🎄 We wrap up Christmas in July with an old-fashioned scary ghost story. Join us as we fire up the Mystery Machine and take a drive 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. **** 🎙 Guests: Adam Pope ( Wizards: The Podcast Guide to Comics , Remember That Show? , Bluesky ) Donnie Storms ( Bronwen’s Ghost , Bluesky ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: “The New S...
Jul 23, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Season 14Ep. 12
🦃 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, so let’s back this barely-running hayride tractor back to 1986 for 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 co...
Jul 21, 2025•1 hr 43 min•Season 14Ep. 11
🎄 Join us for a short spin back to 1993 as we spend 48 minutes blah blah blah yackety schmacketing about Taz’s attempt to spread Christmas cheer in a land that’s way under Down Under. **** 🎙 Guests: Sammy Hain ( Sammy’s Easter Tails , Bluesky ) Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Bluesky ) **** 💬 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...
Jul 19, 2025•49 min•Season 14Ep. 10
🎄 This episode is stuffed with surprises, so get your propeller spinning and take off back to 1987 as we nosedive into the history of Santabear, a Midwest Christmas tradition we wish found a place to land elsewhere. At press time, you can find “Santabear’s High Flying Adventure” on the Internet Archive , or a recording with the original commercials on YouTube. **** 🎙 Guests: Ethan ( The Hungry Reader , A Special Presentation or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Mike...
Jul 17, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 14Ep. 9
🎄 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.” So go get your fanciest Jingle Bells on for “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton.” You can watch it on the Jim Henson’s Family Hub YouTube channel . **** 🎙 Guests: Tony Whitaker ( Muppet Wiki , Bluesky ) Shane Keating ( ToughPigs.com , MuppetWiki , Bluesky , Letterboxd ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: Where in the who-heck is the Grinch? “ T...
Jul 15, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 14Ep. 8
🎃 This year, Halloween in July has fallen on a Scrooge Sunday, so we’re killing two birds with one garbage disposal as we 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 . **** 🎙 Guests: Gerry Davila ( Totally Rad Christmas ) Brandon Medley ( Instagram ) **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: The Story Behind Roseanne’s Iconic Chicken Shirt (Decider, 2018). The “Psych” pinea...
Jul 13, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 14Ep. 7
🎄 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 to meet The Charmings, who did have a Christmas episode! You can watch “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” on...
Jul 11, 2025•1 hr 36 min•Season 14Ep. 6
🎄 Cowabunga! In nearly 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, 2004’s “The Christmas Aliens” is somehow their only animated Christmas episode. Join Michelangelo and a kitty named Klunk on a Christmas Eve car chase as they 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+ . **...
Jul 09, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 14Ep. 5
🐰 It’s Easter in July, and those two things together are the least confusing thing about today’s episode. In 1971’s “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” the first Rankin/Bass non-Christmas holiday special, it’s a race across the calendar to reclaim the title of Chief Easter Bunny from the evil January Q. Irontail, voiced by Vincent Price. You can watch it on Tubi , or this restored version on the YouTube channel “ The Rankin Bass Archive .” **** 🎙 Guests: Michael May ( MichaelMay.online , After Lunc...
Jul 07, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Season 14Ep. 4
🎄 We’re snowed in a bit earlier than expected, so we’ve hunkered down to have a Christmas feast from around the world. Our colleagues from the newsroom upstairs are less than enthusiastic, but that’s not stopping us from enjoying this 1974 non-Christmas Christmas episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” **** 🎙 Guest: Alonso Duralde ( Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas , The Film Verdict , Linoleum Knife , Maximum Film , Breakfast All Day , Deck the Hallmark , Hollywood Pride , Bluesky ). **...
Jul 05, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 14Ep. 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. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Pop Culture Retrofit , Bluesky ) Erin Evans ( Bluesky ) Joey O. ( Y-Not Radio , Bluesky ) Donnie Storms ( Bronwen’s Ghost , Bluesky ) **** 💬 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 ...
Jul 03, 2025•46 min•Season 14Ep. 2
🌴 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.” Up first is “Xmas Story” from 1999, 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. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Pop Culture Retrofit , Bluesky ) Erin E...
Jul 01, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 14Ep. 1
🕎 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...
Dec 25, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Season 13Ep. 13
🎄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 ,...
Dec 24, 2024•2 hr 5 min•Season 13Ep. 12
🎄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...
Dec 22, 2024•2 hr 29 min•Season 13Ep. 11
🎄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...
Dec 20, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 13Ep. 10
🎄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 S...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 13Ep. 9
🎄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 Li...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 13Ep. 8
🎄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 e...
Dec 14, 2024•58 min•Season 13Ep. 7
🎄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 ) ***...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 13Ep. 6
🎄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 P...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Season 13Ep. 5
🎄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...
Dec 08, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Season 13Ep. 4
🎄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 Nutcr...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 54 min•Season 13Ep. 3
🎄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 & ...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 13Ep. 2
🎄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 S...
Dec 02, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 13Ep. 1
🎄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 f...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Season 12Ep. 12
🎄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. ( ...
Jul 21, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 12Ep. 11
🦃 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 , M...
Jul 19, 2024•1 hr 56 min•Season 12Ep. 10
🎄 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...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 12Ep. 9
🎄 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 Sa...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 12Ep. 8
