The laziest attributes of Japanese TV come to the fore during the New Year break, namely, the over-reliance on repetitive talk-show formats, the use of quizzes to liven things up, and lots of amateur videos and old news footage.
It's also a time when whatever is currently fashionable gets a concentrated push, though sometimes it's difficult to tell whether the fashion is on its way in or on its way out.
The two most prominent themes over New Year were "big eating contests" and shows about unexplainable phenomena. Big eating shows (ogui) have been around for years and transcend fashion (not to mention common sense, given that many are broadcast around dinner time), but unexplained phenomena, which comprise magic, ghost stories and demonstrations of so-called super powers have made a notable comeback recently.