More Christmas TV Than You Can Handle

Head on over to a huge listing of TV shows @ WFMU's Beware of the Blog. Over 150 shows are listed ranging from 1949 to 1988, including

The Ruggles Christmas Episode (1949)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Christmas Episode (1950)

You Asked For It Christmas Episode (1951)

Green Guild Playhouse (1951)

Beat the Clock Christmas Episode (1952)

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet Christmas Episode (1952)

Studio One Christmas Episode (1952)

Racket Squad Christmas Episode (1952)

Dragnet Christmas Episode (1952)

The Ray Milland Show Christmas Episode (1953)

The Garry Moore Show Christmas Episode (1953)

The Liberace Show Christmas Episode (1954)

Father Knows Best Christmas Episode (1954 - USA Only)

Meet Corliss Archer Christmas Episode (1954)

The Honeymooners Christmas Episode (1955)

Love That Bob Christmas Episode (1955)

The Bob Hope Show Christmas Episode (1955)

Your Hit Parade Christmas Episode (1955)

What's My Line Christmas Episode (1955)

I Love Lucy Christmas Episode (1956)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Christmas Episode (1956)

with well over 100 more listed ... if you watch then all, I'll see you at Easter.

Seinfeldian: Festivus

I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you're gonna hear about it. We'll discuss it at dinner before the Feats of Strength ...

Happy Festivus! Why aren't there any Festivus songs? Shouldn't there be presents? Can I hang tinsel on my pole?

Festivus @ Wikipedia / Religious Tolerance / Amazon

Holmes for the Holidays @ TCM

As you may know, I was inspired to name this blog and my blogger ID by the Sherlock Holmes short story, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle ... a tale that takes place around Christmas ... Christmas and Sherlock ... does it get any better? It sure does on the cable channel Turner Classic Movies with their Christmas/Boxing day schedule of 24 hours of Sherlock.

Holmes for the Holidays @ TCM
Friday, December 25th to Saturday, December 26th 2009

8:00 pm - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) (@ Amazon), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene and Wendy Barrie.

9:30 pm - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) (@ Amazon), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Ida Lupino.

11:00 pm - The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) (@ Amazon), starring Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely and Genevieve Page.

1:15 am - Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour (1931) (@ Amazon), starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming and Jane Welsh.

2:30 am - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) (@ Amazon), starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Andre Morell and Maria Landi.

4:00 am - A Study in Terror (1965) (@ Amazon), starring John Neville, Donald Houston, Georgia Brown and Anthony Quayle.

6:00 am - 11 more Rathbone/Bruce Holmes films (@ Amazon)
to
8:00 pm

Happy (belated) 20th Birthday to Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire first aired on Fox Sunday December 17th, 1989. A personal favorite and often chosen to start off our seasonal DVD watching.

"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", is the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989. In the episode, Homer discovers that he will not be getting a Christmas bonus and thus the family has no money to buy Christmas presents. He decides to keep their financial troubles a secret and gets a job as a department store Santa, but later discovers that the job does not pay enough. Desperate for a miracle, Homer and Bart go to the dog racing track on Christmas Eve in hopes of earning some money ... (continued @ Wikipedia)

[@ Amazon / DVD / VHS ]

Happy 43rd Birthday to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! first aired on CBS Sunday December 18th, 1966. Dr. Seuss + Boris Karloff = Funtastic!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a 1966 American animated television special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the homonymous children's book by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away Christmas from the townsfolk below. The special, which is considered a short film as it runs less than an hour, is one of the very few Christmas specials from the 1960's to still be shown regularly on television. Boris Karloff narrates the film and also provides the speaking voice of The Grinch (the opening credits state, "The sounds of the Grinch are by Boris Karloff. And read by Boris Karloff, too!") ... (continued @ Wikipedia)

[@ Amazon / DVD / Blu-ray / CD / Book ]

Happy 40th Frosty!

It was 40 years ago that Frosty the Snowman (@ Amazon)was first broadcast on CBS. It might be belated birthday wishes, Wikipedia uses both Dec 7th & Dec 14th as broadcast dates, the CBS site says Dec 7, 1969.

Corner Gas: "Christmas in Dog River"

If you're Canadian, you know "Corner Gas" (S1 DVD @ Amazon) and if not, you need to try to catch it sometime if possible. Back in 2005, their first Christmas episode, "Merry Gasmas", aired. A Christmas single was released a few days before hand ... 50% promo, 50% song and 110% comedy ... the MP3 is still available for free download @
Brent Butt Releases First Ever Single, "Christmas in Dog River".

Bell TV Seasonal Channels

Those of you living in Canada and who get Bell TV (formerly Bell ExpressVu) should be aware that they are now running their seasonal channels:

  99 - a 24/7 Yule log channel (en Français)
279 - a 24/7 Yule log channel
936 - Galaxie TraditionalHoliday audio channel
945 - Galaxie FrancoFêtes audio channel (en Français)

The Galaxie site has a few modest extras to share such as lyrics, games, and a few more.

I'm guessing other TV providers also have similar channels available.