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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

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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01:23:03

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/07

🐰 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 Lunch,

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01:02:28

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Not a Christmas Story

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/05

🎄 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). **** 💬

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00:45:53

Futurama: A Tale of Two Santas

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/07/03

🌴 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. An ode

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00:04:01

Futurama: Xmas Story

Advent Calendar House ·

2025/04/01

🌴 It’s either 1999 or the year 3000, and a killer robot Santa is…wait, what month is it?Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost. Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

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01:40:00

Friends: The One with the Holiday Armadillo

Advent Calendar House ·

2024/12/25

🎄It’s the year 2000, and Christmas and Hanukkah have crossed path 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 the

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02:05:00

Babes in Toyland (1986)

Advent Calendar House ·

2024/12/24

🎄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, Remember

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02:28:48

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

Advent Calendar House ·

2024/12/22

🎄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,

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01:18:10

Santa and the Three Bears

Advent Calendar House ·

2024/12/20

🎄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

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01:07:08

Justice League: Comfort and Joy

Advent Calendar House ·

2024/12/18

🎄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 Silver

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01:13:57

Mama’s Family: Santa Mama

Advent Calendar House ·

2024/12/16

🎄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 Lights

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00:57:57

Count Duckula: A Christmas Quacker

Advent Calendar House ·

2024/12/14

🎄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

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