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 BradyBunchever 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.
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.
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!
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* 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:
Today’s ghost of Christmas Past is the 1995 short film, The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus Vs. Santa. This is the short film that led to Comedy Central hiring Trey Parker and Matt Stone to develop the television series South Park. Needless to say, The Spirit of Christmas is not safe for work. It’s also not safe for the easily offended.
A Christmas episode of the Twilight Zone? Yes, such a thing does exist. In Night of the Meek, an unemployed man (Art Carney) is given a chance to be Santa Claus. This is a wonderful episode that truly captures the spirit of the season.
Night of the Meek was written by Rod Serling and directed by Jack Smight. It was originally broadcast on December 23rd, 1960.
Don’t get me wrong. I respect the fact that the movies are important to a lot of my close friends and fellow movie bloggers. My boyfriend loves the first three Star Wars films and I’ve told him that if he ever wants me to wear a gold bikini and a chain around my neck, I’ll do it. It’s just that, on a personal level, the Star Wars films don’t do much for me. When people mention Star Wars, I usually think about how I fell asleep 10 minutes into Attack of the Clones and then when my date woke me up at the end of the movie, my bra had mysteriously been undone.
That said, I still knew that when I started my series of Christmas Past posts, I would have to post something about The Star Wars Holiday Special. The Holiday Special aired way back in 1978 and it was apparently such a disaster that George Lucas has spent the past 3 and a half decades trying to convince people that it doesn’t exist.
Perhaps that’s why, when I did a search for the Holiday Special on YouTube, I came across a lot of videos that had been either taken down or had their audio tracks removed.
However, I was able to find a 15 minutes video from a YouTube user who goes by the name of StarWarsFan1975. The Star Wars Holiday Special Retrospective features some background material on the Holiday Special and some of the special’s more bizarre moments.
Through the Shattered Lens