Sit back, relax, open your presents and tell us what you got!

A CHRISTMAS STORY has been a family tradition in my house since the film was released in 1983. It’s a brilliantly funny, wickedly sarcastic and incredibly sweet family film that has become an icon for the holidays.

Way before TNT began airing 24 hours of A Christmas Story back in 1997, not a holiday went by in our house where we didn’t watch the film a good 5 times before the season was over. Up there with Christmas Vacation, it’s a holiday film that will forever represent Christmas to me and my family for as long as I live.

I have the original short stories by Jean Shepherd, I have the audio book with Dick Cavett’s brilliant narration and of course I’ve owned countless pieces of paraphernalia (what about A Christmas Story Monopoly – cramazing) over the years as well as both the VHS and DVD’s.

It’s 8:00pm on Christmas Eve and that means it’s time for a major award! It’s time to open Aunt Clara’s present and it’s time for those sonsabitchesbumbuses to scavenge our turkey! It’s time for a triple-dog-dare! It’s time to listen to that shim tell you over and over how much she/he likes The Wizard of Oz! It’s time for Little Orphan Annie! It’s time to pack your brother into so many layers that he can’t put his arms down and so that he can’t get up, can’t get up, can’t.get.up!

Settle in for 24 hours of Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story and have a Happy Happy Christmas!

Christmas is tomorrow and this little present from GOSSIP GIRL (courtesy of WWK) makes me giddy! Jenny Humphrey is back in uniform but she’s not taking shit from anyone this time around. Watch Little Jenny come to the rescue while Eric and his bad hair cowers in the corner. You go girl!

Gossip Girl returns Monday, January 5th… cannot.wait.

Gotta love those GHOSTFACERS for thinking of all the SUPERNATURAL fans this holiday season.

What I don’t have to love is Brightcove (which I and many other bloggers used to upload and post all the videos that Warner Bros. sends us featuring those Winchester boys) because they put a lump of coal in their service which means we can’t use it any longer… Bah-humbug.

So here is a Christmas miracle from that ragtag gang of bumbling ghost hunters, The Ghostfacers.

Very few things in the world make me as happy and nostalgic as A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS. It’s basically perfection and I’m still obsessed to this day. The holidays have always been a time for Charles Schulz’ Charlie Brown specials and while I dig them all, A Charlie Brown Christmas is the one that has the biggest emotional impact on me.

I won’t lie, the simplicity and beauty of the Vince Guaraldi score brings such a wave of emotion that I’ve been known to get a little teary when the opening sequence begins…

Even though I’m not religious by any means, Linus describing (or preaching) the true meaning of Christmas is maybe my favorite part of the whole show.

Everything about this special makes me smile and that’s why it’s my favorite Christmas special of all time. Chuck rules! I’ve got the DVD, I still own the VHS, I have the soundtrack and two jigsaw puzzles about this special. This year when I went to San Francisco, I forced Jon to drive up the coast to the Charles M. Schulz Peanuts Museum… I’m Charlie Brown crazy, I’ll admit it – ain’t nothing wrong with that!

Oh wait, there’s more… What about that crazy arm waving they do? It’s like Christmas Magic hands and that brings me to this old SNL classic…

Happy Holidays gang!

Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without all of the Rankin/Bass holiday classics of my youth. I mean come on, The Cricket on the Hearth has to be a major achievement in the world of animation and Christmas joy, right? I kid…

Screw the cricket, throw that bitch into the fire because it’s all about a couple other (and way more genius) claymation/animated oldies that make my heart go all pitter-pat at Christmastime.

For probably a good 30 years there hasn’t been a December where I haven’t watched any and or all of these brilliant television specials. It’s all about Rudolph, Frosty, A Year Without a Santa, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Jack Frost and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Hell, even the ones I hate I end up watching at some point (I’m talking about you Little Drummer Boy *ack*)

Here are a few of my favorite scenes from a few of my favorite specials.

Frosty the Snowman (1969)
I love watching fat Santa give that bastard Magician the what-for. And nothings better than hearing Frosty say “Happy Birthday” one last time… was he a little Corky?

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1970)
Gotta love Heir Burgermeister Meisterburger and his foul attitude – putting the smack down on everything from making toys to ballerinas musical toes.

A Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
The Snow & Heat Misers? Are you kidding me? Sheer genius!
“I’m Mister White Christmas, I’m Mister Snow, I’m Mister Icicle, I’m Mister Ten Below, Friends call me Snow Miser, What ever I touch, Turns to snow in my clutch…I’m too much!”

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
And my all time favorite, Rankin/Bass’ very first television special… the one that brought us Charlie in the Box, Bastard Santa and Bumbles!!!

Oh and is anyone else shocked that Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass weren’t gay lovers? I mean come on, Hermie? That dude’s a straight up disco-dancin’, Oscar Wilde readin’, Streisand-ticket holdin’, friend of Dorothy, you know what I’m saying?

As an early Xmas present to all of us Joss Whedon fans out there, Michael Ausiello has stuffed our stockings full of DOLLHOUSE video goodness.

Click here to see an exclusive 90 second clip from Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse

Dollhouse premieres on Fox, February 13th!

Hey gang, I know that Kath and I owe you another TV TALK PODCAST and we’re trying to squeeze at least one more in before 2008 goes buh-bye but that’s not why I’m writing today.

Are you a fan of our podcast? Are you on Facebook? Why not be a fan of The TV Talk Podcast with GMMR & Ducky on Facebook!

Here’s something you all should know about my family, my Dad is Clark W. Griswold. He’s the guy that goes overboard with everything, especially all things Christmas. Growing up, my Dad’s house was always an attraction because not only did it look like this haunted medieval castle, it was also lit up like a Christmas miracle the day after Thanksgiving. People would (and still do) stop on the side of the road to marvel at the Christmas explosion that is my Dad’s house. It’s hilarious how crazy the man gets with the Christmas lights. I loves it.

I saw CHRISTMAS VACATION in the theatre with my entire family back in 1989 just as I had the two films prior… The Vacation films were kind of our family obsession (only rivaled by Porky’s) so when a holiday film came out featuring the Griswold’s, there wasn’t a snowballs chance in hell we weren’t beating people down on opening night to see what was sure to be perfection.

To our amazement, I think we all fell in love with Christmas Vacation just as much, if not more, than the original film. It was two great tastes in one; the Griswold’s and Christmas!

The first clip below only features the payoff of the running joke that literally had me in tears on that first night we saw the film. Clark drives the fam out to the middle of nowhere (but doesn’t leave ‘em for dead) to pick out the perfect Griswold tree and poor Audrey (this time played by Juliette Lewis) can’t stop complaining. What’s missing is the build up (“I can’t feel my legs” etc.) but hot damn the visual and Ellen’s response to Audrey’s state almost made me throw up. To this day, it’s still one of my favorite moments ever!

This video is just wonderful as well…

“Merry Christmas, Holy Shit!”

*Stay tuned, only 4 more days left!

No Christmas would be complete without the old standards, the holidays films of yore that made your grandparents or your parents light up at Christmastime. I’m a sucker for old holiday classics, just as much as I am for the newer ones of my youth so I thought I’d share some of my faves here with you guys!

THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S
1945 – Starring: Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman

THE MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS
1938 – Starring: Laurel & Hardy

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
1946 – Starring: Jimmy Stewart & Donna Reed

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
1938 – Starring: Reginald Owen

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET
1947 – Starring: Maureen O’Hare, Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn

ABC is trying to give me a heartattack with all of the LOST gems they’ve been putting out lately. In this new Season 5 promo there’s Locke talking backwards and plenty of other island and post-island goodness to make my heart stop! January 21st can not come soon enough!

Well, the disintegration of PUSHING DAISIES has begun. The first casting coup to report is Olive Snook herself, Kristin Chenoweth, has been snatched up by legal drama guru David E. Kelley to headline his new show LEGALLY MAD.

Per Variety:

In “Legally Mad,” Chenoweth is set to play Skippy Pylon, a cheerful and brilliant attorney who nonetheless exhibits flashes of psychosis — and enjoys being mistaken for a teenager.

“I’ve wanted to work with her for a long time and can’t wait to reveal her as someone who’s completely mad,” Kelley said.

“Legally Mad,” which is set at a Chicago law practice, reps the first major project to come out of Kelley’s deal with Warner Bros. TV, which is producing the show.

It’s also a quick return to primetime for Chenoweth, who until recently starred in ABC’s critically acclaimed but short-lived “Pushing Daisies.”

I’m excited for Cheno but I’m sad that one of my favorite TV ensembles is being broken apart…

Everyone knows that I’m a serious sucker for Christmas and those of you who know me well know that few shows slayed me the way MY SO CALLED LIFE did in the late summer/early fall of 1994.

Episode 15, “So Called Angels” combined my two favorite things and added a special bonus… Juliana Hatfield with whom I was kinda obsessed with at the time as well.

The Chase family was always a very real and very flawed bunch of people but the sincerely deep love they had for each other never came across as hokey or too saccharine. This episode gets to the heart of the teenager/parent paradigm and its an incredibly raw hour of television. I seriously cry through most of the episode every time I watch it.

We’ve got ramifications from Rickie coming out (which I’d just done a year prior),Patty getting over her “gay” issues and blindly accepting Rickie in his time of need, another battle between Angela and her Mother and we’ve got Angela coming to terms with the fact that really maybe her life is amazing and she should just stop resisting the fact that she’s a good kid no matter what.

Below are two videos – the two videos that kill me the most. Please watch them in order. Just finding them online this morning and watching them made me get all teary… like I said: “I’m a total sucker”

continues here…

No seriously, tears streaming down my face right now. It’s ridiculous.

As I’ve spent my week in New York, I thought it only fitting to have The New York Times’ piece on the return of DAMAGES up on the bloggy blog today.

Of special interest is the set visit highlights and this puppy, a new look at DAMAGES Season 2 returning January 7th on FX.

Seriously I might wet myself before the 7th comes around.

*prays that the screener gods send me the first couple episodes and press kit like they did last year*

Very few people know or appreciate the hilarity of Ted Demme’s 1994 classic THE REF. While there are a 1,000 scenes I could have picked, this one sums up the film perfectly. Add this to your holiday film list and laugh at the serious dysfunction and be thankful it ain’t your heinous family.

My next favorite: “Slipper socks, Medium!” (once you see it, you’ll know what I mean)