much enthusiasm. CBS.
* "The X-Files" (9 p.m.-10 p.m., Channel 45) -- This is a repeat of the second-season premiere, in which Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson) have been separated and reassigned by the FBI. In retrospect, it was a sort of missed opportunity: Mr. Duchovny's Mulder, for example, could have been partnered temporarily with Kyle MacLachlan's Dale Cooper and sent off to hunt for owls in the Pacific Northwest. Fox.
* "Television's Christmas Classics" (10 p.m.-11 p.m., Channel 11) -- Writer-director Michael Hirsh usually does a good job with these clip-show specials, but this time the presentation and selection are below par. Marie Osmond is the host, and sings -- two mistakes right there -- and of all the TV clips presented, only a handful can be considered genuine classics. Still, with nothing else on, it's at least watchable. CBS.
Cable
* "CHiPs marathon" (12:05 a.m.-6 a.m., TBS) -- Offhand, I can't think of many worse ways to spend the Friday night before Christmas.