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PODCAST

Advent Calendar House

A salute to all TV holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones. Revisit 12 holiday classics and not-so-classics each December and July.

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

64:45

Xena: Warrior Princess - A Solstice Carol

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/21

🎄 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

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63:18

VeggieTales - The Toy That Saved Christmas

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/20

🎄 Fresh from 1996 comes a Christmas tale that’ll make you cry, but only because it’s being told by an onion. Anthony Strand hops along for the ride as we buzz back to the VeggieTales’ first Christmas special, in which the only children’s toy that comes with a working circular saw embarks on a quest to find the true reason for the season. 📺 You can watch the official version of “The Toy That Saved Christmas” for free on YouTube, or the original 1996 version on the Internet Archive.

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78:22

Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/18

🎄 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. **** 💬 Topics & Tangents:

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66:54

Hanukah Under the Umbrella Tree

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/16

🕎 Celebrate Hanukkah with a community talent show we don’t even get to watch. We’ve miraculously found another Hanukkah special — with yet another spelling of it — so join us as we instantly reappear back in 1991 with a bunch of Canadian animal puppets to discover the magic of the holiday Under the Umbrella Tree. April Ryley is our lovely assistant as we meet a humble shopkeeper and former magician once known as “The Great Goldberg,” played by the equally great Harvey Atkin. 📺 As of

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94:08

A Christmas Carol: The Musical

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/14

🎄 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

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85:51

Perfect Strangers - The Gift of the Mypiot

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/12

🎄 Your podcast feed or burst! Join us as we dance joyfully back to 1988 for a very special episode of “Perfect Strangers,” in which Balki invites his grouchy boss to a Christmas Eve party, whether Cousin Larry and their co-workers like it or not. Shawn Robare and William Bruce West join the party which, despite IMDb’s summary, is not a “Christmas Carol parody.” If anything, Mr. Gorpley’s the Grinch. And hey, a pre-“Family Matters” Harriette Winslow is here! But why isn’t she with her own

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77:04

The Cabbage Patch Kids’ First Christmas

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/10

🎄 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

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133:00

The Muppets - Single All the Way

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/08

🎄 It’s been 10 years since the Muppets’ 2015 TV series gave us the gift of a Christmas episode, so it’s time to stay Up Late with Miss Piggy and find out if we can take it seriously, or if it left us because we couldn’t stop making jokes about it. Becca Petunia and J.D. Hansel of ToughPigs.com join the chaos including, but not limited to: a rigged Secret Santa! Gross and unhelpful mistletoe strategy! And, of course, Echosmith! 📺 You can find “Single All the Way” on Disney+. Becca’s

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100:11

Sonic Christmas Blast

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/06

🎄 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”

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75:44

The Town Santa Forgot

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/04

🎄 Found under a pile of too many toys, enough for 442 boys, is a little-known gem of a Christmas special from 1993. Chad Young from the Horror Movie BBQ, Jeff Loftin from the Lost Christmas Podcast, and Sean Sotka from ChristmasPodcasts.com join us for the story of Jeremy Creek, a kid so greedy, Santa mistook his list for an entire town’s. Featuring the voices of Dick Van Dyke, Hal Smith, and the kid from “Kindergarten Cop” who gave us an anatomy lesson. 📺 You can find “The Town Santa

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74:28

The Simpsons - ’Tis the Fifteenth Season

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/12/02

🎄 “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

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97:12

Psych - The Polarizing Express

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/11/01

🍍 I’ve hidden a pineapple somewhere in this episode, and if you can find it… you get nothing. Sorry. The Advent Calendar House is back for Christmas Podcast Day. This year, a bunch of your yuletide podcast pals are dropping episodes themed to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and that gave me a premonition to take a closer look at a very merry episode of “Psych” from 2010. Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas joins this examination of our superego, taking the form of renowned actor Tony Cox as

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01:22:50

The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries: The Nutcracker Scoob

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/23

🎄 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

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01:43:17

The Thanksgiving Promise

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/21

🦃 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

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00:48:48

Taz-Mania: No Time for Christmas

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/19

🎄 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 and the

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01:05:42

Santabear’s High Flying Adventure

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/17

🎄 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 on

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01:04:31

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: Mrs. Zabarelli’s...

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/15

🎄 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? “The noozle

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01:17:05

Roseanne: Halloween IV

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/13

🎃 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”

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01:36:27

The Charmings: Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/11

🎄 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

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01:02:57

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Christmas Aliens

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/09

🎄 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+. ****

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200 results

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