Today’s ghost of Christmas past comes to us from my favorite country in the whole entire world, Canada!
Admit it, longtime readers — you knew that I was eventually going to have to find an excuse to include an episode of Degrassi in my holiday series, didn’t you?
Ghosts of Degrassi Past is a mini-episode from 2009. Holly J is, as usual, stressing out so the ghost of J.T. appears and teachers her a lesson about Christmas spirit.
It’s Degrassi at its best!
In today’s Ghost of Christmas Past, comedian Bob Hope entertains the troops fighting in Vietnam. Among his entourage is Raquel Welch, which ought to make at least one of our regular readers happy.
I had so much fun with yesterday’s Ghost of Christmas Past that I decided, “Why not see how Sabrina celebrated Christmas the next year?”
She celebrated it by accidentally casting a spell that made the entire world forget about Christmas! Agck!
Christmas Amnesia originally aired on December 11th, 1998.
In today’s Ghost of Christmas Past, Sabrina the Teenage Witch develops a case of egotitis so her aunts call upon a special person named Bob to help her with her problem. While spending the day with Bob, Sabrina discovers that Bob is better known as Santa Claus. When Bob is injured, it’s up to one teenage witch to save Christmas…
I used to love Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. Some of that was because I always wanted to be able to make things happen just by pointing her finger and saying something cute, just like Sabrina! However, most of it was because Sabrina had a talking cat.
This episode originally aired on December 19th, 1997.
Today’s Ghost of Christmas Past is a real classic and, like any classic, it’ll probably end up getting yanked off of YouTube in another week or so. So, enjoy 1964’s Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer while you still can!
I came across tonight’s Ghost of Christmas Past while I was doing a search on Christmas specials that have been posted to YouTube. Apparently, this is a Canadian show that aired way back in 2002.
And, watching it, I could really tell that was the truth. This show is not only very Canadian but it’s very 2002 and as well. Fortunately, while I can pretty much do without 2002, I happen to love Canada.
Today’s Ghost of Christmas Past was originally broadcast in 1952 and it’s certainly a lot more serious than anything that The Brady Bunch ever had to deal with.
In this episode of the early police procedural Dragnet, two cops search for two young boys who have disappeared on Christmas. Ominously, one of the boys has received a present — a .22 caliber rifle.
The Big .22 Rifle For Christmas was originally broadcast on December 18th, 1952 and it remains effective even 60 years later.
Earlier this month, we shared with you the very first Brady Bunch Christmas episode.
For today’s Ghost of Christmas Past, we find out what happened to all the Brady kids after they finally left home. It turns out that they all basically grew up to be losers but, as we learn in 1988’s A Very Brady Christmas, they still have a home for the holidays.
I first saw A Very Brady Christmas last year when it showed up on ABC Family during their 25 Days of Christmas programming. At the time, I thought it was so saccharine that I was worried that I might get a cavity as a result of watching. A year later, my opinion hasn’t changed much but A Very Brady Christmas still has an oddly dream-like feel to it.
Seriously, the Bradys are just so weird.
Today’s ghost of Christmas past comes to use from the year 1955.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was an anthology show, in which director Alfred Hitchcock would sardonically present a weekly tale of suspense and surprise. The series’ 12th episode was a Christmas-themed episode in which character actor Barry Fitzgerald played a recently paroled convict who gets a job as a department store Santa Claus. Though Fitzgerald starts out as a rather grumpy and cynical St. Nick, he starts to get into the holiday spirit after he meets an equally cynical young shoplifter. It’s a surprisingly sweet little story that’s well-worth watching for Fitzgerald’s excellent lead performance.
I haven’t seen that many episodes of The Brady Bunch but the few I have seen lead me to suspect that The Brady Bunch may be the most creepy show ever made. With their eternally optimistic attitudes and their total and complete faith in authority figure Mike Brady, you have to wonder if The Brady Bunch is a family or if they’re a cult. Plus, what was the deal with Alice? Was she an indentured servant? Did Mike Brady win her in a poker game? I mean, seriously, I’ve never seen anyone so happy and willing to devote her life to picking up after a bunch of entitled little brats.
However, I also know that some people love this show and see it as a perfect example of bizarre Americana. And I have to admit that I’ve often said, “Oh! My nose!” just to get a cheap laugh on twitter.
So, with that in mind, tonight’s Ghost of Christmas Past is the very first Brady Bunch Christmas episode. First aired in 1969, The Voice of Christmas tells what happens when Carol loses her voice. Does Mike use Carol’s lack of verbal ability to confess that he’s been cheating on her with his secretary? Do Marcia and Greg finally act on their secret feelings together while sharing a cup of coffee?* You’ll have to watch to find out!
——
* That’s a reference to what those of us who watch too much TV call the “Folgers Too Close Siblings commercial.” It used to air every Christmas but I haven’t seen it yet this year. Here it is, in case you’re curious:
Through the Shattered Lens 