Commentary 23 Dec 2005 09:46 am
Xmas “Specials”
There was a time when Christmas Specials lit up CBS TV, and a few dotted the other networks prior to Christmas. But then cable came, and everything changed. The same one or two shows bounce around the fringes of cable: The Grinch (with and without Jim Carrey), Charlie Brown’s Christmas, Rudolph.
Last night I actually was looking for one of those little shows, say a Rankin-Bass bad/gem – maybe Frosty The Snowman, or The Night Before Christmas (ycch!). But no, not even a soapy live-action film on the Hallmark Channel about Christmas. One of the hundred-odd versions of The Christmas Carol; definitely no Mr. Magoo. All that I could find was Jim Carrey as the cartoon Grinch on A&E and the 2000th rerun of A Christmas Story – this time on TCM sans commercials. There was also a short, mean, clay animated program “mocking” all the Rankin-Bass shows by animation expert, Seth Green. Nastiness was certainly not what I was looking for. I’m sorry to say I didn’t even have a Christmas dvd at hand.
Presumably there will be better fare on tonight, but this isn’t Kansas anymore; things have definitely changed. I guess Christmas is in Bill O’Reilly’s hands, the rest of us have holidays.
on 23 Dec 2005 at 1:16 pm 1.Jen said …
One of the bizarre ironies of the “holiday season” as exhibited by television:
it seems to me that ALL the great Xmas TV specials are aired by the 5th of the month, at the latest(assuming they’re not in a cable loop on some tertiary channel). Many’s the time in years past–recent years–where I’m in the mood on the 23rd or god forbid, Christmas Eve, for “Miracle on 34th St.”, “The Bishop’s Wife”, “Holiday Inn”, etc.etc.–to find that TV is way, way ahead of us in the audience, Xmas is already over(like in my local supermarket, which took down any & all Xmas decorations a week ago!), and there is little great “seasonal” programming at all on any of the movie channels. It was just the opposite in the late 70s, when there were only 7-8 channels. Ah, the good old days! I guess this is what DVDs were meant for.
on 23 Dec 2005 at 2:28 pm 2.MS said …
If only dvd’s were as automatic as real TV; I suppose there’s tv on demand and all this nonsense, but it used to be fun waiting for Charlie Brown or the Rankin-Bass show I could hate. Now, nothing. I guess late night tonight is the BBC America showing of Creature Comforts, but I’m not sure that’s about Christmas.
on 24 Dec 2005 at 3:58 am 3.Gaurav Jain said …
hi,
my team has been rewatching your bits of Man who walked…. and i was giving them the background and then i told them about the opening lines “once there were two towers” and i think we all nearly cried.
This is what we should watch on Christmas.
PS>your work is def an inspiration. Unfortunate that i didnt come across it until this week. One day i will do a jazz inspired little thing as an homage to your body of work
on 01 Nov 2007 at 3:17 pm 4.Will said …
Great animation.