Christmas Treats
Directed by Richard Whorf et al
Studio: CBS/Paramount
Year: 1962-1982
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 203 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, stereo English
Subtitles: SDH
MSRP: $ 14.99
Release Date: November 2, 2010
Review Date: November 1, 2010
The Episodes
3.5/5
Give a television series a long enough run, and the producers will find a way to work episode stories around almost every holiday. In recent years, Halloween has become a more popular annual event to build a story around than some other holidays, and who can forget all those memorable Thanksgivings spent with Friends? Of course, Christmas-themed stories have graced almost every comedy and drama series since the invention of television, and CBS/Paramount has selected nine comedy shows they have under their umbrella, gone into the vault, and pulled out Christmas-oriented episodes to place on this sampler disc entitled Christmas Treats. Truth to tell, the shows aren’t always among the best in the series’ history, and it’s odd that CBS/Paramount has decided to start their remembrances with shows from the early 1960s instead of diving even deeper into its history and giving us memorable holiday-themed shows from I Love Lucy (which had a Christmas episode that was unseen for decades), The Honeymooners, or You’ll Never Get Rich. Still, there is no denying that each of the programs represented on this disc had long, successful runs and are fondly remembered by fans young and old. And it’s nice to see these actors playing iconic roles even if the episodes themselves aren’t always at the peak of each show’s output.
Chronologically, The Lucy Show is the earliest episode appearing on the disc, a 1962 outing that had Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) at odds over Christmas traditions in their respective households, everything from the color of the Christmas tree to what the Christmas dinner was to be and what time it was to be served. Naturally differences built to a slapstick climax that can only be repaired with some Christmas carols to snap the girls out of their Scrooge-like temperaments. The Beverly Hillbillies episode comes from 1963 with the simple mountain folk still not able to figure out what the doorbell is or what one would use a television for. Mr. Drysdale (Raymond Bailey) has given the Clampetts a boat, but they can’t seem to find any water to put it in around Los Angeles, so they figure they’ll just ride it around the streets on its trailer. Petticoat Junction from 1963 finds the show’s arch nemesis Homer Bedloe (the wonderful Charles Lane) still trying to close down the line and bring life in Hooterville to an end. The show runs out of gas and must pad the last five minutes with a medley of Christmas carols, but how nice it is to see the original Bradley sisters (Jeannine Riley, Pat Woodell, Linda Kaye) in that water tower once again.
All three of those shows were broadcast in their opening seasons in black and white. The remainder of the contents of the disc are in color, and they begin with Happy Days as Ritchie (Ron Howard) moons over a luscious model in a plot that’s only peripherally about Christmas. Several other episodes on the disc are only Christmas stories in the mildest of ways, too. Cheers has a funny but nonetheless minor holiday outing as Tony-winning stage star Ellis Rabb plays an enigmatic stranger who claims to be a spy and fascinates the patrons of the Boston pub. A segment of Love, American Style entitled “Love and the Christmas Punch” makes that beverage about the only Christmas element in an otherwise strained outing in which flower delivery man Henry Gibson gets knocked out and hidden in a blanket chest, a grand piano, and a window seat by a housewife (E.J. Peaker) whose husband is entertaining his boss (John McGiver) and his wife (Ann Miller).
More holiday oriented are the three other outings on the disc. Laverne & Shirley has a typically loud and screechy episode as the gang tries to bail out Laverne’s father (Phil Foster) who’s having money troubles and can’t contribute to the poor at Christmas. The Odd Couple uses the old variation of A Christmas Carol as Scrooge-like Oscar (Jack Klugman) is shown the error of his ways by a variety of spirits who markedly resemble his poker chums. And in the disc’s best episode, Mork from Ork (Robin Williams) experiences his first Christmas on Earth and tries to get in the swing of gift giving which, of course, ends in good-natured and well-meaning disaster.
Here are the shows and episodes which appear on this disc:
1 – The Beverly Hillbillies: “Christmas at the Clampetts”
2 – The Lucy Show: “Together for Christmas”
3 – Petticoat Junction: “Cannonball Christmas”
4 – Happy Days: “Richie Branches Out”
5 – Laverne & Shirley: “O Come All Ye Bums”
6 – Mork & Mindy: “Mork’s First Christmas”
7 – The Odd Couple: “Scrooge Gets an Oscar”
8 – Cheers: “The Spy Who Came in for a Cold One”
9 – Love, American Style: “Love and the Christmas Punch”
Video Quality
4/5
The programs are all framed at 1.33:1. The black and white shows are all sharp and relatively clean though The Beverly Hillbillies does exhibit a few scratches on the edges of the frame fairly frequently. Contrast is nicely applied to deliver a pleasing image quality. Happy Days exhibits some blooming reds (so do the reds in Love, American Style), and the focus on one of the cameras used in the multi-camera filming is off resulting in noticeably softer shots than the other cameras deliver. Color and sharpness are excellent in Laverne & Shirley and The Odd Couple except for the establishing stock shots which have always looked soft and rather dreary. The other shows all look clean and sharp with appealing and accurate flesh tones.
Audio Quality
3.5/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound mixes (2.0 stereo for Cheers though there really is not much difference) deliver the dialogue-heavy shows clearly in the center channel when decoded by Dolby Prologic. Though very much a product of their era, these soundtracks are clean and well produced. When Penny Marshall starts singing loudly in Laverne & Shirley, there is some distortion and not just from her unmusical voice.
Special Features
0/5
This bargain-priced sampler disc has no bonus features though there are trailers for CBS’ classic comedies, Petticoat Junction, the third season box sets of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy, and the final season of The Odd Couple.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
If one is looking for a sampler disc of Christmas-themed episodes from some favorite comedies from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Christmas Treats may be just what you’re looking for. Most of them are not great comedy moments in the histories of these shows, but as a reminder of many entertaining years spent watching most of them, it’s a nice remembrance.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
