Christmas in July 2018: Mike Westfall

from 1987's Muppet Family Christmas.

 
Christmas in July 2018: Mike Westfall from adventcalendar.house

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

Muppet Family Christmas has been a must-watch for me for the last 30 Christmases — and sometimes in the spring and summer. Getting over 100 Muppets together in one room (and yes, I’ve counted) was a big deal that didn’t happen often, and Jim Henson’s cameo at the end still makes me feel my feelings.

I like the John Denver album way better than the special. My earliest memory — Christmas or otherwise — is my parents decorating the tree on Christmas Eve with that record on, and 4-year-old me jumping on the couch shouting BA-DUM BUM BUM!

The California Raisins from 1987's A Claymation Christmas Celebration.

 
2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment?

’80s, and it’s not even close, thanks to the birth of VHS and filling 8-hour tapes with Christmas specials off the TV starring the Smurfs, He-Man, Garfield, and the California Raisins. My mom later transferred those warped videotapes to DVD, vintage commercials and all.

 

Raymond Brigg's The Snowman.

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

    •    Appetizer: The Snowman, but with the David Bowie intro.
    •    Entrée: This was a tough one, but I’m going with It’s a Wonderful Life. I’m pretty strategic with when I watch things — Nightmare Before Christmas comes on or shortly after Halloween, Elf during Thanksgiving weekend, and the Muppets get in pretty early as well. By Christmas Eve, It’s a Wonderful Life is the best of what’s left.
    •    Dessert: The original, animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas from 1966.


4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did?

The shows on TGIF crossed over a lot, but somehow never on Christmas.


5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s both my favorite Muppet movie and my favorite Dickens adaptation, and a surprisingly faithful one that hits all the right notes for a message I’d want to send into the future.

Christmas in July 2018: Kevin A. Bowman

from 1977's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

Christmas in July 2018: Kevin A. Bowman

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

There are a bunch of great Muppet Christmas specials, but Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas is my favorite, too. Paul Williams’ songs are just terrific.  (“Riverbottom Nightmare Band!”) Jim Henson, the Muppets crew, and Paul Williams were all at the very peak of their creativity. Here’s hoping that they release The Great Santa Claus Switch on DVD and restore Muppet Family Christmas to the original HBO-aired version.

from 1970's Scrooge

 
2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment?

I’ll pick the decade between 1962 and 1971 (Pretty sneaky, eh?).  This way I can start with Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, include many of my favorite Rankin-Bass classics (Rudolph, Frosty, Little Drummer Boy, Santa Claus is Coming to Town—but not, sadly, The Year without a Santa Claus, The First Christmas, Jack Frost, etc.), add Albert Finney in Leslie Bricusse’s “Scrooge” (1970), “Christmas Flintstone” from 1965, The Littlest Angel from 1969, Richard Williams’ beautiful “Christmas Carol” from 1971, and Hanna Barbera’s “A Christmas Story,” also from 1971, and the Walton’s “The Homecoming” from 1971.  And Charlie Brown and the Grinch.  This is the golden age of Christmas entertainment in my book, although I’d gladly include most of the 70’s. 

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

I would plan an evening of freaky animation:
Appetizer: API’s “The Twelve Gifts,” an Australian animated special by API that aired in syndication in the US in the 1970’s. I loved this one as a kid and then forgot about it for years until I found it on VHS.
Entre: The Christmas Messenger with Richard Chamberlain and David Essex. Live action framing animated segments. This one, to me, is like there were Christmas-themed segments in the animated movie, “Heavy Metal.”
Dessert: The Lollipop Dragon: The Great Christmas Race.  Answers the question: What if “Yellow Submarine” was produced in the 1980’s, for television, and turned into a Christmas special?  This one has a special place in my heart.  I used to watch it with my kids repeatedly. 

4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did? Feel free to get creative.

Why didn’t the Beatles have a Christmas special? Magical Mystery Tour aired on boxing day, but it didn’t have any Christmas songs. They made Christmas albums every year for the fan club.  John later wrote a popular Christmas song.  Paul wrote a popular Christmas song.  Imagine something like a variety show, with Beatles performing Christmas songs, a Yellow-Submarine style animated segment for a new Beatles song (like they used to do on Sonny and Cher) and a few guest performances by Harry Nilsson, Cilla Black, Mary Hopkin, and Badfinger. 
Barring that, a Christmas-themed episode of “Police Squad!”



from Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life

 
5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

Either “Meet John Doe” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  I’ll go with “It’s a Wonderful Life” because of its massive influence over the last 40 years. They are both genuinely great films.   
               

Christmas in July 2018: Aaron Henton

Christmas in July 2018: Aaron Henton (Der Bingle) www.merryandbright.blogspot.com

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

Muppet Christmas Carol.  It gives the classic tale a unique spin while staying true to the story. What makes it great is that Michael Caine plays Scrooge straight - he doesn't try to be a human-muppet.  His performance in contrast with the muppet performers keeps the heart of the story.  Oh, and Bob Marley.

2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment? 

I guess it would be the '60s, with Charlie Brown, Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, and so many great sitcom Christmas episodes.  The early '70s Rankin Bass shows follow closely, but since I was born in 1964 and grew up watching the classic '60s shows, it's the 1960s for me.

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

App:  "Night of the Meek" (Twilight Zone)

Entre: "Christmas Story" - the Finnish move about the life of Santa Claus

Dessert:  Rudolph (Rankin Bass)

Midnight Snack: Dean Martin Christmas Special


4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did? Feel free to get creative.

Christmas on the Enterprise - a Star Trek Christmas

5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

Only one?  Ok - A Charlie Brown Christmas. 

Christmas in July 2018: Sherry Duplessis

from 1992's Muppet Christmas Carol

Christmas in July 2018: Sherry Duplessis

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

Answer - Muppet Christmas Carol: Just loved the singing.

from 1966's How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment?

Answer - 1960s : I SO love The Grinch

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

Answer - onion & sage stuffing, buttered carrots & English Trifle.

4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did? Feel free to get creative.

Answer - a documentary that goes through all the Christmas shows for kids in 1950-1960 era. I'd love to watch them again.

from 1946's It's a Wonderful Life

5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

Answer - It's a Wonderful Life.

Christmas in July 2018: Linda M. Young

Christmas in July 2018: Linda M. Young, www.flyingdreams.org

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

I would have to say John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. We watch that every year. It's always so much fun to watch Miss Piggy get all excited over "Christmas is Coming" (and of course her kvetching about how many lines she has), and I love the way the special goes back and forth between lively numbers and quiet ones. Totally get wistful over "The Peace of Christmas Day." I also like to listen to the soundtrack album which has a few songs that were not in the special, like the "Christmas 1914" number.

2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment?

This is a hard question because my two favorite Christmas movies are The Homecoming and The House Without a Christmas Tree, plus the wonderful movie The Gathering, and all three are from the 1970s, but I would have to say the 1960s, because all the "formative" specials were produced then: Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and The Little Drummer Boy, plus those movies I watched as a child, like The Bishop's Wife (I remembered the "Christmas stocking sermon" even after I had forgotten the film's title) and White Christmas, and the Perry Como and Bing Crosby specials that aired then, programs like Davy and Goliath: Christmas Lost and Found,  plus things like Come to the Stable and Going My Way, which were always shown at Christmastime, plus all the wonderful Lassie Christmas stories (which actually started in 1958).

from 1971's The Homecoming: A Christmas Story

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

Lassie ("Yochim's Christmas") for the appetizer, The Homecoming as entree (although some years it would be The House Without a Christmas Tree), and for dessert A Charlie Brown Christmas (or The Small One if I felt like crying).

4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did? Feel free to get creative.

I wrote it! They never did a Lassie Christmas episode with Jeff! There are four with Timmy, three with Corey Stuart, and one with Bob Erickson--not one with the Miller family, and that's a shame. So I wrote my version of a Lassie and Jeff Christmas and will supply the URL if you are interested.

5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

Wow. In a thousand years, as the world gets more cynical each day? I would go with A Charlie Brown Christmas. Short, sweet, and to the point.

Christmas in July 2018: Jeff Fox

Christmas in July 2018: Jeff from NameThatChristmasSpecial.com - twitter: @chrspecials

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

Muppet Family Christmas. No, Muppet Christmas Carol. No, Muppet Family Christmas because it gets played more often, but both are amazing. John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together has amazing music, but the special itself isn’t as great. Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas is right up there too.

2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment?

Probably the 70s? I discovered much of it after-the-fact, but while I grew up with more 80s entertainment, the 70s stuff resonated with me more.

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

Roast Beast? No, pizza, because I’m a no-frills kinda guy. And cold pizza on Christmas morning? What more could a person want...?

4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did? Feel free to get creative.

Oh I’m thought of this many times in the past. As someone who hosts a ‘Name that Christmas Special’ game on Facebook where I post screenshots from Christmas specials and ask people to guess what they’re from, I’ve spent a lot of time looking for old and obscure Christmas specials. Many times I’ve wished for Christmas specials where there weren’t any. My number one would probably be a Canadian TV show called Traders, which I just loved, and which no one would have guessed. And I have no idea how it would play out, but I really wish there’d been a Columbo Christmas special. Oooh, and a McMillan and Wife! But only if it had Sally and Mildred in it, no point after season 5. Think of the musical numbers they could have done…! That would have been amazing. Someone needs to get a dedicated AI working on making that last one happen. It would be amazing. No doubt countless others too, but off the top of my head, that’s my top three.

Reading this back later, I now really wish there had been a McMillan & Wife Christmas special. With special guests the Carpenters, The Pointer Sisters and Robert Goulet. :(
 

5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

My immediate thought was Carol for Another Christmas because it feels apropos in this troubling year, but I’d hate for future humanity to think we were so morose that that’s how we saw everything, so I’d go with The Osbourne Family Christmas Special with no explanation whatsoever so that future people could be all like ‘WTF was that?!’ and feel much better about themselves and how far they’ve come.

Christmas in July 2018: Jim Inman

soundtrack

Christmas in July 2018: Jim Inman - https://www.facebook.com/christmasmoviesandmusic/ and https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ChristmasMoviesAndMusic/info

1) Name your favorite Henson's Muppet Christmas program and why.

While I've never been a big Muppet fan, I do enjoy the John Denver and the Muppets soundtrack.  Something about the humor, and the originality of it all, always makes me turn up the volume dial. 


2) Which decade produced the bulk of your favorite Christmas entertainment?

So many of the best specials came out of the 1960s... The Grinch, Charlie Brown's Christmas, Frosty the Snowman and Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.  The animation, uniqueness and style set them apart from most everything else. 

A close second would be the 1980s - the big years of Christmas TV specials with A, B and C-list Hollywood stars celebrating the season.  In a time before the internet and easy access, those specials were videotaped and preserved to enjoy for years to come.

from 1983's A Christmas Story

3) Imagine the entertainment behind your ideal Christmas Eve dinner. Name the appetizer, entré, and dessert.

Some Razzleberry Dressing (from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol), turkey from Mrs. Parker (before the Bumpus Hounds got it in A Christmas Story) and of course Christmas cookies - homemade, with plenty of sugar and icing!


4) What Christmas episode, special or movie doesn't exist--that you wish did? Feel free to get creative.

I would love to have some of our modern Christmas specials - even those from the 1960s - modified into radio programs, or audio plays. I think it would be so amazing to imagine Rudolph's red nose, or what Frosty felt like in the greenhouse, rather than seeing them in animation. I've been a fan of old-time radio for 30+ years, and several Christmas films were made into radio broadcasts during the 1940s (It's a Wonderful Life - https://youtu.be/D8iBTZmmps8  --- Miracle on 34th Street - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9cn5tTo79U  ---  The Bishop's Wife - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liyM-s_hIXU)
 

5) If one Christmas movie, special or episode was to be selected for a time capsule to opened in 1,000 years, which title do you think should be included?

I would go with It's a Wonderful Life.  It's a testament to hard work, community spirit, kindness, belief in a higher power and celebration of life.  Jimmy Stewart's heart and soul was in that film, and made everyone realize that "no man is a failure if he has friends."