There's no one more excited for the start of the fifth season of Mad Men beginning TONIGHT, Sunday March 25th.
Doin' the Drape.
Like everyone else, I've been reviewing past episodes so I'll remember the story lines where we left off more than a year ago. A great story is the second episode of season 4, "Christmas Comes But Once A Year."
At the office Christmas party, Don Draper (dead center) drinking heavily
It’s Christmas 1964 and the ad firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are worried about their financial future. They plan for a small, low budget office party. Embracing sobriety, Freddy returns to the ad firm bringing with him a $2 million dollar client.
Upset and frustrated, Peggy tells Freddy his ideas are old-fashioned (and sexist).
Young Sally Draper renews her friendship with the creepy neighbor, Glen Bishop.
One of my favorite characters returns when Sally bumps into creepy Glen at a Christmas tree lot
The troubled Glen eventually breaks into the Francis home and vandalizes it by emptying the refrigerator’s contents onto kitchen counter tops and making a mess throughout the house. Don Draper walks out on a pitch meeting held by Faye Miller, a psychologist with a consumer research company looking to sell her know-how to the Madison Avenue ad firm.
Faye nails it by explaining consumer motivation: what I want vs. what's expected of me
Later Faye confronts Don about his lack of respect for her psychological insights only to earn it back with her understanding of what motivates people. (We'll see Faye play a larger role later in the 4th series.)
Conga line winds its way through the office party
This episode’s main story line is the office Christmas party that suddenly becomes a large scale blow-out when their major client, Lucky Strike’s Lee Garner Jr., insists on attending.
You know it's a party because of the Lucky Strikes cigarette pack garland that lines the office walls
With dancing, drinking, party games, and the office manager Joan in a bombshell red dress to impress, the party comes off as successful in an attempt to impress Garner that the ad firm is more financially sound than they feel.
Joanie leads the dancing--LOVE that dress!
Campbell sitting on Roger's lap for photos.
Allison, Don's secretary, awkwardly opens her Christmas bonus, an impersonal card after a very intimate night
Lucky Strikes client, Lee Garner Jr. humiliates Roger by making him don a Santa suit for photos with the staff during the party. After the blowout, Draper seduces his secretary, making the office environment uncomfortable the following day.
Everyone at the office party, including Don Draper, receives a free carton of Lucky Strikes. MERRY CHRISTMAS! (choke, cough, gasp!)
This yuletide episode originally aired in August 2010. If you'd like to watch it again, it is located on the first disc of the 4th season DVD set.
Remember the vintage Christmas song that plays over the ending? It's Teresa Brewer's version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." The following Mad Men episode, "The Good News," continues the story line with Don Draper's plan to spend the holidays in Acapulco. SPOILER: Don doesn't go to Acapulco.
This video has the audio recording of Teresa Brewer's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."
I love the fashion, style and 1960s cultural references of Mad Men. But I guess what I love about the show is the bleak attitude and watching Don Draper's life slowly unravel. Are you a fan of Mad Men? What did you like about last season's Christmas episode?
I took a little Spring Break but now I'm back. One of the things I like about Christmas on TV is that it airs year round. Though yuletide story lines may take place during December, the holiday spirit is around throughout the entire year in re-runs. If you don't already know, I post the best of the daily Christmas TV listings on Twitter (@TistheSeasonTV) and on Facebook in the fan page for my encyclopedia book, Tis the Season TV. Follow me there if you'd like to receive those daily updates.
Friends ran ten seasons, from 1994-2004
Friends hasn't been off the air since its debut in 1994, currently running on Nick@Nite. The comedy series about a group of six friends living in New York City offered several holiday episodes. Last July, I hosted guest blogger Amy who wrote about the 1999 New Year's episode "The One With the Routine." Click here to see that again. Perhaps my favorite holiday episode of Friends is "The One With the Holiday Armadillo" from 2000.
Phoebe's skull doubles as a candy dispenser
The episode includes several story lines. One story thread concerns itself with Chandler trying to learn how and when to tip Maitre D's in order to get the best seating in restaurants. Another story line is about Phoebe encouraging Rachel to join her as her roommate now that the apartment re-model is completed.
Phoebe gives Joey a drum set to encourage Rachel to leave Joey and join her in their old apartment as roommates.
But the main plot is about Ross wanting to include Hanukkah in his son Ben's holiday celebrations.
Ross tries to share Hanukkah with his son Ben
Ross is excited to teach his young son Ben about the traditions of their Jewish heritage, unfortunately Ben doesn't want to hear it. Ross considers dressing as Santa Claus in order to lend credibility to his attempts to talk to Ben about the holidays. However, Ross can't find a Santa costume at the rental store so close to Christmas time.
THAT tail is ridiculous!
Ross takes the only costume available, dressing as the Holiday Armadillo to help convince Ben that Hanukkah is as fun as Christmas. Ross almost has Ben's full attention until Chandler unexpectedly enters dressed as Santa Claus...
Monica sure likes Chandler in the suit
...and Joey arrives dressed as Superman leaving Ben too distracted to listen to his father’s message.
It's a bird, it's a plane...it's Joey!
However, with Santa Claus and Superman's acceptance, Ben finally opens up to listening to his father's explanation of the meaning behind the traditions of Hanukkah.
Together the friends as family light the menorah
We've all seen this episode, right? Do you recognize the song that briefly plays as the friends light the menorah? It's "Tradition" from the musical Fiddler on the Roof.
If you'd like to see it again, this episode is located on disc 26 of the DVD box set Friends: The Complete Series. It is also the Season 7, episode 10 (disc 2) of the earlier DVD release.
Do you celebrate more than one holiday tradition in December? Do you have another Hanukkah episode that you look forward to watching each year?
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 and touching Christmas TV story lines aimed at black audiences. This month I'm highlighting just a few of my favorites.
"Make it funky now"
The TV sitcom Everybody Hates Chris takes its inspiration from the life experiences of comedian Chris Rock. Rock even serves as the show's narrator. The first holiday episode is 2005's "Everybody Hates Christmas."
Drew, Chris and Tonya consider what they want for Christmas.
This story takes place at Christmas, 1982. The only thing Chris wants for Christmas is a personal cassette player but his parents inform him that they need a new hot water heater more urgently. The 13 year-old is asked to make the sacrifice this Christmas so his younger siblings, Drew and Tonya, can still receive their presents.
Remember when Walkmans were all the rage?
Though he’s disappointed that he won’t get a present under the tree, Chris finds he rather enjoys the favor and privilege his mother gives him for being mature about the situation.
"You told Tanya WHAT?!"
Meanwhile, Drew insists on convincing his younger sister Tonya that there is no Santa Claus. Not only does Drew get punished but his truth-telling makes Tonya skeptical about everything she's ever been told by her parents.
Chris' racist teacher organizes a food drive for the underprivileged
And, Chris’ teacher at school offensively assumes that the Rock family are in desperate need of charity. She organizes a food drive and repeatedly donates canned goods to the only black kid in school, Chris.
Chris' dad Julius accidentally lets slip about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy at the dinner table.
In the end, Tonya learns that she's grown up enough to know that she was told to believe in Santa Claus so she would learn about the spirit of giving. She proves how grown up she is by giving Chris one of her Christmas presents: a game of checkers. But Tonya also demonstrates she's still a little girl by being an ungracious winner, obnoxiously beating Chris at his new board game.
This Christmas episode of Everybody Hates Chris can see viewed on the First Season DVD, disc 2.
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 and touching Christmas TV story lines aimed at black audiences. This month I'm highlighting just a few of my favorites.
"Well, we're movin' on up, to the east side. To a deluxe apartment, in the sky..."
The 1970s sitcom The Jeffersonsbegan as a spin-off of the groundbreaking and controversial series All in the Family. Though The Jeffersons created five Christmas episodes, the 1977 episode entitled "984 W. 124th Street, Apt. 5C" isn't just my favorite of the series, it is also one of my personal all-time favorite Christmas episodes.
On Christmas Eve, George, Louise, their son Lionel and his wife Jenny, and neighbors Tom and Helen Willis gather together for the holiday. They are also celebrating Lionel and Jenny's wedding anniversary (they married in the previous year's 1976 holiday episode entitled "The Christmas Wedding").
With slurred speech, the maid Florence explains that the egg nog is "evaporating" and she needs to make more.
On this evening, Louise accidentally discovers that her husband has been secretly delivering monthly cash payments to an address on W. 124th Street in Harlem. He’s recently sent a Christmas tree and gifts there as well.
George refuses to provide a reasonable explanation for the gifts sent to the Harlem apartment
When Louise questions him about the money and gifts, George provides the most flimsy explanation which sounds like he's lying to cover something up.
Why else would George be sending cash to an address in Harlem? Is he supporting someone else?
Louise fears the worst: George is keeping a mistress--perhaps even a love child! Later that night when George slips out of their home to deliver yet another gift to the Harlem address, Louise follows him.
Louise follows George to a dilapidated tenement house.
When Louise follows George to a broken down apartment house, she is shocked to discover George’s actual secret. George explains he is fulfilling his own childhood promise to help the residents of the apartment where he grew up to not suffer from extreme poverty as he did. It turns out George has been anonymously giving the residents of the apartment 5C money and support to help them improve their lives.
The family living at the Harlem address explains about their anonymous benefactor
I love this emotional episode because it shows a compassionate side of George Jefferson that we don't usually see. Poverty so shaped his life that now as a wealthy man he feels obligated to give back and to help others escape the desperation that he knows all too well. What a wonderful sense of charity--one that exceeds the holiday time, as it's explained George gives monthly support to the occupants of the apartment. Without realizing they are talking to their benefactor, the family receiving the anonymous support explains that they are using the money to help cover their bills and to pay for the husband's additional education classes so he can earn more money and the family can eventually move to a better place. It's a feel-good episode that emphasizes helping others--does it get any more Christmasy than that?
Childress steals the scene as the funny wino in the apartment's hallway.
Another interesting surprise in this episode is the casting of the wino in the hallway outside the tenement apartment. The wino is played by Alvin Childress--the same actor who played Amos on The Amos 'n Andy Show in the 1950s TV series. Childress has significant screen time, approaching George as he enters the hallway outside the apartment and then continuing the discussion as Louise catches up with George before she confronts him about what he's doing there.
Learning his secret, Louise approves and says "Merry Christmas, George."
This episode of The Jeffersons appears on the Fourth season DVD set on the 2nd disc.
What's your favorite Jeffersons Christmas episode? What's your favorite Christmas episode about charity? Please feel free to share your comment below.
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 and touching Christmas TV story lines aimed at black audiences. This month I'm highlighting just a few of my favorites.
Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass produced some of the most popular Christmas TV specials of all time. Of course, I'm talking about Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), The Year Without A Santa Claus (1974), Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970), Frosty the Snowman (1969) and The Little Drummer Boy (1968) just to name just a few. The final animated TV special made by Rankin/Bass is Santa, Baby! from 2001.
Young Dakota wants to find homes for her friends in a neighborhood animal shelter.
A young girl named Dakota helps out with her local animal rescue shelter and this year she’s working to find homes for the animals by Christmas. Her songwriting father Noel is struggling to write more material, putting his heart into it.
Melody Songbird (voiced by Patti LaBelle) is a magical partridge in a pear tree.
A magical partridge in a pear tree named Melody Songbird encourages Noel to do charity work to help him find inspiration for his songs. Meanwhile, Dakota helps the menagerie of animals find a home before the superintendent Mr. Sweet closes the shelter.
Father Noel (voiced by Gregory Hines) works as a song writer
The original story in this hour-long cel animated TV special is sweet but the best part is the music. With the vocal talents of Vanessa Williams, Eartha Kitt, Patti LaBelle and Gregory Hines, the classic songs such as “Jingle Bells,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and “Santa Baby” become soulful, jazzy hits that sound new again. And, the special's original song “Heart and Soul of Christmas” has the potential for popularity beyond the TV special.
Vanessa Williams voices Alicia, the wife of Noel, here singing the classic song "Santa Baby" to her husband, disguised as a bell-ringing Santa Claus on the street.
There are two fantastic reasons that this animated TV special stands out. One is that it includes Eartha Kitt. Kitt is the sexy vocalist who originally recorded the 1953 Christmas song "Santa Baby" written by Philip Spring and Joan Javits (see below). Though this song has been covered many times by many different artists over the decades, including one popular version by Madonna for the very first Special Olympics charity recorded album A Very Special Christmas in 1987.
Audio of Earth Kitt's 1953 recording
Kitt, Vanessa Williams and Patti Labelle join their voices in a version of "Santa Baby" in this animated TV special as Alicia, Noel's wife, discovers her husband Noel is secretly working as charity-collecting Santa Claus. Eartha Kitt sings another dance remix version of "Santa Baby" later in the special during the scenes where Noel and his daughter Dakota deliver Christmas presents.
Eartha Kitt voices Emerald, the cat.
Cleverly, Kitt is animated here as Emerald, the white cat owned by Dakota for whom Kitt provides the purrrr--fect voice. Kitt is also fondly remembered as one of the actresses who portrayed the sexy villainess Catwoman on the 1960s TV series Batman.
Eartha Kitt as Catwoman
The second fantastic reason that this TV special stands out is that it celebrates themes of community and people coming together at Christmas.
The neighborhood comes together to clean up the garbage and join their voices in song.
This story takes place in the urban center of New York City's Heptune Street (think 'hep' as in 'hip' place to be!) This neighborhood is filled with people that reflects a multi-cultural population including numerous races and ethnicities. This attention to detail reflects an inclusive attitude by the creators to reflect a more realistic world and neighborhood for television audiences. I noticed these details and liked them.
Mr. Sweet and Mrs. Garcia, neighbors on Heptune Street
This diverse population is also reflected in the music, especially the medley of "Jingle Bells" sung in the vacant lot as the neighbors come together to clean it up and decorate for Christmas. With vocals that include Vanessa Williams, "Jingle Bells" begins as a hip-hop song with rap, blending into an R&B soul tune before becoming a swing jazz arrangement.
The neighbors also come together to repair a building for their friends in the animal shelter
Santa Baby! is available for viewing on DVD. Have you seen Santa, Baby! before? What's your favorite Rankin/Bass animated TV special?
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.
