🎄 It’s that time of year again: Time to deal with smarty-pants 4th-graders who think they know how Santa Claus works.

🎙️ The Advent Calendar House welcomes Caleb Cote from Insert Reference Here and Robert Nicholas from Behind the Bells as we watch a very special 1998 Christmas episode of Disney’s “Recess,” featuring elementary school hierarchy, a globally televised Christmas pageant, and the dulcet tones of a 10-year-old who sings like Robert Goulet.

📺 “Recess” is available on Disney+. “Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave” is Season 2, Episode 10.

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(00:00) – Intro
(02:26) – Our Histories with Recess
(10:49) – Our Histories with “Recess”
(24:11) – Act 1
(1:03:55) – Retro Commercial Break
(1:06:12) – Act 2
(1:29:02) – Act 3
(1:48:48) – Final Thoughts

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

Caleb introduces us to Goalball.

Mike talks about The Legend of Zelda on Insert Reference Here.

Dabney Coleman (Principal Prickly) in “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”

Robert Goulet sings “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” on “The Simpsons.”

Today’s TV Tropes: Cast Calculus, Noodle Incident, and Glass-Shattering Sound.

Kevin sits on Santa Michael’s lap on “The Office.”

Ronnie Schell (Mayor Fitzhugh) as Peter Puck.

“Local Politician” by The Arrogant Worms.

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📼 Commercials:

Bubble Tape (circa 1991)

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“Recess” and “Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave” © 1998 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.
Hosted by The Retro Network.

#s16 #1990s #disney

🎄 Well, them podcast boys have run into another Scrooge Sunday, and this time, the ghosts from “A Christmas Carol” are haunting Boss Hogg in the Dukes of Hazzard’s Saturday morning cartoon counterpart.

🎙️ Michael DiGiovanni and new guest Ken Kessler from The Sounds of Christmas join the ride through Christmas past, present, and future as the Dukes take a holiday from their race around the world in an episode that made us wish they’d get back to racing.

📺 You can find “A Dickens of a Christmas” on the Internet Archive.

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(00:00) – Intro
(02:23) – Personal and Series History
(10:03) – Act 1: Big Jake Marley’s Ghost
(23:27) – Retro Commercial Break
(25:29) – Act 2: Christmas Past and Present
(37:19) – Act 3: Christmas Future and The End of It
(48:35) – Final Thoughts

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

John Schneider and Tom Wopat made a Christmas album.

Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) as Santa on “Full House.”

Christmas in Russia is on January 7th.

Is this story’s Belle substitute the only time we ever meet Uncle Jesse’s late (or, in this case, future) wife?

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📼 Commercials:

“The Dukes” Saturday Morning Promo (1983)

Kentucky Fried Chicken Christmas Commercial (circa 1987)

Snow in Southtown

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“The Dukes” and “A Dickens of a Christmas” © 1983 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.
“The Dukes of Hazzard” © 1983 Warner Bros., Inc.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.
Hosted by The Retro Network.

#s16 #1980s #scroogesunday #hannabarbera

🎄 Somehow Frosty returned.

🎙️ The Advent Calendar House is back open for Christmas in July as Donnie Storms and new guest Collin Murr from Scrooge: A Christmas Carol Podcast drop in seeking shelter from “Frosty Returns,” which despite the title, is not a sequel, and not even a Christmas special. From Lorne Michaels and Kermit the Frog’s ghostwriter comes a message about the environment delivered by the voices of John Goodman, Jonathan Winters, and a young Elizabeth Moss.

📺 You can find “Frosty Returns” on the Internet Archive.

• (00:00) – Intro
• (02:10) – Guest Histories
• (05:57) – The History of Frosty Returns
• (12:06) – Act 1
• (44:41) – Retro Commercial Break
• (45:57) – Act 2
• (01:08:14) – Act 3
• (01:22:28) – Final Thoughts

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

An interview with story writer Jim Lewis (The Muppet Newsflash, 2007).

Today’s TV Tropes: Stern Teacher and Right-Hand Cat.

“Dick Tracy Special: Tracy Zooms In.”

“Donald’s Snow Fight.”

“I have a hole in my stomach!” from “Death Becomes Her.”

The parade from “Batman” (1989).

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📼 Commercials:

Trix Cereal Christmas Commercial (circa 1992)

Festive Foreign Film Fans

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“Frosty Returns” © 1992 CBS Inc.

Hosted by The Retro Network.
Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s16 #1990s #frosty

🎄 Rise and shine while you still can! Since this year’s December Solstice falls on a Sunday, I’ve come bearing the gift of an unexpectedly very merry Scrooge Sunday episode of “Xena: Warrior Princess” from 1996.

April Ryley and Sammy Hain join the mission to warm the cold heart of a king who’s banned all Solstice celebrations on an almost wibbly-wobbly timeline that manages to smash together “A Christmas Carol,” the Three Fates of ancient Greek tradition, a Santa Claus origin story, and the Nativity. It even throws in some “Home Alone” style shenanigans, as a treat!

📺 As of this recording, “A Solstice Carol” is available to watch on Prime Video.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

Lucy Lawless in “Spider-Man.”

“Ebenezer and the Invisible World,” the video game.

Moirai: The Three Fates.

The Simpsons: “Desperately Xeeking Xena” from “Treehouse of Horror X” (1999)

Inside Senticles’s toy closet, and his King Friday XIII lookalike jack-in-the-box.

The song: “Solstice Night.”

Karl Urban as Cupid in a Valentine’s Day episode.

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📼 Commercials:

7up: Holiday Celebration (1996)

Bad Princess Movies.

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“Xena: Warrior Princess” and “A Solstice Carol” © 1996 MCA Television Limited.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.
Hosted by The Retro Network.

🎄 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.

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💬 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”).

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📼 Commercials:

NBC “Let’s All Be There” ID with Santa (1985)

Polaroid: “Christmas – Santa Claus” (1985)

Tinsel Tunes – The Christmas Music Podcast.

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“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.

🎄 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.

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💬 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)

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📼 Commercials:

KFC “Christmas with Jason Alexander” (2001)

Merry Britsmas.

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“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.

🎄 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.

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💬 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”?

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📼 Commercials:

Cabbage Patch Kids Talking Phone (1984)

Cabbage Patch Kids Hide and Seek Game (1984)

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“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.

🎄 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.

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💬 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.

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📼 Commercials:

Sonic & Knuckles Christmas Elves Commercial (1994)

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“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.

🎄 “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+.

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💬 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.

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📼 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.

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“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.