The 3rd Annual Holiday Movie Challenge ***LISTS GO HERE***

[Numes]

Part 1 here
Part 2 here

* = first time viewing
Thanksgiving Color
Christmas Color
New Year's Color

Total Watched (as of 12-24-07): 155
Total First Time Viewings: 6 (part 1) + 30 (part 2) + 46 (part 3) = 82

Bingo Card/Checklist [22/45]

-X- Watch a Thanksgiving movie: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
-X- Watch a Thanksgiving TV episode: South Park - "Starvin Marvin"
--- Watch a Thanksgiving special.
-X- Watch something animated about Thanksgiving: The Simpsons - "Bart vs. Thanksgiving"
[3/4]

-X- Watch a Christmas movie: Christmas Vacation, Scrooged, Scrooge (1970)
-X- Watch a Christmas TV episode. Many
-X- Watch a Christmas special. He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special
-X- Watch something animated about Christmas. Many
--- Watch "It's a Wonderful Life"
-X- Watch some version of A Christmas Carol. Scrooged, Scrooge (1970)
[5/6]

--- Watch a New Year's movie.
--- Watch a New Year's TV episode.
--- Watch a New Year's special.
--- Watch something animated about New Year's.
[0/4]

Watch one film/show from every decade, starting with the 1890's.
--- 1890:
--- 1900:
--- 1910:
--- 1920:
--- 1930:
--- 1940:
-X- 1950:
-X- 1960:
-X- 1970:
--- 1978: (Watch something from the year you were born)
-X- 1980:
-X- 1990:
-X- 2000:
[6/13]

--- Watch something about Christ.
--- Watch something Garfield.
-X- Watch an Emmy winner. Home Improvement - "'Twas the Blight Before Christmas"
--- Watch an Oscar winner.
--- Watch some version of Miracle on 34th Street.
--- Watch the MST3K version of a film/show.
--- Watch a film/show and its remake.
--- Watch a film/show based on or turned into a video game.
-X- Watch a film/show based on a novel: Scrooge
--- Watch a silent film.
-X- Watch a film/show with commentary. Many
--- Watch a film/show that takes place in space.
-X- Watch a film/show that takes place on or under the sea: Sealab 2021 - "Feast of Alvis"
[4/13]

Watch a film for each rating:
-X- G - Scrooge
-X- PG - A Nightmare Before Christmas
-X- PG-13 - Christmas Vacation
-X- R - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
--- Unrated
[4/5]

Thursday December 20th, 2007 -
99. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch - "A Girl and Her Cat"*

There are few actors/actresses that I absolutely can't stand. One of those people is Caroline Rhea. It pains me to even look at her. Coolio...Yes, I said Coolio makes an appearance in this episode. Did you hear me? Coolio! Ha! Oh, and I don't really like Nick Backay either, and he is the voice of the cat, Salem. I'm kind of a sucker for sci-fi stuff, though, and this is borderline "sci-fi", but has some elements that are interesting.

100. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch - "Sabrina Claus"*

Sabrina's boyfriend cut his hair. That's what I noticed about this episode. Johnny Mathis makes an appearance. Alrighty then.... No... John Ratzenberger time! Cliff is back, with a vengeance!

101. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch - "Christmas Amnesia"*

In this episode, Father Christmas is played by some old guy. Apparently John Ratzenberger wasn't available. 3rd episode in a row where Sabrina kissed her boyfriend under mistletoe in the show.

102. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch - "Sabrina Nipping at Your Nose"*

Ha. Danny Bonaduce (sp) shows up at Sabrina's house in a tree, and the cat says "This is the best Partridge in a pear tree I've ever had". Ridiculous, but funny.

103. George Lopez - "A Clear and Presentless Danger"*

Well, my DVR said "Fresh Prince", but it's George Lopez! At least it was a Christmas episode that I hadn't seen. George Lopez is a pretty funny guy. Special appearance by some X-games biker guy that I've never heard of, Dave Mira?

104. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius - "Holly Jolly Jimmy"*

I have never seen this show before. Another "title character" saves Christmas episode.

105. Three's Company - "Three's Christmas"*

I haven't watched Three's Company for a LOOONG time. There is so much sexual innuendo in this show, it's amazing. I do have to be completely honest, Suzanne Sommers is looking very fine in this episode.

106. Doug - "Doug's Christmas Story"*

Wow. I haven't seen this show since it was on originally. I, somehow, actually remembered the theme song, wow. Billy West is the voice of Doug! Awesome. Why is Doug bald, again? Perhaps he's related to Charlie Brown???

Friday December 21st, 2007 -
107. Christmas to the Extreme [Travel]*

Well. I have seen some of these things before on the other Christmas specials that we've had. They had the crazy Bronners Christmas mall - absolutely ridiculous what they have there. Craziness. They had the fruitcake toss place too. Apparently, this year Vegas crushed the Santa record. What else? They had the Gingerbread championship from 2007. The previous gingerbread championship must have been form 2005.

108. The Tick - "The Tick Loves Santa!"*

I have never seen this cartoon before. Not too bad. Kind of quirky, which is fine with me.

109. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - "Christmas Show"*

I've never actually seen a full episode of Fresh Prince before. I've seen parts of it, so I kind of know the characters and whatnot. To be honest, Will Smith hasn't changed a whole lot since this show. Yeah, he's a big movie star now, but he still has the same mannerisms as he did on Fresh Prince.

110. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - "Deck the Halls"*

Will tries to spice up the Christmas decorations. A cameo by Evander Holyfield, he should definitely stick to his day job.

111. Step by Step - "Christmas Story"*

Don Knotts alert! Don Knotts alert! He was deputy Feif (not Fife). Pretty excellent cameo. Played his character from Andy Griffith. When I first recorded this show, I couldn't remember this shoe at all. Then it all came flooding back as soon as I saw the intro. Holy cow. How could I forget this amazing Patrick Duffy/Suzanne Somers show. Ok, it was "ok". Definitely bringing back some memories here. I love the ridiculous cheesy musical intros from these 90's sitcoms... It's soooo... 90's

112. Step by Step - "I'll Be Home for Christmas"*

Doris Roberts plays Aunt Edna in this episode.

113. Full House - "A Very Tanner Christmas"*

I did actually use to watch Full House. Anyone remember when Friday was actually a night to watch TV? TGIF? Not anymore. The only show I DVR on Fridays now is "Best Week Ever" It's hard to see Bob Sagat be such a goodie-two-shoes. Seeing him on the talk shows and whatnot, he is really a dirty, dirty man.

114. Batman Returns

I have not seen this movie for quite some time. This movie has more of a Tim Burton feel than the first one. I'm not quite sure what the flaw was in this movie...I do know that there were a lot less action scenes than the first movie. I'm not necessarily all about action scenes, but it seemed to be dis-proportionate for this type of movie. Interestingly enough, all of the acting was wonderful. Danny Devito, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeifer were all great. As you may know, Sean Young kind of went cuckoo trying to get the Catwoman gig. It would have been interesting to see her at Catwoman.

Saturday December 22nd, 2007 -
115. Full House - "Arrest Ye Merry Gentlemen"*

Cheese Factor: 9.5/10. Mickey Rooney is in this episode. He plays a crotchety old man who Joey and one of the Olsens help find the true meaning of Christmas. Uggg, it was (by far) the cheesiest Christmas show I've seen for this challenge. Oh yeah, and the twins for Joey and his wife are HORRIBLE.

116. Full House - "Our Very First Christmas Show"

The Tanners get stuck at the airport. Santa Claus magically appears and gets everyone gifts. What an original idea.

117. Family Matters - "Miracle on Elm Street"*

Haven't watched Family Matters since about the same time as Full House, another TGIF show. Another Episode where Santa magically brings Mr. Winslow his childhood gift. Wee!

118. Family Matters - "Have Yourself a Very Winslow Christmas"*

Formula for Family Matters Christmas special: 1. Urkel makes a mess. 2. Urkel is somehow alone on Christmas. 3. Urkel breaks something of Lauras. 4. Laura gets mad and says she never wants to see him again. 5. Laura changes her mind. 6. Urkel comes over for Christmas. 7. Everyone is happy. 8. The end.

119. Family Matters - "Christmas Is Where the Heart Is"*

See #118.

120. Family Matters - "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Urkel"*

See #118.

121. Friends - "The One With Phoebe's Dad"*

Haven't watched Friends since it aired originally. I may or may not have seen this episode before. Some good jokes, nothing special here, but definitely entertaining.

122. Friends - "The One Where Rachel Quits"*

Guess what? Rachel quits her waitress job! Ross sells cookies. Some good laughs here.

123. Robot Chicken - "Robot Chicken Half-Assed Christmas Special"*

I have only seen the Star Wars episode of Robot Chicken. This show is pretty damned funny. I may pick up the DVDs of this show.

124. Robot Chicken - "Robot Chicken Christmas Special"*

The first few minutes were a Dragonball Z parody that I didn't get at all. Some good stuff after that, though.

125. The Secret Show - "Secret Santa"*

Interesting show. A definite new take on the normal Christmas episodes. The name changing nicknames were pretty funny: Pineapple Chunks and Cha-Cha Mittens.

126. Tom Goes the Mayor - "Rats Off to Ya"*

A very odd show. I like it. Voices of Jeff Garlin and Bob Odenkirk. Bob Odenkirk is one of the creators, so not so surprising after I found that out.

127. King of the Hill - "Pretty, Pretty Dresses"*

Haven't watched this show since it originally aired. I think I only watched the first two seasons or so. Weird episode where Bill dresses up like a woman.

128. King of the Hill - "The Unbearable Blindness of Laying"*

Hank sees his mother and beau doing the nasty on the kitchen table.

129. King of the Hill - "Hillenium"*

A good parody on Y2K and the ridiculous measures that some people took at the turn of the millennium.

130. King of the Hill - "Twas the Nut Before Christmas"*

Yep, another King of the Hill episode.

131. King of the Hill - "The Father, the Son and J.C."*

Nope, Jimmy Carter didn't do his own voice in this episode.

132. That 70's Show - "The Best Christmas Ever"*

I watched this show when it first started. I think I watched 3 seasons or so. I always liked this show. It was pretty original, and the cast was great (Laura Prepon... drool).

133. That 70's Show - "Hyde's Christmas Rager"*

Eric pukes on Red's shoes.

134. Stroker and Hoop - "I Saw Stroker Killing Santa Claus"*

This show is completely whack. I am definitely a fan. The voice of Stroker is a guy who is on Conan O'Brien once in a while (and Cheap Seats, too). Eli Wallach was the narrator, awesome. I looked this show up, and it looks like it only lasted 13 episodes. Too bad. Hopefully they release it on DVD someday.

Sunday December 23nd, 2007 -
135. The Emperor's New School - "A Giftmas Story"*

I have seen half of "The Emperor's New Groove" and I really liked it. For the most part, I am not really into Disney-type movies at all. This was also pretty funny. It sounds like they had the same voice actor's as the movie, I was surprised.

136. Denis Leary - Merry F'ing Christmas

I'm almost certain I have seen this before. Denis Leary, for me, is one of the better comics around. I was hoping for just his stand-up, but it was a collection of skits and interstitials. The William Shatner and Carmen Electra sections were a riot. They also had a fake commercial for Colt 45d with Billy Dee Williams, grat stuff.

137. Matlock - "Santa Claus"

Every time I think of Matlock, I think of the Simpsons Episode where all the old people want more Matlock. I loved Matlock when I was a kid. Granted, it's a little cheesy now, but I still enjoyed it.

138. That 70's Show - "Christmas"*

Kelso is going to be a dad? When did that happen? It must have been after I stopped watching it. At least the mom was Shannon Elizabeth!

139. That 70's Show - "Winter"*

Hmm... When did Laura Prepon dye her hair blonde? Boo!

140. Married... With Children - "It's a Bundyful Life Part 1"*

Wow. This show was so far ahead of it's time. I haven't watched it since it was on TV. It's still edgy even today. The crowd is so into the show, it's awesome.

141. Married... With Children - "It's a Bundyful Life Part 2"*

Part 2. Sam Kinison makes an appearance as Al's guardian angel. The view of the Bundy household if Al had never been born was perfect.

142. Married... With Children - "Christmas"*

This was definitely after I stopped watching the show. There was a kid? I don't remember that.

143. Malcolm in the Middle - "Christmas"*

I watched the first four seasons of Malcolm in the Middle, I think. I'm not sure if I saw this episode or not.

144. Malcolm in the Middle - "Christmas Trees"

They have another kid? I missed that. A fairly original Christmas story.

145. Coach - "Christmas Brains"

I actually vaguely remember this episode from when it was one. Once again, a show that I haven't seen since it was originally on TV. There was a little extra incentive to watch this show when it aired because it was very loosely based on Hayden Fry, who was the Iowa football coach forever. Me being from Iowa, and a die hard Hawkeye fan, it was intriguing to say the least.

146. Coach - "My True Love Gave to Me"*

Good old Dauber. You just don't see characters like that anymore.

147. SpongeBob SquarePants - "Patchy the Pirate Presents the SpongeBob SquarePants Christmas Special"*

I have never seen SpongeBob before, so it was interesting. I know it has kind of a cult following, but I can't see myself watching it again.

148. Kim Possible - "Very Possible Christmas"*

This wasn't bad. I can see how this could be a popular show. I was floored by all of the voice actors in this show. I'm surprised I didn't recognize more of them: John DiMaggio, Nancy Cartwright, Jean Smart, Gary Cole, Stephen Root.

Monday December 24th, 2007 -
149. Saved by the Bell - "A Home for Christmas pt. 1"

Saved by the Bell. Oh my. I am almost certain that I have seen every episode of this show. I used to watch it when it was on, and all of the re-runs they would show in syndication. I haven't watched it since it aired. It was kind of hard to watch after so many years, but it was a compelling episode about homelessness at Christmas time. A decent helping of cheesiness in this episode. Part 1 of 2.

150. Saved by the Bell - "A Home for Christmas pt. 2"

Well thank god I recorded both part 1 and part 2. I don't know what I would have done if I had only gotten the first part. Everyone lives happily ever after! Wee! Zack breaks out the cell-phone the size of my HD DVD player in this episode.

151. Married... With Children - "I Can't Believe it's Butter"*

I must have also missed the Grandma coming to stay with the Bundy's episode. A pretty funny episode where Grandma is the voice on the other end of a sex-chat line for which all of Al's friends call.

152. Married... With Children - "God Help Ye Merry Bundymen"*

The second popcorn necklace eating gag I have seen. I can't remember what the other show was. Ha - quote of the day: Al: "Alright, listen, we've got two young, eager boys hanging around, you know what that makes us?" Griff: "Michael Jackson?"

153. Are You Being Served? - "The Father Christmas Affair"*

I have seen about 5 minutes of this show here and there. It has been on PBS forever, and sometimes I would find myself with nothing else on when I was somewhere where there was no cable when I was a kid (gasp!). I DO like a lot of British comedy, but this one is definitely not my bag. I was kind of shocked at the content of this episode. One of the plot lines was this old guy doing a one man Christmas show to Al Jolsons "My Mammy" COMPLETE WITH BLACK FACE. I know this was a 70's show, but I was really surprised. At the end of the show, they were picking out people to be Santa Claus in the store, and the guy still had the black face on. They had a black child pick the Santa he liked most, and they picked the old guy with the black face on. I'm not necessarily offended or anything, I was just surprised. The old guy in this episode was HORRIBLE. He couldn't talk, he couldn't act. I can't believe he was a cast member. The last note I have is that this show was a full 28 minutes with no commercials on PBS. They could never put that in syndication without hacking it up. I'm glad PBS shows the full episodes of shows like this.

154. Matlock - "The Scrooge"

A had to go for a double helping of Matlock this year. I'm a sucker for these 80's murder shows, I don't know why. There was one outside shot of a bar, where they did this HORRIBLE optical to put the name of the bar and a logo on it. It wasn't even close to believable. Not sure why they felt they had to do that. Could we not believe that it was the bar without the name on it?

155. A Christmas Story

This and "Christmas Vacation" are the two movies that are viewed every year. There are sooo many quotable lines in this movie. It's a Christmas Classic. Don't shoot your eye out!

Part 4 here

[Trevor]

List broken up due to the forum's software bug with long posts. Here are the links to part one, part two, part three, part four,
part five, part six, part seven, and part eight.

Happy Boxing Day! Wednesday, December 26th 2007-
431- M*A*S*H* - 'Twas the Day After Christmas - 7.5/10 - Purely by accident, this was the first thing I watched on Boxing Day.
432- Home Alone 3 * - 1.5/10 - They don't make many movies this bad.
433- Saved by the Bell - Home for Christmas * - 6/10 - They picked the skinniest actress in Hollywood to play the homeless girl.
434- Sister, Sister - Christmas * - 4/10 - Sherman Hensley in a guest role. This had some of the worst dialogue of any show I've seen this season.
435- Spin City - Miracle Near 34th Street * - 7.5/10 - Great series.
Thursday, December 27th 2007-
436- A Christmas Story - 9/10 - I also always wanted a BB gun. Never got one until I had my own salary though.
437-Scrooged - 10/10 - One of my top twenty films.
438- Christmas Vacation - 7.5/10 - I like the original more.
439- Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July * - 7/10 - Weak dialogue.
440- Rudolph's Shiny New Year - 7.5/10 - I love the idea of every year having their own island.
Friday, December 28th 2007-
n/a? - P.S. I Love You * - 7/10 - This might count, the first and third acts both take place during the holidays.
441- Miniscule - Come Christmas * - 8/10 - Very funny short.
442- Married With Children - God Help Ye Merry Bundymen * - 6.5/10 - I like the "new" Al and Griff.
443- Living Single - Living Kringle * - 7/10 - Kim Coles did work after The Facts of Life!
444- The Golden Girls - 'Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas * - 6/10 - Predictable.
445- The Golden Girls - Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas * - 6.5/10 - Entertaining, but I won't be buying any Golden Girls DVD sets.
446- All in the Family - The Bunkers Go West (*?) - 7.5/10 - Darn, part one of a two parter, but I think I know what was coming.
447- Cheers - The Spy Who Came in for a Cold One (*?) - 8/10 - Nice ending.
448- Happy Days - Guess Who's Coming to Christmas (*?) - 7/10 - There really was a Chuck Cunningham?
449- The Nanny - Christmas Episode * - 7/10 - Not as bad as I feared.
450- A Charlie Brown Christmas - 9/10 - It's a shame that many of the youth of today can't appreciate the simple animation, classic storyline and truths, and great music of this classic.
451- It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown - 7/10 - Not nearly as good as the first, but still a lot of fun.
Saturday, December 29th 2007-
452- The King of Queens - Noel Cowards * - 8/10 - Jerry Stiller is great in this series.
453- The King of Queens - Silent Mite * - 8/10 - I love stories with little people.
454- Home Improvement - Yule Better Watch Out (*?) - 8/10 - This was season one's Christmas episode. Tim Allen was great in this series, but it seems like not much else since then.
455- Home Improvement - I'm Scheming of a White Christmas (*?) - 7.5/10 - Nice appearance by The Manhattan Transfer.
456- Home Improvement - 'Twas the Flight Before Christmas * - 7/10 - I think I've seen all 8 HI Christmas episodes now.
457- Just Shoot Me! - How the Finch Stole Christmas * - 7.5/10 - Great concept, could have had better dialogue and jokes.
458- Just Shoot Me! - Christmas? Christmas! * - 8/10 - Great guest staring role by Ray Liotta.
459- The Santa Clause 2 * - 7/10 - Decided to watch this since I am apparently on a Tim Allen kick lately. Slightly better than the similar Steve Guttenberg / Crystal Bernhard movies.
460- Justice League - Comfort and Joy * - 7/10 - First time seeing this animated series, not too bad. I'm a big JLA fan from the comics of the 1970s, working on completing my collection of them.
Sunday, December 30th 2007-
n/a- Charlie Wilson's War * - 8/10 - Only one Christmas scene that I recall, but I just wanted to give some props to this excellent film.
461- The Candlemaker * - 7/10 - Kids can learn responsibility?
462- Snezhniyat chovek * - 6.5/10 - My first (?) Bulgarian cartoon.
463- Hawaiian Birds * - 6.5/10 - More early animation.
464- Podarok dlya samogo slabogo * - 5/10 - An old Russian cartoon about a baby elephant's Christmas. Weird.
465- Poseidon * - 5/10 - A needless remake. Some of the special effects are nice, but not nearly enough so to make it worth viewing over the classic original.
466- The Story of the North Pole * - 4.5/10 - Cartoon that I could not find information on the net. Animals frolicking in celebration, highlighted by a baby polar bear. Then a Bambi moment.
467- Mickey's Good Deed * - 6/10 - Selling your dog? Unforgivable!
468- Corn Chips * - 7.5/10 - I think I'll pop some popcorn in my movie watching later today.
469- Toy Tinkers * - 7/10 - Chip 'n Dale celebrate Christmas.
470- Pluto's Christmas Tree * - ?/10 - Chip 'n Dale always pick the wrong tree.
471- Courage the Cowardly Dog - The Snowman Cometh * - 7/10 - "Sean Connery" is an evil snowman.
472- I Am Weasel - Happy Baboon Holidays * - 4/10 - Another first and last time series viewing.
473- Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy - Ed, Edd n Eddy's Jingle Jingle Jangle * - 1/10 - I can't imagine anyone finding these characters likable, the script passable, or the dialogue even remotely entertaining.
474- Metropolitan (1990) * - 5/10 - Quite jarring, going from the mass of kid fare I've been watching lately, to these preppy "intellectuals".
475- The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause * - 3/10 - Martin Short brings this down a point or two. My first Redbox rental.
476- Die Hard - 9/10 - One of my top 20.
Monday, December 31st 2007-
477- A Waif's Welcome * - 5/10 - 1936 short. Nice looking snowman.
478- Hector's Hectic Life * - 5/10 - A 1948 short that is strangely similar to The Christmas Pups.
479- Jingle Bells (1950) * - 5/10 - Interesting animation.
480- The Snow Man * - 6/10 - Old short that looks to have inspired one of the recent Nicktoon modern cartoons I saw.
481- The Little King: Christmas Night * - 5/10 - Ok, the king invites two bums home to bath and sleep with him while they wait for Santa. Right.
482- Lamb in a Jam * - 5/10 - Meh.
483- Insect's Christmas * - 7/10 - Cool animation from 1913.
484- Winter Carousel * - More old animation from Russia.
485- Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire * - 7/10 - Pretty fun.
486- Rugrats - The Santa Experience
487- The Ren and Stimpy Show - A Scooter for Yaksmas
488- Mister and Mistletoe - A Popeye short.
489- A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas
490- The Night Before Christmas - Tom and Jerry
491- Snowbody Loves Me - Tom & Jerry
492- King of the Hill - Ms. Wakefield
493- The Wonder Years - Christmas
494- The Wonder Years - Let Nothing You Dismay
495- The Simpsons - Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
496- The Simpsons - Mr. Plow
497- The Simpsons - Miracle on Evergreen Terrace
498- The Simpsons - Grift of the Magi
499- The Simpsons - She of Little Faith
500- Frasier - Miracle on Third or Fourth Street
501- Frasier - Frasier Grinch
502- Frasier - Perspectives on Christmas
503- Frasier - Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz
504- Frasier - The Fight Before Christmas
505- Frasier - Mary Christmas
506- Malcolm in the Middle - Hal's Christmas Gift
507- Wings - A Terminal Christmas
508- Braveheart
509- Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008


* = first time viewing
Thanksgiving Color
St. Andrew's Day Color
Christmas Color
Boxing Day Color
New Year's Color

Bingo Card/Checklist

I'll keep the checklist only in my current post to save bandwidth.

[Numes]

Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Part 3 here

* = first time viewing
Thanksgiving Color
Christmas Color
New Year's Color

Total Watched: 200
Total First Time Viewings: 6 (part 1) + 30 (part 2) + 46 (part 3) + 33 (part 4) = 115

Bingo Card/Checklist [28/45]

-X- Watch a Thanksgiving movie: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
-X- Watch a Thanksgiving TV episode: South Park - "Starvin Marvin"
--- Watch a Thanksgiving special.
-X- Watch something animated about Thanksgiving: The Simpsons - "Bart vs. Thanksgiving"
[3/4]

-X- Watch a Christmas movie: Christmas Vacation, Scrooged, Scrooge (1970)
-X- Watch a Christmas TV episode. Many
-X- Watch a Christmas special. He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special
-X- Watch something animated about Christmas. Many
-X- Watch "It's a Wonderful Life"
-X- Watch some version of A Christmas Carol. Scrooged, Scrooge (1970)
[6/6]

--- Watch a New Year's movie.
-X- Watch a New Year's TV episode. Family Guy - "Da Boom!"
--- Watch a New Year's special.
-X- Watch something animated about New Year's. Family Guy - "Da Boom!"
[2/4]

Watch one film/show from every decade, starting with the 1890's.
--- 1890:
--- 1900:
--- 1910:
--- 1920:
--- 1930:
-X- 1940:
-X- 1950:
-X- 1960:
-X- 1970:
-X- 1978: (Watch something from the year you were born)Happy Days - "Christmas Time"
-X- 1980:
-X- 1990:
-X- 2000:
[8/13]

--- Watch something about Christ.
--- Watch something Garfield.
-X- Watch an Emmy winner. Home Improvement - "'Twas the Blight Before Christmas"
--- Watch an Oscar winner.
--- Watch some version of Miracle on 34th Street.
--- Watch the MST3K version of a film/show.
--- Watch a film/show and its remake.
-X- Watch a film/show based on or turned into a video game.
-X- Watch a film/show based on a novel: Scrooge
--- Watch a silent film.
-X- Watch a film/show with commentary. Many
--- Watch a film/show that takes place in space.
-X- Watch a film/show that takes place on or under the sea: Sealab 2021 - "Feast of Alvis"
[5/13]

Watch a film for each rating:
-X- G - Scrooge
-X- PG - A Nightmare Before Christmas
-X- PG-13 - Christmas Vacation
-X- R - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
--- Unrated
[4/5]

Tuesday December 25th, 2007 -
156. The Beverly Hillbillies - "Christmas at the Clampetts"*

I used to watch The Beverly Hillbillies once in a while when I was a kid on re-runs (I wasn't even close to being born when this show was on). This show is waay too simple and silly for me now. The jokes are the same throughout the show: Mr. and Mrs. Drysdale get the Clampetts something, they don't realize it's from them and/or they don't know what it does. Gets old...quick.

157. Becker - "Sister Spoils the Turkey"*

A Thanksgiving episode stuck in here. I wanted to make sure and watch one episode of Becker, so I settled for this one. I see Jorge Garcia (Hurley on LOST) was in the show. Jamie Lee Presley plays one of the characters sister in this episode.

158. Frasier - "We Two Kings"*

Well, whatever channel was recording this was off by a minute on their airings, so the DVR cut off the very end. I'm just going to assume everyone got their presents. I used to watch Frasier every week. I must have stopped watching before Niles and Daphne got married (or are living together). Some good quality humor here.

159. Will & Grace - "A Little Christmas Queer"*

Stephen Weber plays Grace's love interest in this episode. Of course, a bitchy mom episode. I hate these bitchy mom episodes. Is anyone REALLY like this? I hope not.

160. Murder, She Wrote - "A Christmas Secret"

Sunday night was always "Murder, She Wrote" night. It was great to watch again, I haven't watched it since it was on. One thing that I did know (just recently, though) is that J. Michael Straczynski is one of the producers. He is the creator/writer of Babylon 5, which is one of my favorite shows (if not my favorite) of all time. Surprisingly enough, though, no one got killed in this episode! Someone was shot, but they didn't die.

161. It's a Wonderful Life

In my family, we used to ALWAYS have to watch It's a Wonderful Life before we could open presents on Christmas Eve. We stopped doing that about 10 years ago or so... I think most of the family was a little sick of the movie every year. Watching it again this year was a treat. What a great movie. Unfortunately I had to watch the shitty NBC version. It either slipped my mind, or I didn't know this, but two of characters are "Bert and Ernie." How did I not know that? I will be purchasing one of the DVD releases for sure.

Wednesday December 26th, 2007 -
162. Amen - "Miracle on 134th Street"*

Well, apparently this was a two parter? I don't have the second part

163. Dharma & Greg - "Haus Arrest"*

I've seen a few episodes of Dharma & Greg. It was always a fairly interesting show. There is a freeze frame note at the end of the show that I thought was interesting. Here we go: "Once again, thanks for video-taping "Dharma & Greg," and freeze-framing on my vanity card. The following are a few more of my beliefs: I believe that El Nino is an international conspiracy perpetrated by evil roofing contractors. I believe it's high time The Beatles came clean on the whole "Paul is dead" thing. I believe that anyone who can read and speak clearly can be a network news anchorperson -- by not necessarily a weatherman. I believe that if rid myself of insatiable cravings, lusts, paranoia, deep-seated anger and ill-will towards others, I'll be a much better person. I believe that TV is the cause of all the violence and immorality in our society--ha! just kidding. I believe there's no business like show business, although if you're over-paid for feeding a big, scare monster, then that might be sort of like this. That's all for now, gotta go make a TV show. Once again, thanks for watching and keep checking for more of my beliefs real soon!"

164. Spin City - "Toy Story"*

I'm not sure I ever watched a full episode of Spin City. A new take on a Christmas episode. The toys that the mayor wanted to give kids contained drugs. Decent episode.

165. Batman Returns + Commentary*

Well, Tim Burton made no excuses/apologies for this movie. He did point out that one of the knocks against it is that Batman is hardly in the movie (or at least as much as he should be in with a movie that bears his name.) This is EXACTLY what I couldn't put my finger on. Batman is hardly in the movie! I completely disagree with Burton that it was in-line with his character. Tim Burton is definitely a rambler, but he is mildly interesting on his commentaries. Definitely not one of the best, but I have heard much much worse.

166. Cheers - "Christmas Cheers"

I will always have a special place in my heart for Cheers. It was one of those shows that you absolutely had to watch as a kid, and you would watch both re-runs they would air after school every day. I wish the DVD releases had more to offer, though. I just can't see myself buying these DVDs.

167. The Brady Bunch - "The Voice of Christmas"*

Cheese alert! Cheese Alert! All Cindy asks Santa for Christmas is for her mom's voice to get better so she can sing on Christmas. And, of course, Mrs. Brady's voice is all better on Christmas morning.

168. The Cosby Show - "Clair's Place"*

Wow. I found Bill Cosby incredibly annoying. Maybe this was a later season episode and it is way over the top or something. This is a borderline Christmas episode, but I don't want to watch another Cosby Show episode, so I'm counting it.

169. Happy Days - "Christmas Time"*

I haven't seen Happy Days for quite some time. In this episode Fonzie actually meets his dad (he doesn't know it at the time) Kind of cool episode. After the Cunninghams get a fake tree at the beginning of the episode, everyone they know gets them a real tree.

170. M*A*S*H - "Death Takes a Holiday"*

An amazing episode. Dare I say one of the best Christmas episodes I've ever watched. It, for the most part, is a very serious episode. It blends the seriousness of the plot with some light-hearted humor. Even Winchester is a great guy in this episode. I will try to find this one again next year.

171. Good Times - "The Traveling Christmas"*

Let's see...I *might* have seen an episode of Good Times before. I had NO idea Janet Jackson was on this show, weird. Very weird. Not really my cup of tea. A glorified variety show episode. About 3/5ths of the episode is the various characters singing at a Christmas event. Curiously enough, though, Janet Jackson is not one of them.

172. The Jeffersons - "The Christmas Wedding"*

I've seen a handful of "The Jeffersons." Nothing really exciting to say here.

173. A Different World - "I'm Dreaming of a Wayne Christmas"*

How is it possible that I can remember the theme song for this show? Can Whitley's voice be any more annoying? Apparently since I stopped watching Whitley and Dwayne Wayne hooked up. ANOTHER bitchy mom episode.

174. Night Court - "Let it Snow"

I actually am remembering this episode. I always loved this show. It's definitely your prototypical 80's comedy, complete with the freeze frame ending turning into a little "Season's Greeting" card at the end.

175. All in the Family - "Christmas Day at the Bunker"*

Some hilarious jokes here. This show was way ahead of it's time and pushed the envelope.

176. Designing Women - "Julia and Mary Jo Get Stuck Under a Bed"*

Ray Charles opening theme song. I remember it, but only after seeing it. It's hard to believe that I actually watched this when it was on.

177. Just Shoot Me - "How the Finch Stole Christmas"*

Voice over from Kelsey Grammer a la "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." A great homage to that story, complete with Kelsy Grammer singing a Just Shoot Me-specific Grinch song.

178. Just Shoot Me - "Christmas? Christmas"*

Ray Liotta guest stars here as himself. He is a waaay over-the-top Christmas lover. It was pretty funny. David Spade kills. I have been a Spade fan pretty much forever.

Thursday December 27th, 2007 -
179. Yes, Dear - "All I Want for Christmas Is My Dead Uncle's Cash"*

I always liked this show. I thought Anthony Clark was good in Boston Common. I probably have only seen 10 or so episodes, though.

180. Yes, Dear - "The Complicated Plot"*

What can I say. It's hard to go wrong with any show with Jean Louisa Kelly in it. Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence play Greg's parents. I am not a huge Tim Conway fan by any means, but he was excellent as the grandpa, and his comic timing was great.

181. How I Met Your Mother - "How Lily Stole Christmas"*

I have never seen this show before. It was definitely entertaining. Neil Patrick Harris is hilarious. Normally I would say it's hard to see him as anything but Doogie Howser, but he fit this role perfectly.

182. Everybody Loves Raymond - "The Christmas Picture"*

Major plot hole here...Hello? Just take 2 pictures? I do like this show, but it is really hard for me to get over Doris Roberts character as Raymonds mother. It's so frustrating.

183. Green Acres - "An Old-Fashioned Christmas"*

I have seen my share of Green Acres episodes. I find Eva Gabor extremely annoying. I'm surprised I watched this when I was a kid on Nick at Nite.

184. The Golden Girls - "Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas"*

Weak sauce.

185. Christmas Vacation + Commentary

I have listened to this commentary before. Participants: Randy Quaid (Eddy), Beverly D'Angelo (Ellen), Johnny Galecki (Rusty), Miram Flynn (Caroline), Director Jeremiah Checkik, and Producer Matty Simmons. I think they just plain have too many people on this commentary. Randy Quaid and Johnny Galecki provide little to this commentary. They should have had an actors only commentary and a director/producer commentary. Miram Flynn tries to provide some interesting tidbits/trivia about the movie, but it just goes right by the other participants. Overall, entertaining, but nothing special. Too bad for my personal FAVORITE comedy of all time.

186. Pinky & the Brain - "A Pinky & the Brain Christmas"*

I never got into this show. The Brain had a change of heart at the end. I imagine that is how it works in most episodes. I did notice that the opening of the show was labeled "Steven Spielberg presents Pinky and the Brain. I'm pretty sure I knew that, but a surprise to put that as part of the title.

187. Monk - "Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa"*

This is my second Monk episode I have seen (both in this challenge.) Another solid episode. A unique show. Ted Levine is great, as is Tony Shalub. I almost thought this was going to be a two parter, because the last act break hadn't resolved anything yet, but it wrapped up quickly. The best part is that the thing that keyed Monk to the killer was about the size of the card/envelope that went with the wine that was laced with poison. I saw that at the very beginning of the episode. It's cool that that was one of the keys of the plot.

188. Night Court - "Santa Goes Downtown"

This had to be one from the first season. There was no Markie Post or Charlie Robinson, and Bull had hair! I actually remember this episode too. One of the "Santa Claus gets arrested, and he's the real Santa Claus" episodes. Michael J. Fox is awesome as a disgruntled teenager pining for attention. One of the better episodes (that I can remember)

189. Wings - "A Terminal Christmas"

First off, I love Wings. I would watch this when it was on originally, and I would watch it when they showed 4 episodes a day on USA. All of the characters are perfectly cast and a great mix of personalities in this show. No Tony Shalub, though, I'm not sure if he was on for the whole run or not. It's really had for me to see any of these actors in ANY other role besides their roles in Wings. Tony Shalub, Steven Weber, Thomas Haden Church, whoever played Bunny, etc...

190. The Addams Family - "Christmas With the Addams Family"*

A pretty unique show for it's time. I guess The Munsters is about the only thing I can think of since this show was on that is somewhat similar. A multiple Santa Claus episode.

191. The Nanny - "The Christmas Episode"*

Fran Drescher's voice really doesn't bother me at all. Some people are put off by it. The butler's name was Niles... That's all I got.

192. Scrubs - "My Own Personal Jesus"*

I've seen bits and pieces of this show over the years, never watched a full episode. I do know the basic thing they do with the fantasy thoughts and whatnot. Not a bad episode. This must have been from the first or second season, as Zach Braffs character was still new.

193. Everybody Loves Raymond - "The Toaster"*

Doris Roberts wasn't in this episode as much this time, so she didn't have a chance to annoy me as much. Pretty funny stuff. I do want to point out that I think Peter Boyle is absolutely amazing, and he is in one of my favorite X-Files episodes of all time: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose. Absolutely amazing episode.

194. The Bernie Mac Show - "Road to Tradition"*

Hmm... Both IMDB and my DVR call this episode "Road to Tradition", but the opening clearly states the title "Someone Needs to Shake You." I'll leave it up to you to decide. (Edit: Trevor set me straight, "Someone Needs to Shake You" is the chapter title.)

Friday December 28th, 2007 -
195. Christmas Vacation + Commentary

Participants: Peter Billingsly (Ralphie) and the director, Bob Clark. This is definitely an informative commentary. Peter does a great job asking questions and keeping a good pace of the commentary. They both truly love the movie and appreciate it. A good listen.

196. Squidbillies - "Rebel with a Claus"*

I'm not sure I've been more disturbed by something I've watched since I saw "American Psycho." I think the best way to describe it is intriguingly horrified. I see that this was the last episode of Squidbillies to be aired.

197. Late Night with Conan O'Brien - "December 22, 2005"

Well, what can I say. Conan is my all time favorite late night talk show host. I have had the pleasure to go to a taping, and I DVR every episode that is on. Johnny Knoxville, Tucker Carlson, and Tony Bennett were the guests in this episode. Most certainly Christmas themed.

Saturday December 29th, 2007 -
198. Late Night with Conan O'Brien - "December 23, 2005"

Guests: Bonnie Hunt (who I can't stand), Matthew Broderick, and John Mayer. Matthew Broderick was funny as he usually is on Conan.

Sunday December 30th, 2007 -
199. Family Guy - "Da Boom"

The best ending of Family Guy, ever. A parody on the "Dallas" episode where Patrick Duffy's character comes back because the last season (or whatever) was a dream. One of the silliest cop-outs ever in television.

Monday December 31st, 2007 -
200. American Dad - "The Best Christmas Story Never"

One of the better American Dad episodes. As stated in my previous American Dad notes, the episodes that have a sci-fi feel are definitely the best. In this episode, Stan is visited by the ghost of Christmas past, but bolts from the ghost to kill Jane Fonda in 1970.

200!! Whew! Done and Done!

[Trevor]

List broken up due to the forum's software bug with long posts. Here are the links to part one, part two, part three, part four,
part five, part six, part seven, and part eight.

* = first time viewing
Thanksgiving Color
St. Andrew's Day Color
Christmas Color
Boxing Day Color
New Year's Color

Bingo Card/Checklist

-X- Watch a Thanksgiving movie. - several
-X- Watch a Thanksgiving TV episode. - almost a hundred
-X- Watch a Thanksgiving special. - several
-X- Watch something animated about Thanksgiving. - several

-X- Watch a Christmas movie. - several
-X- Watch a Christmas TV episode. - dozens
-X- Watch a Christmas special. - several
-X- Watch something animated about Christmas. - dozens
-X- Watch It's a Wonderful Life. - one of the best movies of all time
-X- Watch some version of A Christmas Carol. Huh Huh Humbug, A Christmas Carol (1910), several others

-X- Watch a New Year's movie.
-X- Watch a New Year's TV episode.
-X- Watch a New Year's special.
-X- Watch something animated about New Year's.

-X- Watch something Charlie Brown. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
-X- Watch something about St. Andrew's Day. St Andrews Day March 2006 - Scottish Independence
-X- Watch something about Boxing Day. M*A*S*H*
-X- Watch something about Christ. - several
-X- Watch something Garfield. Garfield's Thanksgiving
-X- Watch an Emmy winner. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
-X- Watch an Oscar winner. Tom and Jerry - The Little Orphan, Mighty Joe Young (1949), Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
-X- Watch some version of Miracle on 34th Street. - several

Watch one film from every decade, starting with the 1890's.
-X- 1890:
-X- 1900:
-X- 1910:
-X- 1920:
-X- 1930:
-X- 1940:
-X- 1950:
-X- 1960:
-X- 1970:
-X- 1980:
-X- 1990:
-X- 2000:
-X- Watch a film from the year you were born. - How the Grinch Stole Christmas

-X- Watch the MST3K version of a film/show. - Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
-X- Watch a film/show and its remake. - multiple Miracle on 34th Street (1947) versions
-X- Watch a film/show based on or turned into a video game. - How the Grinch Stole Christmas
-X- Watch a film/show based on a book/novel. - several, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas
-X- Watch a silent film. - several
-X- Watch a film/show with commentary. - several, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas
-X- Watch something and at least two sequels. The Santa Clause 1-3
-X- Watch something from Criterion. Metropolitan (1990)
-X- Watch a film/show that takes place in space. - Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
-X- Watch a film/show that takes place on or under the sea. - Sealab 2021 - Feast of Alvis

Watch a film/show for each rating:
-X- G - several
-X- PG - Home Alone
-X- PG-13 - This Christmas
-X- R - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
-X- Unrated - several