Advent Calendar 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.” So go get your fanciest Jingle Bells on for “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton.”   You can watch it on the Jim Henson’s Family Hub YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTQBrARQPnM].   ****   🎙 GUESTS:   Tony Whitaker (Muppet Wiki [https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/User:MuppetDude], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/muppetdude.bsky.social])   Shane Keating (ToughPigs.com [https://toughpigs.com/author/shane/], MuppetWiki [https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/User:Oscarfan], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/sokdrawer.bsky.social], Letterboxd [https://letterboxd.com/sokdrawer/])   ****   💬 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]”   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 and social links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🎃 This year, Halloween in July has fallen on a Scrooge Sunday, so we’re killing two birds with one garbage disposal as we journey back to 1992 to watch Roseanne endure a haunting by the Ghosts of Halloween Past, Present, and Future.   At press time, the episode “Halloween IV” is available on Peacock [https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/roseanne/6195887206535559112/seasons/5/episodes/halloween-iv-episode-7/f0a3259a-a369-381f-b2a8-e4e7033bf5a7].   ****   🎙 GUESTS:   Gerry Davila (Totally Rad Christmas [https://totallyradchristmas.com])   Brandon Medley (Instagram [http://instagram.com/blessedarethegeek])   ****   💬 TOPICS & TANGENTS:   The Story Behind Roseanne’s Iconic Chicken Shirt [https://decider.com/2018/03/22/roseanne-chicken-shirt-explainer/] (Decider, 2018).   The “Psych” pineapple [https://psychpineapple.com].   October 30th is Mischief Night [https://www.elitedaily.com/lifestyle/mischief-night-new-jersey-halloween] in New Jersey and, apparently, nowhere else.   Elks Lodges [https://www.elks.org] lodges are real.   Our Halloween costumes from around 1992, and the worst things we’ve gotten while trick-or-treating.   Lee Arenberg (Ghost of Halloween Past) in “The Wizard [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MlGNj9FUhY].”   Mario Reccuzo (Ghost of Halloween Present) on “California Dream [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaEm_le8sOg&t=773s]s.”   Dan and Jackie’s amazing beheaded Marie Antoinette costume [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0688796/mediaviewer/rm2011089152/].   A background actor is wearing a Pigs in Space costume [https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/File:RoseanneHalloweenIV.jpg].   ****   📼 COMMERCIALS:   Walgreens Halloween Decorations [Walgreens Halloween Decorations] (1992)   How a Count Eats a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejwxJ32EflY] (1990)   ****   “Roseanne” and “Halloween IV” © 1992 The Carsey-Werner Company.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].   Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🎄 Hey, remember the Christmas episode of that show on ABC where Snow White and Prince Charming are transported by the Evil Queen to a land without magic and have to adjust to modern-day America? No, you don’t, because you’re thinking of “Once Upon a Time,” which didn’t have a Christmas episode, which was rude. But we’re going back an even longer time ago to the enchanted year of 1987 to meet The Charmings, who did have a Christmas episode! You can watch “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUNFvV2kToI], or this VHS-recorded copy with commercials [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_nXiQmYT-M].   ****   🎙 GUESTS:   Kristi and Bri from Bad Princess Movies [https://badprincessmovies.com/].   ****   💬 TOPICS & TANGENTS:   This episode was advertised during the original broadcast of “A Muppet Family Christmas.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWTSe_Y5Klg&t=2689s]   The first season’s opening credits [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drRjcxNhokc] explains the backstory.   Judy Parfitt (Lillian) as another fairytale queen in “Ever After: A Cinderella Story [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yf3j4b_Gw8].”   Carol Huston Signs for ‘The Charmings’ [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-17-ca-2797-story.html] (L.A. Times, 1987).   The Calgary Castle [https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/857282760791638436?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=97d95973-6322-4b53-9f8a-bcf4cfb389b5] and the even crazier themed vacation homes [https://orlandoattractionhomes.com] being built near me.   The Enchanted Forest [https://enchantedforestbc.com] park in British Columbia.   John Astin as the Devil [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZWcE98jpsQ&t=815s] in another episode of “The Charmings.”   The “He-Man village” was actually the massive Eternia playset [https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurDracula/posts/from-1986-heres-the-vintage-masters-of-the-universe-eternia-playset-three-towers/1171979511598202/].   Tony Steedman (Santa) as Socrates in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkfvg1j1yg8].”   Judy Parfitt on the pain of losing her husband (Steedman) to dementia [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2559011/How-husband-I-adored-slipped-away-Call-The-Midwifes-nun.html] (Daily Mail, 2014).   Dick Van Dyke’s Learn Not to Burn hot door PSA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US6WhpPsETU].   Gordon Ramsay should play Santa.   Robert Bork [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork_Supreme_Court_nomination], or: Yes, Virginia, You Can Reject a Supreme Court Nominee.   One originally cut episode [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E60Vp7mDnhk] finally aired on CTV in 2021.   ****   📼 COMMERCIALS:   Masters of the Universe: Eternia Playset [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFUzDXWF2co] (1986)   Bad Princess Movies [https://badprincessmovies.com/].   ****   “The Charmings” and “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” © 1987 Embassy Communications.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].   Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🎄 Cowabunga! In nearly 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, 2004’s “The Christmas Aliens” is somehow their only animated Christmas episode.   Join Michelangelo and a kitty named Klunk on a Christmas Eve car chase as they save a truckload of stolen Little Orphan Alien dolls meant for a group of little orphan human Earthlings, all while Splinter makes a sewer full of guests wait for Mikey to arrive before they eat.   At press time, “The Christmas Aliens” is available on Paramount+ [https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/BV_v6W4xolb2mXfGw2bzEyPZnEtLN1ps/].   ****   🎙 GUESTS:   Jaime Hood (ShezCrafti [https://shezcrafti.com], Cult Film Club [https://cultfilmclub.com], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/shezcrafti.com])   Shawn Robare (Plastic Rocket Pop [https://plasticrocketpop.com], Cult Film Club [https://cultfilmclub.com], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/shawnrobare.com])   Anthony Strand (ToughPigs.com [https://toughpigs.com], Movin’ Right Along [https://www.toughpigs.com/tag/movin-right-along/], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/durwoodclapper.bsky.social])   ****   💬 TOPICS & TANGENTS:   Read the original 1985 comic [https://www.miragelicensing.com/comics/mirage/michaelangelo/cover.htm] on Mirage Studios’ old, preserved website.   Our episode on “We Wish You a Turtle Christmas [https://adventcalendar.house/episodes/tmnt].”   The Lost and Unused Theme Songs of the 2003 series [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp4qy11ZJdc].   Bruce Wayne’s long dining room table [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9NmAhXh970&t=38s].   Similar chase scenes in “Beverly Hills Cop [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiuBWPKHTPA]” and “Speed [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3m-Ht3_tFc].”   Terence Archie (Silver Sentry) as Apollo Creed in “Rocky: The Musical [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR3f3wCj3V0].”   Ice Cream Kitty [https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Ice_Cream_Kitty_(2012_TV_series)]!   ****   📼 COMMERCIALS:   Happy Honda Days: Ninja Turtles [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsSSxuzKCYU], featuring the original 1980s voice cast (2018).   WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics [https://wizardscomics.com].   ****   “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “The Christmas Aliens” © 2004 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., and Mirage Licensing, Inc.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].   Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].

🐰 It’s Easter in July, and those two things together are the least confusing thing about today’s episode. In 1971’s “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” the first Rankin/Bass non-Christmas holiday special, it’s a race across the calendar to reclaim the title of Chief Easter Bunny from the evil January Q. Irontail, voiced by Vincent Price.   You can watch it on Tubi [https://tubitv.com/movies/100003139/here-comes-peter-cottontail], or this restored version [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5QW0dD33s4] on the YouTube channel “The Rankin Bass Archive [https://www.youtube.com/@TheRankinBassArchive].”   ****   🎙 GUESTS:   Michael May (MichaelMay.online [https://www.michaelmay.online/], After Lunch [http://www.afterlunchpodcast.net/], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/michaelmay.bsky.social])   Sammy Hain (Sammy’s Easter Tails [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077717712133], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/sammyhain.bsky.social])   ****   💬 TOPICS & TANGENTS:   “The Easter Bunny That Overslept,” the book [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240780.The_Easter_Bunny_That_Overslept], and a read-along video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGdV1kLlrDE].   This special has the same opening as Disney’s “Aladdin.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inzkJ34VMfk]   Vincent Price hosting “Read, Write, and Draw” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyKFS1jlyJY] on The Disney Channel.   Jim and Dwight are bad at party planning [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28sVSdZwQ_4] on “The Office.”   Patton Oswalt on Easter eggs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8HR1ErKmO8].   Seymour S. Sassafras [https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0249577/mediaviewer/rm147832577/] is probably a Time Lord.   Today’s TV Trope: Loophole Abuse [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LoopholeAbuse].   The Halloween segment reuses music from “Mad Monster Party?” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bd9iYYRPR8]   Is the title of Chief Easter Bunny always on the line like a 24/7 wrestling championship [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iymnp1nTRY]?   Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzyR-xSBK0k].   Yosemite Sam attempts to cook hasenpfeffer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHSXx9v74ps].   The Easter Bunny in Hell in “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGSfG7Toc6g]   This special got a sequel in 2005 [https://vimeo.com/216284619].   ****   📼 COMMERCIALS:   Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8NzoVkWZ5Q] (1978)   FOLCs Forever [https://folcsforeverpod.wixsite.com/]: A Lois & Clark Rewatch Podcast.   ****   “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” © 1971 Videocraft International Limited.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost [https://soundcloud.com/bronwensghost].   Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house [https://adventcalendar.house/].