And two eyes made out of coal

If I hear another Christmas song on the radio, I think I might dunk my head in a bucket of burning pitch. At work, once Thanksgiving is through, the radio station in my office is changed to one that plays only Christmas music. I probably covered this before, but hearing the same music every day, multiple times a day, is maddening. Even if I was filled to the brim with joyous Christmas spirit, this incessant barrage of songs would puke it right out of me. A little goes a long way. Know what I'm saying? From what I gather, no one in the room likes it, but for whatever reason, no one will change the station. I'll get through it. I guess it's not so bad hearing Feliz Navidad or I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus at least three times a day. I guess.

Anyway, speaking of Christmas spirit, let's try to salvage some. I do believe I pledged in my last post to revisit the Christmas specials of my youth, so let's proceed. As I go, I will only relate what my memory allows; I will not cheat and use the Internet to refresh it where necessary. The following list, therefore, should not be seen as comprehensive - there may be omissions - nor will it be presented in order of preference. In other words, I'm winging it and we'll see how it fleshes out.

The Year Without A Santa Claus

I barely remember this special because some religious group got it banned from TV throughout most of my youth. If I remember correctly, said group took issue with Mr. Heatmiser. Guess they thought he was the Devil or something. Anyway, because it was unavailable, it became like the Holy Grail to us kids. We used to speak in fond reminiscence about it. I should watch it sometime. It's been years.

Frosty The Snowman

Ah, this was a good one. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, but I used to love it. Do I remember correctly that every time Frosty came to life he said, "Happy Birthday" in a kind of dopey voice? I think he did. And was that Fred Astaire who narrated the show? Wasn't he a mailman or an engineer? Anyway, this special touched me. I think I even cried during it, you know, when things looked bad for Frosty.

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

The gold standard. Man, those Rankin/Bass specials used to produce. An indication of how great they were is that they're still broadcasting them. By today's standards, the effects are primitive, but I'll take 'em over the sterile CG I see so much of these days. Back to Rudolph.

Great story, and even better for having The Abominable Snowman in it. And that Yukon Cornelius was damn cool, too. This was an adventure Homer would have been proud of. Tons of action peppered with humor and romance. And the Christmas spirit shined down on the whole thing. This one is the best of the best.

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking out that door. This was one of my favorites. I've probably seen this one more than any other. The Burgermeister Meister Burger was a great character. So was the Winter Warlock. And that penguin.....I forget his name. Rankin/Bass brought the ruckus once again. Wait a minute. Was this the one with Fred Astaire as the mailman or engineer or whatever? Hmmm... I should know, I just watched this when it was on a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, like I said, this was one of my favorites.

Twas The Night Before Christmas

I used to like this one quite a bit, even though it was animated and not produced by Rankin/Bass. I remember it centered on a family of mice and one of the kids, a really nerdy sort, screwed up the clock (?)- my memory is hazier than it should be with this- and, as a result, Santa Claus wouldn't be able to come. I remember liking at least one of the songs. Fivel(sp)? Was that his name? Oh, I don't know. Let's move on.

Charlie Brown's Christmas

Was that even what it was called? Anyway, I'm close, whatever it is. Another classic with a hip jazzy score. One of the songs, with the chorus of kids singing, always effects me in a deep place. I always seem to miss this one when it's on; this year, I caught the very end. At least I got to see the sorry little tree.

Ok, my computer is being a pain and running too slow. With that, I'll have to finish this up before things get FUBAR.