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You think you grew up watching claymation Christmas specials.
 You didn’t.

In this episode of Original Geek, we take a deep dive into the classic Rankin & Bass Christmas specials and break down one of the biggest holiday pop-culture myths of all time. From Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman to Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town and The Year Without a Santa Claus, we unpack how these half-hour TV events shaped generations of kids.

We explain why Rankin & Bass animation wasn’t claymation at all — it was a stop-motion process called Animagic — and how many of these specials were produced in Japan on surprisingly small budgets. Despite those limitations, they created some of the most enduring holiday imagery and storytelling ever broadcast.

We also look at why nearly every Rankin & Bass story centers on misfits, redemption, and learning not to be a jerk — themes that hit harder than most modern holiday movies. Along the way, we revisit the characters that secretly terrified us as kids (yes, the Miser Brothers and the Winter Warlock absolutely count) and why those unsettling moments stuck with us.

More than nostalgia, this episode is about why shared, scheduled television mattered — planning your night around the TV, watching as a family, and having cultural touchstones everyone understood.

If you grew up planning your evening around network TV…
 If the Miser Brothers still live rent-free in your head…
 If your kids think this stuff is “old” and you’re ready to prove them wrong…

Welcome back to the basement.

Topics include: Rankin & Bass Christmas specials, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Animagic animation, stop-motion history, Gen X holiday nostalgia, classic television specials.

Welcome to Original Geek—the podcast for anyone who rolled their first d20 on shag carpet, waited hours for a comic book JPEG to load on dial-up, and wore the label “geek” back when it got you mocked, not monetized.

Hosted by stand-up comic Steve Scarfo and Forever DM Jeff Shaw, we dive deep into what it meant to be a geek in the '70s and '80s—and how that underground culture became the mainstream multiverse we live in today.

🎙️ Subscribe for weekly episodes on Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, comic book chaos, geek court debates, and critical hits from your childhood basement.

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If you ever hid a Monster Manual like it was porn, you’re not alone. You’re an Original Geek. Welcome home.