I remember seeing this special when it first aired in the US. I had forgotten about it until sometime in the late 80s when I tried to find it on VHS. The only problem was I couldn't remember the name of it. I searched used video dealers for years at flea markets and never found it. Jump to the early 2000s when I got my first computer. I finally found out what it was called only to discover that it was released on VHS in the 80s and was incredibly hard to find for a decent price. Thank God for YouTube.
A Cosmic Christmas is the first television special produced by the Canadian animation company, Nelvana. It premiered on December 4, 1977 in Canada on CBC Television.
Nelvana worked on their first television specials: A Cosmic Christmas (1977), The Devil and Daniel Mouse (1978), Please Don't Eat the Planet (better known by its subtitle, Intergalactic Thanksgiving) (1979), Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979), Easter Fever (1980) and Take Me Up to the Ball Game (1980). During that time, George Lucas, an aficionado of their work, commissioned the company to work on a 10-minute sequence for the CBS TV film, The Star Wars Holiday Special. This short scene, officially entitled "The Faithful Wookiee", would introduce audiences to the villainous bounty hunter Boba Fett, who would make his first theatrical appearance in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back.
1. The Happy Reindeer - Dancer, Prancer & Nervous (The Singing Reindeer)
2. Monster Holiday - Lon Chaney
3. I Tan't Wait Till Quithmuth - Mel Blanc
4. I've Had A Very Merry Christmas - Jerry Lewis
5. The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks
6. Nuttin' For Christmas - Stan Freberg
7. I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas - Yogi Yorgesson
8. Santa Caught A Cold On Christmas Eve - Dick & Richard
I had a request to re-up this compilation I made in 2006. I used Mediafire for this share and added three more songs. See the original post here to download the deluxe edition.
I'm way behind on my Christmas posts! I have a bunch of things planned, but I don't know if I'll have time to do it all. While you're waiting for new posts here, check out these sites that are much better at posting on a regular basis --
You can also listen to my Christmas Playlist. Enjoy some seasonal tunes while surfing the net.
Hopefully I'll get some quality holiday posts up soon. In the meantime, if you want to get me something for Christmas, see my Amazon Wishlist at the bottom of the blog :)
On that note, I'll leave you with one of the greatest Christmas songs ever!
Here's a couple of old photos of my brother and I sitting on Santa's lap. I believe these were taken at a long gone department store in downtown Akron in the late 60s/early 70s. The photos are in a greeting card type folder and the cover is the same on both of them.
I am really excited to have the opportunity to do a product review for CSN Stores.
CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be a chic handbag, tv tables, cookware, dining room furniture, home decor, kids stuff, bookcases and much, much more!
As soon as I receive the product (still not sure what I'm ordering), I'll review it here at the ol' Wonderful Wonderblog. Stay tuned...
Irvin Kershner, the veteran filmmaker who directed the pivotal 1980 “Star Wars” sequel “The Empire Strikes Back,” as well as big-budget features like “Never Say Never Again” and “Robocop II,” has died, Agence France-Presse reported. His goddaughter Adriana Santini told Agence France-Presse that he died in Los Angeles after a long illness. He was 87.
Mr. Kershner, who taught film and photography classes at the University of Southern California, had already accumulated a lengthy résumé of film and television credits, including the 1978 thriller “Eyes of Laura Mars,” when he was chosen by George Lucas, the “Star Wars” creator and franchise godfather, to direct “Empire Strikes Back,” the first sequel to be released theatrically (though the fifth to occur chronologically) in that blockbuster space-adventure franchise.
“Empire,” in which the villainous Darth Vader reveals he is Luke Skywalker’s father and the roguish Han Solo responds to Princess Leia’s declaration of love with a winking “I know,” was a risky undertaking, financed with Mr. Lucas’s own money and filmed under difficult circumstances in California, Britain and Norway. Though it was greeted with mixed reviews, it went on to gross more than $200 million in its initial release at the United States box office, setting the stage for four more “Star Wars” sequels over the next 25 years.
In an interview with Vanity Fair in October, Mr. Kershner was asked if he was satisfied that “Empire” was deemed a classic work of science fiction in the longer historical view.
“In this case,” Mr. Kershner said, “I wanted very much for the film to succeed because I knew that George was spending his own money on it. I think the critics felt that they were going to see an extension of ‘Star Wars.’ In other words, they wanted another ‘Star Wars.’ I decided that the potential was much greater than a rerun of ‘Star Wars.’ When I finally accepted the assignment, I knew that it was going to be a dark film, with more depth to the characters than in the first film. It took a few years for the critics to catch up with the film and to see it as a fairy tale rather than a comic book.”
Leslie Nielsen, whose longtime career as a dramatic actor took a sudden turn into comedy with spoofs like "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun," has died at age 84, his family said Sunday.
The Canadian-born Nielsen's career reached back into the early days of television, when he made frequent appearances on live drama series like "Goodyear Playhouse." He played the earnest starship captain in the 1956 science fiction classic "Forbidden Planet" and made regular appearances on a wide range of TV dramas into the 1970s.
Much of that changed in 1980, when he was cast as a doctor aboard an endangered jetliner in the gag-a-minute disaster-movie parody "Airplane!" Nielsen's deadpan delivery of lines like "I am serious -- and don't call me Shirley" helped launch a second career.
The film's producers went on to cast him in their short-lived television series "Police Squad!" and had him reprise that show's bumbling lead character, Lt. Frank Drebin, a decade later in three "Naked Gun" movies. Nielsen appeared in several similar but less-acclaimed spoofs following those films.
Nielsen died of complications of pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, surrounded by family and friends, a family statement said.
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting author Joanna Wilson at a book signing at Square Records here in Akron. She's on a tour promoting her book The Christmas TV Companion: A Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials & Outrageous Oddities. Make sure you check out her blog for more info on the book, her in-store appearances and reviews of classic holiday programs.
Me and author Joanna Wilson
From the back of the book --
Christmas on TV is wilder, weirder, & more wondrous than you think! The Christmas TV Companion is a funny, engaging look beyond the same Christmas specials that air every year to the cult TV rarities, over-the-top made for TV holiday specials & bizarre, spacey shows that truly expand the notion of “Christmas spirit.” Loaded with pop culture references, this book is sure to please pop aficionados & TV junkies of all stripes. Its remarkable breadth of content covers the far-out gems of yesterday, as well as the irreverent & cutting edge Christmas material of today, from Arthur C. Clarke to South Park, and from Ed Sullivan to Squidbillies. This guide also contains practical examples for enhancing your own Christmas TV viewing.
The best inscription ever!
I really enjoyed meeting Joanna. We talked about blogging, Christmas on TV and other pop culture stuff. I've flipped through the first two chapters of the book, Macabre and Sci-Fi, and can't wait to read the whole thing. I highly recommend buying the book and meeting Joanna if you get the chance. Here's some of her upcoming appearances --
