Top Ten Greatest Christmas Specials of All Time
by John NolteInevitably, as the Top 25 Greatest Christmas Movie list rolls on, some start to wonder when specials like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will get their due. Well, they won’t on a list exclusive to feature films, but they will here.
You know, I never thought I’d be old enough to use the phrase “kids today,” but here goes… With DVD and DVR and all this other digital snap-your-fingers instant gratification, kids today might think they have it better than those of us of a certain age – and okay, maybe they do – but back in the days before America figured out disco and Jimmy Carter sucked, there was something to be said for the pure pleasure of anticipation I had as a child with the Sunday morning arrival of the Milwaukee Journal.
Screw the comics, I’d grab the TV section, squirrel away somewhere with a red pen, pour through it as though it were the Dead Sea Scrolls, and circle everything that needed to be watched that week.
Yes, kids, this is the way it once was. Believe it or not, there was an era before Internet, DVD, VHS, HBO or DVR when there was only UHF and VHF – 4 networks and one independent station that required a rabbit ear antennae with enough aluminum foil wrapped around it to work as a heat shield for the space shuttle.
It was crazy, especially on Sunday nights when Dad would run the rabbit ears out the window and my sister and I would take turns shivering on the front lawn pointing them south so he could watch “The Honeymooners” on Chicago’s channel 9.
But there was also a shared experience that came pre-digital, especially with an anticipation that didn’t last the length of a download, but for days and sometimes a full week as you waited for those circled gems to finally air. So exciting was the prospect of finally getting to see something you loved once again, that you would talk about it at school with your friends:
“Yeah, man, Friday night’s The Time Machine, Saturday’s Shock Theatre double feature is Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster and Attack of the Mushroom People, and Sunday’s all about Goldfinger, where there’s a nipple in the credit sequence — I saw it last year – for real.”
Because of home video that’s all gone now. Sure, I enjoy being able to pop in a DVD as much as the next person but there was something about those days when you—God I’m old.
No time of year, however, brought with it more anticipation than the holiday season. As soon as there was even a whiff of Thanksgiving it was time to dig into that TV section and hunt down those Christmas specials. Not missing a single one was very important because they were only on once a year and, as Dad would always remind us: “Enjoy it while you can — that asshole in the White House will have us all speaking Russian by noon.“
And how well they hold up! 35 years later … still enchanting. The songs remain catchy, the stories engrossing, the characters memorable, and the jokes funny. Who knows, maybe the only thing holding them up is nostalgia. But who cares, right? All that matters is that we still love them and love seeing them passed on to children not yet assaulted and made cynical and ironic by MTV and Jon Stewart.
So here they are, my top ten favorite Christmas specials that survive the test of time:
*****
1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): Not only is this a subdued little timeless charmer, but also a marker of just how far our culture has collapsed. With every viewing I’m startled to hear the words “Jesus” and “Christ” used in a way that isn’t a curse word. Of all the specials Obama would pre-empt for his announcement to the Taliban that they need only hold out for 18 more months, it makes sense it would be this one. I’m sure President Bows-A-Lot is uncomfortable whenever anyone, including cartoon characters, mention that “other” Jesus.
***
2. How Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966): Not to take anything away from Dr. Seuss or anyone else involved in this unforgettable heart-warmer, but a special Emmy should go to whoever came up with the inspired idea of having Boris Karloff narrate.
***
3. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962): Clever and briskly paced , this 53 minute ‘toon doesn’t miss a story beat or a heartbeat. Now if I could only find some razzleberry dressing….
***
4. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974): The magic of Rankin/Bass at the height of their stop-motion glory. And the star power, wow!: Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney, and of course the marvelous Dick Shawn as Snow Miser. Everybody now: I’m Mr. White Christmas, I’m Mr. Snow – ba-da-ba-da-bum – I’m Mr. Icicle, I’m Mr. 10 below… P.S. Bastards.
***
5. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970): A trio of brilliance: Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney and Keenan Wynn do an unforgettable job telling the origin story of Santa Claus. And who could ever forget Paul Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger? Side Note: Is it just me, or is young Mrs. Claus kinda hot in that red-headed Ann-Margrock kinda way?
***
6. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964): Burl Ives’ warm songs and narration are just the icing on the cake of an incredibly imaginative story packed with unforgettable characters. It can only be a matter of time before Hollywood dumps all over this with a big screen version. Join with me as we curse them in advance…
***
7. The Little Drummer Boy (1968): Narrated by the legendary Greer Garson:
Aaron’s heart was filled with joy and love. And he knew at last that the hate he had carried there was wrong. As ALL hatred will ever be wrong. For more powerful, more beautiful by far than all the eons of sadness and cruelty and desolation which had come before, was that one tiny, crystalline second of laughter. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
How many meetings has the ACLU had to try and figure out a way to pull this off the air?
***
8. Frosty the Snowman (1969): Jimmy Durante. Nothing more need be said.
***
9. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974): Remember this one? George Gobel plays father mouse? Santa gets irked by an insulting letter? The town has to build a clock…? The mice help? Oh, well, Netflix it.
***
10. It’s a Bundyful Life (1989): A bit of a cheat I know, but what do you get when The Mighty Bundy Family meets The Mighty Sam Kinison? Everything that made “Married With Children” the greatest sitcom ever: great characters, sharper than sharp writing and no sacred cows. I used to have a VHS with every Bundy Christmas episode on it and it didn’t have to be the holidays to pop that one in.
Okay, your turn… What’s missing?
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This will sound so sacrilegious but I have never seen any of these, and not because we're Jewish. Sure, I've seen bits and pieces of Charlie Brown but never the whole thing. When I was younger (I'm 26), there was A Muppet Family Christmas which was the first show to include characters from Sesame Street, The Muppets, and Fraggle Rock. It's not considered a classic but it was great stuff when I was 7 or 8 years old.
As for "these kids today," if it makes you feel any better, I used to run to the mailbox for the TV Guide every week and check out which Star Trek: TNG episodes were airing in syndication (I had just become a Trek fan when I was 9 years old in 1992). If it was a really cool episode, I'd have to wait several months for it to air again.
I love that 9 of the 10 are cartoons – a reminder that we should all have the heart of a child this time of year.
Especially miss seeing Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol. I haven't seen that on tv of a long time and that is a shame.
Ah yes, the days of a kid-friendly USA when the three networks held a captive audience and understood the awesome responsibility of entertaining adults without forgetting the two kids also sitting in the living room. This list brings back good memories of family fun with my late parents, who seemed to enjoy these shows as much as my brother and I.
Maybe it's silly, but I miss the Andy Williams Christmas Specials. I was so little then, but the mood was always so festive and warm and the productions were generous. Just felt like family.
Well, a better family than mine was, but the bar was set pretty low, but y'know, nice people in my living room.
I've said too much. . .
No you haven't. Thanks for sharing. Those were wonderful shows. Dittos here.
Glad the Mr. Magoo Christmas Carol made it. It has always been the definitive version for me. I would have included "Cricket on the Hearth". Had Danny and Marlo Thomas. But it is somewhat obscure.
I absolutely LOVE the two Disney Silly Symphonies shorts from the early 1930s – Santa's Workshop and The Night Before Christmas.
Jimmy Stewart speaking to the Baby Jesus at the manger scene during one of his fantasies in Mr. Krueger's Christmas is so touching and tear-inducing for me. I have related many times to this lonely old man who finds comfort in his Saviour. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK85O6FgRC0
There are a couple I like that were only shown on the networks a couple of times, but are all currently available on DVD. "The House Without A Christmas Tree" with Jason Robards, Lisa Lucas and Mildred Natwick, a live action drama about a little girl whosewidowed father won't allow a tree or any hardly mention of Christmas inside his house. Heart-warming with lots of humor.
"The Littlest Angel" with "Family Affair"'s Johnny Whittaker as a newly arrived angel who insists on going home and "The Munsters" Fred Gwynne as his guardian angel, Patience. This is a live-action musical version with guest turns by Cab Calloway, Connie Stevens, Tony Randall, John McGiver, Paul Sorvino and E. G. Marshall as God.
Finally, one oddball favorite of mine, "The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood." I have to admit it really has little to do with Christmas and nobody ever gets to granny's house. It's the story of Red told from the wolf's point of view who is played by the wonderful Cyril Ritchard (Captain Hood in Broadway's "Peter Pan.")
Red is played by a very young Liza Minnelli, with Ritchard's wolf pack portrayed by the now forgotten R&R group "The Animals." Vic Damone is the woodsman hero. Featuring songs by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne who also did the music for "Magoo's Chrismas Carol" and "Funny Girl." (At one point, the wolf tells Red that people who give each other presents are "the luckiest people in the world." A real hoot for lovers of old-time musical specials.
Look out for a Andy Williams Christmas PBS special that runs this time of year on my local PBS. It brings back alot of memories.
Good points. Every once in a while I catch an episode of "Leave it to Beaver" . I am always amazed at the quality of the show. Although rarely side-splitting funny, it was humorous, thought-provoking, poignant and genuine. Timeless too. They simply don't make shows like those anymore.
I have been looking for 2 shows I saw on NYC are TV in the 60s or 70s.
One may have been on WCBS and the other on WNET.
Show 1 : A literal visual translation of the song The 12 Days of
Christmas. It was on film and as it progressed, each item named in the
song was brought into the shot in whatever multiple quantities were
called for by the song until at the end the scene was filled with
hundreds of items. Very entertaining. I saw it once and never saw it
again. I think this was the show that ran on CBS.
Show 2 : This was called something like "A Colonial Christmas".
Everyone is in period costume and the main character, a bon vivant.
addresses the camera and invites us to join him at a festive Christmas
party he will attend this evening. We go with him to a fine home and
he guides us in and around while speaking to various party goers who
speak to us directly. He strolls round the home and offers commentary
about this and that. Highly entertaining. Saw it once and never saw it
again. I think this was the PBS show.
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Television-Praege...
I bet this book might have the 2 shows I am looking for.
Hope I get it for Christmas
John, you left out one of my all-time fave animated Christmas stories: Raging Rudolph by Martin Scorsese!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icjh6wGUUfE
Another obscure one I almost forgot "Hans Brinker" another live-action show with Robin Askwith as the poor Dutch boy, Eleanor Parker as his mother and Richard Basehart as the gruff surgeon who could save Hans' crippled father from a life as a vegetable. Great genuine sentiment. This one has a couple of musical numbers as well, but none of them are much except the racuous "Proper Manners" featuring Cyril Ritchard yet again. "Dutch boys should act like Dutch men/Gentlemen wait their turn/Rule #1 to follow/ Rule #1 to learn/Elbows off the tables/Fingers off the food/You must wait/Till the plate's passed around/Cause reachings very rude!"
I babysat for a family that had that Star Trek VHS collection… so I could watch them anytime I wanted…
Charlie Brown is definitely number one on my list too, with Year Without a Santa a close second.
Thanks for putting this list up here, it's a welcome distraction this time of year.
Oh man, that is hilarious…..
Oh and while I'm on the Disney kick, the short where Donald Duck is wrapping Christmas presents is just hilarious. It's called "The Clock Watcher" and it's classic angry Donald Duck.
This is a great list. I happened across Twas the Night Before Christmas again recently and I was most stricken with how odd it seemed that the father of the family was the hero, both the father mouse and the human father. It's a very pro-father movie.
One that I can't find, can't remember the title to, and that I'm sure would be horrible if I watched it now is the one with the bear cubs who somehow learn about Christmas and wake their mom up from hibernating and bug her to get a Christmas tree.
The second one is Yogi's First Christmas, which, I'm likewise sure would be awful but thinking of it fills me with such a feeling of nostalgia that I feel very fondly about it.
Great list!
Thank you for including Twas The Night Before Christmas – an underratd gem from the Rankin/Bass catalogue.
This year I am buying the DVDs of these wonderful specials. I am tired of watching the edited versions on ABC family. The cuts they made to Year W/O A Santa Claus this year are criminal!
Ziggy's gift. A simple and heartfelt story about the true meaning of Christmas. No matter how old I get, I can't watch it without a few tears of happiness.
Wonderful list…I would also second the vote for HOUSE WITHOUT A CHRISTMAS TREE, and also THE HOMECOMING, the telefilm that introduced the Waltons (unless it's about to pop up on the movie list). Also a vote for the 1967 A CHRISTMAS MEMORY with Geraldine Page as Sook in an adaptation of the Truman Capote story. (A remake was done with Patty Duke as Sook; I understand she's very good in it, but they added all sorts of subplots not in the original story). The original version is on YouTube–in color, although the folks who produced the DVD said they "couldn't find" a color verson!) There's also the wonderful JOHN DENVER AND THE MUPPETS, which I managed to record off the Disney Channel (back before it was the Hannah Montana Channel). Anyone remember the two Benji and Waldo Christmas specials, CHRISTMAS IS and THE CITY THAT FORGOT ABOUT CHRISTMAS? As for Christmas episodes of series, I'm not a Bundy fan: I prefer those old-fashioned LASSIE episodes where Santa shows up in disguise, or "The Best Christmas" on THE WALTONS (great ice rescue scene), the M*A*S*H eps "Dear Dad" (from first season) and "Dear Sis" (season 6), or the VOYAGERS episode "Merry Christmas, Bogg."
Speaking of Year without Santa, my father said the only Christmas he remembers as a child, was the one when his father came home drunk (and broke, after a Christmas eve card game) drug the christmas tree out of the house, threw it in the yard, and said "Ain't going to be no Christmas this year".
The Nutcracker Prince http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker_Princ... is one of my favorites. Classic music, nice ending, Peter O'Toole, Megan Follows, Keifer Sutherland and Phyllis Diller! Under-rated, ver good.
I often think some enterprising network should run an Andy Williams special marathon this time of year.
Maybe it's a rights issue, but someone should buy those and re-run them. I'd love to watch them.
Rankin-Bass (who did Rudolph, Year Without a Santa Claus, etc.) did a later one which almost nobody seems to know but to me it's one of the best. It's called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and is based on a story L. Frank Baum wrote about how Santa was raised by various forest spirits and earned immortality. It has more of a Tolkienesque or Japanese anime feel and is quite striking (and not nearly as cute as their other work). It plays ABC Family channel once or twice each year, well worth seeking out.
Beavis & Butt-head's "It's A Miserable Life," is missing. Otherwise a darn-near perfect list.
I can't believe the Wookie Christmas didn't make this list. I call shenanigans.
My favorite, besides A Charlie Brown Christmas, is The Garfield Christmas Special. We watch it every year without fail.
Since we can sneak live shows in, I enjoyed all of the Christmas shows on King of Queens (love the show in general), especially this one (synopsis from IMDB):
Season 8, Episode 11: Baker's Doesn't
Original Air Date—19 December 2005
It's the Christmas season and Doug and Carrie run into their Reverand who ropes Doug into doing guard duty for the Christmas decorations at the church and he also gets Carrie into making a cake for the church. When Doug sees a fellow guarder's wife bring him hot soup to help warm him from the outside cold, Doug begins to feel that Carrie doesn't do enough wife stuff . Arthur and Spence decide to try and write a Christmas song.
Wow, I had almost forgotten the Jason Robards show… That brings back memories! Thanks!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075988/
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. No list is complete without this.
The movies I have to watch every year, besides Rudolph, are A Muppet Family Christmas, A Muppet Christmas Carol, and A Christmas Story. I love the end of Christmas Story when the the kids finally get to open their gifts and the parents watch the snow in the glow of the tree. I get misty-eyed every time!
Is there no love for the Star Wars Holiday Special ?
One of my favorites is the movie verson of THE NUTCRACKER staged by, I belive, the Pacific Northwest Ballet Company. Sets and costunmes designed by Maurice Sendak. OK, it's actually a movie and not a tv special, but it used to be shown as a tv special with an introduction and entr'acte commentary by Tony Randall. I have a badly copied-from-tv VHS version, and keep hoping it will be re-broadcast or, better still, issued on DVD.
Re. #5, Mrs. Claus: It's not just you.
The South Park creators' video Christmas card "Spirit of Christmas."
J.T.
Not your usual holiday fare. A poor black kid tries to find happiness in the ghetto. Then he adopts a cat, and learns how to connect with something other than his mother (who isn't around very much). It is gritty, and very sad, but what shines through is the idea that there is always hope for a better tomorrow. And action can make hope a reality.
I have not seen J.T. for 40 years, but I will never forget it.
It was called "The Star Wars Holiday Special." And wookies don't celebrate Christmas… they celebrated "Life Day."
I notice that Charlie Brown Christmas is the only one, even to this day, that actually quotes the nativity scene from the scripture when explaining the meaning of Christmas. To this day, whenever I read that passage of the Book of Luke, I can still hear Linus in his simple, earnest voice, saying "For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a savior … 'Tis Christ the Lord…" and "That's what Christmas is really all about, Charlie Brown."
Any Chicago-born folks out there? When I was a kid I knew it was getting close to Christmas when Garfield Goose with Frasier Thomas (remember them?) started to play 'Hardrock, Cocoa and Joe,' and 'Here come Suzy Snowflake.' Ah…Memories.
One quibble, Mr. Nolte, but I believe the Honeymooners was on Channel 32 in Chicago, not Channel 9.
Shmaltzy, I know, but I liked "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas". Although it's surely better in my memory than on actual viewing. Other than than, SPOT ON Mr. Nolte.
Lucky you.
Back then, I never thought for a million years we'd get entire seasons on a disc-based format called "DVD."
A special mention for the original South Park Christmas episode, featuring Mr. Hanky. Oh, the sight of Kyle's jewish father walking into the bathroom, Kyle with Mr. Hanky in hand, and the words "Noel" in brown poo spackled across the bathroom mirror. Not to mention a certain song about Kyle's mom.
Regarding TV episodes with Christmas themes, how about "Jolly Molly Christmas" from "TaleSpin." Animation was a bit rough around the edges, but you can't argue with the effectiveness of the sentiment. "Flintstone Christmas" is kinda cute as well, though Alan Reed couldn't sing and the mere FACT that the Stone Age Flintstones are celebrating Christmas is one of the biggest logic breaks in TV history.
Just in case you think that the effort to kick Christ out of Christmas is only a modern one: CBS wanted Schulz to drop this sequence. Schulz flat refused, to his everlasting credit.
Blackadder's Christmas Carol and South Park's Christmas episodes should be on the list. Also, how about The Odd Couple's Christmas Carol episode? A young Oscar writes an angry letter to Santa because he didn't get a pony. I always laugh at the line, "I hope your reindeer attack you, you fat creep!"
Rudy, Charlie, Grinch are my top three, in that order, with Coming to Town fourth, Frosty fifth. And I'm glad Twas the Night was mentioned. The animation and character designs were a little ugly, but it was well written, and the recitation of the poem didn't seem "tacked on" at all.
I remember first watching a movie on "LaserDisc" though I don't remember the movie exactly (probably one I shouldn't have been watching)… though I think it was "Mo' Money"… but that seems too late so maybe it was a similar movie from earlier… It was the coolest thing ever… Though the disks where as big as a vinyl record… *lol*
In '92 I was 11…
Great List!…
now we actually HAVE to see the 'Bundyfull' Christmas- never a favorite; it was relentlessly juvenile- it did have moments when it was pretty darn funny.
Something to look for, now…
The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas was one of my favorites as a kid.
Rudy and Charlie were my absolute favorites, as well as Jack Frost.
"…can't find, can't remember the title to…"
"Santa and the Three Bears".
On Youtube in 5 parts at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxU1izWLNjg
and on DVD at DeepDiscount.com (No, I don't work for them, just a satisfied customer).
I'm suprised no one has mentioned Richard Williams animated "A Christmas Carol".
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-88175176...
And we don't talk about the Star Wars Holiday Special…EVER!
Believe it or not, I just found Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol on DVD in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart this past weekend. I don't recall ever seeing it as a kid. I wrapped it up and will give it to my 12 year old daughter for a present and we'll watch it this Christmas
Disco does suck but I think the "Disco Sucks" movement sucks worse. Disco never cancelled a baseball game.
Has anyone actually SEEN "The Little Drummer Boy" lately?
We have it on DVD, and by gum it sure is a violent and scary one at the beginning. Not for young kids.
John: Did you ever notice that almost all of these were made within a ten year period from 1964-1974? Isn't it strange that creativity and tv seem to have disappeared?
Thank God for that…everyone, no matter the hubbub going on in my home, stops what they're doing…and listens to that…
I'd flip #1 and #2…
Not for any other reason than the incredible confluences coming together of Chuck Jones and Boris Karloff…
Um…A Charlie Brown Christmas is pretty much the greatest TV Special ever made. If I made a time capsule it would have this and the original V.
Oh yeah and what about "KISS Saves Christmas"? awesome!
AZRhino, thanks for mentioning the Richard Williams "A Christmas Carol." I remember that one from my TV-induced-haze years growing up in the ’70s. You never see that one anymore.
Also, the Christmas 1996 episode of Nickelodeon’s "Hey Arnold!" is the only cartoon that has ever made me tear up.
The South Park episode where Santa Claus is captured and tortured by the Iraqis. Jesus led a commando raid rescue him but is killed taking a bullet meant for Santa. At the end of the episode Santa told the citizens of South Park that Christmas has special meaning for him this year because Jesus died for him.
As for Mrs. Claus: To me it was more of a Shirley Jones/Marian the Librarian hotness.
Muppet Family Christmas FTW!
It was a holiday staple in my dorm at college, such that everyone in the building's AIM away message (anyone remember those) consisted of quotes from it.
Peace on Earth! Gimme Presents!~Animal
No, no, no! Doob iss borgey!~Swedish Chef
It's cold enough to freeze your Winnebago!"~Everyone at one point or another
etc, etc.
It's good, family fun, chock full of Christian Christmas carols (as opposed to just the secular ones, like Jingle Bells). In my old age, the memory is tarnished somewhat by Doc's later appearance in Boondock Saints. When he shows up at Emily Bear's house, all I can think of is "F&*^! A$$!" But still, one of the all time greats.
Elf is pretty darn cute. (starring Will Ferrell) I think it appeals to us older 'kids'. LOL.
My kids never liked the Charlie Brown specials. They always felt there was too much meanness towards Charlie Brown and it bothered them to the point it ruined the special and they didn't want to watch it.
Great choices! I recently found the entire Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol on Youtube, and was enchanted to finally see it in color. For some reason, I remember How the Grinch Stole Christmas being aired soon after Walt Disney died; I remember feeling very sad when I first saw it. I've recently ordered it from Netflix, so that, again, I can finally see it in color. Ah, those days when the world outside was all in black and white…
Splendid list, John, and what a pleasure to read the comments from other fans of BH. My most wonderful Christmas memories are of watching my children enjoy these programs and, you are right, marking up the TV info to be sure nothing was missed! I'm not much of a fantasy person except for The Lion King. My favorites are all coming up on your wonderful movie list. Merry Christmas, John, and to all of my companions on BH!
The Claymation Christmas Special, even (or especially), with the California Raisins is excellent. Love the Hunchback of Norte Dame conducting the Carol of the Bells.
Note that other than the Bundy Christmas specials, not a single one of these is post-1970. Which ought to tell us a lot about the entertainment industry. As for adding to the list – although it is not really a Christmas special, I have always been partial to the original 'Miracle on 34th Street' with Edmund Gwenn (1947).
A Christmas Story 1983
1. The original Simpsons Christmas special.The episode chronicles a series of mistakes and folly that ends with Homer & Marge having no money to get the kids any presents, until a chance encounter at the dog track ends up with them seeing a greyhound being abandoned by its owner. They take him in.
2. The Malcolm in the Middle Christmas special when Francis has to stay with the grandmother from Phlegethon. The way he melts her heart to make her see the true meaning of Christmas (and them going back and forth over the entire course of the episode) is stuff of ages. The best part is when he torments her with the Jingle Bells Christmas Card. "Why do you torment me? That was the song they played during the war when they would ride through the village tossing babies into the fires!" "…They sang Jingle Bells?"
3. King of the Hill's "The Unbearable Blindness of Laying". Hank is unhappy that his mom has a new boyfriend, and when he witnesses them in the kitchen he goes temporarily blind. Christmas at Cotton's is fantastic.
4. Another King of the Hill, when Hank Cotton & the gang get involved with Habitat for Humanity and they all meet Jimmy Carter, who Bobby thinks was the other JC until as Hank & Cotton point out, "Handpicked by the OPEC"
5. A Friggin' Family Guy Christmas. Everything goes wrong and Lois goes temproraily insane after, well, everything in the episode. It sounds cliche but it's something to hear. "You might remember me as a man once portrayed by Jeffery Hunter on the big screen who was also the original Captain Kirk. Apparantly Mr. Hunter was up to dying for our sins, but not up to the task of seducing green women."
Of those not mentioned because It's a Bundyful Life will never be beat.
There are a lot of Christmas specials I would love to see again.
Perry Como, Julie Andrews, Peggy Fleming and especially
Dean Martin all had some great Christmas shows.
I haven't read any comments yet, but I want to put Rudolph up there as my favorite. I even have a collection of stuffed Rudolph and Friends dolls sold at CVS years ago. It is just so nostalgic. I'm sure you've all filled in anything I've enjoyed that's not on Jim's list.
The Snowman is a sadly underappreciated masterpiece, at least in the U.S. My European wife says that they showed that every year at Christmastime, and it was a family tradition to drop everything and watch it. The Snowman is an achingly beautiful, bittersweet story that will put a lump in your throat no matter how many times you've seen it.
I remember one Halloween seen a late night ad on TBS (this was the mid 80s) for Conway Twitty and Tweety Bird Resuce Christmas LP. Only saw that once.
But #10 should be "A very bundy christmas"! That was the best Bundy Christmas ever! Santa falling to his death in the Bundy's back yard? Marcy and Steve shivering in fear while the Bundys eat a Christmas pizza? Al saving the day and then getting screwed out of the reward?
Classicly crass and still funny as hell!
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I used to love "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "Mr Magoo." My parents had nearly all of these taped off the tv for us as we were growing up. I've been trying to hunt them all down on dvd.
Now how about a list of all time TV episodes for Christmas. Mine is that Twilight Zone with Art Carney where he becomes Santa Claus.
My wife and I subjected ourselves to its tortuous whims just a couple of weeks ago (it was my first experience, she saw it when she was little). Thanks to the friendly folks at rifftrax.com made it into a gut-busting comedy for the ages. As Ebert would say, it's so bad that only truly talented people could have been a part of it.
"Have a merry freakin' Christmas!"
I've been referring people to that since I saw it on MadTV years ago.
Somehow, when we were kids, we instinctively knew there were evil and scary things in the world. We coped with it better then. I don't remember the violence so much as the Boy's little lamb dying and he is resurrected by the Baby Jesus. I saw it last year and I bawled like a baby.
I can't enjoy Christmas without at least one viewing of Emmet Otter's Jug-band Christmas. An little-known gem.
-Mickey's Christmas Carol
-And the one where Donald Duck gets air-raided with ice-missiles from Huey, Dewey and Louie. (That's unConstitutional!)
-Also, I hope Die Hard makes it on to your list of Top 25 Christmas Movies Eva!
I like most of the above (Santa Claus is Coming to Town is my favorite. I never got Mickey Rooney before but his enthusiasm and tenderness in voicing this Santa is the best and the way the story explains the origins of Christmas traditions through Fred Astaire is creative). Two obscure ones I like are a Family Circus Christmas (great sweet theme about family and memories of those who have passed on) and Noel (narrated by Charlton Heston about an ornament that becomes old with time, but finds the true meaning of Christmas when it falls by the manger scene.)
Not sure where they fit, movies or TV, but I like the short Disney films "The Small One" and "Mickey's Christmas Carol".
"She things I'm cuuuuuuuuuuude"
We used to watch the Disney Christmas special every year, the one with Jiminy Cricket singing, "From all of us to all of you…" Donald Duck matching wits with Chip and Dale, etc. It was a lot of fun.
Not part of this list, but the opening scene in Lady and the Tramp showing the town and the house on Christmas is beautiful to me – it makes me wish I'd lived then.
Bundy? Really?
on a recent rerun of Criminal Minds the ending quote was that fairy tales didn't teach children that monsters exist, fairy tales teach children that monsters can be killed. I keep think of that when folks worry about how violent or scary some of the old kid's stuff is….
Here's a You Tube video of Rachek Maddow singing the Grinch song to Nancy Pelosi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUJqImyCHqg
Someone else remembers "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." I actually had that on a 33RPM record first… they simply did a straight dump of the soundtrack to the record, so I have the whole thing memorized, even 30 years later when I watched it with my daughter.
I wish we could see "Magoo" back on the air. One of UPA's finest and I believe it was the first animated Christmas special ever.
SCTV's "It's a Wonderful Film"
If you're going to put up Married With Children, then you should have put up an SNL Christmas Collection, particularly one which has "The Lost Ending to It's A Wonderful Life."
You also forgot to include "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas", courtesy of the late Jim Henson, and the first extended pairing with Paul ("Rainbow Connection") Williams. Brings a tear to my eye every year.
For me, it goes Grinch, Charlie, Rudolph. I agree the Waltons should be here, and there is one other I would have in my top-10. I don't know the origins, but I first encountered it on PBS and it is 26 miuntes long, so I think it was intended as a broadcast. I refer to The Snowman (1982), an animated (and wordless) story of a boy, his snowman and their adventures on Christmas Eve. The music is outstanding, and my whole family looks forward to replaying it as part of our pre-Christmas buildup every year.
I remember "J.T." I haven't seen it in 40 years, either, but I remember how, as a kid, it made me both sad and angry enough to kill.
The Garfield special is another one of those unfairly neglected specials. It ran a couple of times and then disappeared. I was lucky enough to find it on a DVD with the Garfield Thnaksgiving and Halloween specials.
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