Your Top-Ten Christmas Specials from TV

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by guppy270, Nov 21, 2012.

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  1. Thurenity

    Thurenity Listening to some tunes

    Not much else I can add to the excellent lists already presented. Except maybe a The Spirit of Christmas of course!

    (warning: cuss words and political incorrectness)

     
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  2. Obtuse1

    Obtuse1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    The Hit! DVD of "Emmet" is not bad, as it contains most of the deleted scenes as bonus features. Kermit The Frog's scenes/narration are still absent, however (rights issues, as Disney now owns the character).
     
  3. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    1) Rich Little's "A Christmas Carol"
    2) Charlie Brown X-Mas
    3) Emmit Otter Jugband X-Mas
    4) Sesame Street X-Mas (old one, pre-Elmo, felice navidad skating)
     
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  4. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    that's I have 2 DVD editions...they do the trick I guess.;)
     
  5. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    The "CBS Special Presentation" logo was written and arranged by Mort Stevens, and was actually taken from a piece of the Hawaii 5-0 soundtrack. It's obvious when you listen to the album -- there's three edits in that little piece, and they're done pretty skillfully. I agree, it's quite memorable.

    I'd probably put the Magoo Christmas Carol special at or near the top of my list, because it's dramatic, it's well-done, and the characters do unexpected things. Jim Backus was underappreciated, both as a character actor and as a voice performer.

    I worked on a couple of Kathy Lee Gifford specials, and I think they had to give me hazardous duty pay to get through them. Awful, awful shows. I think I left the speakers down 99% of the time during my work.

    Wikipedia has a remarkable list of American TV Christmas specials at this link:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Christmas_television_specials

    I think we can all agree that the Star Wars Holiday Special was possibly the worst show of its kind, for many reasons...

     
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  6. Macman

    Macman Senior Member

    It's not Christmas without Merry Christmas Mr. Bean and seeing him with a turkey on his head.
     
  7. Atari265278

    Atari265278 Forum Resident

    Any of the Rankin/Bass stop-motion ones.
    [​IMG]
     
  8. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
  9. Marty Milton

    Marty Milton Senior Member

    Location:
    Urbana, Illinois
    I have a short list of Christmas shows I watch every year -- Charlie Brown Christmas and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Thanks to owning DVD copies, I also watch Emmet Otter, and the Christmas episode of All Creatures Great & Small. There are also some movies I like to watch during Christmas season -- Love Actually, The Family Stone, and Auntie Mame. Watching Auntie Mame was a yearly tradition with my daughters and me when they were growing up in the 80s, as well as Emmet Otter when it was on HBO in the 80s.
     
  10. gedsmit

    gedsmit Fair Weather Member

    Me too - the old All Creatures Great and Small Christmassy episode I like - and unlike most festive specials was filmed in winter... I always feel cheated when I see summer shrubs sprayed with fake snow! Very cosy episode, especially the end when they go off for the carol service and it starts to snow

    These two will only probably be recognised by British viewers - The Likely Lads Christmas Special 1974 is a perennial favourite of mine - love the scnese in the pub; as is Porridge - the one where Grouty is planning an escape, whilst Flecther is planning a Christmas in the prison hospital!
     
  11. Reader

    Reader Senior Member

    Location:
    e.s.t. tenn.
    Anybody remember "The House Without A Christmas Tree"? I picked it up on DVD a few years ago after seeing it on TV back in the 70s. Great story with a happy ending.
     
  12. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Could it really be true that no one has yet mentioned Pee Wee's Christmas Special? That's a must see every year for me. Probably the only other Christmas special I watch that often is Rudolph, and most years I watch the film Nightmare Before Christmas as well.
     
  13. Raylinds

    Raylinds Resident Lake Surfer

    1. A Charlie Brown Christmas
    2. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
    3. Any of the Andy Williams Specials
    4. Happy Holidays with Frank and Bing
    5. Santa Clause is Coming to Town
    6. The Year Without a Santa Clause
    7. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
    8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
    9. Any of the Bob Hope Christmas Specials
    10. The Homecoming (precursor to The Waltons)
     
  14. goodiesguy

    goodiesguy Confide In Me

    Location:
    New Zealand
    25 December 1969 edition of The Benny Hill Show, as it has absolutely nothing to do with Xmas, and nothing in it whatsoever mention's Xmas. My kind of Xmas show.
     
  15. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Yes! I know what you're saying! I also fondly remember the Dolly Madison sponsorship in the early-70s. The combination of the 'CBS Special Presentation' animation, Dolly Madison and 'Peanuts' will forever be engrained in my memory. :)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DPvpbLAqe4
    dan c
     
  16. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    And because his show that Xmas was out of the weekly Top 20 TV ratings that year, any special of Mr. Hill's starting the next year would either be as little as two days before or after.
     
  17. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    Robert Goulet's Cajun Christmas :whistle:

    For real, it's all about Magoo and Brown
     
  18. guppy270

    guppy270 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Levittown, NY
    Bumpin' my own thread from last year for Xmas 2013 :)
     
  19. marblesmike

    marblesmike Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Not sure if this counts, but the The Office UK's pair of Christmas specials were great IMHO.
     
  20. FredV

    FredV Senior Member

    One of my favorite specials is the 1971 version of 'A Christmas Carol' produced by Chuck Jones and directed by Richard Williams featuring the voice of Alastair Sim recreating his role of Ebenezer Scrooge which he played in what some consider the definitive 1951 film version of the story. Beautifully animated and nicely voiced acted.

     
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  21. malcolm reynolds

    malcolm reynolds Handsome, Humble, Genius

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Watched Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer again last night on TV and Santa was still a giant douche. If I was Rudolph I would have told Santa where he could stick his sleigh. :D



    Also, the South Park Christmas episodes are the best.
     
  22. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    I still crave a cherry pie encased in glazed sugar every time we watch.

    Said the boy in the red poof ball hat.
     
    Dan C likes this.
  23. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    I like the Beavis and Butt-head one where they just watch an electric log set that says Season's Greetings while The Nutcracker plays in the background.
     
  24. nitorodz

    nitorodz Active Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Whether or not this qualifies according to the rules, here's a mention for the 1984 holiday classic, Christmas With The Lettermans

    [​IMG]
    Dave and family and with guests Brother Theodore, Pat Boone and The Doodletown Pipers



    [​IMG]
    Dave sings a Christmas classic for the kids



    [​IMG]
    Things nearly got ugly when Brother Theodore insulted Dave's wife...

    [​IMG]
    Audrey Daniels-Letterman



    A few years later, the family appeared again on TV for a re-showing of Christmas With The Lettermans

    [​IMG]
    Henry ("Hank") Letterman, December 1986
     
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  25. applebonkerz

    applebonkerz Senior Member

    1. A Christmas Carol - George C. Scott 1984 version -- my favorite by far
    2. A Charlie Brown Christmas
    3. A Christmas Carol - 1969 Zoran Janjic animated version on CBS

    Those are the only ones I make sure to watch every year.
     
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