TV: Watch the Tournament of Roses parade
TODAY'S MUST-SEE: Tournament of Roses parade, 8-10 a.m. PT, six channels.
Each year, this good-natured parade helps viewers lose any risidual fog and hangovers. This year it has 37 floats, 18 horse units and 20 bands, including ones from Hawaii, Mexico, Denmark and the Marines.
The theme is "Inspiring Stories" and Louis Zamperini – subject of the movie and book "Unbroken" -- was named grand marshal; he's still considered marshal, despite his death in July at 97. The parade is carried on NBC, ABC and four cable channels – Hallmark (which reruns it at 10 a.m., RFD, Univision and HGTV – which annually makes this commercial-free, to promote an amiable new batch of series.
TODAY'S MUST-SEE II: Bowl games, all day.
Things peak tonight on ESPN, when two games decide who will be in the Jan. 12 national championship game. At 2 p.m. PT, the Rose Bowl has Oregon (ranked No. 2) and Florida State (No. 3); at 5:30, the Sugar Bowl has Alabama (No. 1) and Ohio State (No. 4).
There's more, as a warm-up. At 9 a.m. PT on ESPN2, the Outback Bowl has Wisconsin (No. 18) and Auburn (No. 19). At 9:30 on ESPN, the Cotton Bowl has Baylor (No. 5) and Michigan State (No. 8); at 10 on ABC, the Citrus Bowl has Mississippi (No. 16) and Minnesota (No. 25).
TODAY'S ALTERNATIVE: Debuts, all day, HGTV.
Today, this channel obsesses on fantasy; its five new shows view exotic homes or settings. Debuting (each with two half-hours) are "Castle Hunters" at 7 a.m. PT, "Half-Price Paradise" at 11 a.m. PT, "Living Big Sky" at 6, "Island Life" at 7 and "Building Hawaii" at 11.
There's more to fantasize about. At 8, HGTV introduces the "Dream Home" that one viewer will win. This one is a sprawling, Cape Cod-style home on Martha's Vineyard, a mile from the beach.
Other choices include:
"Portlandia," 6 a.m., IFC. This wonderfully odd comedy reruns its first four seasons until 2 a.m., then starts over to complete a 24-hour stretch. The fifth season starts next Thursday,
"Great Performances," 8 p.m., PBS. The Vienna Philharmonic continues its tradition of New Year's Day concerts, filled with Strauss tunes. Zubin Mehta is the guest conductor, with Vienna City Ballet dancers; Julie Andrews hosts.
"The Big Bang Theory," 8 p.m., CBS. An all-rerun night for CBS starts with this hilarious episode. Amy convinces a reluctant Sheldon to join Howard and Bernadette for a trip to wine country; also, things go wrong when Leonard and Penny are in charge of Raj's dog.
"Mom," 8:31, CBS. Here's the episode from last spring, with teen Violet having her baby. Her mom and grandmother – both former teen moms – face her wrath.
"Bad Judge," 9 p.m., NBC. Angela Kinsey ("The Office") guests as a friend, getting over a divorce. Rebecca (Kate Walsh) helps her, but soon finds that people don't always appreciate her judgments.
"Two and a Half Men," 9:01 p.m., CBS. This season-opener sent the show in a fresh direction. Faced with a health scare, Walden decided to change his life. It's fairly funny; so is the "McCarthys" that follows, with the family trying to resist everything Jackie must give up during pregnancy.
"Elementary," 10:01 p.m.., CBS. Moriariy, Holmes' former nemesis, is a consultant on a case.