Happy New Year's Eve. There's plenty of good football during the day, and plenty of bad television during the night. Enjoy the evening without guilt, TV-wise, but hey, hey, hey -- let's be careful out there.
* "NFC Playoffs" (12:30 p.m.-conclusion, Channel 13) -- It's Detroit vs. Green Bay in the day's first NFL wild-card playoff game. ABC broadcasts both games today, so if this Lions-Packers game goes into overtime, the network will have an interesting quandary on its hands. ABC.
* "AFC Playoffs" (4 p.m.-conclusion, Channel 13) -- This game, pitting the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Miami Dolphins, pits quarterbacks Joe Montana and Dan Marino against one another for the first time since the 1984 Super Bowl. Mr. Montana won, as he is wont to do in Super Bowl situations, but the die-hard Dolphins fan in me is rooting for Mr. Marino. Mr. Montana has plenty of Super Bowl rings already. ABC.
* "New Year's Rockin' Eve '95" (11:30 p.m.-1 a.m., Channel 13) -- Dick Clark is alive, and well, and standing in Times Square. ABC.
* "Happy New Year, America" (11:30 p.m.-1 a.m., Channel 11) -- Paul Shaffer is host. CBS.
Cable
* "Praying Mantis" (noon-2 p.m., USA) -- The first of 18 USA Network made-for-TV movies in a row. All are bad. Every one. I'm not kidding.
* "MTV Top 100 of 1994 Video Countdown" (1 p.m.-11 p.m., MTV) -- MTV covers the 100 most popular videos of the year on its own playlist. Parents could learn quite a lot -- perhaps more than they'd wish -- by sampling a lot of these, especially the megapopular ones in the final hour. And to be truly subversive, watch them with your MTV-age kids, so they'll know you know. Gee, kids, what were those lyrics to "None of Your Business" again?
* "Countdown From Times Square" (11 p.m.-midnight, MTV) -- Kennedy and John Sencio are hosts.
* "New Year's Eve at Sea World" (11 p.m.-12:30 a.m., TNN) -- Lee Greenwood and Katie Haas are hosts.