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🎄 Let’s have a good, old-fashioned Christmas down on the farm in 1987’s “A Garfield Christmas Special,” featuring the voices of Squiggy and Ursula.  🎙️ The Advent Calendar House welcomes Jeff Somogyi as we contemplate lasagna as a Christmas food, go long on the dinner prayer, and wonder how Binky, “The Clown Who Saved Christmas,” saved Christmas.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Joey O. interviews Gregg Berger, the voice of Odie.  Dinosaur Dracula identifies all the presents in Garfield’s dream.  Better “Weird Al” Yankovic Christmas song: “Christmas at Ground Zero” or “The Night Santa Went Crazy”?  The simultaneously best and worst line in the history of animated Christmas specials for children: “Whoever invented Christmas trees should be drug out into the street and shot.”  Jeff wanted a ringtone of that blaring trumpet when Garfield looks down from the top of the Christmas tree, so here it is!  ****  “A Garfield Christmas Special” © 1987 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s2 #1980s #garfield #comics

🎄 Coming to you from Gotham City, it’s the podcast nobody wanted to see, but everyone will hear.  🎙️ Jay from the Purple Stuff Podcast and Joey O. drop in to spend Christmas with the Joker on a 1992 episode of “Batman: The Animated Series.”  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The crowdsourced origins of Jingle Bells, Batman Smells.  More discussion on “Christmas with the Joker” on Batman: The Animated Podcast and The Arkham Sessions.  Gotham City is in New Jersey.  Mark Hamill’s original performance as Ferris Boyle in “Heart of Ice.”  “Comic Book: The Movie.”  Mark Hamill’s longtime obsession with David Letterman.  Charles Manson apparently spent this Christmas at Arkham Asylum before spending a later Christmas in Nebraska on “South Park.”  Joker’s “Laffy” hand puppet reminds us of Señor Wences. His upside-down mouth puppet is even weirder.  Betty Blooper looks like Toot from “Drawn Together.”  Of course the Joker is hiding out at the Laffco Toy Factory. Look at it!  ****  “Batman: The Animated Series” and “Christmas with the Joker” © 1992 Warner Bros.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s2 #1990s #warnerbros #dc #comics

🎃 Put out the oars and surrender yourself to the mercy of the rivers of time as they take us back to Garfield’s terrifying 1985 Halloween special.🎙️ Jeff Somogyi joins us to celebrate the special that turned a generation into scaredy cats.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Jim Davis wanted Garfield’s Halloween Adventure to “at least scare 4-year-olds” (The A.V. Club, 2014)  Samples of the comic book adaptation, “Garfield in Disguise,” from Rotten Ink and Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks, including even creepier drawings of the old man and pirate ghosts.  The first appearance of Binky the Clown!  The time a raccoon broke into Jeff’s attic and left a hornet’s nest inside a Nativity scene shepherd.  Speaking of attics, the Pink Panther advertising Owens Corning fiberglass insulation.  The Roy Ogle of “Roy Ogle’s roots” was a plant breeder at Clemson. They’re sweet potatoes.  The black cat pajamas may be a callback to the killer panther from 1984’s “Garfield in the Rough,” another good special to put on if you want to give your kids nightmares.  Was the ghost of Jon’s grandfather watching all the Christmas festivities in that special?  C. Lindsay Workman (Old Man) as Garfield’s grandfather in “Garfield on the Town” and God in “Garfield: His 9 Lives.”  The “double burn” glowing effect used on the ghosts reminds us of the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence of Fantasia.  We had to ask: Did Garfield and Odie really survive the night, or is everything thereafter really Garfield Minus Garfield?  ****  📼 Commercials:  McDonald’s Halloween Pumpkin Pails (1986)  ****  “Garfield’s Halloween Adventure” ©1985 United Feature Syndicate, Inc./Anderson Digital.  Closing Music: “Witch’s Night Out,” performed by Razoreater, written by Peter Rochon.  Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house.  #s2 #1980s #halloween #garfield #comics

🎄 Opus the Penguin fails to take off in his own TV Christmas special from 1991.  🎙️ Erin Evans and Joey O. parachute in to rewatch “A Wish for Wings That Work,” starring Opus and Bill from the comic strip series “Bloom County” and “Outland.”  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  This is based on a book version you can watch someone read to you on YouTube, if you’d like.  “Bloom County” creator Berkeley Breathed was not happy with this special. He also confirmed the animators hid some naughty bits in the opening.  Bill the Cat’s 1988 presidential run, including the other candidates trying to translate the song “Louie Louie.”  Joey interviews Michael Bell (Opus).  “The Ant and the Aardvark” starring John Byner (Bill).  Surprise cameos by Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman, who may or may not have walked over from the set of “Hook.”  Larry Walters has a flying lawn chair and a BB gun.  “Lost Horizon.”  “A Frog Thing,” a children’s book with a very similar plot, but less Christmassy.  Opus plushes with Santa hats are pretty easy to find on eBay.  ****  “A Wish for Wings That Work” ©1991 Universal Cartoon Studios, Inc. / Amblin Entertainment, Inc.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s3 #1990s #comics

🎄 Everyone’s after the little guy for no reason.  🎙️ Chad Young joins us for a short-statured trip back to 1982 to explore “Ziggy’s Gift,” a one-off TV Christmas special starring no one’s favorite funny papers hero and featuring a beautifully animated puddle of dog pee.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “Ziggy’s Gift” on Dinosaur Dracula After Dark.  “The Point,” a Harry Nilsson album turned into an animated movie.  Ziggy’s toothpaste looks like Beetlejuice sandworms.  Ziggy Theories: Is he adult Charlie Brown? A vegetarian? A guardian angel?  The time Chad met Billy West, who stood on a chair because he thought Chad was too tall.  The time I inquired about a job opportunity that wasn’t what I expected.  The terrifying robot Santa window display reminded me a little too much of the equally terrifying “Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure.”  Frank Welker voiced 25 characters in this special if you count each individual turkey.  Ziggy’s kettle has the Glow from “The Last Dragon.”  The “Linus moment” is out; the “Skeletor face turn” is in.  ****  “Ziggy’s Gift” ©1982 Universal Press Syndicate.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s3 #1980s #comics

🦃 The Gaslighting of Dr. Liz Wilson.  Join us as badly dancing back to 1989 to celebrate the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.  🎙️ Jeff Somogyi joins us to dig into “Garfield’s Thanksgiving,” the clear bronze medalist of Garfield’s holiday trilogy, thanks to Jon Arbuckle going from goofy pet owner to hopelessly inept creep.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Orson the Pig from “U.S. Acres” makes a cameo in Liz’s waiting room.  The dumbest things we’ve done to get a date pale in comparison to Jon holding his breath until Liz concedes to going out with him. Please don’t do that.  Pat Carroll is back as Grandma in her 2nd greatest vocal performance of November 1989.  Julie Payne (Liz) was also briefly the voice of another cartoon doctor, Janice N!Godatu, from the other animated segment of “The Tracey Ullman Show.”  A brief history of sock garters.  This special confirms Jon can’t hear Garfield speaking, but somehow Garfield’s computerized, fat-shaming scale can.  The best of Calvin’s dad from Calvin and Hobbes.  Grandma Arbuckle’s Sweet Potatoes, as prepared by Dinosaur Dracula.  Cranberry sauce tastes better when it’s shaped like the inside of a can.  Desirée Goyette, the female singing voice in Garfield’s specials and also the voice of Nermal, also sang the title theme from “It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.”  ****  📼 Commercial:  Garfield Alpo Cat Food Commercial (1989)  ****  “Garfield’s Thanksgiving” © 1989 United Feature Syndicate, Inc./Anderson Digital.  Find us at adventcalendar.house.  #s4 #1980s #thanksgiving #garfield #comics