santa-related stories
Posted Dec 24th 2008 12:03PM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, Festivus, TV 101, Reality-Free
If there's one universal among TV Christmas specials it's this: they all seem to want to tell you what the "true" meaning of Christmas is. There are so many specials trying to explain the true meaning of Christmas, it actually makes you wonder if the power of TV to influence has been exaggerated. I mean, you'd think after watching approximately eleventy-five billion hours of holiday programming, we'd have gotten the point already.
Perhaps the reason why America continues to view Christmas less as a time for spiritual reflection than as one for reindeer sweaters, crass consumerism, and suicide contemplation is because our Christmas specials aren't really sending the messages that they claim to be. Sure, on the surface we're told about "peace on earth and goodwill to men, blah blah blah", but there's a bubbling subtext in these specials if you only look hard enough.
I've decided to put my New Jersey state college English degree to good use and break down what Christmas specials are
really saying...
Continue reading TV 101: The true meaning of TV Christmas specials (OR: You're a mean one, Mr. Black)
Posted Dec 11th 2008 4:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 8, CBS has a new Survivor, then new episodes of CSI and Eleventh Hour.- NBC has a new My Name Is Earl at 8, followed by new episodes of Kath & Kim, The Office, 30 Rock, and ER.
- FOX has a new Secret Millionaire at 8, then a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?
- ABC Family has The Year Without A Santa Claus at 8, followed by Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys and Twas The Night Before Christmas.
- AMC has the original The Day The Earth Stood Still at 8.
- Cartoon Network has a new Chowder at 8.
- At 9, Lifetime has the movie Christmas Child.
- CNN's Planet in Peril premieres at 9.
- TBS has the Festivus episode of Seinfeld at 9.
- Food Network has the special Dear Food Network: Holiday Parties at 9.
- Hallmark has the movie Moonlight and Mistletoe at 9.
- Also at 9: Spike has a new TNA Impact!
- At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Sarah Silverman Program.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk show listings.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: The Office, Eleventh Hour, Sarah Silverman
Posted Dec 10th 2008 4:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, followed by new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.- CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
- NBC has the special Little Spirit: Christmas in New York at 8, followed by new episodes of Life and Law and Order.
- FOX has a new Secret Millionaire at 8.
- ABC Family has Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town at 8, followed by Rudolph's Shiny New Year.
- Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8.
- Travel Channel has The Most Christmasy Places in America at 8.
- At 9, The CW has a new Stylista.
- PBS has a new P.O.V. at 9.
- Food Network has the special Dear Food Network: Holiday Roast Beast at 9.
- There's a new Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi at 9, then a new Estate of Panic.
- At 10, TBS has two new episodes of House of Payne.
- Discovery has a new Prototype This! at 10.
- A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars at 10.
- USA has Elf at 10.
- Travel Channel has two new episodes of Man vs. Food at 10.
- Also at 10: Bravo has a new Top Chef.
- At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Chocolate News.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk show listings.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Old Christine, P.O.V., Stylista, Man Vs. Food
Posted Dec 24th 2006 6:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Animation, Festivus, Children, Retro Squad
The New York Times has
an interesting story about the fate of two of the puppets from the revered TV special
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which first aired in 1964. Apparently, out of the thousands of puppets created for the stop-action animation used in the Rankin-Bass special, only two currently exist: one of Rudolph and one of Santa.
The article tells the story of how the puppets, given to an R-B employee after the show was made, were found in an attic, appraised on
Antiques Roadshow, and sold for a nice chunk of change to the president of TimeAndSpaceToys.com/ He then painstakingly restored the heavily-damaged puppets to their original form (details of that restoration are
here). Santa and Rudolph are currently on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, where they will be until Jan. 13.
How did Santa and Rudolph get to be in such poor shape? Kids. The person who took the puppets home gave them to her kids, who crammed poor Rudy's mouth with crayons and Play-Doh. Jeez. Those buggers had no sense of history, did they?
Posted Dec 17th 2006 10:34PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: FOX, OpEd, The Simpsons, Animation
(S18E09)
Homer: Why did you let that loser into our home?
Marge: I'll tell you why: Christian charity.
Homer: "Christian Charity?" What does a porn star have to do with this?
I was impressed with the overall holiday motif of this episode, especially the altered opening with snow, Christmas decor and Bart riding a snowboard (across dry pavement, even) rather than his usual skateboard.
Continue reading The Simpsons: Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2
Posted Dec 4th 2006 5:10PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, Web, Celebrities
Posted Aug 7th 2006 6:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: TV on DVD, Animation, Comedy Central
On October 3 a
South Park DVD set with ten of Matt Stone and Trey Parker's favorite episodes will be released. I've known about this for awhile, and I'm sure other
South Park fans knew as well. I didn't bother to mention it here because I figured since the season sets were coming out pretty regularly fans wouldn't be that interested in a DVD set with episodes they'll probably have in their possession eventually anyway, if they haven't already. What I didn't know, however, was that "The Spirit of Christmas," the raunchy video Christmas card created by Matt and Trey that became an underground sensation and helped get them in the door at Comedy Central, will also be included on the set. Of course, anyone with a broadband internet connection can easily find it online, but hey, I guess it sweetens the deal a little bit.
Posted Dec 19th 2005 11:42AM by Ryan j Budke
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, FOX, OpEd, The Simpsons, Animation
As any true fan knows,
The Simpsons' first episode wasn't the Christmas one where they got
Santa's Little Helper. That was the first aired on Fox though, so many think of it as the first. Regardless,
The
Simpsons' Christmas episodes have a special place in many people's hearts, and are probably second only to their
Halloween episodes. This year, they took a cue from the Treehouse of Horror, and broke the episode down into three
smaller segments. Each a Christmas story to melt the heart-- or make you laugh. Your choice. On with the show!
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