A Classic TV Christmas- Advent 2017 Day 4

Moving along the timeline of Christmas themed TV episodes, we travel millions of years into the past to the town of Bedrock. It's yabba-dabba-doo time to celebrate the holidays with the Flintstones.

There's been several Christmas specials starring Fred and his buddy Barney and their families. But for the sake of this Advent theme, I'm staying away from as many holiday specials as possible for that may be a subject to explore for the future. So the episode I am highlighting is from the original 1960s series. Titled 'Christmas Flintstone', this episode has later been re-packaged as 'How the Flintstones Saved Christmas' on VHS and DVD.

In this episode, Fred has taken a second job for the holidays at Macyrock's Department store as a clerk. He's about to get fired, when the regular store Santa calls in sick. So Fred is sent as a replacement and it's the role he was born to play! In fact, Fred does such an awesome job, when the real Santa Claus is too sick to deliver presents, Fred is recruited in his place!

Besides the obvious fact that this story takes place way before the birth of Christ and thus how can cavemen celebrate Christmas- this is a treasured episode to many. Me included. It's funny, cheery, and it features the original and still the best actor to voice Fred, Alan Reed. 

This episode is unique as it's the first one in this Advent that actually aired on Christmas Day 1964. Unfortunately, due to copyright and such, I'm not able to post the complete episode. So in hopes of making it up to you, I provide 2 Advent gifts today. First is a 1980s Christmas themed Fruity Pebbles commercial in which Fred meets Santa. and then I have a clip of Fred singing Dino The Dinosaur's Christmas Tree from that classic episode. 

Enjoy... and until next time Merry Christmas!

A Classic TV Christmas: Advent 2017 Day 3

People have their favorite Christmas stories. For many it's Dicken's A Christmas Carol which pretty much established the modern traditions of the holiday. Some are devoted to the animated tales of the Grinch or Charlie Brown. But for me, my favorite Christmas story is The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.

The story is quite simple. A husband and wife are struggling to make ends meet. Hubby wants to buy his lovely bride a comb for her luxurious long hair. Wifey wants to buy a gold chain for her man's beloved pocket watch. In order to buy the items, the man sells his watch and the wife sells her hair. In the end both end up finding out that the best gift for the season are each other. There's been dozens of variants on this story. Perhaps the best known is from the 1950s short lived series, The Honeymooners.

This episode is not to be confused with the
Honeymooners Christmas Special that aired on ABC December 1978.

The Honeymooners was originally a skit on the Jackie Gleason Show. The show was about the misadventures of bus driver Ralph Kramden played by Gleason and his best buddy Ed Norton (Art Carney.) The two guys were married to Alice and Trixie, who often poo-pooed many of their harebrained schemes. Despite being hugely popular, the show only lasted 39 episodes.

Merry Christmas from the
Kramdens and Nortons!!!

I didn't realize that this episode surpassed the I Love Lucy Special by almost a full-year. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' aired on December 24, 1955. In this episode, filmed before a live audience, Ralph buys his wife a gift that he learns is pretty stupid. So he sells his beloved bowling ball to buy Alice something better. On Christmas Day, Alice surprises Ralph with a bowling ball bag to which Ralph has to admit what he did. Ralph finalizes the episode by making a huge speech about how Christmas is more than presents and Alice's heart melts realizing that despite his faults, Ralph loves her more than anything. 

Really, I don't think I can give this episode justice. So my Advent gift for you today is the episode in it's entirety. Enjoy... and until tomorrow- Merry Christmas!

James Bond: Solstice

Writer/Artist: Ibrahim Moustafa
Colorist: Jordan Boyd
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Price: $4.99

Dynamite Entertainment presents the first ever James Bond Christmas Special!

007 is sent on a clandestine mission. An ousted Kremlin operative is seeking a chance to worm his way back into Russia’s good graces. The spies plan is to woo the daughter of a very high-up official in MI6 over the holidays and then return to London with a mole in British Intelligence. It’s Bond’s unofficial job to see that this Russian baddie never makes it to Christmas morning. For you see, the father of this young girl is none other than that of James’ superior, the mysterious M!

This very special holiday special was a success! For a property like 007, it would be quite risky to do a holiday special as those can be quite sappy. But Solstice is in the vein of Die Hard in that with Christmas as the time of year this story is set, you could argue that it’s not really a holiday special. James Bond is not visited by Santa Claus or Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present or Future. By the end of this 32-pager, 007’s heart doesn’t grow 3-sizes too large. And just because he carries a gun, at no point does this MI6 man shoot his eye out!

Writer and Artist Ibrahim Moustafa (Doctor Fate) did an amazing double-duty job. His story was rather clean cut. There wasn’t an element of conspiracy or implied buried secrets that has dogged some previous Dynamite Entertainment takes on the Ian Fleming character. His art was quite simple and very sleek like a James Bond film. I felt like I was reading an adaptation of the next James Bond movie!

A lot of this praise is also due to the dynamic color palette of Evolution’s Jordan Boyd. He incorporates holiday colors into a rather bleak Paris winter landscape without making you think an elf vomited all over the page. And man, are those explosive yellows and oranges eye searing!

Solstice is not one of James Bond’s typical adventures. Yes, there’s lots of action and adventure. A great story as well. But when it comes to the ladies, there’s no love interest to distract from the story, aside from the required flirting session with Moneypenny.
If you are looking for a comic to get into the holiday spirit that’s not a typical Christmas special, then may I recommend this book? It’s a very quick read but overall worth every cent.

James Bond: Solstice debuted in comic shops nationwide on November 22nd.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

A Classic TV Christmas: Advent 2017 Day 2

After the success of the I Love Lucy's Christmas Special, a number of TV shows decided to get into the fun of producing an episode devoted to the holidays. Most of those shows are ones I have never seen before. But not the one that I am focusing on for today's Advent. In fact, this episode is from a show that I am a devoted fan of, yet I absolutely hate.

The series is called The Twilight Zone. The episode in question is The Night of the Meek.

Submitted for your approval, Henry Corwin is a drunken department store Santa who is fired from his job on Christmas Eve. Disenfranchised with the holiday, our Santa, played by The Honeymooner's Art Carney tries to find solace in the bottom of a bottle. Kicked out of a speak-easy, the destitute Santa stumbles into the snow and finds a giant sack filled with toys. He heads to the nearest orphanage to distribute gifts to the boys and girls housed there.

A cop thinks Henry has robbed the department store from where he was fired and arrests Henry. However, at the police station, Henry's sack turns into a garbage bag. Embarrassed, the policeman kicks Henry and his bag of trash out into the street where Henry meets a man named Burt. Burt asks a now elated Henry what he would like for Christmas and the man answers that he wishes he could do this year round. Burt wishes the man a Merry Christmas and disappears. Bewildered, Henry turns into an alley where awaiting him is a tiny sleigh with eight reindeer and an empty Santa jacket. It's here that Henry realizes that his wish was granted- he is the new Santa Claus!

Okay- looking back on this. It's not such a bad episode. But for a show as eerie and frightening as The Twilight Zone, this episode is a sugary sweet cupcake! It's just not expected from the master of the weird, Rod Serling. 

This is Rod Serling.

Another thing that kinda odd about this episode is how it looks. The show was taped live on December 23, 1960. Unlike most of the other Twilight Zone episodes, this one looks very out of sorts and stunted. The lighting is so washed out in some scenes. In fact, I think at one point, you can hear a stage hand off screen cough. I kid you not on this!

You can get an action figure of Henry either in
classic black and white or colorized.

Since I couldn't find a good version of this episode online, for my Advent present to you today, I present a radio adaptation of The Night of the Meek. It's pretty cool. I hope you'll enjoy...

Until tomorrow, Merry Christmas!

Grimm's Ghost Stories #34

This Gold Key issue from 1976 features a story in which a newly married couple head to the bride's ancestral plantation home. There, the couple notice that the girl looks strangely like a lot like the painting of a family member who died in the pre-antebellum era. According to legend, the ancestor died mysterious overseas and nobody knows where she was buried. So the ghost of her paramour haunts the plantation, desperate to be reunited with his eternal love. When a series of near tragedies before the new groom, could he be targeted by the ghost of the spurned lover hoping to be reunited with this look-a-like bride?

If this sounds pretty complicated- it is. But the plot isn't the worst thing about this story. It's the cover. Now, I love the painted cover by Gold Key icon George Wilson. It alone is quite eye catching. However, it gives away a very important plot point. In this day and age, such a spoiler wouldn't fly. 

In this day and age, another thing that wouldn't fly would be the story itself. The overall setting of a former slave plantation and the devoted black servant that still serves in the abandoned home is rather racist. 

Will this cause me to burn the book? If you know me and my blog at all, I am a champion of free speech. Plus, I am married to a Jewish princess. So the answer is NO. If anything, as I consider myself an semi-professional comic book historian, I plan on holding on to this for the next time I might want to site something on an article on race in comics or something.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed. There was a back-up feature. But I can't for the life of me remember what it was about. And the one-page prose story about a legendary find of gold treasure in England was so poorly written. I am surprised the United State Post Office approved it for Gold Key's First Class mail requirements.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

The Powerpuff Girls: The Bureau of Bad #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. Today's selection is all about the bad guys in the first issue of IDW's The Powerpuff Girls: The Bureau of Bad. 

Many of the Powerpuff Girls biggest enemies have teamed up in hopes of bringing Bubbles, Buttercup, and Blossom down one and for all. But in order to do that, the likes of Mojo Jojo, Sadusa, and Butterfingers must decide who will lead them. They all can't be the head of the Bureau of Bad! 

So in order to determine who will be the leader of the Doom Room, each villain will recount how they came the closest to taking down the Powerpuff Girls. First up is Princess Morbucks' tale of how she started her own version of the Powerpuff Girls and reduced her enemies to 'nothing.'

This opening chapter of the Bureau of Bad reminds me of one of the greatest episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, 'Almost Got "Im.' In that story, all of Batman's greatest villains including the Joker, Two-Face, and Killer Croc recount how they all almost took down the Dark Knight. Having the Powerpuff Girls' enemies tell their version of events is pretty similar to that great episode and as someone who isn't really familiar with this franchise, I was pleasantly surprised with how good this first issue was!

Issue #1 is written by the team of Haley Mancini and Jake Goldman. The latter is a regular writer on the show. But it's Mancini who really sparked my interest as she is the voice of Princess Morbucks. Who better to delve into the psyche of the character than the actress who brings her to life? 

I'd be really interested to know if the actors behind some of the other characters who are members of the Bureau of Bad will be writing their alter-egos own stories. Unfortunately, upon further review on the IDW Publishing listings for issues #2 and 3, I don't think that's likely as only Mancini and Goldman are listed as the writers for those installments. 

As for the art, it looks pretty darn close to what the cartoon series looks like. Again, I'm no expert of the Powerpuff Girls. But, I think artist Philip Murphy did a very photo-realistic job. 

The Powerpuff Girls: The Bureau of Bad #1 was a very entertaining opening chapter. I think it's got a lot of potential. A perfect read for not just fans of the show but as this introduces readers to all of the baddies, this is a great starting point for newbies. 

This all-ages comic book retails for $3.99. It debuted in stores on November 29th in comic book shops nationwide.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

A Classic TV Christmas: Advent 2017 Day 1

Every year, I like to do an advent calendar on this page. For me, it's a fun way to explore the holiday under a certain theme. 

This year's theme is A Classic TV Christmas. For Day 1, I choose to look at the I Love Lucy Christmas Special. Several TV shows beat Lucy to the claim of being the first holiday theme episode of a mainstream television series. But I had never seen any of those shows or they were a portion of an anthology series like Playhouse Theatre and didn't involve a regular series cast.

When I think of classic TV shows getting into the holiday spirit, this is the first thing that comes to mind. In this classic episode, Little Ricky is anxious for Santa to arrive. His father tells him that Santa will not bring presents or the Christmas Tree unless Little Ricky goes to bed! 

As the tyke sleeps, the gang get into a series of misadventures decorating the tree and I think a toy or two gets damaged. Meanwhile, everyone reflects back on when Lucy learned she was pregnant and a series of flashbacks occur. Finally, Christmas morning arrives and Lucy, Ricky, along with friends Fred and Ethel all dress as Santa to surprise Little Ricky. Only there's five Santas in the Ricardo living room! Whose the fifth Jolly Old Elf?

The original, but sadly colorized special is set to air on December 22. As my Advent gift to you, I found a lost clip from a 1951 episode of I Love Lucy. Had it aired, it would have been the first ever Christmas episode. But for some reason, the idea was shelved until '56. 

So snuggle up, poor yourself some hot cocoa, and enjoy this about 4 minute long clip...