Five Classic TV 50th Anniversaries I Overlooked

You may recall that last year I spent a great deal of time discussing the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.

However as you’d imagine that’s not the only show to hit that big milestone in the last couple years. And so I thought it only fitting to mention five other shows I love which deserve to be recognized for being popular and loved fifty years after it first premiered!









Ok ok it’s not as if I’ve never talked about the campy Adam West series but I felt I had to mention it here. Especially since Adam West sadly passed away earlier this year. It premiered in 1966 and was a SMASH hit. Not even kidding, Batmania was everywhere which led to the theatrical release that summer. It was the show to be on and everyone tried to appear as a villain or a window cameo. It’s ironic because it came out the same year as Star Trek but this is the one kids loved more. Even though Trek gets more respect today. Yes it’s campy and silly but it fit the time perfectly, with Adam West being the perfect straight man It’s important to remember that if it hadn’t been for this silly show we may not have ever had the Burton movies, Nolan movies, or the great animated series. It deserves to respected for what it did for the character.

The Quintessential Songs of Christmas

Remember the other day when I talked about Burl Ives and how he owned Holly Jolly Christmas? I don’t care how many versions of the song are out there, this is the first and best one in my book!

Well he’s not the only artist identified with a Christmas classic. Anyone can record a Christmas song, and almost everyone has, but it takes something special for a song to be synonymous with the artist. So much so that no matter how many cover the tune, it’s this one artist who everyone thinks of first when the song pops up.Either because they released the song first, or because they just had such a perfect take on it that it’s become the beloved version.



Here are twelve more Christmas songs which have been covered to death, but these are the versions everyone thinks of first. In my opinion anyway.



Santa Claus is Coming To Town by Bruce Springsteen
Love it or hate it, we’ve all heard this version and we all think of it when the song gets mentioned. Yeah Frank Sinatra probably sang the best version, but not the most recognized one. And yes I know people are screaming “JACKSON 5!!!” at their screens but c’mon, is that one really that good the way Jackson keep screaming the title of the song?

Top 10 Favorite Rankin/Bass Songs

I’ve talked before about the classic Rankin/Bass specials, for better and for worst, but one of the reasons I love coming back to these every year is the music. These are either Christmas songs that have been recorded a million times by a million people, but these versions always stand out from them, or they are original songs that you can never forget.

This was a lot harder than I expected it to be, but here is my top 10.



#10.We Wanna Wake Up To A Big Surprise (Life and Adventures of Santa Claus)
I hate this special, based on the Frank Baum book, but this song is a highlight.

Five Things I Hated in “It’s a Wonderful Life”

Let’s talk about the Christmas classic, a story so familiar that it has been homaged and parodied to death!

 

As a kid I thought it was a little long, and boring, but when I got older I realized how important all that stuff is. It’s because the movie takes the time to get us to know and like the other characters that makes the angel stuff work so well. I also pointed out a long time ago that George Bailey is great character, beautifully played bu Jimmy Stewart. We feel what he feels and the acting is just superb.

But does that mean the movie is perfect? Well there are some things that bug me.





That swimming pool scene

I know lots of people find this charming but for me it’s just silly. I can’t go so far as o say it’s pointless, though it’s about as close as this movie comes, but what is the point of having George and Mary fall into that concealed pool? I just never got it and thankfully the scene is forgotten as if it never happened.

Ten “Christmas Carol” Sitcom Episodes

I talked the other day about sitcom characters dressing up as Santa. But that’s not the only trope that persists in these shows. How about Christmas Carol episodes? Course we all know Charles Dickens immortal classic, and it has been redone a million times on TV and in movies. The funny thing is that as hard as they try these episode never quite get the point of the book. That’s because the character getting the Christmas Carol treatment isn’t a miser who hates people like Scrooge was. He or she is usually someone who is usually kind and loving, but are having a bad day.

Doesn’t stop these shows though. Here are some examples :



Bewitched, “Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here”

Give this show credit, at least they thought outside the box. The Scrooge in this episode is a client of Darrin’s. The twist is rather than show the grumpy jerk is past, present, and future Samantha takes hin ot see Santa Claus. This was sort of a re-write of an earlier episode where she did the same thing to a disbelieving little boy.

Five Rare Christmas Specials I Watch Every Year

I talked a few weeks about how Christmas special’s have changed. So it only figures that in order to see specials the way I liked them, I gave to watch my own. Thank goodness for VHS!



Here are five Christmas specials which aren’t shown anymore but I still watch them every year.



Olive, the Other Reindeer

I talked about this one a couple years ago in my list of my favorite animated Christmas specials. This was the only one that wasn’t a classic or that I simply don’t watch every year. It’s amazing how much I love this considering when I first heard the premise I was afraid I would hate it. I thought it would be like the awful Robbie the Reindeer. But to my surprise, it was charming and I love it the story of how a dog saves Christmas.






He-Man/She-Ra Christmas Special

Ok I’ve talked about this before, and it’s a real guilty pleasure. It’s He-Man and She-Ra, what do you want? The plot is contrived, the dialogue is corny, and it barely connects to Christmas. But I don’t care I still watch it and love it. 80’s gave up tons of cool specials including The California Raisins, Alf, and Pee-Wee Herman, but this is the one that has stuck.

Ten Favorite Sitcom Characters Playing Santa

In my article the other day I had wanted to include a sitcom Santa. But there were two problems. One, I couldn’t think of one I hated. Even when the character is grumpy about playing Santa it still kind works. The other problem? There are to many to pick from! Have you ever noticed how many sitcom characters play Santa? It’s almost a cliche! From Norm on Cheers to Carl on Family Matters to Ray on ELR to Frasier on Frasier to Michael Scott on The Office, lots of people have donned the red flannel and white beard.

        





















Here today are my ten favorites, when the character actually went above just wearing a red suit and managed to actually capture some of the magic that makes Santa, well, Santa! I wanted to only include regular cast members who get to play Santa for an episode, if I include guest stars this list will never end! This is in no particular order.



Punky Brewster

Wow, talk about blowing it out of the water! I guess since he did this and Police Academy we forget George Gaynes could act. Forced to play Santa to make a skeptical Punky believe again, he knocks it out of the park. The performance is so good for once I can believe that the other characters can’t see through the beard. This episode is wonderful!

My Five Least Favorite Santa’s

A long time ago I did a list of my favorite Santa’s in movies and TV. About time I did the reverse. These are five Santa’s which just rubbed me the wrong way, and I never liked them. Santa Claus is a tricky character to get right. Do it wrong and it can come off as creepy or even worst. Some succeed. And others fail.



One rule, there will be lots of obvious choices not on here, including the bad Santa pictured on the top, but I wanted this to be Santa’s I have seen and hated over the years. Feel free to comment below on the one’s that you feel should also be here. This list may not make me popular, just remember this is all opinion and just for fun.





Elmo’s Christmas Countdown
I talked about this at length when I reviewed this special, but man there’s just no way I can do this list and not mention it here. If you didn’t see this, it was an awful special that aired a few years. In the end Kevin James comes in as the worst Santa ever! James plays it like it’s Doug Heffernan as Santa. And he sings a ridiculous song like he was Elvis!!. Santa has to be kind and nice, not to mention older, and James hits absolutely none of these things. Just painful.