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Holiday entertainment sure to jolly up your family traditions
by Suzette Breaux
One such show is the animated classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, which airs Dec. 6 and 20 on ABC.
Following the show, Whoopi Goldberg hosts a 17-minute documentary called The Making of a Charlie
Brown Christmas, that includes interviews with original cast members, animator Bill Melendez, and
producer Lee Mendelson.
Another holiday classic is How The Grinch Stole Christmas, in both an animated version narrated by
Boris Karloff and a live-action version starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch. Both are available on video
and DVD and are also telecast during the holidays.
Other classics include The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. These also appear on television and are available on video and DVD.
Regular broadcast and cable channels offer a variety of holiday programs. Three Days, which airs
Dec. 9 on ABC, tells the story of a man who treats his wife badly, but gets a second chance to make
amends after she dies.
Off Season airs Dec. 16 on Showtime. Sherilyn Fenn from Rude Awakening plays a bartender in a
Florida motel whose recently-orphaned nephew, played by Rory Culkin,
believes that a guest named Mr. Clausner, played by Hume Cronyn, is really Father Christmas.
Santa, Baby! airs Dec. 17 on Fox. Kianna Underwood plays a girl who tries to help her dad, played
by Gregory Hines, as he struggles with writer's block in this animated special.
'Twas the Night, which airs Dec. 17 on HBO, features artists Bette Midler, Macy Gray and others
singing holiday tunes, with illustrations by Grandma Moses.
A Home For The Holidays With Mariah Carey airs Dec. 21 on CBS. In this third annual special with
Destiny's Child, Charlotte Church and Enrique Iglesias, Carey promotes adoption awareness.
A Very South Park Christmas airs every Wednesday in December on Comedy Central. The holiday-themed
series includes "Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo" and "A Very Crappy Christmas" plus two new episodes.
A show for the whole family, Life and Adventures of Santa Claus airs Dec. 4 on the ABCFamily
channel and Dec. 8 - 9 on the Toon channel. Based on L. Frank Baum's book, the Great Ak has to
persuade immortals to grant Santa everlasting life by telling how Christmas began.
Television channel executives are following the holiday show tradition by providing movies such as A
Christmas Carol and others on network and cable channels.
Dabney Coleman stars in Must Be Santa, a tale about the chaos that erupts at the North Pole when
Santa decides to retire three days before Christmas. The movie airs Dec. 7 on the ABCFamily channel.
The Flintstones star in their own version of A Christmas Carol in Flintstones' Christmas Carol Dec.
8 on the Toon channel. Fred Flintstone becomes a Stone Age stage ham when he stars in Bedrock's
production of Brickens' A Christmas Carol.
Several holiday movies are available to rent and buy on videocassette and DVD.
Jack Frost, a movie on video and DVD, stars Michael Keaton as a musician who spends too little time
with his family but gets a second chance when he returns from a deadly accident as a snowman.
Christmas Vacation, also available on video and DVD, stars Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo as the
Griswolds, who spend an accident-prone Christmas together.
Home Alone, on video and DVD, is about 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macauley Culkin), who is left
behind at home by his family in the rush to leave for vacation in Paris. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern
star as burglars who break into the house, but Kevin defends the family home with his booby traps.
The Santa Clause, on video and DVD, is about a man (Tim Allen), who knocks Santa out and is
contractually bound by the Santa Clause to take his place.
Check your local listings.
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People follow different traditions at Christmastime. Some shop for presents, while others help those less fortunate. In this modern age, families also celebrate the season by gathering around the television set to watch holiday movies and shows.