Little Bill (2001)

I enjoy honoring Black History Month (BHM) on my blog because there are so many excellent Christmas episodes, specials and TV movies with exceptional African-American cast members.  There are also many outstanding or touching Christmas TV story lines aimed at black audiences.  In the upcoming month, I'll highlight a few of my favorites.  If you have a particular episode, special or TV movie that you'd like me to discuss here in Black History Month, please comment below and ask about it.  I'll see what I can do.

One outstanding TV series for children is Nick Jr.'s Little Bill, created by Bill Cosby Jr.
[Cosby also created the 1970s classic Fat Albert Saturday morning TV series.  Click here to see my post on the Fat Albert's Christmas Special.]  Little Bill includes a yuletide episode from 2001 entitled "Merry Christmas, Little Bill."

Siblings April, Little Bill and Bobby looking in a toy store window on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Little Bill just doesn’t feel the same without his great grandmother, Alice the Great, there with him.  She’s snowed in at an airport in Cincinnati and can’t get home just yet.  So the Glover family goes about their holiday routine--decorating the tree, caroling, and baking cookies--while they wait for Alice the Great to come home.

Snowed in at the airport in Cincinnati, Alice the Great calls home.

Little Bill insists they wait for Alice the Great to come back before they put her favorite ornament, the star at the top, on the Christmas tree.  But as the night grows later, it looks like Alice won't be able to join them on Christmas Eve after all.  Never giving up hope, Little Bill writes a last-minute letter to Santa Claus, suggesting with drawings how Santa may be able to fly Alice home in his sleigh.

Sister April helps Little Bill address his envelope to Santa Claus.

Early Christmas morning, Alice the Great arrives at the Glover home to celebrate with her family.  Little Bill insists Alice sing the song she sings every year as she places the star atop the family Christmas tree.

Alice the Great is voiced by the great Ruby Dee.

This is a very simple yet heartwarming story.  Alice the Great is voiced by actress/activist Ruby Dee.  She's had a tremendous career both on the stage and on the screen.  My favorite movie she's in is 1961's Raisin in the Sun with Sydney Poitier.

Husband and wife, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee

Many may know Dee as the wife of Ossie Davis, another actor and social activist in his own right.  The husband and wife were both participants in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and public supporters of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in the 1960s.

Though Little Bill may be a simple series aimed at a pre-school audience, it has its values in the right place.  This story is about a little boy wanting his family to be together for Christmas.  It rarely gets much better than this.  I'll also add that this series isn't too saccharine (or mindless) for the adults in the room to watch along with their children!

I found this episode available for viewing on the Nick Jr. Favorites Holiday DVD at my local library.  I also see it airing repeatedly on television each December on Nick Jr.

What, if any, childen's programs do you enjoy watching along with the young members of your family?  Please feel free to comment below and share it.

Fat Albert's Christmas Special (1977)

I enjoy honoring Black History Month (BHM) on my blog because there are so many excellent Christmas episodes, specials and TV movies with exceptional African-American cast members.  There are also many outstanding or touching Christmas TV story lines aimed at black audiences.  In the upcoming month, I'll highlight a few of my favorites.  If you have a particular episode, special or TV movie that you'd like me to discuss here in Black History Month, please comment below and ask about it.  I'll see what I can do.

"If you're not careful, you just might learn somethin'."

This half-hour, animated primetime TV special was based on the characters from the Saturday morning cartoon series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.  Of course, this series was created by actor/comedian Bill Cosby Jr. and often featured an introduction by the actor himself.  Do you remember the show's opening theme song "Hey, hey hey--it's Faaat Albert..."

The nativity rehearsals are interrupted by a knock at the clubhouse door...

In the Christmas Special, Fat Albert and his friends are staging a production of a Nativity pageant in their junkyard clubhouse.

Mr. Tyrone only wants to make money at Christmas time.

The Scrooge-like owner of the junkyard, Mr. Tyrone, wants to tear down the boys’ structure.  Meanwhile, Fat Albert offers a needy family shelter in their clubhouse.  The husband, wife and son Marshall are out-of-towners, their car has broken down and the wife is expecting a baby! 

Hoping to earn some money, Fat Albert goes to work for Mr. Tyrone as a sidewalk Santa Claus

Young Marshall fears he’s a burden to his parents and runs away, forcing the Cosby Kids to lay chase to convince him his parents need him now more than ever.

The dramatic rescue of Marshall after he runs away and ends up falling through the ice!

Fat Albert overhears that Mr. Tyrone has been down since his wife died several years ago.  Can Fat Albert do anything to help him improve Tyrone's outlook at Christmas?  And, what will happen to Mr. Tyrone’s plans to demolish the clubhouse? 

Gifts for the new baby born in the clubhouse

This is a Christmas story with the classic elements of a family that comes together, the arrival of a newborn, and a miser who learns there's more to Christmas than making money when he opens his heart to others.  What makes this classic tale unique is its urban setting and the distinctive characters that make up the Cosby Kids.

Did you watch Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids on Saturday mornings?  Is watching this Christmas special a part of your annual Christmas tradition?

How many of the Cosby Kids' names can you recall?  Dumb Donald, Bill, Russell, Mushmouth, Weird Harold, Rudy and Bucky.  And, of course there's Fat Albert.