Whatâ€™s so funny about TV this holiday season?

"Project Runway: All Stars" (Thursday, 9 p.m., Lifetime)
Like "Law & Order," the veteran series "The Simpsons" is pretty much the place where every actor — or wannabe actor — can chalk up a credit for appearing as a guest star. And so, in this bizarre crossover event, "Project Runway" winner Anthony Ryan Auld, designer Stacey Bendet and Little Miss Sunshine Abigail Breslin are the guest judges to decide which dress Marge will wear on a future episode of "The Simpsons." That's right, it's a competition to find out which imaginary dress a cartoon character will wear in an episode you're also apparently supposed to watch.

"Modern Family" (Wednesday, 9 p.m., ABC)
Before he was homicidal drug dealer Walter White on "Breaking Bad," Bryan Cranston was the underrated dad on the family comedy "Malcolm in the Middle." Cranston rediscovers his funny side as he directs the Christmas special for this aging family comedy that still manages to garner a few laughs, largely thanks to a fantastic cast saddled with stale material.

Nick Robinson (from left), Taylor Spreitler, Joey Lawrence and Melissa Joan Hart

"Melissa & Joey: A New Kind of Christmas" (Wednesday, 8 p.m., ABC Family)
Nothing says "a funny thing happened at Christmas" like the return of an imprisoned mother who abandoned you and your sibling at a young age. Maybe it's not as funny in a ha-ha sort of way, but Mel (Melissa Joan Hart) and Joe (Joey Lawrence ) take a swing at it anyway in this Very Special Melissa & Joey Christmas Episode. Jaime Pressly guest stars as Mel's sister Meredith, who comes home from prison on furlough to celebrate Christmas with the kids (Taylor Spreitler and Nick Robinson).Surprisingly, Joe's the voice of reason here as the only one who's miffed with the missing mama.

"White Collar" (Thursday, 9 p.m., USA)
When the comic relief of your show directs the episode, you can only hope for a little more zany and little less depressing danger. So Willie Garson, aka Stanford from "Sex & the City" and mostly comic relief Mozzie of this crime caper, makes his directorial debut in an episode that finds Peter (Tim DeKay) investigating a classified espionage case with his ex-girlfriend, played by "Treme's" lovely Kim Dickens, who could stir up trouble for the agent and his wife (Tiffani Thiessen).