Holiday Challenge 2012 (2 Viewers)

[bryan4999]

I watched a sweet movie last night that I haven't seen in a few years called ONE SPECIAL NIGHT, which is a TV-movie with James Garner and Julie Andrews. I really enjoyed it and it gave me a tear or two. It mainly takes place on Thanksgiving, and concludes on Christmas Day. It has a slightly predictable feel, but Garner and Andrews are, as always, a pleasure and there is one scene that really makes the movie for me:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

James Garner smokes a cigar, which reminds Julie Andrews of her late husband. Her reaction is acting at its best. A look of startled recognition and then tears. Julie plays it beautifully. Then, Garner tells Julie that he misses the smell of his wife's (who is terminally ill and near death) hair. A very touching scene that left me surprisingly emotional.

Also, just for fun, in the last few days I have watched all the Christmas episodes of HOME IMPROVEMENT. They have some great moments, although the early episodes are better, since, as with any show with kids, they are charming when little but begin to get annoying as they mature. I am now going to watch the Christmas episodes from the ROSEANNE series. Not as good as their Halloween episodes, but still a lot of fun.

 

[Malcolm R]

Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Watched these for the first time in a long while. While I still enjoy both films, and give a nod to HA2 as the better film, IMO, I was kind of amazed that while we remember these films mostly for the face-off between Kevin and the burglars, this doesn't even really happen until the last 20-30 minutes of the film. There's a lot of time spent on set-up before we get to the payoff.
I'm also amazed to remember that Kevin is really the only sane, thoughtful, intelligent person in his family. He is really "in the right" regardless of his mother's efforts to punish him at the start of each film. Macauley Culkin isn't a great actor, but he does a great job in these films.
I may be making things up, but I thought I recalled some coda to HA2 where Kevin got the bird lady a job at the childrens hospital at the end of the film (seems like a natural, after her speech of how she'd always wanted children, but had none, and her obviously caring, kind nature). I was kind of surprised when this did not happen. Just in the theater of my mind, I guess.

 

[PatW]

12 The Case for Christmas (2011) ( Bravo on 12/12/12) :star::star:
Suppose to be an updated version of Miracle on Thirty- fourth Street but lacking the magic and charm of that movie. Still not without its good points.
13 Christmas Magic (2011) (Bravo on 12/13/12) :star::star::half:
Overly sentimental and sweet but that's to be expected this time of the year. Ending was predictable and expected but I wish they had been brave and taken
another direction. Still worth watching but forgettable.

 

Up tonight: "A Christmas Story" on blu-ray. Tomorrow night: "The Polar Express" and Disney's "A Christmas Carol" both on blu-ray.

 

[JohnS]

Added more to the calendar including stuff that's playing on CBS tomorrow night.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) one of my favorite things to watch during Christmas.
I love the dog Max. And the animation is fantastic.
Psych #210 "Gus' Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" Shawn help out Gus and his pants when they are accused of murdering their neighbor.
A really fun episode with lots of great Shawn moments. Ernie Hudson and Phylicia Rashad guest star as Gu's parents.
There's also a funny scene of Shawn and his dad psychically guessing each others Christmas gifts.
Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa The muppets try to deliever letters to Santa the Gonzo forgot to mail.
A surprisingly funny and enjoyable special. I think I enjoyed this more with being disappointed with the last Muppet film.
There were lots of moments where I really did laugh, even if it was just simple things
Uma Therman is a knockout in her winter uniform.
Rifftrax Presents: A Visit to Santa A Christmas short about two children visiting Santa in the North Pole.
Quite possibly the worst way that Santa at the North Pole has been presented.
This version shows Santa sitting in a run down living room.
What makes this really enjoyable to watch is the very funny riffing by the MST3K stars.
MST3K #521 "Santa Claus" Mike and the bots are subjected to watching a Mexican Christmas movie where Pitch the Devil tries to stop Santa delivering presents.
I watch this every year along with the other MST3K Christmas episode Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
This one isn't as great as Conquers the Martians but its still very funny.
The Mexican Christmas is just plain horrible and down right creepy.
Big Bang Theory #611 "The Santa Simulation" The guys stay at home and play a Christmas themed Dungeon & Dragons game.
The girl take Raj on a night out of drinking and trying to find home a girlfriend.
I thought this was a very weak episode.
Nothing memorable or funny.
Definitely something I don't want to add to my yearly list.
Flintstones Christmas Carol
I like the Flintstones, the older versions, not the newer ones with different voices.
I was bored with this version.
I have also added lots more to the calendar including some new cartoon specials on Boomerang
And Santa with Muscles airing on TMC and Showtime
Doing this calendar has really surprised me as just how much Christmas stuff there is to watch.

 

[Radioman970]

Watched Steptoe and Son "The Holiday" thinking, well you know... Forgot that "holiday" over there meant something different from where I'm at. Oh well... fun episodes anyway.

Arthur. 1981. Has some Christmas stuff in it. Haven't seen this in YEARS. Watched it a lot over the years though and everything was completely familiar, but it has aged a bit. Minnelli was a quirky choice. But it worked somehow... I have zero desire to see the remake.

 

[JohnS]

Watched Steptoe and Son "The Holiday" thinking, well you know... Forgot that "holiday" over there meant something different from where I'm at. Oh well... fun episodes anyway.

Arthur. 1981. Has some Christmas stuff in it. Haven't seen this in YEARS. Watched it a lot over the years though and everything was completely familiar, but it has aged a bit. Minnelli was a quirky choice. But it worked somehow... I have zero desire to see the remake.

There's an episode of Are You Being Served? just like that with "holiday" in the title.
And really it's a vacation episode.

 

[BobO'Link]

...There's an episode of Are You Being Served? just like that with "holiday" in the title.
And really it's a vacation episode.

It took me a bit to get used to hearing "going on a holiday" rather than "going on vacation". I've now watched so much British TV that it's now become second nature to hear/read the phrase/word in context with those series. I look specifically for "Christmas" or "New Year's" etc. in titles/synopsis when looking for "holiday" episodes of UK programs.

 

[Radioman970]

I've been watching AYBS? so when I get to that one I'll know! lol
I was actually very excited about the prospect of a Christmas Steptoe and Son episode, and was so disappointed. It ended up being very good anyway. With a scene similar to what Redd Foxx did "I'm coming Elizabeth!" Speaking of, there is a classic episode of Sanford and Son done like A Christmas Carol.
... I like the title "Father Christmas" maybe a little better than Santa Claus. It has a warmer feel to it. I guess Saint Nickolaus is even better.

 

[mattCR]

I had never seen the show (period) until a few days ago, but I'm in the middle of a Roswell Marathon, and tonight, I just watched "A Roswell Christmas Carol"

 

[JohnS]

I watched All I Want for Christmas (1991) a little girl asks a mall Santa to get her divorced parents back together. When she learns her Christmas wish was mis-phrased, she takes it upon her self wi her brothers help to get her parents back together during Christmas Eve.
Not a great Christmas movie. If anything you can see this movie to see how cute Thora Birch was as a kid.
Basically this could be classified as a Parent Trap Christmas.
Once again, I have adds to the calendar with more Christmas specials.
I'll be adding to the calendar numerous times tonight.
PROGRAMMING ALERT!
Fox pulled new episodes of "Family Guy" and "American Dad" that were to air Sunday to avoid potentially sensitive content. The originally scheduled episode of "Family Guy" had Peter telling his own version of the nativity story. The "American Dad" episode told the story of a demon that punished naughty children at Christmas. Both series plan to substitute reruns.
Fox also confirmed that a scheduled repeat of "The Cleveland Show" for Sunday was swapped for another rerun of that series out of the same concern.

 

[Malcolm R]

The Muppet Christmas Carol
A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
The Muppets and Christmas make a great combination. The Muppet Christmas Carol is my all-time favorite muppet movie, and is about the only Christmas film I watch faithfully every single year. I especially love the music.
A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie isn't quite as good, borrowing some elements from It's a Wonderful Life. There are some fun moments, but the plot ... the Muppets are in danger of losing the theater due to the actions of a greedy banker ... seems very cliched and recycled. The non-Muppet moments, such as the scenes with David Arquette and Whoopi Goldberg, slow things to a crawl and the overuse of Pepe the Prawn becomes annoying after awhile.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Another annual favorite, with everyman Clark Griswold attempting to celebrate an old-fashioned family Christmas while being thwarted at every turn by his family, his employer, and a couple of animals.

 

Tonight I watched: "Scrooge" with Albert Finney, "A Christmas Story" (not the famous film, but an obscure Hanna-Barbera special from 1971), "The Town That Christmas Forgot," and "A B.C. Christmas." Tomorrow afternoon I am watching "The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas." Tomorrow night: "Yogi's First Christmas." I am on Week#4 right now, and I have a few days of mini-marathons to go. Week#5 begins Friday and I will be watching: "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and "It's a Wonderful Life."

 

[JohnS]

Those of you that are really into the Christmas spirit, tonight (Sunday Dec 16th) PBS will be showing The National Christmas Tree Lighting 2012 and Christmas With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Featuring Jane Seymour.
Sun Dec 16th are also Christmas movies on TNT and on LIfetime Network.
I have added all of them to the calendar.

 

[JohnS]

I watched...
Ri¢hie Ri¢h's Christmas Wish (1998) After getting blammed for ruining Christmas, Richie uses Professor Keanbean's wish granter invention to wish he never been born.
Thus making his arch nemesis Reggie the richest boy in the world.
I've never seen the first Richie Rich movie. But I will give this movie props for actually staying faithful to the cartoon series by having Irona in it unline the first film.
This isn't a great Christmas movie, nor is it a great movie generally speaking.
Most of the film looks like it was shot on a backlot. Most of the snow was CGI. Even some scenes looked like the actors were in front of a green screen.
Friends
#811 "The One with the Creepy Holiday Card" Ross' new girlfriend orders Christmas cards with a photo of them together.
This isn't so much a Christmas episode. Most of it just has to do with sending out a 'holiday card'
My least favorite Friends Christmas episode.
#710 "The One with the Holiday Armadilo" Ross tries to introduce his son to Hanukkah during Christmas.
This is an enjoyable episode with Ross dressing up as an Armadilo when all the Santa suits are gone.
The thing that annoys me though is the kid who plays his son. I really don't think he can act that well, even as a kid.
Chandler trying to grasp the concept of tipping a person discreetly is also very funny.
#209 "The One with Phoebe's Dad" Phoebe wants to meet her real father, Rachel and Monica throw a Christmas party tropical style when their radiator breaks down.
I like this Christmas episode for the fact that we get Audra Lindley (Mrs. Roper from Three's Company) playing Phoebe's grandmother.
Portlandia #211 "Winter in Portlandia" The closest thing this will be to a holiday/Christmas episode. Truly only one sketch had a Christmas theme to it and that was the "Woman on Women" store sketch with a man trying to drop off a baby so the store staff can watch it while the man Christmas shops. The best sketch from this episode.
MY CHRISTMAS WATCH LIST
I didn't know this but IFC ran a special episode of Portlandia called "Winter in Portlandia" last night.
Jan 1st 2:30am is the only other time this will air again.
Tonight, Dec 17th Fox will air Dragons: Gift of the Night fury, Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas and Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown.
Not sure if Dragons and Charlie Brown are Christmas specials.
I have added more to the calendar of stuff that's showing on ABC Family.
Including "A Very Brady Christmas"
TNT will have Christmas in Washington on Dec 21st.
Hulu Plus has a added the odd Christmas comedy movie "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale"
and Cinematic Titanic's version of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

 

Watched: "Casper's First Christmas," "Jack Frost" (Rankin/Bass), and "The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas." Up tonight: "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" and "Yogi's Christmas Caper."

 

[JohnS]

Starting today and going on for the next few days TVone will be airing Christmas episodes of
The Jeffersons
A Different World
Amen
Martin
Some days TVone will play Christmas marathons of those shows.
If you have Antenna TV they will play two Christmas episodes of Benson, an episode of Barney Miller and an episode of The Monkees on Dec 23rd
They will also play Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians multiple times next week.
I've added those to the calendar with the addition of even more Christmas stuff to the calendar.

 

[Radioman970]

I might place Eight Crazy Nights as the worse holiday thing I've ever seen. I keep meaning to watch it again to see if I missed something. Frosty Returns is like It's a Wonderful Life in comparison.
No Christmas stuff for me lately. Just too busy. Man, I hate the busy part of xmas. Hopefully this weekend I'll get time since I still have A Christmas Story (1 AND 2, lol) and Home Alone 2 I wanna watch. Plus some specials here and there.

 

[BobO'Link]

I might place Eight Crazy Nights as the worse holiday thing I've ever seen. I keep meaning to watch it again to see if I missed something. Frosty Returns is like It's a Wonderful Life in comparison...

IMDB has a significantly lower rating for Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure (2.8 vs. 5.2 and 4.8 respectively). I've seen CV2 and IMHO the IMDB rating is *generous*! Worst $3 I *ever* spent on a blind buy at Big Lots! I'd feel worse about the purchase but I actually read the reviews before making it so I somewhat knew what I was getting and did it anyway. I have no one to blame but myself! See it if you must but you've been warned...

 

[Radioman970]

Aw man... I stand down. that is a shame. I love the Cousin Eddie character. But Quaid went to the cuckoo's nest.