For most artists, having one No. 1 song is a miracle and a lifetime achievement. Imagine writing thousands of songs and having 20 reach that height. That ranks right up there with the best. And that’s the message of "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (8 p.m. Saturday, HBO, TV-MA), a two-hour history of a band of brothers.
Born on Britain’s Isle of Man and raised in Australia, brothers Maurice, Robin and Barry Gibb were influenced by the same folk and skiffle records that enchanted the Beatles. After some success in Australia, they wrote to Beatles manager Brian Epstein looking for representation. He would assign them to his deputy Robert Stigwood, beginning a fruitful collaboration.
"Heart" is filled with great period photos and footage of the brothers during their meteoric rise from nonentities to the top of the U.K. and U.S. charts in a scant two years. It explores the unique nature of brothers making three-part harmonies and interviews Nick Jonas and Noel Gallagher, musicians who know something about singing with siblings.
While initially associated with the folk and guitar sound of the British Invasion, the Bee Gees also saw themselves as soul singers. They wrote "To Love Somebody" for Otis Redding, who did not live to record it.
The band’s ability to adapt rhythm and blues elements to a wider (whiter) audience would contribute to their enormous success as well as their demise. After a breakup and reunion, the brothers were at loose ends by the mid-1970s. At the suggestion of Eric Clapton, another Stigwood client, they moved to Miami to record, where they found a soulful groove that coincided with a dance music craze not yet called disco.
The film takes an interesting detour to chronicle the rise of urban underground dance clubs appealing largely to a gay and black clientele. But it would soon spread to the mainstream. The emphasis on dressing up, elaborate hairdos, learning dance moves and going to clubs was a sea change from the shaggy post-hippie scene. And not everybody was happy about it.
"Broken Heart" recalls the stupendous popularity of the movie "Saturday Night Fever" and the Bee Gees’ participation in its soundtrack. It was estimated at one time that one American home in 10 owned a copy of the double LP. Songs from "Fever" saw the Bee Gees dominate the top 10 charts in ways not seen since Beatlemania or equaled until Michael Jackson’s "Thriller."
The film shows how disco also inspired the most crass commercialization. The rush to cash in on the disco sound became absurd, generating records from "Disco Duck" to the Boston Pops album "Saturday Night Fiedler."
"Heart" also explores the racist and homophobic elements of the anti-disco backlash. Organized by a Chicago DJ, a "disco sucks" stunt involving blowing up disco records culminated in a riot and the cancellation of a baseball game. One observer recalls the hatred of white male fans for not only disco, but for black records and artists in general. He likens the event to a Nazi book burning.
According to the film, the Bee Gees bore the brunt of the backlash, going from the most dominant band in the world to the target of death threats.
"Heart" spends only 20 minutes on the Gibbs’ post-disco careers, a time when they became best known as songwriters for other artists, including Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton. Sadly, the film also concludes with the deaths of younger brother Andy (1958-’88) followed by Maurice (1949-2003) and Robin (1949-2012). Barry is the survivor interviewed here, and he admits to never having been reconciled to the loss of his brothers and the voices essential to his harmony.
— Speaking of hit cultural trends taken to absurd extremes, AMC+, the premium streaming service, presents "The Walking Dead Holiday Special" starting Sunday. Chris Hardwick hosts this glance back at seasons past and present, interviewing cast members and setting up a table read of scenes from an upcoming Season 10 episode. Who says the holiday spirit is undead?
— Holiday spirits arise from another unlikely source, as "Family Guy" (9:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox, TV-14) takes a page from "It’s a Wonderful Life." When the family refuses to help with any holiday shopping, Lois decides to leave, forcing them to imagine life without her on the "First No L" episode of the Seth MacFarlane series.
— London descends into civil war as a fascist group attempts to take over the U.K. in the second season opener of "Pennyworth" (9 p.m. Sunday, Epix, TV-MA). For the uninitiated, this show offers an alternative history as well as an elaborate backstory for Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon), better known as Alfred, the butler to Bruce Wayne of "Batman" fame.
SATURDAY HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS
— Colleagues (Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller) stake their future on an epic celebration in the 2016 comedy "Office Christmas Party" (6:45 p.m. and 8:55 p.m., FXM, TV-MA).
— From 1964, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-G) flies once again.
— CBS unspools the 1969 classic "Frosty the Snowman" (9 p.m., TV-G) and its 1992 sequel, "Frosty Returns" (9:30 p.m., TV-G).
— A winning ticket brings a family together for the holiday in the 2020 romance "The Christmas Lottery" (8 p.m., BET, TV-14).
— After a revealing DNA test, a restaurateur changes her holiday traditions in the 2020 romance "Love, Lights, Hanukkah!" (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— A trip back home proves eventful in the 2020 romance "The Christmas Setup" (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-PG).
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— USC and UCLA meet in college football action (7:30 p.m., ABC).
— The Columbus Crew SC hosts the Seattle Sounders FC in the 2020 MLS Cup (8:30 p.m., Fox).
— Timothee Chalamet hosts "Saturday Night Live" (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14), featuring a performance by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on "60 Minutes" (7 p.m., CBS): Saudi Arabia harbors fugitives from U.S. justice; California challenges a hospital’s high costs; "excited delirium," a syndrome linked to deaths in police custody.
— Springfield becomes the setting of a cable Christmas movie on "The Simpsons" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
— The Bills and Steelers meet in NFL action (8:30 p.m., NBC).
— Michael builds an alibi for Adam on "Your Honor" (10 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
When the angel of death gets lost in the fog, a British airman (David Niven) survives a crash and falls in love with an American nurse (Kim Hunter) in the 1946 fantasy-romance/war propaganda film "A Matter of Life and Death" (8 p.m. Saturday, TCM, TV-PG), directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
SATURDAY SERIES
"Ellen’s Game of Games" (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … "The Wall" (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … "48 Hours" (10 p.m., CBS, r) … A vintage helping of "Saturday Night Live" (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
"Football Night in America" (7 p.m., NBC, TV-14) … "Supermarket Sweep" (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Can this universe be saved on "Pandora" (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) … A salary dispute on "Bless the Harts" (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
Smuggled drugs on "NCIS: Los Angeles" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Catering the holidays on "Bob’s Burgers" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … A question of loyalty on "The Outpost" (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) … A whistleblower’s demise on "NCIS: New Orleans" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … "Card Sharks" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
