Advent Calendar House, a podcast salute to all holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones, revisits holiday TV classics and not-so-classics every December and July.
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S16 #5

Recess - Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave

🎄 It’s that time of year again: Time to deal with smarty-pants 4th-graders who think they know how Santa Claus works.  🎙️ The Advent Calendar House welcomes Caleb Cote from Insert Reference Here and Robert Nicholas from Behind the Bells as we watch a very special 1998 Christmas episode of Disney’s “Recess,” featuring elementary school hierarchy, a globally televised Christmas pageant, and the dulcet tones of a 10-year-old who sings like Robert Goulet.  📺 “Recess” is available on Disney+. “Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave” is Season 2, Episode 10.  ****  (00:00) - Intro  (02:26) - Our Histories with Recess  (10:49) - Our Histories with “Recess”  (24:11) - Act 1  (1:03:55) - Retro Commercial Break  (1:06:12) - Act 2  (1:29:02) - Act 3  (1:48:48) - Final Thoughts  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Caleb introduces us to Goalball.  Mike talks about The Legend of Zelda on Insert Reference Here.  Dabney Coleman (Principal Prickly) in “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”  Robert Goulet sings “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” on “The Simpsons.”  Today’s TV Tropes: Cast Calculus, Noodle Incident, and Glass-Shattering Sound.  Kevin sits on Santa Michael’s lap on “The Office.”  Ronnie Schell (Mayor Fitzhugh) as Peter Puck.  “Local Politician” by The Arrogant Worms.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Bubble Tape (circa 1991)  ****  “Recess” and “Yes, Mikey, Santa Does Shave” © 1998 Disney Enterprises, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s16 #1990s #disney
S16 #3

The Dukes - A Dickens of a Christmas

🎄 Well, them podcast boys have run into another Scrooge Sunday, and this time, the ghosts from “A Christmas Carol” are haunting Boss Hogg in the Dukes of Hazzard’s Saturday morning cartoon counterpart.  🎙️ Michael DiGiovanni and new guest Ken Kessler from The Sounds of Christmas join the ride through Christmas past, present, and future as the Dukes take a holiday from their race around the world in an episode that made us wish they’d get back to racing.  📺 You can find “A Dickens of a Christmas” on the Internet Archive.  ****  (00:00) - Intro  (02:23) - Personal and Series History  (10:03) - Act 1: Big Jake Marley’s Ghost  (23:27) - Retro Commercial Break  (25:29) - Act 2: Christmas Past and Present  (37:19) - Act 3: Christmas Future and The End of It  (48:35) - Final Thoughts  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  John Schneider and Tom Wopat made a Christmas album.  Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) as Santa on “Full House.”  Christmas in Russia is on January 7th.  Is this story’s Belle substitute the only time we ever meet Uncle Jesse’s late (or, in this case, future) wife?  ****  📼 Commercials:  “The Dukes” Saturday Morning Promo (1983)  Kentucky Fried Chicken Christmas Commercial (circa 1987)  Snow in Southtown  ****  “The Dukes” and “A Dickens of a Christmas” © 1983 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.  “The Dukes of Hazzard” © 1983 Warner Bros., Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s16 #1980s #scroogesunday #hannabarbera
S16 #2

A DuckTales Valentine

💝 We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day in July with a deep dive into a 1990 “DuckTales” special that aired on “The Magical World of Disney.”  🎙️ Erin Evans and Joey O. join us as we tune our heart-shaped TVs to watch Scrooge McDuck search for the lost treasure of Aphroducky, which nearly ends in him marrying the avian goddess of love and angering her Honeymooner of a husband.  📺 You can watch “A DuckTales Valentine” on Disney+.  ****  (00:00) - Intro  (02:26) - Our Histories with DuckTales  (08:34) - The Magical World of Disney Intro  (10:32) - Act 1  (31:45) - Retro Commercial Break  (35:29) - Act 2  (54:42) - Final Thoughts  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The accompanying shorts: “Mickey’s Delayed Date,” “Mr. Duck Steps Out,” and “Canine Casanova.”  This special’s intro featuring Michael Eisner and original commercials.  Michael’s Disney varsity jacket is on eBay.  Terry McGovern (Launchpad) in a “Back to the Future” deleted scene.  Terry McGovern on voicing Stormtroopers and accidentally inventing the word “Wookiee.”  Get the Phillies Feeling (circa 1988)  Today’s TV Trope: Cupid’s Arrow.  “Stop the presses!” from “The Great Muppet Caper.”  Sesame Street’s Love Boat.  Peter dives into a money bin on “Family Guy.”  Revenge of the Turducken Hunger Games.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: “The Lost Queen of Atlantis.”  “Donald Duck: Instant Millionaire.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Isuzu Trooper Commercial starring Joe Isuzu (1990)  Holidays After Dark  ****  “DuckTales” and “A DuckTales Valentine” © 1990 The Walt Disney Company.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s16 #1990s #valentinesday #disney