Christmas: Are they shoving it down our throats too early?

[CensoredAlso]

I get the impression '50s TV did have its moments of cleverness; it wasn't all conformity. What I really dislike are '50s movies, heh.

Society was better in some ways, probably because people were more prosperous money wise. Sending jobs overseas later on encouraged poverty, which encourages crime.

But let's remember the people telling us how great the '50s were were children at the time. I'm sure it did seem great to them. I didn't know about AIDS when I was a child.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

I think I know what I want for Christmas this year...

A tuba phone!

Kel!

 

[Drtooth]

I get the impression '50s TV did have its moments of cleverness; it wasn't all conformity. What I really dislike are '50s movies, heh.

Suffice to say, I also have more of a preference to sitcoms with an all adult cast (or at least one that doesn't focus too much on children). I'll take Honeymooners and Lucy over Beaver any day.

 

[beatnikchick300]

The Frosty Returns special is a horrible example, or rather a good example of them abusing that trope. It's not even about "The Magic of Christmas," so much as you're a horrible, godless heathen if you don't love snowstorms and winter. The story is basically someone invents an arisol spray can that melts snow really fast. They mention environmental issues in passing for like 1 second which would at least have given the "villain" an actual morally inferior motive. But the whole thing plays out as: If you don't like the magic of arctic temperatures, backbreaking manual clean ups, and being crammed in your house for days on end, you're a terrible, cynical, selfish evil person.

In reality, a device that could melt snow that rapidly would be a godsend to the elderly, keep our roads safe and well treated, and above all making a dangerous time of the year a little easier to manage. But because it melts poor Frosty, it's the evilest device ever. Heck, it's the complainer is always wrong, and everyone but Frosty and that girl are the complainers.

Even the original Rankin-Bass Frosty special, if you think about it, had a bit of a designated villain. The magician is made out to be the bad guy just because he wants his hat (which brought Frosty to life). But the hat is still his property, and he has the right to want it back. Maybe locking Frosty and the little girl in the greenhouse so Frosty would melt was a bit of a Moral Event Horizon for him, but he still shouldn't have been made out as the bad guy just for wanting to get back something that belonged rightfully to him (on a side note, I found the little girl in that extremely annoying; even as a kid, I just wanted to slap her. But I digress...).

 

[Drtooth]

Yes no and sorta all at once. I agree that it was his hat to begin with. But his nasty nature only gave the kids and Frosty the moral upperhand, even if they technically were wrong. Plus, the special does go out of its way to write him as evil, he even admits to being evil at the end. While the "villain" of Frosty returns is evil for having ambition. While there is an environmental angle, it's swept under the rug waaaay too fast and easily. We as the audience have to assume that the aerosol canisters of snow remover are an environmental hazard because the one person to even bring it up as a possibility gets silenced before they even make a point. So that's out of the equation. So he's evil because he wants money, people to like him, and his product makes Frosty melt. Heck the entire town is evil because they don't like winter. And frankly, the adults have a point. Kids only have to play in the stuff, adults have to deal with it.

Seriously... a device that melts snow off of sidewalks would be a good thing. Even that's the designated villain for daring to have clear streets and roadways. Boo being able to safely travel.

 

[D'Snowth]

While we're on the subject of holiday specials, ABC sure has been stingy with the Peanuts specials this year, haven't they? Both IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN and A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING were aired only once each this year, when they're usually aired throughout their respective holidays' months, and so far, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS has only aired once this month as well (looks like it'll be on again Thursday), and it looks like Saturday will be the only airing of I WANT A DOG FOR CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN.

Admittedly, I can't really complain too awful much; I got the special DVD gift set of the three major Peanuts holiday specials, but it does seem awfully odd that ABC seems to have kind of neglected them this year.

On the other hand, I've noticed both ABC and ABC Family seem to have added A CHIPMUNK CHRISTMAS to their roster of annual Christmas specials, though I'm wondering if it's more on the part of Bagdasarian Productions urging any network to air it? Because let's be honest, outside of Chipaholics, who really even knew this special existed? It's rather obscure... even I didn't know it existed until I got into the fandom years ago.

 

[beatnikchick300]

Yes no and sorta all at once. I agree that it was his hat to begin with. But his nasty nature only gave the kids and Frosty the moral upperhand, even if they technically were wrong. Plus, the special does go out of its way to write him as evil, he even admits to being evil at the end.

See, that's another thing. If you really think about it, the special was being almost anvilicious (TV Tropes, what would I do without you?) in their attempts to get the viewers to hate this guy. Since he was technically trying to get back something that was rightfully his, the fact that he calls himself an "evil magician" near the end really just seems like an Informed Flaw than anything else. Heck, Disney movies have villains who are admittedly evil and do things for the Evulz (Maleficent, Ratigan, and others), but because the things we see them do actually ARE evil and unjustified, it doesn't seem so forced. Just my thoughts...

 

[Drtooth]

While we're on the subject of holiday specials, ABC sure has been stingy with the Peanuts specials this year, haven't they? Both IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN and A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING were aired only once each this year, when they're usually aired throughout their respective holidays' months, and so far, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS has only aired once this month as well (looks like it'll be on again Thursday), and it looks like Saturday will be the only airing of I WANT A DOG FOR CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN.

Sounds about right. They only air those specials once a year anyway... but I'm disappointed Prep and Landing isn't getting an airing. Then again, they're absolutely convinced that we need SharkTank reruns on for 2 hours every Friday when the 2 lone Friday sitcoms are reruns. Would be a nice place for a freaking Christmas special instead.

 

[D'Snowth]

They used to have multiple airings throughout their respective months, but not this year. Oh well.

So, this year's flavor of the month music artist who gets their own holiday concert special and has a bunch of other currently-relevant artists performing as well honor apparently is going to Kelly Clarkson. Yippie-yippie, yay-yay, just what we need, not only another flavor of the month music artist getting their own holiday concert special but a COUNTRY holiday concert special, hey-hey.

 

[Drtooth]

You really got to distinguish between flavor of the month and someone that's had a career for years, man. Kelly Clarkson is essentially the only American Idol contestant that had a respectable career.

But I agree about these non-stop holiday concerts. And not even just these mainstream artists... PBS blankets this time of year with those freaking Celtic concerts where they sing only 2 songs that are even Celtic in origin.

And worse... the NON-STOP barrage of completely useless Christmas song albums by big celebrities old and new. Do we really need everyone who ever lived to keep singing the same carols over and over with like one half^%$ed new song on there everyone's going to forget about the following year? Seriously... THAT'S the commercialism we should be complaining about. We don't need a thousand versions of "A Christmas Song." One guy sang it good once. And the Chef and Big Bird, but that's not on an album.