Cabbage Patch Kids First Christmas.
Let’s break tonight’s entry into sections, just for kicks.
HOLIDAY NOTES:
1) The main page just got its annual Christmas facelift, with an all-new header from the amazing Jason Week. (I know Thanksgiving is over, but can I add Jason to the “Things I’m Thankful For” list?)
2) The Christmas Jukebox has been reactivated. Look for the jukebox graphic on the right-side column of any page on Dino Drac. (That this silly playlist has become a traditional part of many readers’ holiday celebrations warms my heart. It hasn’t been updated since 2008, but tying it back to earlier versions, some of you have been listening to that jukebox for over 10 years now!)
3) There’s also a new article — the first of this year’s editions of Classic Christmas Commercials. (Nice assortment in this one, too. They’ll make you wanna knit things and drink spice.)
SURVEY TIME:
I think we’re overdue for a good one.
In the comments, name three of your favorite childhood Christmas presents. (Or presents you got for whatever it is that you celebrate.) Let’s make 15 the age cutoff.
I’ll go into greater detail in the comments if I can’t fall asleep, but my quick picks: The Star Wars AT-AT (it was like getting a second dog), the Coleco ALF plush doll, and let’s throw in The Legend of Zelda.
TONIGHT’S MOVIE:
….well, tonight’s TV special, at least.
It’s The Cabbage Patch Kids First Christmas, from 1984. Even if you don’t want to watch it, at least admit that you want to be able to say that you’ve watched it. So just do it.
The Honeymooners?
Super random pick for tonight, because we like to mix it up here on Dino Drac After Dark.
Here’s a Christmassy episode of The Honeymooners:
Strangely enough, I did watch The Honeymooners fairly regularly as a kid, and probably still as an early teenager. If I’m remembering things right, the reruns were a staple on WPIX, which aired them late at night as the final “real” show before hours of infomercials.
The opening voice-over (“Jackie Gleason! The Honeymooners!”) used to piss me off, as it signaled the end of my nightly marathons and meant that the best thing left on television was… well, this. It couldn’t compare to shows like Cheers, but the truth is that I grew to like it.
It’s been many years since I’ve seen The Honeymooners, but I still can’t think of it without remembering those oddly sweet times when I was looking for any excuse to stay awake, tiptoeing to the pitch black kitchen to steal more handfuls of Saltines.
Muppet Family Christmas!
I ignored Black Friday and spent the day glued to the couch, watching a bunch of Roseanne Thanksgiving episodes that suspiciously only turned up on my DVR after Thanksgiving was over.
Gotta be honest, I kinda want to do the exact same thing tomorrow. This would’ve been my ideal Groundhog Day. Effortless and irresponsible and also kinda oily. Love it.
Here’s A Muppet Family Christmas, which debuted back in ’87 as a prime time special.
Almost thirty years later, and the massive crossover event still feels like a big deal.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
We ended up having a pretty nice Thanksgiving, albeit a quiet one. We kind of just lazed on the couch all day, eating everything in sight while marathoning enough episodes of Chopped to keep our appetites strong. We later watched Jurassic World, which for some reason seemed perfect for Thanksgiving?
Somewhere along the way, I posted a pretty popular tweet:
💙 YOU HAVE BEEN VISITED BY THE THANKSGIVING HEDGEHOG OF FORTUNE. RETWEET TO SPREAD LUCK. 💙 pic.twitter.com/U5xESBwwnV
— Dinosaur Dracula (@DinosaurDracula) November 24, 2016
As of this writing, my stupid Sonic joke has more than 3200 retweets. If only my Dino Drac plugs did nearly so well!
I hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving. Feel free to share stories, in the comments! I’m also curious to know if anyone will be partaking in Black Friday, which as I understand it actually began six fucking hours ago.
(I’m actually a fan of Black Friday, but only as a spectator. Dig the idea of super late night shopping, and enjoy the insanity from afar, but I don’t care if they’re giving away free cameras… you’ll never get me on those lines.)
The passing of Thanksgiving marks the official start of the Christmas season, so let’s dust off one of my favorite specials:
…even if it’s probably been 20 years since I last saw it.
I can barely remember what ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas is about, but I know it had something to do with mice, clocks and a discouraged Santa Claus. As a kid, I found it oddly sophisticated, at least compared to Rudolph and Frosty’s “popcorn” specials. Wonder how it holds up. Let’s find out!
PS: If you’re doing any holiday shopping this weekend on Amazon, please consider doing so through this link, as it’ll help me and the site make a little dough!
