Christmas television special

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Contents

[edit] American television

In American television, a Christmas television special is typically a one-time, half-hour program aired during the Christmas season. Some are extended episodes of currently running television series featuring the regular characters dealing with Christmas. Some specials are of a more variety show nature, featuring celebrities and/or singers and musical numbers and short skits. Many are animated cartoon productions aimed at children, intended to be outgrown by one generation and picked up by a new generation of children.

Most such specials are naturally strongly Christmas-themed, but usually forgo the religious aspects of the holiday to concentrate on more general themes of giving, and goodwill towards others. Such secular icons of the season as Santa Claus often figure prominently in these specials as well.

Christmas television specials are also where non-animated characters from other media may first cross over into animation; examples include the Peanuts comic strip, the Bloom County comic strip, and the Dr. Seuss children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The first episode of The Simpsons (1989) was a Christmas special, also known as "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire."

The Rankin-Bass animation studio is well known for its many holiday specials, including the stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which CBS has shown annually since 1964, and the animated Frosty the Snowman.

[edit] Examples of American Christmas television specials

[edit] The Beverly Hillbillies Christmas Specials

[edit] Bing Crosby's Christmas Specials

[edit] Bob Hopes's Christmas Specials

  • Bob Hope Christmas Special (1953)
  • Bob Hope Christmas Show (1965)
  • The Bob Hope Vietnam Christmas Show (1966)
  • The Bob Hope Christmas Special (1968)
  • The Bob Hope Christmas Special: Around the World with the USO (1969)
  • The Bob Hope Christmas Special (1970)
  • The Bob Hope Vietnam Christmas Show (1971)
  • The Bob Hope All Star Christmas Comedy Special (1977)
  • The Bob Hope Christmas Special (1980)
  • The Bob Hope Christmas Special (1981)
  • Bob Hope's USO Christmas in Beirut (1984)
  • The Bob Hope Christmas Show (1985)
  • Bob Hope Winterfest Christmas Show (1987)
  • Bob Hope's USO Christmas from the Persian Gulf: Around the World in Eight Days (1987)
  • Bob Hope's Jolly Christmas Show (1988)
  • Bob Hope's Christmas Cheer from Saudi Arabia (1991)
  • Hope for the Holidays - A Bob Hope Christmas (1993)

[edit] The Carpenters Christmas Specials

[edit] Christmas Childrens Animated Specials

[edit] The Charlie Brown Christmas Specials

  • A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
  • It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)
  • Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales (2002)
  • I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003)

[edit] The Flinstones Christmas Specials

  • A Flintstone Christmas (1977)
  • A Flintstones Family Christmas (1993)
  • A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)

[edit] Rugrats Christmas Specials

[edit] Little House on the Prairie Christmas Specials

[edit] The Waltons Christmas Specials

[edit] The Muppets/Sesame Street Christmas Specials

[edit] Perry Como's Christmas Specials

[edit] American Comedy Sitcoms Christmas Specials

[edit] The Golden Girls Christmas Specials

[edit] The M*A*S*H Christmas Specials

[edit] Roseanne Christmas Specials

  • Roseanne: Santa Claus (1991)
  • Roseanne: It's No Place Like Home for The Holidays (1992)
  • Roseanne: White Trash Christmas (1993)
  • Roseanne: Home for the Holidays (1996)

[edit] Simpsons Christmas Specials

[edit] Christmas TV Movies

[edit] A Christmas Carol

[edit] British television

In British television, a Christmas special is a one-off episode of a regular television series which may not otherwise be running in the winter or even that year, as in Britain television series tend to run on limited schedules of 6 to 13 episodes rather than year-round. Successive series of a program may run in non-consecutive years so a Christmas special may be of a series for which no other episodes have aired that year (or possibly for several years).

[edit] Examples of British Christmas television special

[edit] Only Fools And Horses Christmas Specials

[edit] The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Specials

[edit] Christmas specials having little or nothing to do with the holiday

A Christmas special may or may not have a Christmas theme and often is not even set during the Christmas season but usually runs on Christmas day itself and is often longer than a regular episode of a television series. Some of these non-Christmas-themed programs are shown during the season simply because it is an espeially festive time of year, and because they attract a large family audience, especially children. The 1939 film The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) for example, was once shown as a Christmas special for four years running - from 1959 through 1962.

There are noticeable patterns in Christmas specials, particularly in dramas and sitcoms, whereby the characters either have to endure Christmas Day in a typically unfestive manner (and thus allowing the writers to include plenty of clichés associated with the season), or they are taken out of their environment and go on holiday to an exotic location - an idea which can also occur in spin-off films.

  • Clone High – Snowflake Day: A Very Special Holiday Episode (2003)


[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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