The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971)

It's the 40th anniversary of The Homecoming, the successful TV movie that led to the long-running TV series, the endearing family drama-- The Waltons.  Who could forget the Walton childen: John-Boy (Richard Thomas), Mary Ellen (Judy Norton), Jason (John Walmsley), Ben (Eric Scott), Erin (Mary McDonough), Jim Bob (David Harper) and Elizabeth (Kami Cotler)?  Though many of the adult roles would eventually be recast for the TV series, in The Homecoming the character of the father John Walton is played by Andrew Duggan, Grandpa is played Edgar Bergen, and the mother Olivia is played by Patricia Neal. Ellen Corby plays Grandma in both the pilot movie and the TV series.

Those gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia surrounding Walton's Mountain

The story takes place at Christmas 1933 during the Depression, and father, John Walton, has traveled over fifty miles away to find work.  The family is eagerly awaiting his return home on Christmas Eve as they prepare for the holiday.  When their father hasn't come home by evening time, the children are sent to bed and the eldest, 15 year-old John-Boy is sent to go look for him.  Olivia worries that a bus accident she heard about on the radio may have slowed John’s journey--or worse he may have been a passenger.

John-Boy and Hawthorne (Cleavon Little) stop by the Baldwin Sisters' home on Christmas Eve

John-Boy searches across Walton’s Mountain on Christmas Eve stopping to see a church’s Nativity play, borrowing a car at Ike Godsey’s store, dropping by the Baldwin Sisters’ home asking for gasoline--and even driving a horse-drawn sleigh looking for his father who may be hitchhiking on the side of the road.

Mama tells Mary Ellen that she likes her bird's nest Christmas tree decoration

**What is your favorite moment in this heartwarming movie?**

In the barn, Mary Ellen explains the legend about how animals talk at midnight on Christmas Eve

One precious storyline is the children’s desire to find out for themselves if the animals in the barn will actually talk at midnight as rumors claim.

The condescending missionary gives Elizabeth a Christmas present...

...a doll no one wants

Another touching moment is the scene where young Elizabeth acquires the baby doll from the missionary distributing broken toys to the poor mountain children.  The little girl learns a tough lesson about charity that night.

Who did you see on the roof, Daddy?

Daddy explains how he wrassled the stranger he found carrying the bag

And, another high point is the final scene where John finally arrives home and shares his wild story about the stranger he encountered on the roof of their home as his explanation for carrying a bag of Christmas gifts into the house for each of his children.

John-Boy receives writing tablets for Christmas...where are my kleenex?

Much of the best of the TV series is already present in this TV movie:  the poignant narration by Earl Hamner, the creator of the TV series, giving meaning and perspective on the Waltons family experiences.  And, the familiar closing scene of the exterior of the Waltons' home as the bedroom lights are being turned out and the family members say good night to each other.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of this movie, an event has been created in Jersey City, NJ on Friday Dec. 2, 2011.  In the legendary Loews Theatre, they will be screening The Homecoming to be followed by a cast reunion of the movie along with several cast members of The Waltons.  There will be a panel dicussion with the cast members as well as a question and answer segment with the public.  For more details: http://waltonshomecoming40th.com.  Of course, I wouldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime event--I'll be there as the moderator for the panel discussion and Q&A.

If you can't make the New Jersey event, you can still enjoy watching The Homecoming with your family as it is available on for viewing DVD.   The TV series The Waltons is currently airing on the Hallmark Channel, GMC (Gospel Music Channel) and the Inspiration Network.

Joanna Wilson is a TV researcher and book author specializing in Christmas entertainment. More about the TV programs mentioned on this website can be found in her book "Tis the Season TV: the Encyclopedia of Christmas-themed Episodes, Specials, and Made-for-TV Movies." Her latest book "Triple Dog Dare: Watching--& Surviving--the 24-Hour Marathon of A Christmas Story" was released in 2016. She is currently updating and expanding the encyclopedia for a 2021 release. Her books can be found at the publisher's website: 1701 press.com

*Support this website and its research by purchasing the books at 1701 press.com

The Homecoming ends just like many episodes of the series: "Goodnight John-Boy...Goodnight Elizabeth....Goodnight Mama..."

 

 

 

Gratitude Giveaways Nov. 17th-27th

 

Welcome to Christmas TV History blog.  I'm the author of two books about Christmas television entertainments:

Tis the Season TV: The Encyclopedia of Christmas-themed Episodes, Specials and TV Movies (2010)

and The Christmas TV Companion: A Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials and Outrageous Oddities (2009).

In gratitude to the readers of my blog, I'm giving away a signed, hardbound copy of the new book The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts.  

Click HERE to see my review of the book.  

Click HERE to see my post about a previous Sheila Roberts book that was adapted for the Christmas TV movie On Strike for Christmas.

To qualify for the book giveaway:

--follow this blog through Google Friend Connect (along the right hand side of the blog)

--and comment below: tell me your favorite animated Christmas TV special

This giveaway for North American residents only.  On Nov. 28th, I'll use random.org to generate a number from the total number of qualifying comments below to select a winner.  Make sure your Google Friend Connect identity includes an email address--or leave an email address with your comment below.  Good luck!

To discover new blogs and to enter other giveaways in the Gratitude Giveaway, follow the links below in this HUGE blog hop.  (This blog is #252 of 318 participating blogs--whew! that's a lot of free stuff!)

Thanks to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting this giveaway :)

The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts

I recently received a review copy of best-selling author Sheila Roberts' new book The Nine Lives of Christmas just released in late October.  I'm excited to review the book because Roberts' previous work On Strike for Christmas was adapted for the TV movie of the same title which first aired on the Lifetime Movie Network in 2010.  It will air several times this year as well, starting Monday, Nov. 28th at 8pm (ET) on Lifetime. Click here to see my post about On Strike for Christmas.

Sheila Roberts' new book The Nine Lives of Christmas is a feel-good romance story taking place at Christmas time. After Zachary takes in a stray cat, he casually meets Merilee, a cat lover and former veterinary student who helps him with his needs as a new cat owner.  Though Zach is a strong and confident firefighter, his heart is not open to a loving commitment.  But miracles can happen, whether we anticipate them or not, at Christmas time.

The fun here is that the story is told through three distinct voices: the male hero, Zach; Merilee who lacks confidence; and, a ginger tabby cat named Ambrose.  The cat Ambrose is on his ninth and final life, and recognizes several of the people he meets from his earlier lives.  Not only is it enjoyable to read about the outsider's view of this potential romance between the male and female characters--from the point of view of a cat--but Ambrose's role in their coming together draws from what seems like Fate, making the story feel even more romantic.

I enjoyed this romance and I can see that it has potential to be a wonderful TV movie if it is ever optioned as such.  In the last few years, dogs have been a very common and popular element in Christmas TV movies, for example: The 12 Dogs of Christmas, A Dog Named Christmas, Santa Buddies, The Search for Santa Paws, A Golden Christmas, The Dog Who Saved Christmas, the sequel The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation and more.  I'm willing to bet cat lovers would love to see their favorite pets depicted in a Christmas TV movie as well. Until then, The Nine Lives of Christmas is a heart-warming read that will charm cat-lovers and romantics this Yuletide.

Below is an audio clip from the audiobook of The Nine Lives of Christmas, courtesy of the publisher.

Best of all: I have a signed, hardbound copy of the new book The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts that I'll be giving away in the Gratitude Giveaway starting Nov. 17th.  Good Luck!

On Strike for Christmas

 I recently received a review copy of best-selling author Sheila Roberts' new book The Nine Lives of Christmas just released in late October.  I'm excited to read it because Roberts' previous work On Strike for Christmas was adapted for the TV movie of the same title which aired on the Lifetime Movie Network in 2010. 

The TV movie On Strike for Christmas includes a familiar cast with loads of TV credits.  It stars Daphne Zuniga (Melrose Place) as Joy, David Sutcliffe (Gilmore Girls) as her husband Stephen, Julia Duffy (Newhart and Designing Women) as Grandma Erna, Victor Zinck Jr. as the son, Jeremy, and Evan Williams (Degrassi and the Christmas TV movie The National Tree) as the son, Mark.

l to r: Sutcliffe, Williams, Zuniga and Zinck.

In the days before Christmas, mother Joy Robertson is frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of work needed to prepare for the family Christmas celebration.  She isn’t receiving any help from her husband, Stephen, and teenage sons Mark and Jeremy.  Yet the men expect her to bake cookies, decorate the house, trim the tree, and organize two holiday parties on their behalf.  Inspired by picketers she sees outside of a local market, Joy decides to go on strike until her demands are met.  Her strike gathers attention from other over-burdened wives and mothers and Joy’s story ends up on the front page of the local newspaper.  Now publicly embarrassed, Stephen and his two sons begin to take Joy’s strike more seriously as they take up the effort to organize the Christmas dinner, buy gifts and decorate the house and tree.  Along the way, Joy learns a lesson about what a perfect Christmas really means.  She also has to embrace the fact that when she asks her husband and sons to share in preparations for their holiday, they may not do it the same way she expects them to.

On Christmas Eve, Joy is finally willing to settle the strike when chaos fills her house:  Stephen’s holiday party for his co-workers is being hosted in the home at the same time Mark and Jeremy’s holiday party for their friends!  Adding to the mayhem, television news reporters are on the front lawn asking Joy to comment on the success of her strike and escalating the divisions in the community between women and their families.

Joy finds support and encouragement from her friends in her knitting group

This TV movie has the potential to be a holiday favorite for female viewers for years to come.  It doesn’t just provide two hours of escapist fun but acknowledges a common problem many viewers experience each Christmas.  Fortunately, this movie offers the right solution:  wives and mothers need to be appreciated more for the long hours and hard work they give to creating the Christmas traditions for their families each year.  At the same time, we all need to recognize that the perfect Christmas is never about the trappings but about bringing families closer and spending time together.

Check out the official site for the movie On Strike for Christmas.

Something else I liked about the movie was that it reminded me of a favorite Afterschool Special I'd seen before: Mom's On Strike from 1984, starring Mary Kay Place.  Apparently a similar concept inspired a 2002 TV movie starring Faith Ford.  Though On Strike for Christmas is an original story, it draws upon the spirit of personal conflicts becoming public discussions and an openness to ask for change in one's life.  The story in On Strike for Christmas also reminds me of the Christmas TV movie  Holiday in Handcuffs about a woman who emotionally and mentally breaks under the weight of feeling like she must construct the perfect Christmas with her family.  The 2007 comedy movie Holiday in Handcuffs starring Melissa Joan Hart and 2010's On Strike for Christmas remind us that the quest for perfection at Christmas is missing the spirit of the holiday season.

Next:  I'll review author Sheila Roberts' latest book The Nine Lives of Christmas.  Will it become a Christmas TV movie as well?

A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas by Bob Ignizio

The editor of Cleveland Movie Blog, Bob Ignizio, is a good friend to this blog.  He not only comments frequently but guest blogged during our Christmas in July celebration about the Christmas scene in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.   Click here to see that again.  He and I were invited to participate in a panel discussion of blogging and podcasting at the Akron Film + Pixel Festival this past October.  On Friday, he wrote a review of the new Christmas movie released into theaters, A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas.  Bob was gracious to share it with us today.  Thanks Bob!  Please feel free to check out Cleveland Movie Blog for the latest movie reviews of independent films and popular movie reviews each week.

Review by Bob Ignizio

A VERY HAROLD AND KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS is the third film to star John Cho and Kal Penn as the titular comedic stoner duo. Series creators/writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossburg are back again as well, and while they aren't quite scraping the bowl for resin just yet, they're definitely getting near the bottom of the bag. Which is not to say their product won't get the job done if you're a fan; the guys deliver a fair number of laughs here, even a few big ones, but nowhere near as many or as big as in the first two movies. If you haven't thought much of the series prior to this, or you have a general aversion to movies in which most of the humor derives from the characters consuming copious amounts of narcotics (including in this case a toddler), this won't be much of a holiday treat.

Harold and Kumar, once the best of friends, haven't seen each other in years. Harold is now a successful businessman married to Maria (Paula Garcés), but he still hasn't won over his wife's father Mr. Perez (Danny Trejo). Kumar, on the other hand, failed a drug test at work and is still living the life of an aimless stoner, which is beginning to look kind of sad. Of course the movie contrives a reason for the two to get back together (a package for Harold shows up at Kumar's apartment) and a quest for them to go on (they need to get just the right Christmas tree to impress Mr. Perez). And at some point Neil Patrick Harris is going to show up to play himself as a womanizing scumbag (who poses as gay as a way to pick up girls) whose drug habits make Harold and Kumar look like teetotalers.

As the title implies, A VERY HAROLD AND KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS is indeed in 3D, and it actually makes good use of the process. Director Todd Strauss-Schulson isn't ashamed to use 3D as the gimmick it is, and he executes some effective gags with the technique. Not sure if those scenes will play as well when seen flat, so this is a rare case where I'm recommending you fork over the extra couple of bucks for the glasses if you're going to see the movie.

I don't really know if most fans of this series care or not, but the first two films had more heart and even a little more substance to them than this one. There's some attempt to deal with the notion that maybe Kumar could be a little more mature and responsible, and maybe Harold needs to grow a pair, but basically the movie is about drug jokes, dick jokes, ethnic jokes and religious jokes, all with an irreverent (but not mean) sensibility. And really, does a movie like this need to be anything more than that? I mean sure, it can, but no, it doesn't need to be. It's not as if all the Cheech and Chong or Abbot and Costello or even The Marx Brothers movies were 4-star comedy classics, but plenty of people still get a kick out of watching even the lesser film in their respective oeuvres.  And I imagine plenty of people will get a kick out of watching Harold and Kumar have a green Christmas, even if it isn't quite as much fun as watching them look for a Whitecastle. 2 1/2 out of 4 stars.

Snowglobe (2007)

The ABC Family channel's 25 Days of Christmas schedule has recently been posted--have you downloaded your copy yet?  Did you ever watch the 2007 TV movie Snowglobe?

starring Christina Milian

The movie Snowglobe is a fantasy story about a girl named Angela who is tired of her annoying family and their seemingly strange ethnic Christmas traditions.  Angela dreams of celebrating what she considers a "perfect" Christmas.  When she receives a snowglobe in the mail depicting an ideal Christmas village, Angela begins to withdraw into the fantasy within the snowglobe.  She spends more and more time away from her family, friends and her work in Brooklyn to be with the ideal, ever-happy people in the village of the snowglobe.  But when she doesn’t return to the magic of the snowglobe as promised, her boyfriend Douglas from the village finds himself able to enter her world in Brooklyn!  Trying to get Douglas back home inside the snowglobe, Angela becomes trapped in the village and realizes the perfect, ideal life there isn’t as happy as she dreamed it would be.

The cast includes: Lorraine Bracco as Rose; Christina Milian as Angela; Matt Keeslar as Douglas; and, Ron Canada as Antonio.



Do you remember seeing this? Don't fret--I'm pretty sure ABC Family channel will air it this December.  Though it's not currently listed on the highlights schedule of the 25 Days of Christmas, I'm hoping it re-airs on the marathon on Saturday, Dec.10th.  We'll have to wait until it's closer to that date to know for sure.  But I have my fingers crossed.  Have the new 25 Days of Christmas schedule yet?  What are you waiting for?

The Waltons Reunion: Coming Soon!

The Waltons reunion is just one month away!  In case you haven't heard yet:  this year is the 40th anniversary of the Christmas TV movie The Homecoming, based on the story written by Earl Hamner Jr.  In 1971, The Homecoming was such a success and earned such high ratings that it lead to the creation of the TV series The Waltons.  The long-running TV series about the Depression-era Walton family living in the mountains of Virginia changed not only TV history but the lives of it's viewers.  I'm very proud to include myself as one such viewer.

What is exciting is that Friday Dec. 2, 2011 there is going to be showing of the movie The Homecoming in Jersey City, NJ at the legendary Lowes Theatre.  Tickets are $20 each.  As if that's not special enough, there is a Waltons/Homecoming cast reunion with a Q&A panel discussion after the film.

The cast reunion includes:
~~Richard Thomas
~~Michael Learned
~~Judy Norton
~~Mary McDonough
~~David Harper
~~John Walmsley
~~Kami Cotler
~~Eric Scott
~~David Huddleston
~~Leslie Winston
~~Lynn Hamilton
~~Hal Williams
****just added: Radames Pera

This is a once-in-a-lifetime special Christmas event.  I'll be there, as well, as the moderator of the Q&A panel discussion after the film.  There's no way I would want to miss this opportunity!



Tickets are on sale now.  I'll see you there! www.WaltonsHomecoming40th.com

Please feel free to share this post and the links with anyone you know who would appreciate this special event!