# The Ten Worst Christmas Specials **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902 "2009-12-29T13:41:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/21 "2009-12-30T00:05:54Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > FREE download?! Good lord, is it that bad? Actually, it’s pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/22 "2009-12-30T01:47:43Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. “It Happened One Christmas.” [It Happened One Christmas (TV Movie 1977) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076213/) Apparently, Marlo Thomas thought we needed a word-for-word remake of “It’s A Wonderful Life” with HER as Jimmy Stewart. To be fair that was before the movie was played to death in public domain. Her version may have caught on had it not been made a few years before “It’s A Wonderful Life,” was played on every channel. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/23 "2009-12-30T13:43:55Z")
[No Cricket on the Hearth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387954/)? It’s so bad you don’t even see it anymore. And count me as someone who likes _The Year Without a Santa Claus_. I was disappointed it didn’t come in the Rankin-Bass set I got my mom for Christmas since we don’t have cable anymore (and can’t pick up anything over-the-air.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/24 "2009-12-30T13:44:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No Cricket on the Hearth? It’s so bad you don’t even see it anymore. > > And count me as someone who likes _The Year Without a Santa Claus_. I was disappointed it didn’t come in the Rankin-Bass set I got my mom for Christmas since we don’t have cable anymore (and can’t pick up anything over-the-air.) Damn. It’s available on Youtube if you want, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/25 "2009-12-31T16:06:06Z")
That list isn’t complete without _A Very Brady Christmas._ > **[A Very Brady Christmas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Very_Brady_Christmas)** > > A Very Brady Christmas is a 1988 American made-for-television Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Peter Baldwin and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, and Jennifer Runyon. It reunited the original cast members of the 1969–1974 sitcom The Brady Bunch, with the exception of Susan Olsen. Ron Kuhlman and Jerry Houser both reprised their characters from the short-lived 1981 sitcom The Brady Brid... ---
**Author:** ![Rib\_Eye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@Rib\_Eye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rib_Eye)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/26 "2009-12-31T16:15:53Z")
The Star Wars Holiday Special (which I watched live in 1978) actually aired the Friday before Thanksgiving that year, so I’ve always thought of it as a Thanksgiving special. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/27 "2009-12-31T17:42:58Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 1. “Frosty Returns,” with the voice of John Goodman. [Frosty Returns (TV Movie 1993) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106973/) They tried to turn Frosty into an environmentalist, in this one. And to make things even worse, Bill Melendez was responsible for the animation…so you have a horrible plot being presented by knockoff Peanuts characters. The “Rugrats” music was really questionable, too. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/28 "2010-01-01T08:04:15Z")
I’m just amazed there’s a whole wiki devoted to xmas specials! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902/29 "2010-01-01T17:41:12Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And count me as someone who likes _The Year Without a Santa Claus_. What’s not to like? The plot is no great shakes, but all the songs are terrific, the voice casting is very good, and the Miser Brothers add plenty of humor. The OP list is dumb, not because it dislikes the special, but because it doesn’t provide any arguments as to why it’s bad–it just claims that it is, and takes for granted that everyone secretly agrees. I like your post, **Ranchoth** , but the special is redeemed by a terrific song, though the premise and story are d-u-m-b. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-christmas-specials/522902.md?page=1)