The Preacher's Wife (1996)

Before her personal life became fodder for the tabloids and the rumors of drug abuse and alcoholism were common knowledge, pop music’s Whitney Houston starred in a Christmas movie that features a stunning gospel music soundtrack.  The theatrical release movie The Preacher’s Wife is a remake of the 1947 Christmas movie The Bishop’s Wife which starred Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.  The 1996 remake starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston and Courtney B. Vance, an African-American update, takes place within an urban city center and a church community thus the soundtrack reflects a more gospel, spiritual sound.

More recently, Courtney B. Vance starred on Law & Order: Criminal Intent

The film’s story centers on the Reverend Henry Biggs, played by Vance, and his wife Julia, played by Houston, during a time of hardship in their marriage and their church.  Though it is Christmas time, Henry is tempted by the generous offer of a real estate developer Joe Hamilton, played by actor Gregory Hines, to sell out his congregation for a new church building.  Enter the charming Denzel Washington, playing an angel named Dudley, who is an answer to a prayer to guide Reverend Henry and help the strained relationship between him and his wife.  Church choir singing and music fill this story line because Julia works as St. Matthew’s choir director and she is organizing the church's Nativity pageant.



 

A favorite scene from this movie is when Dudley and Julia are ice skating together and the two characters share a bit of Hollywood chemistry on the screen.  Did you know Whitney’s mother, Cissy Houston makes an appearance in this movie? She plays Mrs. Havergal in the church choir.

There's chemistry between Dudley and Julia--will Henry be too busy to notice?

This re-make of the black-and-white movie classic is made extra special by the inclusion of gospel music performances by chart-topping musical artist, Whitney Houston.  She not only sings several gospel songs with the church’s choir including the holiday favorite ‘Joy to the World’ but she also performs in a scene in Jazzie’s nightclub singing ‘I Believe in You and Me.’  In the movie, this is sung to the piano accompaniment of recording artist Lionel Richie.  Of course, Houston also sings several songs that appear on the movie’s soundtrack that play under various scenes in the story.

The song I Believe in You and Me by Whitney as performed at Jazzie's nightclub

By now we have all heard the sad news of Whiteny Houston's tragic and untimely death.  She leaves behind a rich legacy of music and performances.  She will surely be missed.

A Rugrats Kwanzaa (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

Though the bulk of my writing concerns itself with Christmas-themed entertainments, I have also researched Kwanzaa programs as well.  As I state in the introduction to my encyclopedia, Tis the Season TV which includes Kwanzaa entertainments in its listings, I have chosen to add Kwanzaa entertainments because the cultural holiday, which is celebrated December 26-31 each year, centers on the many of the same themes as Christmas.  Ultimately, Kwanzaa, like Christmas, is about families coming together to celebrate their traditions.  Both holidays reflected in our television entertainments are broadcast in December each year.

The long-running Nickelodeon animated children's program Rugrats is known for it's special holiday programming.  In addition to this Kwanzaa installment, they have also generated several Christmas episodes as well as Chanukah, Easter, Passover, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and more.  There are even two feature-length movies that include the Rugrats babies and two spin-off animated series.

Susie Carmichael with her rugrat friends

In A Rugrats Kwanzaa, the story centers on Susie Carmichael and her family celebrating the cultural holiday.  Susie's  Aunt T has come for a visit and wants to share Kwanzaa with the rest of the Carmichaels.  Because of this special occassion, Susie invites her baby friends over to learn about Kwanzaa with her. 

"I'm no good at being great" cries Susie

Susie misunderstands the purpose of the celebration, fearing she’s not good enough to participate.  As the kids listen to Aunt T’s stories about famous African-Americans and Susie's family members, it becomes clear that this celebration is about honoring the greatness in us all. 

Aunt T (voiced by Irma P. Hall) comes to visit for the holidays and shares her tradition of celebrating Kwanzaa

Not only is this Rugrats episode entertaining but it is informative about the meaning of Kwanzaa as well.  One of my favorite things about this is the exciting voice cast of Susie's family members--characters which we don't see a whole lot of in the regular series.

In the 1980s, Cree Summer played Freddie on A Different World

 Susie is voiced by Cree Summer, an actress who some of you may remember from the 1980s Cosby Show spin-off A Different World.  More recently she has been working as a very successful voice actor for animated series.

The character of Aunt T is voiced by Irma P. Hall, an actress who received great acclaim for her role in the Coen Brothers 2004 remake The Ladykillers.

This Kwanzaa episode is easily available for viewing on the Rugrats: Turkey and Mistletoe DVD.  It is one of the bonus episodes contained on the disc.  I found several copies of this at my local library.  It is also on the Rugrats: Holiday Celebration DVD which is available at Netflix. 

Which is your favorite Rugrat?  I can't help it, I like Chuckie.  Which is your favorite Rugrats holiday episode?

Black History Month 2012

I'm getting kind of a late start honoring Black History Month (BHM) but I'll try to catch up.  I enjoy celebrating 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.

Long-time readers of this blog know that I honored BHM last year as well.  In February 2011, I wrote about the 1988 TV movie Roots: The Gift, the sitcom Julia, The Jamie Foxx Show and Cicely Tyson in Ms. Scrooge.  Please feel free to click on those links to review my past blog posts.

Just off the top of my head, there are several other blog posts in the past that are relevant to BHM.  How many of us remember:

A very young Kevin Hooks with the sickly cat in 1969's J.T.

--The children's movie J.T. (1969) with actors Kevin Hooks and Ja'net DuBois.

--1979 TV movie Christmas Lilies of the Field with Billy Dee Williams.

--guest blogger, John from Kindertrauma wrote about 1990s sitcom Living Single.

l to r: Max, Khadijah, Regine and Synclaire.

In the coming month, I plan on covering several of my favorite Kwanzaa TV episodes, Christmas episodes of The Jeffersons, Everybody Hates Chris and Little Bill, as well as the TV specials Santa Baby! and Fat Albert's Christmas.  How does that sound?

12 Dates of Christmas (2011)

Happy Groundhog Day!!  On February 2nd, my mind connects less with the holiday's namesake, Punxsutaweny Phil, and more with the 1993 movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell.  But then, I'm more of a film girl than a person who cares about weather predictions.  Besides, Groundhog Day is a modern classic--yes, I said it!  Everyone I know has seen that movie a million times and can quote their favorite lines ("Watch out for that first step. It's a doozy"--Ned Ryerson).

Groundhog Day movie trailer

 Further proof of Groundhog Day's status as a classic film is that it has been adapted repeatedly.  Remember my post in 2010 about the three Christmas-themed TV movie versions of Groundhog Day?  Click here to see that again.  Last year, I posted about the Christmas-themed episode of The Jamie Foxx Show that takes on Groundhog Day.  Click here to see that again.  Guess what?  Last Christmas, ABC Family Channel went there again.

Actress Amy Smart plays Kate who finds herself reliving Christmas Eve over and over as she learns about love and the role fate plays in her life.  Though Kate has plans to marry Jack, she has to spend repeated Christmas Eve nights trying to let go of her ex-boyfriend as he prepares to marry someone else.  Kate also has to learn new approaches to romance and love as she experiences the same blind date with Miles (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) over and over until she figures out that she can’t change fate.  As Kate repeats the same day, she begins to help everyone with whom she crosses paths with to improve their romantic lives as well.  Miraculously, on the twelfth night, Kate throws a Christmas party for all her new friends she’s shared her day with.  Will Kate get what she wants for the holiday--the chance to wake up on Christmas morning?

2011's 12 Dates of Christmas commercial

A light-hearted comedy, this TV movie has several fun elements.  Kate’s Christmas Eve repeats each day as she awakens from passing out, on the floor next to the cosmetic counter after being sprayed with perfume at the department store.  This film also includes twelve visual cues to the popular carol The Twelve Days of Christmas--can you spot the partridge in the pear tree? how about the Lords a-leaping?

This film also includes an exceptional soundtrack for a TV movie.  Two favorite songs include “I Hope That It Snows” by Madi Diaz featuring Keegin DeWitt and Michael Bublé’s “Cold December Night” which plays under the closing credits.  Bublé's song is included on his 2011 "Christmas" album, the second best-selling album of 2011, selling nearly 2.5 million copies, according to a recent LA Times article.

"Cold December Night" plays under the closing credits

Did you watch this ABC Family Channel movie last December?  Are you a fan of 1993's Groundhog Day?  What's your favorite Bill Murray movie?

How about a giveaway?  I have a brand new, factory-sealed DVD of the 2006 Christmas TV movie Christmas Do-Over starring Jay Mohr and Daphne Zuniga--which is an adaptation of Groundhog Day!  The first of my readers to comment below and ask for it can have it.  To qualify, I only ask that you follow my blog by GFC (Google Friend Connect) along the right hand side of this blog.  If you already follow this blog--then you're already qualified.  Make sure there is an email address so I can contact you if you win.  Thanks for being a loyal reader.  Happy Groundhog Day!!

 

Justified

I don't just watch classic television shows and movies-- I also watch quite a few new TV series.  Currently, I'm caught up in the third season of Justified which began a few weeks ago on FX.  This crime drama was originally adapted from best-selling author Elmore Leonard's story Fire in the Hole.  The TV series has since expanded beyond the story's original characters and storylines.  One of the things I like most about Justified is that the bad guys (the criminals) in the series are given just as much character development and humanity as the good guys (federal marshals).  It's also interesting to see a show's setting located somewhere other than Los Angeles or New York--Justified takes place in Kentucky.

Would you mess with quick-draw Marshal Raylan Givens?

Have you seen the first season episode "Long in the Tooth?"  While it is not a Christmas-themed story, it does contain a familiar Christmas TV reference.  In this 2010 episode, US Marshal Raylan Givens is after a fugitive, former drug kingpin Roland "Rollie" Pike who has been underground working as a dentist for years.

Different hat and a different series: Olyphant as Sheriff Bullock on HBO's  Deadwood.

It is explained as part of the backstory that Raylan has been chasing Rollie for years.  Roland fled from Raylan’s custody by insisting on watching the end of a Christmas TV special and instead using that time to escape.  Years later, Roland explains that he’s been working as a dentist because he was inspired by Hermey the elf from Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Rollie Pike is played by actor Alan Ruck

You may recognize the actor who plays Roland Pike as Alan Ruck.  Ruck has played other unforgettable chracters such as Stuart from the '90s sitcom Spin City and Cameron in the 1986 teen movie classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Could this character inspire you to be a dentist?

Justified airs on FX on Tuesday nights.  Anybody else addicted to Justified?  I'm also currently watching Downton Abbey on PBS, House of Lies and Shameless on Showtime and The Good Wife on CBS.  What new shows are you watching?

Betty White: The Golden Palace Christmas (1992)

Betty White at her 90th birthday celebration, NBC's TV special

Happy Birthday Betty White!  January 17th, Betty White celebrated her 90th birthday and I've been inspired to write several blog posts as a tribute to her wonderful legacy on television.  I've already written about Date With the Angels,  The Mary Tyler Moore Show,  Life With Elizabeth, Prep & Landing Stocking Stuffer: Operation: Secret Santa, the 1986 Golden Girls and the 1989 Golden Girls Christmas episodes.

The Golden Girls spin-off

How many of you remember watching The Golden Girls spin-off sitcom, The Golden Palace?  In the final episodes of The Golden Girls, Dorothy marries Blanche's uncle Lucas, played by Leslie Nielsen.  The story continues in The Golden Palace, the name of the hotel that Blanche, Rose and Sophia invest in with their retirement savings. With the restaurant's chef Chuy Castillos, played by Cheech Marin, and the hotel's manager, Roland Wilson, played by Don Cheadle, the girls struggle to keep the hotel in business.  Sadly, the spin-off only lasted one season.

Rose orders Roland (Don Cheadle) to recite the names of the reindeer to prove his worthiness to play Santa Claus for a children's party

The Golden Palace's brief run included a Christmas episode: 1992's "It's Beginning to Look a Lot (Less) Like Christmas."  Sophia accepts a large reservation for the holiday from a therapy group looking to escape from Christmas.  That means the hotel must avoid hanging any decorations and ban any festivities.  The friends agree to set aside their holiday for the sake of the business however, Chuy revels in this bit of humbug.  Overnight, he is visited by three ghosts that convince him that he is missing out on the happiness of the holiday.  Of course, these three ghosts take on the appearance of his three elderly female co-workers Blanche, Rose and Sophia. 

Chuy (Cheech Marin) with the Ghost of Christmas Past (Betty White)

Meanwhile, Roland has volunteered to be Santa Claus for a children’s charity party and Rose gives him strict lessons on how to be a better Santa.  Betty White is hilarious as Rose, demanding that Roland rehearse and perfect his characterization of Santa--you have to see Rose in her ridiculous elf costume as Nicodemus, Santa's head elf.

Rose Nyland in her elf costume

This episode from the rare sitcom can be found on Youtube.  While it's not my favorite Christmas episode, it is noteworthy as yet another interpretation of  A Christmas Carol.  I'm not sure Charles Dickens ever could have imagined a Castillos walking Christmas cake as a part of his classic tale!  I think it's also interesting to see the Academy Award-nominated Don Cheadle in this sitcom.  I'm currently watching him in his new TV series House of Lies which airs on Showtime.  Tell me what you think of The Golden Palace Christmas episode.

Betty White: Golden Girls Christmas (1989)

Happy Birthday Betty White!  Last week Betty White celebrated her 90th birthday and I've been inspired to write several blog posts as a tribute to her wonderful legacy on television.  I've already written about Date With the Angels,  The Mary Tyler Moore Show,  Life With Elizabeth, Prep & Landing Stocking Stuffer: Operation: Secret Santa and the first Golden Girls Christmas episode from 1986.

The second Golden Girls Christmas episode arrives in the fifth season and is titled "Have Yourself A Very Little Christmas."  The girls spend their holiday at the church helping to prepare and serve meals to the needy.

However, they are surprised at the number of women and children among the homeless.  Another surprise:  Dorothy’s ex-husband Stanley Zbornak is one of the men in line for food!  Stan confides in Dorothy that his novelty toy business suffered some bad breaks this past year and his current wife has thrown him out of the house, accusing him of infidelity.  But Dorothy won't allow Stan to feel too sorry for himself, reminding him that he has the ability and resources to help himself out of his current crisis.  Dorothy points out that the other people and families at the church this day are not so lucky.

Dorothy reminds Stan that he has friends and family to help him during his time of trouble

This story has a powerful social message: many people are just a paycheck or two from severe financial troubles or becoming homeless.  The Golden Girls created many of these stories with social issues--remember the episodes where Dorothy confronts illiteracy, Rose suffers from age discrimination when looking for a job, and Blanche is sexually harrassed by her professor?  One of the points I appreciate the most from this story line is that the girls are thoughtful enough to wonder how these needy people will get help with food after the Christmas holiday.  This is a great reminder to all of us that charity and giving should be a year round activity.

Stan Zbornak is played by Herb Edelman

One of Rose's great jokes in this episode.

This 1989 Christmas episode can viewed on the fifth season DVD release on disc 2.  The show is currently airing weekdays on the Hallmark Channel and WE.  Are you a big fan of The Golden Girls?  Which of the two Christmas-themed episodes is your favorite?  Up next: The Golden Palace Christmas episode.