I’ve combed through a few back issues of TV Guide to bring you some memories of Christmas past. Sometimes the holiday specials were great (ex. A Charlie Brown Christmas – first aired in 1965), but more often than not, they were just a gathering of celebs-of-the-day singing carols and telling bad jokes. Take for instance…
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TV Guide – Dec 8-14, 1979
Hey, at the time, we loved it. A special featuring Donny & Marie and cast from Laverne & Shirley, C.H.i.P.s, and Eight Is Enough – count me in! As cheesy as these specials could be, I do miss having them around each December.
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TV Guide – Dec 1-7, 1984
Somehow I can’t see Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton pulling off a scene set in WWII London.
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TV Guide – Dec. 4-10, 1976
The king of Vegas – before the plastic surgery.
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TV Guide – Dec. 8-14, 1979
This may be the greatest of them all: Judy “Send in the Clowns” Collins, Doug Henning – the most cringeworthy magician in history, David Soul of Starsky & Hutch, the one-and-only Coal Miner’s Daughter, the banjo picker from Hee-Haw, and Hugh Heffner’s hot Playmate wife. This is truly what Christmas is all about.
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TV Guide – Dec. 12-18, 1981
Can your mind even comprehend how awesome a Commodore’s Christmas would be?
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TV Guide – Dec. 19-25, 1981
I have a hunch why Mr. Hope chose Loni Anderson and Brooke Shields to co-host his special… that sly dog.
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TV Guide – Dec. 8-14, 1979
“Come to Memphis and meet men who will spend the birthday of the Prince of Peace in the bitterness of a federal prison” Happy Holidays!
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TV Guide – Dec. 17-23, 1988
Featuring the stud of the late 80’s, Don Johnson – plus a LA Dodger’s pitcher (Orel Hershiser) and a bevy of beauties to keep that randy Bob Hope happy.
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TV Guide – Dec. 17-23, 1988
I love John Denver, but I can’t tell a lie – he recorded perhaps the worst Christmas song of all time: Please Daddy, Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas. It’s just as awful as it sounds.
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TV Guide – Dec. 8-14, 1979
Bob’s at it again; this time with the Rose Queen and the chicks from Police Woman and One Day at a Time. That man was unstoppable.
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TV Guide – Dec. 17-23, 1988
Holy crap – look at Pee-Wee’s guest lineup: Oprah, k.d. lang, Joan Rivers, Zza Zza, Grace Jones, Dinah Shore – what a motley bunch!
Let’s move away from celebrity-packed Christmas variety-show specials, and take a look at some other brands of holiday specials: namely TV movies and animated specials…
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TV Guide – Dec. 17-23, 1988
I can’t explain exactly why, but this special was epic. I think it was because an entire generation of Gen X’rs had grown up on Brady reruns, and the idea of seeing the Brady kids grown-up was just something that could not be missed. I know I was watching with rapt attention.
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TV Guide – Dec. 8-14, 1984
Starring “Hot Lips” from M*A*S*H*.
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TV Guide – Dec. 17-23, 1988
Not to sound like a scrooge – but just kill me now. “Time to forget, time to forgive, time to love”… and time to throw up a little in my mouth.
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TV Guide – Dec. 18-22, 1978
Unless Debbie breaks out into “You Light Up My Life” when she gets the comb, I’m not interested.
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TV Guide – Dec. 18-22, 1978
For more special Christmas episodes of your favorite TV shows from the 1960s-1980s, click here.
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TV Guide – Dec. 18-22, 1978
I’m sure it was a fine holiday special.. but I’ll take the California Raisins Christmas instead…
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TV Guide – Dec. 17-23, 1988
In case you didn’t know – Christmas Comes to Willow Creek stars both of the Duke boys from Dukes of Hazzard. I wonder if there were any car chases in this holiday special.
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TV Guide, Dec. 1-7, 1984
Does anyone out there remember the insanity that was The Cabbage Patch Kids obsession in America. For some reason, parents became rabidly obsessed with getting their kids these dolls – even if it meant killing strangers in cold blood.
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TV Guide, Dec. 8-14, 1979
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TV Guide, Dec. 8-14, 1979
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TV Guide – Dec. 11-17, 1982
Why is Pac-Man washing Santa’s feet? Has St. Nick fired all the elves and made the Pac family his personal slaves? Stay tuned.
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TV Guide – Dec. 12-18, 1981
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TV Guide – Dec. 12-18, 1981
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TV Guide – Dec. 12-18, 1981
Well, that’s about all the Christmas TV goodness I can handle in one sitting. Until next time – Happy Holidays!
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