🎄It’s 1970, and Santa’s been locked up in an underground cave with 2 giant Muppet monsters.  

Join us as we venture through the tunnels under Santa’s workshop to uncover Jim Henson’s first ever TV holiday special, presented by The Ed Sullivan Show and featuring the first Muppet performances by Richard Hunt, Fran Brill, Marilyn Sokol, and John Lovelady, as well as the first appearances of Thog and a familiar-looking Frackle who’d later be reworked into the Great Gonzo.  

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Tori Schmidt (Muppets No Context, The Muppetwt Awards)  

Tony Whitaker (@muppetdude, Muppet Wiki)  

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1. “The Great Santa Claus Switch” on Muppet Wiki.  

2. ToughPigs.com’s transcript of the special, 2004.   

3. Jim Henson, Thog, and Lothar on “The Dick Cavett Show,” 1971.  

4. Taminella Grinderfall in “Tales of the Tinkerdee.”  

5. Jim Henson’s Red Book entries on the special’s casting and debut.  

6. Tony’s art of the Two-Headed Monster as the Miser Brothers.  

7. So Many Muppets Are Named Fred.  

8. Daniel Seagren as Spider-Man on “The Electric Company.”  

9. Richard Hunt as Elmo.  

10. Snarl, the Frackle who would become Gonzo.  

11. My Emmet Otter’s Teenage Mutant Jug-Band Christmas T-shirt.  

12. We have dubbed the green Frackle who looks like Thig with a beak and horns “Theg.”  

13. “This Is Halloween” in a Sesame Place parade.  

14. “8 Balls of Fur.”  

15. Stop calling them “Muppeteers.”  

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FritoLay Holiday Party Display Commercial, 1970.  

“Noëlco” Razor Santa Commercial, 1970.  

Merry Britsmas, all things Christmas from a British perspective.  

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“The Great Santa Claus Switch” © 1970 Sullivan Productions, Inc.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄It’s 1983, and the Worst Kids in the World are taking over the church Nativity play, smoking in the ladies’ room, and helping themselves to the sacramental grape juice.  

Join us as we meet the Herdmans in a classic Christmas story turned TV movie starring Loretta Swit from M*A*S*H and a young Fairuza Balk in her on-screen debut.  

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Scott Leopold (Holly Jolly X’masu)  

Bob Baker (Festive Foreign Film Fans)  

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1. Today’s TV Tropes: It’s the Best Whatever, Ever and Title Drop.  

2. Author Barbara Robinson wrote 2 sequels: “The Best School Year Ever” (1994) and “The Best Halloween Ever” (2004).  

3. Fairuza Balk (Beth) in “The Waterboy.”  

4. Loretta Swit (Grace) interview: “Meanest kids in town make the best pageant,” AP via The Free Lance-Star, 1983.  

5. Jason Michas (Leroy) as Johnny Arcade in “The Power Team” animated segment from Season 1 of “Video Power.”  

6. Antony Holland (Reverend Hopkins) as Dr. Light — er, “Dr. Wright” — in “Captain N: The Game Master.”  

7. Ocean Hellman (Alice) in “Danger Bay,” which keeps coming up this season.  

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Duracell “No Longer Under the Christmas Tree” Commercial, 1983.  

Festive Foreign Film Fans, covering festive movies and music from around the world.  

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“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” © 1983 Comworld Productions.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄It’s 1994, and the Jeffersons are poisoning Metropolis with greed spray from toy atomic space rats.  

Join us on an unpredictable flight through the first Christmas episode of “Lois and Clark,” written by Dean Cain and starring Sherman Hemsley as the Toyman and Isabel Sanford as his reluctant assistant, plus Denise Richards, Dick Van Patten, Doug Llewellyn, and terrible special effects.  

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Gerry Davila (Totally Rad Christmas)  

Paxton Holley (Cavalcade of Awesome, Cult Film Club, Hellbent for Letterbox)  

Jeeg (Nerd Lunch)  

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1. C.T. brings up this episode and Jeeg seals his fate on Nerd Lunch’s “Nerdstradamus 2013 Redux.”  

2. Winslow Schott’s plan to dump his greed toxin into Metropolis’s water supply is similar to Scarecrow’s plan in “Batman Begins.”  

3. Progressive Insurance “Barbie” Commercial.  

4. Denise Richards (Angela) in “Tammy and the T-Rex.”  

5. Eddie Jones (Jonathan Kent) in “A League of Their Own.”  

6. Christmas at Graceland.  

7. Totally Rad Christmas on “It’s Gary Shandling’s Christmas Show” featuring Dom Irrera (Hecklebaum).  

8. Homer Simpson licking poisonous toads.  

9. Today’s TV Trope: Anticipatory Breath Spray.  

10. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by The Pretenders.  

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Burger King Holiday Disney Glasses Commercial, 1994.  

Children First “Read a Book” PSA featuring Brett Butler, 1994.  

Totally Rad Christmas, celebrating all things Christmas in the ’80s. 

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“Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and “Season’s Greedings” © 1994 Warner Bros. Television.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄It’s 2001, and a magical partridge is sending me on a coat drive for some kind of Karate Kid-style Santa training.  

Hop in our light blue ’54 convertible and buckle up as we take you on a joyride through the very last and most forgotten Rankin/Bass Christmas special, featuring a mostly black cast starring Patti LaBelle, Gregory Hines, and a criminally underused Eartha Kitt as a talking cat.  

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Andre Bennett (Cult Cinema Cloister, Philadelphia Championship Rock Paper Scissors).  

Tim Babb (Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast).  

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1. This special was co-written by Suzanne Collins, who went on to write “The Hunger Games.”  

2. The other co-writer, Peter Bakalian, also has a book series. It’s called “The F.A.R.T. Diaries.”  

3. Patti LaBelle in Philadelphia’s “Get to Know Us” tourism campaign, 1985.  

4. Patti LaBelle on “Sesame Street” singing “How I Miss My X.”  

5. IMDb’s photo gallery for “Santa, Baby!” is full of high-quality promotional images.  

6. RankinBass.com’s first look at “Santa, Baby!” from December 2001.  

7. Gregory Hines in “The Muppets Take Manhattan” and “Running Scared.”  

8. Rankin/Bass finally includes “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” in a Christmas special.  

8. Natalie Toro (Samson) lists “Santa Baby!” on her bio page.  

10. Andre’s uncle co-wrote K-Ci & JoJo’s “All My Life.”  

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McDonald’s “Wake Up” Breakfast Commercial featuring Patti LaBelle, 1990.   

Can’t Wait for Christmas, the podcast dedicated to keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year round.  

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“Santa, Baby” © 2001 Perisphere Pictures, Inc.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄It’s 1989, and a killer in a Santa suit is making it really hard to hide my dead husband’s body.  

You better watch out as we dig up the first filmed episode of “Tales From the Crypt,” a cozy Christmas nightmare directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring his then-wife and talented screamer, Mary Ellen Trainor, and the kid who gets her hoverboard stolen by Marty McFly.  

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Jamie Ray (Fave Five From Fans, Complete Disarray with Jamie Ray)  

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1. Mike on Fave Five From Fans with my Fave Five Christmas TV Specials (already covered them all here).  

2. Fave Five Christmas Horror Movies.  

3. The Vault of Horror No. 35, from 1954.  

4. “And All Through the House” segment of the 1972 “Tales from the Crypt” movie.  

5. HBO Feature Presentation opening, 1983.  

6. John Kassir (The Crypt-Keeper) in a commercial for The Legend of Zelda, 1987.  

7. Mary Ellen Trainor (Elizabeth) and Lyndsey Whitney Barry (Carrie Ann) in “Back to the Future Part II.”  

8. Today’s TV Trope: Tempting Fate.  

9. Elizabeth calls the operator because 9-1-1 was only available in about half the U.S. by 1989.  

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The Crypt-Keeper’s Ghoulish Guide to the Howlidays on Kids’ WB, 2001.  

Holidays After Dark, exploring the strange, unusual, and dark sides of the holidays.  

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“Tales From the Crypt” and “And All Through the House” © 1989 Tales From the Crypt Venture.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 It’s 1979, by way of 1933 — or the other way around — and the human from Fraggle Rock has broken into my garage with a haunted choir of singing children.  

Join us as we turn the dial on our haunted time-traveling radio to find Henry Winkler at the height of his fame as the Fonz hiding under multiple layers of makeup as a Scrooge figure in Great Depression-era New England.  

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Tom Coombs (The Pop Daddy)  

Scott Leopold (Holly Jolly X’masu)  

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1. Watch “An American Christmas Carol” on YouTube, courtesy of Shout Factory.  

2. Henry Winkler interview on being asked to play a Scrooge figure.  

3. The Ford Model TT truck, in example.  

4. Dorian Harewood (Matt Reeves/Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) filling in for James Avery as Shredder.  

5. Today’s TV Trope: Recursive Fiction — and “The Identical.”  

6. Robin Williams on “Sesame Street” showing Elmo different ways to play with a stick.  

7. “Sister Kenny,” based on the true story of an Australian nurse.  

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McDonald’s Gift Certificates Christmas Commercial, 1979.  

Holly Jolly X’masu, your podcast destination for Japanese Christmas music.  

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“An American Christmas Carol” © 1979 Scrooge Productions, Inc.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🕎 It’s 2003, and a team of Hebrew school basketball players think they’ve found the ghost of Judah Maccabee in a random guy living in a van.  

It’s time once again to think about the Seleucid Empire as we watch a Disney Channel Original Hanukkah Movie very loosely based on the true story of former college basketball star Lamont Carr and a yeshiva’s struggling team looking for a leader.  

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April Ryley (@where2nextapril, @thefancygeologist).  

J.W. Friedman (I Don’t Even Own a Television).  

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1. “Full-Court Miracle” on Disney+.  

2. Lamont Carr’s obituary in Virginia Magazine, 2017.  

3. Psychocandy, an experimental pop duo of Cassie Steele (Julie) and Jase Blankfort (Stick).  

4. UVA’s Athletics website circa 2003.  

5. Alex’s prized Dr. J basketball card isn’t even a rookie card and isn’t that valuable.  

6. “Jewball,” a novel featuring the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association basketball team.   

7. Sadly, the only upload I could find of the hip-hop cover of the Dreidel song is a smartphone recording of a TV playing this movie.  

8. This basketball movie’s NBA star cameo is provided by Jerome Williams.  

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Microsoft Encarta Commercial, 1995.  

Returning Student, a 40-year-old’s journey to finish the college degree he never got.  

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“Full-Court Miracle” © 2003 Disney Enterprises, Inc.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 It’s 1987, and someone stole Santa Claus in the middle of his hot dog break.  

Join us as we follow a renowned novelist who may or may not be a teenager and her animated mouse writing partner on a quest find out who kidnapped a department store Santa, while we solve the mystery of how anyone remembers this Christmas special that only aired once.  

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Lindy Kempe (Bluesky).  

Emily Rowley (Threads).  

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1. Dick Van Patten’s shout-out in “Wayne’s World” and cameo in “Robin Hood: Men In Tights.”  

2. Darcy Marta (Jill) on Totally Rad Christmas.  

3. Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse dancing in “Anchors Aweigh.”  

4. Jill’s Miami Mice poster — no relation to the “Sesame Street” parody of the same name.  

5. Donald O’Connor (Alex) in “Singin’ in the Rain.”  

6. Helen Hughes (whoever the woman who answers Jill’s door is supposed to be) in “Billy Madison.”  

7. Today’s TV Trope: 555.  

8. Francis Dambeger’s (Jerry) 1991 film “Solitaire,” and its solitaire review on IMDb.  

9. The realistic looking toy gun predates the same federal law that forced Nintendo to recolor its Zapper orange.  

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7up Christmas Commercial, 1986–1987.  

Wild Puffalumps Commercial, 1987.  

The Magic of the Season, covering holiday nostalgia, family, kids, decor, music, and so much more.  

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“A Mouse, A Mystery, and Me” © 1987 Ruby-Spears Productions.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 It’s 1991, and Santa Claus is fighting with a talking dog over a park bench.  

By some Christmas miracle, this obscure special was rediscovered over 30 years later. For years, people on the Internet tried to identify it on a TV in the background of an old family photo, until finally, thanks to the power of positivity, it was identified as “The Soulmates in The Gift of Light.” Join us as we meet the intergalactic Soulmates in what seems like a pilot that never got off the ground.  

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Michael DiGiovanni (Pop Culture Retrofit, @TheyCallMeDiGio).  

Jeff Somogyi (Classic Film Jerks, Linktree: @sommerjam).  

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1. Watch “The Soulmates in The Gift of Light” on YouTube, uploaded by creator Gabrielle St. George.  

2. Tumblr post: “Can You Figure Out Who This Is?” by Sophie Campbell, 2016.  

3. Will Sloan’s tweet of the screenshot, September 2022.  

4. CBC News: Canadian cartoon mystery finally solved after 6 years, thanks to the internet, 2022.  

5. The Littles, for comparison.  

6. Today’s TV Trope: Mind-Control Eyes.  

7. Soulmates Productions, Inc. defaulted in 2007.  

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Canadian Tire: Scrooge / Nintendo Action Set Commercial, 1991.  

Pop Tarts Commercial starring Dan and Dave, 1990.  

Remember That Show?, a monthly journey to explore obscure and forgotten TV series from the ’80s and ’90s.  

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“The Soulmates in The Gift of Light” © 1991 Soulmates Productions, Inc.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 It’s 1977, and Happy Gilmore’s grandmother is surrounded by dancing chickens.  

It’s a beautiful day for a podcast, and this season of the Advent Calendar House begins with a visit to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in a Christmas special that hadn’t been available for more than 40 years until it resurfaced in 2022. It’s surprisingly less festive than some might expect, but it makes up for that with some extremely bizarre adventures.  

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Guy Hutchinson (Pointless Nostalgia, GuyHutchinson.com).  

Tim Lybarger (The Neighborhood Archive, Third Quarter Run, TimLybarger.com).  

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1. Watch “Christmastime with Mister Rogers” at MisterRogers.org.  

2. The Neighborhood Archive entry on “Christmastime with Mister Rogers.”  

3. “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Visual History,” co-written by Tim.  

4. Frances Bay (Mrs. Hamilton) in “The Karate Kid.”  

5. Today’s TV Trope: Hollywood Giftwrap.  

6. Mr. Rogers and François Clemmons sharing a wading pool.  

7. Lesser-known Christmas hymns “The Friendly Beasts,” “Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow,” and “My Sheep Were Grazing.”  

8. Was Music Man Stan from “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” inspired by the Music Man from this special?  

9. “The Littlest Angel,” 1969.  

10. Chuck Ozeas (Andrew) is now a director of photography.  

11. “A Very Young Dancer” and The Life That Followed, 2011.  

12. Stephanie Selby’s obituary, 2022.  

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Hershey’s Kisses Christmas Bells Commercial, 1989.  

Dirt Cheap Liquors Chicken Commercial.  

Closer to Christmas, a podcast featuring a random Christmas topic every episode.  

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“Christmastime with Mister Rogers” © 1977 Family Communications, Inc.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.