Christmas Specials

I'm going to throw up my Oregon Trail Generation flag right here (Thanks Beer Baron for that article)- growing up one of my fond memories of Christmas was perusing the TV guide to find "Christmas Specials" (as we called them) on TV, then sit there and record them on the VCR, recording speed set to EP to cram the most number of specials onto that one precious tape, finger poised over the pause button to snuff out the commercials.  I remember the first such tape we made, and when it broke, sometime in the late 80's, we put together a second tape, which is still probably rattling around the media cabinet at my parents' house.  The tape was carefully labeled with each show, in order.  

Some of these specials had pretty good staying power (Frosty the Snowman, the stop-action Rudolph, Charlie Brown) but others seem to have faded into obscurity.  I happened across this channel on Rumble today, and most of the ones I remember are on there, even the less well known ones like Garfield, Bugs Bunny, Mickey's Christmas Carol.  And one of my all-time favorites, a slightly less well known one from Rankin bass, Twas the Night before Christmas.  

Enjoy!

https://rumble.com/c/ATSAUChristmas

I get worn out with Christmas music but since I was a kid this is still one I love to hear. 
 

I think my favorite will always be the Muppet Family Christmas followed closely by Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.

Emmet Otter. 

In reply to wae :

The Gift of the Magi with Bert and Ernie always brings a tear to my eye.  Especially since Mr. Hooper passed away.  

berkeley.  I'm crying right now just thinking about it.  

Wasn't there a StarWars special.....

Nearly every Shane Black movie.

Not so much Christmas specials, but most of Black's major hits have taken place around Christmas—usually a sunny LA Christmas, which always does a great job at pushing the alienation of the season because even Christmas gets alienated in sunny Southern California. But his movies always do such a great job at displaying Christmas as a supporting character that they don't really seem like Christmas movies until you realize they kind of are.

Lethal Weapon

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Iron Man 3

The Last Boy Scout

The Nice Guys (maybe the most subtle, just a little hint at the end to let you know what the date is)

The Long Kiss Goodnight

All leveraged Christmas at some point to create emotional or comic stakes that added to the vibe.

Also the Community Christmas episode "Regional Holiday Music" is an all-timer.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

I like the Happy Days episode where Fonzie lies about going to a big family gathering in Waukesha but Richie cajoles him into spending Christmas with his family.

Ernest Saves Christmas, with Jim Varney.

Twilight Zone, "Night of the Meek."

I never liked Christmas stuff. Like ever. 

But.

There were a bunch of weird movies that used to play on USA in the early 90s that were entertaining at the time and I'd kinda like to see again. 

"Santa saves the martians" sticks out, but I know there were more. 

In reply to RevRico :

I think MST3K ripped on that movie. Like oldschool Joel MST3K.

Believe it or not, I had never seen Home Alone. The other night we were at the Tree House Tavern in Warwick,RI, and it was playing in a loop on the screen above the bar. No sound, but I didn't need sound. The visuals were enough. It was hilarious. People must have thought I was crazy, laughing at a 30+ year old movie.

David S. Wallens said:

Emmet Otter. 

Without a doubt.

David S. Wallens said:

Emmet Otter. 

Despite the fact that that special debuted on my very first Christmas, I had never heard of it until now. Will see if I can stream it, the kids will probably love it. Thanks!

In reply to Gary :

Home Alone is funny as an adult because it's Joe Pesci doing pratfalls.

In reply to j_tso :

Exactly! Lots of great "slapstick" comedy which always makes me laugh.

j_tso said:

In reply to Gary :

Home Alone is funny as an adult because it's Joe Pesci doing pratfalls.

What did happen to Joe Peschi?  He was a comedic genius.  My Cousin Vinnie is one of Mrs. VCHs favorite movies.  And AFAIC he was the reason Home Alone worked. He carried what would have been an otherwise mediocre Holiday movie. 

volvoclearinghouse said:

David S. Wallens said:

Emmet Otter. 

Despite the fact that that special debuted on my very first Christmas, I had never heard of it until now. Will see if I can stream it, the kids will probably love it. Thanks!

It's changed a little bit since Disney bought Henson  out but it is still fantastic. Make sure you watch the out takes too, those are some stoned berkeleying hippies.

Mrs. p says they don't show it on tv anymore because you are not allowed to show poor folk.

Twas the night before christmas... the one with the mouse and the clock tower.

And then I always have to search for the South Park parody where they sneak in a second of Rankin/Bass animation.

In reply to wae :

Same, you can watch it here:
https://archive.org/details/a-muppet-family-christmas/A+Muppet+Family+Christmas+(1987+version+restored+by+Alex+Taylor).mkv

ChrisTropea said:

The Muppet Christmas Carol

This one hit very different as an adult...so many good jokes that go over your head as kid.

ChrisTropea said:

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Ahh yes, the DEFINITIVE version of the Charles Dickens classic. LIGHT THE LAMP, NOT THE RAT!!!

If we are including Christmas movies in this, then National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a top-tier classic for me. We watch it every year on December 1st, which is the anniversary of its release. I find new stuff to laugh at every time I watch it. 

Also, on Home Alone: We watched this last night, another tradition; never gets old. As a kid who was 8 when it debuted, it hit at the perfect time. People sometimes fail to remember how huge of a movie it was. It debuted during the holiday season, but it had at least a six month run in theaters around here, and that's in main theaters, not the Saturday matinee ones that show older films. Legendary. 

preach said:

volvoclearinghouse said:

David S. Wallens said:

Emmet Otter. 

Despite the fact that that special debuted on my very first Christmas, I had never heard of it until now. Will see if I can stream it, the kids will probably love it. Thanks!

It's changed a little bit since Disney bought Henson  out but it is still fantastic. Make sure you watch the out takes too, those are some stoned berkeleying hippies.

Mrs. p says they don't show it on tv anymore because you are not allowed to show poor folk.

You know, that's a really interesting point, and something I've thought about before.  Maybe this is delving too much into Conspiracy Theory territory.  But two of my favorite Christmas Specials from back in my childhood - Mickey's Christmas Carol, Twas the Night Before Christmas - and the Emmet Otter special - deal with the themes of poverty and struggle pretty directly.  And they're pretty much not seen anywhere on "normal" TV anymore.  I wonder if this sort of poverty is just not relatable to people.  The "working poor" are uncomfortable to talk about.  It's easy to think about the mentally insane or real homeless or drug addicts.  And even the "poor" nowadays probably have a home, a car, a phone, etc.  The whole Dickensian poor thing isn't really a thing in the modern world.  

In the case of Emmet Otter, you can tell it was a product of the 70's- the deep malaise era.  Economic uncertainty was a real thing for a lot of people.  It was probably relatable.  Dad gone, mom struggling to bring in enough to eat, son working odd jobs, hawking off all their stuff, other than a toolbox and a washtub.  The Magi story got a bit twisted though- in the original Gift of the Magi, the couple involved each pawned something near and dear to themselves to buy the other gifts; here, the main characters pawn the thing that the other uses to earn a livelihood.  And they justify it by thinking "its what Pa would have done".  Pa, clearly, being a Snake Oil salesman, did not set a good example for them.  It's only by sheer luck that they come out of it ahead at the end, which makes for a nice story, but perhaps not so much of a good moral.