Christmas movies and TV episodes (1 Viewer)

[Jack P]

Slowly easing my way in this year. So far in terms of TV episodes I've only seen one:

Naked City S1-"And A Merry Christmas To The Force On Patrol"

Also watched a Jack Benny Christmas episode from 1954 or 55 that had Edgar and Frances Bergen as guests in a sketch later remade for a filmed episode. The Christmas aspects of the episode were more incidental.

Also my original broadcast recordings of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and the Rankin-Bass "Twas' the Night Before Christmas" as they aired back-to-back on CBS in 1985 complete with ads and "A CBS Special Presentation" bumper.

Radio-Campbell Playhouse (Mercury Theater) version of "A Christmas Carol" with Lionel Barrymore.
Jack Benny Show-The First "Christmas Shopping" episode where Jack terrorizes clerk Mel Blanc, December 8, 1946.

 

[cajunhillbilly]

Sorry folks, but the Rudolph classic TV show is "Seriously Problematic".


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...isturbing-details_us_5bfe058fe4b0f43bf2661c7f

tired of the PC crowd telling me what is and is not appropriate to watch

 

[cajunhillbilly]

just saw the new "The Grinch" movie. Enjoyed it a lot

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Jack Benny Show-The First "Christmas Shopping" episode where Jack terrorizes clerk Mel Blanc, December 8, 1946.

This is a funny episode, but quite dark in where it goes with the Mel Blanc character. I was a bit taken aback at that turn of events, and the offhand way the show deals with it.

 

[holtge]

White Christmas is another one I really enjoy. Not sure if it's already been mentioned, but to me, it's a holiday classic.

 

[cajunhillbilly]

just watched the 1994 remake of "A Miracle on 34th Street" Have never seen it before in my life. Decided I did not miss anything by not seeing it. If the original is a 5 star movie this one is maybe a 3 star

 

[John*Wells]

just watched the 1994 remake of "A Miracle on 34th Street" Have never seen it before in my life. Decided I did not miss anything by not seeing it. If the original is a 5 star movie this one is maybe a 3 star

I purchased it on DVD when I lived in Florida. I watched it once and thought to myself "What kind of nonsense is this?"

 

[cajunhillbilly]

I purchased it on DVD when I lived in Florida. I watched it once and thought to myself "What kind of nonsense is this?"

my thoughts exactly

 

[John*Wells]

my thoughts exactly

I watched the original Yesterday in Blu Ray and read up on the 1973 version. I see Natalie Wood was asked to play Karen with her Daughter playing Susan and declined

 

[tlc38tlc38]

Just watched the Family Matters episode “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Urkel”. I’ve always loved this Christmas episode.

 

[Jack P]

I watched the 73 Miracle On 34th Street a couple years ago on YT for the first time in decades and it just lands with a thud. Jane Alexander has no charisma whatsoever (and the script basically eliminated all the nuance from her character to begin with. Unlike Maureen O'Hara, who is bitter and cynical over her failed marriage and which explains why she taught Susan not to believe in Santa, Alexander has no deeper backstory whatsoever, she's just there to fill a role of Mommy) and on top of that, the story just doesn't land when it was shot in the early 70s New York of French Connection, Kojak etc. What worked when shot in the post-war NY of the late 40s looks out of place in the early 70s.

 

[KPmusmag]

I watched two Frasier Christmas episodes today, "High Holidays" in which Niles decides to rebel by eating a pot brownie but Dad eats it by mistake, and "Merry Christmas, Mrs, Moskowicz" in which Frasier pretends to be Jewish for his girlfriend's sake while Christmas is going on all around them. As usual with Frasier, funny and clever writing and performances, and I enjoy all the Frasier Christmas episodes very much.

However, The Mrs. Moskowicz episode contains one of my pet peeves that appears at one point or another in almost every sitcom: A main character will have a family member pretend to be someone or something they're not to impress a love interest. I know one can not be too logical with sit-coms (especially the sillier ones from earlier eras), but what happens if the relationship turns serious? The potential mate will eventually learn the truth and then what? I can still enjoy those episodes, but it does bug me a bit because it seems like such a contrivance. (I think the worst offender is an episode of The Partridge Family where Keith convinces Laurie to pretend to be his date to impress another girl - but, again, what happens if it gets serious and, two, the Partridges were famous and surely it was well known that Laurie is his sister.) I have to laugh at myself because I used to say to my Dad, "Don't try to be logical with Lucy, for heaven's sake!" when he would make remarks about her shananigans.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Watched the first season Bewitched Christmas episode, "A Vision of Sugar Plums." A charming tale, with Bill Mumy doing fine work as an orphan who doesn't believe in Santa Claus - until Samantha takes him (and Darrin) to the North Pole to meet ol' St. Nick himself (Cecil Kellaway). Alice Pearce is typically funny as the screechy and nosy neighbor, Mrs. Kravitz, and George Tobias' facial expressions are priceless.

And Elizabeth Montgomery...well, what can I say. She's just completely adorable.

 

[Mysto]

Had not seen this in a very long time. Decided to watch it last night and now we know why we haven't seen it in a very long time. This one is on my naughty list. This weekend it's back to the Laurel and Hardy version and also Holiday Inn.

 

[Jack P]

The 1947 Warner Brothers short (included as an extra on the "Christmas In Connecticut" DVD which I'm not sure I'll see this year), "Star In The Night."

The Odd Couple S1-"Scrooge Gets An Oscar"
Adam-12 S1, "Log 122-Christmas: The Yellow Dump Truck"
Kojak S3, "How Cruel The Frost, How Bright The Stars."

The first two are kind of annual staples that I always watch in early December because they're "middle tier" shows, okay but not in the elite group I like to save for last. The Kojak I had watched a couple years in a row and I have to admit this time out it didn't register as well with me as before. Sometimes I can accept an episode that doesn't really directly get to the heart of the Christmas season, and I have in the past with this one, but not this time. It's worth noting that the guest cast has bigger names in small parts just starting out including Veronica Hamel (her first credited role and she's billed "Veronica Hamil"), Edward James Olmos (just Edward Olmos) and John Larroquette as a sailor.

For the first time as an adult I watched a MASH Christmas episode (they had more Christmas episodes than there were in the whole Korean War!), S7 "Dear Sis" which is a commendable effort to show Father Mulcahy struggling at Christmas with the feeling he's not contributing enough to the well-being of the people and failing in his task as a spiritual leader. Unfortunately, what could have been a compelling tale just cops out with a "you do your best, that's all you can do," and a rather substance free "Let's hear it for Father Mulcahy" speech at the end by Hawkeye that doesn't even try to bring the true meaning of Christmas into things. It's a reminder of how TV was slowly slipping away from the kind of stories they could tell so much better just 10 and 20 years before (and why I save those gems like "Dr. Kildare"-S1 for later)

 

[davidmatychuk]

I watched all 3 highly enjoyable episodes on the "Lassie's Christmas Stories" DVD, which I just picked up. They are great retro Christmas fun for dog lovers, especially the one where Lassie gets hit by a car and everybody fusses over her because they think she might not make it. Meanwhile, she keeps alertly watching all the other actors, always the student of professional acting.

 

[Mark-P]

Trail of Robin Hood is airing on Turner Classic Movies on December 15th. I’ve been wanting to see this Roy Rogers Christmas classic for quite a while now but it has only been available on really bad YouTube public domain rips. I’ve set my DVR, just in case the Watch TCM app doesn’t carry it.

 

[holtge]

Purchased the 4K digital release of It's A Wonderful Life on iTunes today for $9.99. Plan to watch it with my family tomorrow evening

 

[davidmatychuk]

Trail of Robin Hood is airing on Turner Classic Movies on December 15th. I’ve been wanting to see this Roy Rogers Christmas classic for quite a while now but it has only been available on really bad YouTube public domain rips. I’ve set my DVR, just in case the Watch TCM app doesn’t carry it.

"Trail of Robin Hood" is one of the 30 featured Christmas movies in the new TCM book "Christmas in the Movies". It's a lovely hardcover book, if not the serious work of Christmas movie scholarship that Home Theatre Forum-calibre movie buffs might want it to be, and it'll make a very nice Christmas gift for a couple of young movie lovers I know. There are 3 movies out of the 30 that aren't in my collection, including "Trail of Robin Hood" which was available at one time from Goodtimes. "The Holly and the Ivy" is also on TCM's December schedule, so my trusty Toshiba DVD recorder will be putting those two on good quality homemade DVD's if TCM's sources are up to their usual standard. How to get a legitimate copy of the very first movie in the book, 1939's "Miracle on Main Street", I don't know, but I'll be on the lookout for it.

 

[Mark-P]

"Trail of Robin Hood" is one of the 30 featured Christmas movies in the new TCM book "Christmas in the Movies". It's a lovely hardcover book, if not the serious work of Christmas movie scholarship that Home Theatre Forum-calibre movie buffs might want it to be, and it'll make a very nice Christmas gift for a couple of young movie lovers I know. There are 3 movies out of the 30 that aren't in my collection, including "Trail of Robin Hood" which was available at one time from Goodtimes. "The Holly and the Ivy" is also on TCM's December schedule, so my trusty Toshiba DVD recorder will be putting those two on good quality homemade DVD's if TCM's sources are up to their usual standard. How to get a legitimate copy of the very first movie in the book, 1939's "Miracle on Main Street", I don't know, but I'll be on the lookout for it.

I think Kino could release it on Blu-ray but are choosing not to because of the poor sales of their other Roy Rogers release.