Advent Calendar House – Details, episodes & analysis

🍍 I’ve hidden a pineapple somewhere in this episode, and if you can find it… you get nothing. Sorry. 

The Advent Calendar House is back for Christmas Podcast Day. This year, a bunch of your yuletide podcast pals are dropping episodes themed to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and that gave me a premonition to take a closer look at a very merry episode of “Psych” from 2010. 

🎙️ Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas joins this examination of our superego, taking the form of renowned actor Tony Cox as himself… kind of. 

Find more “Wonderful” episodes in the Christmas Podcasts directory. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

“Psych’s Take on ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Changed Shawn’s Character” (Collider, 2023) 

Maggie Lawson (Jules) on “Boy Meets World.” 

Corbin Bernsen (Henry) has a collection of over 8,000 snow globes. 

Today’s TV Trope: Good Angel, Bad Angel. 

Keshia Knight Pulliam as Gus’s sitcom wife. 

Behind-the-scenes photo of dream sequence Jules, Lassie, and Chief Vick. 

Skyler Gisondo as Young Shawn. 

The Canadian Motion Picture Park Backlot standing in for the least Miami-looking Miami. 

Oh, there’s the pineapple. 

“This Is Christmas” by Curt Smith. 

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📼 Commercials: 

Corn Pops: “Pops Locked in the Car” commercial starring Dulé Hill (1994) 

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“Psych” and “The Polarizing Express” © 2010 Universal Network Television, LLC. 

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost. 
Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s15 #2010s #itsawonderfullife

🎄 We wrap up Christmas in July with an old-fashioned scary ghost story. 

🎙️ Adam Pope and Donnie Storms join the trip aboard the Mystery Machine back to 1984 for Scooby-Doo’s very first Christmas special, in which the gang tries to save an orphanage with the power of pageantry, and stop the mysterious Ghost of Christmas Never. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries opening was riding the “Thriller” wave. 

Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue. 

Mr. Wizard and the Talking Head Illusion. 

Our experience with Christmas pageants, including some unfortunate elementary school play featuring the song, “Santa Claus, Santa Claus, you are much too fat.” 

The elf costumes look like Tingle. 

The Mystery Sleigh! 

Go-Gurt + Scooby-Doo = Ro-Gurt! 

Today’s TV Trope: Read the Fine Print. 

The Scooby-Doo Character Reference Guide. 

“The PTA has disbanded!” 

The Little Rascals (1994) boys crash the ballet. 

Mr. Burns collapses on a sundial after being shot. 

Scooby Apocalypse. 

Adam’s stitched Scooby-Doo portrait. 

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📼 Commercials: 

The Kodak Disc (1984) 

Remember That Show? 

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“The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries” and “The Nutcracker Scoob” © 1984 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. 

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost. 
Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s14 #1980s #hannabarbera

🎄 We’re snowed in a bit earlier than expected, so we’ve hunkered down to have a Christmas feast from around the world with the WJM TV family in a 1974 non-Christmas Christmas episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” 

🎙️ Joining the party is film critic and author Alonso Duralde, who recommended this episode. A newly Revised and Updated edition of Alonso’s book, “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas,” is being released in September, but you can pre-order it now. 

You can also find Alonso at The Film Verdict; check out his other book, Hollywood Pride; and listen to Linoleum Knife, Maximum Film, Breakfast All Day, and Deck the Hallmark. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

Pre-order the Revised and Updated Edition of “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.” 

IMDb’s photo gallery for this episode has 20 screenshots of Mary in a towel. 

Betty White’s amazing Christmas dress. 

Harrison Ford recalls what he told George Lucas while shooting the first “Star Wars” movie. 

I couldn’t find a recipe for “soufflé tour légende,” but here’s one for “Mr. Grant You Took Half Veal Prince Orloff!” 

Today’s TV Trope: Social Semi-Circle. 

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📼 Commercials: 

Burger King Gift Certificates Christmas Commercial (1974) 

Season’s Eatings. 

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“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Not a Christmas Story” © 1974 MTM Enterprises, Inc.

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost. 
Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s14 #1970s

🎄 Santa falls off the roof, and a guy who acts like a caveman takes over his job. 

🎙 Gerry Davila from Totally Rad Christmas and Sean Sotka from the Christmas Podcasts Podcast join us as we close out another countdown to Christmas in July with a sleigh ride back to the Stone-Age Year of Our Lord 1977. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

Our episode on the Fruity Pebbles Christmas Commercial. 

I found a Flintstones chronology on, of all places, Flickr. 

The Internet Archive’s VHS Vault. 

Domino Rally.   

I want to know more about Santa’s reindeer turn signals. 

“Daze Before Christmas” for Super Nintendo and Mega Drive (Genesis). 

Virginia Gregg (Mrs. Claus) was the uncredited voice of Norman Bates’s mother in the first 3 Psycho movies. 

Santa’s workshop should have gotten Flintstone Theming. 

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📼 Commercials: 

Fruity Pebbles: Rapping Barney (1988) 

Voice Command Crusher RC Car (1993) 

Behind the Bells. 

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“A Flintstone Christmas” © 1977 Hanna-Barbera Productions. 

Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s6 #1970s #hannabarbera #flintstones

🦃 We’re talking turkey as we dig up and dig in to a 1983 Thanksgiving special from puppeteer Paul Fusco, the creator of ALF. 

🎙️ Chad Young, Tommy Coombs, and Jayme Kilsby join us the follow a turkey’s dream of stardom that ends with dogs and cats living together. 

📺 You can watch “A Thanksgiving Tale” on Youtube, with curated retro Thanksgiving commercials. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

Imagicom Productions’ Holiday Specials Collection. 

Fred Travalena as the Joker in the 1989 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

A November 16, 1983 TV listing in an archived New York Magazine. 

Paul Fusco’s “Space Cats.” 

David Lander in “Funland.” 

Mental Floss’s Oral History of ALF. 

Today’s TV Trope: Invited as Dinner. 

The “You Bet Your Life” Duck. 

The art of making puppets fight: Throw them into the air from behind a fence. 

We compare the Thanksgiving play in this special to the one in Addams Family Values. 

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📼 Commercials: 

Butterball Turkey Commercial (1985) 

Christmas Time in the City. 

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“A Thanksgiving Tale” © 1983 Imagicom Productions, Inc. 

Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s6 #1980s #thanksgiving #puppets

🦖 It’s the most wonderful time of 60 million years ago, so come in and buy paint. 

🎙️ Lindy Kempe joins us with frying pan ready to celebrate Refrigerator Day with the Jim Henson Company’s “Dinosaurs,” which is somehow the Advent Calendar House’s first TGIF episode. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

“The Simpsons” parodies “Dinosaurs.” 

We go from talking about the “Økėÿ Døkęÿ Køøkïñ” segment of “Muppets Now” to Netflix’s “Nailed It!” 

Sally Struthers (Charlene) for International Correspondence School. 

A brief history of the Christmas bonus, or “thirteenth salary.” 

Sam McMurray in the very short-lived “A League of Their Own” sitcom, and my own pitch for a TV adaptation on Nerd Lunch’s Fourth Chair Army Invasion. 

Pons Maar (Roy’s body actor) as the original voice of The Noid. 

Unisaurs: The Dinosaurs equivalent to the Anything Muppet. 

The biggest gifts we ended up returning. 

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📼 Commercials: 

Talking Baby Dinosaur and Dinosaurs Figures (1991) 

TGI Podcast. 

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“Dinosaurs” and “Refrigerator Day” © 1991 The Walt Disney Company. 

Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s6 #1990s #muppets

🎄 I know what we’re going to podcast about today! 

🎙 James Riley and Brandon Medley join us for a toboggan ride without even getting out of bed back to 2009 to watch Phineas and Ferb save their very nice town’s Christmas Vacation. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Ferb) in “Love Actually” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” 

The time James accidentally knocked over Ben Stiller. 

The Sears Wish Book catalog. 

Today’s TV Trope: Look Both Ways. 

“What Does He Want?” was cut for time and restored later. Also, it sounds like the “Monster Mash.” 

Doofenshmirtz’s Naughty-inator reminds me of the Riddler’s Brain Box from Batman Forever. 

“We Are the World.” 

Walt Disney World’s Candlelight Processional and Raglan Road. 

“Christmas Is Starting Now” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.   

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📼 Commercials: 

Sears Wish Book (1992) 

Merry Britsmas. 

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“Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” © 2009 Disney. 

Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s6 #2000s #disney

🎄 Garbageman is here for your Christmas spirit. 

🎙️ Tommy Coombs and Chad Young join us as we look happily deranged back to 1996 to follow Pete and Pete’s brother, Pete, on their mission to keep Christmas going for as long as possible, and keep their Christmas tree safe from the evil Garbageman. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

Michael C. Maronna (Big Pete) in “Home Alone,” and in a series of Ameritrade commercials circa 1999. 

“Snow Day” was originally conceived as a Pete & Pete movie. 

The first Pete & Pete short, “What Would You Do for a Dollar?” 

The Pete & Pete 20th Anniversary Reunion. 

Danny Tamberelli (Little Pete) as Jimmy De Santa in “Grand Theft Auto 5.” 

Hardy Rawls (Dad) as the Maytag Repairman circa 2005. 

Sludge Central on “Pete & Pete” filming in New Jersey. 

Chad and Michael May talk “Silent Night, Deadly Night.” 

David Johansen sings “Garbageman’s Ballad.” 

The Max Headroom Pirating Incident. 

A mini ode to character actress Marilyn Dobrin as the Wrigleys’ notably loud neighbor. 

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📼 Commercials: 

The Adventures of Pete & Pete: “Mom’s Plate” (1991) 

Christmas Clatter. 

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“The Adventures of Pete & Pete” and “O’ Christmas Pete” © 1995 Viacom. 

Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s6 #1990s #nickelodeon

🎃 It’s a wonderful night for eyebrows and the wildest trip to the euphemism we’ve ever taken. 

🎙️ James Riley and Ethan “The Hungry Reader” hitch a ride in our paraphernalia wagon as we wheel it back to 1977 for a Grinch Night we’ll never forget. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

The worst, non-candy Halloween treats. 

“Carlton, Your Doorman.” 

Longtime Sesame Street composer Joe Raposo composed this special’s music. 

Hans Conried (The Grinch) was also the titular character in Dr. Seuss’s The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. 

I badly describe the plot of “Midnight Madness.” 

The Hakken-Kraks in “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” 

The Euphemism, and other words I thought Dr. Seuss made up. 

“Dr. Seuss Goes to War,” and other creators of great works doing terrible things. 

Bogleech’s gallery of the Grinch’s monsters, and our personal favorites. 

The Vug under the Rug, the Jibboo, and the Birthday Bird. 

“Danse macabre.” 

Is this a prequel, and where does “The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat” fit into it? 

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📼 Commercials: 

Franken Berry and Monster Cereals (1986), preserved by Dinosaur Dracula. 

Holly Jolly X’masu. 

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“Halloween is Grinch Night” © 1977 DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. 

Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house. 

#s6 #1970s #halloween #drseuss

🎄 Happy Back to the Future Day! Set your time circuits to 1845 by way of 1991 for a special Christmas in July episode of the “Back to the Future” Saturday morning cartoon featuring hologram clothes, the hoverboard equivalent to texting while driving, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

🎙 Joey O., along with Joseph Wade from Christmas Creeps and The O/S/T Party, are our partners in time for a “Dickens of a Christmas,” featuring Dan Castellaneta as the voice of the animated Doc, Thomas F. Wilson as Ebiffnezer Tannen, and Christmas movie all-star Mary Steenburger as Clara. 

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💬 Topics & Tangents: 

Mary Steenburger playing “Informer” on the accordion in “Last Man on Earth.” 

Series art director James S. Baker storyboards his own blog. 

The Back to the Future pinball game and its random movie quotes. 

Futurepedia on how Doc’s clothing converter camera works. 

Weird things we did as kids to show our parents we were responsible. 

Some toys in Fedgewick’s shop shouldn’t be there yet in 1845. 

Did “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” exist in 1845? Possibly, but not the version we know. 

Doc’s wad of cash vs. England’s bank notes circa 1845. 

Wilkins’s dog looks like 1980s T-shirt icon Rude Dog. 

My Back to the Future-themed Good Friday and Easter Sunday tweets. 

The closest thing we could find to a Kaiju Christmas movie is 1962’s “Gorath.” 

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📼 Commercials: 

Back to the Future: The Ride at Universal Studios Florida (1996) 

Hi-C Ecto Cooler Commercial (1989), starring David Kaufmann, the voice of Marty. 

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“Back to the Future,” the Animated Series, and “Dickens of a Christmas” © 1991 Universal Cartoon Studios / Amblin Television. 

Find us at adventcalendar.house. 

#s6 #1990s #scroogesunday