Episodes

14h ago

🎄 Fresh from 1996 comes a Christmas tale that’ll make you cry, but only because it’s being told by an onion. Anthony Strand hops along for the ride as we buzz back to the VeggieTales’ first Christmas special, in which the only children’s toy that comes with a working circular saw embarks on a quest to find the true reason for the season. 📺 You can watch the official version of “The Toy That Saved Christmas” for free on YouTube , or the original 1996 version on the Internet Archive . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Differences between the original and the reanimated version from 1997. “ Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus .” “ Most folks call ’em green onions, but they’re really scallions .” This Mr. Nezzer is not the previously seen Nebby K. Nezzer , but his brother, Wally P. Nezzer , who’s not as cleverly named . The original vs. the new, improved Bunny Song . The shelves of Buzzsaw Louies predate the shelves of Buzz Lightyears in “Toy Story 2.” Ken Cavanagh (Buzzsaw Louie) may have authored this Medium post from 2020: “ Leave Jesus Out of It . Viruses don’t care what you believe.” “ The Dead Sea Squirrels ,” by Mike Nawrocki. Today’s TV Trope: Blatant Burglar . Doctors in the hallway in “ Muppets From Space .” What do you call a group of penguins ? Two More Eggs: CGI Palz . **** 📼 Commercials: VeggieTales: “The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree” album (2005) The Incredible, Edible Egg: Wisecracks (1991) Mouse Trap (1990) The Studio Demands It! **** “VeggieTales” and “The Toy That Saved Christmas” © 1996 Big Idea Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

2d ago

🎄 What if Mr. Christmas was on the naughty list this entire time, thanks to a curse on his family for generations? Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas ) and Guy Hutchinson ( Pointless Nostalgia ) join us on a Christmas quest back to 1985 as Andy Williams leads a dozen “true believers” on a trip to Finland to find Santa and answer for his totally-not-made-up ancestor. 📺 You can watch “Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa” on the Internet Archive . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: The NBC Kids are: Soleil Moon Frye, Cherie Johnson, Ami Foster, and Casey Ellison from “Punky Brewster”; Lisa Bonet, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner from “The Cosby Show”; Alfonso Ribeiro from “Silver Spoons”; and Joey and Matthew Lawrence from “Gimme a Break!” But not Mindy Cohn from “The Facts of Life,” who shows up, sings half a line, and that’s it. Guy visits New York City’s Christmas cinematic landmarks , including the locations from “ Mr. T and Emmanuel Lewis in A Christmas Dream .” Not Just Theo: Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Surprising Career . Alfonso Ribeiro’s Pepsi Commercial with Michael Jackson (1984) The painting supposedly featuring Lars Sven Olaf Williams, from 1863. The Sàmi . “ Sea for Catwoman! ” Porvoo Cathedral (pronounced like “ Borga ”). **** 📼 Commercials: NBC “Let’s All Be There” ID with Santa (1985) Polaroid: “Christmas – Santa Claus” (1985) Tinsel Tunes - The Christmas Music Podcast . **** “Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa” © 1985 Pierre Cossette / Barnaby Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

4d ago

🕎 Celebrate Hanukkah with a community talent show we don’t even get to watch. We’ve miraculously found another Hanukkah special — with yet another spelling of it — so join us as we instantly reappear back in 1991 with a bunch of Canadian animal puppets to discover the magic of the holiday Under the Umbrella Tree. April Ryley is our lovely assistant as we meet a humble shopkeeper and former magician once known as “The Great Goldberg,” played by the equally great Harvey Atkin. 📺 As of this recording, you can watch “Hanukah Under the Umbrella Tree” on YouTube . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Holly Larocque in “ The Big Band Broadcast ” (2008) Stephen Brathwaite’s (Jacob) artwork portfolio . Bob Stutt (Iggy) as Wander McMooch on “Fraggle Rock.” David Copperfield makes the Statue of Liberty disappear . “ Peoples is peoples .” Today’s TV Trope: Magicians Are Wizards . A Star is Borscht: The Harvey Atkin Young Jewish Performer Competition (2022) “ Under the Umbrella Tree: The Mask Special ” (2020) **** 📼 Commercials: Happy Holidays from “Under the Umbrella Tree” (CBC) Hallmark “Old Friends” Hanukkah Card Commercial (1993) Remember That Show? **** “Hanukah Under the Umbrella Tree” © 1991 Noreen Young Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

6d ago

🎄 It is once again Scrooge Sunday, and the time has come to awkwardly smoosh our spirits through the walls of our bedchamber and float back to 2004 for a special TV movie based on Alan Menken’s musical adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” starring Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge, Jason Alexander as Marley’s Ghost, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Belle, and Jane Krakowski as the Ghost of Christmas Past. Michael May and Rob Graham from After Lunch join the celebration of abundance, charity, and good will toward men as we forge this podcast link by link and dumb joke by dumb joke. 📺 You can watch “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” for free on YouTube . Plus: After this episode, listen to the 3 of us on After Lunch review “A Christmas Carol” on “Shower of Stars” from 1954. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Julian Ovenden (Fred) in “ Downton Abbey .” Today’s TV Trope: And You Were There . Jacob Collier (Tiny Tim) on YouTube , including his Grammy-winning arrangement of “The Flintstones” theme . Brian Bedford (Fezziwig) on “ Frasier ” and as Disney’s Robin Hood . Ebenezer Scrooges Ranked by How Redeemed They Are (FilmHounds, 2024) **** 📼 Commercials: KFC “Christmas with Jason Alexander” (2001) Merry Britsmas . **** “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” © 2004 Hallmark Entertainment Distribution, LLC. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

Dec 12

🎄 Your podcast feed or burst! Join us as we dance joyfully back to 1988 for a very special episode of “Perfect Strangers,” in which Balki invites his grouchy boss to a Christmas Eve party, whether Cousin Larry and their co-workers like it or not. Shawn Robare and William Bruce West join the party which, despite IMDb’s summary, is not a “Christmas Carol parody.” If anything, Mr. Gorpley’s the Grinch. And hey, a pre-“Family Matters” Harriette Winslow is here! But why isn’t she with her own children? 📺 As of this recording, “The Gift of the Mypiot” (Season 4, Episode 9) is available for free on Pluto TV . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: “The Gift of the Mypiot” on Perfect Strangers Reviewed , and the gift of assswing.gif . This is just 3 episodes before we’d meet Carl Winslow . I guess he was busy this Christmas at Nakatomi Plaza. Kate Finlayson (Allyson) “Dancing the Enneagram.” The mystery of Nora Trueblood Adams . Geraldo opens Al Capone’s vault . Our personal stories of getting the same gift twice and having to play it cool. **** 📼 Commercials: “Perfect Strangers” Cast Christmas Greeting (1988) Circuit City Christmas Sale (1988) WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics . **** “Perfect Strangers” and “The Gift of the Mypiot” © 1988 Lorimar Television. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

Dec 10

🎄 Put on your cute little helmet and join us on a journey back to 1984 for a Christmas special based on the toy craze that turned holiday shopping from a winter wonderland to a warzone. Julia ( Tis the Podcast ) and Steven ( The Bigfoot Club ) join the adventure from the hidden home of the Cabbage Patch Kids to the unnamed but totally identifiable big city in search of the Christmas spirit, while we evade 2 nearly identical but probably not related trios trying to kidnap us. It’ll all make sense. Actually, no. It will not. 📺 “The Cabbage Patch Kids’ First Christmas” is well preserved on YouTube. Here’s an upscaled version . Watch Steven’s film, “The Bigfoot Club,” on Prime Video . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: The totally official, extremely bonkers Legend of the Cabbage Patch Kids . Babyland General Hospital . ‘Custody’ fight over Cabbage Patch dolls (Christian Science Monitor, 1983) Josh Rodine (Dawson Glenn) in “ Sparky’s Magic Piano ” (1987) Sparky Marcus (Xavier) as Banjo the Woodpile Cat (1979) “ Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South .” Piedmont Park . What idiot took the gay out of “Don we now our gay apparel”? **** 📼 Commercials: Cabbage Patch Kids Talking Phone (1984) Cabbage Patch Kids Hide and Seek Game (1984) **** “The Cabbage Patch Kids’ First Christmas” © 1984 Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

Dec 8

🎄 It’s been 10 years since the Muppets’ 2015 TV series gave us the gift of a Christmas episode, so it’s time to stay Up Late with Miss Piggy and find out if we can take it seriously, or if it left us because we couldn’t stop making jokes about it. Becca Petunia and J.D. Hansel of ToughPigs.com join the chaos including, but not limited to: a rigged Secret Santa! Gross and unhelpful mistletoe strategy! And, of course, Echosmith! 📺 You can find “Single All the Way” on Disney+ . Becca’s also on A Prairie Dawn Companion and Here Comes Tomorrow . J.D. is also on The Great Muppet Fandom Panel and Stick to Shorts . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: ToughPigs’ review of “Single All the Way” (2015) The Muppets at Midseason: The Good, the Bad, and the Deadly (ToughPigs.com, 2016) 70 Years, 70 Muppets: Yolanda the Rat and Chip . The Muppets’ a cappella cover of “Cool Kids” by Echosmith. “ Bright ” by Echosmith. Sam the Eagle’s paintball-themed minigame in “ Muppets Party Cruise .” The Swedish Chef is married because one time Steve Whitmire forgot to take off his wedding ring and they just decided it’s canon now. Chip has synesthesia . An extremely rare one-on-one scene with Miss Piggy and Fozzie. **** 📼 Commercials: Pizza Hut “4 for All” Pizza Commercial starring the Muppets (2004) **** “The Muppets” and “Single All the Way” © 2015 ABC Studios / The Muppets Studio. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

Dec 6

🎄 If you thought Christmas was fast approaching, hang onto something as we zip back to 1996 and do our best to keep up with Sonic the Hedgehog on a mission to save Christmas. Mike (Bitter Karella) and Ethan (The Hungry Reader) from A Special Presentation, or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight join the quest to rescue Santa from the evil Robotnik Claus, obtain the Secret to Ultimate Velocity, and find a gift for Sonic’s girlfriend from another universe . 📺 You can watch “Sonic Christmas Blast” for free on YouTube . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: How Sonic scored two different animated series at the same time (Polygon, 2020) This specially was originally called “ An X-tremely Sonic Christmas ” to promote a Sega Saturn game that ended up getting canceled. Jay Brazeau (Santa) as the referee in “ Air Bud ” who says the line. The robot queen in “ The Great Mouse Detective .” “ Let the Heartaches Begin ” by Long John Baldry (Robotnik). The original “Ugly Sonic” movie trailer . Dr. Robotnik’s in-game design looks like both an Eggman and a walrus . The other cartoon’s theme song . **** 📼 Commercials: Sonic & Knuckles Christmas Elves Commercial (1994) **** “Sonic Christmas Blast” © 1996 DIC Productions, L.P. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

Dec 4

🎄 Found under a pile of too many toys, enough for 442 boys, is a little-known gem of a Christmas special from 1993. Chad Young from the Horror Movie BBQ , Jeff Loftin from the Lost Christmas Podcast , and Sean Sotka from ChristmasPodcasts.com join us for the story of Jeremy Creek, a kid so greedy, Santa mistook his list for an entire town’s. Featuring the voices of Dick Van Dyke, Hal Smith, and the kid from “Kindergarten Cop” who gave us an anatomy lesson. 📺 You can find “The Town Santa Forgot” on the Internet Archive . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: The original poem: “ Jeremy Creek ” (Indianapolis Star, 1985) Jeremy Creek (no relation) from the “Smallville” pilot. Miko Hughes (Jeremy) in People magazine (2024): “ Kindergarten Cop Child Actor Recalls Working with Arnold Schwarzenegger — and the Origin of That Iconic Line .” Today’s TV Trope: Signs of Disrepair . One of Hal Smith ’s final voice acting roles during his lifetime. (He had a posthumous credit in “ Zelda’s Adventure .”) Larry Walters has a flying lawn chair and a BB gun . **** 📼 Commercials: NBC Commercial Break during the original 1993 airing of this special, including “The Muppet Christmas Carol” on VHS, and Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic. **** “The Town Santa Forgot” © 1993 Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

Dec 2

🎄 “This just in: Santa Claus is dead… or he might as well be, because there’s an even fatter man who’s holding families at nice-point!” ’Tis the Advent Calendar House’s 15th season, so this December’s dozen begins with a similarly titled episode of “The Simpsons” from 2003. Shane Keating from ToughPigs.com , Erin Evans , and Joey O. join the mission to stop being selfish and start being good. 📺 As of this recording, “’Tis the Fifteenth Season” (Season 15, Episode 7) is available on Disney+ . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: This episode premiered the day after Saddam Hussein was caught . Marge’s couch gag anime costume: Jun the Swan from “Gatchaman.” “ How Low Can DVD Players Go? ” (New York Times, 2003) Kathy from Personnel . The Joe DiMaggio rookie card is real. Today’s TV Trope: Art Shift — “Christmas with the California Prunes ” and “The Year Santa Got Lost,” animated by the Chiodo Bros. Animaniacs’ 50 State Capitals . Of course I looked up the astrolabe’s coordinates . Convoy , and the cover by Sifl & Olly . Operation: The Simpsons Edition . The first on-screen appearance of Nelson’s mom . The end of “ Treehouse of Horror IV .” Stupid TV, Be More Funny: How the Golden Era of The Simpsons Changed Television — and America — Forever , by Alan Siegel. **** 📼 Commercials: Bart vs. the Space Mutants (1991) Butterfinger - The Power Cut (1993) A Bomb for Christmas 2: Past, Present, and Future on the Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast . **** “The Simpsons” and “’Tis the Fifteenth Season” © 2003 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Hosted by The Retro Network .

Nov 1

🍍 I’ve hidden a pineapple somewhere in this episode, and if you can find it… you get nothing. Sorry. The Advent Calendar House is back for Christmas Podcast Day. This year, a bunch of your yuletide podcast pals are dropping episodes themed to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and that gave me a premonition to take a closer look at a very merry episode of “Psych” from 2010. Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas joins this examination of our superego, taking the form of renowned actor Tony Cox as himself… kind of. Find more “Wonderful” episodes in the Christmas Podcasts directory. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: “ Psych’s Take on ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Changed Shawn’s Character ” (Collider, 2023) Maggie Lawson (Jules) on “ Boy Meets World .” Corbin Bernsen (Henry) has a collection of over 8,000 snow globes . Today’s TV Trope: Good Angel, Bad Angel . Keshia Knight Pulliam as Gus’s sitcom wife . Behind-the-scenes photo of dream sequence Jules, Lassie, and Chief Vick . Skyler Gisondo as Young Shawn . The Canadian Motion Picture Park Backlot standing in for the least Miami-looking Miami . Oh, there’s the pineapple . “ This Is Christmas ” by Curt Smith. **** 📼 Commercials: Corn Pops: “ Pops Locked in the Car ” commercial starring Dulé Hill (1994) **** “Psych” and “The Polarizing Express” © 2010 Universal Network Television, LLC. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 23

🎄 We wrap up Christmas in July with an old-fashioned scary ghost story. Adam Pope and 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 was riding the “Thriller” wave. Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue . Mr. Wizard and the Talking Head Illusion . Our experience with Christmas pageants, including some unfortunate elementary school play featuring the song, “ Santa Claus, Santa Claus, you are much too fat .” The elf costumes look like Tingle . The Mystery Sleigh ! Go-Gurt + Scooby-Doo = Ro-Gurt ! Today’s TV Trope: Read the Fine Print . The Scooby-Doo Character Reference Guide . “ The PTA has disbanded! ” The Little Rascals (1994) boys crash the ballet . Mr. Burns collapses on a sundial after being shot . Scooby Apocalypse . Adam’s stitched Scooby-Doo portrait . **** 📼 Commercials: The Kodak Disc (1984) Remember That Show? **** “The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries” and “The Nutcracker Scoob” © 1984 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 21

🦃 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 and 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 or without commercials. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: We all hung out ! TV Guide’s Close Up feature from 1986. “ Chester, I Love You ,” the original book. “ In the Bag ” (bump, bump). Beau Bridges in “ The Wizard .” Lloyd Bridges as Izzy Mandelbaum on “ Seinfeld .” The Christian Cringe podcast on “The Buttercream Gang.” Courtney Thorne-Smith (Sheryl) and Norm MacDonald on “ Late Night with Conan O’Brien ” (1997). Jason Bateman’s (Steve) turkey costume . The “Gleaming the Cube” chicken scene . Today’s TV Trope: Teetering on the Edge . This Milk PSA with the most forward-thinking bullies ever (circa 1988). McDonald’s put Fievel on a Christmas stocking . “An American Tail” opens with him celebrating Hanukkah. **** 📼 Commercials: Pringles Butter N Herbs (1986) Bingo Bear (1986) Kingdom Chums (1986) “ Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story ” (1986) McDonald’s: “ One-Ups-Man-Ship ” (1986) “ Gung Ho ” TV series promo (1986) Juicy Fruit: Skiing (1985) Nutrasweet ad starring William “Refrigerator” Perry and his daughter (1986) Cool Kids Club Podcast **** “The Thanksgiving Promise” © 1986 The Walt Disney Company. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 19

🎄 Join us for a short spin back to 1993 as I spend 48 minutes blah blah blah yackety schmacketing with Sammy Hain and 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 . John Astin (Bull Gator) in “ Return of the Killer Tomatoes .” How the origins of Taz’s creation involve Errol Flynn and the Los Angeles Zoo. Hot Dr. Pepper . Bing Crosby’s Minute Maid Orange Juice Commercials . **** 📼 Commercials: Tornado Taz Plush (1997) Christmas Creeps . **** “Taz-Mania” and “No Time for Christmas” © 1993 Warner Bros. Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 17

🎄 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” 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 , or a recording with the original commercials on YouTube. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Mike on A Special Presentation, or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight, for “ Poochie ” and “ The Hugga Bunch Movie .” “Santabear’s First Christmas,” the original book and the 1986 special . IMDb claims Dennis Hopper is in this, but I didn’t hear him. Antarctica’s Christmas Traditions , including a “Race Around the World.” The Odd Case of Dennis the Menace . Today’s TV Trope: Spot the Imposter . What is the history behind the Dayton's Santa Bear? (WCCO-TV, 2022). An official list of every Santa Bear made, 1985–2007 (WDIV-TV, 2023). The Dayton’s Project’s 2024 Santa Bear . **** 📼 Commercials: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Christmas Commercial and Santabear Sweepstakes (1987) Oreos for Santa (1986) Holiday M&M’s (1987) Wild Puffalumps (1987) Doublemint Gum (1987) The Studio Demands It! **** “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure” © 1987 Dayton Hudson Corporation. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 15

🎄 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 and 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 . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Where in the who-heck is the Grinch? “ The noozle at the end of the hoose ,” (surprisingly not a Dr. Seuss reference). Michael K. Frith on Muppet Wiki. The Muppets on “Family Feud” (2001). Kathy Mullen (Morton) interview with ToughPigs.com (2013). These aren’t Whatnots; they’re Whozits . “ Sesame English ,” an English as a second language “Sesame Street” series. “ Good grief! The comedian’s a bear! ” Cindy Lou Who’s on First ? Defunctland Podcast: Working in a Wubbulous World with Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Craig Shemin. There’s a rolling drum gag, so here’s the “Emmet Otter” outtake reel again. “ You’re the poet laureate of… ” Shane and the ToughPigs staff visit the “Sesame Street” set . Shane’s supercut of Gordon from “Sesame Street” saying, “Oh, hi!” **** 📼 Commercials: Hallmark’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Collection (1998) Closer to Christmas . **** “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss” and “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton” © 1996 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 13

🎃 This year, Halloween in July has fallen on a Scrooge Sunday, so we’re hitting two holiday tropes with one garbage disposal. Gerry Davila and Brandon Medley join us on a 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 . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: The Story Behind Roseanne’s Iconic Chicken Shirt (Decider, 2018). The “Psych” pineapple . October 30th is Mischief Night in New Jersey and, apparently, nowhere else. Elks Lodges 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 .” Mario Reccuzo (Ghost of Halloween Present) on “ California Dream s.” Dan and Jackie’s amazing beheaded Marie Antoinette costume . A background actor is wearing a Pigs in Space costume . **** 📼 Commercials: Walgreens Halloween Decorations (1992) How a Count Eats a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1990) **** “Roseanne” and “Halloween IV” © 1992 The Carsey-Werner Company. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 11

🎄 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 with Kristi and Bri from Bad Princess Movies to meet The Charmings, who did have a Christmas episode! You can watch “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” on YouTube , or this VHS-recorded copy with commercials . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: This episode was advertised during the original broadcast of “A Muppet Family Christmas.” The first season’s opening credits explains the backstory. Judy Parfitt (Lillian) as another fairytale queen in “ Ever After: A Cinderella Story .” Carol Huston Signs for ‘The Charmings’ (L.A. Times, 1987). The Calgary Castle and the even crazier themed vacation homes being built near me. The Enchanted Forest park in British Columbia. John Astin as the Devil in another episode of “The Charmings.” The “He-Man village” was actually the massive Eternia playset . Tony Steedman (Santa) as Socrates in “ Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure .” Judy Parfitt on the pain of losing her husband (Steedman) to dementia (Daily Mail, 2014). Dick Van Dyke’s Learn Not to Burn hot door PSA . Gordon Ramsay should play Santa. Robert Bork , or: Yes, Virginia, You Can Reject a Supreme Court Nominee. One originally cut episode finally aired on CTV in 2021. **** 📼 Commercials: Masters of the Universe: Eternia Playset (1986) **** “The Charmings” and “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” © 1987 Embassy Communications. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 9

🎄 Cowabunga! In nearly 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, 2004’s “The Christmas Aliens” is somehow their only animated Christmas episode. Anthony Strand , Shawn Robare , and Jaime Hood join the ride as we follow Michelangelo and a kitty named Klunk on a Christmas Eve car chase to 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+ . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Read the original 1985 comic on Mirage Studios’ old, preserved website. Our episode on “ We Wish You a Turtle Christmas .” The Lost and Unused Theme Songs of the 2003 series . Bruce Wayne’s long dining room table . Similar chase scenes in “ Beverly Hills Cop ” and “ Speed .” Terence Archie (Silver Sentry) as Apollo Creed in “ Rocky: The Musical .” Ice Cream Kitty ! **** 📼 Commercials: Happy Honda Days: Ninja Turtles , featuring the original 1980s voice cast (2018). WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics . **** “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “The Christmas Aliens” © 2004 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., and Mirage Licensing, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 7

🐰 It’s Easter in July, and those two things together are the least confusing thing about today’s episode. It’s a race across the calendar with Michael May and Sammy Hain as we follow Peter Cottontail through time on his quest to reclaim the title of Chief Easter Bunny from the evil January Q. Irontail, voiced by Vincent Price, in Rankin/Bass’s first non-Christmas holiday special from 1971. Find “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” on Tubi , or this restored version on the YouTube channel “ The Rankin Bass Archive .” **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: “The Easter Bunny That Overslept,” the book , and a read-along video . This special has the same opening as Disney’s “Aladdin.” Vincent Price hosting “Read, Write, and Draw” on The Disney Channel. Jim and Dwight are the worst party planning committee on “The Office.” Patton Oswalt on Easter eggs . Seymour S. Sassafras is probably a Time Lord. Today’s TV Trope: Loophole Abuse . The Halloween segment reuses music from “Mad Monster Party?” Is the title of Chief Easter Bunny always on the line like a 24/7 wrestling championship ? Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet . Yosemite Sam attempts to cook hasenpfeffer . The Easter Bunny in Hell in “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.” This special got a sequel in 2005 . **** 📼 Commercials: Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs (1978) FOLCs Forever : A Lois & Clark Rewatch Podcast. **** “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” © 1971 Videocraft International Limited. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 5

🎄 We’re snowed in a bit earlier than expected, so we’ve hunkered down to have a Christmas feast from around the world with the WJM TV family in a 1974 non-Christmas Christmas episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Joining the party is film critic and author Alonso Duralde , who recommended this episode. A newly Revised and Updated edition of Alonso’s book, “ Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas ,” is being released in September, but you can pre-order it now . You can also find Alonso at The Film Verdict ; check out his other book, Hollywood Pride ; and listen to Linoleum Knife , Maximum Film , Breakfast All Day , and Deck the Hallmark . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Pre-order the Revised and Updated Edition of “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.” IMDb’s photo gallery for this episode has 20 screenshots of Mary in a towel. Betty White’s amazing Christmas dress . Harrison Ford recalls what he told George Lucas while shooting the first “Star Wars” movie. I couldn’t find a recipe for “soufflé tour légende,” but here’s one for “ Mr. Grant You Took Half Veal Prince Orloff! ” Today’s TV Trope: Social Semi-Circle . **** 📼 Commercials: Burger King Gift Certificates Christmas Commercial (1974) Season’s Eatings . **** “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Not a Christmas Story” © 1974 MTM Enterprises, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 3

🌴 In Part 2 of our “Futurama” Xmas double-header, we meet the only thing worse than an evil robot Santa… two evil robot Santas. Michael DiGiovanni , Erin Evans , Joey O. , and Donnie Storms return for 2001’s “A Tale of Two Santas.” **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: “ Box Car Blues ” (1930). Santa’s Death Fortress sure looks like Elsa’s ice palace. Coolio’s final acting role before his death was a return as the voice of Kwanzaa-bot . An ode to Musicmatch Jukebox and our turn-of-the-century mp3 albums we’re still holding onto. My favorite joke in all of “Futurama.” “ I’m Spartacus! ” **** 📼 Commercials: America Online Keyword: eBay (2001). A Bomb for Christmas : A made-for-podcast Christmas movie featuring your old pal, me. **** “Futurama” and “A Tale of Two Santas ” © 2001 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 1

🌴 The Advent Calendar House has awoken from what feels like a thousand-year slumber and a lame April Fool’s joke. As a peace offering, here’s the first of two back-to-back episodes celebrating Xmas as imagined by “Futurama.” It’s extra crowded in the cryogenic chamber as Michael DiGiovanni , Erin Evans , Joey O. , and Donnie Storms drop in for 1999’s “Xmas Story,” in which we’re introduced to the annual tradition of gift-giving and shelter-taking from a killer robot Santa Claus that awaits our descendants in the year 3000. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: “ Fresh Hare ” (1942). Orange Cassidy sleeping through his own wrestling match . “ Why Chaucer Said ‘Ax’ Instead of ‘Ask,’ and Why Some Still Do ” (NPR, 2013). “ Why is the number 1,729 hidden in Futurama episodes? ” (BBC, 2013). The classic dangling from a clock tower scenes from “Safety Last” and “Back to the Future.” John Goodman’s other appearances as Santa. Randy Johnson hits a bird with a fastball . Corona Extra’s Christmas palm tree commercial . The lyrics to “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” are sinister enough by themselves. **** 📼 Commercials: Hess Truck 1999 Space Shuttle Toy . Stick to Shorts : A Classic Cartoons Podcast. **** “Futurama” and “Xmas Story” © 1999 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 25, 2024

🕎 It’s the year 2000, and Christmas and Hanukkah have crossed paths at my doorstep in the form of Santa Claus and his part-Jewish friend… a weird turtle man. In honor of Christmas Day and the first night of Hanukkah sharing a day on the calendar this year, we’re revisiting some old Friends, an escaped tarantula, a restaurant we may never be allowed in or out of again, and an unforgettable interfaith holiday mascot fit for a new millennium. **** 🎙 Guests: Becca Petunia ( ToughPigs.com , Bear in the Big Blue Podcast , Bluesky ) April Ryley ( Bluesky ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. How often does the first night of Hanukkah fall on Christmas? (Vox, 2016) 2. What the ‘Friends’ Holiday Armadillo Episode Gets Right About Interfaith Families (Hey Alma, 2021) 3. The “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” drum roll outtake reel . 4. A transcript including deleted scenes reveals Ben wants Santa to bring him an ant farm. 5. Formication (with an M, y’all), the false sense of feeling like bugs are crawling on you. 6. Halloween Adventure is real and still open. 7. Hoppy the Marvel Bunny . **** 📼 Commercial Break: AT&T True Savings with David Schwimmer (circa 1996) The Studio Demands It! **** “Friends” and “The One with the Holiday Armadillo” © 2000 Warner Bros. Television. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2024

🎄It’s 1986, and the only way Drew Barrymore can save her new friends is to believe in the magic of toys… and Cincinnati. From director Clive Donner comes a bonkers adaptation of “Babes in Toyland” starring Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Richard Mulligan as a weird, evil guy who lives in a bowling ball. **** 🎙 Guests: Molly Patton ( MollyPatton.com ) Becca Petunia ( ToughPigs.com , Bear in the Big Blue Podcast , Bluesky ) Adam Pope ( The Retro Network , Wizards: The Podcast Guide to Comics , Remember That Show? , Bluesky ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “Babes in Toyland” on Tubi , the full, 3-hour original broadcast with commercials , or the unofficial “ Director’s Cut ” without ads. 2. Misfits in Toyland (NSFW), an unrelated horror-comedy webcomic. 3. Keanu Reeves (Jack) on “ Going Great ” (1985). 4. Googy Gress (Georgie) in “ Wayne’s World 2 .” 5. Today’s TV Trope: And You Were There . 6. The Cookie Jar House of South Jersey. 7. The Undertaker’s entrance at WrestleMania IX , in the middle of the afternoon. 8. Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (and Tripping Daisy’s cover of theme song ). 9. The Toymaster’s Santa coat looks like Belle’s from “ Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas .” 10. Was It Great, or Were You 8? **** 📼 Commercial Break: McDonald’s: Recital (1986) Give ’Em All a Little Pat of Butter (1986) TGI Podcast **** “Babes in Toyland” © 1986 The Finnegan Company. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 22, 2024

🎄It’s 2010, and I’m hiding in a closet from a flying shark that ate half my screwdriver. I’ve finally caught up with the timeline of people who have been requesting that I watch the “Doctor Who” Christmas specials, particularly this twisted take on “A Christmas Carol” starring Michael Gambon in the Scrooge role and the 11th Doctor as at least 2 ghosts of Christmas. **** 🎙 Guests: Andre Bennett ( Bluesky ) Jack Ford ( Total Christmas Podcast ) Anthony Strand ( ToughPigs.com , Movin’ Right Along , Bluesky ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Andre’s review of this episode from 2011. 2. Anthony ranks all of Steven Moffat’s “Doctor Who” episodes . 3. Amy and Rory’s outfits may or may not be but probably are a nod to a similar scene in a 2001 “Only Fools and Horses” Christmas special . 4. Michael Gambon in “ Toys ,” as the Ultragorgon on Jim Henson’s “Monster Maker,” and as the Ghost of Christmas Present in 2001’s “ Christmas Carol: The Movie .” 5. Abigail is basically Nora Fries from Batman. 6. Katherine Jenkins on “ Dancing with the Stars .” 7. Danny Horn (Young Adult Kazran) on Bandcamp . 8. Greenland sharks could live for hundreds of years. 9. “ Abigail’s Song (Silence Is All You Know) ” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Tesco Christmas Advert: “Mrs. Belcher” (2010) Tinsel Tunes: The Christmas Music Podcast **** “Doctor Who” and “A Christmas Carol” © 2010 BBC. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 20, 2024

🎄It’s 1970, and a couple of bear cubs have jumped through my window and are eating all my marshmallows. Join us on a deeper than expected dive into a Christmas special by former Hanna-Barbera animator Tony Benedict that almost wasn’t released till the owner of a now-defunct Florida theme park swooped in and saved it. CONTENT WARNING: No animals were harmed in the making of this podcast. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about one of the 4 versions of this special. **** 🎙 Guests: Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas ) Ethan ( The Hungry Reader , A Special Presentation or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “ A Yellowstone Christmas ” (Tony’s Version), the original cut. 2. The theatrical version with Hal Smith in the intro and added songs and sequences. 3. The Pirates World version with scenes from Ocean World Marine Park . This version was screened for Rifftrax . 4. The Modern Sound Pictures version with the songs but no live-action segments. 5. The Unusual History of Santa and the Three Bears . (The Delbert Cartoon Report, 2021) 6. The soundtrack and some background info . 7. Hal Smith in “ The Incredible, Indelible, Magical, Physical Mystery Trip .” 8. Bobby Riha (Chinook) in Hanna-Barbera’s “ Jack and the Beanstalk .” 9. Yellowstone National Park’s Zone of Death . 10. Today’s TV Trope: Human Snowball . 11. CBS Storybreak’s “ Grinny .” 12. Homer Simpson tries to catch a rabbit . 13. Iceman in X-Men #1 . **** 📼 Commercial Break: Hardee’s Gift Checks (1970s) **** “Santa and the Three Bears” © 1970 Tony Benedict Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 18, 2024

🎄It’s 2003, and nothing puts me in a festive mood quite like a bar fight. Join us as we spend Christmas break with the Justice League — well, most of it. Wonder Woman’s off doing something else, and Batman… you know, smells. **** 🎙 Guests: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Bluesky ) James Riley ( Twitter ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Mike talks “Comfort and Joy” on Tis the Podcast . 2. Paul Dini’s notes on “Comfort and Joy,” including what where Wonder Woman and Batman were. 3. The Shrine of the Silver Monkey from “ Legends of the Hidden Temple .” 4. The “Calvin and Hobbes” snowman gallery of horrors . 5. Santa gives Darkseid a lump of coal . 6. Clark and his parents’ cat, Streaky , are this universe’s Jon Arbuckle and Garfield. 7. One of the stuffed animals on Kara’s bed looks like Zook , one of Martian Manhunter’s comic book sidekicks. 8. “ Sam, the Guy from Quincy ” by the Arrogant Worms (re: Robert Ito as the Japanese toy company CEO). 9. The end of The Simpsons’ “ Treehouse of Horror IV .” 10. Wild Swamp Thing appeared! 11. Ultra-Humanite is doing a Party Man . 12. A tangent about Oreo cookies, Martian Manhunter’s favorite food. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Burger King: Justice League Kids’ Meal Toys (2003) Oreos for Santa (1986) Wizards: The Podcast Guide to Comics **** “Justice League” and “Comfort and Joy” © 2003 Warner Bros. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 16, 2024

🎄It’s 1986, and Santa looks different after arriving late to the mall due to a flat reindeer. Unfold that TV Guide you crafted into an angel centerpiece and join us for a semi-festive Christmas episode of “Mama’s Family” that will have you believing in either Santa or ghosts at the end of it. **** 🎙 Guest: Joe Fulton ( Christmas Aficionado ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “Santa Mama” on the Internet Archive . 2. A Mama’s Family reunion on “Vicki!” 3. Vicki Lawrence sings “ The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia .” 4. Mama’s house was also seen in “ Halloween .” 5. Ken Berry (Vinton) as Peter-No-Tail . 6. The cheapest Christmas gifts we got for childhood crushes. 7. The fragility of one-of-a-kind ornaments. 8. “ You Are My Sunshine ” on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Snuggle Fabric Softener Free Christmas Ornament (1986) Snow in Southtown **** “Mama’s Family” and “Santa Mama” © 1986 Joe Hamilton Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 14, 2024

🎄It’s 1990, and Santa’s lost in my confusing network of chimneys. Prepare yourself for a more silly than spooky Christmas special that takes us from Castle Duckula to a concussion-induced space adventure and back. **** 🎙 Guest: Adam Parker Sibun ( Merry Britsmas ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “A Christmas Quacker” on the Internet Archive (it’s mislabeled as another episode). 2. Nick Knacks on “Count Duckula.” 3. Count Duckula’s first appearance on “Danger Mouse.” 4. UK Christmas TV , an extensive archive of Christmas TV listings for the UK’s main channels. 5. Jack May (Igor) was the original English voice of Muzzy . 6. The Odd Case of Dennis the Menace : 2 separate comic strip characters with the same name debuting on the same day on opposite sides of the Atlantic. 7. Return to the Turducken Hunger Games . 8. The daydream scene in “Sidekicks.” 9. Mike Oldfield’s “ In Dulci Jubilo .” 10. Today’s TV Trope: Blunder-Correcting Impulse . **** 📼 Commercial Break: Shreddies Cereal: Count Duckula Adventure Scratch & Win Game (1989) Muzzy (circa 1989) **** “Count Duckula” and “A Christmas Quacker” © 1990 Carleton Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 12, 2024

🎄It’s 2020, and a gift-wrapped puppy licked my face and made my skin turn blue. From the Chiodo Brothers comes a charming stop-motion Christmas special about how an alien invasion of the North Pole almost ruined Christmas — and the entire planet’s gravity, but also Christmas. Plus: A “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” Easter egg, some cameos from “Elf,” and Santa with nunchucks. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Pop Culture Retrofit , Bluesky ) Sammy Hain ( Sammy’s Easter Tails , Bluesky ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “Alien Xmas” on Netflix . 2. A behind-the-scenes interview with the Chiodo Brothers . 3. Bloody Disgusting’s review . 4. A “Killer Klowns” Easter egg hidden in the Klepts’ chamber of stolen stuff. 5. The magnetic north pole vs. the geographic North Pole. 6. Michelle Deco (Noelle) writes Nintendo trailers, including this one for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD . 7. Today’s TV Trope: Tablecloth Yank . 8. “ Here’s your problem: Someone set this thing to ‘evil.’ ” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Coca-Cola “Santa Packs Are Coming” (1994) Holidays After Dark **** “Alien Xmas” © 2020 Netflix US, LLC. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 10, 2024

🎄It’s 1982, and I’m trapped at sea while Mickey Rooney butts into everyone’s conversation. Join us as we embark on a Christmas cruise aboard the Pacific Princess for a very merry episode of “The Love Boat” featuring Maureen McCormick, Donny Osmond, and Mickey Rooney as an angel in disguise as your nosy neighbor. **** 🎙 Guests: Guy Hutchinson ( Pointless Nostalgia , GuyHutchinson.com ) William Bruce West ( West Week Ever , Remember That Show? ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “The Christmas Presence” on Paramount+ , Pluto TV , and Facebook . 2. Sesame Street’s Love Boat parody and “ Song of Ten .” 3. Guy on the history of the Lacoste Crocodile . 4. “Brady Bunch” references: Maureen McCormick can’t stop getting hit in the face , and Mrs. Brady gets her voice back . 5. What’s in Santa Stubing’s bag: Stadium Checkers , a Jeep Honcho model truck , and more. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Toys “R” Us featuring the E.T. Atari 2600 Game (1982) Remember That Show? **** “The Love Boat” and “The Christmas Presence” © 1982 The Love Boat Company. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 8, 2024

🎄It’s 1988, and the Spirit of Christmas just broke down my bedroom door to say hello. This edition of Scrooge Sunday turns everyone’s favorite festive tale of redemption on its head and blows it out its enormous, muscular backside as great philanthropist and all-around softy Ebenezer Blackadder learns from watching his ancestors and descendants that it’s good to be bad. **** 🎙 Guest: Jack Ford ( Total Christmas Podcast ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “Blackadder’s Christmas Carol” on Vimeo . 2. Tony Robinson’s “Christmas Wrapping” and the Total Christmas Podcast episode on it. 3. How have I never heard of humbug candies ? 4. “ A Merry Messy Kweznuz .” 5. A deleted scene . 6. Miriam Margolyes (Queen Victoria) in “ Little Shop of Horrors .” 7. Jim Broadbent (Prince Albert) as Santa in an Aldi Christmas ad . 8. “ The Last of Scrooge ,” and Jack’s review of it. 9. The cast of “Grange Hill” sings “ Just Say No .” 10. Dennis Lill (Beadle) in “Batman” (1989). 11. Spitting Image and “ The Chicken Song .” 12. Merry Britsmas on “A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong.” **** 📼 Commercial Break: BBC1 Intro to “Blackadder’s Christmas Carol” (1988) Barclaycard: “Surveillance” (1995), starring Rowan Atkinson. Festive Foreign Film Fans . **** “Blackadder’s Christmas Carol” © 1988 BBC. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 6, 2024

🎄It’s 2001, and a rock giant is chasing us across the ocean, which has been entirely frozen over by fairies with minty fresh breath. From the makers of “ReBoot” and Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” music video comes Barbie’s first feature-length movie, complete with motion capture of the New York City Ballet, revolutionary hair animation, and Tim Curry as an extra sassy Mouse King. **** 🎙 Guests: Kristi and Bri from Bad Princess Movies . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “Barbie and the Nutcracker” on the Internet Archive . 2. Bad Princess Movies on “Barbie in The Nutcracker.” 3. Motion capture footage of the New York City Ballet. 4. Oops, we went on multiple Zelda tangents about Majora’s Mask and the Song of Storms . 5. It’s usually not a good sign when you find a doll on the ground in a destroyed village . 6. Of course there’s a toy of Marzipan the horse (no relation to the Marzipan with the answering machine ). 7. Today’s TV Trope: Literal Cliffhanger . 8. Do the Great Lakes freeze over ? 9. Mod Hair Ken and his stick-on facial hair. 10. Barbie eyes new horizons (BBC News, 2001). **** 📼 Commercial Break: Barbie in the Nutcracker My Size Sugarplum Princess (2001) “A Very Zelda Christmas,” by DarkNuck , on Apple Music , Spotify , and YouTube . **** “Barbie in The Nutcracker” © 2001 Mattel, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 4, 2024

🎄It’s 1984, and Santa’s in front of a firing squad because his executioner didn’t appreciate the socks he got last Christmas. The slime is an extra festive shade of green in this Christmas episode of the show that defined Nickelodeon’s early years, featuring an all-star cast of the 5 most featured kid actors of “You Can’t Do That on Television.” **** 🎙 Guests: Shawn Robare ( Plastic Rocket Pop , Cult Film Club , Wolfman’s Got Nards ) Steven ( UFO Club , The Bigfoot Club ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch the Christmas episode on Facebook . 2. Shawn’s piece of the Prevert Family’s living room wallpaper . 3. Nick Knacks on “You Can’t Do That on Television.” 4. Mike pitches a sequel to “Santa Claus: The Movie” on SequelQuest (2020). 5. “ UFO Kidnapped ,” a TV pilot featuring much of the same cast of kids. 6. Les Lye as Professor Coldheart in “The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings.” 7. How we’ve fielded the question of Santa’s one-night flight. 8. Abby Hagyard (Mom) on YouTube . 9. Ice Cream Dolls , The Visible Man , and the G.I. Joe Motorized Battle Tank . 10. Calvin and Hobbes makes the same “Santa wants beer” joke . **** 📼 Commercial Break: “You Can’t Do That on Television” Green Slime Shampoo (circa 1987) The Lost Christmas Podcast . “A Very Zelda Christmas,” by DarkNuck , on Apple Music , Spotify , and YouTube . **** “You Can’t Do That on Television” © 1984 Carleton Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 2, 2024

🎄It’s 1995, and Robert Downey Jr. may or may not be holding Kermit the Frog hostage until he gets his perfect Christmas tree. The Advent Calendar House is back in time for a freakin’ country bear jamberoo as a family of Muppet mice risk their lives to bring home the top of the top of the top of the top of a Christmas tree fit for an eccentric future Iron Man. Also starring shy butler Leslie Nielsen, homesick Swedish maid Stockard Channing, and a pre-Bobo Bobo the Bear. **** 🎙 Guests: Anthony Strand ( ToughPigs.com , Movin’ Right Along , Bluesky ) Tim Babb ( Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree: 1995 broadcast with commercials . 2. Muppet Wiki entry . 3. The original book . 4. An odd TV promo featuring Brian Cummings’ Kermit the Frog impression. 5. Kermit and Miss Piggy’s music video of “ She Drives Me Crazy ,” featuring Leslie Nielsen. 6. Movin’ Right Along talks Kermit: Unpigged . 7. The Sesame Street Muppets on “The West Wing” with Stockard Channing . 8. Mama and Papa Bear are Beth from “The Muppets Take Manhattan” and the future Bobo from “Muppets Tonight.” 9. “Jim Henson’s Animal Show” on Owls … and Humans . 10. Sandra Bullock plays the glass harp in “Miss Congeniality.” 11. An Oreo commercial where a mall Santa takes off his beard way too quickly. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Dizzy Grizzlies and Ritz Air Crisps (1995) “ Santa in His Own Words ,” a book by North Pole Radio’s Matt Spaulding. **** “Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree” © 1995 Jim Henson Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 23, 2024

🎄It’s 1992, and there’s no such thing as Buster Bunny. The Advent Calendar House wraps up Christmas in July with the unofficial series finale of “Tiny Toon Adventures,” when Buster wishes he’d never been on the show, and the horrors within Montana Max’s Biff Tannen Pleasure Palace or whatever. **** 🎙 Guests: Adam Pope ( Geekster , YouTube , Remember That Show? ) William Bruce West ( West Week Ever , Remember That Show? ) Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. I found this special hiding in a 4-hour Christmas special compilation on the Internet Archive. 2. “ Meet the Tiny Toons ” in the special edition magazine “Bugs Bunny: He’s 50, Folks” (1990). 3. “ The Chipmunks Go to the Movies .” 4. Tony Pope (God) as Goofy in “ Watch Out for Goofy ” (the theme song for Adam’s 2 Goofs Podcast ) and as the first voice heard in “ Back to the Future .” 5. John Kassir (who voices Buster in this episode) as the Crypt-Keeper in RD’s Retro Detention Halloween Specials in 2019 and 2023 . 6. Today’s TV Trope: Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal . 7. Jacoby & Meyers and a 2-minute-long tangent about personal injury lawyer commercials. 8. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s upcoming role as Santa in “ The Man with the Bag .” 9. American Express Commercials with Mel Blanc and Jim Davis . 10. Bugs Bunny may have been voiced by an uncredited Noel Blanc , Mel’s son, for a single line at the end. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Godzilla: The Series Promo (1998) Toy Story: Holiday TV Spot (1995) **** “Tiny Toon Adventures” and “It’s a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special” © 1992 Warner Bros. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 21, 2024

🎄It’s 1990… or 1962… and a quantum physicist forgot to powder his boss’s underwear. This Scrooge Sunday edition of the Advent Calendar House involves time travel of a different sort as we follow Dr. Sam Beckett on a mission to save a mission, and the soul of the man trying to tear it down. * CONTENT WARNING: This episode briefly discusses the death of actor Charles Rocket and the would-be death of his Scrooge-like character, Michael Blake. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Episode guide on Al’s Place. 2. A Christmas story from the Quantum Leap comic: “ He Knows If You’ve Been Bad or Good .” 3. Charles Rocket drops an F-bomb on “Saturday Night Live.” 4. “ Bringing in the Sheaves ” on “ The Simpsons ” and “ Batman ” (1966). 5. Polish Christmas desserts piernik and makowiec . 6. Al’s Ghost of Christmas Future costume looks more like Jacob Marley mixed with the Ghost of Christmas Past from “Scrooged.” 7. Goldie Wilson III from “Back to the Future Part II.” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Squarbles (circa 1987). Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast . **** “Quantum Leap” and “A Little Miracle” © 1990 Universal City Studios, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 19, 2024

🦃 It’s 2015, and in my search for a noisy cryptid I accidentally freed 175 roided-up turkeys, but neither of those things is the real monster. Join us as we rediscover a long lost Thanksgiving special concept Jim Henson dreamed up in the 1960s and meet the Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow. **** 🎙 Guests: Ethan ( The Hungry Reader , A Special Presentation or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight , Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head ) Sammy Hain ( Sammy’s Easter Tails ) Tony Whitaker ( @muppetdude , Muppet Wiki ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “Turkey Hollow” on Disney+ . 2. ToughPigs.com Behind the Scenes of Turkey Hollow . 3. Muppet Wiki on this special , Jim Henson’s original concept , and the 2014 graphic novel . 4. Some prototype musical monsters: An early Grover , Snerf , and the Rock and Roll Monster . 5. Director Kirk Thatcher in “ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home .” 6. On-set interviews with Ludacris, Lisa Henson, and Alice Dinnean . 7. Hope you like Beets . 8. Today’s TV Tropes: When You Coming Home, Dad? and Hollywood Law . 9. Station from “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.” 10. “ Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge .” 11. Jason Hopley’s (Zorp) IMDb profile picture is from “Goosebumps.” 12. Lewis , Target’s Halloween Ghoul. 13. Homer Simpson eating potato chips on the space shuttle . **** 📼 Commercial Break: AT&T “Turkey” Commercial (2008) TGI Podcast , diving into holiday episodes from TGIF and more. **** “Turkey Hollow” © 2015 The Jim Henson Company, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 17, 2024

🎄 It’s 1992, and my daydreams of snow are melting into a bucket of water getting dumped on my head from an airplane. Join us as we dive down the rabbit hole to the strange world of The Disney Channel’s “Adventures in Wonderland,” where the White Rabbit wears Rollerblades and the halls are decked with fresh produce, the way Christmas was meant to be celebrated. **** 🎙 Guests: Channel KRT : Kit Quinn ( @missi0nbreakout , Letterboxd ) Randee Martin ( @NeonTailzz , YouTube ) Tyler Green ( @TylerFG , Bluesky , The Mask: Gone Viral ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “Christmas in Wonderland” on Disney+ , or this copy with a commercial bumper in front of it. 2. Channel KRT on the episodes “ Pie Noon ” and “ Wonderland: The Movie .” 3. “ White Rabbits Can’t Jump ,” an unaired episode guest starring O.J. Simpson. 4. One Movie Later: Alice Through the Looking Glass . 5. Deadline’s obituary for Armelia McQueen (The Red Queen) uses a photo from this special. 6. Armelia McQueen on “ The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ” and… “ The Fesh Pince of Blair .” 7. Patrick Richwood (White Rabbit) lied to the casting director about knowing how to rollerblade . 8. Cast members on The Tiara Talk Show . 9. The Christmas Pickle . 10. Harry Waters Jr. (Tweedle Dee) in “Back to the Future,” and Wesley Mann (Caterpillar) in “Part II.” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Disney Channel Holiday Preview Bumper with Jane Seymour (1992) Juicy Fruit Skiing Commercial (circa 1989) Cool Kids Club , a nostalgia-filled trip back to childhood. **** “Adventures in Wonderland” and “Christmas in Wonderland” © 1992 The Walt Disney Company. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 15, 2024

🎄 It’s 1988, the monsters under my bed are real, and they’re stealing Christmas. Follow us under the covers through a wormhole to the home of ’80s kids’ bedding sensation the Pillow People in a Christmas special so obscure, it’s not even listed on IMDb. But it’s real, and it’s ironically nightmarish. **** 🎙 Guest: Ethan ( The Hungry Reader , A Special Presentation or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight , Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “ Pillow People Save Christmas ” on YouTube. 2. Pillow People on the toy collectors’ website Ghost of the Doll. 2. Toot Sweet Toys , or what’s left of it. 3. TV listing in New York magazine , November 1988. 4. Victor DiMattia (Billy) on filming “The Sandlot.” 5. Window Rattler as seen on “Full House.” 6. The Who Cares Bears . 7. Today’s TV Trope: Introdump , example: the worst Rob Liefeld drawing . 8. Cheryl Chase (Sweet Dreams) mentions working with Cree Summer (Rock-a-Bye Baby) on this special in a 2004 interview about the “Rugrats” spinoff “All Grown Up.” 9. The Far Side: “ …He’s taking it with him! ” 10. Nightmara looks like a cross between Mother Brain in “Captain N: The Game Master” and Madam Hecuba from the 1974 anime adaptation of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Pillow People: Pillow Valley Commercial (1988) Holidays After Dark , exploring the strange, unusual, and dark sides of the holidays. **** “Pillow People Save Christmas” © 1988 TMS Entertainment, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 13, 2024

🎃 It’s 1986, and one student at a magical boarding school is struggling to fit in while having to deal with a hard-nosed potions teacher and bullying from a golden child whose father will hear about this, but finds comfort in broom flying and encouragement from the kindly old headmaster. No, not that one. Before Harry Potter, there was “The Worst Witch,” which was adapted into a TV Halloween special starring a young Fairuza Balk, Dianna Rigg, Charlotte Rae in a dual role, and Tim Curry in the trippiest ’80s music video. **** 🎙 Guests: Becca Petunia ( ToughPigs.com , Hubba-Wha?! ) Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames.bsky.social ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “The Worst Witch” on the Internet Archive . 2. Find “The Worst Witch” book at your local library . 2. St. Michael’s College is for sale . 3. Pam Jones (Donna) — formerly Kate Buckley before another actress took that name while she was on hiatus — is now a ceramic artist . 4. The kitten ceremony background music sounds kind of like Zelda’s Lullaby . 5. Mildred and Ethel’s rivalry gave us “ Owl House ” vibes. 6. Toonces the Driving Cat . 7. One student is a future Teletubby ! 8. Becca on Movin’ Right Along discussing Tim Curry singing in “Muppet Treasure Island.” 9. Both Tim Curry and Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid” sing “begin the Beguine.” 10. Tim Curry in “ Red Alert 3 .” 11. Other “Worst Witch” TV adaptations , including a college spinoff and a Netflix series. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Carvel Halloween Ice Cream Cakes Commercial (1986) Hyrule Podcasters , an audio “Let’s Play” through The Legend of Zelda. **** “The Worst Witch” © 1986 Central Independent Television Plc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 11, 2024

🎄 It’s 1977, and the cast of Broadway’s hottest new musical is taking drastic measures to convince 4 different unions keep the theater open for a Christmas party because they forgot to book a venue. Join the original Broadway cast of “Annie” as somewhere in between themselves and their characters in a unique TV Christmas special which may very well have been many TV viewers’ first exposure to the musical. **** 🎙 Guest: Guy Hutchinson ( Pointless Nostalgia , GuyHutchinson.com ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “ The Annie Christmas Show ” on the Internet Archive. 2. The original Broadway version of “Annie” ends on Christmas; the 1982 movie ends on the 4th of July. 3. Andrea McArdle in “ Christmas at Walt Disney World .” ( Full Episode ) 4. Danielle Brisbois (Molly) in “ All in the Family ,” and she was a founding member of the band New Radicals . 5. “ It’s Christmas ” on the Annie 30th Anniversary Production Cast Recording, featuring multiple Annies and Miss Hannigans. 6. “I Don’t Care” in “ In the Good Old Summertime ” and “ Back to the Future: The Game .” 7. “ There’s a Broken Heart for Every Light on Broadway ” in “Bullets Over Broadway.” 8. Today’s TV Trope: I Have a Family . 9. Ethel Merman sings “ Tomorrow ” in “A Special Sesame Street Christmas.” ( Full Episode ) 10. How The Twelve Days of Christmas ’ days 9 through 12 got reordered. 11. Members of the cast reunited in 2019 to perform this Christmas special. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Kinney Shoes (1977) Fotomat (1977) Festive Foreign Film Fans , a podcast covering festive movies and music from around the world. **** “The Annie Christmas Show” © 1977 Martin Charmin Productions / NBC Universal Network. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 9, 2024

🎄 It’s 1981, and a jolly swagman who may or may not be Santa Claus is flying me around the world in a sleigh built out of a bench and some rope we had lying around to search the globe for a lost baby kangaroo. Today’s Christmas in July episode begins where it’s actually winter in July, and only gets stranger and more inappropriate from there. It’s “Around the World with Dot,” also known as “Dot and Santa Claus,” starring the title character from an 1899 Australian children’s book, “Dot and the Kangaroo.” **** 🎙 Guest: Dan MacPherson ( @danmacpherson.bsky.social ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “ Around the World with Dot ” on YouTube (Aussie Kids TV). 2. But you may want to watch “ Dot and the Kangaroo ” first. 3. Director Yoram Gross endured World War II in Poland; his family was on Schindler’s list . His studio, now Flying Bark Productions , more recently animated “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and Marvel’s “What If…?” 4. Barbara Frawley (Dot) singing “ The Black Cat ” on “Play School.” 5. Today’s TV Trope: Magical Homeless Person . 6. “ Sakura Sakura ,” which I recognized from Punch-Out!! 7. How a White Lie Gave Japan KFC for Christmas . (Gastro Obscura) 8. “The Real World of the Circus” opens similarly to the movie “ Chaplin .” 9. Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon . 10. “ Alouette ” is about plucking the feathers off a lark. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Mortein “Louie the Fly” Commercial (1980s) Myer “Celebrate Christmas” Commercial (1980s) Bad Princess Movies , a catalogue of terrible movies about princesses and princesses-to-be. **** “Dot and the Kangaroo” © 1981 Yoram Gross Filmstudio Pty Ltd. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 7, 2024

🐰 It’s 2004, and a stuffed toy rabbit voluntold me to clean his house. The Advent Calendar House celebrates both Easter in July and Scrooge Sunday with a trip to the Hundred Acre Wood as Rabbit does double duty as both the Easter Bunny and Scrooge, all while Christopher Robin is somewhere else entirely. **** 🎙 Guests: Sammy Hain ( Sammy’s Easter Tails ) Matt Spaulding ( North Pole Radio , Two Broke Geeks ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “Springtime with Roo” on Disney+ . 2. Ads from the 2004 DVD , plus a video of some dude walking through the menu screen . 3. Why do Christopher Robin’s toys have American accents? 4. John Fiedler (Piglet) in “ The Golden Girls ” and “ 12 Angry Men .” 5. “ Christmas in the Stars ,” the Star Wars Christmas album. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Sears Video Game Arcade Christmas Sale (1983) **** “Winnie the Pooh” and “Springtime with Roo” © 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 5, 2024

🎄 It’s 1983, and my emotional support jack-in-the-box is not providing much help for my Imposter Syndrome. Prepare for a deep dive into another pre-ALF puppet special from Paul Fusco starring a very depressed elf in training trying to find where he belongs in Santa’s workshop by first finding everywhere he doesn’t belong. Plus: Santa’s Swedish Chef-like human hands! A three-eyed purple teddy bear we never get to see! Paul Fusco inserting himself into his own Christmas fan fiction! **** 🎙 Guests: Tom Coombs ( The Pop Daddy ) Jayme Kilsby ( Forever Bogus Podcast ) Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “Santa’s Magic Toy Bag” on Tubi . 2. Sherman looks like A Gnome Named Gnorm . 3. The hot dog puppet from “Funland.” 4. The History of the Nickelodeon Hotel (Defunctland). 5. The keeper of Santa’s Magic Toy Bag reminds me of the presidential designated survivor . 6. Superman impales some jerk’s truck on a telephone pole in “Man of Steel.” 7. Cracked: We Ruined Santa With Math . **** 📼 Commercial Break: Sears Video Game Arcade Christmas Sale (1983) The Studio Demands It! , a podcast that recreates, reimagines, or flat out fixes existing film franchises when a hypothetical studio demands more films. **** “Santa’s Magic Toy Bag” © 1983 Imagicom Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 2, 2024

🎄It’s 1979, and an evil king is having abandonment issues after his entire kingdom left, so he made an army of robots instead of going to therapy. The Advent Calendar House has once again emerged from hibernation after declaring 4 more months of winter to pretend it’s still winter. Join us as we encounter what might be the least Christmassy Rankin/Bass Christmas special, featuring a friendlier version of Jack Frost, a groundhog dressed like a pro wrestling manager, and the wintry weather neighbors of those angels your grandmother told you were bowling whenever there was a thunderstorm. **** 🎙 Guests: Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas ) Matt Spaulding ( North Pole Radio ) Jeff Loftin ( Lost Christmas ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “Jack Frost” on YouTube . 2. Toei Animation’s “The Little Mermaid” (1975). 3. Gilbert Gottfried on his favorite death scene : Buddy Hackett as Lou Costello in “Bud and Lou.” 4. Today’s TV Trope: Inevitable Waterfall . 5. The Christmas tradition of “ dream presents ” is like the dinner scene from “Hook.” 6. February 2 is Candlemas , the 40th day of Christmas. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Pennsylvania Lottery: Like Holiday Morning , starring Gus, the 2nd most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania (2018) Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Hedgehog Day (1992) **** “Jack Frost” © 1979 Rankin/Bass Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Feb 29, 2024

The Advent Calendar House has awoken early from its long winter’s nap to take the Leap Year challenge as prescribed by Dr. Frasier Crane on one unseasonably warm February morning in 1996. On the way we look up the “Frasier” cast’s Christmas connections, explore the world of complicated opera solos and bad Western ballads, and call in to a PBS pledge drive to try and talk to Big Bird. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Kelsey Grammer in “ Mr. St. Nick ” and “ The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve .” 2. Our adventures on the mid-1990s internet, when it was All About the Pentiums . 3. “Frasier” episodes ranked on Variety , Frasier Online , and Thrillist . 4. “ When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold ” from “The Pirates of Penzance,” in which Leap Day becomes a plot point. 5. Oleg Cassini and the worst title card gag. 6. KACL is a real radio station, but not in Seattle. 7. “ Rigoletto ” and the aria “ Ella mi fu rapita / Parmi veder le lagrime .” 8. Kelsey Grammer sings “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Philadelphia. 9. “ Buttons and Bows ,” as sung by Bob Hope in “The Paleface” and by Leap Day baby Dinah Shore . 10. Adam “Edge” Copeland talks “Money Plane” on Hey! (EW) . **** 📼 Commercial Break: McDonald’s “Morning Break” Commercial starring Kelsey Grammer, 1995. Remember That Show? , a podcast journey to explore obscure and forgotten TV series. **** “Frasier” and “Look Before You Leap” © 1996 Paramount Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2023

🎄It’s 1984, and Ebenezer Scrooge is threatening to raise his asking price for a warehouse full of corn. This Christmas Eve episode not only drops on a Scrooge Sunday, but it’s also the Advent Calendar House’s 150th episode. To celebrate, I let listeners vote for which “Christmas Carol” to cover, and the winner is the 1984 TV movie starring George S. Scott, along with original “Equalizer” Edward Woodward as a sassy Ghost of Christmas Present, and we even spotted our favorite Alfred Pennyworth, Michael Gough, as a not-so-portly gentleman. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , @imgonnadj24 ). Anthony Strand ( ToughPigs.com , Movin’ Right Along , @durwoodclapper.bsky.social ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. David Warner in “ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze .” 2. George S. Scott in “ Angus ” and “ Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue .” 3. “ God Bless Us Everyone ,” this movie’s theme music by Nick Bicât. 4. Wikipedia and NO ONE ELSE names one Cratchit child “Michael,” played by Susannah York’s (Mrs. Cratchit) real-life son, Orlando Wells. 5. Michael Carter (Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) as Bib Fortuna in “Return of the Jedi.” 6. “ It’s Corn ,” and My favorite “Futurama” joke . 7. Scrooge’s grave , allegedly a real, reinscribed headstone , at St. Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury. 8. Twelve Hundred Ghosts - A Christmas Carol in Supercut . **** 📼 Commercial Break: IBM Sponsored Commercial Break from the original airing of “A Christmas Carol.” George C. Scott “Read More About It” PSA . The Christmas Podcast Network All-Star Comedy Christmas Show! **** “A Christmas Carol” © 1984 Travenol Laboratories Limited. In memory of Jason Gross (1976–2023). “Christmas in Your Heart” (from “A Garfield Christmas Special”) performed by Todd from Vista Blue /Second Saturday. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 22, 2023

🎄It’s 1980, and my spoiled nephew just got beaten in a ski-jumping contest by a bear who’s never seen winter before. Join us we fail upward through middle to upper hotel management featuring a simultaneously very mature and very immature conversation about cartoon bears discovering mistletoe. What could be the Jellystone Winter Lodge’s final Christmas carnival manages to wake up Yogi Bear, who hibernates directly underneath it but somehow never knew about it before now. **** 🎙 Guest: Bill Hanstock ( @sundownmotel , “ We Promised You a Great Main Event: An Unauthorized WWE History ”) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This special opens with a typo: The sign reads “ Yellystone Park .” 2. Daws Butler’s Snagglepuss voice was a Bert Lahr impression that was so spot on, Lahr threatened to sue when Snagglepuss started endorsing Kellogg’s cereal. 3. Hanna-Barbera’s Christmas Sing-A-Long album, featuring songs from this special. 4. Yogi was in “ Casper’s First Christmas ” in 1979, so this isn’t really Yogi’s First Christmas. 5. Fruity Pebbles Christmas Commercial episode , 2017. 6. The Wonkamobile . 7. ClickHole: “ Which One of My Garbage Sons Are You? ” Clickhole, 2014. 8. Eddie the Eagle . 9. Mickey Mouse’s shirtless (and hatless) Steamboat Willie winter look at Disneyland. 10. “Mean, Sour, Crafty, and Cruel” in “ Oliver and the Artful Dodger ” and “ Smurfs .” 11. The Zone of Death in the part of Yellowstone National Park that’s in Idaho. 12. “Christmas Is Here” in “ A Flintstone Christmas .” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Cocoa Krispies Snagglepuss “Heavens to Murgatroyd” Commercial , circa 1963. Bad Princess Movies , a catalogue of terrible movies about princesses and princesses-to-be. **** “Yogi’s First Christmas” © 1980 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 20, 2023

🎄It’s 1970, and Santa’s been locked up in an underground cave with 2 giant Muppet monsters. Join us as we venture through the tunnels under Santa’s workshop to uncover Jim Henson’s first ever TV holiday special, presented by The Ed Sullivan Show and featuring the first Muppet performances by Richard Hunt, Fran Brill, Marilyn Sokol, and John Lovelady, as well as the first appearances of Thog and a familiar-looking Frackle who’d later be reworked into the Great Gonzo. **** 🎙 Guests: Tori Schmidt ( Muppets No Context , The Muppetwt Awards ) Tony Whitaker ( @muppetdude , Muppet Wiki ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “ The Great Santa Claus Switch ” on Muppet Wiki. 2. ToughPigs.com’s transcript of the special, 2004. 3. Jim Henson, Thog, and Lothar on “ The Dick Cavett Show ,” 1971. 4. Taminella Grinderfall in “ Tales of the Tinkerdee .” 5. Jim Henson’s Red Book entries on the special’s casting and debut . 6. Tony’s art of the Two-Headed Monster as the Miser Brothers . 7. So Many Muppets Are Named Fred . 8. Daniel Seagren as Spider-Man on “ The Electric Company .” 9. Richard Hunt as Elmo . 10. Snarl , the Frackle who would become Gonzo. 11. My Emmet Otter’s Teenage Mutant Jug-Band Christmas T-shirt . 12. We have dubbed the green Frackle who looks like Thig with a beak and horns “Theg.” 13. “This Is Halloween” in a Sesame Place parade . 14. “ 8 Balls of Fur .” 15. Stop calling them “ Muppeteers .” **** 📼 Commercial Break: FritoLay Holiday Party Display Commercial , 1970. “Noëlco” Razor Santa Commercial , 1970. Merry Britsmas , all things Christmas from a British perspective. **** “The Great Santa Claus Switch” © 1970 Sullivan Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 18, 2023

🎄It’s 1983, and the Worst Kids in the World are taking over the church Nativity play, smoking in the ladies’ room, and helping themselves to the sacramental grape juice. Join us as we meet the Herdmans in a classic Christmas story turned TV movie starring Loretta Swit from M*A*S*H and a young Fairuza Balk in her on-screen debut. **** 🎙 Guests: Scott Leopold ( Holly Jolly X’masu ) Bob Baker ( Festive Foreign Film Fans ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Today’s TV Tropes: It’s the Best Whatever, Ever and Title Drop . 2. Author Barbara Robinson wrote 2 sequels: “ The Best School Year Ever ” (1994) and “ The Best Halloween Ever ” (2004). 3. Fairuza Balk (Beth) in “ The Waterboy .” 4. Loretta Swit (Grace) interview: “ Meanest kids in town make the best pageant ,” AP via The Free Lance-Star, 1983. 5. Jason Michas (Leroy) as Johnny Arcade in “ The Power Team ” animated segment from Season 1 of “Video Power.” 6. Antony Holland (Reverend Hopkins) as Dr. Light — er, “Dr. Wright” — in “ Captain N: The Game Master. ” 7. Ocean Hellman (Alice) in “ Danger Bay ,” which keeps coming up this season. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Duracell “No Longer Under the Christmas Tree” Commercial , 1983. Festive Foreign Film Fans , covering festive movies and music from around the world. **** “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” © 1983 Comworld Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 16, 2023

🎄It’s 1994, and the Jeffersons are poisoning Metropolis with greed spray from toy atomic space rats. Join us on an unpredictable flight through the first Christmas episode of “Lois and Clark,” written by Dean Cain and starring Sherman Hemsley as the Toyman and Isabel Sanford as his reluctant assistant, plus Denise Richards, Dick Van Patten, Doug Llewellyn, and terrible special effects. **** 🎙 Guests: Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas ) Paxton Holley ( Cavalcade of Awesome , Cult Film Club , Hellbent for Letterbox ) Jeeg ( Nerd Lunch ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. C.T. brings up this episode and Jeeg seals his fate on Nerd Lunch’s “ Nerdstradamus 2013 Redux .” 2. Winslow Schott’s plan to dump his greed toxin into Metropolis’s water supply is similar to Scarecrow’s plan in “Batman Begins.” 3. Progressive Insurance “Barbie” Commercial . 4. Denise Richards (Angela) in “ Tammy and the T-Rex .” 5. Eddie Jones (Jonathan Kent) in “ A League of Their Own .” 6. Christmas at Graceland . 7. Totally Rad Christmas on “It’s Gary Shandling’s Christmas Show” featuring Dom Irrera (Hecklebaum). 8. Homer Simpson licking poisonous toads . 9. Today’s TV Trope: Anticipatory Breath Spray . 10. “ Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas ” by The Pretenders. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Burger King Holiday Disney Glasses Commercial , 1994. Children First “Read a Book” PSA featuring Brett Butler, 1994. Totally Rad Christmas , celebrating all things Christmas in the ’80s. **** “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and “Season’s Greedings” © 1994 Warner Bros. Television. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 14, 2023

🎄It’s 2001, and a magical partridge is sending me on a coat drive for some kind of Karate Kid-style Santa training. Hop in our light blue ’54 convertible and buckle up as we take you on a joyride through the very last and most forgotten Rankin/Bass Christmas special, featuring a mostly black cast starring Patti LaBelle, Gregory Hines, and a criminally underused Eartha Kitt as a talking cat. **** 🎙 Guests: Andre Bennett ( Cult Cinema Cloister , Philadelphia Championship Rock Paper Scissors ). Tim Babb ( Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This special was co-written by Suzanne Collins , who went on to write “The Hunger Games.” 2. The other co-writer, Peter Bakalian, also has a book series. It’s called “ The F.A.R.T. Diaries .” 3. Patti LaBelle in Philadelphia’s “ Get to Know Us ” tourism campaign, 1985. 4. Patti LaBelle on “Sesame Street” singing “ How I Miss My X .” 5. IMDb’s photo gallery for “Santa, Baby!” is full of high-quality promotional images. 6. RankinBass.com’s first look at “Santa, Baby!” from December 2001. 7. Gregory Hines in “ The Muppets Take Manhattan ” and “ Running Scared .” 8. Rankin/Bass finally includes “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” in a Christmas special. 8. Natalie Toro (Samson) lists “Santa Baby!” on her bio page . 10. Andre’s uncle co-wrote K-Ci & JoJo’s “ All My Life .” **** 📼 Commercial Break: McDonald’s “Wake Up” Breakfast Commercial featuring Patti LaBelle, 1990. Can’t Wait for Christmas , the podcast dedicated to keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year round. **** “Santa, Baby” © 2001 Perisphere Pictures, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 12, 2023

🎄It’s 1989, and a killer in a Santa suit is making it really hard to hide my dead husband’s body. You better watch out as we dig up the first filmed episode of “Tales From the Crypt,” a cozy Christmas nightmare directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring his then-wife and talented screamer, Mary Ellen Trainor, and the kid who gets her hoverboard stolen by Marty McFly. **** 🎙 Guests: Jamie Ray ( Fave Five From Fans , Complete Disarray with Jamie Ray ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Mike on Fave Five From Fans with my Fave Five Christmas TV Specials (already covered them all here). 2. Fave Five Christmas Horror Movies . 3. The Vault of Horror No. 35 , from 1954. 4. “And All Through the House” segment of the 1972 “Tales from the Crypt” movie . 5. HBO Feature Presentation opening, 1983. 6. John Kassir (The Crypt-Keeper) in a commercial for The Legend of Zelda , 1987. 7. Mary Ellen Trainor (Elizabeth) and Lyndsey Whitney Barry (Carrie Ann) in “Back to the Future Part II.” 8. Today’s TV Trope: Tempting Fate . 9. Elizabeth calls the operator because 9-1-1 was only available in about half the U.S. by 1989. **** 📼 Commercial Break: The Crypt-Keeper’s Ghoulish Guide to the Howlidays on Kids’ WB, 2001. Holidays After Dark , exploring the strange, unusual, and dark sides of the holidays. **** “Tales From the Crypt” and “And All Through the House” © 1989 Tales From the Crypt Venture. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 10, 2023

🎄 It’s 1979, by way of 1933 — or the other way around — and the human from Fraggle Rock has broken into my garage with a haunted choir of singing children. Join us as we turn the dial on our haunted time-traveling radio to find Henry Winkler at the height of his fame as the Fonz hiding under multiple layers of makeup as a Scrooge figure in Great Depression-era New England. **** 🎙 Guests: Tom Coombs ( The Pop Daddy ) Scott Leopold ( Holly Jolly X’masu ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “An American Christmas Carol” on YouTube , courtesy of Shout Factory. 2. Henry Winkler interview on being asked to play a Scrooge figure. 3. The Ford Model TT truck, in example. 4. Dorian Harewood (Matt Reeves/Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) filling in for James Avery as Shredder . 5. Today’s TV Trope: Recursive Fiction — and “ The Identical .” 6. Robin Williams on “Sesame Street” showing Elmo different ways to play with a stick. 7. “ Sister Kenny ,” based on the true story of an Australian nurse. **** 📼 Commercial Break: McDonald’s Gift Certificates Christmas Commercial , 1979. Holly Jolly X’masu , your podcast destination for Japanese Christmas music. **** “An American Christmas Carol” © 1979 Scrooge Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 8, 2023

🕎 It’s 2003, and a team of Hebrew school basketball players think they’ve found the ghost of Judah Maccabee in a random guy living in a van. It’s time once again to think about the Seleucid Empire as we watch a Disney Channel Original Hanukkah Movie very loosely based on the true story of former college basketball star Lamont Carr and a yeshiva’s struggling team looking for a leader. **** 🎙 Guests: April Ryley ( @where2nextapril , @thefancygeologist ). J.W. Friedman ( I Don’t Even Own a Television ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “Full-Court Miracle” on Disney+ . 2. Lamont Carr’s obituary in Virginia Magazine , 2017. 3. Psychocandy , an experimental pop duo of Cassie Steele (Julie) and Jase Blankfort (Stick). 4. UVA’s Athletics website circa 2003 . 5. Alex’s prized Dr. J basketball card isn’t even a rookie card and isn’t that valuable. 6. “ Jewball ,” a novel featuring the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association basketball team. 7. Sadly, the only upload I could find of the hip-hop cover of the Dreidel song is a smartphone recording of a TV playing this movie. 8. This basketball movie’s NBA star cameo is provided by Jerome Williams . **** 📼 Commercial Break: Microsoft Encarta Commercial , 1995. Returning Student , a 40-year-old’s journey to finish the college degree he never got. **** “Full-Court Miracle” © 2003 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 6, 2023

🎄 It’s 1987, and someone stole Santa Claus in the middle of his hot dog break. Join us as we follow a renowned novelist who may or may not be a teenager and her animated mouse writing partner on a quest find out who kidnapped a department store Santa, while we solve the mystery of how anyone remembers this Christmas special that only aired once. **** 🎙 Guests: Lindy Kempe ( Bluesky ). Emily Rowley ( Threads ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Dick Van Patten’s shout-out in “Wayne’s World” and cameo in “Robin Hood: Men In Tights.” 2. Darcy Marta (Jill) on Totally Rad Christmas . 3. Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse dancing in “ Anchors Aweigh .” 4. Jill’s Miami Mice poster — no relation to the “Sesame Street” parody of the same name. 5. Donald O’Connor (Alex) in “ Singin’ in the Rain .” 6. Helen Hughes (whoever the woman who answers Jill’s door is supposed to be) in “ Billy Madison .” 7. Today’s TV Trope: 555 . 8. Francis Dambeger’s (Jerry) 1991 film “Solitaire,” and its solitaire review on IMDb . 9. The realistic looking toy gun predates the same federal law that forced Nintendo to recolor its Zapper orange . **** 📼 Commercial Break: 7up Christmas Commercial , 1986–1987. Wild Puffalumps Commercial , 1987. The Magic of the Season , covering holiday nostalgia, family, kids, decor, music, and so much more. **** “A Mouse, A Mystery, and Me” © 1987 Ruby-Spears Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 4, 2023

🎄 It’s 1991, and Santa Claus is fighting with a talking dog over a park bench. By some Christmas miracle, this obscure special was rediscovered over 30 years later. For years, people on the Internet tried to identify it on a TV in the background of an old family photo, until finally, thanks to the power of positivity, it was identified as “The Soulmates in The Gift of Light.” Join us as we meet the intergalactic Soulmates in what seems like a pilot that never got off the ground. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Pop Culture Retrofit , @TheyCallMeDiGio ). Jeff Somogyi ( Classic Film Jerks , Linktree: @sommerjam ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “ The Soulmates in The Gift of Light ” on YouTube, uploaded by creator Gabrielle St. George. 2. Tumblr post: “ Can You Figure Out Who This Is? ” by Sophie Campbell, 2016. 3. Will Sloan’s tweet of the screenshot , September 2022. 4. CBC News: Canadian cartoon mystery finally solved after 6 years, thanks to the internet , 2022. 5. The Littles , for comparison. 6. Today’s TV Trope: Mind-Control Eyes . 7. Soulmates Productions, Inc. defaulted in 2007 . **** 📼 Commercial Break: Canadian Tire: Scrooge / Nintendo Action Set Commercial , 1991. Pop Tarts Commercial starring Dan and Dave , 1990. Remember That Show? , a monthly journey to explore obscure and forgotten TV series from the ’80s and ’90s. **** “The Soulmates in The Gift of Light” © 1991 Soulmates Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 2, 2023

🎄 It’s 1977, and Happy Gilmore’s grandmother is surrounded by dancing chickens. It’s a beautiful day for a podcast, and this season of the Advent Calendar House begins with a visit to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in a Christmas special that hadn’t been available for more than 40 years until it resurfaced in 2022. It’s surprisingly less festive than some might expect, but it makes up for that with some extremely bizarre adventures. **** 🎙 Guests: Guy Hutchinson ( Pointless Nostalgia , GuyHutchinson.com ). Tim Lybarger ( The Neighborhood Archive , Third Quarter Run , TimLybarger.com ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “ Christmastime with Mister Rogers ” at MisterRogers.org. 2. The Neighborhood Archive entry on “Christmastime with Mister Rogers.” 3. “ Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: A Visual History ,” co-written by Tim. 4. Frances Bay (Mrs. Hamilton) in “ The Karate Kid .” 5. Today’s TV Trope: Hollywood Giftwrap . 6. Mr. Rogers and François Clemmons sharing a wading pool . 7. Lesser-known Christmas hymns “ The Friendly Beasts ,” “ Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow ,” and “ My Sheep Were Grazing .” 8. Was Music Man Stan from “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” inspired by the Music Man from this special? 9. “ The Littlest Angel ,” 1969. 10. Chuck Ozeas (Andrew) is now a director of photography . 11. “A Very Young Dancer” and The Life That Followed , 2011. 12. Stephanie Selby’s obituary , 2022. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Hershey’s Kisses Christmas Bells Commercial , 1989. Dirt Cheap Liquors Chicken Commercial . Closer to Christmas , a podcast featuring a random Christmas topic every episode. **** “Christmastime with Mister Rogers” © 1977 Family Communications, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Nov 1, 2023

🎄 After spending 3 months locked in a water tower, the Advent Calendar House has escaped in time for Christmas Podcast Day, a fake holiday originally made up for a hashtag back when social media was slightly less stupid. It’s not Scrooge Sunday, but the theme for this year’s Christmas Podcast Day is “A Christmas Carol,” so I’m playing a long, but also cheating a little by covering both segments of a 1993 Christmas episode of “Animaniacs.” You can follow #ChristmasPodcastDay on Facebook , Instagram , and that other one . And probably TikTok , but I’m not on that. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Animanicast . 2. Animaniacs Wiki entry for this episode . 3. Sherri Stoner (Slappy Squirrel) was the live action reference model for Disney Princesses Ariel and Belle . 4. A Christmas Plotz: The Hip-Hop Musical . 5. Rock Sugar , Jess Harnell’s (Wakko) band. 6. Jess Harnell sang the Taz-Mania theme . 7. Forest Lawn Memorial Park . 8. Today’s TV Tropes: Sensational Staircase Sequence and Scooby Stack . 9. Baby Jesus is in a thatched-roof cottage . 10. Kathryn Page’s gag credits . **** 📼 Commercial Break: Animaniacs McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys , 1994. Snow in Southtown Christmas Podcast . **** “Animaniacs,” “A Christmas Plotz,” and “Little Drummer Warners” © 1993 Warner Bros. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . “Christmas Podcast Day” song by Tim Babb from the Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast . Parody of “ Weasel Stomping Day ” by “Weird Al” Yankovic. Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 23, 2023

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we watched a cavemen take over Santa’s job after he fell off the roof in “ A Flintstone Christmas .” This time, our reunion tour of previously podcasted-about characters makes its final stop of the season in Bedrock, where Fred Flintstone is letting the lead role of “Ebonezer” Scrooge go to his head, while Wilma is doing the workload of I lost count of how many victims of the highly contagious Bedrock Bug. We also make the strongest case yet that this Modern Stone-Age Family does, indeed, know about who made lame beggars walk and blind men see. PLUS: Help choose which version of “A Christmas Carol” we cover for Christmas Eve! VOTE HERE . **** 🎙 Guests: “Ant-stony” Strand ( ToughPigs.com , Movin’ Right Along ). “Mi-coal” May ( MichaelMay.online , AfterLUNCH ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “ A Flintstone Family Christmas ,” from a year before, was the last appearance of adult Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm. 2. “ The Flintstones & WWE: Stone-Age Smackdown! ” 3. The latest we’ve waited to shop for our spouses. 4. A grown-up Philo Quartz from “The Flintstone Kids” appears here and then never again. 5. The Piltdown Man hoax. 6. How big is the stage, and how are the actors playing ghosts appearing translucent? 7. They added a “love scene” with Belle, and Maggie Magma is way too excited about it. 8. Brian Cummings (Ernie/The Ghost of Christmas Present) did a weird Kermit the Frog voice in a promo for “ Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree .” 9. Other Dickens characters have headstones in the graveyard. 10. IMDb credits Rip Taylor as the voice of a Venus flytrap tuba in the orchestra pit. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Cocoa Pebbles “Christmas Carol” commercial , 1998. “ Dinner & a Movie ” makes standing rib roast with “Rockshire” pudding, 1996. **** “A Flintstones Christmas Carol” © 1994 Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 21, 2023

Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we let the goofy alien puppet with the jokes toy with our emotions in “ ALF’s Special Christmas .” 🦃 This time, join us around the Fappiano table as we aim a spoonful of squash back to 1988 for a special, 2-part Thanksgiving episode of “ALF.” Too bad he’s already eaten the turkey, but there might still be some sweet potato pie in the garage, with the homeless man. **** 🎙 Guests: Tom Coombs ( The Pop Daddy , @thepopdaddy ). Jayme Kilsby ( Forever Bogus Podcast , @brainexploderrr ). Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “Turkey in the Straw” Part 1 and Part 2 on ALF’s official YouTube channel. 2. ALF ruined Willie’s best belt to make his Thanksgiving pageant headdress. 3. Oh no, Tom brought up Gerbert . 4. Melmac’s version of Thanksgiving is named for Bob Fappiano , ALF’s assistant puppeteer. 5. ALF trying to eat wax fruit reminded me of Rizzo in “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” 6. I’m sad to report “ Das Cornucopia , from Wagner Strauss’s ‘Der Feaster Famine,’” is not real. 7. Is turkey really an aphrodisiac? 8. What football game were the Alien Task Force agents watching? 9. Chad still has his ALF doll from Burger King. 10. ALF co-hosting the 1989 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade . **** 📼 Commercial Break: Nobody Beats The Wiz Super Thanksgiving Sale , 1985. Fan Fix-tion , a podcast about nerdy things. **** “ALF” and “Turkey in the Straw” © 1988 Alien Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 19, 2023

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we went on an apocryphal adventure with the story of The Little Drummer Boy . This time, Rankin/Bass drums up an unnecessary sequel from 1976, its busiest year for holiday specials. Join Aaron on a side quest to retrieve the stolen silver bells from a troop of greedy Roman soldiers in the “Rogue One” of Christmas stories. **** 🎙 Guests: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , 📸 @blessedarethegeek ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Allen Swift (Melchior) as Twinkie the Kid . 2. Simeon the bellmaker is very loosely based on the Biblical Simeon , but his Song of Simeon is left out. 3. Ray Owens (Simeon) as the voice of Superbook , and Jesus in “ The Flying House .” 4. Zero Mostel (Brutus) on “ The Muppet Show .” 5. “ Money Money Money ” (not the song from “ Mamma Mia! ”) 6. How bad is Brutus compared to the other Rankin/Bass Christmas villains? 7. “Do You Hear What I Hear?” was written during the Cuban Missile Crisis . 8. Our favorite recordings of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” by Copeland , the Mike Sammes Singers for Disneyland Records, and one by Spiraling that invokes The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Kodak XL Movie Camera: “One Christmas,” 1976. Holly Jolly X’masu , your podcast destination for Japanese Christmas music. **** “The Little Drummer Boy, Book II” © 1976 Rankin/Bass Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 17, 2023

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we spent Christmas Eve on Sesame Street , Hanukkah on “ Shalom Sesame ,” and even uncovered the oddity, “ A Special Sesame Street Christmas .” This time, join us as we fly faster than time backwards around the globe to 1996 to watch Elmo save, then ruin, then fix Christmas, featuring Maya Angelou, Harvey Fierstein as the Easter Bunny, and “Doc Hopper,” himself, Charles Durning as Santa. **** 🎙 Guests: Becca Petunia ( ToughPigs.com , Hubba-Wha?! , @UnclePetunio ) Anthony Strand ( ToughPigs.com , Movin’ Right Along ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “ Brats of the Lost Nebula .” 2. Early “proto-Elmo” appearances . 3. Miss Piggy’s cookbook has a recipe by Maya Angelou. 4. Baby Bear is Jewish . 5. 14 Karat Soul sings “ Down Below the Street .” 6. Cookie Monster disguised as Ernie . 7. A petition to remake “White Christmas” with Elmo and Rosita’s military veteran dads . 8. This special’s unique News Flash logo . 9. The soundtrack that’s not actually a soundtrack. 10. Big Bird sings “ All I Want for Christmas Is You ,” but not THAT one. 11. Elmo as the ring bearer at Luis and Maria’s wedding . 12. Ranking all the jokes in “Elmo Says BOO!” 13. Bert and Ernie meet their “It’s a Wonderful Life” counterparts . **** 📼 Commercial Break: “ Elmo Saves BOO! ,” 1997. Returning Student , a 40-year-old’s journey to finish the college degree he never got. **** “Elmo Saves Christmas” © 1996 Children’s Television Workshop. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 15, 2023

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we saved Punky Brewster’s Christmas spirit in “ Yes, Punky, There Is a Santa Claus .” This time, join Punky in 1985 on an animated adventure to the North Pole, courtesy of Glomer, her new magical leprechaun-gopher Ewok lookin’ friend. The ’80s were weird. **** 🎙 Guests: Adam Pope ( WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics , @hojukoolander ). Steven ( UFO Club ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Comparing the original sitcom’s theme song to the cartoon’s theme. 2. Galoob made a plush Glomer . 3. Adam’s VHS cover has a very off-model Glomer . 4. The Master Christmas Switch’s effect on time reminded me of the “Futurama” episode “ Time Keeps on Slippin’ .” 5. Punky taught Adam how to wink. 6. Santa drops off the kids on the roof again, just in like in “ Frosty the Snowman .” **** 📼 Commercial Break: The Story of Phroomf commercial featuring baseball star Bob Boone, 1986. WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics . **** “It’s Punky Brewster” and “Christmas in July” © 1985 National Broadcasting Company, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 13, 2023

Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we flew a sleigh made out of a dumpster into space with the California Raisins in “ Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration .” 🎃 This time, we’re reanimating a creepier creation of his from 1991 — a Halloween special that premiered in May for some reason — starring the scheming Wilshire Pig on a quest to uncover the secret lab of Dr. Frankenswine. **** 🎙 Guests: Sammy Hain ( @SammyHain ). Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. IMDb’s photo gallery from this special . 2. “ The Adventures of Mark Twain .” 3. Todd Tolces’ website and YouTube résumé . 4. Michele Mariana (Wilshire) on “Sesame Street” as Cecile, the singing ball of clay . 5. Herb from Burger King. 6. Will Vinton wanted to build a theme park called Claymation Station with Wilshire Pig as its Mickey Mouse. 7. Raphael opened the floodgates for characters made for children saying curse words. 8. Sheldon the Snail bears a passing resemblance to The Noid . 9. A closer examination of the bathroom graffiti. 10. Today’s TV Trope: Removable Shell . 11. Does Famine’s business card say he’s from Limbo, Illinois? **** 📼 Commercial Break: McDonald’s Coke Float Commercial , 1991, aired during this special. Another Zelda Podcast … you’ll never guess what it’s about. **** “Claymation Comedy of Horrors” © 1991 Will Vinton Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 11, 2023

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we were Dreaming of a White Ranger with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. This time, they’re away helping Santa, so Zordon surprises Alpha by teleporting in a bunch of children for a Christmas party. Join us for this very bonkers Power Rangers home video, plus our mini tribute to the late Jason David Frank, who’s seen as both the Green and White Ranger here because nobody cares about continuity during Christmas, I guess. **** 🎙 Guests: Andre Bennett ( Cult Cinema Cloister , Philadelphia Championship Rock Paper Scissors , @AndreBennettGO ). C.J. Bélanger ( Christmas Sessions ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “ Alpha’s Magical Christmas ,” preserved by Dinosaur Dracula . 2. “ Chosen Sentai Jetman ” on Shout Factory TV. 3. “ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always ” on Netflix. 4. Morphed: Cheryl Saban’s Journey from Beach Bunny to Philanthropist . 5. The real-life Command Center: The House of the Book at the American Jewish University. 6. Baby Groot and the bomb that will kill everyone. 7. Andre proves “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Karate Club Video , 1994. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Fan Club , 1994. The Magic of the Season , a podcast celebrating the holidays that we live for. **** “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and “Alpha’s Magical Christmas” © 1994 Saban Entertainment, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 9, 2023

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, our hearts and golden harmonicas went out to “ A Chipmunk Christmas .” This time, it’s Scrooge Sunday, and our Christmas in July reunion tour arrives in Hollywood — or at least a nearby cartoon suburb where Alvin turns his greed up to 11 and blames it on his lonely old neighbor who doesn’t know how to plant a garden. So get set to have some fun in this Dickens of an episode of “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” **** 🎙 Guests: Tom Coombs ( The Pop Daddy , @thepopdaddy ). Sean Sotka ( The Christmas Podcasts Podcast , @xander0527 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “ Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll ” on the Internet Archive. 2. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll” on Munkapedia . 3. Pee-wee Herman’s breakfast machine . 4. Paperboy , the video game. 5. “ Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue .” 6. Dads with trash bags on Christmas morning. 7. “ A Chipmunk Reunion .” 8. A Seville family portrait featuring Dave’s abnormally large head . 9. Mickey Mouse’s 1980s Epcot spacesuit . 10. Today’s TV Trope: Sounding It Out . 11. Southern California’s Blizzard of 2023 . 12. “Here Comes Christmas,” the TV version , and the album version . **** 📼 Commercial Break: The Chipmunks are Coming to Target , 1990. Cool Kids Club , a nostalgia-filled trip back to childhood. **** “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Carroll” © 1989 Bagdasarian Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 7, 2023

🫓 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we helped our favorite talking babies stop a true meanie in “ A Rugrats Chanukah .” This time, we’re ignoring the rules of another long-standing tradition as we travel by baby basket back to 1995 to witness grown men throwing temper tantrums and ending up locked in the attic. **** 🎙 Guests: Sarah Shay ( sarahshay.com , Bandcamp , Pilot House Podcast ) Zach Gozlan ( zachgozlan.info ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. I found this special hiding in a 4-hour VHS recording of Nick on CBS from 2003. 2. Pilot House on “I Dream of Jeannie,” which would not be seen the night this premiered. 3. Fact-Checking “ Fact-Checking A Rugrats Passover .” 4. As of this recording, the Sultan of Brunei in 1995 is still sultan. 5. “ Noozles ,” which co-starred Cheryl Chase (Angelica) and was not “ The Adventures of the Little Koala .” 6. The 4 categories of Jewish holidays . 7. Melanie Chartoff (Didi, Minka) as the principal in “ Parker Lewis Can’t Lose .” 8. The controversy over Boris and Minka’s design . 9. “ The Song That Doesn’t End ” from “Lamb Chop’s Play Along.” 10. The Maxwell House Haggadah . 11. A Haggadah of Our Own . 12. “ Bible Adventures .” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Country Crock Spreadable Sticks , 1994, featuring Jack Riley (Stu). Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards , 2003. The Studio Demands It! **** “A Rugrats Passover” © 1995 Viacom International Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 5, 2023

🎄 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we witnessed goodness make the badness go away in “ The Smurfs’ Christmas Special .” This time, we’re taking a one giant puppy open sleigh ride back to 1987 to help the Smurfs save Christmas for a poor human toymaker and his gravely ill wife, while Brainy and Hefty get lost in medieval Crime Alley. **** 🎙 Guests: Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames ). Donnie Storms ( Bronwen’s Ghost , @boxcar45 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “’Tis the Season to be Smurfy” on the Smurfs’ official YouTube channel , or an upscaled version including the opening credits . 2. “ Look at the adjective… ” 3. The crazy backstories of the Smurfs’ Puppy and Sassette_Smurfling . 4. The Great Cookie Thief . 5. New and improved Joker products ! 5. Painter Smurf paints like “ Duck Amuck .” **** 📼 Commercial Break: Smurf-Berry Crunch Cereal , 1983. Bad Princess Movies , a catalogue of terrible movies about princesses and princesses-to-be. **** “’Tis the Season to be Smurfy” © 1987 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 3, 2023

💝 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we visited the Easter Bunny’s underground nightmare factory in “ The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Surprise .” This time, it’s 1982, and love and hockey are in the air as Brother Bear gets stalked by a secret admirer, and his Papa’s public displays of affection send him into orbit. **** 🎙 Guest: Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “The Berenstain Bears’ Comic Valentine” on YouTube . 2. The Broad Street Bullies . 3. Totally Rad Christmas on Chuck E. Cheese . 4. Homer Simpson’s rabbit trap . 5. The bottom brick scene in ”Bloodsport.” 6. A set of clips from this special set to “Let’s Hear It for The Boy” by Deniece Williams. **** 📼 Commercial Break: McDonald’s Berenstain Bears Happy Meal Toys , 1986. Totally Rad Christmas , dedicated to all things Christmas in the ’80s. **** “The Berenstain Bears’ Comic Valentine” © 1982 Joseph Cates Co., Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 1, 2023

🎄 It’s the Advent Calendar House’s 10th season, and to celebrate, every episode is revisiting familiar faces and places already covered on the podcast. Previously, we spent Christmas with the Joker in “Batman: The Animated Series.” This time, we’re on a festive tour of Gotham City through the Joker’s hideously redrawn eyes in the 1997 premiere of the redesigned, rebranded “New Batman Adventures.” **** 🎙 Guests: Andre Bennett ( Cult Cinema Cloister , Philadelphia Championship Rock Paper Scissors , @AndreBennettGO ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Batman Adventures Holiday Special original comic. 2. “ Welcome to Our OOL .” 3. Dark Night: A True Batman Story , by Paul Dini. 4. Arleen Sorkin on “ America’s Funniest People ,” a her appearance as a jester on “Days of Our Lives” that inspired her casting as Harley Quinn. 5. Kevin Conroy on being recognized while volunteering after 9/11 . 6. “ Finding Batman ,” by Kevin Conroy, from DC’s Pride 2022. 7. Paul Dini’s original cel from Harley and Poison Ivy’s shopping spree . 8. Tim Drake ’s animated debut, and a shocking Muppet tangent. **** 📼 Commercial Break: Batman and Alfred Diet Coke Commercial , 1989. Festive Foreign Film Fans , a podcast covering festive movies and music from around the world. **** “The New Batman Adventures” and “Holiday Knights” © 1997 Warner Bros. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2022

🎄 It’s 2002, and we’re trapped in a horrifying world where Kermit the Frog doesn’t exist. Join us for a spectacular, spectacular Christmas Eve extravaganza starring Kermit in the George Bailey role of the Muppets’ perfectly silly take on “It’s a Wonderful Life,” also featuring Joan Cusack, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, the cast of “Scrubs,” and Whoopi Goldberg as God, Herself. **** 🎙 Guests: Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames , 📸 @pinkmedley ). Adam Jurotich ( The Ambassadors of Harmony , 📸 @adam_sr ). Erik Johnson ( Erik Johnson Illustrator , 📸 @erikjohnsonillustrator ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Muppet Wiki’s list of similarities between this special and 2011’s “The Muppets.” 2. Joe Snow . 3. Hoggle from “Labyrinth” at the Unclaimed Baggage Center. 4. Director Kirk Thatcher as the punk on the bus in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” and ”Picard.” 5. Jonathan Bruce , who’d later appear in “Elf.” 6. Deleted scenes include more of Carson Daly , Santa, and a lost cut scene with Snoop Dogg. 7. The giant Bossmen Muppets. 8. A scheduling conflict robbed this movie of actual Steve Irwin . 9. Fozzie as “ that green guy who stole Christmas .” 10. Today’s TV Tropes: Celestial Bureaucracy , Laser Hallway , and Lampshade Wearing . 11. The Yoda Muppet has his own Muppet Wiki entry. 12. So does Amy, the Dancing Brick ! 13. The World Trade Center in alternate timeline Piggy’s apartment window, and that’s not the worst part of that scene. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Mastercard Priceless Getaway Sweepstakes Commercial starring The Muppets , 2002. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Acid Washed Memories , a retro pop-culture celebration podcast starting January 9, 2023. **** “It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” © 2002 The Jim Henson Company. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 22, 2022

🎄 It’s 2012, and I found a 60-year-old tangerine under a floorboard in my bedroom that’s the perfect size for a snowman’s nose… or is it? Join us for another walk in the air back to 2012 for the charming sequel to the British Christmas classic, “The Snowman,” by the now-late Raymond Briggs. **** 🎙 Guest: Adam Parker Sibun ( Merry Britsmas ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. I finally got a copy of the original Raymond Briggs book ! 2. UK Christmas’s “The Snowman” TV listing history . 3. Raymond Briggs hails Christmas sequel to his Snowman classic (The Guardian, 2012). 4. Billy has a picture of Fungus the Bogeyman in his room. 5. The Snowman finds a 1960s toy Batmobile in the shed. Maybe it lost a wheel. 6. A newer version of Andy Burrows’s “ Light the Night .” 7. An older version of Andy Burrows’s “ Hometown .” 8. “ Funny Looking Angels ,” a 2011 Christmas Album by Smith & Burrows. 9. ‘Walking In The Air’ composer told to send a demo tape for The Snowman sequel (NME, 2012). 10. London landmarks seen in the special . 11. Let’s start building more creative snowmen with orange slices for ears and asparagus spear mustaches . 12. The Snowdog Art Trails around the UK, including Snowdog sculptures displayed in Brighton . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: IRN-BRU Snowman Advert , 2011. **** “The Snowman and The Snowdog” © 2012 Snowdog Enterprises Ltd. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 20, 2022

🕎 It’s 1998, and we’re praying for a miracle after getting stuck in a snow bank on the side of a dark highway with only an eighth of a tank of gas. Join us on an enlightening revisit to the Flashy Girl from Flushing on her first Hanukkah as a married woman. Also, Ray Charles is here! **** 🎙 Guest: April Ryley ( @Where2NextApril ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “The Hanukkah Story” on Facebook . 2. April visits the Sheffield residence , and so can you . 3. Fran Drescher in “UHF.” 4. Fran Drescher says she had to fight to let ‘The Nanny’ be Jewish (L.A. Times, 2020). 5. Benjamin Salisbury (Brighton) on “Teen Celebrity Jeopardy” in 1997 . 6. Daniel Davis (Niles) on “The Fran Drescher Tawk Show” in 2010. 7. Max’s childhood memory of his dad at Christmas reminded me of Bruce Wayne’s long dining room table . 8. What to do if you’re stranded in a car during a winter storm . 9. Kenny Rogers Roasters still exists , but only in Asia. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: 3 Musketeers Commercial starring Fran Drescher , 1998. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Hyrule Podcasters , an audio “Let’s Play” through The Legend of Zelda. **** “The Nanny” and “The Hanukkah Story” © 1998 Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Co. Medien KG. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 18, 2022

🎄 It’s 2016, and a Scrooge-like unicorn is brewing a potion to eliminate Hearth’s Warming Eve from the calendar. That’s how potions work, right? Join us for a Scrooge Sunday canter through a “Christmas Carol” adaptation set in Equestria, the world of “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.” **** 🎙 Guests: Jon and Bin ( Bin’s Toy Bin , Santa by the Minute ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch “A Hearth’s Warming Tail” on YouTube. 2. Mike on Santa by the Minute . 3. The first My Little Pony special, from 1984: “ Rescue at Midnight Castle .” 4. Patton Oswalt on My Little Pony . 5. Patton Oswalt literally on My Little Pony . 6. “ It’s a Pony Kind of Christmas ,” featuring characters who don’t celebrate Christmas singing Christmas songs, so the show’s composer had to clarify it wasn’t canon . 7. The mysterious “ Derpy ,” a.k.a. Muffins. 8. A short tangent about “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” air fresheners . 9. Today’s TV Trope: And You Were There . 10. A scene was cut featuring Discord in the Jacob Marley role . 11. He’s not in this episode, but there’s a character named Cheese Sandwich who is literally “Weird Al” Yankovic as a pony. 12. Bin takes roll call at the Hearth’s Warming Eve party. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: My Little Pony Dream Castle Commercial , 1983. The Hub Network: 12 Days of Ponies Promo , 2014. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Santa by the Minute , covering “Santa Claus: The Movie” one minute at a time. **** “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” and “A Hearth’s Warming Tail” © 2016 Hasbro Studios. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 16, 2022

🎄 It’s 1973, and a musical cricket is about to save the Christmas spirit during New York City’s quietest power failure. Join us for a one-cat open sleigh ride into Chuck Jones’s beautifully animated sequel to “The Cricket in Times Square.” **** 🎙 Guest: Michael DiGiovanni ( Pop Culture Retrofit , Classic Film Jerks , @TheyCallMeDiGio ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A very insightful Letterboxd review . 2. Name That Christmas Special’s screenshot gallery for this special. 3. Today’s TV Trope: Bully Bulldog . 4. Mel Blanc’s voice for the Alley Cat sounds his voice for Clarence the Cat in “ Birds Anonymous .” 5. DiGio introduces me to Yorkshire pudding . 6. “ Down by the Old Mill Stream .” 7. The similar “ Joy to the World ” segment from “ Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration .” 8. The final Classic Film Jerks movie, “ Babes in Toyland (March of the Wooden Soldiers) .” **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Mel Blanc American Express Card Commercial, 1971 . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Rediscover the 80s podcasts, including The 80s Weekly and Memory Jogger . **** “A Very Merry Cricket” © 1973 Chuck Jones Enterprises. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 14, 2022

🎄 It’s 1970 by way of 1990, and I just noticed the Santa Claus at the mall is actually my gym teacher. Join us on a revealing trip back to The Wonder Years as we salute Robert Picardo’s standout performance as Coach Cutlip… and Santa. **** 🎙 Guest: Andy Gattis ( Straight Chilling , AndyGattis.com ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Joe Cocker’s version of “With a Little Help from My Friends” over the opening credits was replaced for streaming with a soundalike , only they don’t sound alike. 2. Almost all the original music is replaced, including a surf rock cover of “Sleigh Ride” by The Ventures . 3. Fred Savage in “ Dinosaurs! A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time ,” featuring Rex and Herb from Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration . 4. Coach Cutlip’s drawing of the female reproductive system . 5. Oops, Wikipedia linked to the wrong Jay Lambert (Tommy). Here’s the right guy. 6. Brandon Crane’s (Doug Porter) new podcast, “ The Errorist .” **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Pepsi “Love Letter” Commercial with Fred Savage , 1990. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: TGI Podcast , diving into Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving episodes from the 1990s era of TGIF and more. **** “The Wonder Years” and “A Very Cutlip Christmas” © 1990 New World Television. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 12, 2022

🎄 It’s 1997, and Tim Curry as an evil pipe organ is literally bringing down the house. Join us as we journey into the depths of Disney’s direct-to-video library for an unnecessary but charming midquel that explains why the Beast hates Christmas and raises even more questions about the curse on his castle. **** 🎙 Guests: Kristi ( @BadPrincessMov ) and Bri ( @wallabri ) from Bad Princess Movies . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Bad Princess Movies on Disney’s original “ Beauty and the Beast ” and “ The Enchanted Christmas .” 2. Coming Soon previews from the original VHS . 3. Kathie Lee Gifford sang the soundtrack for “ Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin .” 4. Behind “ Prince Adam ,” the Beast’s real name Disney never made official but keeps occasionally using. 5. Tim Curry as Darkness in “Legend” and as Hexxus in “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.” 6. How tall is the Beast’s castle compared to the real world’s tallest castle ? 7. Disney can’t keep the Feather Duster’s name straight, either. 8. The West Wing at Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. 9. The terrifying air conditioner in “The Brave Little Toaster.” 10. The loudest organ ever built . 11. Belle wears her dress from this special during Christmastime at Disney parks. 12. Lisa Temming on designing Belle’s Christmas dress . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Disney Home Video Collection , 1997. Tiger Electronics Beauty and the Beast handheld game , 1994. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Holidays After Dark , exploring the strange, unusual, and dark sides of the holidays. **** “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” © 1997 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 10, 2022

🎄 It’s 1975, and a shepherd boy just lost his sight after staring directly at a lightning bolt. Join us as we return to enchanted world of Rankin/Bass Christmas specials for an overlooked, underrated, and redundantly titled hidden gem about neither the first Christmas, nor the first Christmas snow. **** 🎙 Guest: Mike Troxell ( @Prune_Tracy , Mastodon: PruneTracy@sharetron.com ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Vox’s Emily St. James ranks all the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials . 2. A very brief history of the Christmas card . 3. Was There Really Any Winter’s Snow at the Time of the Nativity in Bethlehem? 4. Flash blindness is real. 5. Arthur Rankin Jr. recalling how Irving Berlin really, REALLY didn’t want “White Christmas” in the special . 6. This exact sound of a wolf howling (or, actually, a coyote) is heard over and over again. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Toys “R” Us Time of Year Christmas Commercial , 1976. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Christmas Creeps , keeping the Christmas spirit alive through the magic of terrible holiday films. **** “The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow” © 1975 Rankin/Bass Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 8, 2022

🎄 It’s 1990, and a little girl’s Christmas wish is about to get shot out of the sky. Join us for the podcast’s first voyage into the Disney Afternoon as Baloo the cargo pilot bear attempts to save his boss’s daughter’s belief in Santa. **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Joey’s Christmas TV lineup that he wrote on a piece of paper around 1991 and found again 30 years later. 2. The TaleSpin/Quantum Leap joke. 3. Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” the animated one, is somehow Germany’s biggest box office draw ever . 4. “ Tales of the Gold Monkey ,” a single-season TV show that inspired “TaleSpin.” 5. “ What a Dummy ,” an even shorter single-season TV show featuring Janna Michaels (Molly) and a living ventriloquist’s dummy. 6. Joey’s Interview with Pat Fraley (Wildcat), again! 7. Today’s TV Trope: String-on-Finger Reminder . 8. Cape Suzette and Louie’s Place on the Disney Wiki. 9. Flunkey , the Einstein-haired monkey from “The Jungle Book” whose “TaleSpin” counterpart appears to be Santa Louie’s “elf,” Waldo. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: McDonald’s TaleSpin Happy Meal Toys , 1990. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Snow in Southtown , holiday TV specials, movies, music, and more! **** “TaleSpin” and “Jolly Molly Christmas” © 1990 The Walt Disney Company. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 6, 2022

🎄 It’s 1979, and no one wants to go to Pat Boone’s lame Christmas party, but we hope you’ll accept our invitation to discover this bizarre but wholesome special featuring the Hudson Brothers, the stars of “The Ropers” as themselves but also still as the Ropers, and a criminally brief appearance by Yogi Bear and his Hanna-Barbera friends. **** 🎙 Guest: Guy Hutchinson ( GuyHutchinson.com , Drunk on Disney ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch the Pat Boone and Family Christmas Special on Tubi . 2. Pat Boone’s album of heavy metal covers from 1997. 3. TV Guide’s ad for the special , prominently featuring Yogi Bear and friends. 4. The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show , as seen in a “Family Guy” cutaway gag . 5. “ The Seventh Python ,” Brett Hudson’s 2008 documentary about frequent Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes. 6. “ Largo al Factotum ,” the “Figaro” song from “The Barber of Seville.” 7. Dinah Shore’s giant belt buckle . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Master Charge Christmas Commercial , 1979. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Season’s Eatings , exploring the origins and history of your favourite Christmas foods. **** “Pat Boone and Family Christmas Special” © 1979 Cooga Mooga Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 4, 2022

🎄 It’s 1971, and Alastair Sim is delivering an even more animated performance as Scrooge. Join us as we invade your personal space for salute an animated adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” that bent the rules and became the last TV special to win an Oscar, directed by Richard Williams and executive produced by Chuck Jones. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael May ( MichaelMay.online , AfterLUNCH ). Rob Graham ( AfterLUNCH , @spidey004 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Michael May’s Christmas Carol Project entries on 1971’s “A Christmas Carol.” 2. CED Magic’s “Christmas Carol” screen adaptation directory . 3. John Leech’s original illustrations for the Dickens story. 4. AfterLUNCH on Christmas Ghosts (And One Carol in Particular) . 5. The rarely seen Phantom Hearse . 6. Visions of Young Scrooge’s favorite stories dancing in his head. 7. Alex Williams’s website and blog post about his memory of voicing Tiny Tim at age 4. 8. One notable businessman from the future and his gross nose . 9. The Making of Richard Williams’s “A Christmas Carol.” **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: NyQuil Scrooge Commercial , circa 1968. Bell Telephone Christmas Commercial , 1978. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: The Christmas Book: The Ultimate Guide to Your Favorite Holiday , by Ed Daly. **** “A Christmas Carol” (1971) © Richard Williams Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 1, 2022

🎄 It’s the Advent Calendar House’s 5th anniversary, so instead of celebrating one Christmas special, we watched three! Clear the runway as we salute Disney’s trilogy of 2009’s “Prep & Landing,” 2010’s “Operation: Secret Santa,” and 2011’s “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.” SANTA SPOILER WARNING: This episode contains Santa-adjacent spoilers from 1:24:28 to 1:26:49 . **** 🎙 Guests: Jeff Somogyi (Linktree: @sommerjam ). Paxton Holley ( Cavalcade of Awesome , Cult Film Club , Hellbent for Letterbox ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Disney’s Prep & Landing Website from 2009 is still up with character and gadget profiles. 2. “ Tiny’s Big Adventure ,” a minute-long short starring Magee’s assistant. 3. Super Golden Crisp Cereal’s Sugar Bear musical Christmas ornament . 4. Prep & Landing Easter eggs . 5. Santa’s castle looks familiar. 6. Noel’s early cameo in “Operation: Secret Santa.” 7. A hat tip to the Classic Film Jerks . 8. Captain Avalanche and Snowball’s poster looks like a Batman and Robin Detective Comics cover . 9. “ Naughty, Naughty Children ” by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. 10. “ Nuttin’ for Christmas ” by the Plain White T’s. 11. “ The Ballad of Nessie ,” who makes 2 cameos. 12. Ralphie from “A Christmas Story” appears . 13. “ Mansion: Impossible ,” featuring Wayne and Lanny prepping the Avengers Mansion. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Coca-Cola: Santa Packs are Coming , 1994. Campbell’s Soup: Snowman , 1995. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Can’t Wait for Christmas ’s reminder to play “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson more. **** “Prep & Landing,” “Operation: Secret Santa,” and “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” © Disney. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Nov 1, 2022

🎄 November 1st is Christmas Podcast Day! I don’t make the rules; I just use the hashtag. So join us as on a very important mission to dig up the original animated adventures of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in a 1948 short film that predates the song. You can follow #ChristmasPodcastDay on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter . And probably TikTok , but I’m not on that. **** 🎙 Guests: Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas , @RadChristmas ). Matt Spaulding ( North Pole Radio ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Library of Congress). 2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s First Starring Film Role (Library of Congress, 2014). 3. The 1951 re-release , featuring the new Rudolph song. 4. The Advent Calendar House episode on Rankin/Bass’s Rudolph . 5. Disney’s Very Merry Christmas Sing-Along Songs . 6. Water Polo, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Chevrolet: The Life of Jam Handy (Collegiate Water Polo Association, 2019). 7. Matt’s Little Golden Book of Rudolph , illustrated by Richard Scarry. 8. Paul Wing’s Rudolph record from 1947. 9. Rudolph’s 2nd Christmas . 10. George Klensinger , who arranged the original Silent Night intro, also composed Tubby the Tuba . 11. The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree . 12. James Bond and Blofeld fight on a bobsled in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service . 13. Ear trumpets , and Daisy Duck’s mother using one in Donald’s Diary . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Closer to Christmas . **** “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” ©1948 The Jam Handy Organization. Say hi on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 23, 2022

🎄 It’s 1997, and we couldn’t decide which holiday to end the season with, so we’re celebrating them all. Pack up your accordion and join us on a journey 20 miles below the surface of the Earth to the very Pee-wee’s Playhouse -like split-level cave of “Weird Al” Yankovic as he learns to listen to his friends and family. **** 🎙 Guests: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Weirdle , the “Weird Al”-themed offshoot of Heardle, the music-themed offshoot of Wordle. 2. The Weird Accordion to Al , by Nathan Rabin. 3. Joey interviews Ben Kweller about his appearance with Radish on The Weird Al Show . 4. Al’s got a thing for the number 27 , which makes its way into this episode. 5. Stan Freberg’s Christmas Dragnet , which I know from a compilation CD from Philadelphia radio station WOGL . 6. Ed Marques (Varna) as the Surf Guru on ZDTV’s Internet Tonight . 7. I had no idea I Lost on Jeopardy! was a full parody of an actual song . 8. “Weird Al,” Paul Reubens, and Danny Elfman singing Kidnap the Sandy Claws . 9. National Hamster Day exists. It’s May 10 . 10. Funny or Die’s original fake trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story . 11. “Weird Al” Yankovic: There’s No Going Home , part of The Disney Channel’s Going Home concert/documentary series. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: 1990 Encyclopedia Britannica commercial starring Donavan Freberg (Baby Boolie). **** “The Weird Al Show” and “The Obligatory Holiday Episode” © 1997. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 21, 2022

🦃 It’s 1983, and we’re spending Thanksgiving in July at the Saturday Supercade. Join us as we take a cue from Q*bert and pals and try to stay on topic as they learn how to build a Q home in a Q land. **** 🎙 Guests: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny , @horrormoviebbq ). Tom Coombs ( The Pop Daddy , @thepopdaddy ). Jayme Kilsby ( @brainexploderrr ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. We all tried to remember who brought up the Q*bert special last year while talking about A Thanksgiving Tale , and we were all wrong. 2. Even Kangaroo got a Saturday Supercade segment eventually. 3. Peter Cullen was the first voice of Mario in the Donkey Kong segment. 4. The Kingdom Chums: Little David’s Adventure , an animated retelling of David and Goliath featuring Billy Bowles (Q*bert) as a stuffed lion come to life. 5. Pauline and her return in Super Mario Odyssey . 6. We accidentally introduce Chad to Spookley, the Square Pumpkin . 7. They gave the snakes arms ! 8. Viper has a Mae West voice, which leads into a tangent about Quasi at the Quackadero . 9. Chief Q*Eagle reminded me of Randall Cunningham’s name in Tecmo Super Bowl . 10. Saturday Supercade’s extensive use of the Hanna-Barbera Sound Effects Library . 11. Home Movies : “ Don’t Put Marbles in Your Nose .” 12. Mike guests on TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny to discuss the Perfect Strangers Thanksgiving episode , Wild Turkey . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: John Wanamaker’s 1988 Thanksgiving Sale . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Tis the Podcast . “Saturday Supercade,” “Q*bert,” and “Thanksgiving for the Memories” © 1983 Ruby-Spears Productions. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 19, 2022

🎄 It’s 1992, and a group of 30-year-old teenagers are on a bus trip to their doom unless an angel in training can convince her supervisor they’re worth saving. Join us for a very strange and very special visit to America’s most famous ZIP code in our first adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life , even though this episode seems to have forgotten to actually adapt it. **** 🎙 Guest: Ed Daly ( The Christmas Book: The Ultimate Guide to Your Favorite Holiday , EZEdDaly.com , @ezeddaly ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Bonnie Urseth (Miriam) in We’ve Got It Made . 2. Brian Austin Green (David) as Metallo in Smallville . 3. Luke Perry (Dylan) in The Sandlot: Heading Home . 4. Of course Donna’s birthday is on Christmas Day. 4. Brandon’s amazing, generic FOOTBALL/SPORTS poster above his bed. 5. The West Beverly High Madrigal Singers (no relation) sing the original, drinking song lyrics to Deck the Hall . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: 7up Cool Spot Christmas Commercial , 1992. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast . **** “Beverly Hills 90210” and “It’s a Totally Happening Life” © 1992 Torand Productions, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 17, 2022

🎄 It’s 1985, but we’re rocketing into the future, when apparently urgent veterinary care no longer exists. It’s Scrooge Sunday, so join us for a glimpse into the space-age year of 2062 to find out if 3 robotic ghosts of Christmas can convince Mr. Spacely to change his stingy ways, while the clock is ticking for the Jetsons’ dog, Astro, on his deathbed. **** 🎙 Guest: Jack Ford ( The Total Christmas Podcast ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. George Jetson apparently was/will be born at the end of July 2022 . 2. George O’Hanlon (George Jetson) as Joe McDoakes in a series of instructional parody short films from the 1940s and ’50s. 3. The Jetsons’ “ laser tree .” 4. “ Bongo Feet and Zip ,” the classic Hanna-Barbara running sound effect, is heard 9 times in this episode. 5. This episode marks the last appearance speaking appearance of the Jetsons’ pet alien, Orbitty . 6. Astro’s supposed fever is normal for dogs. 7. How the Flintstones movie teenage Spacely and his future wife watch changes the theory that both shows take place in the same time period. 8. The robotic Ghost of Christmas Past , Present (literally a talking wrapped Christmas present), and “ Yet to Be .” 9. I had to look up whether Spacely even had a pet to warrant having a personal veterinarian. Meet Zero . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: George Jetson’s Air Pollution PSA , National Clean Air Coalition, 1990. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Cool Kids Club , a nostalgia-fueled trip back to the ’80s and ’90s. **** “The Jetsons” and “A Jetson Christmas Carol” © 1985 Hanna-Barbara Productions, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 15, 2022

🎄 It’s 1995, and a couple of giant space monsters with swords are about to lose a snowball fight against the powerless Power Rangers, who can’t Morph at the North Pole due to a cross-current of holiday magic. And also magnets. You can watch I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger on the official Powers Rangers YouTube Channel. **** 🎙 Guests: Andre Bennett ( @AndreBennettGO ). Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger on Ranger Wiki. 2. Dynaman , an English-dubbed parody of Super Sentai on the USA Network’s Night Flight , circa 1988. 3. Rubber Suit Rumble! and Cult Cinema Cloister Facebook groups, maintained by Andre. 4. Differences between the aired TV episode and the VHS cut , which was released 2 months earlier. 5. The Order , a proposed, Expendables -style film starring former Power Rangers. 6. Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly) directed a Season 2 episode of Superman & Lois . 7. The Ranger “in jail” we alluded to isn’t even in this episode. 8. Affirmative Clothing Company , co-founded by David Yost (Billy). 9. Paul Schrier (Bulk) finally got to play a legit Ranger in 2017 in the web series Power Rangers Hyperforce . 10. Robert von Fliss has 4 credits on IMDb, and they’re all as Santa Claus. 11. The real-life Command Center: The House of the Book at the American Jewish University. 12. Rito Revolto, a giant skeleton warrior, learning about holiday spirit is just the Skeletor scene all over again. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Pizza Hut: “Right Field,” 1990, from the VHS release of the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Diet Coke: “Choose Wisely,” 1990, from the VHS release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. OnStar: “Batcave,” 2000, featuring Batman and Michael Gough as Alfred, except I was probably thinking of the Diet Coke ad before Batman ’89 . Saban’s 4½ minutes of commercials in front of the VHS release of I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger , including an ad for THE VIDEO YOU’RE ALREADY WATCHING . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Behind the Bells , a one-horse open sleigh ride into the world of Christmas movies. **** “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and “I’m Dreaming of a White Ranger” © 1995 Saban Entertainment, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 13, 2022

🎃 It’s 1989, and Rue McClanahan is trapped in an underground castle inhabited by a bunch of Gremlin-looking puppets called Greevils — and for some reason, she wants to leave. The Advent Calendar House welcomes Matt from Dinosaur Dracula for a Halloween in July celebration of “The Wickedest Witch,” co-written and produced by ALF creator Paul Fusco, and starring Blanche from The Golden Girls as the evil Avarissa. As far as we know, this Halloween special only ever aired once, but somehow managed to capture our hearts and burrow itself into the cavernous depths of our memories. There are 3 copies on YouTube — some include commercials, others hit record a second too late. For the closest we can get to a full picture of the special, here are all 3, courtesy of: 1. Dinosaur Dracula , 2. Jared’s VHS Treasures , 3. trivialord . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Dino Drac on The Wickedest Witch . Rue McClanahan on Entertainment Tonight , October 27, 1989 (Interview starts at 6:57). Ronn Lucas (Sammy), creator of Scorch and the 1988 Disney Channel special, “ Who’s in Charge Here? ” Judge Doom murdering a clown shoe in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Free Stuff for Kids . **** 📼 Commercials: McDonald’s Halloween Gift Certificate Books , 1989 during the airing of The Wickedest Witch. Weird Christmas . **** “The Wickedest Witch” © 1989 Boo You Productions. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 11, 2022

🎄 It’s 1983, and a young bear and fox are lost in the Big City after accidentally riding the rails on the apparently famous Christmas Tree Train in an obscure special that has little to do with Christmas trees or trains. Climb aboard as we explore the first holiday special starring Buttons and Rusty, known later as the Chucklewood Critters. You can watch The Christmas Tree Train on the Internet Archive . **** 🎙 Guest: Ethan ( The Hungry Reader , A Special Presentation or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight , @TeeAitchAre ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Unofficial Chucklewood Critters Home Page , which looks like it was created in 2003, last updated in 2011, and is a perfect specimen of an early 2000s Internet fan page. 2. William Boyett (Ranger Jones) in Last Clear Chance , a 1959 driving safety film later featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 . 3. Foxes actually hang out around bears in nature (Nature.org, 2021). 4. A random shout-out to mid-1990s Sonic the Hedgehog wannabe Bubsy the Bobcat . 5. A very difficult jump in a sewer level in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nintendo game . 6. All the human characters in this special look like they’re related to Gargamel from The Smurfs . 7. RiffTrax Christmas Circus with Whizzo the Clown . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Santa’s Village in Southern California, circa 1983 during an airing of The Christmas Tree Train . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: North Pole Radio , covering the art of representing Santa and all things Christmas. **** “The Christmas Tree Train” © 1983 Encore Enterprises, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 9, 2022

🎄 It’s 1984, and all we want for Christmas is our mom back. Join us as we turn around back to 1984 with Punky Brewster during her very special, very crucial first Christmas with her new family. WARNING: This episode contains Santa spoilers from 23:45 to 27:31 . **** 🎙 Guests: Adam Pope ( The Retro Network , @hojukoolander ). Steven ( UFO Club ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. I totally missed the 2021 Punky Brewster revival series on Peacock. 2. Ami Foster (Margaux) in Wrinkles in Need of Cuddles . 3. The Punky Brewster Wiki exists and is very helpful. 4. What do you mean, “Nobody would want A Bomb for Christmas ?” 5. “ Santa Claus Lives in Santa Cruz ” is a very obscure single that may or may not have been written for this episode. 6. “ I’ve Got the Sun in the Morning ” from Annie Get Your Gun . 7. Today’s TV Trope: Santa’s Existence Clause . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: NBC’s One to Grow On interstitial with Soleil Moon Frye, circa 1984. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Wizards! The Podcast Guide to Comics . **** “Punky Brewster” and “Yes, Punky, There Is a Santa Claus” © 1984 NBC Productions. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 7, 2022

🐰 It’s 1983, and despite replacing our entire body with robot parts, we still can’t plow faster than a rapidly growing magic forest baby. Join us as we get things rolling with the mascots of Paas Easter egg coloring kits in a secret hit piece on landlords disguised as a wacky Easter story. On the way, we’ll meet the ever-looming shadow of the Easter Bunny and teach animals to talk by giving them clothes. **** 🎙 Guests: Sammy Hain ( @SammyHain ). Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The History of Paas . 2. Patton Oswalt on Paas and its short-lived competitors. 3. This special was written by Rankin/Bass legend Romeo Muller, with songs composed by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles. 4. Charles Woolf (Terrence) in Elvira: Mistress of the Dark . 5. The origin of a farmer’s “ South 40 ” and the Homestead Act of 1862 . 6. Paas replaced their mascot characters . The only original one left is Feathers — if that’s even the same Feathers. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Paas Easter Egg Coloring Kit , 1984. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Holidays After Dark , exploring the strange, unusual, and dark sides of the holidays. **** “Peter and the Magic Egg” © 1983 RLR Associates, Ltd. / Romeo Productions, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 5, 2022

🎄 It’s 1990, and we’re looking a gift horse in the mouth. Join us on a wild ride to the Bar None Ranch for a Very Special Episode™ of Nickelodeon’s Hey Dude disguised as a barely festive Christmas in July special. WARNING: This episode contains Santa spoilers from 27:07 to 28:58 . **** 🎙 Guest: Justin O’Connor ( @jm_oconnor ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. An ode to our childhood friends who lied about having an Uncle Who Worked For Nintendo. 2. Hey Dude Reviewed’s episode rankings and review of Ride, She Said . 3. Kelly Brown (Brad) in Danger Zone 4: Mad Girls, Bad Girls (NSFW) . 4. Kelly Brown’s boutique on Long Island . 5. Christine Taylor (Melody) in Showdown . 6. Susan Sindelar (Cindy) in the background of a fight scene in Smokey and the Bandit . 6. TROT (Therapeutic Riding of Tucson) is a real place. 7. The Hey Dude set is still somewhat standing in a secluded area of another, actual ranch. 8. The Hangin’ Out Gang . 9. The Huron Carol , believed to be the oldest North American Christmas carol, was written in an indigenous language. 10. The poster for Miracle on 34th Street gives no indication that it’s a Christmas movie. 10 . You know what? I’ll just let y’all search for “star registry” on your own if you want to actually look naming a star after someone. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: California Games for Nintendo , 1987. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Christmas Creeps , keeping the Christmas spirit alive year-round through the magic of terrible holiday films. **** “Hey Dude” and “Ride She Said” © 1990 MTV Networks. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 3, 2022

🎄 It’s 1983, and Young Republican Alex P. Keaton is sick and tired of hearing “Merry Christmas.” It was a different time. Join us as we airlift our dirty laundry back to before Back to the Future for a Scrooge Sunday edition of Family Ties , in which Michael J. Fox is taken 30 years into the future to fix his family. **** 🎙 Guests: Molly Patton ( MollyPatton.com , @molly_patton , @MoMakesStuffUp ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Michael Gross (Steven) on making the Christmas movie Noelle . 2. Chris Hebert (Young Alex) in Fuzzbucket . 3. Justine Bateman as Mallory as the Ghost of Christmas Future is the Best Dressed Ghost of Christmas Future . 4. Justine Bateman as Lady Zara , Superman’s long-lost betrothed wife-to-be on Lois and Clark . 5. Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter (Elyse) as Santa and Mrs. Claus in the 2015 Lifetime Original Movie, Becoming Santa . 6. The time I went shopping on Christmas Day in the year 2000 and ended up finding the loneliest Hollywood Video employee. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Atari Christmas Commercial , 1983. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: The Christmas Alphabet Podcast , Christmas from A to Z. **** “Family Ties” and “A Keaton Christmas Carol” © 1983 Paramount Pictures Corp. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 1, 2022

🎄 It’s 1984, and it’s time to let the music play down in Fraggle Rock as we ring in Christmas in July on a quest to find the true meaning of the Festival of the Bells. On the way, we’ll visit Outer Space as Doc teaches Sprocket — and us — about the Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, and Christmas around the world. **** 🎙 Guests: Tom Coombs ( The Pop Daddy , @thepopdaddy ). Donnie Storms ( Bronwen’s Ghost , @boxcar45 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A clip from the British airing of The Bells of Fraggle Rock , in which Doc is replaced by a lighthouse captain. 2. Gerald Parkes (Doc) in An American Christmas Carol as the Ghost of Christmas Present. 3. Doc’s tool-themed Christmas tree . 4. The John Wanamaker Christmas Light Show and Dickens Village in Philadelphia. 5. The Weebabeast , in pictures. 6. Gobo’s maze-like map to the Cave of the Great Bell . 7. St. Nicholas Day . 8. Mokey and the Festival of the Bells , a Christmas-themed Fraggle Rock storybook. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Fraggle Rock Book Club , 1985. McDonald’s Fraggle Rock Happy Meal Toys , 1988. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Hyrule Podcasters , an audio “Let’s Play” through The Legend of Zelda. **** “The Bells of Fraggle Rock” © 1984 Jim Henson Productions. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2021

🎅 It’s the 100th episode of the Advent Calendar House! Join us as we put one foot in front of the other back to 1970 to revisit a Rankin/Bass Christmas classic that dares to answer children’s questions about Santa Claus while illegally opening his mail. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit , @theatomicgeeks ). Erin Evans ( @mserinevans ). Michael May ( MichaelMay.online , AfterLUNCH , @michaelmaycomix ). Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , 📸 @blessedarethegeek ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Both IMDb and Wikipedia had the premiere date wrong because of a typo in an old book . Rich Goldschmidt’s The Making of Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town and The Daydreamer gets it right. 2. Former pro-wrestler Special Delivery Jones (no relation). 3. Burgermeister Meisterburger is a dead ringer for Mauser from Police Academy 2 . 4. Hey, IMDb, I highly doubt the Greg Thomas voicing young Kris Kringle grew up to play the saxophone in Parliament Funkadelic. 5. For a while, Topper was renamed Waddles . 6. Kris’s weird face he makes after being caught by the Winter Warlock’s angry trees. 7. Save the Earth from Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster . 8. Weddings on Christmas Day used to be popular. 9. The first known recording of the song Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town , and our favorite versions. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Folgers Coffee: Peter Comes Home for Christmas , 1982. **** “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” © 1970 Rankin/Bass Productions. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 22, 2021

🎄 It’s 1996, and we’re holding our football-shaped heads high on a quest to find our neighbor’s long-lost daughter… but first, a pair of highly sought after Nancy Spumoni snow boots! Join us for a very special Christmas episode that solidified Hey Arnold! as an unforgettable Nicktoon. **** 🎙 Guests: Anthony Caruso ( Tis the Podcast , @ACaruso929 ). Matt Eurich ( TGI Podcast , @MattEurich ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The story behind the iconic Vietnam Episode of ‘Hey Arnold!’ (NBC News, 2021). 2. Arnold’s Claymation origins: Arnold Escapes from Church , 1988. 3. Arnold Uses His Imagination on Sesame Street . 4. Helga in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl . 5. The “ Pollyanna ,” Philadelphia’s hyper-local Secret Santa. 6. Mr. Hyunh’s banana wallpaper . 7. Mr. Hyunh’s flashback includes the iconic helicopter image from the Fall of Saigon . 8. One-Legged Bob, the Affable Railroad Tramp . 9. Hey, grown-ups, remember dot matrix printers? 10. Hiep Thi Le’s life could’ve been a movie; instead the refugee became a star playing someone else (Los Angeles Times, 2018). **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Talkboy Voice Recorder from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York . **** “Hey Arnold!” and “Arnold’s Christmas” © 1996 Viacom International, Inc. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 20, 2021

🎄 It’s 1984, and the most 1984 pair I can think of, Mr. T and Emmanuel Lewis, are taking us on the most romantic date through New York City on the way to a Christmas party at Radio City Music Hall. Along the way, we spoil David Copperfield’s magic tricks, leave our emergency contact information with Willie Tyler and Lester, share our favorite Christmas songs with Maureen McGovern, and fall asleep while watching the Rockettes rehearse. **** 🎙 Guest: Guy Hutchinson ( GuyHutchinson.com , Drunk on Disney , @guyhutchinson ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. I Pity the Yule: Remembering A Christmas Dream, Mr. T and Emmanuel Lewis’s Lost Holiday Special , (Mental Floss, 2020). 2. Be Somebody… or Be Somebody’s Fool . 3. New York Mayor Ed Koch in The Muppets Take Manhattan . 4. David Copperfield makes the Statue of Liberty disappear . 5. Sesame Street’s Don Music . 6. Willie Tyler and Lester on Letterman. 7. Vintage Christmas tree color wheels . 8. The other verses of Silent Night you’ve never heard. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Soft Scrub Cleaner . The GE 2800 Dishwasher commercial that reminds me of the last scene of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress . Masters of the Universe: The Fright Zone Play Set . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Behind the Bells , Totally Rad Christmas . “Mr. T and Emmanuel Lewis in A Christmas Dream” © 1984 Radio City Music Hall Television Productions. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 18, 2021

🎄 It’s 1986, and we’re hiding out in a cabin in the mountains with modern-day Snow White and real-life Christmas angel Dolly Parton. Join us as we try to wrap our heads around this Henry Winkler-directed TV movie that gets really weird really quickly. **** 🎙 Guest: April Ryley ( @Where2NextApril , 📸 @motherchristmascosplay ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Dolly Parton Meets the Kids . 2. Muppet doppelgänger Polly Darton . 3. Dolly Parton saved a girl’s life on the set of Christmas on the Square . 4. Gennie James (Cindy) in The Hugga Bunch Movie . 5. Claude Earl Jones (Bartender) in the Seinfeld episode, The Race . 6. Lee Majors (Mountain Dan) and Jean Speegle Howard (Old Woman Jezebel) in The Night the Reindeer Died , the movie-within-a-movie from Scrooged . 7. How South Jersey Keeps Muskrat on the Menu (Gastro Obscura). **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: 1988 Dollywood Commercial . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Christmas Clatter , Santa by the Minute . “A Smoky Mountain Christmas” © 1986 Sandollar Productions. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 16, 2021

🎄 It’s 1995, and I call upon the raging wind and the retired hosts of The Hourchive to send us flying into the Marvel Animated Universe where the X-Men spend an uncanny Christmas in the sewer trying to save a sick Morlock. Join us as we size up the X-Mansion Christmas tree, praise Storm’s fashion sense, and berate her leadership skills. **** 🎙 Guests: Drew Crowley ( Pizzanaut.com , @pizzanautgo , 📸 @gopizzanaut ). John Dedeke ( JohnDedeke.com , @johndedeke , 📸 @gratefuldedeke ). Adam Jurotich ( The Ambassadors of Harmony , 📸 @adam_sr ). Nick Man ( Eat Me in St. Louis , @EatMeInStLouis , 📸 @eatmeinstlouispodcast ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Hourchive on The X-Men (2013) and ReduX-Me n (2019). 2. California Dreams . 3. Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits home video starring Drew Barrymore. 4. Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas on the Marvel Animated Universe Wiki. 5. Ross Petty (Ape) and his annual holiday pantomime theatre. 6. Captive Hearts , featuring the introduction to the Morlocks, Rogue and Gambit in swimsuits , and the Wolverine Crush meme . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: The Uncanny X-Men ToyBiz Action Figures . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Lit for Christmas . The Christmas Book: The Ultimate Guide to Your Favorite Holiday . “X-Men” and “Have Yourself a Morlock Little X-Mas” © 1995 Filmation Associates. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 14, 2021

🎄 It’s 1978, and we’re glued to the TV… whether we like it or not. Join us as we catch the next reindeer flight to save Santa’s workshop from being taken over by a palette swapped Wile E. Coyote. **** 🎙 Guests: Molly Patton ( MollyPatton.com , @molly_patton , @MoMakesStuffUp ). Adam Pope ( RetroDaze , Wizards: The Podcast Guide to Comics , @hojukoolander ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure and The Greedy . 2. Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog , in example: A Sheep in the Deep . 3. The Gloopstik Corporation’s address on Google Maps. 4. Santa’s Reindeer species profile by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 5. The Star-On and Star-Off machines from The Sneetches . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: 1978 M&M’s Christmas Commercial . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: A Cozy Christmas . “Raggedy Ann” and “Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper” © 1978 The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 12, 2021

🎄 It’s 1978, and celebrities pretending to be ghosts are gaslighting Oscar the Grouch into participating in Christmas. Also, Michael Jackson shows up. This Scrooge Sunday, witness the other Sesame Street Christmas special from 1978, featuring 3 whole, entire Muppets. **** 🎙 Guests: Alan Johnson ( @AlanJ ) from Two Bad Neighbors in the 31st Century , now a Futurama Podcast. Donnie Storms ( @boxcar45 , Bronwen’s Ghost ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Our episode on Christmas Eve on Sesame Street . 2. I thought Tough Pigs made up this special in 2001 to be funny, but nope, it’s real. 3. Sesame Street lost an Emmy to Sesame Street . 4. Muppet Wiki on A Special Sesame Street Christmas . 5. Elmo’s Delicious Christmas . 6. Anne Murray Sings for the Sesame Street Generation , an American re-release of There’s a Hippo in My Tub . 7. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street . 8. Michael Jackson inadvertently saved Sesame Street from a lawsuit . 9. Just One Person at Jim Henson’s memorial service. 10. Mike talks about Snoopy! The Musical on A Special Presentation, or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Sesame Place , 1984. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Kringle Talks Kristmas . “A Special Sesame Street Christmas” © 1978 Bob Banner Associates. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 10, 2021

🎄 It’s 1980, and we’re having a hiccuping fit that can literally move mountains. Join us on a trip back to the World of Filmation for a barely Christmassy Snow White sequel featuring Seven Friendly Giants, each with their own involuntary reflexes. **** 🎙 Guests: Kristi ( @BadPrincessMov ) and Bri ( @wallabri ) from Bad Princess Movies . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Bad Princess Movies on Happily Ever After . 2. Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation . 3. Cash-grab home videos including The Reef , Ratatoing , and Toei Animation’s The Little Mermaid , which I discovered in a Toys “R” Us in 1989. 4. Larry Mann (Yukon Cornelius) as the Magic Mirror vs. Dom DeLuise as the Looking Glass in Happily Ever After . 5. The Thief and the Cobbler . 6. Am I Hot or Not? 7. The word CLINK appears as a key is dropped onto a table, but this is the only time that effect happens in the whole special. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Barbie Dreamhouse , 1982. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Weird Christmas . “A Snow White Christmas” © 1980 Filmation Associates. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 8, 2021

🎄 It’s 1988, and we’re staring intensely at the totally nuts series finale of The Care Bears Family , the Care Bears’ last TV appearance for 16 years. **** 🎙 Guests: Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames ). Karen Flieger ( @karenflieger8 , The Retro Network ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The World’s Smallest Tenderheart Bear . 2. Karen’s awesome Nutcracker socks . 3. Abby Hagyard on Twitter (Ms. Walker, and also Mom on You Can’t Do That on Television ). 4. The Wild Puffalumps . 5. Billie Mae Richards, the voice of Rudolph, as Tenderheart Bear in The Care Bears Movie . 6. That time a goose flew into Fabio’s face on a roller coaster . 7. Today’s TV Tropes: Identity Amnesia , Evil Chancellor , Rail-Car Separation . 8. The Sad Story of Henry from Thomas the Tank Engine . 9. The train runs on soda, like the time machine in the first draft of Back to the Future . 10. When we recorded this, the special’s Wikipedia entry was oddly specific about setting this story in 1967. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Care Bears Drinking Glasses from Pizza Hut , 1984. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: The Christmas Book: The Ultimate Guide to Your Favorite Holiday . Snow in Southtown . “Care Bears Nutcracker Suite” © 1988 Nelvana Ltd. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 6, 2021

🕎 It’s 1988, and we’re getting lit at Bubbe’s Boarding House for Hanukkah. Take a spin with us as we meet a bunch of puppets you’ll never hear from again. **** 🎙 Guest: April Ryley ( @Where2NextApril , 📸 @motherchristmascosplay ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A Simpsons animator designed the puppets for this weird, wonderful ’80s Hanukkah special (Splinter). 2. Caps for Sale . 3. Anton and his Easter Island head. 4. April’s very non-kosher latke recipe. 5. Mayim Bialik explains the letters on the dreidel and other Hanukkah facts. 6. Calvin getting trolled by his dad in Calvin and Hobbes . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: 1970s/’80s PBS Logo ID . 1985 Teddy Ruxpin “Frankenstein” Commercial , preserved by Dinosaur Dracula . Teddy Ruxpin voice actor Phil Baron co-wrote this special. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Cool Kids Club . “Chanuka at Bubbe’s” © 1988 Pan-Imago, Inc. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 4, 2021

🎄 It’s 1963, and we’re watching a show about a show within a show putting on a show for Christmas. Don’t ask us to make sense of it. We can’t stop tripping over our own home furniture. **** 🎙 Guest: Tim Babb ( Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast , @TimBabbComedian , @ChristmasPod ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Dick Van Dyke as Tubby the Tuba . 2. 8 great little details you never noticed in The Dick Van Dyke Show Christmas episode (MeTV). 3. Every Episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show , Ranked (Vulture). 4. 92-year-old Dick Van Dyke dancing to Step in Time . 5. Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins Returns . 6. John Brown’s Body . 7. Key & Peele’s Negrotown sketch and the trope of interrupting someone’s song. 8. The Dick Van Dyke Show cast reunites on Comic Relief , 1992. 9. The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book’s history of I Am a Fine Musician . 10. The theme song’s secret lyrics . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Learn Not to Burn: Holiday Fire Safety PSA , 1977. Also mentioned, this Fire Safety PSA with Dick Van Dyke pretending to be a door . **** “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Alan Brady Show Presents” © 1963 Calvada Productions. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 2, 2021

☃️ It’s 1982, and we’re walking in the air. The Advent Calendar House takes flight for its 7th season as we melt over a British Christmas classic and a personal favorite I wish was more beloved stateside. **** 🎙 Guest: Adam Parker Sibun from the Merry Britsmas Podcast ( @MerryBritsmas ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. New theme song! Thanks, Bronwen’s Ghost ! 2. Merry Britsmas episode on Raymond Briggs . 3. The British Film Institute’s Top 100 British TV Programmes of the 20th Century . 4. The special’s 3 openings, featuring Briggs , David Bowie , and Mel Smith as Father Christmas . 5. The original Snowman original picture book wasn’t a Christmas story. 6. Other Briggs works mentioned: Father Christmas , Fungus the Bogeyman , Ethel and Ernest , and When the Wind Blows . 7. How The Snowman melted David Bowie’s heart (The Guardian, December 2016). 8. Duncan Jones finds his dad’s scarf . 9. Video of an owl flying over snow I eerily shared on Facebook the night David Bowie died. 10. The Maccabees cover Walking in the Air . 11. The Royal Pavilion and Brighton Palace Pier . 12. Today’s TV Trope: Polar Bears and Penguins . 13. The Snowman in a commercial for Barbour outerwear . 14. Irn-Bru soft drink’s parody commercial , and its sequel . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: 1985 Toys “R” Us Snowman Commercial featuring Aled Jones covering Walking in the Air (sung in the special by Peter Auty). **** “The Snowman” © 1982 Snowman Enterprises Ltd. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 23, 2021

🎄 We close out another countdown to Christmas in July with a sleigh ride back to the Stone-Age Year of Our Lord 1977 to watch Santa fall off the roof and a guy who acts like a caveman take over his job. **** 🎙 Guests: Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas , @RadChristmas ). Sean Sotka ( The Christmas Podcasts Podcast , @xander0527 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Our episode on the Fruity Pebbles Christmas Commercial . 2. I found a Flintstones chronology on, of all places, Flickr. 3. The Internet Archive’s VHS Vault . 4. Domino Rally . 5. I want to know more about Santa’s reindeer turn signals. 6. Daze Before Christmas for Super Nintendo and Mega Drive (Genesis). 7. Virginia Gregg (Mrs. Claus) was the uncredited voice of Norman Bates’s mother in the first 3 Psycho movies. 8. Santa’s workshop should have gotten Flintstone Theming . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Fruity Pebbles: Rapping Barney , 1988. Voice Command Crusher RC Car , 1993. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Behind the Bells . “A Flintstone Christmas” © 1977 Hanna-Barbera Productions. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 21, 2021

🦃 We’re talking turkey as we dig up and dig in to a 1983 Thanksgiving special from puppeteer Paul Fusco, the creator of ALF. **** 🎙 Guests: Chad “Ecto” Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny , @horrormoviebbq ). Tom Coombs ( @ClassicTomedy , TPIF ). Jayme Kilsby ( @brainexploderrr ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Imagicom Productions’ Holiday Specials Collection . 2. A Thanksgiving Tale, with curated retro Thanksgiving commercials . 3. The Joker at the 1989 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade . 4. A November 16, 1983 TV listing in an archived New York Magazine . 5. Paul Fusco’s Space Cats . 6. David Lander in Funland . 7. Mental Floss’s Oral History of ALF . 8. Today’s TV Trope: Invited as Dinner . 9. The You Bet Your Life Duck. 10. The art of making puppets fight: Throw them into the air from behind a fence. 11. We compare the Thanksgiving play in this special to the one in Addams Family Values . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Butterball Turkey Commercial (1985) **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Christmas Time in the City . “A Thanksgiving Tale” © 1983 Imagicom Productions, Inc. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 19, 2021

🦖 Get your frying pan ready and join us on a journey to what feels like 60 million years ago back to 1991 to observe the most wonderful time of the year for the Jim Henson Company’s Dinosaurs , which by some Fridge Day miracle is the Advent Calendar House’s first TGIF episode. **** 🎙 Guest: Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Dinosaurs parody on The Simpsons . 2. We go from talking about the Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ segment of Muppets Now to Netflix’s Nailed It! 3. Sally Struthers (Charlene) for International Correspondence School . 4. A brief history of the Christmas bonus, or “ thirteenth salary .” 5. Sam McMurray in the very short-lived A League of Their Own TV sitcom , and my own pitch for a TV adaptation on Nerd Lunch’s Fourth Chair Army Invasion . 6. Pons Maar (Roy’s body actor) as the original voice of The Noid . 7. Unisaurs : The Dinosaurs equivalent to the Anything Muppet. 8. The biggest gifts we ended up returning. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Talking Baby Dinosaur and Dinosaurs Figures , 1991. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: TGI Podcast . “Dinosaurs” and “Refrigerator Day” © 1991 The Walt Disney Company. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 17, 2021

🎄 I know what we’re going to podcast about today, so get ready for a toboggan ride without even getting out of bed back to 2009 to watch Phineas and Ferb save their very nice town’s Christmas Vacation. **** 🎙 Guests: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , @blessedarethegeek ). James Riley ( @yourbuddyspooky ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Ferb) in Love Actually and Star Wars: The Force Awakens . 2. The time James accidentally knocked over Ben Stiller. 3. The Sears Wish Book catalog . 4. Today’s TV Trope: Look Both Ways . 5. What Does He Want? was cut for time and restored later. Also, it sounds like Monster Mash . 6. Doofenshmirtz’s Naughty-inator reminds me of the Riddler’s Brain Box from Batman Forever . 7. U.S.A. for Africa’s We Are the World . 8. Walt Disney World’s Candlelight Processional and Raglan Road . 9. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Christmas Is Starting Now . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Sears Wish Book , 1992. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Merry Britsmas . “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” © 2009 Disney. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 15, 2021

🎄 It’s Garbage Day! Join us as we look happily deranged back to 1996 to follow Pete and Pete’s brother, Pete, on their mission to keep the Christmas spirit alive for as long as possible, and keep their Christmas tree safe from the evil Garbageman. **** 🎙 Guests: Tom Coombs ( @ClassicTomedy , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny ). Chad “Ecto” Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Michael C. Maronna (Big Pete) in Home Alone , and in a series of Ameritrade commercials circa 1999. 2. Snow Day was originally conceived as a Pete & Pete movie. 3. The first Pete & Pete short, What Would You Do for a Dollar? 4. The Pete & Pete 20th Anniversary Reunion . 5. Danny Tamberelli (Little Pete) as Jimmy De Santa in Grand Theft Auto 5 . 6. Hardy Rawls (Dad) as the Maytag Repairman circa 2005. 7. Sludge Central on Pete & Pete filming in New Jersey . 8. Chad and Michael May talk Silent Night, Deadly Night on Sleigh Bell Cinema . 9. David Johansen sings Garbageman’s Ballad . 10. Garbageman’s hijacking of Little Pete’s Yule Log reminds us of the Max Headroom Pirating Incident . 11. A mini ode to character actress Marilyn Dobrin as the Wrigleys’ notably loud neighbor. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: • The Adventures of Pete & Pete : Mom’s Plate , 1991. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Christmas Clatter . “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” and “O’ Christmas Pete” © 1995 Viacom. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 13, 2021

🎃 It’s a wonderful night for eyebrows as we pick up James Riley and Ethan “The Hungry Reader” in our paraphernalia wagon as we wheel it back to 1977 for a Grinch Night we’ll never forget. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: The worst, non-candy Halloween treats. “ Carlton, Your Doorman .” Longtime Sesame Street composer Joe Raposo composed this special’s music. Hans Conried (The Grinch) was also the titular character in Dr. Seuss’s The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. I badly describe the plot of “ Midnight Madness .” The Hakken-Kraks in “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” The Euphemism, and other words I thought Dr. Seuss made up. “ Dr. Seuss Goes to War ,” and other creators of great works doing terrible things. Bogleech’s gallery of the Grinch’s monsters , and our personal favorites. The Vug under the Rug , the Jibboo , and the Birthday Bird . “ Danse macabre .” Is this a prequel, and where does “ The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat ” fit into it? **** 📼 Commercials: Franken Berry and Monster Cereals (1986), preserved by Dinosaur Dracula . Holly Jolly X’masu . **** “Halloween is Grinch Night” © 1977 DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 11, 2021

🎄 Happy Back to the Future Day! Set your time circuits to 1845 by way of 1991 for a special Christmas in July episode of the Back to the Future Saturday morning cartoon, featuring hologram clothes, the hoverboard equivalent to texting while driving, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. The actually animated segments of the animated series feature Dan Castelleneta as Doc, plus the return of Thomas F. Wilson ( Batman: The Animated Series ) as various Tannens throughout history, and Christmas movie all-star Mary Steenburgen ( Elf , One Magic Christmas ) as Clara. **** 🎙 Guests: Joey O.( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). Joseph Wade ( Christmas Creeps , The O/S/T Party , @cordialwombat ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Mary Steenburgen playing Informer on the accordion in Last Man on Earth . 2. Series art director James S. Baker storyboards his own blog . 3. The Back to the Future pinball game and its random movie quotes. 4. Futurepedia on how Doc’s clothing converter camera works. 5. Weird things we did as kids to show our parents we were responsible. 6. Some toys in Fedgewick’s shop shouldn’t be there yet in 1845. 7. Did We Wish You a Merry Christmas exist in 1845? Possibly, but not the version we know. 8. Doc’s wad of cash vs. England’s bank notes circa 1845. 9. Wilkins’s dog looks like 1980s T-shirt icon Rude Dog . 10. My Back to the Future -themed Good Friday and Easter Sunday tweets . 11. The closest thing we could find to a Kaiju Christmas movie is 1962’s Gorath . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Back to the Future: The Ride at Universal Studios Florida, 1996. Hi-C Ecto Cooler Commercial , 1989, starring David Kaufmann, the voice of Marty. **** “Back to the Future,” the Animated Series, and “Dickens of a Christmas” © 1991 Universal Cartoon Studios / Amblin Television. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 9, 2021

🎄 Take a sleigh ride back to 2014 as the fate of Christmas is in the hands of Murray Weiner (rhymes with diner ), from the hidden hometown of every holiday mascot… but mostly the American ones. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit , @theatomicgeeks ). Donnie Storms ( Bronwen’s Ghost , @boxcar45 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Former Simpsons showrunner Mike Reiss’s original books, How Murray Saved Christmas and Santa Claustrophobia . 2. The trimmed half-hour cut of the special removes some bad jokes, but also Murray’s backstory. 3. Speaking of super offensive things, Marc Mero as Johnny B. Badd . 4. Today’s TV Trope: Santa’s Sweatshop . 5. “Vishnu” takes The Problem with Apu to a new low. 6. Every LBGT Joke on The Simpsons Ever (as of early 2021). 7. There’s an actual National Milkmen Day … on June 26, not August 12. **** 🗓 All the Holidays Represented: 1. Christmas, 2. Hanukkah, 3. Kwanzaa, 4. New Year’s Day, 5. Groundhog Day, 6. Valentine’s Day, 7. Chinese New Year, 8. Mardi Gras, 9. Presidents Day, 10. St. Patrick’s Day, 11. April Fool’s Day, 12. Easter, 13. Arbor Day, 14. Earth Day, 15. Secretary’s Day (maybe), 16. May Day, 17. Cinco de Mayo, 18. Mother’s Day, 19. Graduation Day? 20. Father’s Day (maybe), 21. American Independence Day, 22. Bastille Day, 23. Labor Day, 24. Columbus Day, 25. Halloween, 26. Veterans Day, 27. Thanksgiving, 28. oh, and Jack Frost is there. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: McDonald’s McDLT Commercial starring Jason Alexander , 1985. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Tinsel Tunes . “How Murray Saved Christmas” © 2014 Universal Animation Studios. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 7, 2021

🐰 Hop, hop, hop with us back to 1981 for our first trip to Bear Country, which it turns out was built on top of the Easter Bunny’s industrial nightmare factory. **** 🎙 Guests: Alan Johnson ( Two Bad Neighbors – A Simpsons Podcast , Talespin Trivia , @AlanJ ). Emily Rowley (smiling politely, @mlerowley ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Surprise on the official YouTube channel. 2. Yes, we all collectively mispronounced “Berenstain.” 3. The VHS cover , for reference. 4. The Berenstain Bears: The Very First Easter , being the story of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, who is also a bear. 5. Inside the Berenstain Bears’ Tree House . 6. The widest tree in the world , for comparison. 7. Things this special has in common with Steel Magnolias: Knowl Johnson and dozens of broken Easter eggs. 8. An ode to the Bear Family’s tiny, antique, circular porthole TV set . 9. Today’s TV Trope: Packed Hero . 10. Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video , featuring young Zachary Danziger (Bill Bunny) and a host of way more familiar names. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Kellogg’s Raisin Bran: Morgan the Mockingbird Commercial , 1981, preserved from the original airing of this special. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Mike on the Two Bad Neighbors podcast for Marge Be Not Proud and Monty Can’t Buy Me Love . Jingle Jank . “The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Surprise” © 1981 Joseph Cates Co., Inc. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 5, 2021

🎄 Tune in as we mysteriously float back to 1983 with Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas on an unseasonably warm Christmas adventure through Mexico with our cool grandma and a talking Rubik’s Cube with more powers than Superman. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: The History of Rubik’s Cube . The theme song by pre-Ricky Martin Menudo. Ángela Moya , the voice of the kids’ mother, played a small but grim part in “Gleaming the Cube.” An ode to the family station wagon. An archived, early-Internet Rubik fan site . Las Posadas . Date a TV show by adding a CB radio . Rubik ending up in an eagle’s nest reminded me of “ The Polar Express .” Reynoldo’s speed cubing skills compared to the real-life Rubik’s Cube world records in 1983 and today . **** 📼 Commercials: Cap’n O.G. Readmore (1985) Cap’n Crunch Cereal: Crunch vs. Taste (1985) An Alpha Bits Cereal commercial that’s clearly still trying to ride the Pac-Man wave, but I’m not complaining (1985) **** “Rubik, the Amazing Cube” and “Rubik’s First Christmas” © 1983 Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 3, 2021

🎄 By special request, this episode of the official podcast of teaching aliens about Christmas takes you on a domesticated goose chase back to 1977 through the first fully animated feature by Canadian studio Nelvana. **** 🎙 Guest: Jeff Fox ( Name That Christmas Special , @chrspecials ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Jeff’s collection of A Cosmic Christmas music and scanned promotional items . 2. Joanna Wilson’s Christmas TV History . 3. This special got George Lucas’s attention and led to Nelvana producing the animated segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special . 4. The Nelvana Story: Thirty Animated Years . 5. Today’s TV Trope: Big Ball of Violence . 6. Jellybean looks like the red-eyed Pac-Man on the side of the arcade cabinet . 7. Duncan Regehr (Amalthor) as Dracula in The Monster Squad . 8. Marian Waldman , Mrs. Mac from Black Christmas , also has a quick line or two. 9. The Castle Thunder stock sound effect. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Burger King Doll Christmas Commercial , 1977. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Weird Christmas . “A Cosmic Christmas” © 1977 Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 1, 2021

🎄 It’s time for toys and time for cheer as the Advent Calendar House begins another 12-episode countdown to Christmas in July, starting by rewinding at twice the normal speed back to 1981 to revisit the Christmas special that helped kick off the revival of Alvin and the Chipmunks. **** 🎙 Guests: Steven ( Wizards: The Podcast Guide to Comics , @StevenStaples81 ). Sean Sotka ( The Christmas Podcasts Podcast , @xander0527 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Steven’s story of accidentally erasing his VHS recording of this special, only to find another recording of the same broadcast years later. The History of the Chipmunks (RIP The Hourchive ). Witch Doctor . R.J. Williams (Tommy) was 3 years old in this special. Wake, Rattle, & Roll , also starring R.J. Williams. Dave’s 3-story Victorian mansion seen only in this special and never again. Yes, the Chipmunks wear pants. Vintage Echo harmonicas are real, but good luck finding a gold one. Selling photos of Santa with dogs dressed as reindeer looks way more fun than selling dollar store junk door-to-door . Clyde Crashcup invented a popular Simpsons joke. Today’s TV trope: Talking in Your Sleep . Paw Patrol makes no sense. **** 📼 Commercials: A Chipmunk Christmas Soundtrack Album , 1981. 7up Countdown to Christmas Posters , 1986. **** “A Chipmunk Christmas” © 1981 Bagdasarian Productions. Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2020

🎄 It’s Christmas Eve in the Advent Calendar House as we walk through a ring of fire back to 1982 to dance with the Smurfs and watch goodness make the badness go away. **** 🎙 Guests: Thom Crowe ( Tis the Podcast, @thomcrowe ). Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas , @RadChristmas ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Watch The Smurfs’ Christmas Special on the official Smurfs YouTube channel . 2. We want to try Greedy Smurf’s cauldron of pink pudding. 3. My son thinks the king of Hyrule is Santa. 4. I just now learned about Watergate salad . 5. The Smurfs in theme parks . 6. Danny Goldman (Brainy Smurf) in Young Frankenstein . 7. Paul Winchell (Gargamel) invented an artificial heart . 8. The mysterious Stranger may or may not be the actual Devil. 9. Teaser for a new Smurfs animated series . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: The Smurfs at Kings Dominion , 1984. **** “The Smurfs” and “The Smurfs’ Christmas Special” © 1982 Hanna-Barbera Productions. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 22, 2020

🎄 10 years after The Simpsons debuted, Matt Groening presented this misheard but not forgotten doggie treat from 1999. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @imgonnadj24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Making of Olive, the Other Reindeer . 2. PaRappa the Rapper . 3. Mr. Lunch Takes a Plane Ride , the first book by Olive creators Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold. 4. The Goonies II . 5. Jay Mohr in Camp Wilder . 6. Famous mondegreens and the stupidest lyric I’ve ever misheard. 7. Dan Castellaneta’s Postman voice sounds like his Robot Devil . 8. “ You’re no Jack Kennedy .” 9. Bullwinkle tried to kidnap my baby. 10. R U Talkin’ R.E.M. Re: Me? , formerly U Talkin’ U2 to Me? and currently U Talkin’ Talking Heads 2 My Talking Head? 11. Michael Stipe on The Adventures of Pete & Pete . 12. The pope gets a Phillies hat . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Amazon.com Christmas Countdown Commercial , 1999). **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Santa by the Minute . The Christmas Podcasts Podcast . “Olive, the Other Reindeer” © 1999 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 20, 2020

🎄 Venture into the uncanny valley on a trip back to 2009 to rewatch Disney’s motion capture nightmare starring 4 Jim Carreys, 3 Gary Oldmans, 2 Robin Wrights, and a Cary Elwes in a pear shape. **** 🎙 Guest: Matt Weiland ( Matt’s Dream Destinations , @DinnahDawg ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Respect to a Disney movie that jumps from a storybook opening to a corpse’s face. 2. Despite being the 5th highest grossing Christmas movie as of 2020, this is also one of history’s biggest box-office bombs . 3. Coins on a corpse’s eyes in 19th century England had less to do with paying the ferryman’s toll and more to do with keeping their eyes closed . 4. Cary Elwes (one of the “portly” solicitors) is a descendant of John Elwes , the real-life inspiration for Scrooge. 5. Christopher Walken forgetting his lines as Captain Hook in Peter Pan Live . 6. Disney’s Movies website accidentally credited Gary Oldman as both Kermit the Frog and Robin the Frog . 7. Macy’s Dickens Village in Philadelphia. 8. The Ghost of Christmas Present flying Scrooge’s entire room around London is a weird mix of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Soarin’ . 9. Jim Carrey on his various accents . 10. Roundhouse alumna Julene Renee as Want. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: McDonald’s: Scrooge’s Party , 1984, preserved by Dinosaur Dracula . **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Merry Britsmas . Yuletide TV . Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” © 2009 Disney. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 18, 2020

🎄 We’re skating on thin ice back to 1993 for a very educational trip to Bluffington in an episode of Doug that I forgot was a Christmas episode I was watching for the podcast. **** 🎙 On This Episode: Greg Stevens ( Pop Arena , Nick Knacks , @pop_arena ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Disney’s Doug was fine, y’all. 2. Doug creator Jim Jinkins worked on Nickelodeon’s first show, Pinwheel . 3. Early versions of Doug in a bumper for USA Network and a PSA for Florida Grapefruit Juice narrated by Lorenzo Music. 4. Today’s TV Trope: Danger: Thin Ice . 5. Alice Playten (Beebe) in Maurice Sendak’s Really Rosie as Alligator. 6.Constance Shulman (Patti) in Weekend at Bernie’s II . 7. Every car in Bluffington looks like Homer Simpson designed it . 8. Greg Lee from Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? voices the now-former mayor White, and boy, am I glad we recorded this after election week. 9. The Phred on Your Head Show . 10. Mr. Dink’s last name is apparently an acronym for “ Double Income, No Kids .” 11. Don’t wrap pets in boxes! 12. What is Pork Chop? 13. The topper on the Funnies’ Christmas tree is Mr. Dink’s face. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Nicktoons Pizza Hut Kids’ Pizza Pack Commercial , 1991. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: SequelQuest . TGI Podcast . “Doug” and “Doug’s Christmas Story” © 1993 Jumbo Pictures, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 16, 2020

🎄On this episode of the official holiday podcast for people who hate all humans — which, in 2020, is most of us — we dance to the beat of our own drum back to 1968 and back into the Rankin/Bass universe for their stop-motion follow-up to Rudolph . **** 🎙 Guests Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Star Weirdos ). Michael May ( MichaelMay.online , Sleigh Bell Cinema , AfterLUNCH , Mystery Movie Night , @michaelmaycomix ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This was Romeo Muller’s favorite Christmas special he wrote for Rankin/Bass. Also, that link on Rankin/Bass’s website is from 2003 and looks like it hasn’t been touched since 2003. 2. Paul Frees voices of 8 different characters in this special, if you count animal noises. 3. The song, originally called Carol of the Drum , was written more recently than I’d thought — in 1941 — and first recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family Singers, the family that inspired The Sound of Music . 4. Aaron’s origin story is the same as Conan the Barbarian’s . 5. Here’s an isolated version of One Star in the Night , without the narration. 6. Burl Ives wouldn’t have felt out of place narrating this special, since he’d go on to narrate one about another caravan . 7. The special also mixes up its kings, at least as they’re traditionally named . 8. Our definitive versions of the song. 9. Young Brandon insists on adding the Little Drummer Boy to a church Nativity pageant. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Kentucky Fried Chicken: Christmas Carol , 1989. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: NetfliXmas . Feliz Christmas, Merry Navidad . “The Little Drummer Boy” © 1968 Rankin/Bass Productions. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 14, 2020

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This podcast discusses a 1960 episode of The Jack Benny Program in which a character shoots himself offscreen. 🎄 Join us as we second-, third-, and fourth-guess ourselves back to 1960 to go Christmas shopping with Jack Benny, the last televised version of a longtime radio favorite. **** 🎙 Guest: Guy Hutchinson ( GuyHutchinson.com , Drunk On Disney Podcast , @GuyHutchinson ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Television Academy Foundation’s page on Jack Benny’s Christmas Shopping show , including a video interview with show writer George Balzer. 2. The earliest Christmas Shopping variant I could find, from 1937 . 3. Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, the progression of race relations , and his racehorse . 4. Finally I get to talk about Mel Blanc , the real star of this show. 5. Adjusting the $1.98 and $40 wallets for inflation. 6. A 2002 message board post on JackBenny.org answering whether Jack was a practicing Jew . 7. A tribute to Frank “Yeees?” Nelson . 8. Dennis Day and the dying practice of actors legally changing their names to their most popular characters’. 9. Stupid “the customer is always right” stories. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Norelco Santa (circa 1961). **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Weird Christmas . “The Jack Benny Program” and “Jack Goes Christmas Shopping” ©1960 J&M Productions, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 12, 2020

🎄 We’re responsibly deforesting our way back to 1980 to dig up the first appearance of early Disney Channel imports The Raccoons and the greedy Cyril Sneer. **** 🎙 On This Episode: Michael DiGiovanni ( Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit , @theatomicgeeks ). Christian Nielsen ( Pop Culture Retrofit , @hunkburger ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This special and an accompanying story album were narrated by Rich Little , a “Man of a Thousand Voices,” in his own, regular voice. 2. The voice of Forest Ranger Dan is Rupert Holmes, the singer/songwriter behind Escape (The Piña Colada Song) . 3. Tammy Bourne (Julie) and Hadley Kay (Tommy) were both in 1980 movies as children who fall from great heights. 4. Today’s TV Trope: Human Snowball . 5. Where does the dream end and reality begin? Maybe it’s all in the St. Elsewhere Snow Globe Universe of Tommy Westphall (no relation). **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Canadian Tire’s “Scrooge Approved” Prices , 1987. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Christmas Creeps . “The Christmas Raccoons” ©1980 PFS Christmas Raccoons / PFS Pooled Film Services, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 10, 2020

🕎 Tune in as we noisily snowmobile back to 1995 to try and figure out what everyone’s yelling about in Nickelodeon’s first Hanukkah special, created by Marc Weiner and his puppets who can’t stop screaming. **** 🎙 Guest: April Ryley ( @Where2NextApril ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. We watched this videotaped original broadcast of The Weinerville Chanukah Special , complete with commercials. 2. Weinerville.com is alive and well in 2020. 3. Marc Weiner went on to be the voice of Swiper the Fox and the Map in Dora the Explorer . 4. Marc Summers on his OCD being “ blown out of freakin’ proportion ,” and why he dropped his given last name . 5. Sour cream vs. applesauce for latke dipping. 6. Michael Gunst (Sinrek) may or may not be this puppeteer and mask maker . 7. Brian O’Connor (Antidorkus) as Schemer in Shining Time Station . 8. Thanks to Nickelodeon being under the MTV Networks umbrella, this special featured music by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers , Miami Sound Machine , and the B-52’s . 9. The bulk of this special was filmed at the Summit Lodge in Killington, Vermont. 10. Telephone booths still exist at Walt Disney World . 11. Liver as a go-to food kids hate . 12. Kevin “Diesel” Nash was likely still WWF Champion during taping, but lost it shortly before the special aired. 13. The art of making your own menorah out of household items, recyclable objects, or fruit. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Kmart Holiday Commercial starring Rosie O’Donnell and Penny Marshall , 1995. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Holly Jolly X’masu . “The Weinerville Chanukah Special” © 1995 Nickelodeon. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 8, 2020

🎄 It’s time to catch a last-minute flight to the North Pole and do the monkey with me back to 2001 for a well-deserved punch in the face that’s a little bit rock ’n’ roll. **** 🎙 Guest: James Riley ( @yourbuddyspooky ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. ’Twas the Night , a 1997 Johnny Bravo segment which this special accounts for in the show’s continuity… sort of. 2. Larry & Steve , Seth MacFarlane’s proto- Family Guy short film before from before he worked as a Johnny Bravo staff writer. 3. People on TV who wait till Christmas Eve to start decorating. 4. This special first aired less than 3 months after 9/11, on Pearl Harbor Day, and opens with Johnny unnecessarily calling the fire department to tell them he’s “the bomb.” 5. Homer Simpson’s sandwich , and the worst things we’ve found in our couches. 6. The latest you can mail something to guarantee arrival before Christmas, according to the U.S. Postal Service’s Holiday Shipping Deadlines . 7. The voice of the truck driver is Vanessa Marshall , who may or may not have provided the scream of Samus dying in the Metroid Prime games . 8. Santa’s village looks like the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle and is cloaked like Wakanda. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: American Online Keyword eBay , 2001. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Season’s Eatings , The Retro Network . “A Johnny Bravo Christmas” ©2001 Cartoon Network. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 6, 2020

🎄 Hang on to your hats as we blast back to 1987 to revisit the Filmation space western BraveStarr and its dickens of a backstory. **** 🎙 Guests: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). Sammy Hain ( @SammyHain ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The official BraveStarr YouTube channel . 2. The Fisher-Price Western Town I used as a backdrop for the much larger Bravestarr action figure. 3. Joey’s interview with Pat Fraley (Marshal BraveStarr). 4. This episode uses flashback scenes from the movie BraveStarr: The Legend , which explains why the animation quality isn’t consistent. 5. Young Tex Hex looks like a purple Faker from He-Man. 6. Stampede , the show’s even bigger bad, grants Tex Hex the power of transformation, because Filmation really wanted to teach kids that things that transform are evil. 7. The “present-day” husband of Tex’s former love, Ursula, looks like Fred Ward . 8. The time BraveStarr found a kid dead of a drug overdose . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: • Marshal BraveStarr, Tex Hex, and Neutralaser Toy Commercial , 1986. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Christmas Time in the City . “BraveStarr” and “Tex’s Terrible Night” ©1987 Filmation Associates. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 4, 2020

🎄 Join us on a stroll down Jim Henson’s dark hall of nightmares to 1986 to rewatch The Christmas Toy , an idea no one has repeated since. **** 🎙 Guests: Beth Cieslik ( @BethTheObscure ). Adam Jurotich ( The Hourchive ). Donnie Storms ( Bronwen’s Ghost , @boxcar45 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Kermit was cut from the DVD release, but he’s back in the version on Amazon Prime Video . 2. Rugby crashing his skateboard into a block tower is the 1980s Muppet version of WWE’s Titus O’Neil tripping and sliding underneath the ring . 3. “ Teacup Furby .” 4. Mother Goose Rock ’n’ Rhyme and the song Gordon (Never Really Learned to Play) . 5. Apple is closer to a female My Buddy than Kid Sister, the actual female My Buddy. 6. The inevitable Toy Story comparison. 7. Somehow we worked in a Christmas Shoes joke. I don’t have a link for that. I just wanted you to know. 8. Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art . 9. The Secret Life of Toys , the short-lived 1994 sequel series. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: • Kraft Holiday Recipes featuring The Christmas Toy poster, 1986, preserved by Dinosaur Dracula . • Crispy Critters Cereal , 1987. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: • Snow in Southtown . “The Christmas Toy” ©1986 Henson Associates, Inc. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 2, 2020

🎄 The Advent Calendar House kicks off another Christmas countdown by rewinding back to 1982, when Santa found himself stranded in Pac-Man’s neighborhood in the original video game crash. WARNING: This episode contains spoilers about Santa Claus from 11:25 to 13:30 . **** 🎙 Guests: Lindy ( @ieatvideogames ) and Alicia ( @thinkbluee ), the Sour Puss and Chomp-Chomp to my Pac-Baby. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Santa is flying with 8 reindeer, including Rudolph. Who got the night off? 2. Why some reindeer actually have red noses . 3. This might be the first time a Christmas special shows Santa using a computer. 4. Russi Taylor’s Pac-Baby has the same voice she later used as Robin in Muppet Babies . 5. No one in Pacland knows about Christmas, but the Ghost Monsters know Jingle Bells . 6. Absent from this special is the Ghost Monsters’ boss, Mezmaron . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Pac-Man Cereal , 1984. Chef Boyardee Pac-Man Pasta Commercial , 1984. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: A Bomb for Christmas , made for podcast Christmas movie by Tim Babb of the Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast , co-starring Mike as “Captain Willis.” “Christmas Comes to Pacland” © 1982 Hanna-Barbera Productions. Say hi on Twitter and Instagram . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 23, 2020

🦃 We end our countdown to Christmas in July by badly dancing back to 1989 to celebrate the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season in Garfield’s Thanksgiving , the clear bronze medalist of Garfield’s holiday trilogy, thanks to Jon Arbuckle going from goofy pet owner to gaslighting, mansplaining, hopelessly inept creep. **** 🎙 Guest: Jeff Somogyi ( Talkin’ Chopp , @sommerjam ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Orson the Pig from U.S. Acres makes a cameo in Liz’s waiting room. 2. The dumbest things we’ve done to get a date pale in comparison to Jon holding his breath until Liz concedes to going out with him. Please don’t do that. 3. Pat Carroll is back as Grandma in her 2nd greatest vocal performance of November 1989 . 4. Julie Payne (Liz) was also briefly the voice of another cartoon doctor, Janice N!Godatu , from the other animated segment of The Tracey Ullman Show . 5. A brief history of sock garters. 6. This special confirms Jon can’t hear Garfield speaking, but somehow Garfield’s computerized, fat-shaming scale can. 7. The best of Calvin’s dad from Calvin and Hobbes . 8. Grandma Arbuckle’s Sweet Potatoes, as prepared by Dinosaur Dracula . 9. Cranberry sauce tastes better when it’s shaped like the inside of a can. 10. Desirée Goyette , the female singing voice in Garfield’s specials and also the voice of Nermal, also sang the title theme to It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Garfield Alpo Cat Food Commercial , 1989. “Garfield’s Thanksgiving” © 1989 United Feature Syndicate, Inc./Anderson Digital. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 21, 2020

🎄 S-s-season’s greetings-s-s! You better watch out, because today we’re kindly rewinding back to a 1985 Christmas episode of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero , entitled Cobra CLAWs Are Coming to Town . **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. We don’t even get 4 minutes into this without talking about the U.S.S. Flagg . 2. Crossfire comes up for no reason. 3. A brief history of the G.I. Joe toy line, from “ America’s Movable Fighting Man ” to the Adventure Team , to “ A Real American Hero .” 4. The Toys That Made Us on Netflix. 5. The “opening monologue that explains the show” has nothing on Voltron’s . 6. Neil Ross (Shipwreck, Dusty, and Buzzer in this episode) has an audio camero in “Weird Al” Yankovic’s I Can’t Watch This . 7. Joey’s interviews with Pat Fraley (Wild Weasel), Gregg Berger (Firefly), Michael Bell (Duke, Blowtorch, Major Bludd), and Rob Paulsen (Tripwire, his earliest known voice credit). 8. The Viper is Coming is both our favorite G.I. Joe episode and my dad’s favorite dad joke. 9. King Koopa’s Kool Kartoons , starring Christopher Collins, a.k.a. Chris Latta, the voice of Cobra Commander. 10. We try and find Keystone City, which may or may not be somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania. 11. The titular Cobra CLAW (Covert Light Aerial Weapon), an odd name for a Cobra vehicle, because snakes don’t have claws. 12. The Definitive Ranking of all 25 Fensler G.I. Joe Parodies , by DailyDot. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: William “The Refrigerator” Perry G.I. Joe Action Figure , 1987. **** “G.I. Joe” and “Cobra CLAWs Are Coming to Town” © 1985 Hasbro, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 19, 2020

🎄 On another Scrooge Sunday edition of the Advent Calendar House, we fly back in time to 1978 to revisit Rankin/Bass’s turn at A Christmas Carol. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit , @theatomicgeeks ). Michael May ( MichaelMay.online , Sleigh Bell Cinema , Mystery Movie Night , AfterLUNCH , @michaelmaycomix ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This is specifically an adaptation of a 1956 production on The Alcoa Hour starring Basil Rathbone as Scrooge. Rankin/Bass uses most of the songs from that special. 2. The original Stingiest Man in Town on Sleigh Bell Cinema . 3. Michael May’s annual coverage of scenes from this and other Christmas Carol adaptations . 4. Sonny Melendrez (Bob Cratchit) in You and Me, Kid . 5. This has my all-time favorite, super creepy version of Marley’s face appearing on Scrooge’s door knocker . 6. This special gets older Belle completely wrong. 7. Tiny Tim has skinny robot legs . 8. The eldest Cratchit sibling, Martha, is Debbie Clinger of the Clinger Sisters, a.k.a. Superchick from the Krofft Supershow host band Kaptain Kool and the Kongs. 9. Rankin/Bass should have made a south seas-themed special called Christmas Island . (Hi from the future! We ended up exploring this idea on AfterLUNCH .) 10. Scrooge’s grave morphing into a giant devil face is a reminder in hindsight that this special was animated in Japan by Topcraft, the predecessor to Studio Ghibli. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Glad Trash Bags Commercial starring Tom Bosley , 1981. **** “The Stingiest Man in Town” © 1978 Rankin/Bass Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 17, 2020

🎄 Sail back to 1981 with us as we dig up Rankin/Bass’s penultimate and possibly most obscure stop-motion Christmas special ever, which may or may not only exist because they had the rights to use Christmas in Killarney and needed someplace to put it. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit , @theatomicgeeks ). Michael May ( MichaelMay.online , Sleigh Bell Cinema , Mystery Movie Night , AfterLUNCH , @michaelmaycomix ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Ken Jennings (the voice of Dinty Doyle, not the Jeopardy! guy) in the short-lived Epcot Center attraction, The Astuter Computer Revue . 2. Mag the Hag’s entrance reminds me of Rita Repulsa in the opening of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers . 3. Blarney Kilakilarney and his wife are a poster Irish couple and the reason everyone’s advice at your wedding is: “Never go to bed angry.” 4. This special keeps adding new rules about how both banshees and rainbows work, like they’re Mogwai. 5. The Leprechauns’ “phantom island of Tralee” shares a name with an actual mainland town in Ireland , but is closer to Dursey Island , population (as of 2016): 4. 6. The only thing many remember about this special is its Nightmare Face reveal that a beautiful woman Dinty finds washed ashore is the banshee in disguise. 7. According to the Christmas Specials Wiki , Arthur Rankin said a promotion was planned involving prizes buried in random places around the United States for children to dig up, but was abandoned for safety concerns. 8. Jack O’Lantern , from Rankin/Bass’s Festival of Family Classics TV series, featuring a leprechaun disguised as a pumpkin. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Gremlins Gizmo Plush Pet , 1984. **** “The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold” © 1981 Rankin/Bass Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 15, 2020

🎄 Hey, paisanos! Join us as we warp back to 1989 for a double dose of Christmas segments from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show — the live-action Santa Claus is Coming to Flatbush , featuring Santa losing his “transportation” in Brooklyn; and the animated Koopa Klaus , featuring a plot to… freeze the North Pole. **** 🎙 Guest: Adam Pope ( Retro-Daze , Retro Detention , The Retro Network , @hojukoolander ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Nintendo Power’s Preview of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show , as tweeted by Adam , and preserved on the Internet Archive (for now) (it’s on page 93). 2. I didn’t realize till recently the music in the Back to the Future Nintendo game is a sped up version of The Power of Love . 3. King Koopa’s Kool Kartoons , a live-in-studio spinoff show local to Los Angeles and hosted by King Koopa, performed at one point by Christopher Collins , a.k.a. Chris Latta, the voice of Cobra Commander. 4. Captain Lou Albano’s Wrestling Hotline 1-900 number. 5. We map out where Mario and Luigi lived in Brooklyn. 6. Stunt Dawgs , an obscure 1992 cartoon featuring Harvey Atkin playing another character with the same King Koopa voice. 7. A brief discussion on the term “teeter-totter,” used by Mario here, versus “see-saw.” 8. How tall is Mario? Captain Lou was 5-foot-10 , though other sources range from 5-foot-1 to 3-foot-8 . 9. Preview of Super Nintendo World , coming to Universal theme parks. 10. Finally, I get to talk at length about The Legend of Zelda! 11. Adam’s SequelQuest episode on the Super Mario Bros. movie , featuring a parody of the Super Show theme song. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Pepsi Nintendo Holiday Game , 1989, preserved by Dinosaur Dracula . Nintendo Power Commercial , 1990, preserved by RobertDigitalGames . **** “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show,” “Koopa Klaus,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Flatbush” © 1989 DiC Entertainment. “Super Mario Bros.” © Nintendo Co. Ltd. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 13, 2020

🎃 It’s the 13th of July, so it’s time for the Advent Calendar House to unearth one of our favorite Halloween haunts. Tommy Coombs flies in to talk 1979’s “The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t,” starring an exceptionally great Judd Hirsch as Count Dracula. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: This was renamed for its VHS release as “The Night Dracula Saved the World,” except no, he doesn’t. Lyndhurst Mansion . Bach’s “ Toccata and Fugue in D minor ” was never in a Dracula movie. Wildwood, New Jersey’s Castle Dracula . Jack Riley (Warren the Werewolf) in commercials for Country Crock spread . **** 📼 Commercial: McDonald’s Scared Silly (1986) starring Ronald McDonald and the Chicken McNuggets. **** “The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t” © 1979 Concepts Unlimited. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 11, 2020

🎄 Go-go Gadget podcast! It’s time to spring back to 1992 to take Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas in for questioning. **** 🎙 Guest: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Nick Knacks , a show-by-show video history of Nickelodeon. 2. Halloween 1992 was the year of white kids dressing like Steve Urkel. 3. Inspector Gadget’s run on Nickelodeon got me into Get Smart on Nick at Nite. 4. The time Chad got an crew jacket from the set of the Inspector Gadget movie. 5. The action figure that revealed Dr. Claw’s goofy face . 6. The Inspector Gadget Super Nintendo game , featuring the same alternate theme song as this special. 7. The Mount Rushmore of Frank Welker Voices. 8. Maurice LaMarche subbing for Don Adams for Gadget’s weird version of the 12 Days of Christmas is similar to Jim Cummings finishing Be Prepared for Jeremy Irons in The Lion King . 9. Where’s the camera Penny’s Not Apple Watch uses to see Brain? 10. Jerry “The King” Lawler entering the 1997 Royal Rumble Match in the middle of saying something, then finishing the sentence after being eliminated in 4 seconds. 11. Disney’s Christmas All-Time Favorites . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Cookie Crisp Cereal Christmas Commercial , 1992. **** “Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas” © 1992 DiC Entertainment. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 9, 2020

🎄 Join us as we slowly slink sideways back to 1983 to celebrate the time someone literally threw an idea at the wall to see if it would stick. It’s Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls , an animated Christmas special about Wacky WallWalkers. But first, we need to talk about the man behind the WallWalkers, Dr. Fad. **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Dr. Fad Show . 2. Eight ’80s Xmas Specials You Might’ve Forgotten , from Dinosaur Dracula. 3. X-Entertainment’s preserved 2003 tribute to the Wacky WallWalker . 4. This isn’t the right Apple Jacks commercial, but I can’t not mention young Julia Stiles scoffing that it doesn’t taste like apples. 5. Writer Mark Evanier’s blog . 6. The WallWalkers’ home planet looks like an M.C. Escher painting. 7. Darryl is voiced by Scott Menville , best known now as Robin on Teen Titans , in one of his earliest roles. 8. Darryl’s friend, Kenzo, is named after one of Dr. Fad’s sons. His other son married comedian Ali Wong . 9. The most expensive things we’ve asked for from our parents for Christmas, which pale in comparison to a $1,000 toy car — which, of course, we then look up its adjustment for inflation. 10. Waxing nostalgic about popcorn garland on Christmas trees. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Corn Pops Cereal with free Wacky WallWalker inside , 1984. **** “Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls” © 1983 NBC Productions. “The Dr. Fad Show” © 1988 Tradex Corp. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 7, 2020

🐰 Hello, sunshine! Join us for a hop back to Easter 1986 to revisit the Jim Henson special, The Tale of the Bunny Picnic — which is about neither Easter, nor a bunny picnic — but it did introduce the world to Bean Bunny, the Muppets’ Nermal. **** 🎙 Guest: Emily Rowley ( @mlerowley ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Jim Henson’s original introduction to The Tale of the Bunny Picnic . 2. The Jim Henson Hour . 3. Bean Bunny is still around at Muppet*Vision 3D in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. 4. Bean was also a late-series addition to Muppet Babies , and his picture is on the playroom wall in Disney’s new Muppet Babies . 5. The Muppet Musicians of Bremen and its grotesque, full-size Muppet bad guys . 6. Sweetums in Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince . 7. Bean trying to tell the other bunnies to quiet down or the dog will hear them is also the plot of the first act of Trolls . 8. Every Easter Bunny costume is terrifying. 9. Y’all remember Puffalumps ? You do now. 10. The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta is home to several Muppets from this special, including both Bean and his Dragon Bunny form from his dream sequence. 11. Carlin Trammel’s Video Tour of the Center for Puppetry Arts’ Jim Henson exhibit . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: McDonald’s Muppet Babies Holiday Huggables , 1988. **** “The Tale of the Bunny Picnic” © 1986 Henson Associates. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 5, 2020

🎄 It’s another Scrooge Sunday in the Advent Calendar House as we’re swept through a rip in the space-time continuum back to 1986 for a Christmas Carol-themed episode of The Real Ghostbusters , who accidentally save Scrooge from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. **** 🎙 Guests: Tom Coombs ( @ClassicTomedy , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny ). Chad “Ecto” Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Hey, grown-ups! Remember getting lost while driving when we didn’t all have maps of the entire planet in our pockets? 2. Scrooge pays the Ghostbusters a mint-condition shilling from 1837 , so we looked up its actual value. 3. You can actually buy Christmas Carol View Master reels from the 1950s online. 4. Rick and Morty talking about Bill Murray and Lorenzo Music comes up and goes… somewhere. 5. Egon entering the ghost containment unit looks like the warp tunnel on Space Mountain . 6. The other ghosts in the containment unit are callbacks to previous episodes, including Sandman , who bears a passing resemblance to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. 7. Santa should not laugh like Megatron. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: The Real Ghostbusters Firehouse Playset, Tombstone Tackle, and X-Cop , 1986. **** “The Real Ghostbusters” and “Xmas Marks the Spot” © 1986 Columbia Pictures Television. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 3, 2020

🎄 Rankin/Bass’s Avengers assemble in 1979’s Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July . The studio’s longest holiday special ever opens with the shine on Rudolph’s nose blipping out of existence, and what happens to Frosty and his whole family is worse. **** 🎙 Guest: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek , Star Weirdos ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Frosty’s a dad! And Rudolph’s a fake uncle! 2. King Winterbolt’s genie of the ice scepter , allegedly Thurl Ravenscroft, is the stuff of nightmares. 3. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus may be the most metal Christmas special , but this is a contender. 4. Rudolph’s entire story gets retconned into a long play to stop Winterbolt’s foggy Christmas Eve from grounding Santa. 5. Ethel Merman on The Muppet Show . 6. Scratcher is a great evil reindeer, but we’d like it better if he was Fireball . 7. A couple of songs were cut for time from TV, including: Chicken Today, Feathers Tomorrow and I See Rainbows When I Look at You . 8. Walt Disney World’s Candlelight Processional . **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Commercial Break: Atari Christmas Commercial , aired during a 1981 ABC Movie Special airing of Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July , preserved by the Museum of Classic Chicago Television . **** “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July” © 1979 Rankin/Bass Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 1, 2020

🎄 Happy birthday! The Advent Calendar House kicks off a countdown to Christmas in July by setting the table for Rankin/Bass’s eventual epic crossover, starting with Frosty’s Winter Wonderland , a snowy sequel from 1976 starring a strange, tall goblin claiming to be Andy Griffith. **** 🎙 Guest: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek , Star Weirdos ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A brief guide to finding obsure things on Disney+, like Melody Time , starring Dennis Day, (the voice of Parson Brown) as Johnny Appleseed. 2. Barbara Jo Ewing voiced one of the kids in her only known credit, but somehow IMDb knows her height . 3. We do the math to figure out how far the wind carried a newspaper from Frosty’s hometown to the North Pole. 4. Frosty beat The Santa Clause 2 to the “gotta get a wife” plot point by more than 2 decades. 5. Frosty’s “specifications” for his ideal woman are the same as Sir Mix-a-Lot’s. 6. Are snow people self-aware before coming to life and stuck in a comatose state? 7. Jack Frost’s “winter that almost didn’t end” foreshadowed the real-life Blizzard of 1977 by less than 2 weeks. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: Freezy Freakies , 1984. **** “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland” © 1976 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Feb 29, 2020

How do you do, fellow holiday special enthusiasts? The Advent Calendar House has emerged from its slumber in the Mariana Trench a few months early for an important visit to the 30 Rock universe and its celebration of Leap Day. As such, nothing that happens in this episode counts, and we’re just your imaginary friends whom no one else can hear. **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Steve Buscemi, whose name I mispronounce right out of the gate, quotes himself at the 2020 Screen Actors’ Guild Awards . 2. Steve Buscemi as The Madder Hatter on Saturday Night Live in 1998. 3. Film School Rejects’ ranking of every 30 Rock episode . 4. Jane Krakowski as the Ghost of Christmas Past to Kelsey Grammer’s Scrooge in the 2004 adaptation of A Christmas Carol: The Musical . 5. I get excited that Zack Ward from A Christmas Story followed @adventcalhouse on Twitter. 6. James Cameron is one of a very, very small group of people who have reached the deepest point in the ocean, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench . 7. A very unscientific look into how many times it would take to order everything on the Benihana menu to use an entire $50,000 gift card. 8. Of course there’s a Getty Image of Tina Fey posing with the Ewok behind glass . 9. Thad Warmald, the poor man’s Artie Ziff . 10. Both human leads from the Sonic the Hedgehog movie are in this episode. 11. Kevin Brown’s Wikipedia entry calls him “Kevin ‘Dot Com’ Brown” right at the beginning. 12. Guest star Karolína Kurková was almost a Leap Day baby; she was born February 28, 1984. 13. Tracy’s word association game that gets to “soup kitcken,” but keeps going before looping back around again reminds us of a similar bit from the 1966 Batman movie . 14. A very, very quick look at the Irish Leap Day tradition of women proposing to men, as seen in the 2010 Amy Adams movie Leap Year , which couldn’t even be bothered coming out on a leap year. 15. As an extra bonus mini-episode at the end of this one, Joey quickly sums up the Leap Day episode of Frasier from 1996, Look Before You Leap . **** “30 Rock” ©2006 and “Leap Day” ©2012 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 30, 2019

🎉 It’s a special, post-Christmas bonus episode of the Advent Calendar House as we turn back the years to 1976 and tip our oversized hat hiding our oversized ears to Rankin/Bass’s first sequel special, in which Rudolph has to save the Baby New Year from a big, angry bird. **** 🎙 Guests: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Rudolph devolves into a younger-looking reindeer, because the original model may have been lost. But also he seems to forget he can fly. 2. According to our narrator, Father Time ( Red Skelton ), this story begins “on that very same foggy night.” As in Christmas Eve. When Santa’s kind of busy. 3. I learned who Red Skelton was from a joke in a Tex Avery cartoon . 4. The Phantom Tollbooth . 5. Tik-Tok from Return to Oz . 6. Creepier song about time: The Moving Finger Writes from this, or Older by They Might Be Giants ? 7. Ralph Archibold, Philadelphia’s longtime Ben Franklin impersonator . 8. Billy Corgan rides a roller coaster . **** “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year” © 1976 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2019

🎄 It’s the 50th episode of the Advent Calendar House, so it’s time to address the spotted elephant in the room and tackle the 1964 Christmas special that put Rankin/Bass on the map and into our hearts. **** 🎙 Guests: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Is Santa really this big of a jerk or just hangry? 2. The History Channel on the creation of Rudolph . 3. Mashable’s 12 ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ facts . 4. Burger King and Hallmark’s Rodney Reindeer plushes , which at one point doubled as stockings. 5. Rudolph almost had huge, glowing eyes instead of a red nose, and all I can think of is the terrifying original version of Mr. Snuffleupagus . 6. The rare and expensive Santa’s Castle play set , which includes Santa and Mr. Claus’s maybe queen-size bed. 7. A lot of voices in this cast were later part of the 1960s Spider-Man and Marvel Super Heroes animated series. 8. The first mention of Santa having a wife was in a short story by Philadelphia missionary James Rees in 1849. 9. The mystery of the head elf’s suddenly changing voice: Wikipedia claims it’s intentional, but we’re not buying it. 10. Carl Banas, the voice of the head elf, was also the original voice of Sweetums in Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince . 11. Fame and Fortune , a song that replaced We’re a Couple of Misfits as Rudolph and Hermey’s duet from 1965 to 1997. 12. You can meet characters from this version of Rudolph at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Sesame Place. 13. Arthur Rankin Jr. explains why Dolly’s on the Island of Misfit Toys on NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me . 14. Santa’s still “skinny” on Christmas Eve, but fattens up by that night. What did he eat? 15. The original ending included Yukon Corneilius finding a peppermint mine , later replaced by popular demand with the scene of Santa stopping to pick up the misfit toys. 16. The Enchanged World of Rankin/Bass: A Portfolio . 17. Original figures of Rudolph and Santa were found in an attic and appraised on Antiques Roadshow in 2005. They were later sold and restored . **** “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” ©1964 Rankin/Bass Productions. Closing music: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by the California Raisins, from Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration . Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 22, 2019

🕎 To kick off Hanukkah, we’re shining a light on a 1990 episode of Shalom Sesame , an on-again, off-again co-production of Sesame Street and its Israeli counterpart, Rechov Sumsum , featuring the objectively better son from Growing Pains . **** 🎙 Guest: Sarah Shay ( SarayShay.com , Bandcamp , Pilot House Podcast , @thesarahshay ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A brief history of Shalom Sesame , provided by the ever-thorough Muppet Wiki. 2. Israel’s Big Bird stand-in, Kippi Ben Kippod , is mistranslated as a porcupine despite clearly being a hedgehog. A similar but unclothed costume was used in Spain’s Barrio Sésamo for Espinete , who’s identified as a hedgehog. 3. Jeremy Miller, as Linus, sings The Vigil in Snoopy! The Musical . 4. Yoav Tzafir ’s other credits include the Hebrew-dubbed voices of Ninja Turtle Michaelangelo and Super Mario. Later he directed the Israeli version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? 5. The real, actual, annual Hanukkah Torch Relay . 6. Moishe Oofnik , Israel’s counterpart to Oscar, looks less like a grouch and more like a standard Muppet monster. Probably because he has a nose. 7. Despite Sarah’s guess that Telly Monster is Sesame Street’s Jewish resident, this video of Baby Bear teaching Telly how to play dreidel suggests otherwise. 8. A supposed folktale listed on the Wikipedia entry for sufganiyah that God fed them to Adam and Eve to cheer them up after kicking them out of the Garden of Eden may or may not be full of something that’s not jelly. 9. Sarah met the head puppeteer from Lamb Chop’s Special Chanukah while on tour. 10. Apparently some kids put sugar in their latkes. 11. Nell Carter was a Jewish convert who appeared on other episodes of Shalom Sesame as herself. **** “Shalom Sesame” © 1990 Children’s Television Workshop. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 19, 2019

🎄 On a very wound-up and thrown out into a pile of junk in another dimension episode of the Advent Calendar House, we set our sentient clocks back to 1988 for a one-time-only trip to Tattertown, the holiday brain-child Ralph Bakshi and Nickelodeon’s first-ever original animated TV program. **** 🎙 Guest: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Christmas in Tattertown info and sketches from Bakshi Productions . 2. Christmas in Tattertown review on Nick Knacks , a show-by-show Nickelodeon retrospective. 3. Muffet initially appears to be the victim, much like the other guy, actually named Guy, in Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham . 4. Cameos by early Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Flip the Frog , and later Popeye . 5. Today’s TV Trope: The “ real world .” 6. A shout-out to the dearly departed Hollywood Video for staying open on Christmas Day for idiots like me who forgot to ask for required accessories like the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak. 7. Wawa’s Holiday Gobbler hoagie . 8. Another cameo by Bosko and Honey turns into a tangent about the Tiny Toon Adventures episode, Fields of Honey . 9. A brief introduction to “ snoap ,” Florida’s fake snow. **** “Christmas in Tattertown” ©1988 Bakshi Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 17, 2019

🎄 Every unstoppable monster has a beginning. Squeeze onto the couch as a perfectly cromulent panel of Advent Calendar House regulars celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Simpsons and its series premiere, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire , or as it was advertised to us in 1989, “The Simpsons’ Christmas Special.” CONTENT WARNING: We briefly discuss Mall Santas and 10-year-olds’ feelings on Mall Santas. **** 🎙 Guests: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek ). Erin Evans ( @mserinmevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Remembering the buildup and promos for “The Simpsons’ Christmas Special” in 1989, and the time I accidentally watched The Tracey Ullman Show , because I was too sick to get up and change the channel. 2. We can’t talk about early Simpsons without mentioning Burger King toys , The Simpsons arcade game , and of course, Do the Bartman . 3. Bart’s first Butterfinger commercial predates the show by a year. 4. Al Jean’s 5 favorite Simpsons episodes , as told to The Wall Street Journal. 5. Among the animators who worked on this first episode was Eric Stefani, who had already founded some band with his sister . 6. The crowdsourced origins of “ Jingle Bells, Batman Smells ,” (research by Rob Weir, 2006) and the “like a light bulb!” interjections to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (research by Azizi Powell, 2017). 7. Feel free to Google image search “ simpsons moth tattoo ” for a gallery of real, intentionally unfinished tattoos. 8. The tattoo artist is retroactively identified as Mervin Monroe , the younger brother of Dr. Marvin Monroe. 9. Early, strange in hindsight prototypes of Springfield citizens, including a more competent Ralph Wiggum, a cockier Milhouse, and a Ned Flanders who says, “Happy holidays.” 10. NED FLANDERS SAYS, “HAPPY HOLIDAYS.” 11. The time Brandon cut down his own Christmas tree . 12. My guest appearance on the Two Bad Neighbors podcast to discuss the Simpsons’ next Christmas episode, Marge Be Not Proud . **** “The Simpsons” and “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” ©1989 20th Century Fox Television. Closing Music: The Simpsons Theme , performed by Green Day , ©2007 Reprise Records. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 15, 2019

🎄 It’s a very special Scrooge Sunday episode as we nearly-blindly fumble back to 1962 to celebrate TV’s first ever animated Christmas special. **** 🎙 Guests: Anthony Caruso ( @acaruso929 ) and Julia Colburn from Tis the Podcast . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Jim Backus , the voice of Mister Magoo, based his portrayal of Thurston Howell III from Gilligan’s Island on another character he played on a radio show hosted by another famous future Scrooge, Alan Young . 2. Nephew Fred is cut entirely to make room for a song about Broadway that sometimes also gets cut entirely. 3. The ghosts of Christmas Present and Past show up out of order for no clear reason, but an A.V. Club article from 2012 tried to find one. 4. Tiny Tim is an English-speaking Gerald McBoing-Boing . 5. This special invented a flavor! Razzleberry pie is now a thing that exists, made with raspberries and blackberries. 6. The Ghost of Christmas Past looks like Toon Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker . 7. Marie Matthews, the voice of Young Scrooge, was on a 2009 panel revisiting the special . She’s now the last surviving member of the cast. 8. Is Belle’s hair supposed to look like an actual bell? 9. How is a mouse in the future the only one who can see Scrooge with any of the ghosts? **** “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol” © 1962 UPA Pictures, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 13, 2019

Content Warning: If you usually let your children listen to your podcast feed with you, you may want to get the kids out of the pool for this one as we dive into a very festive, very inappropriate 2002 episode of the Adult Swim cartoon Sealab 2021 to wage war on the Feast of Alvis . **** 🎙 Guests: Zac Shipley ( @zacshipley ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Sealab 2020 , the very different, very boring original 1972 cartoon that serves as the butt of Sealab 2021’s joke. 2. The usual Sealab theme song by Calamine is absent here to make room in the stable for the story of the birth of Alvis. 3. The Church of Alvis , a blog last updated in 2007 with a cliffhanger, but the faithful still await that day with patience. 4. Alvisism as explained by Sealab Wiki , which also exists. 5. A series of quotes from this episode made into animated gif icons and posted on LiveJournal . This show is a very specific sort of old. **** “Sealab 2021” and “Feast of Alvis” ©2002 Cartoon Network. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 11, 2019

🎄 It’s Glo! We learn how to selectively melt only certain ice we’re radiating near with Hasbro’s hive of bioluminescent bugs, the Glo Friends, in their 1985 Christmas special starring Carroll O’Connor as Santa and Sally Struthers as Blanche, the Wicked Witch of the North Pole, who exists and is jealous of Santa’s publicity. Take notes, Great Pumpkin… or, perhaps, don’t. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinmevans ). Joey O. ( @ImGonnaDJ24 , Y-Not Radio , Words With Nerds ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Like many Christmas specials, this is a pilot for an eventual series that aired alongside the original My Little Pony animated series. 2. A helpful guide to identifying every Glo Friend . 3. Nancy Cartwright was the voice of Baby Glo Worm in the series, but in this pilot, it’s Laurie O’Brien doing her Baby Piggy voice. 4. Joey interviews Pat Fraley , the voice of Glo Worm here, on his portrayal of Krang. 5. Glo Worm’s purple outfit here, as opposed to the original toy’s green outfit, was apparently a “ source of controversy ,” according to Wikipedia. 6. Can all antlered mammals fly if you go far enough north? 7. Lorenzo Music doing a weird, nervous lisp instead of his usual Resting Garfield Voice™. 8. Santa sings the least bluesy blues song ever while his reindeer do Rockettes kicks. 9. More of Mike’s thoughts on The Glo Friends Save Christmas on Tim Babb’s Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast . **** “The Glo Friends Save Christmas” ©1985 Hasbro, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 9, 2019

🎄 Take a short-statured trip back to 1982 to explore one-off TV Christmas special starring no one’s favorite funny papers hero, Ziggy, and featuring a beautifully animated puddle of dog pee. **** 🎙 Guests: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Ziggy’s Gift on Dinosaur Dracula After Dark . 2. The Point , a Harry Nilsson album turned into an animated movie. 3. Ziggy’s toothpaste looks like Beetlejuice sandworms . 4. Ziggy Theories: Is he adult Charlie Brown? A vegetarian? A guardian angel? 5. The time Chad met Billy West, who stood on a chair because he thought Chad was too tall. 6. The time I inquired about a job opportunity that wasn’t what I expected. 7. The terrifying robot Santa window display reminded me a little too much of the equally terrifying Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure . 8. Frank Welker voiced 25 characters in this special if you count each individual turkey. 9. Ziggy’s kettle has the Glow from The Last Dragon . 10. We compare the “Linus moment” trope of remembering the true meaning of Christmas to the newly named “Skeletor face turn” of becoming filled with Christmas spirit. **** “Ziggy’s Gift” ©1982 Universal Press Syndicate. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 7, 2019

🎄 Experience Rankin/Bass’s first festive follow-up to Rudolph through our eyes as we explore a 1967 TV special based on Charles Dickens’s other Christmas story. **** 🎙 Guest: Brian Earl ( Christmas Past , @XmasPastPodcast ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The history of legends about crickets on hearths bringing good luck. 2. The Cricket on the Hearth soundtrack . 3. Brian’s Christmas Past episode on Golden Age Christmas TV Cartoons . 4. Christmas TV History’s Joanna Wilson on Rankin/Bass Voice Actors . 5. This special takes a bizarre, hard left turn into a song about Fish ’n’ Chips . 6. A clearly implied, off-camera murder in the Christmas show for families, right before cutting to commercial. **** “Cricket on the Hearth” ©1967 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 5, 2019

🎄 Grab an emergency parachute as we dive in to a 1991 TV Christmas special starring Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat from the comic strip series Bloom County and Outland . **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinmevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This is based on a book version you can watch someone read to you on YouTube , if you’d like. 2. Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed was not happy with this special . He also confirmed the animators hid some naughty bits in the opening . 3. Bill the Cat’s presidential run in 1988, including the candidates’ interpretations of the song Louie Louie . 4. Joey interviews Michael Bell , the voice of Opus. 5. The Ant and the Aardvark , starring John Byner, the voice of Bill. 6. Surprise cameos by Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman, who may or may not have walked over from the set of Hook to record their lines. 7. Opus’s flight attempt is reminiscent Larry Walters’s real-life flight using over 40 weather balloons tied to a lawn chair . 8. Opus’ nightmare is from Lost Horizon , a 1937 movie by future It’s a Wonderful Life director Frank Capra. 9. A Frog Thing , a children’s book with a very similar plot, but less Christmassy. 10. Opus plushes with Santa hats are pretty easy to find on eBay . **** “A Wish for Wings That Work” ©1991 Universal Cartoon Studios, Inc. / Amblin Entertainment, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 3, 2019

🎄 The Advent Calendar House gets overrun by earworms strong enough to burrow into wood as we carve into the 1980 Rankin/Bass Christmas special starring Pinocchio. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( @theatomicgeeks , The Atomic Geeks , Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit ). Michael May ( @michaelmaycomix , MichaelMay.online , Sleigh Bell Cinema , Mystery Movie Night , Nerd Lunch Fourth Chair Army Invasion , and I think that might be it… FOR NOW). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Two songs, Dancin’ and The Very Best Friend I Ever Had , were cut from and later restored to TV broadcasts. 2. Starstuff , a Philadelphia market, Saturday morning kids’ sci-fi TV series starring Todd Porter, the voice of Pinocchio. 3. The most disappointing gifts we’ve ever received, including what Santa gave me after I allegedly misspelled “ Alpha Critters .” 4. We question the less-than-clear laws that govern Pinocchio’s lie-detecting nose, which appear to grant him a mulligan here. 5. Those classic Christmas puppet show characters, Don Quixote and an alligator. 6. The strange flash-forward to the rest of Pinocchio’s better-known adventures, even though Rankin/Bass already made a Pinocchio TV series , its first ever stop-motion animation project. **** “Pinocchio’s Christmas” ©1980 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 1, 2019

🎄 Season 3 of the Advent Calendar House kicks off with a new regular feature: Scrooge Sunday , celebrating the many adaptations of A Christmas Carol . We begin with Disney’s 1983 featurette, marking the big-screen debut of Scrooge McDuck playing his namesake. **** 🎙 Guests: Lizzie Twachtman ( @thelizzietea , Moorage Thrift House , Random Chatter ). Adam Pope ( @hojukoolander , SequelQuest , 2 Goofs , Retro-Daze , Retro Detention ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Mickey’s Christmas Carol on Disney+ . 2. Almost all of this film is hiding at the end of Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse . 3. Adam’s well-preserved VHS copy . 4. A 1974 Disneyland Records LP called Dickens’ Christmas Carol , Alan Young’s first recording as the voice of Scrooge. 5. Mickey Mouse’s very detailed, fanmade family tree . 6. Siskel and Ebert’s 2 Thumbs Down review . 7. Goofy as Marley’s ghost at Disneyland . 8. Mickey’s Christmas Carol animatronic window displays in the Magic Kingdom . 9. We identify every Disney background character at Fezziwig’s party and lament the absence of Pluto from this entire thing. 10. Quick shout-outs to Totally Minnie and Disney’s DTV Romancin’ Valentine special. 11. Willie the Giant as the Ghost of Christmas Present carefully wandering through the tiny streets of London calls back to the ending scene of Fun and Fancy Free , Disney’s 1947 package film featuring Mickey and the Beanstalk , which is also on Disney+ . 12. Your now-annual reminder that Pete has been a cat this entire time. **** Mickey’s Christmas Carol ©1983 Disney. Opening Music: Christmas Was Better in the ’80s , by The Futureheads, ©2010 Nul Records. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Oct 10, 2019

🎃 Put out the oars and surrender yourself to the mercy of the rivers of time as they take us back to Garfield’s terrifying 1985 Halloween special. Jeff Somogyi joins us to celebrate the special that turned a generation into scaredy cats. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Jim Davis wanted Garfield’s Halloween Adventure to “at least scare 4-year-olds” (The A.V. Club, 2014) Samples of the comic book adaptation, “Garfield in Disguise,” from Rotten Ink and Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks , including even creepier drawings of the old man and pirate ghosts. The first appearance of Binky the Clown ! The time a raccoon broke into Jeff’s attic and left a hornet’s nest inside a Nativity scene shepherd. Speaking of attics, the Pink Panther advertising Owens Corning fiberglass insulation . The Roy Ogle of “Roy Ogle’s roots” was a plant breeder at Clemson . They’re sweet potatoes. The black cat pajamas may be a callback to the killer panther from 1984’s “ Garfield in the Rough ,” another good special to put on if you want to give your kids nightmares. Was the ghost of Jon’s grandfather watching all the Christmas festivities in that special ? C. Lindsay Workman (Old Man) as Garfield’s grandfather in “ Garfield on the Town ” and God in “ Garfield: His 9 Lives .” The “double burn” glowing effect used on the ghosts reminds us of the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence of Fantasia . We had to ask: Did Garfield and Odie really survive the night, or is everything thereafter really Garfield Minus Garfield ? **** 📼 Commercials: McDonald’s Halloween Pumpkin Pails (1986) **** “Garfield’s Halloween Adventure” ©1985 United Feature Syndicate, Inc./Anderson Digital. Closing Music: “ Witch’s Night Out ,” performed by Razoreater, written by Peter Rochon. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Feb 13, 2019

Love and dynamite are in the air as I introduce 2 guests to an early pilot of what would eventually become The Muppet Show from 1974, guest-starring a pregnant Mia Farrow. **** 🎙 Guests: Brian Arnold ( @phillyradiogeek , Me and You and a Blog Named Boo ). Joey O. ( @ImGonnaDJ24 , Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The Muppets Valentine Show on YouTube . 2. Muppet Wiki on The Muppets Valentine Show . 3. Jim Henson’s Red Book entry about getting this pilot green-lit by some guy at ABC named “Mike” Eisner. 4. We quickly touch on Crazy Harry’s original incarnation as “Crazy Donald” and then immediately drop it. 5. Before Miss Piggy, Kermit loved Miss Mousey. Corporate foreshadowing! 6. George the Janitor is simultaneously UHF’s Stanley Spadowski and WWE’s Perry Saturn . 7. George and Mildred in The Muppet Show “ At the Dance ” sketch. 8. Droop in the Cosby Show episode, Cliff’s Nightmare . 9. The first appearance of Kermit the Frog riding a bicycle . 10. “ You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket .” 11. Mia Farrow sings Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms , which I remember better from the recurring Looney Tunes musical bomb gag . 12. The first time I remember hearing the word “sex.” 13. Brian on The Candy Apple News Company . **** “The Muppets Valentine Show” © 1974 The Jim Henson Company. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2018

It’s Christmas Eve! Tune in as we bring Advent to a close with the first Christmas special I ever remember watching, from 1978. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinmevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. My taped copy of this is interrupted in the middle by a WHYY telethon with Philadelphia TV legend Ed Cunningham . 2. The Count’s amazing ice-skating cape . 3. The wibbly-wobbly physics of Oscar’s trash can . 4. Olivia married the Predator . 5. An actual clue into how to get to Sesame Street. 6. A cameo by the seldom remembered Mr. Macintosh . 7. If you want to go read about Northern Calloway (David) and his off-screen troubles and tragic death, go right ahead. 8. The adorable 2-year-old girl too little for her own vocabulary trying to explain that Santa pushes a magic button to go down chimneys is now in her 40s. 9. Don’t Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art . 10. An oral history of Mr. Snuffleupagus’s revelation as not imaginary . 11. Oscar holds a broom like it’s Not His Broom . 12. Ernie’s pajamas look like the background of the “Trololo” video . 13. Joey makes my Christmas by assuring me I didn’t imagine The Candy Apple News Company . **** 🏌️‍♂️ After This Episode: Listen to my guest appearance on the Two Bad Neighbors podcast discussing my favorite Christmas-adjacent episode of The Simpsons , Marge Be Not Proud . Then go relax or take a nap or something. Hope you enjoy your Christmas! **** “Christmas Eve on Sesame Street” © 1978 Children’s Television Workshop. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 23, 2018

Remember ALF? He’s back, in podcast form! Tune in as we salute ALF’s two-part Christmas special from 1987, the single most depressing special starring a wisecracking alien puppet of all time. Content Warning: In this Christmas special, the goofy alien with the jokes meets a terminally ill child and a man contemplating suicide. **** 🎙 Guest: Jeff Somogyi ( Talkin’ Chopp , Down the Rabbit Hole , @sommerjam ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The heartbreaking true story behind ALF’s Special Christmas . 2. A study in human ignorance: Gordon Shumway has a name, which he’s told everyone, yet everyone still calls him HEY ALIEN! 3. A study in willful alien ignorance: ALF opens everyone else’s Christmas gifts and succeeds in convincing me it’s because he doesn’t know how any of this works. 4. Talking ALF: The Storytelling Alien . 5. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus . **** “ALF’s Special Christmas” © 1987 Alien Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 22, 2018

Tune in as we unearth a 1994 cash-grab video starring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — or at least some version of them — a special so low-quality, it happens in a sewer. **** 🎙 Guests: Shawn Robare ( Branded in the ’80s , Cult Film Club , @ShawnRobare ). Jonathan Zelenak ( @TheSewerDen ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. About the Sewer Den , Jonathan’s massive TMNT collection, and his blog post about We Wish You a Turtle Christmas . 2. Of course we touch on the Turtles’ Coming Out of Their Shells Tour . 3. The Turtles’ smiles look like they’re from Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun music video . 4. Cash-grab video releases like this anime version of The Little Mermaid from 1975, which had a not-at-all-coincidental resurgence around 1990. 5. Writer Tish Rabe also produced Big Bird in China and 3-2-1 Contact , created The Cat in the Hat Learning Library after Dr. Seuss’s death, and has written over 160 children’s books. 6. Y’all want to watch 43 minutes of the Ninja Turtles on Oprah ? 7. That time a warehouse that housed the Rock-afire Explosion actually exploded . 8. The resurgence of Rollerblades is right around the corner. 9. The only pizza place willing to appear in this special is Sbarro, which has come a long way since the Fat Boys’ All You Can Eat . 10. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Cookbook is a real book you should own. 11. The cheapest gifts we’ve ever gotten our parents from our elementary school Christmas bazaar. 12. Fun game: Sneak the Wrap Rap on a playlist in the middle of New Kids on the Block’s Christmas album and see if anyone notices. **** “We Wish You a Turtle Christmas” © 1994 Christopher Films, Inc. / Mirage Studios. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 21, 2018

Tune in as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special the only way we know how: With lots of screaming, lots of fruitcake, and lots more screaming. **** 🎙 Guests: Erin Evans ( @mserinmevans ). Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Magic Johnson recorded his segment hours before playing in — and winning — a Lakers game. We don’t know the precise date, but one win was against the SuperSonics, possibly (but probably not) on Ice Cube’s “ Good Day .” 2. One commercial break includes a bizarre Pringles commercial starring a young Brad Pitt . 3. Pee-wee’s Big Holiday . 4. When did fruitcake become a punchline? Christmas Past has something of an answer. Or is fruitcake a byproduct of the Joys of Jell-O era? 5. A mini ode to the Picture Phone, a giant, stationary Skype machine. 6. The working script and storyboards for this special. 7. Who mailed Grace Jones to the Reagan White House? 8. Pee-wee performing Surfin’ Bird in Back to the Beach . 9. The King of Cartoons’ cartoon: 1936’s Christmas Comes But Once a Year . 10. My feelings about snow mirror this one, particular Calvin and Hobbes comic strip , published 5 days after this special aired. 12. The awkward moment when we realize the Dinosaur Family has a pet dinosaur. **** “Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special” © 1988 Paul Reubens. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 20, 2018

Mickey Mouse drags his pals into third dimension in this 2004 direct-to-DVD Disney Christmas special. **** 🎙 Guests: Drew Crowley ( @pizzanautgo ) and John Dedeke ( @johndedeke ) from The Hourchive . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. If you haven’t been to a Disney theme park in the last year or two, Mickey has a different face now . 2. The hippo and crocodile from “Fantasia” have names. 3. Chuck McCann, the voice of Santa, was the Dreamfinder in the original Journey Into Imagination . 4. A quick lesson on how time zones work. 5. Putting someone’s name on Santa’s list makes it as absolute as the Goblet of Fire . 6. The Grumpy Dog who keeps showing up only to get beverages spilled on him is the Stan Lee of the Mickey Mouse universe, which I only mention because we recorded this the day after Stan died. 7. Between the Goofys and the Plutos of this universe, there are talking reindeer who can own pets. 8. The Hidden Mickeys Podcast . **** “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas” © 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 19, 2018

Tune in as we attempt to make sense of time, space, and the Disney fowl food chain as we watch Disney’s 1999 direct to video Christmas special. **** 🎙 Guests: Drew Crowley ( @pizzanautgo ) and John Dedeke ( @johndedeke ) from The Hourchive . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Donald Duck’s comically enormous, fanmade family tree . 2. Happy Duck to the Future Day ! 3. The Quack Pack intro will tell you everything you need to know about Quack Pack . 4. Does Donald’s Christmas cabin exist in a turducken thunderdome? 5. Donald Jr. , a tiny, semi-realistic duck introduced in “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” 6. The Fab Five supposedly live in the fictional U.S. state of Calisota , on the Pacific coast. 7. Pete has been a cat this entire time! 8. Pete smokes a cigar, something since reportedly banned from Disney movies , despite still showing up in Disney movies. 9. Recycled animation alert: Mickey’s wacky, tongue-waggling dance first appeared in 1942’s Mickey’s Birthday Party . **** “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas” © 1999 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 18, 2018

We are not nice, not kind, and not wonderful to 1985’s He-Man and She-Ra Christmas special, in which Skeletor’s heart grows three sizes. **** 🎙 Guests: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed are the Geek ). Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. He-Man and She-Ra are between 18 and 21 years old and gave children unreasonable expectations of what they’d look like when they grow up. 2. Thank goodness Chad is here to identify everyone at Eternia’s Christmas party. 3. Greyskull Wiki has an entire section of Queen Marlena’s entry dedicated to speculating about her religion. 4. Brandon’s dog is back because he heard us talking about the Beast Monster! 5. The Monstroids exist because the makers of He-Man toys want you to believe giant robots that can transform are evil. 6. Skeletor and Hordak are basically Miracle Max and his wife from The Princess Bride . 7. This may have been the first time I’d ever seen someone yank off Santa’s beard. **** “He-Man/She-Ra: A Christmas Special” © 1985 Mattel, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 17, 2018

Tune in as we apply North Pole to Pinky and the Brain’s 1996 Christmas special, probably the closest the lab mouse duo ever got to actually taking over the world. **** 🎙 Guests: Joey Letson ( The Animanicast , @Animanicast ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. This special won the 1996 Primetime Emmy award for outstanding animated program . 2. Joey O.’s interviews with Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche . 3. The Animanicast’s interview with Maurice LaMarche . 4. Powerhouse : Warner Bros.’ go-to “assembly line” music. 5. io9 ranked this episode dead last among the Brain’s plans to take over the world. ***** “A Pinky and the Brain Christmas” © 1996 Warner Bros. You can visit the Advent Calendar House on the web at adventcalendar.house , on Twitter @adventcalhouse , and on the Christmas Podcast Network . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 16, 2018

Join us as we gush about the Riverbottom Nightmare Band and Kermit riding a bicycle in this episode about the 1977 Jim Henson special, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas . Pa would’ve loved this podcast. **** 🎙 Guest: Emily Rowley ( @mlerowley ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Muppet Wiki has the lowdown of all 5 cuts of this . 2. The official outtake reel . 3. The drum roll outtake reel . 4. Of Muppets and Men: The Making of The Muppet Show . 5. The Christmas Price Index . 6. The “ass sliding” scene from Rad . 7. Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold sing When the River Meets the Sea at Jim Henson’s memorial service . 8. The Can’t Wait for Christmas podcast on Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas . **** “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” © 1977 The Jim Henson Company. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 15, 2018

Hang on to your creepy mistletoe hat as we hit the Bayside Mall for a 2-part Saved by the Bell Christmas special from 1991, in which Zack gets shook upon learning the latest girl of his dreams is homeless. **** 🎙 Guests: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny , @horrormoviebbq ). Tom Coombs ( @ClassicTomedy ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Chad’s 2013 write-up on Home for Christmas . 2. That time WWE’s Daniel Bryan got fired for choking out an announcer . 3. Puppy Surprise , the dog that’s pregnant! 4. Dustin Diamond’s terrible heel turn on Celebrity Fit Club . 5. Simpsons did it: Homer beat Screech to the “What’s the number for 911?” joke by a year in Bart vs. Thanksgiving . 6. Who waits until Christmas Eve to buy a tree? 7. The Evolution of the Zack Morris phone . 8. Funny or Die: The Time Zack Morris Gave Himself A Homeless Girl For Christmas . **** “Saved by the Bell” and “Home for Christmas” © 1991 National Broadcasting Company, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 14, 2018

Tune in as we trace the origins of Jingle Bells, Batman Smells , in the 1992 Christmas episode of Batman, the Animated Series . **** 🎙 Guests: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). Jay Ryan ( Sludge Central , the Purple Stuff Podcast , @SludgeCentral ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The crowdsourced origins of Jingle Bells, Batman Smells . 2. More discussion on Christmas with the Joker on Batman, the Animated Podcast’s Batman, the Animated Podcast and The Arkham Sessions . 3. Gotham City is in New Jersey . 4. Mark Hamill’s original performance as Ferris Boyle in Heart of Ice . 5. Comic Book: The Movie . 6. Mark Hamill’s longtime obsession with David Letterman . 7. Charles Manson apparently spent this Christmas at Arkham Asylum before spending a later Christmas in Nebraska on South Park . 8. Joker’s “Laffy” hand puppet reminds us of Señor Wences . 9. His upside-down mouth puppet is even weirder. 10. Betty Blooper looks like Toot from Drawn Together . 11. Of course the Joker is hiding out at the Laffco Toy Factory . Look at it! **** “Batman, the Animated Series” and “Christmas with the Joker” © 1992 Warner Bros. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 13, 2018

Part 2 of our Christmas donkey double feature takes a deep dive into Don Bluth’s last Disney project, a short film released in front of the 1978 re-release of Pinocchio . **** 🎙 Guests: Lindy Kempe (@ieatvideogames). Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed are the Geek ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Like so many Disney movies, it’s based on a book — The Small One: A Story for Those Who Like Christmas and Small Donkeys . 2. Dragon’s Lair . 3. The Land Before Time toys from Pizza Hut . 4. Mouse in Transition: When Everyone Left Disney , detailing Don Bluth’s exit from Disney. 5. Don Bluth visited Walt Disney Animation Studios 40 years later . 6. Assistant director Richard Rich went on to direct all 8 Swan Princess movies . I’m sorry to have just informed you that there are 8 Swan Princess movies. 7. Wikipedia’s entry for The Small One includes a very strange line about the other donkeys. 8. One piece of silver, adjusted for inflation . 9. Edits for home video include the Merchants’ song, and the Star of Bethlehem getting extra rays of light to look less cross-shaped. To avoid too much foreshadowing, I guess. 10. Gordon Jump , the voice of Joseph, was on a very special episode of Diff’rent Strokes . Yeah. Sorry. **** “The Small One” © 1978 Walt Disney Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 12, 2018

We try to make more accurate donkeys in Nativity displays catch on like a certain elf on a certain shelf by revisiting the 1977 Rankin/Bass special, Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey . **** 🎙 Guests: Lindy Kempe ( @ieatvideogames ). Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed are the Geek ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Roger Miller performing Do Wacka Do in 1966 with another guitarist, “Stubbs,” who’s wearing a Batman T-shirt. 2. Roger Miller’s Whistle Stop intro to Disney’s Robin Hood is secretly the Hamster Dance . 3. Tilly’s ascension back to heaven is strikingly similar to Poochie’s exit from The Itchy and Scratchy Show . 4. Mary has “the Glow” from The Last Dragon . 5. Annalee Santa dolls . **** “Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey” © 1977 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 11, 2018

We dig down like dogs to the bottom of the VHS bargain bin for an overlooked special from 1991 that had all the potential to become a Christmas classic, but none of the airtime. You can watch Jingle Bell Rap on Amazon Prime . **** 🎙 Guest: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , TPIF: Thank Pod It’s Funny , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Perennial Pictures’ webpage for Jingle Bell Rap . 2. Chad’s on, so of course we talk about Roy Rogers . 3. Fetch and Uncle Jesse are the “wise cowboy” archetype that replaced the wise janitor in the ’90s. 4. It’s an early-’90s special with a rap in it, so here’s the comparison to that one Fruity Pebbles commercial . 5. Shout-out to the Cult Film Club and “Plot in 60 Seconds.” 6. In Rollover’s flashback, his dad looks like angry Homer Simpson . 7. Ralph Wiggum’s heart breaks in slow motion. 8. New Kids on the Block perform Funky Funky Xmas on Arsenio Hall. **** “Jingle Bell Rap” © 1991 Perennial Pictures. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 10, 2018

Lace up your ice skates for a look at 3 classic holiday commercials starring McDonald’s clown in charge: 1. Happy Holidays (the ice skating one). 2. Star Wish . 3. Runaway . **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Grape jelly is good on Sausage McMuffins. 2. McDonald’s Wiki , which exists, runs down all 7 versions of the ice skating commercial. Yes, there are seven different edits, and they’re all on YouTube: 1982 : the original, with King Moody as Ronald and the “You Deserve a Break Today” jingle variant. 1983 : with the “McDonald’s and You” jingle variant. 1984 : with the “It’s a Good Time for the Great Taste” jingle variant. 1986 : with Squire Fridell as Ronald, the version I remember most. 1988 : with Fridell and the original jingle. 1990 : with Fridell and the “Food, Folks and Fun” jingle variant. 1991 : with Jack Doepke as Ronald, bad lighting, and “The Wish that Changed Christmas.” 3. King Booker . 4. Squire Fridell as Ronald McDonald in Mac and Me . 5. Paul Rudd’s ongoing Mac and Me prank on Conan . 6. Grimace’s last appearance was at Dodger Stadium, though as we know, nothing can kill the Grimace . 7. The “ World’s Largest Entertainment McDonald’s ” in Orlando, home to an animatronic Mac Tonight that hangs from the ceiling. **** “Happy Holidays,” “Star Wish,” and “Runaway” © McDonald’s. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 9, 2018

It’s mime time at the Most Magical Place on Earth in 1978’s Christmas at Walt Disney World , featuring Shields and Yarnell as the most 1978 couple imaginable, Pablo Cruise and their indifference to help a screaming woman escape from pirates, Phyllis Diller in the world’s poofiest princess dress, the Doritos guy as a wildly off-model Geppetto, Dee from What’s Happening as an ungrateful passenger in a magical pumpkin coach, and Broadway’s original Annie singing Christmas carols with surprisingly reverent Disney villains. **** 🎙 Guests: Drew Crowley ( @pizzanautgo ) and John Dedeke ( @johndedeke ) from The Hourchive . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A map of what Walt Disney World looked like in 1978 . 2. Vault Disney . 3. Mystery solved: How My Favorite Things became a Christmas song . 4. The opening music, The Great Gate of Kiev , part of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition , and the entrance theme for Jerry “The King” Lawler . 5. Dick Clark interviews Shields and Yarnell on American Bandstand in 1976. 6. Drew eating a gigantic spoonful of mashed potatoes at the Liberty Tree Tavern. 7. Photos from the long-abandoned Discovery Island in 2009. 8. Disney’s short-lived plans of reopening Discovery Island as an attraction based on Myst . 9. The History (and Mystery) Behind Discovery Island (MSN). 10. One-day admission to the Magic Kingdom plus a book of attraction tickets in 1978 cost $13, according to this Ticket Price Guide . 11. Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain . 12. I miss Winnie-the-Pooh with the honey pot on his head . 13. Giant, smoking cigars in a theme park parade for children. 14. The (1970s) Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World . 15. That time Kraft saluted Walt Disney World’s 10th anniversary . 16. The Hourchive on Walt Disney World: Part 1 and Part 2 . **** “Christmas at Walt Disney World” © 1978 Walt Disney Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 8, 2018

We blur the lines of reality, time, and space and practice peace on Earth and good will to men, women, chickens, bears, and Dizzy Gillespie in the 1979 TV special, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together . **** 🎙 Guests: Bill Hanstock ( SBNation , IMDb , Progressive Boink , @sundownmotel ). Carlin Trammel ( Nerd Lunch , Dragonfly Ripple , @nerdlunch ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Bill’s Uncle Deadly tattoo . 2. Pro-wrestler and Muppets Most Wanted cast member Hornswoggle’s tattoo tribute to the Muppets . 3. The Muppet Show Season 4 DVD promised at Disney’s 2009 D23 Expo, but which never came. 4. Miss Piggy makes a sex joke, lest we forget the Muppet Show pilot opened with “ Sex and Violence .” 5. John Denver’s linear notes for the album’s 1996 re-release cite the Muppets as an inspiration for writing Alfie, the Christmas Tree . 6. A Baby Just Like You is one endpoint of the John Denver Christmas song emotional spectrum. The other is Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas) . 7. A brief examination of the logistics behind Rowlf’s piano playing. 8. I Will Wait for You in Futurama . 9. Jesus Christ has His own entry on Muppet Wiki . 10. John’s son, Zachary: In the audience during Silent Night , and and at his father’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony in 2014. 11. Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold singing When the River Meets the Sea at Jim Henson’s memorial service . 12. Bill remembers Jim Henson on Scientific Podcast Goes Boink . **** “John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together” © 1979 John Jer Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 7, 2018

In 1987, the California Raisins missed their bus, then made a sleigh out of garbage and flew it into space in the greatest holiday special out of all holiday specials hosted by clay dinosaurs. WARNING: This episode inexplicably contains a major spoiler for the 2014 movie How to Train Your Dragon 2 . **** 🎙 Guest: Erin Evans ( @mserinmevans ). Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). Emily Rowley ( @mlerowley ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. RIP Will Vinton (1947–2018), the creator of (capital-C) Claymation who may or may not have inspired Leap Day William , and who was still alive when we recorded this. 2. Vinton also worked special effects on the Epcot attraction Captain EO starring Michael Jackson. 3. Johnny Counterfit , the voice of Rex (and not at all Johnny Arcade ), wrote a JFK time-travel novel . 4. Rex and Herb’s original appearance in Dinosaur , which was later included in a direct-to-video thing starring Fred Savage. 5. Related: “ I Just Realized Why We Are All Mean ,” by Jon Bois. 6. Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven , from The Adventures of Mark Twain , featuring Tim Conner (Herb) as a 3-headed alien in St. Peter’s place at the wrong “Heaven.” 7. The California Raisins’ cancelled Nintendo game: The Grape Escape . 8. Simpsons did it: The California Prunes . 9. This special ends with a reference to the grossly enormous Mr. Creosote from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life . **** “Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration” © 1987 Will Vinton Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 6, 2018

Let’s have a good, old-fashioned Christmas down on the farm in 1987’s A Garfield Christmas Special , featuring the voices of Squiggy and Ursula . **** 🎙 Guest: Jeff Somogyi ( Talkin’ Chopp , Down the Rabbit Hole , @sommerjam ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Joey O. interviews Gregg Berger , the voice of Odie. 2. On lasagna as a Christmas food and how including shrimp as one of the Seven Fishes is cheating, you cheaters. 3. Dinosaur Dracula identifies all the presents in Garfield’s dream . 4. Going long on the dinner prayer, plus the perfect gift for Grandma: an engraved grace-stoppin’ spoon. 5. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s The Night Santa Went Crazy is better than Christmas at Ground Zero . There. I said it. 6. The simultaneously best and worst line in the history of animated Christmas specials for children. 7. How does Binky, the Clown who Saved Christmas, save Christmas? 8. Jeff wanted a ringtone of that blaring trumpet when Garfield looks down from the top of the Christmas tree, so here it is ! **** “A Garfield Christmas Special” © 1987 United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 5, 2018

Rankin/Bass goes off the rails in its last-ever stop motion animated Christmas special, 1985’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus , based on the 1902 book by Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum, which explains a lot. **** 🎙 Guests: Paxton Holley ( Cavalcade of Awesome , I Read Movies , Nerd Lunch , Cult Film Club , Hellbent for Letterbox , @paxtonholley ). Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Santa Claus’s growth to manhood, from J.D. Roth to Mumm-ra, and the rest of the Thundercats are here, too! 2. L. Frank Baum’s original book on the Internet Archive, in ebook , PDF , and audiobook format. 3. Pax’s review of the book and Road to Oz , which also features Santa. 4. Baum’s sequel story, A Kidnapped Santa Claus . 5. King Awgwa looks like My Pet Monster. 6. “ The Most Pagan Christmas Special You Will Ever See ,” by Bayou Babylon. 7. That’s not Santa in Return to Oz . That’s the Shaggy Man. 8. A Doom Metal Tribute to The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus . **** “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” © 1985 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 4, 2018

Hanukkah is here, so here’s a 1995 special starring sock puppets hanging out with Mr. Miyagi, the dad from Growing Pains, and the mayor of Gotham City. **** 🎙 Guest: Sarah Shay ( Pilot House Podcast , Bandcamp , @thesarahshay ). Check out her 2 new albums: You Have Queer Street Cred and The Shay & Shay Radio Hour ! **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The special audio featured here is from a YouTube upload by some guy holding his iPad’s camera up to his TV screen. 2. Shari Lewis’s amazing single-color red dreamcoat and stylin’ menorah . 3. Alan Thicke being Alan Thicke on Celebrity Family Feud . 4. Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio , an earlier Halloween special also featuring Alan Thicke. 5. Charlie Horse’s prize-winning superhero , the stuff of someone’s very specific nightmares. 6. They almost make it through a whole Hanukkah special without mentioning Christmas, but blow it at the end for no reason. **** “Lamb Chop’s Special Chanukah” © 1995 8 Candles Production, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 3, 2018

Turn back the clock till it goes kerplunk — or kerplooey — to make some time for Rankin/Bass’s 1974 retelling of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas from the perspective of the mouse and his know-it-all nerdy son. **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Words with Nerds , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The worst thing we’ve broken that ruined multiple peoples’ day. 2. We prepared for this episode by listening to Green Day’s Kerplunk ! 3. South Park covered the song Even a Miracle Needs a Hand . 4. Albert reminds us of a young Julia Stiles in a 1990s Apple Jacks cereal commercial . 5. Dusty Rhodes’s “ Hard Times ” promo. **** “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” © 1974 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 2, 2018

Get ready to blast off for Space Church as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Star Wars Holiday Special , the farthest point from the bright center of our favorite galaxy far, far away. **** 🎙 Guest: Liz Twachtman ( @thelizzietea , Random Chatter Network , Enchanted Chatter ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. “ Some folks are in space for the benefit of nobody ,” by Jon Bois for SB Nation. 2. Our disappointment that Chewbacca’s family didn’t show up in Solo , but at least we got L3-37, who was great. 3. High praise for the animated segment, marking our introduction to Boba Fett and the return of Luke’s awesome yellow jacket. 4. Dihann Carroll was 43 years old in that erotic VR helmet sequence. 5. Screen Junkies’ Honest Trailers of the Star Wars Holiday Special and other spinoffs. **** “Star Wars Holiday Special” © 1978 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 1, 2018

It’s time once again to count down to Christmas Eve, starting with 3 versions of Dr. Seuss’s classic Christmas tale from 1966 , 2000 , and 2018 . **** 🎙 Guest: Michael DiGiovanni ( The Atomic Geeks , Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit , @theatomicgeeks ). Michael May ( MichaelMay.online , Sleigh Bell Cinema , @michaelmaycomix ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. , Dr. Seuss’s first — and last — feature film screenplay. 2. DiGio discovers Thurl Ravenscroft , the voice behind “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” was also Tony the Tiger. 3. Grinchmas , the annual Christmas celebration at Universal Studios Hollywood and Islands of Adventure in Orlando. 4. How Murray Saved Christmas , a 2014 animated TV special starring Jerry Stiller that just made my to-do list. 5. Mike talks The Muppet Christmas Carol on Sleigh Bell Cinema . **** “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” © 1966 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” © 2000 LUNI Productions GmbH & Co. KG. “The Grinch” © 2018 Universal Studios. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Nov 22, 2018

It’s time to dust off the cobwebs and get the Advent Calendar House ready for Season 2, featuring a new episode every day from December 1 through Christmas Eve, 2018. In between commercial teasers for all 24 episodes coming in Season 2 — though not necessarily in order — the members of the all-new Christmas Podcast Network share stories of Christmas music traditions. **** 🎙 Guests: 1. Brian Earl ( Christmas Past ) 2. Tim Babb ( Can’t Wait for Christmas ) 3. Craig Kringle ( Weird Christmas ) 4. Duane Bailey ( Tinsel Tunes ) 5. Joseph Wade ( Christmas Creeps ), with Libby Cudmore 6. Anthony Caruso, Julia Colburn, and Thom Crowe ( Tis the Podcast ) **** Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Sep 24, 2018

The Advent Calendar House presents a dazzling display of magical mischief. Chad Young creeps in to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Witch’s Night Out,” an often remembered, then forgotten, then re-remembered Halloween classic from 1978. You can watch “Witch’s Night Out” on Tubi . **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: WitchsNightOut.com , the official website. Anytown Series, a planned sequel, and other holiday specials in development. Toys “R” Us TV commercial from 1980, featuring ”the Big Bird Halloween costume and the Yoda Halloween costume.” Ghostbusters Fright Features action figures . Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Malicious’s food may or may not have been inspired by Joys of Jell-O . **** “Witch’s Night Out” © 1978 Leach/Rankin Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house .

Jul 3, 2018

We’re back for a surprise summertime episode on the 1986 animated movie, The Adventures of the American Rabbit , a star-spangled box-office bomb starring the voices of Donatello, Baby Piggy, and King Triton. **** 🎙 Guest: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Fred Wolf Films . 2. Toei Animation . 3. The late Stewart Moskowitz’s archived gallery and current website , operated by his family. 4. Too-Loose, the Chocolate Moose . 5. Ping Pong , the Gorilla who ate Garfield. **** “The Adventures of the American Rabbit” © 1985 Wolfkill Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Mar 30, 2018

We’re back! This surprise bonus episode covers the 1976 Rankin/Bass special, The First Easter Rabbit , which despite its name and main theme, still relies heavily on Christmas. **** 🎙 Guest: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A very obvious and very uncredited Velveteen Rabbit connection. 2. Easter Valley’s odd location next door to the North Pole, and Rankin/Bass’s habit of giving bad directions. 3. They named the talking snowball “Br-r-ruce,” a joke I didn’t notice until JUST NOW. **** “The First Easter Rabbit” © 1974 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 24, 2017

In our Christmas Eve season finale, the Advent Calendar House is haunted by 3 spirited guests as we each draft our own casts of A Christmas Carol from a pool of characters from Christmas past. **** 🎙 Guests: Sue London ( @cmdrsue ), romance novelist of Christmas past. Jonathan MacFarlane ( @otherjmac ), Discoverography podcast host of Christmas present. Joey O. ( @ImGonnaDJ24 ), Y-Not Radio and Words with Nerds co-host of Christmas yet to come. **** 🎄 A Christmas Carol Renditions Mentioned: In chronological order: 1951: Scrooge (starring Alastair Sim). 1954: Shower of Stars’ A Christmas Carol . 1962: Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol . 1970: Scrooge (musical, starring Albert Finney). 1978: Rich Little’s Christmas Carol . 1979: Bugs Bunny’s Christmas Carol . 1983: Mickey’s Christmas Carol . 1984: A Christmas Carol (starring George C. Scott). 1986: The Real Ghostbusters: Xmas Marks the Spot . 1987ish: Honey Nut Cheerios Christmas Commercial (starring Bill Gavin). 1988: Scrooged (starring Bill Murray). 1993: Animaniacs: A Christmas Plotz . 1994: A Flintstones Christmas Carol . 1997: A Christmas Carol (starring Tim Curry). 1999: A Christmas Carol (starring Patrick Stewart). 2003: A Carol Christmas (starring Tori Spelling). 2009: Disney’s A Christmas Carol (starring Jim Carrey). 2011: Batman: Noël . **** Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 21, 2017

Join us as we spend 17 times the length of a 30-second lottery commercial talking about the spot that had a whole commonwealth singing “FIVE CASH FIVES!” **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. The original Pennsylvania Lottery Christmas Commercial from 1992. 2. The updated commercial from 2012, remade shot-for-shot like 1998’s Psycho . 3. PA Lottery’s Holiday Ad Gets Makeover (CBS Philly, 2012). 4. “ Move Closer to Your World ,” the greatest broadcast news theme song ever composed. 5. Philadelphia Eagles fans’ longing for kelly green football uniforms . 6. Major League Baseball’s endless array of ugly hats for every holiday . **** Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 18, 2017

In the Advent Calendar House’s first Hanukkah episode, we follow the Rugrats on their mission to stop the “Meanie of Chanukah” and make him take a nap, counting all the Yiddish words and misspoken “babyisms” along the way. **** 🎙 Guest: Sarah Shay ( Pilot House Podcast , Bandcamp , @thesarahshay ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Sarah’s top 2 favorite spellings of “Hanukkah.” 2. Going back to watch Pee-wee’s Big Adventure with the knowledge that Dottie (E.G. Daily) is the voice of Tommy Pickles. 3. A tale of 2 panics: Babies climbing up to open flames vs. babies trying to blow out Hanukkah candles. 4. Stu’s giant, tacky menorah vs. the Miami Marlins’ home run celebration monstrosity . 5. The TV trope of the Sitcom Arch-Nemesis . 6. Our worst on-stage mishaps. **** “A Rugrats Chanukah” © 1996 Klasky-Csupo, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 14, 2017

Ho-ho-ho, I’m hu-hu-hungry! Fill your soul with season’s greetings as we revisit a collection of Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles cereal commercials of Christmas past. **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Fruity Pebbles Christmas commercial , dated between 1986 and 1989. 2. Recut commercial , with Jim Cummings as Santa, dated between 1992 and 1995. 3. Older Fruity Pebbles Christmas commercial , dated 1980. 4. Newer Cocoa Pebbles “Christmas Carol” commercial . 5. “ I’m the Master Rapper and I’m here to say, I love Fruity Pebbles in a major way! ” 6. Fred and Barney know about Christmas because The Flintstones takes place in a post-apocalyptic future . 7. The Rock’s Fruity Pebbles promo on John Cena , 2011. 8. WWE’s Christmas in Baghdad opening from 2003, featuring “Stone Cold” Steve Austin disguised as Santa Claus. **** Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 11, 2017

Trudge back to 1974 as we dig up a rare gem, The Gift of Winter , which introduces a colorful cast of characters better known from its Halloween sequel, Witch’s Night Out ! You can watch The Gift of Winter online on Shout! Factory TV. **** 🎙 Guest: Chad Young ( The Horror Movie BBQ , @horrormoviebbq ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Pre-SNL appearances by the voices of Gilda Radner and Dan Aykroyd. 2. The special’s true heroes: A couple of gay trees. 3. Whenever Bazooey’s not on screen, all the other characters should be asking, “ Where’s Bazooey? ” 4. The Anytown Series , which includes a planned remake of The Gift of Winter and brand new specials for Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day. 5. Every parade should end at the Rocky steps . 6. We end up talking about the Lego Batman Movie for some reason. **** The Gift of Winter © 1974 Leach/Rankin Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 7, 2017

Nobody can’t say no to this 30-second portrayal of Scrooge in a Christmastime commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios. Officially titled “Ebenezer Scrooge Discovers Honey Nut Cheerios,” this commercial ran from around 1987 through at least the end of the 20th century. **** 🎙 Guest: Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , @ImGonnaDJ24 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. A tale of two Buzz Bees: “ It’s Christmas ,” vs. “ It’s the holidays .” 2. Arnold Stang , the original voice of the Honey Nut Cheerios Bee, Top Cat, and Nestlé’s Chunky candy bar . 3. Stranger Christmas tradition: Scrooge’s “customary” gruel, or Honey Nut Cheerios as a holiday breakfast? 4. The lifespan and ancestral history of honeybees. 5. Addendum: Thanks to Guy Hutchinson for identifying our Scrooge as actor Bill Gavin . **** Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 4, 2017

To mark the 30th anniversary of the shredded wheat and cranberry sauce of TV specials, we take a head count of every unexpected guest Fozzie Bear’s mother graciously welcomed into her home on Christmas Eve, 1987. It’s a lot. **** 🎙 Guest: Carlin Trammel ( Nerd Lunch , Dragonfly Ripple , @nerdlunch ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. We try and piece together the various home video cuts and music rights issues. 2. The dizzying continuity issues surrounding the Muppet Babies. 3. Can you say “ OshKosh B’gosh ”? 4. A milk PSA and the world’s most forward-thinking bullies. 5. Osvaldo el Gruñón , Oscar the Grouch’s Puerto Rican counterpart. 6. Parting words from the guy with the beard doing the dishes. **** “A Muppet Family Christmas” © 1987 Jim Henson Productions. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Dec 1, 2017

Happy birthday! Join us as we begin our salute to all holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones by attempting to answer questions no one asked about the 1969 Rankin/Bass TV special, Frosty the Snowman . **** 🎙 Guest: Brandon Medley ( @brandmed , Blessed Are the Geek ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. How to easily escape a locked greenhouse. 2. When does something you throw away stop legally being yours ? 3. Oatmeal is a perfectly adorable name for a snowman. 4. Frosty Day in Armonk, New York. 5. A closer look at the absurdly long and zigzagged train route to the North Pole. 6. How long it would actually take to write, “I am very sorry for what I did to Frosty,” a million times. 7. The stupidest places we’ve ever been dropped off. **** “Frosty the Snowman” © 1969 Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter @adventcalhouse . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .

Nov 30, 2017

This holiday season, experience the joy of rewatching the same TV specials you watch every year in podcast form! It’s the Advent Calendar House: A salute to all holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones. Revisit 12 holiday TV classics and not-so-classics each December and July. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full episodes and links at adventcalendar.house .