Tag Archives: TV Specials

Winter Dragon

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Morgan R. Lewis

Movie and television rights are an interesting thing. Often the licenses for adaptations are written in a “use it or lose it” way, pressuring studios to produce something if they want to maintain a potentially lucrative license. Every so often … Continue reading →

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Santa’s Magic Toy Bag

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Morgan R. Lewis

While most of the TV specials I’ve reviewed this year have been new offerings, Santa’s Magic Toy Bag is a little bit older — though likely still new to most people. Released in 1983 on Showtime, it wasn’t seen by … Continue reading →

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Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Morgan R. Lewis

There are a couple of things about the legacy of Elf that have surprised me in the long run. The first is that it has now been a long run; the original film was released in 2003, and I had … Continue reading →

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How Murray Saved Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Morgan R. Lewis

Part of me is glad just to see that How Murray Saved Christmas even exists, just because it means another new Christmas special made this year. For a long time, it seemed like there weren’t any being made at all, … Continue reading →

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Toy Story That Time Forgot

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Morgan R. Lewis

Toy Story is the film that brought Pixar to the attention of most people, and it’s Toy Story that the studio keeps going back to time and again. There have been three films released so far, each receiving a fair … Continue reading →

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Favorite Films: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Morgan R. Lewis

“Christmastime is here… happiness and cheer…Fun for all that children call their favorite time of year…” Debuting in 1950 as “Lil Folks”, and subsequently dubbed Peanuts by the syndicate (a name its creator was never happy with), Charles Schulz’s comic … Continue reading →

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Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Morgan R. Lewis

Let it not be said that I don’t give things a chance every now and then. I’ve made a few smart remarks before about the idea of an Ice Age Christmas special, and the series’s increasingly bizarre timeline. And I’m … Continue reading →

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Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Morgan R. Lewis

I have Michael at It Rains, You Get Wet to thank for this one; he brought it up in discussion of my Top 10 Christmas Specials, and mentioned it was the first animated Christmas special made for television. I had … Continue reading →

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A Miser Brothers Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Morgan R. Lewis

Rankin/Bass made a lot of stop-motion Christmas specials during the 1960s and 1970s, and one of the most fondly remembered today is The Year Without a Santa Claus. The reason for the special’s enduring popularity can be found in a … Continue reading →

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Top 10 Christmas Specials

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Morgan R. Lewis

It’s that time of year when TV stations start airing their annual selection of Christmas specials. Well, OK, technically that “time of year” started the day after Thanksgiving; I notice some of the cable stations such as ABC Family are … Continue reading →

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