Christmas in July 2019: Donna Bock

 


Christmas in July 2019: Donna Bock

1. What is your favorite Saturday Night Live Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year's sketch?

The Justin Timberlake/Jimmy Fallon rapping in wrapping paper and a gift bag is a favorite of mine.  They are hilarious!  Bring it on down to Wrappinville.  It's a new classic!
Another favorite of mine is Alex Baldwin's Schweddy Balls. The conversation is so funny and none of the actors break from their character. The writing for this entire 1998 Christmas show was spectacular!  Can't forget Christmas Time for the Jews.  The song is so clever I find myself humming it after watching.  Lastly, who could not love the musical numbers Santa's My Boyfriend and I Wish it Was Christmas Today?

2. Do you most look forward to watching holiday episodes from series? Specials? Movies? Animation? or, all of it?

I have so many Christmas watching traditions I could write a book.  Some of my all time favorites in no particular order are, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, I saw it the first time it aired in 1964, and I still need to watch it on TV every year.  Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, though not shown on network TV it is another tradition.  Every Christmas Eve my Grandsons and I watch it on DVD.  It's such a great show, I don't understand why it's not shown every year.  Christmas viewing wouldn't be complete if I didn't watch a bunch of old (60-70s)  Christmas sitcom episodes. My all time favorite is "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas."  Fonzi pretending to have somewhere to go on Christmas Eve gets me every-time.  In my humble opinion it's the best of the sitcom holiday episodes. I've expressed my love for the movie White Christmas every year, so this July I'll leave it out.


 

3. What's your favorite soundtrack from a holiday program? (it doesn't have to have been officially released as an album--just what program features your favorite collection of music?)

The Holiday musical specials were always something my family looked forward to... way back when.  They aren't as popular as they were, but I watched a few last year.  David Bowie and Bing Crosby's "Little Drummer Boy" is iconic.  I don't see how that can be topped. I did enjoy the Glee Holiday episodes and all of the Christmas music they danced and sang to.


4. What one program are you patiently (or impatiently) waiting for me to review on this blog?

I enjoy all of your blog posts.  There aren't any that I am waiting for.  Whenever a new one is posted, I read it.  I sometimes reread the older blogs of my favorite shows.


5. What change in Christmas entertainment have you noticed over the years? Do you like the trend?

There have been many changes since I first started watching TV.  I remember what a huge event it was when a new animated Christmas Show was coming on.  When Charlie Brown Christmas first aired in 1965, there was a big write up in the TV Guide and the young actors were interviewed. The extraordinary thing was that the producer used kids instead of actors to read the parts of the Peanuts gang. I'm not a big fan of the Christmas romance movies, there are too many of them.  I loved the TV movies of the 80s and 90s.  One of my favorites is The Night They Saved Christmas. The cast is great, the story is cute, and it has a happy ending. When my adult children were young they watched it almost everyday, (Thank you VCR) even in the summer...hey it kept them entertained!