Holly Jolly Holiday TV Special Countdown
Carolyn Cochrane 0:01
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Michelle Newman 1:22
Thank you. Can't you picture the wife like when he marries Mrs. Claus, when he is she like James, Jessica,
Kristin Nilsen 1:29
yeah, and then her bosom. Her bosom gets bigger and bigger as the show,
Carolyn Cochrane 1:32
does she stand up? It's like a wee bit like, how does she would, I guess, bounce right back up.
Speaker 1 1:41
Hello World. It's a song that we're singing. Come on, get happy. Whole lot of love is what we'll be bringing we'll make you happy.
Kristin Nilsen 1:56
Welcome to the pop culture Preservation Society, the podcast for people born in the big wheel generation who know exactly what degree Mr. Heat miser is? I mean, come on, it's Mr. Jordan one
Carolyn Cochrane 2:10
we believe our Gen X childhoods gave us unforgettable songs, stories, characters and images, and if we don't talk about them, they'll disappear like Marshall will and Holly on a routine expedition,
Michelle Newman 2:21
and today, we're saving the stories and songs and characters that have held a place in our hearts for decades, that we all bring out each year to wrap around us like Linus blanket in a countdown of your top 10 holiday specials. I'm Carolyn, I'm Kristen, and I'm Michelle, and we are your pop culture preservationists,
Speaker 2 2:47
I'm Mr. Green Christmas, I'm Mr. Sun, I'm Mr. Heath blister, I'm Mr. 101 they call me heat miser, whatever. Me,
Unknown Speaker 3:06
whatever I touch starts to melt in my clutch. I'm too much.
Michelle Newman 3:11
Oh my gosh, you guys that could easily be an anthem of our generation.
Kristin Nilsen 3:16
It is. It's like her. I'm trying to think of like a boomer example, but I can't think of it. It's like they're rolling stones. Basically, our heat laser is our Rolling Stones.
Michelle Newman 3:24
But it's like just another one of those songs that connects us all.
Kristin Nilsen 3:28
It does every single person knows what it is. I
Michelle Newman 3:31
know. I love it so much. The holiday specials from our youth are part of our DNA. Now, I think really, because these songs and stories and characters and the voices, especially the voices, yes, they all elicit feelings in us as adults that stemmed from the thrill of watching them once a year. Uh huh, yeah. And don't you guys think that made them more powerful? 150%
Kristin Nilsen 3:59
151% yes. 152 Yes, because we had to savor it. You don't get everything you want whenever you want it. It's special. No, no, God, we should go to the bathroom. Oh, God, no. Only
Carolyn Cochrane 4:15
commercials, and even then, not because the commercials were so good during all of those.
Kristin Nilsen 4:20
That's all the stuff you wanted for Christmas. Yes, exactly.
Michelle Newman 4:22
Baby Alive, commercials, that's right. Race tracks, I'm doing it right now. And this isn't a new topic for us listeners. We've touched on all of the rank and bass shows and the variety shows a few times in past Christmas episodes. But today, we're doing something we've not done yet, and that is ranking your favorites. So excited, and we're going to end with the number one holiday special as chosen by friends of the pop culture Preservation Society. I know so as we have done many times over the past four years, we asked our followers on social media to tell us. Their top one, two or three favorite holiday shows, and as they have done many, many times, they gave us many, many more,
Kristin Nilsen 5:11
sometimes not playing by the rules.
Carolyn Cochrane 5:14
We don't always play by the rules either, looking to
Kristin Nilsen 5:16
express yourself. That's right, okay. But
Michelle Newman 5:20
before we get started with the countdown, let me ask each of you the same question, basically that I asked our social media followers, which is your very favorite? Like, if you could only watch one of these memorable shows for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
Kristin Nilsen 5:38
I actually, I think this is a great this is another icebreaker for if you go to the party, instead of saying, what do you do, this is another great icebreaker. And I take it even one step further, because there was a point with my family where, you know, everybody's everybody's grown up, we don't have any more children, and so your holiday can look different. And I wanted to ask my people, okay, finish this sentence for me, it's not Christmas without fill in the blank. And so I'm not talking about shows, I'm talking about anything. I must do this at Christmas or it's not my holiday. And so I thought about this very seriously, as if I was some kind of scholar, oh, and yeah, my answer to that question is, it's not Christmas without Charlie Brown? Yeah, it just isn't
Michelle Newman 6:24
the music, the images, the visual you get in your mind, the feeling you get when Linus does the Gospel according to Luke. I mean, all of that. And I'm not like, a super religious person, but I just remember, I know. But do you guys remember if you grew up going to church at Christmas, and we're Episcopalian, so sort of like, I'm sure you've got the same gospel if you're like Catholic or Lutheran or whatever. But do you guys remember the thrill when you were old enough and you could, you always tune out the Gospel, the sermon, everything, right you got when all of a sudden, was probably coloring on the back of, like a Bible or something. And all of a sudden I realized, wait, I know those words. I know those words.
Kristin Nilsen 7:02
Is he holding a blanket, yes,
Michelle Newman 7:03
and you and you and you could connect that. Wait a minute, that's what Linda says, yeah,
Carolyn Cochrane 7:10
yeah, oh gosh, you're so right. Well, in terms of what I would have to watch, if I could only watch one I'm going with, I guess this wasn't really a TV special, but this is one that I watched with my family growing up, and I watch with my kids now, and that's, it's a wonderful life that will always be. It's not Christmas without for me, okay, just and I think, because I'm thinking now as an adult, as a, you know, almost, almost 60 year old. God, almost
Michelle Newman 7:41
you just turned 59 this is true. I don't do that yet. Don't start saying
Carolyn Cochrane 7:45
almost okay as a young, 59 year old. I mean thinking, what would I want to be stuck with? Like, if we only choose one, what would it be? And I just think, like, this has so many moments and themes that I wouldn't get tired of it where I don't want to get tired of Rudolph or any of those. And again, as we've talked about in many of our TV watching episodes, is that my dad didn't sit down to watch a lot of TV with us. I think I said mash was, you know, the given, but this was something he was insisting on, so that another time I probably have seen my dad cry, and we've just made it a tradition in our family once I had kids, and I don't think Andy had ever seen it till he was married to me, which blew me away. But yeah, so it might not be that a lot of families did this, but mine did, and it was super important, and it was a given once we started. And
Kristin Nilsen 8:38
it makes it because of this later in life, I'm saying later in life for the movie, because of this later in life resurgence, it makes it now perpetual, like we'll never be without it. Oh, 100%
Speaker 1 8:52
Look daddy. Peter says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.
Unknown Speaker 8:58
That's right, that's right,
Unknown Speaker 9:03
had a boy clan.
Michelle Newman 9:06
I kind of took Carolyn's advice, what she usually does when we have to pick a favorite song. I had to set some guidelines, some some, you know, parameters. It had to be one that didn't make me sad and frosty or the Grinch, which I do love. I almost dreaded watching those every year, because I got so sad, even though, like the Grinch and happy, I couldn't stand him going and taking all the presents and little Cindy Lou like, What do you mean? What's doing? And then don't even get me started on frosty. Oh yeah, you know, like the melting and Karen and
Kristin Nilsen 9:38
with her, man, I cans on her face, just the image of it kill me. She's so
Michelle Newman 9:44
cute and she's so sad. And the show had to be one that I honestly don't think I ever missed like that one day a year. I'm talking in my childhood, 70s and 80s. So my pick is Rudolph, and that's because I feel like the care. Actors and much of the dialog is embedded in my brain, like you guys. I don't even know how many times I have said, Eat Papa, eat. When I was trying to get my kids to eat when they were little, I would, I would say that to them all the time, eat, Papa, eat or I'm cute. I'm cute, you know?
Carolyn Cochrane 10:22
I know. Your point about shows that made you sad. Rudolph made me really sad throughout, like the Island of Misfit Toys. Well, that
Michelle Newman 10:31
for sure, yeah, but they get to parachute down to, I know, yeah,
Carolyn Cochrane 10:35
when he was so bullied just by those meme guys and, you know, Clarice and that, and even the coach guy was so mean to women,
Michelle Newman 10:46
I find fault with all of the rank and bass. And when I say fault, I mean things that as a child I didn't like, like, I don't I'm not a huge fan of Yukon Cornelius and and, and Rudolph and and, you know, the Burgermeister Meister burger I didn't like in that Santa Clause is coming to town, yeah? And sometimes I get, I get that one in year of year without a Santa Claus mixed up, but I there's something in all of them that there's a character I don't like, or a character that scared me, but I had to pick the one that was constant, that was and that we always showed my kids. And so that's why it's Yeah. And my parents
Kristin Nilsen 11:21
used to laugh. Used to laugh at my parents used to laugh at me because I said Rudolph instead of Rudolph and I, and I'd be like, What? What am I rude? And I'd say Rudolph. And they go, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Carolyn Cochrane 11:36
Well, we not only asked our social media followers what their favorite holiday special was growing up. We also asked some of our notable podcast guests and friends, so stick around until the end. If you want to know what specials were favorites of Sean Cassidy, Melissa Gilbert, Liz Lange and some more.
Unknown Speaker 11:55
And some are so
Kristin Nilsen 11:56
interesting. There's people just like us. I know, stars, they're just like stars, they're just like us. They also watch holiday TV, and they grew up. They also grew up just like
Michelle Newman 12:08
right, all right. So are you guys ready to know the dance? Yes, yes. I bet it's going to be a huge surprise. No, I will say some of them are a surprise and listeners, you should know this is coming from about 200 plus votes. Okay, I think actually, if you put in Facebook and threads, it's coming from more. Oh, it's a lot, from about three or 400 guys. Yes, thank you so much. Yeah. And we're also going to read some of your comments that go along with these, because you guys crack us up. Okay, ready to get going? Let's do it, and then we're gonna, yeah, some music there. Okay, at number 10, we have a tie. I told you right out of the gate, I know, but actually, this is a fun tie. It's an interesting tie. It is apples and oranges, and the tie is between Garfield's Christmas and the Andy Williams Christmas Special.
Kristin Nilsen 13:08
That sounds so made up. That's like you were writing a comedy special and you decided to put these two shows together. That's right.
Carolyn Cochrane 13:15
Well, you guys, would you believe this? Of all the shows that had me scurrying down a rabbit hole. I never thought it would be a Garfield Christmas, but here we are. I did, and I just want to share a few fun facts with you, because there are a lot. So here we go. So this was a special that aired in 1987 Garfield is spending Christmas with the Arbuckle family on their farm, and he is discovering the meaning of Christmas. This is actually a semi autobiographical story that Jim Davis, who's the creator of Garfield, shares and so it follows the character John, who's basically Jim Davis Garfield comical. This was actually the seventh of 12 Garfield animated specials, in case you're wondering, right? Okay, you guys, it was nominated for a prime time Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. Didn't win, but it was and let's take a second to talk about the star studded lineup of actors who voiced this show's characters. Let's start with Garfield. You guys, this season, we learned who the voice of Garfield was. Do you remember
Michelle Newman 14:22
right when you said, let's learn? I was like, Oh God, I feel like we've talked about it. Yes, it's
Kristin Nilsen 14:27
like an icon of your childhood.
Michelle Newman 14:30
It is. It is Donny Osmond,
Carolyn Cochrane 14:36
good guesses. But Kristen, why don't you share with us who that was?
Kristin Nilsen 14:39
It's Carlton. You're a doorman.
Carolyn Cochrane 14:43
Of course. Lorenzo music is his name. Yes, he's the voice of Carlton, the doorman on Rhoda. All right, let's go down the list here. So there's a grandmother, Arbuckle in this story that was voiced by Pat Carolyn. Now you might remember, she's a famous character actor that you would recognize from appearing. This is on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart shows. You would recognize her, but I was blown away to learn that she was the voice of Ursula in the animated Little Mermaid.
Kristin Nilsen 15:11
Wow, yes. Wow. This thing.
Michelle Newman 15:14
I just love that. Like, by the time she got older, she had like this, this kind of smoker boy, kind of Brenda. Think about Ursula as like, she's kind of like me. She used Tampa. Now she
Carolyn Cochrane 15:29
is as grandmother. Arbuckle, too. If you watch, I'm sorry, I have to
Michelle Newman 15:33
say that I did not watch what year do we know what you're 8787 a little bit later, I wouldn't have watched it.
Carolyn Cochrane 15:39
Yeah. Okay, the voice of dad. Arbuckle was Pat Harrington Jr, better known us as Schneider one
Kristin Nilsen 15:46
day. Yes, Schneider was on Carolyn. He was
Carolyn Cochrane 15:51
now mom. Arbuckle was voiced by Julie Payne. And you might think, I don't really know if I know who that is. Well, just listen to Julie Payne's Gen X resume. Okay? She had guest appearances on The Flip Wilson show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the Midnight Special the streets of San Francisco. She also portrayed Buffy, one of Johnny fevers past girlfriends on WKRP in Cincinnati, and she played Larry David's mother in law on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Michelle Newman 16:21
I mean, what I mean, what pays the bills, right? This,
Kristin Nilsen 16:25
this is Carolyn's happy place, right here is finding the cast of a show. These like people that you think you don't know. Oh, but you
Carolyn Cochrane 16:35
do. David Arbuckle is John's younger brother, and he was voiced by David lander. Does anybody know who David lander is? Is that squeaky? It's squeaky from
voices we recognized in some way, shape or form from our Gen X childhood. Okay, so lastly, I just want us to know that, you know, Garfield was kind of cynical and all of that in most of his appearances in our lives, whether it was the comic strip or in any of those other animated specials, but this show gives us a rare glimpse into Garfield's softer side, because he learns that one of the true meanings of Christmas is, and I quote from Garfield, it's not the giving, it's not the getting, it's the loving. There. I said it now get out of here. Garfield. Said
Kristin Nilsen 17:27
that I am kind of
Michelle Newman 17:29
Garfield. You were gonna say it's not the giving, it's not the getting, it's the lasagna. Lasagna.
Kristin Nilsen 17:33
Guess what we're having for Christmas eve dinner this year. It's a Garfield Christmas we're having
Michelle Newman 17:39
Garfield. You should watch the background. Yes, you would love bringing that to everybody. It's
Carolyn Cochrane 17:47
really, I love that. Okay, there you go, everybody. Okay, well,
Michelle Newman 17:51
I'm, you know what? I'm a little bit surprised that the the deep dive you did was on Garfield and not Andy Williams. I know how much you love the Andy Williams, well, there's
Carolyn Cochrane 18:00
so many, there's so many of them. It would have been hard to go on a deep dive for that, and I could have, but I would have gone on and on. That's a that's an episode, actually, it is.
Michelle Newman 18:07
Let's move on to number nine. And coming in at number nine, your pick for favorite holiday special is the Waltons homecoming. And that was Thanksgiving, right? And it is. It's like the pilot. Is it the pilot episode? Yes, it's their pilot.
Carolyn Cochrane 18:21
It is. I mean, we have that, the success of that TV movie, as we talked about, that was often a pilot episode for a lot of TV shows. Was a TV movie. And, yeah, that was Earl Hamner at his best with
Michelle Newman 18:33
well, and let's not forget when we talked to Karen Grassley, you know, Carolyn Ingles, Mar Ingles, we have that Walton's homecoming to thank, possibly, for her getting the role of Carolyn. Carolyn. Ingles, wait, if it was Carolyn or Carolyn. Remember, it still depends on who you talk to. I think it does, yeah, because I swear she was saying Carolyn, but, but I swear pa called her Carolyn. Pa called
Kristin Nilsen 18:57
her Carolyn, but everyone else called her Carolyn on the show, and she says it's Carolyn, well, then why did Mrs. Olson call you Carolyn?
Carolyn Cochrane 19:05
It's a good question. And I've heard a thing for everyone misspelling my name. I think that's right. That's true.
Michelle Newman 19:11
That's from a couple of years ago, that interview we did with her, and it's worth a re listen. And she says that prepping for her audition, she watched The Waltons homecoming on like a real Fuzzy TV, kind of like it was snow, like she had to keep getting up and, like, adjusting the antenna. All right, coming in at number eight is actually one that my husband really likes, and was never a huge favorite of mine, but that's the little drummer boy, but it came in at number eight people actually said that they they know that that's maybe, you know, an unpopular choice, but it's very controversial. The animation is very cute, though, like the little boy, he's very cute. Though, what's claymation,
Kristin Nilsen 19:51
right? We all love, yeah, love a little clay figure, even if he's beating a drum. I don't know what it was about this show, but
Michelle Newman 19:59
I. Just remember thinking it was boring. Maybe that was
Kristin Nilsen 20:02
just I've ever watched it all the way through, or any because you were bored and you turned it off. I
Carolyn Cochrane 20:06
think it might have been one of our Christmas episodes in 2021 that we talked about the little drummer boy and a few others that are controversial choices that some people like. And I think one of the reasons we all bonded, we hated the same, same one. So it's like, oh my gosh, you don't like Little Drummer Boy too. You're my people.
Unknown Speaker 20:25
You're my people. That's right,
Michelle Newman 20:27
congratulations, Little Drummer Boy. Okay, number seven, we have another tie. This time. We have a three way tie. And you guys, it was math. It was true. I didn't just go, ah, that one's one away. No, no. These three had the exact number, and the first one is the animated classic, Twas the Night Before Christmas, which I love how someone commented. I don't know it's the one with the little mice. I think that's what it was. But you know what? So many people spoke so highly of that one? I'm sure I watched it as a kid. I don't have a memory, but I'm going to try to find it, because people, if they voted for it, they really loved it. And then one of the other ties for seventh place is Emmett otters jug band Christmas. Now you guys, I had never heard of Emmett otters jug band Christmas, so I started watching it last weekend, and it has my favorite kind of puppets, and those are little animal puppets that look like the little rats. Brian and I recently, just early November, we we got to go to Los Angeles, and we got to go to Jim Henson's puppet up, which is on the Jim Henson Company studio lot, because one of our good friend, Susie, her husband, is a puppeteer, and he's in the business, and so he does this puppet improv they do every few months at that Brian Henson puts on and it was phenomenal. It was hilarious. You got to actually see how puppeteering works. So, like all the Sesame Street skits, and you guys, we saw some of the classic Sesame Street skits that you remember from Sesame Street? Yeah, you got to see, basically, how the sausage is made. You got to see how they hold their hands straight up. I mean, I don't know how any of these people don't just have dead purple hands and arms because of all the blood rushing down, but the camera and the mic is way up high. But anyway, they got to choose any time it was, you know, they were doing improv skits, so they got to go choose from, like, hundreds of puppets. And anytime you guys, people chose the little rats, you guys can picture them from Muppet Show or from Sesame Street, or the little otters, and even the little weasel that looks so his little face with the giant Bowlby nose, I lost my mind. I was so excited about those puppets, that it's actually on my Christmas list that I want a puppet so listeners coming next season is Kristin Carolyn and Michelle as a puppeteer, it won't just be me. It'll be my puppet persona, yes, but I'm gonna hold you to it, Michelle, okay, I promise. I'm gonna learn. But Emmett otters, jug band, Christmas that's what it is. It's the puppets and their otters. I was all in. And so all of you who voted for that, thank you for bringing that to my come out. Do you know? Because, oh, I had it written down, but it had to be 80s or later, right? Yeah, I think so. Let me look, yeah. You know why
Carolyn Cochrane 23:16
I wasn't tuning into that seven
Michelle Newman 23:20
shockingly, so I don't know why, I don't know why I didn't see it, and you know what? It's very possible I did, and it's just, you know, I have a lot of memories that are just gone, so I could have seen it anyway. It was very cute. And we did have people, you know, saying that they have good memories of that. Well, I'm
Kristin Nilsen 23:39
glad that has its fans, because it sounds like it could have been a real winner, but we didn't all get to see it well.
Michelle Newman 23:44
And when it starts, it's so sad, you know, Emma and his mom, and you know she, like, does all the laundry, and they're rowing in a boat. So me now being so interested in puppeteering my new passion. I was like, how are they it's like, real water. And I was like, Wait, but where are their hands rowing? Like, are they holding their breath? I exactly No. Kristen, that's not even, don't even kid. I actually thought, are they underneath the water, like in, like, with tanks on but,
Carolyn Cochrane 24:14
well, you know what, Michelle, you can imagine the minute you said the otter was rowing a boat that I was out, checked
Unknown Speaker 24:21
out on board. We're not doing
Carolyn Cochrane 24:23
that. She doesn't like that. Okay, this
Kristin Nilsen 24:24
is like animals who act like who do human things. That's right, there's a hard line for
Carolyn Cochrane 24:29
her. No, those anthropomorphic things? Yeah, I don't
Michelle Newman 24:32
know how you love sesame street so much, but okay, so because you know you've got a bird that doesn't count, you've got, oh, okay, all right. I mean, that bird is so big, he's not like a real bird, a real bird. Yeah, didn't look real. Not like the rat puppets do. Okay? Third choice this. Third is such a shock. It's a shock. I thought this is gonna be in the top three. Me too. I know, tied with Twas the Night Before Christmas and Emmett otters. Jug van Chris. Christmas is number seven. At number seven is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I am shocked,
Kristin Nilsen 25:06
because I think this is one of the stalwarts. This is one that you really did get every single year. And I looked forward to that. Yes, it is sad, but when his heart grows, I just, I just melt. And the dog, where he ties on the antlers, Max with his little tie it on antlers. I always want to tie antlers on my dog.
Michelle Newman 25:24
Well, that was another thing that made me really sad, is how Max has treated the first half of the show, but when his heart grows big, is one of the the most heartwarming parts. But also, you guys, the image of them all, they don't care. Christmas still came, that's right, without they didn't need, you know, gifts or the roast beast. Christmas came and and then they're all holding hands. And then they, they, they include the Grinch, wow, and their songs, right?
Carolyn Cochrane 25:52
Think I grew to love it, but if you had asked me, I don't think I watched it that much when I was a kid. I can't tell you why, but I actively avoided it. It's not like I just didn't know it was on. I was like, Oh, I can take my bath thunder or whatever. There was something about it. I think it may well, he's scary. Maybe it was scary. Maybe I was like, No, it is about the presents I don't want. Well,
Kristin Nilsen 26:14
I'm with you, Carolyn, because when they're down there singing, and that's like, it wasn't about the roast beast or the presents. I was like, Are they dumb? I know what's wrong with them.
Michelle Newman 26:24
Yeah, okay. Coming in at number six is a movie, a special that was also a book, and we devote a large chunk to a previous episode about it. And I know I'm speaking for Carolyn and Kristen here as well, when I say this one we love, and that is the house without a Christmas tree. I ordered
Kristin Nilsen 26:44
it from the Scholastic Book
Unknown Speaker 26:46
order Addie
Kristin Nilsen 26:48
and Linda also has this one on VHS. Oh,
Michelle Newman 26:51
that's lucky. I wonder if you can still watch it. I when you did this episode a couple of years ago talking about it. Oh my gosh, we watched, maybe it was just on YouTube, but that's one of those things that you haven't seen in decades. And just hoosker, dude, yeah, all over the place, like, the sound of the voice and addie's glasses and the friend and like, tin foil and the
Carolyn Cochrane 27:15
introduction. Like, you know, they have that, like, what do I want to say? Like, those paper cutouts that introduced like each section of the show, and in the beginning, I mean, when I saw those, I would that was the who screwed it moment. For me, it wasn't just always the actual program. It was this inner the stuff that was in between. And then it became the scene, if you remember, it was like these paper cutouts, and then that all of a sudden became like the actual scene in the kitchen. That's
Michelle Newman 27:43
right, that's right. And for those of you that are wondering, who do remember the book, like Kristen was saying Scholastic Book Club, which, yes, I still have a copy of mine, the movie is came first, so which came first? So the movie was released in 1972 and then it was novelized into the book by Gail rock in 1974 to you with the statistics and whatnot. I just opened up a different tab
Kristin Nilsen 28:10
off the top of your head, still looking at who. Yes, we're so tricky, pulling back the curtain on the wizard here.
Michelle Newman 28:20
Okay. So anyway, those of you who voted for that, you had big feelings about it. Well,
Carolyn Cochrane 28:24
I remember we did a deep dive on the house without a Christmas tree. I mean, about some of the actors that were in it and what they went on to do and things like that. It was, it was
Michelle Newman 28:34
deep. Here's a good teaser. How is house without a Christmas tree connected to pretty and pink.
Kristin Nilsen 28:41
Oh, I know, I
Michelle Newman 28:43
know. You know because,
Unknown Speaker 28:44
but that was because we did the episode that's you guys.
Michelle Newman 28:55
No, that was my teaser to get people to listen. The answer
Carolyn Cochrane 28:58
to that can Okay, besides out of Kristen's mouth, okay, let's
Kristin Nilsen 29:03
I'm like, patting myself on the back, because I know you guys.
Michelle Newman 29:06
I wish you could have seen her face. She was so proud. She set up straighter. She goes, I know, I know. Okay, moving on to number five, already mentioned in the top five. Now, now we're in the top five. Number five, Frosty the Snowman. Boo hoo.
Unknown Speaker 29:21
Oh, God.
Carolyn Cochrane 29:24
I watched that the other day I had gone. It was without commercials and everything, and I couldn't believe how quickly it went. It was, it was less than, probably almost 20 minutes, like, I think how many commercials there must have been during that program. Because all of a sudden I just put it on and it was over.
Kristin Nilsen 29:41
Yeah? A lot of Evil Knievel. They're commercials. They're 18
Michelle Newman 29:45
minutes. Yeah, that's what it said, after before commercial. Okay, coming in at number four. Now we're getting to the big stuff, you guys. Now we're getting to the ones everybody's been waiting for to see how does this shake out? Because everybody that's listening right now, I think knows what the next four are going to be, yep, but you don't know. They shake out and coming in at number four, put one foot
Speaker 3 30:04
in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking across the floor. Put one foot in front of the other,
Unknown Speaker 30:16
and soon you'll be walking
Unknown Speaker 30:18
out the door. Are
Kristin Nilsen 30:20
we sure that's the right one? Because I still don't even really know which show is which. I don't know that's
Michelle Newman 30:25
Santa Claus is coming to town. Santa Claus has come into town. And it is a good point, though, that some of these songs get mixed up. You guys remember. I mean, I know we get them confused with the songs, but Santa Claus is coming to town. Is classic. That's the toys, is it? Fred Astaire, yes,
Kristin Nilsen 30:43
the mailman, yeah, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 30:46
yes, yeah. And
Carolyn Cochrane 30:47
it's obviously a favorite of a lot of our listeners. But maybe Suzanne has one of the best reasons for it being her favorite. She chooses Santa Claus is coming to town because of the young claymation Santa, she said he was nearly as hot as Disney's Fox, as Disney's Fox, Robin Hood. My things for redhead started at an early age, and I get it, I see Suzanne. Yes, he's hot.
Kristin Nilsen 31:11
He is. He's,
Michelle Newman 31:14
I mean, and
Kristin Nilsen 31:15
especially with the beard, when he comes out with the beard, and I'm like, Oh, that is kind of cute.
Michelle Newman 31:21
Actually, you're right that we say sexy,
Kristin Nilsen 31:23
absolutely, 100% sexy. Yeah. My
Michelle Newman 31:27
god, you guys, we should make T shirts of young claymation Santa
Kristin Nilsen 31:32
when he's Kris Kringle,
Michelle Newman 31:36
right? Yeah. And then he's wife. And can't you picture the wife like when he marries Mrs. Claus, when he is she like,
Carolyn Cochrane 31:41
James, Jessica,
Kristin Nilsen 31:44
yeah, her bosom gets bigger and bigger as the show. Does
Carolyn Cochrane 31:48
she stand up? It's like a wee bit. I'm just like, how does she would, I guess, bounce right back up. And do you guys remember, I actually read that this scene is cut often from the show when it's put on broadcast television. But do you remember when she sings the song called My world is beginning to change? Oh, yes. Might not know, but you do know it, because once it starts playing, you start singing it. And I can remember the whole little montage, because she's she's sitting by this fountain with water, and she has her hand in the water, and it's a reflection on her, and it's like one of those melancholy, really slow songs like my world anymore,
Unknown Speaker 32:40
gonna start,
Kristin Nilsen 32:43
almost psychedelic, right? It's very psychedelic faces like swirling around in the wall. And
Michelle Newman 32:49
then if Santa Claus is coming to town, came in at number four. What does that make number three? Naturally, naturally the year without a Santa Claus, we've got our heat miser, our snow miser, Mother Nature, classic. I mean, another one, like we said at the beginning. This, this song, though I would, I would argue, all of the songs from the rank and bass shows which are interchangeable, the song are so classic. Sometimes you hear one song and you're like, what's that from? But heat, miser, snow miser is, you know, you know. You know. And
Carolyn Cochrane 33:26
you guys, did you know that it's so classic that in 2006 they made a live action year without a Santa Claus? I didn't want that. Oh, I don't either, but I gotta tell you who was in it, because you're going to be blown away. And the cast of the live version included John Goodman, Chris Catan, Delta. Burke was was Mrs. Claus Harvey Fierstein was the heat. Miser. Michael McKeon, oh my gosh, we get another Laverne and Shirley. Carolyn Lenny was snow miser and Carolyn Kane was Mother Nature. I mean that to me, is a perfect hair, yes, casting, but it was a real dut, unfortunately,
Kristin Nilsen 34:12
because asked for it, because
Carolyn Cochrane 34:14
right kind of like, I'd like to say some of these Disney remake live action, yeah, maybe just leave it animated, or claymation or whatever. Like, don't fiddle with greatness. We
Kristin Nilsen 34:24
like it for a reason. That's right, okay.
Michelle Newman 34:27
Well, coming in at number two, now, two in one you guys were neck and neck. Like, literally, they were separated by, was it two votes? I think it was two votes. Crazy,
Kristin Nilsen 34:37
crazy. That's a lot of votes. So that's as close as
Michelle Newman 34:41
you can get. So coming in at number two, what's it gonna be? Number two is Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer. I think you're cute.
Unknown Speaker 34:57
Magnificent.
Kristin Nilsen 35:01
Which makes the number one pick will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, even though it did win by just a hair, but it's still it's the obvious number one, and that is just testament to the role in history that this show plays, especially for Gen Xers, in first place, according to the listeners and followers of the pop culture Preservation Society, is a Charlie Brown Christmas, yay.
So I think we can spend a little more time on Charlie Brown. Let's get some context here, because this is our number one holiday show of our generation. We're speaking for a whole generation here. I realize it's just the pop culture Preservation Society, but I think we speak for all. I agree absolutely so A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on December 9, 1965 at 7:30pm and it was watched by 45% of the viewing audience that night. It was 15 million homes tuned into that first Charlie Brown Christmas. And here's something we shouldn't forget. So Charles Schultz's Peanuts comic strip at this point had really become a worldwide phenomenon. This show didn't come out of nowhere, right? This was a pop culture moment. And after penis was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, Coca Cola commissioned a Christmas special with Charlie Brown. Right? The bells ring. So from start to finish, they made it super quickly. It took only six months to make the script was incredibly sparse, as we all know, and it was heavily influenced by Charles Schultz's religious background, which the executives did not like. But Charles Schultz was like, you know, what are we even doing here? People like, why are we even doing this? And then to make them happy, he added some more secular themes that came straight from his childhood in Minnesota. On this podcast, everything comes back to Minnesota, so that's where we get the school play and the falling snow and the ice skating. They only used professional child actors for the voices of Charlie Brown and Linus, and the rest of them were just kids. Oh, not just plain old kids, even Lucy, even Lucy. Charles Schultz convinced the producers to use regular children for the remaining characters, and it was basically like the kids of the studio employees. They took tape recorders home to have their kids audition for the different parts, which I think is really part of the charm of the show for us, especially like Sally, the way she's like, we just we love her, right? And for Snoopy, they just recorded somebody speaking gibberish, and then they sped it up, yeah? And the executives hated it. They hated it. And they were like, we just broke it. We just broke peanuts. But the viewers and the critics loved it, and one critic predicted that the Peanuts characters just staked out a claim to a major television future, and he was right, because that basically established the animated special as a holiday tradition, and it what came after Charlie Brown. Now we get all the other classics, like Frosty the Snowman, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, all these other shows we just talked to came after Charlie Brown.
Michelle Newman 38:30
Then I'm so glad it has the distinction of being the number one on our list. It makes sense, right?
Kristin Nilsen 38:36
And I need to come back to what we talked about at the beginning, because as I'm watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving just a few nights ago by myself at 10pm on Thanksgiving night, I am realizing that 100% of the reason this show was so beloved by us is because it was so elusive, because it was just once, and if you missed it, you had to wait a whole year for another chance, and you could just watch it The one time that was it that is all so you cherished that moment. And we Gen Xers, we know every line, we know every note of that music. But truthfully, by today's standards, it's not what you'd call exciting, right? If you try and see it through a child's eyes today, I get I get worried. So by our children's standards, it's kind of dull, and they might enjoy it. Our kids might enjoy it, but they don't have to watch it like we do, which is why I was watching it by myself on Thanksgiving night. It's perpetually available on Apple TV any day of the year. There's no urgency, there's no worry about missing it, and that is what elevated its importance for us when we were growing up. And we have happy memories of those little moments of time, right, of that little sliver of that one time each year you're sitting there on the floor with your siblings, with your family, we have happy memories attached to that moment, and when you can watch it anytime you want, you don't, you don't. To make those kinds of memories, and we became, we are basically in relationship with those characters, because we know them so intimately. We know not just every line we know, every facial expression, every dance move, every sound like when Snoopy is upset, what does he do?
Michelle Newman 40:22
You know, it's funny. You say that when we got our dog, Frankie in May, she's a big face kisser. She's very affectionate and a big and sometimes she'll lick right on my mouth. And the first time she ever did it, and now I say it every time, but without even thinking. I don't even know where it came from in my brain, I was like, dog I can't draw looked at me, and he started laughing so hard he knew exactly what I was talking about, like, exactly Lucy from Charlie Brown Christmas. Can I just say one thing that you you talking about? Our kids today might not really like it, or they don't. My kids were never a huge fan of a Charlie Brown Christmas, which broke my heart. And I think I know why, because when I watched it again with them as an adult, after watching a lot of other Christmas movies and specials with them, probably I was really struck too by all of the times in that special where they're just walking, dude, and they're just walking along, you can see them and and it's just, or it's night time, and it's, there's no dialog, there's no action, really, it's just them walking. And I remember watching it kind of thinking, oh yeah, this is kind of slow. This is and it didn't diminish at all my love for it and my nostalgia for it, but what I think it is, and why I think we still love it is like a lot of our memories that we and things we talk about on this podcast. This all harkens back to a much simpler time. Life has gotten so fast paced and so frantic and so crazy and stressful, especially as we've gotten older, but when you can just sit down and watch Charlie Brown Christmas and listeners, I hope you do. And instead of maybe looking at those moments where they're just walking and it's just music and thinking, Oh, this is kind of dull, I think instead, we need to watch that and just breathe and just watch that for what it is, right, and appreciate it for what it is. It was simple, and we loved it. We ate it up. And that's all they were doing, was just walking along right. And between scenes, they're just
Carolyn Cochrane 42:29
walking right, right. Yeah, the music, the soundtrack to that show or that program, is just as much a part of it as the characters and what they're saying, and the storyline, and it was a complete package. So while they're just maybe trotting along, we know that soundtrack that's playing and that gave us such good feelings, too. I mean, for me, it was the entire experience. It was the show and it was the commercials, because I remember when it was sponsored by Dolly Madison. Oh, my God, yes. That was like the only time I think of the year I ever saw commercials for Dolly Madison snack cakes. And I can see those commercials just as much as I can see the show. So it was this entire experience that I got the music storyline, the commercials, the being together as a family, the anticipation finally happening, and being like, right now, even as we're talking about it, I don't know if it came on right towards the like, end of the school year, right before we're gonna have winter break, because I just remember also this kind of excitement inside of me. Like, you know, we're getting ready to be on vacation for a while, and it was this whole thing that I get, well, only with that show, not with other ones. Oh, that's something about Charlie Brown. And maybe it's the school tie in, I don't know, but I get a certain feeling that only I get with that show. And it is an entire, like I said, it's an entire,
Kristin Nilsen 43:59
you're right. It is, it is so multi layered in why it is grabbed onto us. And that was another example of where Charles Schultz and Bill Melendez, who I think is the producer of the show, wanted to use this jazz musician, and the executives are like, you want to put jazz in a children's cartoon? Are you high? And they insisted, and look at us all attached to this music.
Michelle Newman 44:24
Oh, I listen to To me, it's like, it's a balm that is that sounds music is comforting, and I love it also. I was gonna say, you know, we talk about a lot of things in our generation that kind of provided us with a lexicon. Now, if you just say to someone that's a Charlie Brown tree, everybody knows.
Kristin Nilsen 44:42
The first time I bought a Charlie Brown tree was in like 1991 when I had $5 to my name, and I'm like, I'm just gonna go and get a little Charlie Brown tree,
Michelle Newman 44:52
yeah, and then you decorate it. And then, did you guys ever pretend? So when I was a little girl, we used to get, like, the little tree top trees for our rooms, and we would all. He's my sister and I. We would pretend we would go and just like, scrub our hands, you know, they go like this, and then it's a perfect tree with, like, the triangle ornaments and lights.
Kristin Nilsen 45:14
So Liam does not watch Charlie Brown with me. When I asked him on Thanksgiving if he would watch it with me. He was like, I'll watch Christmas with you. He said, I'm not really into Charlie Brown. I just like it for the music. And so they succeeded in introducing jazz to a whole like, to generations of people, not just to us, but our kids, hold that music, even though they may not be into the show,
Carolyn Cochrane 45:37
right? I love that. I remember when I got my Charlie Brown Vince. How do I say his name? Giraldi, geraldi. It was with the Columbia record and tape club. It was one of mine that I picked with my 10 that you could get when they started to do CDs. So I can see the cover. We probably still have that CD downstairs. And I remember being so excited to have that, because, come to think of it, if I had gone into a record store, I probably wouldn't have gone to the jazz section and threw for it. It wasn't something that I was probably actively seeking. But when I saw it as an option on the Columbia record and tape thing, it was like a done deal. I was so excited about that.
Michelle Newman 46:18
Well, we have a couple of comments from social media that we wanted to share regarding Charlie Brown that just we thought were great first ones coming from TX, CA, 1068, she says, I even came home from a sleepover one time because they weren't watching Charlie Brown. Because this goes back to what we said. That was the one night you could watch it. So can you imagine little txca thinking, Oh, yay. Jessica's Slumber Party is Friday night, and there's Charlie Brown's on because that's the only night you can watch her, that brown gets there, and they're like, oh, no, we're watching the Little House on the Prairie tonight, or whatever. And she's like, calling my mom, yeah, got a stomachache, yeah?
Kristin Nilsen 47:00
Because I'm not waiting 364 days, right?
Carolyn Cochrane 47:04
Yeah, gosh, that's just a crime. No, not watched it. I can't imagine. I can tell you, our friend Erin probably wouldn't have watched it because she commented with an unpopular opinion. She said, I really, really, in all capital letters, don't like Charlie Brown Christmas or the Grinch, too much gloom and negativity. And believe it or not, Aaron went on to say, I just don't care for Charlie Brown in general. Oh, in general. That is a hot take.
Kristin Nilsen 47:33
What she says is, I understand there is a lot of doom and gloom that is not a happy kid that would not, there's no way that kid would be put out there today, right? Like, no. Think about people's reaction to Caillou because he whines,
Michelle Newman 47:46
right? Like, well, and it's also true. Like I said, I didn't like watching some shows because they made me sad. There's a definite heaviness to the first let's as if the whole show, without commercial, is, you know, 19 minutes, the first 18 minutes of Charlie Brown. It is a heaviness, you know, when they're just so rude and so mean to him. So I totally get your opinion, Aaron, and I will say, in your defense, there were many comments under Aaron's who in support, saying, Oh, me too. Me too. They're a
Kristin Nilsen 48:21
secret society, yeah.
Carolyn Cochrane 48:22
Well, thank you for Aaron, for being the brave one, letting your opinion be heard, sir.
Michelle Newman 48:40
You. So that was our top 10, but I do want to list some other shows mentioned, some special mentions that I think a lot of you will remember. They just didn't make it into make the top 10. No, some of them had one vote. Some of them had a handful of votes. But I'm going to read the list real quickly, just so you can hear your favorite. That's the littlest angel, the gift of love with Marie Osmond and Timothy bottoms.
Carolyn Cochrane 49:11
It's actually Timothy bottom Fourth Street, which
Michelle Newman 49:15
love that one. Yogi's first Christmas almost made our top 10. You guys. No, really, it actually was like away from making I know somebody
Kristin Nilsen 49:24
who wrote an entire essay about their love of Yogi's first Christmas and read it publicly. Yes, that's Jen witness. Oh my gosh, yes. Listen to your mother was about Yogi's first Christmas.
Michelle Newman 49:37
You know what Jen might have been, the one of the votes. Yeah. Okay. Bear who slept through Christmas also had a good showing in our in our comments, White Christmas, Osmond Christmas specials, carpenters Christmas specials. Santa and the Three Bears was another one that was very close. That's stunning to me. I know I've never heard of that. But several people mentioned it Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. So I don't remember that, but I bet if I watched it, I would the Ernest Christmas I just put that in because there was one vote, like, Ernest
Kristin Nilsen 50:11
goes to camp. Yes, another
Michelle Newman 50:13
one vote. We got Ernest roosters punky Brewster's Christmas Special, which I thought was fun. Oh, that sounds fantastic. And then, no, I wasn't a fan. And then Muppet family Christmas, which you guys this week on social media, as one of our posts, I am going to post the first minute of it because I started watching it the other day when I was confused whether Muppet Christmas Carolyn was a special or a movie. I was schooled. It's definitely a movie, but I started watching the beginning of Muppet family Christmas, and I just it made me so happy. They're all in a truck. There are Fauci is driving. They're singing Christmas carols. So I'm going to try to capture a little bit of that and share it on social media. And I guarantee you, my husband is a huge Muppet fan. We're going to be watching that in the next couple weeks. I love that. I love that
Carolyn Cochrane 51:02
we brought up some specials that I totally forgot about. Like, I'm excited to go watch some of these after we finished recording, because I thought, oh my gosh, I forgot about that one I didn't forget, and one that got some votes, but they weren't from me. That is for darn sure, was Nestor, the long ear donkey, not a fan. I know Kristen, and I talk about that in one of our past episodes, but our listener and friend sassy, she was a fan, and she wrote this really sweet comment that I want to share. Hi, ladies, I commented that Nestor, the long eared Christmas donkey, always brought a tear to my eye, and here is my why my parents divorced when I was very young, and it was always me and mom. I was very attached to mom, and was always scared that she was going to leave me too. Nestor is a little sad. It always reminds me of the bond that I had with my mother for the last 56 years, and how important a mother's love is. I still have my mom, and she is so important to me, and I think that's why I like Nestor the best. It kind of sounds weird, but it's true. I just loved that that is now I feel really bad about it. I'm gonna have to go back and watch Nestor.
Kristin Nilsen 52:14
I agree. I love that she's so open about what this means to her, because sometimes we don't drill down far enough to figure out why we like something, and she really has, and I really appreciate that, which makes what I'm going to tell you next even more important. Because we thought it would be fun to know what shows some of our more famous friends from the 70s were watching right along with us. So we asked the people that we've interviewed on this show, and I want to think about this with their answers. There's one in particular that I think will line up with sassy. So here are some of the answers that we got. We asked Melissa Gilbert, and she said, I loved and still love Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer and Charlie Brown Christmas. But I was fascinated by the film, miracles still happen. Oh my god, especially, I can barely even read this part, especially the scene where the girl digs maggots out of her leg. Nothing
Michelle Newman 53:03
says Christmas. Nothing says Merry Christmas. Like a bunch of embedded maggots. I
Kristin Nilsen 53:09
need more I need more information. I mean, and she just leaves the comment like, that's how she
Carolyn Cochrane 53:15
maybe assumes that so many people we know about the maggot, they would know exactly what she was talking about.
Michelle Newman 53:21
Well, I responded to her, and it was like, Wait, that doesn't sound like a Christmas movie. And she said something like, well, it was on every year around that time. And I said, I think we might need to have you back on the show, yeah, just to talk about miracles still happen. Because I guarantee there's listeners out there right now going, oh my god, yes, the maggots in the leg Christmas time, right?
Carolyn Cochrane 53:41
Yes, at Christmas Well, I did look up the movie. I'm not going to know exactly what it was about. I know it's based on a true story and takes place on Christmas Eve, so that's probably a little bit of the tie in, but that's all I'm going to tell you, because that's all I really remember. Please send
Michelle Newman 53:58
us an email, a DM however you want to get in touch with us Yes, telling us Yes, I remember that, because that would prompt us. I think that would be a really fun conversation to have with Melissa in the coming year about that show. But we need to know that enough people have remember it too.
Kristin Nilsen 54:13
So designer Liz Lange, who is with us for our back to school special this year, she says the year without a Santa Claus and Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer, both rank and bass. I knew every song she says. I adored those claymation characters. And the songs heat miser and his brother snow miser were my number one face. And you can just tell she's like, throwing up, that she's like, she's just so excited to tell she's just like, talking, talking, talking, because she's so excited.
Carolyn Cochrane 54:37
Oh, I love that. And I love if you listen to our episode where we talked with Liz, you remember that she had a very different upbringing than many of us had? She lived in New York City, lived had a very had a very wealthy upbringing. Her family had their own plane, but yet we all love these same holiday specials. It's just something again that bar. Funds us. It doesn't matter where you lived, how much money you had, even what religion you are, because Liz is Jewish, so it just still kind of brought us all together. And I love that about his shows. Speaking of some of our friends who are Jewish but loved a Christmas show, our dear friend Pamela Bob, who you might remember, is the creator of the incredibly funny and thought provoking web series called Living on a prairie. And she's also co host of the podcast little house 50 for 50. She had this to say about her favorite holiday special,
Speaker 4 55:35
hey, pop culture Preservation Society. This is Pamela Bob of living on a prairie. Oh, no. Definitely one major holiday Christmas special that as a kid, was my favorite, and is still my favorite. I still watch it every single year, which is a Charlie Brown Christmas. It just doesn't get any better than that. It's so sincere, it's so sweet. It's also a little sloppy, like it wasn't, you know, they there are mistakes in the artwork. Like it's a little weird, but you can't get any better than a Charlie Brown Christmas. And you know, I'm Jewish, so when it came to the part where Linus, you know, talks with the New Testament section, you know that was always a little weird as a little Jewish kid, but still, like they got to the heart of what Christmas is all about. Hello. Yeah, it's just the best. It makes me cry every time, and I love it.
Carolyn Cochrane 56:36
Another famous person that we asked, although we have not had this person as a guest, but I hope we do very soon. That would be Greg Brady. I mean, Barry Williams and his favorite holiday show. When he was asked, he said that it was Wizard of Oz. Wait, I know. And at first it was like, Yeah, Wizard of Oz. But I think because we presented it as your favorite holiday show, he remembered that Wizard of Oz was out and and probably don't be all have a little bit of Wizard of Oz on the brain these days. It's slapping us everywhere we live another Yeah, and I'm talking about the wicked musical, and if you haven't seen that, it's wonderful.
Michelle Newman 57:18
I just don't care what Barry Williams answered, just the fact that he answered and yes, who we are. Yeah, I like that too. Thank you, Barry. That's right. And then, of course, we had to ask our good friend Sean Cassidy. And his might surprise you, but I want to say before I even disclose what his is, we actually did have three votes for this, this special as well. So he said My favorite was Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, of course, score by the guys who wrote Funny Girl, and my dad voiced Bob Cratchit, so it was a staple at our house. Still love the song, winter was warm. Try and keep a dry eye. It's really a great Broadway esque musical, and my dad sings up a storm in it. And you guys this week in the Weekly Reader, I'm definitely going to include the clip of Jack Cassidy, who played Bob Cratchit, singing the song The Lord's bright blessing with his family at dinner, because it's darling, and it's such a little peppy song, and the lyrics are really, really beautiful. They're really it's not thoughtful, right? And it's something that gives us all something, something to think about, just like the whole the whole play A Christmas Carol does. But I really love that song, The Lord's bright blessing. So I will share that I
Kristin Nilsen 58:37
was really glad to be reminded of that special because it was when I only saw a couple of times growing up, but it was made in 1962 and it screams 1962 it is so Technicolor, so atomic. It's that, it's that animation that is so familiar to us. It's basically like a fractured fairy tales. It's like fractured fairy tales, Christmas Carolyn. That's what the animation is like, and it made me long for we look at the kind of animation we have today. I long for that 1960s version of animation. I just love it.
Carolyn Cochrane 59:10
I love it too. Yeah, it brings those feelings back, like, when I there's a scene where you're in a theater and so there's a play, you know, the play is going on on the stage and all of the audience members, they're just drawings, like they're not animated, they're not moving. It's just like a sketch. And I remember when that was part of animation, it was like there were these still kind of drawings that were these periphery characters and part of the setting, and then you had the action happening somewhere else on the screen. It's
Michelle Newman 59:40
like they couldn't afford the illustrator to finish the like the cell Well, one of our listeners, Connecticut Yankee 73 did say Mr. Magoos Christmas Carolyn was the one we waited for all year long. I love it to this day and still wonder what Razzleberry gravy? I don't know. Like Razzleberry. Dressing Razzleberry, I know. Yeah, I know. Do you guys want to know a fun fact? When I was researching for this, I kind of went down a rabbit hole, Carolyn with the Mr. Magoo Christmas. Carolyn and I found just kind of a 10 minute thing on YouTube where they're just telling you about it. And so when they were saying, saying, basically what Sean said to us, that the score was by the guys who wrote Funny Girl, I guess at one point they were kind of tinkering around with the song people from Funny Girl, and they're tinkering, and one person singing it, and one of, like, I don't know if it was maybe a producer of Mr. Magoo, or one of the guys in charge came in and was like, Oh, that's amazing. Like, yes. Like, was so excited thinking that song was going to be in Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carolyn. And they were like, Oh no, no, no, no. We're just on a break. This is our other thing we're working on called Funny Girl. But I just love that, that at one point, the guy who's in charge was like, excellent song from Christmas Carolyn. People who need people. I want
Carolyn Cochrane 1:01:02
to say something quickly about Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carolyn. First of all, I never liked Mr. Magoo again. I just thought something bad's gonna happen, like any time now, and that people kind of made fun of him because he couldn't see very well. And at the same time, this special is so good, like, as Sean pointed out, Broadway esque. These songs are beautiful, the message all of that. And yet it was weird that Mr. Magoo was part of it. It's like they used some character that they thought, oh, people will tune in if Mr. Magoo, Jim Backus of Gilligan's Island fame, he voices Mr. Magoo. Anyway, it just, to me, was very at odds in some points,
Michelle Newman 1:01:41
it's like, well, and in the 60s, he was very popular. It was a very popular cartoon. And I actually didn't you guys think it kind of still stands up. I thought it still totally
Carolyn Cochrane 1:01:51
holds up. Well, we'll put a link in our show notes and in our Weekly Reader this week to Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. I found it on daily motion, we'll have
Speaker 1 1:02:04
the Lord's bright blessing. And knowing we're together, knowing we're together, heart and hand, we'll make the widest Christmas, the very brightest Christmas, a Christmas far more glorious than grand.
Kristin Nilsen 1:02:23
So once again, we find that our generation was the recipient of a tremendous gift. If the era of the animated claymation special was triggered by Charlie Brown in 1965 and the last one to really take hold with any sort of longevity was made in the 70s. That means it was primarily Gen X kids who watched and fell in love with these specials and incorporated them into their holiday tradition for their whole life, for their whole life. I mean, of course, they have continued to make holiday specials. But can you name any outside of this era that has stuck and become a part of people's annual tradition? No, it's right. It's of a certain era. It was just us. I don't even know if there's a generation who cares this much about any holiday show. We definitely have feelings about this topic, and that might be because of the unique, the unique intersection, like we said before, of what we were given crossed with the media landscape at the time, no VCRs, no DVDs, no streaming, just over the airwaves once a year, which is a great example of less is definitely more. So when you sit down to watch Charlie Brown this year, think about how lucky we were to be alive at that moment in history. Thank you for listening today. Thank you for being here for our last new episode of 2024 we have so much to share with you in the next year, and we will see you next time.
Michelle Newman 1:03:50
And thank you so much to those of you who take your love and support of our podcast to the next level. On Patreon, we honestly could not keep on trucking without your help, today, we're giving a special shout out to Janine, Michelle, Dana, Mary Daisy, Mary Beth, Kim and Lisa, and if you'd like to say thank you by supporting us on Patreon and get fun bonus content in return, just go to patreon.com, That's P, A, T, R, E, o, n.com, and search pop culture Preservation Society in the search bubble, and it'll take you to our page, where you can explore for free. You can just look around. You can, you know, see all the different levels of membership. And you can also support us with a one time donation by going to our website, which is pop preservationists within us.com.
Kristin Nilsen 1:04:42
In the meantime, let's raise our glasses for a holiday toast thanks to the people at the Regal Beagle in Santa Monica, California. Two good times,
Michelle Newman 1:04:51
two Happy Days,
Carolyn Cochrane 1:04:53
Two Little House on the Prairie. Cheers, cheers. Happy
Unknown Speaker 1:04:57
holidays.
Kristin Nilsen 1:04:58
Do to do to do? The information, opinions and comments expressed on the pop culture Preservation Society podcast belong solely to Carolyn the crushologist and hello Newman and are in no way representative of our employers or affiliates. And though we truly believe we are always right, there is always a first time the PCPs is written, produced and recorded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, home of the fictional wjm studios and our beloved Mary Richards, Nanu. Nanu, keep on trucking and May the Force Be With You. You.