Advent Calendar House

Mike Westfall
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  • TV REVIEWS
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A salute to all TV holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones. Revisit 12 holiday classics and not-so-classics each December and July.

  1. The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries: The Nutcracker Scoob

    JUL 23

    The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries: The Nutcracker Scoob

    🎄 We wrap up Christmas in July with an old-fashioned scary ghost story.  Adam Pope and Donnie Storms join the trip aboard the Mystery Machine back to 1984 for Scooby-Doo’s very first Christmas special, in which the gang tries to save an orphanage with the power of pageantry, and stop the mysterious Ghost of Christmas Never.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries opening was riding the “Thriller” wave.  Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue.  Mr. Wizard and the Talking Head Illusion.  Our experience with Christmas pageants, including some unfortunate elementary school play featuring the song, “Santa Claus, Santa Claus, you are much too fat.”  The elf costumes look like Tingle.  The Mystery Sleigh!  Go-Gurt + Scooby-Doo = Ro-Gurt!  Today’s TV Trope: Read the Fine Print.  The Scooby-Doo Character Reference Guide.  “The PTA has disbanded!”  The Little Rascals (1994) boys crash the ballet.  Mr. Burns collapses on a sundial after being shot.  Scooby Apocalypse.  Adam’s stitched Scooby-Doo portrait.  ****  📼 Commercials:  The Kodak Disc (1984)  Remember That Show?  ****  “The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries” and “The Nutcracker Scoob” © 1984 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    1h 23m
  2. The Thanksgiving Promise

    JUL 21

    The Thanksgiving Promise

    🦃 This Thanksgiving in July, I’ve decided to treat y’all to a feast of a special I’ve had tucked away in my memory for decades, but it’s finally time to cross those Bridges.  Chad Young and Tommy Coombs hop onto either side of our tractor for a hayride back to 1986 to watch a very special Disney family movie directed by Beau Bridges and featuring 3 generations of his family, along with teenage Jason Bateman and Courtney Thorne-Smith, and an injured goose named Chester.  “The Thanksgiving Promise” is on YouTube with or without commercials.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  We all hung out!  TV Guide’s Close Up feature from 1986.  “Chester, I Love You,” the original book.  “In the Bag” (bump, bump).  Beau Bridges in “The Wizard.”  Lloyd Bridges as Izzy Mandelbaum on “Seinfeld.”  The Christian Cringe podcast on “The Buttercream Gang.”  Courtney Thorne-Smith (Sheryl) and Norm MacDonald on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (1997).  Jason Bateman’s (Steve) turkey costume.  The “Gleaming the Cube” chicken scene.  Today’s TV Trope: Teetering on the Edge.  This Milk PSA with the most forward-thinking bullies ever (circa 1988).  McDonald’s put Fievel on a Christmas stocking. “An American Tail” opens with him celebrating Hanukkah.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Pringles Butter N Herbs (1986)  Bingo Bear (1986)  Kingdom Chums (1986)  “Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story” (1986)  McDonald’s: “One-Ups-Man-Ship” (1986)  “Gung Ho” TV series promo (1986)  Juicy Fruit: Skiing (1985)  Nutrasweet ad starring William “Refrigerator” Perry and his daughter (1986)  Cool Kids Club Podcast  ****  “The Thanksgiving Promise” © 1986 The Walt Disney Company.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    1h 43m
  3. Taz-Mania: No Time for Christmas

    JUL 19

    Taz-Mania: No Time for Christmas

    🎄 Join us for a short spin back to 1993 as I spend 48 minutes blah blah blah yackety schmacketing with Sammy Hain and Joey O. about Taz’s attempt to spread Christmas cheer in a land that’s way under Down Under.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Tasmania was once home to the world’s tallest decorated Christmas tree.  John Astin (Bull Gator) in “Return of the Killer Tomatoes.”  How the origins of Taz’s creation involve Errol Flynn and the Los Angeles Zoo.  Hot Dr. Pepper.  Bing Crosby’s Minute Maid Orange Juice Commercials.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Tornado Taz Plush (1997)  Christmas Creeps.  ****  “Taz-Mania” and “No Time for Christmas” © 1993 Warner Bros. Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    49 min
  4. Santabear’s High Flying Adventure

    JUL 17

    Santabear’s High Flying Adventure

    🎄 This episode is stuffed with surprises, so get your propeller spinning and take off back to 1987 to go barnstorming — or bearnstorming — above the South Pole with Santabear.  Ethan “The Hungry Reader” is our co-pilot as we nosedive into a Midwestern Christmas tradition we wish found a place to land elsewhere.  You can find “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure” on the Internet Archive, or a recording with the original commercials on YouTube.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Mike on A Special Presentation, or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight, for “Poochie” and “The Hugga Bunch Movie.”  “Santabear’s First Christmas,” the original book and the 1986 special.  IMDb claims Dennis Hopper is in this, but I didn’t hear him.  Antarctica’s Christmas Traditions, including a “Race Around the World.”  The Odd Case of Dennis the Menace.  Today’s TV Trope: Spot the Imposter.  What is the history behind the Dayton's Santa Bear? (WCCO-TV, 2022).  An official list of every Santa Bear made, 1985–2007 (WDIV-TV, 2023).  The Dayton’s Project’s 2024 Santa Bear.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Cinnamon Toast Crunch Christmas Commercial and Santabear Sweepstakes (1987)  Oreos for Santa (1986)  Holiday M&M’s (1987)  Wild Puffalumps (1987)  Doublemint Gum (1987)  The Studio Demands It!  ****  “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure” © 1987 Dayton Hudson Corporation.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    1h 6m
  5. The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton

    JUL 15

    The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton

    🎄 Now it’s time for a Muppety holiday fix, so let’s turn the clock back to 1996, to a show I’m excited to reintroduce: it’s “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.”  The Advent Calendar House welcomes 2 of Muppet Wiki’s finest, Tony Whitaker and Shane Keating, to join our Jingle Day pageant.  You can watch “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton” on the Jim Henson’s Family Hub YouTube channel.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Where in the who-heck is the Grinch?  “The noozle at the end of the hoose,” (surprisingly not a Dr. Seuss reference).  Michael K. Frith on Muppet Wiki.  The Muppets on “Family Feud” (2001).  Kathy Mullen (Morton) interview with ToughPigs.com (2013).  These aren’t Whatnots; they’re Whozits.  “Sesame English,” an English as a second language “Sesame Street” series.  “Good grief! The comedian’s a bear!”  Cindy Lou Who’s on First?  Defunctland Podcast: Working in a Wubbulous World with Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Craig Shemin.  There’s a rolling drum gag, so here’s the “Emmet Otter” outtake reel again.  “You’re the poet laureate of…”  Shane and the ToughPigs staff visit the “Sesame Street” set.  Shane’s supercut of Gordon from “Sesame Street” saying, “Oh, hi!”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Hallmark’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Collection (1998)  Closer to Christmas.  ****  “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss” and “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton” © 1996 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    1h 5m
  6. Roseanne: Halloween IV

    JUL 13

    Roseanne: Halloween IV

    🎃 This year, Halloween in July has fallen on a Scrooge Sunday, so we’re hitting two holiday tropes with one garbage disposal.  Gerry Davila and Brandon Medley join us on a journey back to 1992 to watch Roseanne endure a haunting by the Ghosts of Halloween Past, Present, and Future.  At press time, the episode “Halloween IV” is available on Peacock.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The Story Behind Roseanne’s Iconic Chicken Shirt (Decider, 2018).  The “Psych” pineapple.  October 30th is Mischief Night in New Jersey and, apparently, nowhere else.  Elks Lodges lodges are real.  Our Halloween costumes from around 1992, and the worst things we’ve gotten while trick-or-treating.  Lee Arenberg (Ghost of Halloween Past) in “The Wizard.”  Mario Reccuzo (Ghost of Halloween Present) on “California Dreams.”  Dan and Jackie’s amazing beheaded Marie Antoinette costume.  A background actor is wearing a Pigs in Space costume.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Walgreens Halloween Decorations (1992)  How a Count Eats a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1990)  ****  “Roseanne” and “Halloween IV” © 1992 The Carsey-Werner Company.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    1h 17m
  7. The Charmings: Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus

    JUL 11

    The Charmings: Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus

    🎄 Hey, remember the Christmas episode of that show on ABC where Snow White and Prince Charming are transported by the Evil Queen to a land without magic and have to adjust to modern-day America? No, you don’t, because you’re thinking of “Once Upon a Time,” which didn’t have a Christmas episode, which was rude.  But we’re going back an even longer time ago to the enchanted year of 1987 with Kristi and Bri from Bad Princess Movies to meet The Charmings, who did have a Christmas episode!  You can watch “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” on YouTube, or this VHS-recorded copy with commercials.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  This episode was advertised during the original broadcast of “A Muppet Family Christmas.”  The first season’s opening credits explains the backstory.  Judy Parfitt (Lillian) as another fairytale queen in “Ever After: A Cinderella Story.”  Carol Huston Signs for ‘The Charmings’ (L.A. Times, 1987).  The Calgary Castle and the even crazier themed vacation homes being built near me.  The Enchanted Forest park in British Columbia.  John Astin as the Devil in another episode of “The Charmings.”  The “He-Man village” was actually the massive Eternia playset.  Tony Steedman (Santa) as Socrates in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”  Judy Parfitt on the pain of losing her husband (Steedman) to dementia (Daily Mail, 2014).  Dick Van Dyke’s Learn Not to Burn hot door PSA.  Gordon Ramsay should play Santa.  Robert Bork, or: Yes, Virginia, You Can Reject a Supreme Court Nominee.  One originally cut episode finally aired on CTV in 2021.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Masters of the Universe: Eternia Playset (1986)  ****  “The Charmings” and “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” © 1987 Embassy Communications.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    1h 36m
  8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Christmas Aliens

    JUL 9

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Christmas Aliens

    🎄 Cowabunga! In nearly 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, 2004’s “The Christmas Aliens” is somehow their only animated Christmas episode.  Anthony Strand, Shawn Robare, and Jaime Hood join the ride as we follow Michelangelo and a kitty named Klunk on a Christmas Eve car chase to save a truckload of stolen Little Orphan Alien dolls meant for a group of little orphan human Earthlings, all while Splinter makes a sewer full of guests wait for Mikey to arrive before they eat.  At press time, “The Christmas Aliens” is available on Paramount+.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Read the original 1985 comic on Mirage Studios’ old, preserved website.  Our episode on “We Wish You a Turtle Christmas.”  The Lost and Unused Theme Songs of the 2003 series.  Bruce Wayne’s long dining room table.  Similar chase scenes in “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Speed.”  Terence Archie (Silver Sentry) as Apollo Creed in “Rocky: The Musical.”  Ice Cream Kitty!  ****  📼 Commercials:  Happy Honda Days: Ninja Turtles, featuring the original 1980s voice cast (2018).  WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics.  ****  “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “The Christmas Aliens” © 2004 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., and Mirage Licensing, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

    1h 3m
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About

A salute to all TV holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones. Revisit 12 holiday classics and not-so-classics each December and July.

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Westfall
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    188
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ©2017–2025 Advent Calendar House. Programs reviewed are property of their respective owners.
  • Show Website
    Advent Calendar House

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