The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton

🎄 Now it’s time for a Muppety holiday fix, so let’s turn the clock back to 1996, to a show I’m excited to reintroduce: it’s “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.” So go get your fanciest Jingle Bells on for “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton.”  You can watch it on the Jim Henson’s Family Hub YouTube channel.  ****  🎙 Guests:  Tony Whitaker (Muppet Wiki, Bluesky)  Shane Keating (ToughPigs.com, MuppetWiki, Bluesky, Letterboxd)  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Where in the who-heck is the Grinch?  “The noozle at the end of the hoose!”  Michael K. Frith on Muppet Wiki.  The Muppets on “Family Feud” (2001).  Kathy Mullen (Morton) interview with ToughPigs.com (2013).  These aren’t Whatnots; they’re Whozits.  “Sesame English,” an English as a second language “Sesame Street” series.  “Good grief! The comedian’s a bear!”  Cindy Lou Who’s on First?  Defunctland Podcast: Working in a Wubbulous World with Stephanie D’Abruzzo and Craig Shemin.  There’s a rolling drum gag, so here’s the “Emmet Otter” outtake reel again.  “You’re the poet laureate of…”  Shane and the ToughPigs staff visit the “Sesame Street” set.  Shane’s supercut of Gordon from “Sesame Street” saying, “Oh, hi!”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Hallmark’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Collection (1998)  Closer to Christmas.  ****  “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss” and “Mrs. Zabarelli’s Holiday Baton” © 1996 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎃 This year, Halloween in July has fallen on a Scrooge Sunday, so we’re killing two birds with one garbage disposal as we journey back to 1992 to watch Roseanne endure a haunting by the Ghosts of Halloween Past, Present, and Future.  At press time, the episode “Halloween IV” is available on Peacock.  ****  🎙 Guests:  Gerry Davila (Totally Rad Christmas)  Brandon Medley (Instagram)  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  The Story Behind Roseanne’s Iconic Chicken Shirt (Decider, 2018).  The “Psych” pineapple.  October 30th is Mischief Night in New Jersey and, apparently, nowhere else.  Elks Lodges lodges are real.  Our Halloween costumes from around 1992, and the worst things we’ve gotten while trick-or-treating.  Lee Arenberg (Ghost of Halloween Past) in “The Wizard.”  Mario Reccuzo (Ghost of Halloween Present) on “California Dreams.”  Dan and Jackie’s amazing beheaded Marie Antoinette costume.  A background actor is wearing a Pigs in Space costume.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Walgreens Halloween Decorations (1992)  How a Count Eats a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1990)  ****  “Roseanne” and “Halloween IV” © 1992 The Carsey-Werner Company.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 Hey, remember the Christmas episode of that show on ABC where Snow White and Prince Charming are transported by the Evil Queen to a land without magic and have to adjust to modern-day America? No, you don’t, because you’re thinking of “Once Upon a Time,” which didn’t have a Christmas episode, which was rude. But we’re going back an even longer time ago to the enchanted year of 1987 to meet The Charmings, who did have a Christmas episode!You can watch “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” on YouTube, or this VHS-recorded copy with commercials.  ****  🎙 Guests:  Kristi and Bri from Bad Princess Movies.  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  This episode was advertised during the original broadcast of “A Muppet Family Christmas.”  The first season’s opening credits explains the backstory.  Judy Parfitt (Lillian) as another fairytale queen in “Ever After: A Cinderella Story.”  Carol Huston Signs for ‘The Charmings’ (L.A. Times, 1987).  The Calgary Castle and the even crazier themed vacation homes being built near me.  The Enchanted Forest park in British Columbia.  John Astin as the Devil in another episode of “The Charmings.”  The “He-Man village” was actually the massive Eternia playset.  Tony Steedman (Santa) as Socrates in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”  Judy Parfitt on the pain of losing her husband (Steedman) to dementia (Daily Mail, 2014).  Dick Van Dyke’s Learn Not to Burn hot door PSA.  Gordon Ramsay should play Santa.  Robert Bork, or: Yes, Virginia, You Can Reject a Supreme Court Nominee.  One originally cut episode finally aired on CTV in 2021.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Masters of the Universe: Eternia Playset (1986)  Bad Princess Movies.  ****  “The Charmings” and “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” © 1987 Embassy Communications.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 Cowabunga! In nearly 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, 2004’s “The Christmas Aliens” is somehow their only animated Christmas episode.  Join Michelangelo and a kitty named Klunk on a Christmas Eve car chase as they save a truckload of stolen Little Orphan Alien dolls meant for a group of little orphan human Earthlings, all while Splinter makes a sewer full of guests wait for Mikey to arrive before they eat.  At press time, “The Christmas Aliens” is available on Paramount+.  ****  🎙 Guests:  Jaime Hood (ShezCrafti, Cult Film Club, Bluesky)  Shawn Robare (Plastic Rocket Pop, Cult Film Club, Bluesky)  Anthony Strand (ToughPigs.com, Movin’ Right Along, Bluesky)  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Read the original 1985 comic on Mirage Studios’ old, preserved website.  Our episode on “We Wish You a Turtle Christmas.”  The Lost and Unused Theme Songs of the 2003 series.  Bruce Wayne’s long dining room table.  Similar chase scenes in “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Speed.”  Terence Archie (Silver Sentry) as Apollo Creed in “Rocky: The Musical.”  Ice Cream Kitty!  ****  📼 Commercials:  Happy Honda Days: Ninja Turtles, featuring the original 1980s voice cast (2018).  WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics.  ****  “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “The Christmas Aliens” © 2004 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., and Mirage Licensing, Inc.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🐰 It’s Easter in July, and those two things together are the least confusing thing about today’s episode. In 1971’s “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” the first Rankin/Bass non-Christmas holiday special, it’s a race across the calendar to reclaim the title of Chief Easter Bunny from the evil January Q. Irontail, voiced by Vincent Price.  You can watch it on Tubi, or this restored version on the YouTube channel “The Rankin Bass Archive.”  ****  🎙 Guests:  Michael May (MichaelMay.online, After Lunch, Bluesky)  Sammy Hain (Sammy’s Easter Tails, Bluesky)  ****  💬 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 bad at party planning 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 and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄 We’re snowed in a bit earlier than expected, so we’ve hunkered down to have a Christmas feast from around the world. Our colleagues from the newsroom upstairs are less than enthusiastic, but that’s not stopping us from enjoying this 1974 non-Christmas Christmas episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”  ****  🎙 Guest:  Alonso Duralde (Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, The Film Verdict, Linoleum Knife, Maximum Film, Breakfast All Day, Deck the Hallmark, Hollywood Pride, Bluesky).  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  Pre-order the Revised and Updated Edition of “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.”  IMDb’s photo gallery for this episode has 20 screenshots of Mary in a towel.  Betty White’s amazing Christmas dress.  Harrison Ford recalls what he told George Lucas while shooting the first “Star Wars” movie.  I couldn’t find a recipe for “soufflé tour légende,” but here’s one for “Mr. Grant You Took Half Veal Prince Orloff!”  Today’s TV Trope: Social Semi-Circle.  Michael Scott triumphantly singing “Happy Birthday” on “The Office.”  ****  📼 Commercials:  Burger King Gift Certificates Christmas Commercial (1974)  Season’s Eatings.  ****  “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Not a Christmas Story” © 1974 MTM Enterprises, Inc. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🌴 In Part 2 of our “Futurama” Xmas double-header, we meet the only thing worse than an evil robot Santa… two evil robot Santas.  ****  🎙 Guests:  Michael DiGiovanni (Pop Culture Retrofit, Bluesky)  Erin Evans (Bluesky)  Joey O. (Y-Not Radio, Bluesky)  Donnie Storms (Bronwen’s Ghost, Bluesky)  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “Box Car Blues” (1930).  Santa’s Death Fortress sure looks like Elsa’s ice palace.  Coolio’s final acting role before his death was a return as the voice of Kwanzaa-bot.  An ode to Musicmatch Jukebox and our turn-of-the-century mp3 albums we’re still holding onto.  My favorite joke in all of “Futurama.”  “I’m Spartacus!”  ****  📼 Commercials:  America Online Keyword: eBay (2001).  A Bomb for Christmas: A made-for-podcast Christmas movie featuring your old pal, me.  ****  “Futurama” and “A Tale of Two Santas ” © 2001 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🌴 The Advent Calendar House has awoken from what feels like a thousand-year slumber and a lame April Fool’s joke. As a peace offering, here’s the first of two back-to-back episodes celebrating Xmas as imagined by “Futurama.”  Up first is “Xmas Story” from 1999, in which we’re introduced to the annual tradition of gift-giving and shelter-taking from a killer robot Santa Claus that awaits our descendants in the year 3000.  ****  🎙 Guests:  Michael DiGiovanni (Pop Culture Retrofit, Bluesky)  Erin Evans (Bluesky)  Joey O. (Y-Not Radio, Bluesky)  Donnie Storms (Bronwen’s Ghost, Bluesky)  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:  “Fresh Hare” (1942).  Orange Cassidy sleeping through his own wrestling match.  “Why Chaucer Said ‘Ax’ Instead of ‘Ask,’ and Why Some Still Do” (NPR, 2013).  “Why is the number 1,729 hidden in Futurama episodes?” (BBC, 2013).  The classic dangling from a clock tower scenes from “Safety Last” and “Back to the Future.”  John Goodman’s other appearances as Santa.  Randy Johnson hits a bird with a fastball.  Corona Extra’s Christmas palm tree commercial.  The lyrics to “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” are sinister enough by themselves.  ****  📼 Commercials:  Hess Truck 1999 Space Shuttle Toy.  Stick to Shorts: A Classic Cartoons Podcast.  ****  “Futurama” and “Xmas Story” © 1999 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🕎 It’s the year 2000, and Christmas and Hanukkah have crossed paths at my doorstep in the form of Santa Claus and his part-Jewish friend… a weird turtle man.  In honor of Christmas Day and the first night of Hanukkah sharing a day on the calendar this year, we’re revisiting some old Friends, an escaped tarantula, a restaurant we may never be allowed in or out of again, and an unforgettable interfaith holiday mascot fit for a new millennium.  ****  🎙 Guests:Becca Petunia (ToughPigs.com, Bear in the Big Blue Podcast, Bluesky)  April Ryley (Bluesky)  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:1. How often does the first night of Hanukkah fall on Christmas? (Vox, 2016)  2. What the ‘Friends’ Holiday Armadillo Episode Gets Right About Interfaith Families (Hey Alma, 2021)  3. The “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” drum roll outtake reel.  4. A transcript including deleted scenes reveals Ben wants Santa to bring him an ant farm.  5. Formication (with an M, y’all), the false sense of feeling like bugs are crawling on you.  6. Halloween Adventure is real and still open.  7. Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.  ****  📼 Commercial Break:AT&T True Savings with David Schwimmer (circa 1996)  The Studio Demands It!  ****  “Friends” and “The One with the Holiday Armadillo” © 2000 Warner Bros. Television.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

🎄It’s 1986, and the only way Drew Barrymore can save her new friends is to believe in the magic of toys… and Cincinnati.  From director Clive Donner comes a bonkers adaptation of “Babes in Toyland” starring Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Richard Mulligan as a weird, evil guy who lives in a bowling ball.  ****  🎙 Guests:Molly Patton (MollyPatton.com)  Becca Petunia (ToughPigs.com, Bear in the Big Blue Podcast, Bluesky)  Adam Pope (The Retro Network, Wizards: The Podcast Guide to Comics, Remember That Show?, Bluesky)  ****  💬 Topics & Tangents:1. Watch “Babes in Toyland” on Tubi, the full, 3-hour original broadcast with commercials, or the unofficial “Director’s Cut” without ads.  2. Misfits in Toyland (NSFW), an unrelated horror-comedy webcomic.  3. Keanu Reeves (Jack) on “Going Great” (1985).  4. Googy Gress (Georgie) in “Wayne’s World 2.”  5. Today’s TV Trope: And You Were There.  6. The Cookie Jar House of South Jersey.  7. The Undertaker’s entrance at WrestleMania IX, in the middle of the afternoon.  8. Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (and Tripping Daisy’s cover of theme song).  9. The Toymaster’s Santa coat looks like Belle’s from “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.”  10. Was It Great, or Were You 8?  ****  📼 Commercial Break:McDonald’s: Recital (1986)  Give ’Em All a Little Pat of Butter (1986)  TGI Podcast  ****  “Babes in Toyland” © 1986 The Finnegan Company.   Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.