Christmas Week TV: Is ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy, or anything new tonight?

The week of Christmas is traditionally a dark period in TV programming, unless of course you have a sincere interest in sitting down and watching dozens of hours of “Pawn Stars” and “Law & Order” marathons across various networks. But we are now at a time when some of the marathons are over, and we are getting back to normal programming … sort of.

The one problem here is that there is still not much of anything in the way of new TV lighting up your screen, and there will not be for most of the next few days. The only exception to the rule is “Nikita,” who has a series finale airing on The CW tomorrow night. Since the show is ending, the network has less of an incentive in airing it at a time when there are traditionally more viewers around.

When it comes to the issue of there being no programming on at this time of year, we are admittedly somewhat torn. From one vantage point, we understand the complaints of people saying that this time in the holidays, everyone is bored and would gladly watch a  new episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” or something else. On the flip side of that, there are also people who are still traveling, or with relatives. What if Uncle Jerry doesn’t want to watch Sheldon Cooper and company? Most network shows have somewhere between 22-24 episodes a season, and when you run from September until May, you have to fill in some of the time with repeats.

So just use some of the next few days to enjoy your Christmas gifts or go to the movies, which is probably the only time that we’ll say that until Christmas Week next year. While some shows may take a while to come back, CBS’ lineup of “The Big Bang Theory,” “Elementary,” and more will return in just one week’s time on January 2.