Advent Calendar House

🎄 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. Hosted by The Retro Network. #s15 #1990s #nativity

🕎 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. Hosted by The Retro Network. #s15 #1990s #hanukkah #puppets

🎄 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. Hosted by The Retro Network. #s15 #1980s

🎄 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. Hosted by The Retro Network. #s15 #2010s #muppets #disney

🎄 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. Hosted by The Retro Network. #s15 #1990s #hannabarbera

🍍 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. #s15 #2010s #itsawonderfullife

🦃 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. #s14 #1980s #thanksgiving #disney

🎄 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. #s14 #1980s

🎃 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 Dreams.” 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. #s14 #1990s #halloween #scroogesunday

🎄 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. #s14 #2000s #tmnt #comics

🎄 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. #s14 #1970s

🌴 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. Find us at adventcalendar.house. #s14 #1990s