No Christmas party is complete without holiday specials on TV. Nowadays it’s a crap shoot as to what a TV series considers seasonal entertainment. Every show seems bent on thinking outside the box of what’s traditional fare. Did you see the episode of Nip/Tuck where Santa had his vital organs removed? Or CSI running yellow police tape around a formerly-living Nativity. Or how about Fear Factor making the contestants eat the naughty parts of reindeer? You’re not going to have that playing in the background while serving up the egg nog to the kiddies. You need wholesome TV spirituality that’s covered with plastic snow and faux family sentimentality. Merry Sitcom! delivers holiday cheer over the course of seven classic sitcoms.
Father Knows Best reminds us what can go wrong when you want to get too traditional on “The Christmas Story.” Robert Young protests against the overpriced Christmas trees by packing up the family and going out into the country for pure Tannenbaum action. A snowstorm hits. The family car gets stuck. Instead of freezing to death, they seek shelter in a country store. Turns out the owner is a guy with a white beard. Could it really be him? And if the storm doesn’t let up, will they resort to cannibalism? The Donna Reed Show‘s “A Very Merry Christmas” always brightens the night since Buster Keaton (The General) helps her celebrate. Donna gets sick of the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Keaton is the janitor at the children’s hospital. He understands the secret of giving. According to quite a few friends, the greatest gift you can give is Donna Reed.
McHale’s Navy reminds us that even in a warzone, you need a little cheer with “The Day They Captured Santa Claus.” McHale (Ernest Borgnine) wants to surprise the kids at an island school by dressin up as Santa and parachuting onto the grounds. The PT-73 will arrive with the crew dressed as elves. Leave to the Japanese to spoil the fun by invading and capturing Santa. There was a lot of switches and coal in Tokyo that year. Bewitched combines Christmas with witchcraft in “A Vision of Sugar Plums.” Years later, this would be a major theme in those Harry Potter films. Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) restores the magic of the season by whisking an orphan ( Lost In Space‘s Billy Mumy) to the North Pole to restore his belief in Santa. Thrill to the sight of Santa’s toy shop before the Chinese took over the process.
That Girl‘s “Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid” is a flashback tale told while Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas) is on her break from helping a department store Santa. Years before she hung out with a kid at a boarding school during Christmas break, My only Christmas wish is to wake up with the impeccable hair of Ted Bessell, The Flying Nun‘s “Wailing In a Winter Wonderland” gives us Christmas at the convent. Sally Fields played a tiny nun whose hat made her fly during big winds. Naturally it’s up to her to blow in the Christmas spirit. Window On Main Street was Robert Young’s not so successful follow up to Father Knows Best. He’s a journalist who gives us tales of the citizens around him. “Christmas Memory” is a story that happened to him amongst the ribbons and the tinsel. There’s a Santa moment.
Merry Sitcom! gives seven sweet Christmas specials that aren’t out to shock or rewrite the holiday. In war, witchcraft or snowbound, these sitcom characters want to enjoy the true meaning of the day. Merry Sitcom! is more crackling and heartwarming than any video yule log. Press play and you’ll have hours of Christmas cheer that will outlast Aunt Hazel’s fruitcake.
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. Only That Girl and The Flying Nun are in color. The transfers are fine. The audio is mono. The levels are loud enough to scare a mouse,
None.
Merry Sitcom! is perfect for your traditional holiday celebration. Put this on your TV instead of Charlie Sheen’s Twelve Days of Skankmas. Merry Sitcom! is like a rich egg nog and hot slice of a mincemeat pie. It’s not really Christmas until Ernest Borgnine arrives.
Shout! Factory presents Merry Sitcom!. Starring: Robert Young, Elizabeth Montgomery, Marlo Thomas and Sally Fields. Running time 170 minutes. Released on DVD: November 3, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
