My Christmas Tradition

Every year I give the gift of lousy cinema to a friend. He gives me a bad movie in return and then we watch them both and try and decide which is worse. Its a fun tradition and has lasted over 10 years. I have listed all the results here.

We both look hard for a bad movie. Sometimes I end up buying a 1/2 dozen films because I keep finding one that looks worse. It's not enough to just grab a copy of "Gigli" and be done with it. We both try and find the "so bad it's good" type of film. We actually have to watch these so we always hope for something fun.

Over the years we have seen Burt Reynolds teach football, Orangutans sing about Teddy Roosevelt, Tony Danza as a hitman and the mom from Lassie playing a ninja.


This year he brought this:




"The Final Goal" is an awful soccer film that stars Erik Estrada as a dude who wants to fix the World Cup... I mean The Global Cup. The DVD cover says it's The World Cup, but it also uses the word "exciting" to describe the film. It's full of lies.
The plot is so convoluted I had trouble following it, but here is the best summary I can do:
Estrada plays a former soccer player who was injured during a game. Now he's an angry millionaire who wants to destroy the sport by fixing a game and then exposing that he fixed it so that Americans will stop watching soccer and return to watching baseball. Oh yeah, this film takes place in a alternate universe where more Americans watch soccer than baseball.
So Estrada pays off the players to throw the game. Then he kills some of them. He kills the ones that ARE in on his scam to scare the ones that aren't. Not sure why he didn't just kill the ones that WERE'NT in on it...
The hero is the backup goalie who is mad at a teammate for putting his brother a vegetative state by hitting his head against a soccer goal... rather gently.
Later that bad guy gets hit harder in the head with a frying pan and recovers quickly. This killed my theory that this film was in an alternate universe where humans had no skull.
The film ends with a delightful "Global Cup" game where the stands have about 12 people in them but the movie dubs over crowd noise that sounds like they are playing in a packed LA Colosseum.
I brought this:




This late 1970s Disney flick was based on the Mark Twain story about a modern person who ends up in King Arthur's time.

In this version it's a NASA robot builder and his robot twin who accidentally get stuck on a rocket that inexplicably ends up in the era of Merlin & the knights of the round table.
Special effects are beyond laughable. We see plastic models hang from strings as they shake the camera to simulate movement.
The lead actor was such a dud I assumed that he never acted again. This was pretty much true, but he directs all of Adam Sandler's films. This means he likely has more money than everyone I ever met... combined. It made it less fun to laugh at him.

Anyway, both flicks were perfect! Bad movies that were a blast to watch... but "The Final Goal" was worse.

Stuff in my Amazon Cart

I love Amazon. I buy everything there. But often I am clicking through the site and I spot something that I would like I put it in my "cart" but never complete the purchase.

Then it sits in there. Like a sad to do list of assorted media.

Eventually I buy some of it, but much of it still waits. It makes me think of that claw machine scene from Toy Story. It also makes me think of Benji... but pretty much everything makes me think of Benji. I love that dog

Here are some of the items in my cart right now:



The Encyc-RAW-pedia CD-Rom:
Wow, this is weird. Do you think a bunch of wrestling executives were in a conference room and created this absurdity? How did that happen? I bet it was something like this:

Executive 1: Let's put out a WWF encyclopedia CD-Rom!
Executive 2: No! Let's put out an encyc-RAW-pedia CD-Rom! Hahaha!
Executive 1: I slept with your wife.
 

Stoogemania VHS:
I vaguely remember reading about this and putting it in my cart. It was a movie designed to cash in on a Stooge resurgence in the 1980s. Its a low budget movie about a guy who likes The Three Stooges. I just glanced at the wiki page and it made my brain hurt. Stupid movie.
Still, I am leaving it in my cart.

Vans: The Personality Vehicles:
A book about sweet custom vans! This looks so awesome. What a strange time the 1970s were. This book looks like it belonged in the "Young Adult" section.
I like the little bit of tape in the corner. That's probably where they Dewey Decimal number was.
I am a bit confused by the "IRP" on the back tire cover.
I am going to pretend that the van was owned by a guy who called himself Wyatt Irp.


Anyway, this stuff is still in my cart. Waiting.

Christmas Marathon

I love Christmas! Over the past few years I have been collecting Christmas specials on DVD. I run a marathon of them for friends and family every year.

I keep a master list of shows and I wanted to post it here.

This list doesn't include anything over 65 minutes or anything that isn't "family friendly". I own plenty of Christmas movies and specials that are longer but I wont play them in the marathon due to time.

The list also has some odd notations that tell me where I have certain DVDs. Don't try and figure it out. You will go crazy.




Updated 11.30.2011

1901 A Holiday Pageant at Home (5 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1905 The Night Before Christmas (9 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1906 A Winter Straw Ride (7 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1909 A Trap for Santa (16 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1910 A Christmas Carol (9 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1912 A Christmas Accident (15 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1914 The Adventure of the Wrong Santa Claus (14 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1915 Santa Claus vs. Cupid (16 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1925 Santa Claus (29 minutes)
[A Christmas Past]

1949 A Christmas Carol (Narrated by Vincent Price) (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1950 Bell Telephone presents: The Spirit of Christmas (27 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1950 Racket Squad: Christmas Caper (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1950 Walt Disney’s One Hour in Wonderland (60 minutes)
[Alice in Wonderland DVD]

1950 The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show (60 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1950 Burns & Allen – Grace’s Relatives (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1951 Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection-cartoon disc]

1951 Gruen Guild Playhouse: Joe Santa Claus (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1951 I Love Lucy: Jingle Bells Promo (3 minutes)
[VHS Sleeve]

1951 Jack Benny Does Christmas Shopping (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1952 Three Stooges: He Cooked His Goose (16 minutes)
[The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 7: 1952-1954 DISC 1]

1952 The Ruggles: Christmas Eve (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1952 Family Doctor: A Tale of Two Christmases (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1952 Ozzie & Harriet: Late Christmas Gift (29 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1952 Family Theatre: Holiday Affair (30 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1952 Jack Benny Christmas Show- (Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy) (25 minutes)
[Best of Jack Benny DVD set]

1952 The Red Skelton Show- Freddie & The Christmas Doll (50 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1952 Abbot & Costello Christmas Special (58 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1953 Dragnet Big .22 Rifle for Christmas (28 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1953 The Ray Bolger Show: Christmas Show (26 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1953 Four Star Playhouse – The Gift (Charles Boyer) (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1953 Dragnet Big Little Jesus (28 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1954 Howdy Doody (8 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1954 Liberace Christmas Show (26 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1954 Dear Phoebe: The Christmas Show (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1954 G. E. Theater: Fred Waring Music (Hosted by Ronald Reagan) (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1954 Screen Writers Playhouse: A String of Beads (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1954 The Scarlet Pimpernel: Christmas Present (26 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1954 Meet Corliss Archer: The Christmas Presents (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1955 Lux Theater: Holiday Affair (60 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1955 Captain Gallant: The Boy Who Found Christmas (28 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1955 Love That Bob! (25 minutes)
[Christmas Stories Volume 1-Dollar Store DVD]

1955 The Adventures of Long John Silver: Christmas Orphans (24 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1955 Miracle on 34th Street- TV remake (50 minutes)

1955 The Honeymooners (25 minutes)
[Disc 2, episode 13 Twas the Night Before Christmas)

1955 Red Skelton: The Cop and the Anthem (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1956 G.E. Theater: A Child is Born (Hosted by Ronald Reagan) (28 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1956 Ozzie & Harriet: The Busy Christmas (29 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1956 Cavalcade of America- The Three Young Kings (50 minutes)
[Beverly Hillbillies Christmas DVD]

1956 DuPont Theatre: Blessed Midnight (24 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1956 I Love Lucy Christmas Special (25 minutes)
[VHS Sleeve]

1957 Crossroads: Our First Christmas Tree (30 minutes)
[Bob Hope USO DVD]

1957 Hi Mom! w/ Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop (58 minutes)

1957 Happy Holidays With Bing and Frank (26 minutes)

1957 Ozzie & Harriet: The Christmas Tree Lot (29 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1957 Date With The Angels (Betty White) (29 minutes)
[Bob Hope USO DVD]

1958 Lassie – A Christmas Story/Lassie’s surgery (25 minutes)

1958 Date With the Angels: Santa’s Helper (30 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1960 Ozzie & Harriet: The Girl in the Emporium (29 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1960 Ozzie & Harriet: Piano for the Emporium (29 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1960 Davey & Goliath:Christmas Lost & Found (30 minutes)

1960 The Shari Lewis Show (21 minutes)

1960 Lassie – Lassie’s Christmas/Family (25 minutes)

1960 The Twilight Zone – Night of the Meek (25 minutes)

1961 The Shari Lewis Show (23 minutes)

1962 A Gumby Christmas (30 minutes)

1962 Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol (50 minutes)

1962 The Lucy Show: Together for Christmas (25 minutes)
[CBS Christmas Treats DVD]

1962 The Flintstones (25 minutes)
[Season 5 episode 15, Christmas Flintstone] or [Christmas DVD-R]

1962 The Shari Lewis Show (22 minutes)

1962 The Beverly Hillbillies: No Place Like Home (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1962 The Beverly Hillbillies: Home for Christmas (25 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1962 The Jetsons – Christmas Carol (25 minutes)
[Christmas DVD-R]

1963 The Judy Garland Show Christmas (59 minutes)
[VHS Sleeve]

1963 The Beverly Hillbillies: Christmas at the Clampetts (25 minutes)
[CBS Christmas Treats DVD]

1963 Petticoat Junction: Cannonball Christmas (25 minutes)
[CBS Christmas Treats DVD]

1964 Gilligan’s Island (25 minutes)
[season 1, DISC 2, ep 12 – Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk]

1964 Santa’s Enchanted Village 2 shorts (15 Minutes)

1964 Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (Rankin Bass) (47 minutes)

1964 Addam’s Family (25 minutes)
[Vol 1, DISC 1/Side A- Christmas with the Addams]

1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas (25 minutes)

1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (26 minutes)

1966 The Color Honeymooners (50 minutes)
[Volume 2 DISC 1- Run Santa Run]

1967 Cricket on the Hearth (Rankin Bass) (49 minutes)

1968 Little Drummer Boy (Rankin Bass) (25 minutes)

1969 The Brady Bunch (25 minutes)
[Season 1 ep 12/ DISC 2- The Voice of Christmas]

1969 Frosty The Snowman (Rankin Bass) (22 minutes)

1969 Kukla Fran & Ollie- Tis the Season to be Ollie (25 minutes)


1970 The Odd Couple- Scrooge gets an Oscar (25 minutes)
[CBS Christmas Treats DVD]

1970 Mary Tyler Moore Show
[Season 1 Disc 1- Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid]

1972 Sanford & Son (25 minutes)
(Season 5, ep 104, DISC 4)

1972 Love American Style- Love and the Christmas Punch (15 minutes)
[CBS Christmas Treats DVD]

1973 Mister Rogers Neighborhood 1261 (30 minutes)

1974 Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (animated) (25 minutes)

1974 The Carol Burnett Show: Alan Alda (50 minutes)
[Disc 6 Ep 73]

1975 Paddington Bear –Christmas Shopping/Paddington’s Christmas (25 minutes)

1975 Santa and the Three Bears (animated) (45 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1975 The First Christmas (animated) (26 minutes)
[Holiday Family Collection]

1976 The Sonny & Cher Show (45 minutes)

1976 Christmas at Disneyland (50 minutes)

1976 Captain & Tennille Christmas (50 minutes)

1977 Fat Albert Christmas Special (23 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1977 Alice –A Semi Merry Christmas (23 minutes)
[Disc 3 ep 1]

1977 Good Times: Penny’s Christmas (23 minutes)
[Season 5 Disc 2]

1977 The Jeffersons (25 minutes)
[Season 4 ep 15 -DISC 2– 984 W 124 Street Apt 5C]

1977 Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas (47 minutes)

1978 What’s Happening (25 minutes)
[Season 1 Ep 9 DISC 2-Christmas]

1978 Good Times: The Traveling Christmas (25 minutes)
[Sesason 6 Disc 2]

1978 Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story (25 minutes)

1978 Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (50 minutes)

1978 Laverne and Shirley (25 minutes)
[CBS Christmas Treats DVD]

1978 Star Wars Holiday Special (43 minutes-edit)
[Sci-fi section]

1978 Christmas at Walt Disney World (50 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1978 The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas (24 minutes)

1978 Mork & Mindy- Mork’s First Christmas (25 minutes)
[CBS Christmas Treats DVD]

1978 Perry Como’s Early American Christmas-Williamsburg w/J. Wayne (49 minutes)

1979 Alice –Mel the Magi (23 minutes)
[Disc 6 ep 3]

1979 Casper’s First Christmas (26 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1979 Berenstain Bears Christmas Tree (25 minutes)

1979 Johnny Cash Christmas –w/ Andy Kaufman (49 minutes)

1979 A Family Circus Christmas (25 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1979 Diff’rent Strokes (50 minutes)
[Season 1 Ep 8,9 DISC 1&2)

1979 The Little Rascals Christmas Special (animated) (25 minutes)
[Christmas Specials DVD-R]

1979 WKRP in Cincinnati (25 minutes)
[DISC 8 Season 2 Ep 11 Jennifer’s Home for Christmas]

1979 John Denver & The Muppets:A Christmas Together (50 minutes)

1979 A Family Circus Christmas
[DVD-R]

1980 Mr. Krueger’s Christmas (Jimmy Stewart) (25 minutes)

1980 Perry Como Christmas in Holy Land (48 minutes)
[VHS Sleeve]

1980 What’s Happening (25 minutes)
[Season 3 Ep 10 DISC 2 – Positive Identification]

1980 WKRP in Cincinnati (25 minutes)
[DISC 11 Season 3 Ep7-Bah Humbug]

1980 Three’s Company (25 minutes)
[Season 2 ep 14 DISC 3-Three’s Christmas)

1981 George Burns’ Early, Early Christmas Special (50 minutes)
[George Burns Box Set, Comedy]

1981 Little House on the Prairie: A Christmas They Never Forgot (45 minutes)
VHS Sleeve

1981 Alice –Mel’s Christmas Carol (23 minutes)
[Disc 8 ep 15]

1981 A Chipmunk Christmas (25 minutes)

1982 Ziggy’s Gift (25 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1982 Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy Christmas Caper (24 minutes)
VHS Sleeve

1982 Silver Spoons (25 minutes)
[Season 1 DISC 2-The Best Christmas Ever]

1983 Mickey’s Christmas Carol (25 minutes)
[Mickey Mouse In Living Color Vol 2 DISC 2]

1983 Alvin & The Chipmunks: It’s a Wonderful Life, Dave (25 minutes)

1983 A Pac Man Christmas (25 minutes)
[Christmas DVD-R]

1983 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (50 minutes)

1983 Alice –Tis the Season to be Jealous (23 minutes)
[Disc 11 ep 15]

1983 Disney’s Magic Kingdom Yuletide Special (30 minutes)
[Parade section, slim case, spine label]

1984 "The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries" A Nutcracker Scoob (24 minutes)
[Craziest Christmas Specials boxed set]

1984 Mr. T & Emmanuel Lewis in A Christmas Dream (50 minutes)

1984 Cabbage Patch Kids: Our First Christmas (23 minutes)

1984 Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson: Garry Shandling (25 minutes)

1984 He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special (50 Minutes)

1984 Punky Brewster (50 minutes)
[Season 1 Episode 13&14- Yes Punky There Is a Santa Claus]

1985 WWF’s TNT Christmas (33 minutes)
[Christmas DVD-R]

1985 Perry Como’s Christmas in Hawaii (50 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1985 ALF (25 minutes)
[Season 1, Ep 12-DISC 2 – Oh Tannerbaum]

1985 Punky Brewster (25 minutes)
[Season 2 Ep 13 DISC 3, Christmas Shoplifting]

1985 Mr. Belvedere (25 minutes)
[DISC 13 Season 6 Ep 106: A Happy Guy’s Christmas]

1986 Punky Brewster (25 minutes)
[Season 4 Ep 7, Christmas Hero]

1986 Jim Henson Presents: A Christmas Toy (50 Minutes)

1986 Cheers (25 minutes)
[Season 6, ep 12, DISC 2- Christmas Cheers]

1986 Mr. Belvedere (25 minutes)
[DISC 7, Season 5 ep 11-Christmas Story]

1986 The Real Ghostbusters (22 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1987 The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson: Robin Williams, Bob Hope (30 minutes)

1987 Muppet Family Christmas (47 minutes)

1987 The Dame Edna Christmas Experience (55 minutes)

1987 A Claymation Christmas – Featuring the California Raisins (25 minutes)
[California Raisin’s DVD]

1988 Pee Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special (48 minutes)

1988 Full House (25 minutes)
[Season 2 Ep 31-DISC 2- Our Very First Snow]

1988 The Care Bears Nutcracker Suite (61 minutes)

1989 Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (25 minutes)
[Season 1 ep 1 DISC 1]

1989 Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson: Kevin Meaney (16 minutes)

1990 A Night on Mount Edna - Dame Edna (51 minutes)

1990 The Frugal Gourmet: Colonial Christmas (60 minutes)
[DVD-R]

1990 The Making of It’s A Wonderful Life (hosted by Tom Bosley) (23 minutes)
[It’s a Wonderful Life DVD]

1991 Rugrats Christmas (25 minutes)
[DVD-R-Nickelodeon]

1991 Back to the Future: Dickens of a Christmas (25 minutes)
[BTTF Animated Series, in Scifi next to BTTF]

1991 Dinosaurs (25 minutes)
[Season 2, ep 12-DISC 3-Refrigerator Day]

1991 Bloom County Christmas:A Wish for Wings That Work (25 minutes)

1992 Holiday Greetings From The Ed Sullivan Show (60 minutes)

1992 Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas (23 minutes)

1992 Barney: Waiting for Santa (30 minutes)
[DVD-R inside Barney’s Night Before Christmas]

1992 Kenny Rogers’ Christmas Special (45 minutes)
[Christmas DVD-R]

1992 Animaniacs: Helloooo Holidays (45 minutes)
[Christmas DVD-R]

1992 It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (22 minutes)

1993 A Bob Hope Christmas (58 minutes)

1993 Alvin & The Chipmunks: Alvin’s Christmas Carol (25 minutes)

1994 We Wish You A Turtles Christmas – Live Action (25 minutes)
[Turtles DVD set]

1995 Lambchop’s Special Chanukah (60 minutes)

1995 Mary-Kate & Ashley - The Case of the Christmas Caper (25 min)

1996 The Simpsons (25 minutes)
[Season 7 Ep 139 DISC 2-Marge be not Proud]

1996 Sonic Christmas Blast (25 minutes)

1996 Elmo Saves Christmas (58 minutes)

1996 The Veggie Tales Christmas Spectacular (46 minutes)
[Bonus on Toy That Saved Christmas]

1997 Mary Kate & Ashley’s Christmas Party (25 minutes)

1997 The Weird Al Show (25 minutes)
[DISC 3-Obligitory Holiday Episode/Music section]

1998 Disney's Sing Along Songs - Very Merry Christmas Songs (27 minutes)
[VHS Sleeve]

1998 Rolie Polie Olie Christmas (30 minutes)

1999 King of Queens (25 minutes)
[Season 5 ep111-DISC 2-Mentalo Case]

1999 Barney’s Night Before Christmas (55 minutes)

1999 The Simpsons (25 minutes)
[Season 10, Ep 188- Miracle on Evergreen Terrace]

2000 The Fisher Price Little People Claymation Christmas (25 minutes)
[DVD-R Christmas Specials]

2000 Arthur’s Perfect Christmas (55 minutes)
[DVD-R]

2000 Bear in the Big Blue House: A Berry Bear Christmas (30 minutes)
[DVD-R]

2000 Spongebob Squarepants Christmas (25 minutes)
[DVD-R-Nickelodeon]

2001 Dame Edna’s Christmas Address (17 minutes)

2001 Jay Jay the Jet Plane – Jay Jay’s Christmas Surprise (15 minutes)
[Jay Jay DVD]

2001 Jimmy Neutron Christmas (25 minutes)
[DVD-R-Nickelodeon]

2001 The Fairly OddParents Christmas (25 minutes)
[DVD-R-Nickelodeon]

2002 Santa vs. The Snowman in 3D (33 minutes)
[Extra 3D glasses in Shrek 3D]

2002 Elmo’s World Happy Holidays (60 minutes)

2002 Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales (22 minutes)

2003 I Want a Dog For Christmas Charlie Brown (45 minutes)

2003 Cabbage Patch Kids Vernon’s Christmas (30 minutes)

2003 The Magic of Christmas at Walt Disney World (22 minutes)

2004 Ed, Edd & Eddy: Jingle Jangle (24 minutes)
[DVD-R Cartoon Network]

2004 Danny Phantom Christmas (24 minutes)
[DVD-R-Nickelodeon]

2005 The Madagascar Penguins in: A Christmas Caper (12 minutes)

2005 Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends: A Lost Claus (24 minutes)
[DVD-R Cartoon Network]

2005 A Christmas Dinosaur (47 minutes)
[DVD-R]

2005 The Alpha Bots – Christmas (29 minutes)

2006 Bah Humduck: A Looney Toons Christmas (46 minutes)
[Craziest Christmas Specials boxed set]

2006 Sesame Street Christmas Carol (60 minutes)

2006 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey Saves Santa (25 minutes)

2007 The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas (5 minutes)
[Surfs Up! DVD]

2007 Shrek the Halls (21 minutes)
[DVD-R]

2007 George of the Jungle: Jungle Bells (22 minutes)
[DVD-R Cartoon Network]

2007 Camp Lazlo: Kamp Kringle (22 minutes)
[DVD-R Cartoon Network]

2007 The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall (45minutes)
[DVD-R]

2007 My Christmas Adventure: Starring Anthony (33 minutes)

2007 Tom & Jerry in: A Nutcracker Suite (47 minutes)

2007 Elmo’s Christmas Countdown (47 minutes)

2008 The Muppets: Letters To Santa (44 minutes)
[DVD-R]

2008 Christmas at the White House (22 minutes)
[DVD-R]

2008 The 76th Annual Christmas at Rockefeller Center (44 minutes)
[DVD-R]

2009 Merry Madagascar (22 minutes)

2009 Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas (58 minutes)



600 Cartoon Collection:
DISC 4
Christmas Comes But Once a Year 0:08
Jack Frost 0:08
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 0:09
The Candlemaker 0:13
The Christmas Visitor 0:07
Hector's Hectic Life 0:06
A Christmas Tree (Hobozodhee Nytewectbne) 0:10
Christmas Night (Little King) 0:08

DISC 9
O' Come All Ye Faithful 0:03
Jingle Bells 0:03
Merry Christmas (live action) 0:09
Santa Claus Story (live action -Monkeys) 0:09
Christmas Fairy Tale (live action) 0:09
The Little Match Girl (live action) 0:11

DISC 10
Little Christmas Burro 0:25
Santa's Pocket Watch 0:19
Howdy Doody's Chistmas (live action) 0:09
Santa in Animal Land (puppets) 0:09
The Night Before Christmas (live action) 0:08
The Little Lamb (live action) 0:08
A Christmas Dream (live action) 0:09
The Elf and Mr. Little (puppets) 0:13
A Present for Santa Claus (live action) 0:08

My RST Video Card

Yep, I had a membership in the (now closed) video store from the movie Clerks.



I never actually rented anything. I just opened an account one day when I visited. Pretty sweet souvenir.

The day I went there they had a really goofy clerk. He kept showing me VHS tapes that they keep in the back room. Off beat horror movies like "Don't Look Under the Stairs."

He claimed that he would go to jail if he rented them to me.

Nonetheless I gave him my credit card as a security deposit. Not the smartest decision. Glad things worked out OK.

Remember the pearl!

Here is a wacky autograph I have:



It's a closeup of a poster from Pearl Harbor shot in a dark room with a cheap camera. Sorry.

Anyway, I met Andrew Bryniarski at a horror convention where he was signing autographs in conjunction with his part as Leatherface in a new Texas Chainsaw flick.

All day long he was signing and drawing a dead happy face. After signing my poster he realized what he had done. "Crap! I just drew a dead face on a Pearl Harbor poster! Man, that's disrespectful!"

So Andrew wrote a bunch of stuff on it to hopefully soften the blow of his cartoon. He also told me stories of the making of Pearl Harbor. He teared up a bit.

Later he talked about playing Leatherface. He teared up then too.

I guess that's his thing... that and drawing little dead faces on Pearl Harbor posters.

An all Muppet Christmas

I don't know how The Muppets became so closely connected to Christmas but you cannot deny the sheer multitude of Christmas specials & movies featuring Jim Henson's creations.
With a new Muppet flick in theaters (with no Christmas theme, sadly) I figured it would be a good idea to look at all the felt & Feliz Navidad combos I have seen.

Here they are in no particular order:

The Great Santa Claus Switch: OK, I know I said that this was in no order, but it still seems appropriate to start with the original one. Way back in 1970 Ed Sullivan hosted a TV special with The Muppets. The story involved Art Carney as Santa and marked the debut of Gonzo.







The Muppets Christmas Carol: This film appeared in theaters at some point. I don't remember what year, but I remember it was the same year as "The Bodyguard" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula". I remember that because I asked for a ticket for "Bram Stoker's Muppet Bodyguard" when I went to see it. Yeah, no one laughed then either.

Elmo's Christmas Countdown: This one is pretty recent. Features Ben Stiller as a puppet.

Muppet Family Christmas: An absurd amount of Muppets convene at Fozzie's mom's house. This includes Sesame Street characters and Fraggles. Its a blast.

Muppets: Letters to Santa: This 2008 special follows Gonzo, Fozzie, Kermit, Rizzo & Pepe as they travel to the North Pole to deliver Santa his mail. Along the way they deal with the annoyances of airport security & Paul Williams.










Elmo's World Happy Holidays: This video release features Kelly Ripa as a mail man... uh... female man? I don't remember much about it except that they showed a Kwanza party that had some mac & cheese that looked so good I paused the tape to heat up some Easy Mac.
Oh yeah, they also tell the story of the birth of Jesus with Bert playing Joesph.










Holidays From The Ed Sullivan Show: This barely counts, but this Bob Newhart hosted showcase of Christmas themed Ed Sullivan clips features Muppets on the cover and a segment with The Muppets as they sing a tune from Muppet Christmas Carol.




A Sesame Street Christmas Carol: Oscar plays Scrooge. Some CGI Muppets are in this one.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie: I love this one! It basically rips off "It's A Wonderful Life" and features a weird Croc Hunter parody. Plus Pepe, tries to sleep with Joan Cusack. Yeah, its that awesome.

The Christmas Toy: This one is hosted by Kermit and features a host of new characters in a story that Pixar later ripped off for "Toy Story". Seriously.




Christmas Eve on Sesame Street: Classic Sesame Street special that has Big Bird waiting up to see if Santa can visit homes that have no chimney. Then Cookie Monster eats the Christmas tree.

A Special Sesame Street Christmas: This was released the SAME year as Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. It featured just a few Muppets and Michael Jackson.




Elmo Saves Christmas: This one has Elmo wishing it was Christmas every day. Santa is played by Charles Durning who also played Doc Hopper.




Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas: A great special that would take too long to explain. Google it. Then Google Gulf of Tonkin... and Otunga.

John Denver & The Muppets, A Christmas Together: Last on this list, John Denver & The Muppets was complimented by a more popular album of Christmas tunes. It features "Christmas Wish" which is my personal favorite Christmas song. It also features John Denver as a wooden soldier.