Advent Calendar House

🎄 We wrap up Christmas in July with an old-fashioned scary ghost story.  Adam Pope [https://adventcalendar.house/people/adam-pope] and Donnie Storms [https://adventcalendar.house/people/donnie-storms] join the trip aboard the Mystery Machine back to 1984 for Scooby-Doo’s very first Christmas special, in which the gang tries to save an orphanage with the power of pageantry, and stop the mysterious Ghost of Christmas Never.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries opening [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irP-iBtHvT0] was riding the “Thriller” wave.  Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPwpM4SfQCY].  Mr. Wizard and the Talking Head Illusion [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH2xGRUNvDw].  Our experience with Christmas pageants, including some unfortunate elementary school play featuring the song, “Santa Claus, Santa Claus, you are much too fat [https://christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Santa_Claus_You_Are_Much_Too_Fat].”  The elf costumes look like Tingle [https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/Tingle].  The Mystery Sleigh [https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFb6RtFdnBMeabJeY_Del8Vt51QSDJAIA5190nATsINn3Fp0s821zeitfpfNevmZw81_icosxJ_MohzF_KlFUPhuA-AYpsMVqfQAhICBfKyJx_gvXVFJKqwGSC5ySuRuaxpYUFakbaxs/s1600/nutscoob18.jpg]!  Go-Gurt + Scooby-Doo = Ro-Gurt [https://www.facebook.com/groups/375253514651872/posts/1014054550771762/]!  Today’s TV Trope: Read the Fine Print [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ReadTheFinePrint].  The Scooby-Doo Character Reference Guide [https://scoobymuseum.com/Detail.aspx?CollectibleID=604&Category=8].  “The PTA has disbanded! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTlVRUkwYRI]”  The Little Rascals (1994) boys crash the ballet [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXkHLgIIBfA].  Mr. Burns collapses on a sundial after being shot [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiI4Blte0ic&t=3m55s].  Scooby Apocalypse [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby_Apocalypse].  Adam’s stitched Scooby-Doo portrait [https://bsky.app/profile/hojukoolander.bsky.social/post/3lg5sqq3hsk2i].  ****  📼 Commercials:  The Kodak Disc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBroGnvwg8Y] (1984)  Remember That Show? [https://rememberthatshow.transistor.fm/]  ****  “The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries” and “The Nutcracker Scoob” © 1984 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🦃 This Thanksgiving in July, I’ve decided to treat y’all to a feast of a special I’ve had tucked away in my memory for decades, but it’s finally time to cross those Bridges.  Chad Young [https://adventcalendar.house/people/chad-young] and Tommy Coombs [https://adventcalendar.house/people/tommy-coombs] hop onto either side of our tractor for a hayride back to 1986 to watch a very special Disney family movie directed by Beau Bridges and featuring 3 generations of his family, along with teenage Jason Bateman and Courtney Thorne-Smith, and an injured goose named Chester.  “The Thanksgiving Promise” is on YouTube with [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JBIVGwqKRs] or without [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdEa02n5V58] commercials.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  We all hung out [https://bsky.app/profile/makewistful.com/post/3lrrcvszqjs26]!  TV Guide’s Close Up feature [https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=571044225872840&set=pcb.571045882539341] from 1986.  “Chester, I Love You [https://archive.org/details/chesteriloveyou00yorg],” the original book.  “In the Bag [https://www.facebook.com/DisneyMovies/videos/in-the-bag/1939000982998296/]” (bump, bump).  Beau Bridges in “The Wizard [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTK_8TV1dM&t=23s].”  Lloyd Bridges as Izzy Mandelbaum on “Seinfeld [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcFSOnumgZA].”  The Christian Cringe podcast on “The Buttercream Gang.” [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-buttercream-gang-1992-f-kyle-kuchta/id1784601639?i=1000714030585]  Courtney Thorne-Smith (Sheryl) and Norm MacDonald on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKmadR4Ye54]” (1997).  Jason Bateman’s (Steve) turkey costume [https://bsky.app/profile/adventcalendar.house/post/3lsdy5kglhs2k].  The “Gleaming the Cube” chicken scene [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRC7aqc-QDA&t=185s].  Today’s TV Trope: Teetering on the Edge [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TeeteringOnTheEdge].  This Milk PSA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5aHuVkmx4Q] with the most forward-thinking bullies ever (circa 1988).  McDonald’s put Fievel on a Christmas stocking [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA2_OvZk3Gs]. “An American Tail” opens with him celebrating Hanukkah.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Pringles Butter N Herbs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4-Rxs3KnMM] (1986)  Bingo Bear [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nh_fSFJZg0] (1986)  Kingdom Chums [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGEEsRyQspI] (1986)  “Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZq3vHn-zGs]” (1986)  McDonald’s: “One-Ups-Man-Ship [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bp8c3m6KfA]” (1986)  “Gung Ho [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5eHCYlI2R8]” TV series promo (1986)  Juicy Fruit: Skiing [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7rZCCoXFXM] (1985)  Nutrasweet ad starring William “Refrigerator” Perry and his daughter [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q9WedkuB4c] (1986)  Cool Kids Club Podcast [https://linktr.ee/coolkidsclubpod]  ****  “The Thanksgiving Promise” © 1986 The Walt Disney Company.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🎄 Join us for a short spin back to 1993 as I spend 48 minutes blah blah blah yackety schmacketing with Sammy Hain [https://adventcalendar.house/people/sammy-hain] and Joey O. [https://adventcalendar.house/people/joey-o] about Taz’s attempt to spread Christmas cheer in a land that’s way under Down Under.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Tasmania was once home to the world’s tallest decorated Christmas tree [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-24/worlds-tallest-christmas-tree-tasmania-styx-valley-logging/104677306].  John Astin (Bull Gator) in “Return of the Killer Tomatoes [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7hI15yh5bU].”  How the origins of Taz’s creation [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_Devil_(Looney_Tunes)#Creation] involve Errol Flynn and the Los Angeles Zoo.  Hot Dr. Pepper [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duz6CB9nofQ].  Bing Crosby’s Minute Maid Orange Juice Commercials [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsPidKliVGQ].  ****  📼 Commercials:  Tornado Taz Plush [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hujUzwMtX3A] (1997)  Christmas Creeps [https://christmascreeps.com/].  ****  “Taz-Mania” and “No Time for Christmas” © 1993 Warner Bros. Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🎄 This episode is stuffed with surprises, so get your propeller spinning and take off back to 1987 to go barnstorming — or bearnstorming — above the South Pole with Santabear.  Ethan “The Hungry Reader” [https://adventcalendar.house/people/ethan-the-hungry-reader] is our co-pilot as we nosedive into a Midwestern Christmas tradition we wish found a place to land elsewhere.  You can find “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure” on the Internet Archive [https://archive.org/details/santabears-high-flying-adventure-full-vhs], or a recording with the original commercials [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNTR-3EZTKE] on YouTube.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Mike on A Special Presentation, or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight, for “Poochie [https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/a-special-presentation/episodes/A-Special-Presentation-294-Dear-Poochie-w-Mike-Westfall-e336pp8]” and “The Hugga Bunch Movie [https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/a-special-presentation/episodes/A-Special-Presentation-295-The-Huggabunch-Movie-w-Mike-Westfall-e336ps4].”  “Santabear’s First Christmas,” the original book [https://archive.org/details/santabearsfirstc00lewi] and the 1986 special [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V6dxPxE18s].  IMDb [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242850/] claims Dennis Hopper is in this, but I didn’t hear him.  Antarctica’s Christmas Traditions [https://www.coolantarctica.com/Community/christmas_in_antarctica.php], including a “Race Around the World.”  The Odd Case of Dennis the Menace [https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2010/10/18/the-odd-case-of-dennis-the-menace/].  Today’s TV Trope: Spot the Imposter [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpotTheImposter].  What is the history behind the Dayton's Santa Bear? [https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/what-is-the-history-behind-the-daytons-santa-bear/] (WCCO-TV, 2022).  An official list of every Santa Bear made, 1985–2007 [https://www.clickondetroit.com/features/2023/12/21/an-official-list-of-every-santa-bear-made-from-1985-2007/] (WDIV-TV, 2023).  The Dayton’s Project’s 2024 Santa Bear [https://www.facebook.com/TheDaytonsProject/posts/584791760612805/].  ****  📼 Commercials:  Cinnamon Toast Crunch Christmas Commercial and Santabear Sweepstakes [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGlS0aEAimo] (1987)  Oreos for Santa [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0gkaHjSuF4] (1986)  Holiday M&M’s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJbJbnqzZdk] (1987)  Wild Puffalumps [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJFh8Ho2sak] (1987)  Doublemint Gum [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKWEYzj79S0] (1987)  The Studio Demands It! [https://www.studiodemandsit.com]  ****  “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure” © 1987 Dayton Hudson Corporation.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🎄 Now it’s time for a Muppety holiday fix, so let’s turn the clock back to 1996, to a show I’m excited to reintroduce: it’s “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.”  The Advent Calendar House welcomes 2 of Muppet Wiki’s finest, Tony Whitaker [https://adventcalendar.house/people/tony-whitaker] and Shane Keating [https://adventcalendar.house/people/shane-keating], to join our Jingle Day pageant.  You can watch “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton” on the Jim Henson’s Family Hub YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTQBrARQPnM].  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Where in the who-heck is the Grinch?  “The noozle at the end of the hoose [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhSBrTGBGxc],” (surprisingly not a Dr. Seuss reference).  Michael K. Frith [https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_K._Frith] on Muppet Wiki.  The Muppets on “Family Feud” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MN9xihP1Pk&list=PLK0hIQYsvedjovMSqHktGdvMOL_8JQ17g] (2001).  Kathy Mullen (Morton) interview with ToughPigs.com [https://www.toughpigs.com/kathy-mullen-3/] (2013).  These aren’t Whatnots; they’re Whozits [https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Whozits].  “Sesame English [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-7ZVqPCLpM&list=PLoo-3L6uwauZV1VV49Mm5QkoM2mLx6qNA],” an English as a second language “Sesame Street” series.  “Good grief! The comedian’s a bear! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH2coWVi9Vg]”  Cindy Lou Who’s on First [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_zyNw-Rh9k&t=11m10s]?  Defunctland Podcast: Working in a Wubbulous World [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRHh_NFvW3o&list=PLplWWKocAfTZjDvdM9YIqHi7i7AlABFgk&index=13] with Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Craig Shemin.  There’s a rolling drum gag, so here’s the “Emmet Otter” outtake reel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GduZhqftUn8] again.  “You’re the poet laureate of… [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fmRvj6WuFI&list=OLAK5uy_nr0vNXuJ0XeOceptLOKultrS1Mp0wMB9c&index=13]”  Shane and the ToughPigs staff visit the “Sesame Street” set [https://www.toughpigs.com/toughpigs-visits-sesame/].  Shane’s supercut of Gordon from “Sesame Street” saying, “Oh, hi!” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpDGGjIXdyM]  ****  📼 Commercials:  Hallmark’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Collection [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIRJH2pK9-w] (1998)  Closer to Christmas [https://closertochristmas.com].  ****  “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss” and “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton” © 1996 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].