Favorite Christmas Shows Countdown: #6 All Creatures Great & Small

#6: All Creatures Great & Small: Merry Gentlemen

I would say that it’s a pretty good bet that not very many people reading this blog have a clue as to what All Creatures Great & Small was, if any of you know at all. So, for some background, this was a television series which aired in Great Britain in the 1970’s and 80’s on the BBC and also aired on PBS for many years after that. This would have to be my dad’s favorite television show, as he watches it more than any other, and when we were growing up, we became quite familiar with it.

Basically, All Creatures is the story of a country vet in northern England named James Herriot (Christopher Timothy). The story takes place in the fictional town of Darrowby in Yorkshire in the 1930’s and is based on the novels written by Herriot in the late 60’s. James real name was Alfred Wight, and he based the stories on his early experiences as a vet in that area.

Harry Potter fans will recognize Siegfried as Cornelius Fudge

James works for Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy), an off the wall vet who, while being pompous and prone to anger fits also has a tremendous heart. Also working there is Siegfried’s brother Tristan (Peter Davidson) who is a vet student working on his degree. Tristan is the party type, laid back and prone to drink, but is an overall easy going fellow. Also living in the home is James’ wife Helen (Carol Drinkwater) and Mrs. Hall (Mary Hignett) the housekeeper.

The particular episode featured here is a Christmas themed one, of which they didn’t have many. Christmas is abuzz in Darrowby and the house is planning its Christmas events and traditions. James is out working on a horse and meets with a family of traveling nomads led by the father, a man named Myatt.

Myatt learns that one of his foals is getting sick and the staff at Skeldale house (the vet clinic) work to restore the health to this little horse because Myatt’s daughter, Margie is quite fond of it. However, being nomads, the Myatt’s are proud and Mr. Myatt figures the best course of action is to put the foal down. After all, a sick animal isn’t much use to them. The vet’s, especially Siegfried plead with Myatt to let them continue the work, and after some discussion, Myatt swallows his pride and allows them to continue their work, for Margie’s sake.

Meanwhile, many other stories are also discussed. We hear from an All Creatures favorite, Mrs. Pumphrey and her toy dog, Trickie Woo. Mrs. Pumphrey dotes on Trickie as if he were a child, and her constant attention and feeding of little treats almost kills the dog. The vet’s arrive in time, though almost into each other, much to Siegfried’s displeasure.

All three convince Mrs. Pumphrey to allow them to take Trickie back to Skeldale for round the clock nursing. Each day, Mrs. Pumphrey phones at the exact same time, and often comes around dressed in black because she believes Trickie has died. However this is not to be and he regains his health as soon as possible. Mrs. Pumphrey is, naturally, overjoyed, and sends many presents to the household as a way of saying thanks.

There’s a couple of minor stories. One in which Tristan asks Siegfried about a locked room, and wonders what’s inside. He decides to sneak in one night, and is given the shock of his life.

The other story involves the three vets going out and getting a Christmas tree. This part holds a particular fondness to me and my family because we also go out and cut down our tree each year. We always joke about how we follow this scene when we go out and many times, our experience is very similar to how it was in the episode.

What I like about British television is that there are no commercials, so if an episode was supposed to be an hour long, it was an hour long. You could see real acting taking place, and being honed, and there was plenty of time to tell complete stories.

One year we all piled into Dad's old pickup truck and we were packed in much the same as pictured here.

If you want to watch this show, I’d suggest watching the first several episodes so you can learn who the characters are, and then you can watch the episode. It’s really the best way to enjoy it.

The All Creatures Great & Small show was excellent television, though we often gave Dad grief for watching it so much, and Merry Gentlemen is by far my favorite episode of the entire series. An excellent choice for anyone at this time of the year. 

Favorite Christmas Shows Countdown: #7 It's A Wonderful Life

#7 It’s A Wonderful Life

The Frank Capra classic is a holiday favorite of many. It’s one of the oldest Christmas classics, and yet at the same time, it isn’t really a holiday film. Christmas doesn’t really happen till the end of the film, and isn’t a major factor throughout. Still, this film is closely connected to Christmas and is a favorite of mine.

It’s a Wonderful Life is the story of George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart). In fact, it is the entire story of George Bailey. George spends his entire life working to ensure the welfare of others. When he is young, he saves his younger brother after falling into ice, an act which causes him to lose his hearing in one ear. As he grows older, George stops an elderly pharmacist from putting the wrong chemical into pill capsules, and as he gets older, life has a funny way of showing that George will not get all that he wants to get out of life.

His father runs a The Bailey Building and Loan company in Bedford Falls. The Building and Loan is one of the few establishments that haven’t been corrupted by the town’s greedy miser, Potter (Lionel Barrymore). 

As George grows up, he wants to leave the town and set out on his own, but his father wants him to stay at home and help run the Building and Loan. George hates his town, but his father dies suddenly, and the trustees at the bank want to close it unless George takes over. So, knowing Potter would take advantage of the poor of Bedford Falls, George stays. He gives his brother his money for college and stays home.

Throughout the movie, we are shown parts of George’s life. He marries a beautiful girl, Mary Hatch (Donna Reed) and has a family, but the whole time, he cannot escape the mundane life that he has found himself in. While he is helping Bedford Falls, little by little, he cannot see the result of his work.

It all comes to a head at Christmas in 1945. George’s Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) while going to the bank, loses a large deposit. This puts the building and loan in a bind, and George panics as he doesn’t know what to do when the bank examiners arrive.

He snaps at his family, and others, and finally, after confronting Potter runs from the law, who is out to arrest him. He ends up contemplating suicide by jumping off a bridge, but instead, his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers) jumps in before he does, which forces George to save him.

George tells Clarence that he wishes he’d never been born, and Clarence shows him what would have happened to Bedford Falls if that had happened. George doesn’t know what to make of this bizarre world and town (called Pottersville instead of Bedford Falls) and when he is shown what happened to all those he helped; George begins to understand how important his life has been for those in the town.

He returns home, grateful for the opportunities life has afforded him, and he is greeted by his family and friends who surround him with the means to get out of any financial hardships he is in.

It’s a Wonderful Life has been copied, and parodied many times since its release. Marlo Thomas starred in a updated version in the 1970’s (which is very good, but not sold for some reason) and SNL also did a great parody of the film. Heck, even I found a way to parody the film at one point.

Still though It’s a Wonderful Life is a great film. It’s an old film to be sure, and I know many people may not care for classic movies (Dennis Beverly) but watching it today, you’d be surprised how well it holds up. The themes throughout the film are universal, and are simple enough to identify with. The acting is superb and executed flawlessly, and the story is relevant today as ever before.

There are times when we get so caught up in our own personal crap that we forget how our mere existence impacts others around us. I try to take time and let people know, from time to time, how much they mean to me personally, and how much I appreciate having known them and how much it means to me that they’ve been a part of my life.

It may sound cheesy, and frankly, I don’t care. It’s a Wonderful Life reminds us to appreciate what we have in front of us, because you never know how much of an impact even the smallest gesture can have.

It’s a lesson that is more relevant today than ever before.

Favorite Christmas Shows Countdown: #8 Home Alone

#8 Home Alone

The producer John Hughes was one of the most gifted movie makers of the 1980’s and 90’s. Sure he had many duds to this career resume, but he also was able to make some of the most memorable films of that time. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Planes Trains and Automobiles, and Uncle Buck are several which come to mind. However, at this time of year, I try to return to one holiday film which I’ve considered one of his best.

When it was released, Home Alone became the number one comedy in America, and continued to hold that title until 2009. It was an instant holiday classic, and made Macaulay Culkin an international film star at the age of ten. The film was so successful, that it spawned a number of sequels, with the second one being the best of those that followed.

Though, to be fair, the world was introduced to Scarlett Johnsson in the third movie.

However, the first film is the one which is remembered the most, as is the one that is the most beloved.

Home Alone is the story of Kevin McCallister. An eight year old boy who is the youngest in the household. The film opens on an evening at the family home in Chicago as the McCallister’s are getting ready for a Christmas vacation to Paris France. Kevin is shown to be annoying and a bit of a burden to his family and extended family who happen to be at the home, but to be fair, they are so self-absorbed in their own petty problems as well.

The parents, Peter and Kate McCallister (John Heard and Catherine O’Hara) oversleep and almost cause the family to miss their plane to France, but in their rush, they forget to bring Kevin along. When he realizes this, he is ecstatic as he now has the run of the house. So he does all the things he couldn’t do while his family was there (like sled down the stairs, or go into his older brother, Buzz’s room and mess with his things)

The McCallisters realize their error while enroute to Paris, and so the movie cuts from scenes from them on the plane and in Paris, and Kevin at home. Kevin, for his part, learns quickly how there are many scary things in the world, and he needs to learn to cope all alone.

While all this is going on, two burglars, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) have been breaking into homes in Kevin’s neighborhood and have had their eyes on the McCallister house. Kevin manages to thwart them a couple of times but they eventually learn he is home alone.

The two underestimate Kevin, and plan to enter the home anyway. But little do they know that Kevin has plans for them, and through a series of hilarious booby-traps throughout house, brings about the fall of the two Wet Bandits.

There’s much that I love about Home Alone, and the majority of it is watching how Kevin thwarts the two morons. But there are two other aspects of the film that make it a the classic that it is today.

The first is the addition of a Hughes favorite in a cameo role. The great John Candy plays a guy that meets Kate McCallister in an airport while she is trying to get home to Kevin. This guy, Gus Polinski is very similar to his character of Del Griffith in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Gus has a polka band that is quite popular in that field, and they are on the road much of year. They are stuck in the airport too and offer Kate a ride to Chicago in the back of their Ryder truck. While enroute, there are some fantastic scenes between Kate and Gus where they talk about life, and family, and such.

The second aspect of the film, and by far my favorite part of the movie, is the addition of Roberts Blossom as Kevin’s neighbor, Old Man Marley. Marley is a bit of a loner and early in the film, Kevin’s douche of a brother Buzz tells a tale of how Marley killed his entire family many years ago. It isn’t true of course, but Kevin doesn’t know that, and several times when he meets Marley, he is scared out of his mind.

Before taking on Harry and Marv, Kevin has a crisis of courage and goes inside a church while the choir is practicing for its Christmas service. He sees Marley, and rather than get scared, allows the old man to sit with him. He and Marley talk about things, and help each other out. Kevin learns that Marley came alone because he wanted to hear his granddaughter sing, but couldn’t during the service, as he and his son had a falling out many years ago.

In his own simple way, Kevin helps Marley to understand how things in the past are the past, and he should make an effort to make peace with his son before it’s too late. By the end of the movie, Kevin looks out a window in his home, and see’s the result of his advice.

Home Alone is a great film. It is funny, poignant, serious when it needs to be, and holds a lot of heart. Chris Columbus may have directed it, but you can clearly see Hughes influence at work. As any Hughes film, it is an American classic, and gets better with each viewing every year. 

Favorite Christmas Shows Countdown: #9 The Muppet Christmas Carol

#9 The Muppet Christmas Carol

No Christmas story, save that of the Nativity, has been portrayed, performed and adapted as much as A Christmas Carol. Each year countless adaptations are played and everyone has a favorite. This isn’t my favorite, but it is a version that I like and enjoy year after year.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is the telling of the traditional Charles Dickens story through the use of the Muppet characters. Gonzo plays Charles Dickens himself, narrating the story. Kermit is Bob Cratchet, Fozzie is Mr. Fozziewig (a pun on his name to be sure), Miss Piggy is Mrs. Cratchet, and so on and so forth.

The story is a straight approach to the classic version, albeit with bits of humor mixed into it. We meet Dickens and Rizzo the Rat as they talk about the miser named Scrooge. We meet Scrooge and hear and see examples as to why he is despised so much for his greed. Scrooge earns his reputation and is a cheap and pitiful man. We also learn that Scrooge inherited his wealth from the Marley Brothers (played by Statler and Waldorf, naturally) who were named Jacob and Robert Marley.

Robert Marley being a take on musician Bob Marley to be sure.

Scrooge is taken to all the places including the past, where he sees Fozziewigs Rubber Chicken Factory, the present, where he witnesses his nephew Fred and his family as well as the Cratchet family, and then to a possible future where he is transformed into a better man.

Throughout the whole film, songs are sung, as they are in every Muppet movie which attempt to bring about meaning to a particular scene or situation. When Scrooge is introduced, when he is learning about Christmas in the present, and at the end when it is all wrapped up, each section has a song in it, written by Paul Williams, who wrote many classic Muppet songs including “Rainbow Connection”

However, what makes this version work, and frankly, the only reason it is on this list, is the addition of the great Michael Caine as the character of Ebenezer Scrooge. Caine took on the role, a part to which he is fully apt at playing in almost any circumstance, and played it straight to the Muppet characters he had around them.

What makes this version so fascinating is simply that. A great actor, is playing against fellow actors who are Muppets, and is able to do it as if they were also real people. Caine made the Muppet Christmas Carol, and without him, it wouldn’t be as remembered today.

The Muppet Christmas Carol was also the first movie done since the death of the Muppet creator Jim Henson. For many years, the films were on hold until the company could recover and get back on its feet. The movie is also dedicated to him.

Muppet movies are usually star studded affairs, with many popular actors of the day taking on minor, cameo roles, and many great actors have made their mark on the pop culture by appearing in a Muppet movie. However this version left the cameos out, and instead opted to make a straight adaptation.

When it was released, I can remember my family, when we would get together at Christmas, would act out various scenes from this movie, because we all liked it so much. It became a must see version of the film, and it is one watch at least once each year. 

Sometimes, it’s nice to take a walk down memory lane, and this film serves as a nice roadmap to get there.

Making sense of tragic events.

Words cannot describe the emotions that I have been grappling with today. There are days when I love my job. If it is to document a story of hope, recovery, or a good thing happening in the community, I love telling the world about those situations. Other days, like today, I really hate my job. Because I have to relay tragic news to people in a matter of fact fashion, and it isn’t at all easy to do so when the news you are reading is so horrific.

Many know what has transpired, and naturally, people have decided to vent their anger, sadness or frustration out on someone or something in an effort to rationalize it. I really don’t know why people do this. I suppose it’s simple human nature. We believe that by pointing fingers to a situation, we can convince ourselves that that situation is the only reason bad things happen, and if we were to remove the situation, nothing bad could ever happen again.

Let me honestly ask you, when in history has this ever proved to be true?

While I was driving into town today, I heard a report from someone who wondered why these days it seems like stories of mass killing happen. They queried about this by noting that it seems to have been a recent occurrence in this country. I couldn’t help but think about another incident that I read about recently which was just as horrific and heinous.

Many don’t remember the Bath School Disaster. How could we? It happened in 1927, a time before us, and before many of our parents and grandparents. And still, what happened at the Bath Township School in Michigan was equally horrific as what happened in Newton.

Bath school before the bombing

There were three bombings. The bomber, a man by the name of Andrew Kehoe, blew up his home, killing his family, and also blew up a section of the local elementary school where he served as a board member. After blowing up his home, and after the school bombing, which had been timed, Kehoe drove his pickup over to the school and observed emergency crews working on the debris. He called over the superintendent, with whom he’d been fighting with, and when the man came over, Kehoe blew up his truck, killing himself, the superintendent, and several bystanders including children.

After the bombing

In all, 45 people were killed in the bombing, including Kehoe and the superintendent. The rest were children ranging in age from 1^st through 12^th grade. (At that time, children of all grade levels attended the same school).

Memorial plaque at the site of the old school, which is now a memorial park.

This story and its impact are lost to history, mostly because several days later Charles Lindbergh made his famous solo flight.

I guess my overall point is that too often we try to rationalize the irrational. To try to make sense of that which cannot be made clear, and try to look for answers to questions. But in doing so, we find that we are only making excuses for those who have evil in their hearts and malice in their minds. They may have tools by which they commit horrific acts of violence, but ultimately, they alone have made the choice to use them. We cannot look beyond that simple fact.

My hope is that we don’t starting hating each other for who we are. Because doing so leads to incidents such as what happened today. We need to come together, mourn and learn to live with the aftermath. We can never fully protect, nor prevent tragic events. We can only hope, pray, and live to ensure that tomorrow will be a better day.

Pray for those in Newton, Bath, and elsewhere around the world affected by violence.

Favorite Christmas Shows Countdown: #10 Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

#10 Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

Rankin Bass is well known for their many holiday themed productions. Perhaps the most well-known and renowned one would be Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. Frosty the Snowman is also a well-known production. For his part, my brother likes The Little Drummer Boy, as he’s a fan of that song. All are great, but I like one in particular. In this production, Rankin Bass tells a story about the origins of Santa Claus.

Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town takes the old song, and through it, tells a story about how Santa came to be, and exist. Of course, the real story is much different, with many different interpretations from many different cultures. So what this production tried to do was combine many of the cultures stories into one coherent narrative, and I believe they were successful.

The story is told by a friendly mailman (Fred Astaire) who delivers mail in the north. He apparently knows Santa well, and tells the story to the voices of the children who have sent letters to Santa. He begins by saying that many years ago, in a tiny town far in the north called Sombertown, a child named Claus was cast out by the grouchy old ill-tempered, child-hating Mayor of Sombertown, Burgermeister Meisterburger (Paul Frees). 

The child ends up at the home of the Kringles. The Kringles are a family of little people who make toys, but they have no way to ship the toys to the children of Sombertown. They would take them, but the forest which they live in is also inhabited by the nasty Winter Warlock (Kennan Wynn).

The Kringles adopt the baby Claus into their family and name him Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney). He eventually grows into a man and decides to make the trip to Sombertown, as he’s bigger than the rest of the Kringles. The Kringles fashion him their trademark coat and hat and he is off. He narrowly avoids the Winter Warlock, and when he arrives in Sombertown, confronts Meisterburger. 

The Mayor naturally takes a dislike of Kris, and swears out an arrest of Kris and anyone who plays with toys in his town. Kris narrowly escapes only to be captured by the Winter Warlock, but shows compassion to the wizard, and he begins to melt his cold exterior. Eventually, the Warlock reforms, and changes his name to simply Winter.

Throughout the course of the film, you learn (at least for the purposes of the story) many of the traditions, such as why Santa leaves toys in the stockings (to hide them from Meisterburger) and how the reindeer learn to fly (to help Kris and the others escape from jail when they are captured) and also why Santa goes down the chimney (because the doors in Sombertown were ordered locked)

Kris, and a penguin he befriends named "Topper"

Things get so bad that eventually Kris and the other Kringles (including a teacher from Sombertown who he befriended and fell for named Jessica) have to go into hiding. Kris grows a beard, and the whole party makes tracks for the North Pole where they set up shop. Kris also begins to go by his real name, Santa Claus, to avoid the ties to the Kringle name.

When my friend Elliott grew out his beard, many remarked how he looked like Santa.
I leave it to you to decide

As world of Santa’s delivery’s spreads, he becomes stretched thin, and decides to make one trip each year, choosing Christmas as he believed it to be the holiest and most magical night of the whole year. And that’s how the origins of Santa Claus came to be.

Obviously it isn’t the whole story, but for children (and frankly, adults) it’s a great take on the character and events. The film is cast well, with Rooney, Wynn, and the rest exceptional for their parts. Rooney especially would go on to play Santa Claus many more times throughout his career. The mailman even dances a bit, a take on Astaire’s career as a dancer on stage.

The film is a musical, to be sure, as many of the Rankin Bass productions are, but the story is coherent, entertaining, and enjoyable to watch each and every year. It is, perhaps, my all-time favorite of their productions and one that has had a lasting impact.

Favorite Christmas Shows Countdown: #11 Prancer

#11: Prancer

This movie is a new one for me. It’s new, in the sense that the first time I saw Prancer was last year at Christmas time. I heard about it, mostly in a manner which was in an effort to make fun of it, but I never took the time to watch it. It’s a pity really, because it is an amazing film, which really captures the essence of the Christmas season.

Prancer is the story of Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell) an eight year old girl living in a small town in the Midwest. Jessica is as innocent as a girl could possibly be and she loves Christmas. Her mother died recently, and as a result she is in the care of her rough, quiet, and protective father (Sam Elliott). Jessica’s family has fallen on hard times and making Christmas memorable is the last thing on Mr. Riggs plate. He loves his daughter immensely, but doesn’t know how to show it.

At any rate, while coming home from school on day Jessica finds a hurt reindeer who she believes to be Santa's reindeer Prancer. As she nurses Prancer back to health, a deep bond grows between the two. At first, she doesn’t want anyone to know about Prancer, but eventually she lets her brother, Steve (John Duda) in as well as a friendly old veterinarian (Abe Vigoda). In order to raise money to help Prancer, she also befriends the old town recluse (Cloris Leachman), who finds Jessica’s innocence to be refreshing from the world she has inhabited over the years.

Eventually, Mr. Riggs discovers Prancer living in the barn, and he and Jessica clash, despite revealing brief moments of deep love for his daughter, he does not understand Jessica's special love for helping the reindeer. After a misunderstanding, he sells Prancer to a business owner temporarily. His walls of hard feelings begin break down and he and Jessica finally forge a deep, loving bond. Jessica, after several emotional and physical struggles between her best friend, her family, and the town, manages to cure Prancer and set him free, where he is seen flying to the sky to rejoin the other seven deer of Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve.

I’m going to be honest. It is difficult not to be moved by this movie, and it’s hard not to like it. I suppose that what I like best about it is that while it’s a happy ending, not much has changed. The family problems that the Riggs family has still exist after the film, as they would for any of us, but what makes it so special is how the film demonstrates, for those brief moments, the power of a family who has a genuine love and affection for each other. It’s not contrived, nor overstated.

One scene in particular really gets to the heart of the film. After Jessica gets hurt trying to free Prancer from the tree lot, she is taken home, and Mr. Riggs has a talk with her about what the family has been going through over the last couple of years. It is an incredibly moving moment, in a film full of them.

And I challenge anyone not to be completely taken in by Harrell’s portrayal of Jessica Riggs. I have never seen a child actress inhibit such innocence, warmth, genuine cheer and affection and be able to channel all those emotions so well in a movie. I realize that the Academy of Motion Pictures wouldn’t be caught dead awarding a best actress award to a child, let alone a child in a Christmas movie, and that’s a real shame. If anyone can find a better performance in any other movie, I’d like to see it.

As a movie, as all movies, Prancer isn’t perfect. It might be cheesy at times for some, and contrived for others, but for me, it is almost perfect. It’s a heavy movie, to be sure, but has a genuine charm, wit, and appreciation for the season that is sorely lacking in many modern films. It is a great movie and I look forward to it every year.