Jeff Loftin

🎄 This podcast was created as part of a seemingly endless life debt that resulted in a wish to give the world the gift of a bunch of nerds with microphones talking about old TV holiday specials. And now you know my dark origins.  🎙️ Collin Murr from Scrooge: A Christmas Carol Podcast and Jeff Loftin from the Lost Christmas Podcast join us as we get violently tossed off course back to 1996 and rediscover “The Story of Santa Claus,” or at least a story of Santa Claus, the first to star Ed Asner as the big man, featuring Betty White as Mrs. Claus and Tim Curry as a very annoyed elf wizard.  📺 We found “The Story of Santa Claus” with commercials on the Internet Archive.  ****  (00:00) - Intro  (02:31) - Guest and Special Histories  (06:39) - Act 1  (36:35) - Act 2  (43:31) - Retro Commercial Break  (45:05) - Act 3  (1:17:21) - Final Thoughts ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Why Ed Asner accepted the titular role in The Story of Santa Claus (MeTV, 2025)  Jim Cummings takes over as Scar in the last part of “Be Prepared” in “The Lion King.”  Kate Zaremba (Aurora) as Annie in the sequel musical “Annie Warbucks,” and her present-day art studio.  Today’s TV Tropes: Slipped on the Wheels and Villainy-Free Villain.  There’s a whole debate elsewhere about whether Clement Moore was the true author of “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”  Mr. Meeseeks from “Rick and Morty.”  Dark Heart from “The Care Bears Movie II.”  Lois Lane’s poem in “Superman: The Movie.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  True Value Hardware Christmas Commercial (1997)  Closer to Christmas  Tiger Electronics Name That Tune Handheld Game (1997)  ****  “The Story of Santa Claus” © 1996 CBS, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s16 #1990s

🎄 Today’s adventure finds us caught in the middle of a battle for the North Pole in multiple dimensions.  🎙️ Sammy Hain and Jeff Loftin join the march back to 1997 to witness the Christmas clash of Santa vs. the Snowman, a TV special from creator Steve Oedekerk and director John A. Davis, who’d later team up to write and direct “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.”  📺 You can find “Santa vs. the Snowman” on YouTube, both an original 1997 broadcast with commercials, and its 2002 update for IMAX 3D.  ****  (00:00) - Intro  (02:16) - Guest and Special Histories  (07:31) - 3D Opening  (12:58) - Act 1  (26:19) - Retro Commercial Break  (28:51) - Act 2  (52:19) - Act 3  (1:00:50) - Final Thoughts  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Don LaFontaine in “Five Guys in a Limo” (1997)  Don LaFontaine’s final TV voiceover role on “Phineas and Ferb.”  Ben Stein’s “Confessions for the Holidays” (2005) taken way out of context.  Hershey’s Chocolate Tour: Holiday Edition.  Today’s TV Trope: Animated Outtakes, and an example from “A Bug’s Life.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Bell Atlantic: Wild Things Are Happening (1997)  Old Navy: A Very Magic Holiday Special (1997)  The Lost Christmas Podcast  ****  “Santa vs. the Snowman” © 1997, 2002 Steaming Monkey, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s16 #1990s

🎄 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 Forgot” on the Internet Archive.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The original poem: “Jeremy Creek” (Indianapolis Star, 1985)  Jeremy Creek (no relation) from the “Smallville” pilot.    Miko Hughes (Jeremy) in People magazine (2024): “Kindergarten Cop Child Actor Recalls Working with Arnold Schwarzenegger — and the Origin of That Iconic Line.”  Today’s TV Trope: Signs of Disrepair.  One of Hal Smith’s final voice acting roles during his lifetime. (He had a posthumous credit in “Zelda’s Adventure.”)  Larry Walters has a flying lawn chair and a BB gun.  ****  📼 Commercials:  NBC Commercial Break during the original 1993 airing of this special, including “The Muppet Christmas Carol” on VHS, and Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic.  ****  “The Town Santa Forgot” © 1993 Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.  #s15 #1990s #hannabarbera

🎄It’s 1979, and an evil king is having abandonment issues after his entire kingdom left, so he made an army of robots instead of going to therapy.  The Advent Calendar House has once again emerged from hibernation after declaring 4 more months of winter to pretend it’s still winter.  🎙 Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas, Matt Spaulding from North Pole Radio, and Jeff Loftin from the Lost Christmas Podcast join us as we encounter what might be the least Christmassy Rankin/Bass Christmas special, featuring a friendlier version of Jack Frost, a groundhog dressed like a pro wrestling manager, and the wintry weather neighbors of those angels your grandmother told you were bowling whenever there was a thunderstorm.  📺 You can watch “Jack Frost” on Tubi.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Toei Animation’s “The Little Mermaid” (1975)  Gilbert Gottfried on his favorite death scene: Buddy Hackett as Lou Costello in “Bud and Lou.”  Today’s TV Trope: Inevitable Waterfall.  The Christmas tradition of “dream presents” is like the dinner scene from “Hook.”  February 2 is Candlemas, the 40th day of Christmas.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Pennsylvania Lottery: Like Holiday Morning, starring Gus, the 2nd most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania (2018)  Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Hedgehog Day (1992)  ****  “Jack Frost” © 1979 Rankin/Bass Productions.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s12 #1970s #rankinbass