Clarence the Angel, Marley’s Ghost, and Some Razzleberry Dressing
It’s that time of year when we ask questions like, is this turkey big enough for eight people? Should I get Uncle Dave tube socks for Christmas? And most importantly, when is that episode of Everybody Loves Raymond on, the one where Ray buys his parents an engraved toaster and they return it?
Yes, it’s time for holiday-related TV programming, from animated classics like A Charlie Brown Christmas and Frosty the Snowman to those Hallmark Christmas rom-coms where a driven career woman comes back to her hometown and falls in love with a hunky guy in flannel.
Christmas TV Schedule has exactly what it says, a day-by-day breakdown of when you can see your favorite Christmas movies, TV episodes, and even holiday cooking shows. Mostly Christmas has their lineup, in case you want to double check if the former site missed anything. And here’s a quick guide to when you can see the most popular movies and specials, so you don’t have to do all that scrolling.
Looking for the holiday schedules for specific networks? Here are the lineups for Me-TV, Hallmark Channel, AMC, and FETV.
(Turner Classic Movies doesn’t have their schedule up yet but they should in the next few days.)
The Empire State Building Needs an Influencer, For Some Reason
Are you on social media a lot? Do you love tall buildings? Well, do I have the job for you!
Thank You for Being a Friend
Lucille Ball has one, and so do other TV stars such as Art Carney, Milton Berle, Rod Serling, Fred Rogers, and Raymond Burr. So why not America’s favorite Golden Girl?
Today Is Also Buy Nothing Day
Yes, today is Black Friday (and tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday is coming up next week, plus individual stores and sites have their own sales), but what if you don’t want to buy anything?
Alaska and Hawaii Have Very Specific Tastes When It Comes to Christmas Songs
Look, unlike a lot of people, I don’t hate Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.” It’s a trifle, yet it has grown on me over the years. But is it really good enough to be the favorite holiday song of the people in both Alaska and Vermont?
Apparently it is, according to this map of the favorite Christmas songs in each state.
The most popular song is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You,” which was probably picked because it’s played non-stop in every state throughout November and December. Other popular songs include “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Run, Rudolph, Run,” which mystifies me because I thought it was at best a niche song.
The only people who like Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” are all of her fans in Ohio.
Hawaii loves Wham’s “Last Christmas.” Come on, Hawaii! You pick that when you literally have your own Christmas song?
Headline of the Week
“Paper-Lickin’ Good! KFC Launches Chicken-Flavored Gift Wrap for the Holidays”
RIP Chuck Woolery, Earl Holliman, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Jim Abrahams, Alice Brock, Andy Paley, David Yaffe, and Reg Murphy
Chuck Woolery was the first host of Wheel of Fortune (after doing the pilot titled Shopper’s Bazaar and after two other failed pilots hosted by Edd “Kookie” Byrnes). He also hosted Love Connection, The Chuck Woolery Show, Home & Family, Scrabble, Greed: The Series, and the original Lingo. Before all that he had a top 40 hit with “Naturally Stoned.” He died Saturday at the age of 83.
Earl Holliman starred in the first episode of The Twilight Zone and had regular roles on Police Woman, Delta, and Wide Country. He also appeared in films like The Rainmaker, Giant, Forbidden Planet, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and The Sons of Katie Elder. He died Monday at the age of 96.
Barbara Taylor Bradford was the best-selling author of A Woman of Substance and dozens of other novels. She died Sunday at the age of 91.
Jim Abrahams directed such movies as Airplane!, The Naked Gun, Ruthless People, Top Secret!, and Hot Shots. He also produced those films with David and Jerry Zucker, along with the TV show Police Squad! He died Tuesday at the age of 80.
Alice Brock was the inspiration for the classic Arlo Guthrie song “Alice’s Restaurant.” She died last week at the age of 83.
Andy Paley wrote the theme song to SpongeBob SquarePants. He also worked with such people as Brian Wilson, Elton John, Madonna, Deborah Harry, and The Ramones. He died last month at the age of 72.
Dave Yaffe was a music writer and English professor. He published books on American jazz, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell and wrote for such publications as The Village Voice, New York, The Paris Review, and Air Mail. He died last month at the age of 51.
Reg Murphy was the Atlanta Constitution editor whose 1974 kidnapping made national news. He died last month at the age of 90.
This Week in History
Boris Karloff Born (November 23, 1887)
Sure, he’s a horror movie mainstay, but he’s also known for How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
In related news, Krispy Kreme has new Grinch-themed donuts.
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Recorded (November 24, 1984)
This isn’t the favorite holiday song of any state, but it does feature Sting, Boy George, Phil Collins, and many other stars.
Uploaded to YouTube by Live Aid
There’s a new version of the song, but some musicians aren’t happy about it.
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Motorola TV (November 25, 1950)
This came with a record player and AM/FM radio.
Tuesday Is National Comfort Food Day
While the definition of comfort food may differ from person to person, depending on what you find warm and cozy, where you live, and what your childhood was like (nostalgia is a big factor), can we all agree that a kale salad isn’t “comfort food?” There’s nothing warm and cozy about salad!
Instead, let’s make Emeril Lagasse’s Kickin’ Chili or this Classic Chicken Pot Pie from Pillsbury. Good Housekeeping has a Classic Patty Melt, while Allrecipes has Phyllis’s Homemade Baked Mac & Cheese. Casseroles are a classic comfort food dish, so try this contest-winning Chicken Broccoli Casserole from Taste of Home or this Tater Tot Casserole from Delish. I love tater tots.
The Pioneer Woman has two comfort food recipes that get raves: her Meatloaf and her French Onion Soup.
And for dessert try these Triple Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls, also from Food Network.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting (December 4)
It’s finally up and will be lit at 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock, hosted by Kelly Clarkson with guests the Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Hudson, and the Radio City Rockettes.
Repeal Day (December 5)
You can celebrate by having a drink or two.
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Comments
Bob, how was your Thanksgiving? I’m thankful for your weekly column here, all year long and usually have comments to add, except for that one week last September. Mine was quite nice actually. unburdened by what has been at previous gatherings. I’ll drink (some Marinelli’s) to that. I contributed that and a nice big bottle of 7-Up’s ‘Shirley Temple’. Both good ‘n cold, naturally.
Working on my Christmas cards, and hope to have them out late next week. Doing them really is a labor of love.
Great new stamp of Betty White. I just love her, except for ‘The Golden Girls’. Not faulting Betty. I’m more a of ‘Sue Ann Nivens’ kind of guy. If it weren’t for the ‘Girls’, there might not have been the far superior ‘Designing Women’ that started a year later on a different network.
Get a load of that Motorola TV ad. State of the art for its time. In 1966 my parents bought a beautiful stereo from Sight and Sound (Van Nuys) that had AM/FM radio and a record player with the sliding wood panels on top. The left side was to store LP’s.
(It was that stereo that turned my Mom into a big ELO fan, too. Wonderful in concert at the Kia Forum in October.)
She got gold carpeting for the living room in ’66 also, with extra to use as ‘runners’ for the frequently walked on areas, only to be taken up and away when they had company over. I send her warm thoughts to the other side of life every day.