Christmas just isn’t the same anymore. We don’t have the great Christmas special tradition to look forward to.
The heyday for Christmas had to be the 60’s. Every year we looked forward to the Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Perry Como, Andy Williams and other specials. Beautiful Christmas sets with huge decorated trees. Lots of the eras pop stars and athletes guested on these specials.
They continued into the 70’s with new star hosts like John Denver, Sonny & Cher, and Captain & Tennille.
I keep hoping they’ll make a come back. Those shows were a big part of my Christmas season.
Several years ago somebody here wrote a really cool mini-essay or long paragraph lamenting the loss of the inherent magic of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Sure, it still exists. But now you can go to Costco and buy it off the cutout table for $6.99 and watch it whenever you want. Or you can just bittorrent it in ten minutes if you’re too cheap and/or lazy to get out of your chair. It’s just not the same. I’ll see if I can dig it up; I’ve actually stolen it a couple of times and reposted it elsewhere.
The OP is talking about Celebrity Family Christmas Specials, in particular, not cartoons. The Celebrity Family Christmas Special has always been dear to my heart, and I miss it too. The last one I remember was a few years ago with Kathie Lee Gifford, and now - nothing. You have to picture the famous celebrity with all his ‘friends’ and ‘relatives’ in some picturesque quaint cabin, decorated to the max, all of them wearing Christmas sweaters and carrying on like One Big Happy Family (actually, the spouse and adorable kids actually do make an appearance) in between the bleating of every Christmas carol known to man. At the end of the show, he says "from all of us to all of you - " and then everybody yells “Merry Christmas!!!” Dolly Parton, Dean Martin, The King Family, and my favorite Andy Williams, yes. I miss those too, but maybe they’re too cornball and fakey now? Though Michael Buble just had a Christmas special - I didn’t notice if he trotted out his wife, mom, and dad, though for some reason Justin Bieber was there on the set.
I don’t remember Frosty ever having a Christmas special of the kind the OP is talking about. Although Gumby did.
The 60s would have been before my time, but I certainly remember those specials from the 70s. (And I think Bob Hope kept doing them almost to the end of his life.) They pretty much died out when the weekly variety shows (Captain & Tenille, Donny & Marie, etc.) did.
I liked the parody on Adventure Time even if it didn’t have singing. I’m convinced Adventure Time is written by a bunch of 50 year olds determined to shoehorn every obscure reference they can think of into the script.
I’ve seen advertisements for Christmas specials from Justin Bieber, Michael Buble and Russell Peters so far this year. It doesn’t seem they’ve died out completely, although they may be corny in a different way than past specials.
A recent episode of Glee contained a parody of such a show. It even recreated the set of an actual Judy Garland Christmas show and presented the segment in black and white.
I remember White Christmas growing up - Every year it was on on Christmas Day - then it started being on around Christmas - it was never the same - a few years back my kids got me the DVD and we watch it every Christmas Day - Brings back the memories of my youth and hopefully when my kids are older they will have the same type of memories I have of Christmas when they have kids of their own.
No. He wouldn’t wear the stupid Christmas sweater. Interestingly enough, I found that Billy Idol made a Christmas album, but of course no Christmas show. That would be interesting. He could have Sinead O’Connor and The Pogues as special guests.
I miss them, too. Andy Williams and his brothers.
Perry Como in his dreamy V neck sweater.
Many, many years ago Barbara Mandrell had a Christmas special with her sisters. It was great.
Last year, The Country Christmas special took my breath away (and I’ve only lately become a country music fan. I’ve always liked bluegrass, but country was corny to me.)
I tuned in this year’s Country Christmas with great anticipation. It totally sucked.
I do remember…last year? the year before?..Alicia Keyes doing her new single New York, and other performers. It was really good.
This year—nothing. Nada. WTF
For 5 bucks I picked up a DVD from Best Buy with 49 “Christmas” episodes from classic television. And I mean classic. Just watched Jack Benny (for the first time) and it was hysterical. Had Mel Blanc as a guest star.
It has several (insert brand name) Theatre shows, like Lux or General Electric and some others. Really interesting stuff. Then there are things like the Annie Oakly Show (episode title Santa Wears a Gun) and Dragnet and The Beverly Hillbillies and a lot of shows I never heard of and I randomly watched “Date with the Angels” as I thought it sounded both menacing or perhaps there would be babes. But no, it had Betty White. Betty White with brown hair! Very funny show btw.
The only big Christmas special it has is a Liberace one. I do remember fondly those Christmas specials, even though I don’t think they hold up too well.
