Sammy Hain

🎄 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 the Nativity. It even throws in some “Home Alone” style shenanigans, as a treat!  📺 As of this recording, “A Solstice Carol” is available to watch on Prime Video.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Lucy Lawless in “Spider-Man.”  “Ebenezer and the Invisible World,” the video game.  Moirai: The Three Fates.  The Simpsons: “Desperately Xeeking Xena” from “Treehouse of Horror X” (1999)  Inside Senticles’s toy closet, and his King Friday XIII lookalike jack-in-the-box.  The song: “Solstice Night.”  Karl Urban as Cupid in a Valentine’s Day episode.  ****  📼 Commercials:  7up: Holiday Celebration (1996)  Bad Princess Movies.  ****  “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “A Solstice Carol” © 1996 MCA Television Limited.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.  Hosted by The Retro Network.

🎄 Join us for a short spin back to 1993 as I spend 48 minutes blah blah blah yackety schmacketing with Sammy Hain and Joey O. about Taz’s attempt to spread Christmas cheer in a land that’s way under Down Under.  ****  💬 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 Los Angeles Zoo.  Hot Dr. Pepper.  Bing Crosby’s Minute Maid Orange Juice Commercials.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Tornado Taz Plush (1997)  Christmas Creeps.  ****  “Taz-Mania” and “No Time for Christmas” © 1993 Warner Bros. Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.

🐰 It’s Easter in July, and those two things together are the least confusing thing about today’s episode.  It’s a race across the calendar with Michael May and Sammy Hain as we follow Peter Cottontail through time on his quest to reclaim the title of Chief Easter Bunny from the evil January Q. Irontail, voiced by Vincent Price, in Rankin/Bass’s first non-Christmas holiday special from 1971.  Find “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” on Tubi, or this restored version on the YouTube channel “The Rankin Bass Archive.”  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “The Easter Bunny That Overslept,” the book, and a read-along video.  This special has the same opening as Disney’s “Aladdin.”  Vincent Price hosting “Read, Write, and Draw” on The Disney Channel.  Jim and Dwight are the worst party planning committee on “The Office.”  Patton Oswalt on Easter eggs.  Seymour S. Sassafras is probably a Time Lord.  Today’s TV Trope: Loophole Abuse.  The Halloween segment reuses music from “Mad Monster Party?”  Is the title of Chief Easter Bunny always on the line like a 24/7 wrestling championship?  Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet.  Yosemite Sam attempts to cook hasenpfeffer.  The Easter Bunny in Hell in “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.”  This special got a sequel in 2005.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs (1978)  FOLCs Forever: A Lois & Clark Rewatch Podcast.  ****  “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” © 1971 Videocraft International Limited.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes with at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 It’s 2020, and a gift-wrapped puppy licked my face and made my skin turn blue.  🎙 Michael DiGiovanni and Sammy Hain join us for a charming stop-motion Christmas special from the Chiodo Brothers about how an alien invasion of the North Pole almost ruined Christmas — and the entire planet’s gravity, but also Christmas. Plus: A “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” Easter egg, some cameos from “Elf,” and Santa with nunchucks.  📺 You can find “Alien Xmas” on Netflix.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  A behind-the-scenes interview with the Chiodo Brothers.  “Alien Xmas” on Bloody Disgusting.  A “Killer Klowns” Easter egg hidden in the Klepts’ chamber of stolen stuff.  The magnetic north pole vs. the geographic North Pole.  Michelle Deco (Noelle) writes Nintendo trailers, including this one for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.   Today’s TV Trope: Tablecloth Yank.  “Here’s your problem: Someone set this thing to ‘evil.’”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Coca-Cola “Santa Packs Are Coming” (1994)  Holidays After Dark  ****  “Alien Xmas” © 2020 Netflix US, LLC.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.

🦃 It’s 2015, and in my search for a noisy cryptid I accidentally freed 175 roided-up turkeys, but neither of those things is the real monster.  🎙 Sammy Hain, Tony Whitaker, Ethan “The Hungry Reader” join us as we rediscover a long lost Thanksgiving special concept Jim Henson dreamed up in the 1960s and meet the Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow.  📺 You can find “Turkey Hollow” on Disney+.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  ToughPigs.com Behind the Scenes of Turkey Hollow.  Muppet Wiki on this special, Jim Henson’s original concept, and the 2014 graphic novel.  Some prototype musical monsters: An early Grover, Snerf, and the Rock and Roll Monster.  Director Kirk Thatcher in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.”  On-set interviews with Ludacris, Lisa Henson, and Alice Dinnean.  Hope you like Beets.  Today’s TV Tropes: When You Coming Home, Dad? and Hollywood Law.  Station from “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.”  “Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge.”  Jason Hopley’s (Zorp) IMDb profile picture is from “Goosebumps.”  Lewis, Target’s Halloween Ghoul.  Homer Simpson eating potato chips on the space shuttle.  ****  📼 Commercials:  AT&T “Turkey” Commercial (2008)  TGI Podcast.  ****  “Turkey Hollow” © 2015 The Jim Henson Company, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.

🐰 It’s 2004, and a stuffed toy rabbit voluntold me to clean his house.  🎙 Sammy Hain and Matt Spaulding join us to celebrate both Easter in July and Scrooge Sunday with a trip to the Hundred Acre Wood as Rabbit does double duty as both the Easter Bunny and Scrooge, all while Christopher Robin is somewhere else entirely.  📺 You can find “Springtime with Roo” on Disney+.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Ads from the 2004 DVD, plus a video of some dude walking through the menu screen.  Why do Christopher Robin’s toys have American accents?  John Fiedler (Piglet) in “The Golden Girls” and “12 Angry Men.”  “Christmas in the Stars,” the Star Wars Christmas album.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Sears Video Game Arcade Christmas Sale (1983)  ****  “Winnie the Pooh” and “Springtime with Roo” © 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.

🎃 Previously on the Advent Calendar House, we flew a sleigh made out of a dumpster into space with the California Raisins in “Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration.”  This time, we’re reanimating a creepier creation of his from 1991 — a Halloween special that premiered in May for some reason.  🎙 Sammy Hain and Chad Young join us for “Claymation Comedy of Horrors,” starring the scheming Wilshire Pig on a quest to uncover the secret lab of Dr. Frankenswine.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  IMDb’s photo gallery from this special.  “The Adventures of Mark Twain.”  Todd Tolces’ website and YouTube résumé.  Michele Mariana (Wilshire) on “Sesame Street” as Cecile, the singing ball of clay.  Herb from Burger King.  Will Vinton wanted to build a theme park called Claymation Station with Wilshire Pig as its Mickey Mouse.  Raphael opened the floodgates for characters made for children saying curse words.  Sheldon the Snail bears a passing resemblance to The Noid.  A closer examination of the bathroom graffiti.  Today’s TV Trope: Removable Shell.  Does Famine’s business card say he’s from Limbo, Illinois?  ****  📼 Commercials:  McDonald’s Coke Float Commercial, 1991, aired during this special.  Another Zelda Podcast.  ****  “Claymation Comedy of Horrors” © 1991 Will Vinton Productions.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.

🐰 It’s 1983, and despite replacing our entire body with robot parts, we still can’t plow faster than a rapidly growing magic forest baby.  🎙 Chad Young and Sammy Hain join us as we get things rolling with the mascots of Paas Easter egg coloring kits in a secret hit piece on landlords disguised as a wacky Easter story. On the way, we’ll meet the ever-looming shadow of the Easter Bunny and teach animals to talk by giving them clothes.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The History of Paas.  Patton Oswalt on Paas and its short-lived competitors.  This special was written by Rankin/Bass legend Romeo Muller, with songs composed by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles.  Charles Woolf (Terrence) in “Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.”  The origin of a farmer’s “South 40” and the Homestead Act of 1862.  Paas replaced their mascot characters. The only original one left is Feathers — if that’s even the same Feathers.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Paas Easter Egg Coloring Kit (1984)  Holidays After Dark.  ****  “Peter and the Magic Egg” © 1983 RLR Associates, Ltd. / Romeo Productions, Inc.  Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 Filmation’s space western gets a dickens of a backstory.  🎙 Joey O. and Sammy Hain saddle up for a Scrooge Sunday edition of the Advent Calendar House looking back at a 1987 Christmas episode of “BraveStarr.”  📺 You can watch “Tex’s Terrible Night” on YouTube.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The Fisher-Price Western Town I used as a backdrop for the much larger Bravestarr action figure.  Joey’s interview with Pat Fraley (Marshal BraveStarr).  This episode uses flashback scenes from the movie “BraveStarr: The Legend,” which explains why the animation quality isn’t consistent.  Young Tex Hex looks like a purple Faker from “He-Man.”  Stampede, the show’s even bigger bad, grants Tex Hex the power of transformation, because Filmation really wanted to teach kids that things that transform are evil.  The “present-day” husband of Tex’s former love, Ursula, looks like Fred Ward.  The time BraveStarr found a kid dead of a drug overdose.  ****  📼 Commercial:  Marshal BraveStarr, Tex Hex, and Neutralaser Toy Commercial (1986)  Christmas Time in the City.  ****  “BraveStarr” and “Tex’s Terrible Night” ©1987 Filmation Associates.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.