CBS announces Summer plans

CBS   Summer TV 

        CBS has announced it's summer premiere dates for  some of it's summer series  including  new seasons of  "Big Brother" , "Under the Dome" , and "Extant" and a new series "ZOO"

from Press release

“Zoo,” a New Drama Based on James Patterson’s #1 Bestselling Novel,Debuts Tuesday, June 30 at 9:00 PMPerennial Reality Hit “Big Brother” Returns with a Special Two-Night Premiere, onWednesday, June 24 and Thursday, June 25, Both at 8:00 PM“Under the Dome” Debuts with a Two-Hour Premiere onIts New Night, Thursday, June 25 at 9:00-11:00 PMSeason Two of “Extant,” Starring Academy Award Winner Halle Berry,Premieres Wednesday, July 1 at 10:00 PMCBS today announced premiere dates for its lineup of original summer programing that includes the new drama ZOO, returning event series UNDER THE DOME and EXTANT, and the summer reality hit BIG BROTHER.ZOO, a new drama based on the #1 bestselling novel by James Patterson, will premiere Tuesday, June 30(9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). In the series, a wave of violent animal attacks against humans begin taking place across the globe. As the assaults become more cunning, coordinated and ferocious, a young renegade biologist (James Wolk) is thrust into the race to unlock the pandemic’s mystery before there’s no place left for people to hide.BIG BROTHER debuts with a special two-night premiere on Wednesday, June 24 and Thursday, June 25, both at 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT. The Thursday edition, featuring the live eviction show hosted by Julie Chen, moves to its regular time period on July 2 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). The Sunday broadcast premieres June 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). Last summer, all three editions of BIG BROTHER regularly won their time periods in key young demographics and ranked among the summer’s top 10 programs in both adults 18-49 and adults 18-34.UNDER THE DOME returns for its third season with a special two-hour premiere on its new night, Thursday, June 25 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). It moves to its regular time period on Thursday, July 2 (10:00-11:00 PM), following BIG BROTHER, forming a strong two-hour block of established summer hit shows. Based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel, UNDER THE DOME tells the story of a small town that is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an enormous transparent dome. This season, Emmy Award winner Marg Helgenberger will guest star in an extended story arc, beginning with the premiere episode, as the town’s inhabitants figure out the Dome’s purpose and what it wants from them. UNDER THE DOME was last summer’s most-watched (11.32m) and highest-rated scripted program in adults 18-49 (2.8/09) and adults 25-54 (3.7/10).EXTANT, a serialized mystery thriller starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry, makes its sophomore debutWednesday, July 1 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). This season, astronaut Molly Woods (Berry) discovers she has unwittingly put the human race on a path to destruction, and that she and mysterious stranger J.B. Richter (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) may be the only hope for survival. In its first season, EXTANT was the most-watched new scripted program of the summer, winning its Wednesday 10:00-11:00 PM time period in viewers (8.65m) and key demographics.
About ZOO:ZOO, based on the #1 bestselling novel by James Patterson, stars James Wolk, Kristen Connolly, Billy Burke, Nonso Anozie and Nora Arnezeder. Jeff Pinkner, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg and Michael Katleman are executive producers with James Mangold, Cathy Konrad, James Patterson, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout and Steve Bowen. Brad Anderson is directing and also serves as an executive producer. ZOO is a CBS Television Studios production.
About BIG BROTHER:BIG BROTHER follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with more than 53 cameras and 97 microphones, recording their every move 24 hours a day. Each week, the House Guests will vote someone out of the house. At the end, the last remaining House Guest will receive the grand price of $500,000.BIG BROTHER is produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan for Fly on the Wall Entertainment, in association with Endemol U.S.A.
About UNDER THE DOME:UNDER THE DOME, based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel, stars Dean Norris, Mike Vogel, Rachelle Lefevre, Alex Koch, Colin Ford, Mackenzie Lintz and Eddie Cahill. UNDER THE DOME is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Amblin Television. Steven Spielberg, Neal Baer, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Stacey Snider, Peter Leto and Tim Schlattmann are executive producers.
About EXTANT:EXTANT stars Halle Berry, new cast member Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Pierce Gagnon and Grace Gummer. EXTANT is a co-production of CBS Television Studios and Amblin Television. Steven Spielberg, Liz Kruger, Craig Shapiro, Mickey Fisher, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Halle Berry and Brooklyn Weaver are executive producers.
CBS SUMMER SCHEDULE
CBS Wednesday, June 248:00-9:00 PM              BIG BROTHER (Season Premiere, Night 1)9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMINAL MINDS (Repeat)10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: CYBER (Repeat)
CBS Thursday, June 258:00-9:00 PM              BIG BROTHER (Season Premiere, Night 2)9:00-11:00 PM            UNDER THE DOME (Two-Hour Third Season Premiere)
CBS Sunday, Effective June 287:00-8:00 PM              60 MINUTES (Repeat)8:00-9:00 PM              BIG BROTHER (Sunday Premiere)
CBS Tuesday, Effective June 308:00-9:00 PM              NCIS (Repeat)9:00-10:00 PM            ZOO (Series Premiere)10:00-11:00 PM          NCIS: NEW ORLEANS (Repeat)
CBS Wednesday, Effective July 18:00-9:00 PM              BIG BROTHER9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMINAL MINDS (Repeat)10:00-11:00 PM          EXTANT (Second Season Premiere)
CBS Thursday, Effective July 28:00-8:30 PM              THE BIG BANG THEORY (Repeat)8:30-9:00 PM              THE ODD COUPLE (Repeat)9:00-10:00 PM            BIG BROTHER (Regular Thursday Time Period Premiere)10:00-11:00 PM          UNDER THE DOME (Regular Thursday Time Period Premiere) 

Source : http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/releases/view?id=42045 

It's a Charlie Brown lookback : It's magic Charlie Brown

The Flashback 

    This year  marks the 65th birthday of the Peanuts comic strip and characters, there's even a big movie coming up this year with the Peanuts.  Here at Joshuaonline have decided to do a monthly feature looking back at  Peanuts TV specials but are not the big holiday one that's are repeated and loved each year.  There are ones that are either are aired much are not at all.  ( It's our duty to talk about these.)   Let's take a look at "It's Magic Charlie Brown".  (But first  a friendly warning there will possibly be some spoilers in this , we couldn't do it with out them)

    It aired on CBS (the original home of Peanuts TV specials) in 1981.

  Snoopy goes the library to educate himself and he gets a book called "How to Perform Magic" ( a hit seller)  and  as you would guess he starts to do a  magic show with Marcie as the lovely assistant .   It doesn't go well  (Peppermint Patty goes to pieces,)  One thing happens that does end up working , Charlie Brown goes invisible.  (Either that or they ran out of Charlie Brown ink)   He goes to snoopy to try and fix it the problem , first with soap , then mud, and a sheet. (Sounds like a Saturday night to me )  In this special  we get to see inside  Snoopy's  TARDIS like dog house ,  and oh yeah  Charlie Brown Kicks the football! all it took was where Lucy couldn't see him. ( A victory is a victory )  Lucy doesn't take kindly to this  as she threatens Snoopy to fix him. Snoopy reads the book more ( should have been a plan in the first place ,but we have 24 minutes to fill)  and eventually figures out how harness his powers.  Charlie Brown once again tries to kick the football invisible (now he's just being greedy) and since it's Charlie Brown that can't go right at that same time Snoopy makes him visible again.   Snoopy and Charlie Brown do get back at Lucy and leave her floating in air.   (Don't worry, Linus gets her down, mom must have wanted her home for Dinner)
 

Floating Lucy directed by Phil to stay up there/ ©1981 Peanuts 

 Anyway, that's our look at this special  find it and watch it .  It's not a holiday special  but it has great Peanuts humor  and alot of fun.  (That's a review)   Still would have been nice if Charlie Brown was able to kick the football and be seen. (Picky that way)

     Next month , we will do another Charlie Brown version of our Lookback .   

NBC Suspends Brian Williams for 6 months, No Pay

TV News  NBC 

  

      NBC has decided to suspend  "NBC Nightly News" anchor and managing editor  , Brian Williams for 6 months and no pay.  This stems from the revaluation that  the story he told about being in a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq in 2003 was false.  He apologized on February 4th , on February 7th it was announced that he was going to take a few days off from the Nightly News  , now as of February 10th  it was announced that he would suspended with no pay.

NBC News president , Deborah Turness  wrote :

All,


We have decided today to suspend Brian Williams as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News for six months. The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately. We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News.

         [ Later on]  

While on Nightly News on Friday, January 30, 2015, Brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003. It then became clear that on other occasions Brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues. This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position.


In addition, we have concerns about comments that occurred outside NBC News while Brian was talking about his experiences in the field.


As Managing Editor and Anchor of Nightly News, Brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times.

full letter here 


      Will Brian be back  to NBC  News or is this just a time off to figure how to remove him permanently ? That is unkown.

 

Shout Factory! Does streaming now

TV News 

          Shout Factory is  now getting into the streaming thing world.   Shout Factory is known as that company  that releases a lot of TV shows , you love and know from the past to DVD. Well now they are joining the streaming world.  You can watch  "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (not all the episodes, but still good if you don't get Retro TV)  Dennis the Menace (also on Hulu) , "Home Movies" and more .   It works on web browser,  Chromecast, Roku, and mobile devices no need to sign up or memberships  
  Take  a look for your self    http://www.shoutfactorytv.com/

The Lookback : Children's Programs : CBS Saturday Mornings Part I

The Lookback

     We take another  look at past Children's television this time, the CBS Television Network.  The Programs  looked at here don't have much in common , except the fact they are children's TV shows that aired on CBS. (Are you sure)
                                     
     1. Garfield and Friends  
     Garfield and Friends  is one of those TV series based on a comic-strip . The Series was based off two "Garfield" by Jim  Davis  and "U.S Acres" by Jim Davis (The less successful brother strip)  The TV series featured characters from both comic strips.   It premiered on  CBS in 1988 and ran until 1994. (Pretty good for a Cartoon at the time) .   The show was broken up into segments : it had 2"Garfield" Quckies , which were based off a  Sunday strip of the comic. It had two Garfield stories and Two U.S Acres story  2US.Acres quickies.    The End : CBS was in a cutting the budget mood the company that made the show didn't want to do that , so the end  happened , even though it had great ratings.
     
     It's Saturday Morning on a Monday Morning , interesting , CBS

2.  The Charlie  Brown and Snoopy Show   
    (Ok Maybe there is a theme)    The popular "Peanuts Characters" have been on TV alot  but didn't have  a TV series until 1983.  The Series ran on CBS (of course) for 2 seasons. It  was a mixture of non-connecting stories   many of them based off the comic strip. It


   Closing Credits  ,because why not

3. Back to the Future 
   We have a strange attachment to lesser heard shows  (yes we do!) , this one falls in the category of  cartoon TV series  based off a movie.   "Back to the Future" was a popular movie , it even had a  2nd and 3rd one , so why not make a series? ( no answer from me)  The series took place after the events in the 3rd movie  but in animated form. (Keeps people younger longer) .Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Mary Steenburgen and James Tolkan reprised their roles from the original movies.   It ran for 2 seasons on CBS  (gaining a full 26 episodes) .
 
Now on VHS ! , Finally something to add for the collection

4.The Tom and Jerry Comedy show ( not an hour)
     Tom and Jerry were popular , so CBS had series  that started in 1980.  Filmation had the rights to the ccharactersand made this series.   They  made the show slap stick (wonder if that means literally) and Spike ,Tyke , and Nibbles were added back in to the characters life.  The series was 2 Tom and Jerry cartoons with Droopy, another popular classic cartoon character, cartoon in the middle.  It ran 2 seasons  , until 1982. The Next Tom and Jerry series came in 1990 ( 8 years later).
   
    Interesting theme  , you know  interesting theme

5. Sabrina the Teenage Witch (huh?)
    There are two reactions to this  , some of you may be very confused and are thinking : CBS aired "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" on Saturday Mornings?  How? It was an ABC (later WB) show.   Others will have the rarer but correct response : Hey It's the old 1970's animated series based off the Archie comic of the same name.  Filmation  made the series it aired on CBS from 1971 to 1974  . It was a spin-off of the "Archie Comedy Hour" (one hour of fun) . The  Series was known in the first season as "Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies" ( which sounds like a 70's band)  then the "Sabrina Comedy hour" (Like the Archie comedy hour but with out the Archie). Season 2 was known as Sabrina Comedy Hour.  Anyway, no matter what it was called   , the series followed everyone's favorite teenager.  We also had the two aunts,  Salem the cat, and Harvey.  For people who remember the later live action series and animated series ( we talked about those before) , this series was closer based to the original comics.  All the other witches  including her aunts want her to be bad .
 
  Originally part of the Archie Comedy Hour watch on CBS !  the S means Sabrina

That's our journey (  I want my Money Back)  this time, tune in next time when we look at when CBS aired ABC primetime shows on Saturday  Mornings in a sneaky move to .... wait that didn't happen.

The 2015 Oscar Nominations

Oscars Awards 
   The Academy Awards nominees have been announced .  They will be on ABC February  22nd at  7PMET.

 Best Picture

"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"Selma"
"The Theory of Everything"
"Whiplash"

Best Director
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Best Actor
Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher" 
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"
Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”
Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"
Jason Hall, “American Sniper”
Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"
Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"

Best Original Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, "Foxcatcher" 
Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Leviathan"
"Ida"
"Tangerines"
“Timbuktu”
"Wild Tales"

Best Documentary Feature
"CITIZENFOUR"
“Finding Vivian Maier”
"Last Days in Vietnam"
“The Salt in the Earth”
"Virunga”

Best Animated Feature
"Big Hero 6"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
“Song of the Sea”
"The Tale of The Princess Kaguya"

Best Film Editing
"American Sniper"
"Boyhood"
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
"The Imitation Game"
"Whiplash"

Best Original Song
"Everything is Awesome" from "The LEGO Movie" (written by Shawn Patterson)
"Glory" from "Selma" (written by Common and John Legend)
"Grateful" from "Beyond the Lights" (written by Diane Warren)
"I’m Not Gonna Miss You" from "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" (written by Glen Campbell)
"Lost Stars" from "Begin Again" (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)

Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" 
Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"
Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything"
Gary Yershon, “Mr. Turner”
Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar"

Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins, "Unbroken"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman" 
Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"
Robert Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”

Best Costume Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“Inherent Vice”
"Into the Woods"
"Maleficent" 
"Mr. Turner"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
"Foxcatcher"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"

Best Production Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”
"Into the Woods"
"Mr. Turner"

Best Sound Editing
"American Sniper"
“Birdman”
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"
"Interstellar"
"Unbroken"

Best Sound Mixing
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
“Interstellar”
"Unbroken"
“Whiplash”

Best Visual Effects
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
"Interstellar"
"X-Men: Days of Future Past"

Best Short Film, Live Action
"Aya"
“Boogaloo and Graham”
“Butter Lamp”
“Parvaneh”
"The Phone Call"

Best Short Film, Animated
"The Bigger Picture"
"The Dam Keeper"
"Feast"
"Me and My Moulton"
“A Single Life”

Best Documentary, Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
"Joanna"
"Our Curse"
“The Reaper”
"White Earth"

Things to Look at for the TV and the Media in 2015

Opinions  TV Media 

   Goodbye 2014,  and that means that are are entering a new year  and that means a whole new year in anything can happen in world of TV and the media, we are taking a look at things that could possibly happen in the new year.

1. Cable Company Mergers 
  After the installation of  Tom Wheeler as head of the FCC last year, Comcast saw their chance to buy another cable company , Time Warner Cable, (no relation to Time Warner)  , the deal was announced early 2014 , but since it's a huge deal , even with a "friend in FCC" it's taking along time. If Comcast is allowed their prize it would be the biggest Cable company in the Untied States. There is also another deal up ... AT&T wants sat caster Direct TV, this deal was announced a few weeks after the Comcast one , this deal is also still be looked at.
         AT&T and Direct  TV have a better chance of their  marriage happening compared to  the other , though.   If Comcast-TWC is approved it would be a shock if AT&T -Direct TV is denied. If it's the  other way around , there's a better chance both would be denied.
   
2. Stand Alone TV 
     The Idea of al-a-carte Cable is a hard one ... but  that is not stopping CBS from launching a pay version  of CBS online where you can watch CBS programs on demand all you want and in areas where they own a TV station you can watch Live. HBO announced they are launching a streaming service for you folks with out the cable wires.
   What about the other networks?  Well , I don't See ABC doing that yet, but it could  , they currently have a deal  where you can go to Watch ABC sign in with your cable company (makes sense for a network TV doesn't it?) and watch their programs on demand and in markets where they own a station ,watch live online.  While ,they could launch a stand-alone service , that's not been announced yet.   NBC , well  they are owned by Comcast , would be interesting if NBC launched something like CBS all access  , but then again NBC would be getting money .   FOX ... is also  a network that could possibly launch one too.    In speaking of CBS, they are the owners of Showtime so maybe expect a stand-alone Showtime before stand-alone NBC.   Wait , a second  ... they are.
    Interesting , if everyone does it ... you might as well pay for cable.

3. Late Night TV 
  Apparently after ABC and NBC decided to switch up line ups in late night ,CBS hopped into the fun.  David Letterman is leaving the "The Late Show " and being replace by Stephan Colbert. While "The Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson is leaving and being replaced by a man named James Cordon.
    So now CBS , which has been the stable of the networks ,  ( sorry NBC)  is in a through of change at late night.  Some questions happen  will  Stephen Colbert ( who be playing himself and not the guy on Comedy Central)  be good  at a late night  talk show format  or will viewers leave to watch "Friends" reruns on the local CW /Mynetwork/ FOX/whatever station?  It's always gamble to change hosts at late night and hard to predict. (That's our way of weaseling out of a question, also we watch  Friends repeats anyway)

4. Cable Fights  
   Two words , expect more.  Cable fights we mean  are the ones between a network or company and a cable or sat caster.   There have been many for the past few years, I say expect more and the fun blame game.  Company A owns TV channels wants more money , even if some of their channel suck  Company B  is a provider worried about losing you as their  money feeders (that's a word)  and they fight even if it's a penny. In many cases channel(s)  get pulled  and it's a wait and see between who will give up first. Company B who  keeps getting angry calls , or Company A who is losing viewers.     There should be  a way to stop this , but apparently nobody is trying hard.   Many times in a fight there are multiple channels  pulled . Example : Time Warner vs Dish Network  :  Cartoon Network, CNN, HLN , TCM ,and Tru TV were pulled. If some one hates all these channels  they probably didn't mind then  as long the they weren't being charged for them .  But if someone hates Tru TV but loves TCM (Turner Classic Movies) ,they  felt bad.   Will these stop? No , unless someone figures out a better system.  (Don't shout NetFlix , that's not what we mean)

5. Easy Prediction ... the rest aren't  
     The Simpsons Won't be canceled...  well that got your attention .  Will "American Idol" be canceled?  The show has been  going down on ratings ... but if It makes Fox  money , it could go on until the ratings are really bad or it has a red year.    Today Show won't be  #1 in 2015, the Today Show on NBC probably won't be  the #1 morning show (national average) in 2015 either  the "Good Morning America" time in the #1 sun for maybe another year.  CBS This Morning , on the other hand , could maybe tie 2nd ( this is an outlier , and a maybe a crazy one   ).
  "ABC World News Tonight " (or the softest of the Evening News on the networks)  will either be fighting for 1st with NBC Nightly News or beating by the end of 2015.  CBS Evening News will continue  to grow though.
    Anyway these were some predictions most of them  were cop-outs (Cough American Idol) , others were  crazy  and one was easy.

6. Buying Up  less 
     After a couple years of Big TV deals like Sinclair Broadcast group buying Allbritton in 2013 (took  late summer 2014 for the deal to be official) , Granett Buying Belo, and in 2014,  Media General merging with Lin and  Scripps buying Journal . 2015, could mean a quieter year on that front, there may still be some buyings of stations and smaller groups, unless another big company wants to quit the world of local TV ownership or something.  Also in the bigger world ,there is probably not another chance of Murdoch  trying to buy Time Warner but anything can surprise.  AMC networks did buy a stake in BBC America,  hopefully that means BBC World News in the US can expand and maybe the HD channel more available soon.

 7. More Internet TV 
  It's been a good time for Netflix , Hulu and the others as they release programs , in some cases the whole season at one time, to  their paying subscribers to watch  anytime they want ( Friday at 8:43:22 AM)  well , expect more of that , Amazon is even in that game.    On the other side,  since the Aereo case , don't expect anybody wanting to try the live stream local tv online deal anymore, unless a station group and or the networks  make a deal to stream online. ABC and CBS do ... but you have to live in a city where ABC and CBS own that station , hopefully other station groups could and will make a deal.

The Lookback : Great Christmas Episodes of Classic TV shows

The Flashback  Christmas 

     That  time of year is back (yay National speak like a  Cat day!) and this time in the Lookback (brought to you buy nobody ,for some reason)  we take a look back at some great Christmas (sometimes only) of classic TV shows.   Like most our posts the order of our list  is never which one is better than the other. (Plus this post's order is in disorder, get it?)   So let's start .


1. The Brady Bunch 
   "The Voice Of Christmas"  Season 1 Episode 12
    The Brady Bunch 's first season was pretty much seeing how can these two families mesh together into this new large family , so the Christmas episode has that element.  Carol Brady was practicing her singing for the Christmas Day Church service and practiced so much that she lost her voice.  (That's what they mean by paying for your art)  It looks as though Mrs. Brady won't be able to sing for the service and this gets everyone depressed.
    Cindy has a great idea , she decides to ask  the big man (Greg?) ,Santa for a gift   of her mother being able to talk again , so she can sing on Christmas day service. Santa is taken a back by this. ( He didn't get his Medical degree until 1980)  
 The other kids feel depressed (sorry the word has to be used twice)  and  want to cancel Christmas , but after Alice's  talking to them  , they change their minds. (Alice the Voice of Reason)
   (Spoiler coming up , if you never seen this episode)   On  Christmas day ,  Mrs. Brady wakes up and finds out she can talk now. (woo hoo , thanks Santa)

                       
                                Carol sings a Carol     Youtube/CBS
2. Father Knows Best 
    "A Christmas Story"  Season 1 Episode 12
       Jim (Father)  is not happy that his kids are being materialistic for Christmas (even in 1954!) he wants  a traditional Christmas .  So he decides to take his family to the mountains  ( you know , if this wasn't a sitcoms on the 50's  this would be a different story)   to chop down a Christmas Tree (again, see what I mean) .  Anyway , it starts snowing  so  of course the car gets stuck in a drift ( ok , this is not helping me think this not a horror film) away from any phone ( this is before Cell phones ruined everything ).   The family breaks into a lodge that was closed for the season (it's not Wabbit season , is that copyrighted? Eeek)    and they meet  a man (no comment from my previous thoughts here)  who  teaches the kids  about the meaning of Christmas. (Oh his name is Nick too )  Anyway the authorities find the Anderson family and Nick staying at the lodge, and they find out Nick doesn't really own or live at the lodge.  (Great now tears and confusion)   It's nice Christmas special and one that you won't forget when you see it.

3. Dennis the Menace  (1959 TV Series) 
  "The Christmas Horse "  Season 2  Episode 12
     One thing about this show  compared to the other shows on our list , and around this time period  is it has more than one Christmas episode.  So we had to pick one (out of a hat)  and this one is the one we picked.
      Dennis Mitchell asks Santa for  Horse for Christmas (Darn Mr.Ed this is your fault !) anyway he doesn't get the horse for Christmas. Then he goes searching for  a horse  (as you do) Meanwhile ,another kid gets a horse for Christmas ( ok  then) , not that he is very enthused about it.  Dennis agrees to trade a typewriter for the kid's horse ( yep it's the 50's , nothing wrong with type writers) he wants to trade  his gift of a record player (nice gift ) to get a type writer to get the horse.    But his parents found out about the plan , and he was forced to un trade . (that has to be a word)
     The Nice man who sells Christmas trees for $5.00 sells his horse to Dennis for 5 cents.  (great deal!)  Though in a fun way he convinces Dennis to "rent"the horse to him for the Nickel.  A very interesting and fun Christmas episode indeed!

4.  Green Acres 
 "An Old Fashioned Christmas"  Season 2 Episode 13
      Green Acres, a great funny 60's show , has  a great funny Christmas episode. Oliver wants  an old-fashioned Christmas with an real tree , after a lot of work he gets his real Christmas tree.  It's  a sweet Christmas special.