Advent Calendar House
A salute to all TV holiday specials, but mostly the Christmas ones. Revisit 12 holiday classics and not-so-classics each December and July.
Episodes
🎄 We’re snowed in a bit earlier than expected, so we’ve hunkered down to have a Christmas feast from around the world. Our colleagues from the newsroom upstairs are less than enthusiastic, but that’s not stopping us from enjoying this 1974 non-Christmas Christmas episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
****
🎙 Guest:
Alonso Duralde (Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, The Film Verdict, Linoleum Knife, Maximum Film,...
🌴 In Part 2 of our “Futurama” Xmas double-header, we meet the only thing worse than an evil robot Santa… two evil robot Santas.
****
🎙 Guests:
Michael DiGiovanni (Pop Culture Retrofit, Bluesky)
Erin Evans (Bluesky)
Joey O. (Y-Not Radio, Bluesky)
Donnie Storms (Bronwen’s Ghost, Bluesky)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
“Box Car Blues” (1930).
Santa’s Death Fortress sure looks like Elsa’s ice palace.
🌴 The Advent Calendar House has awoken from what feels like a thousand-year slumber and a lame April Fool’s joke. As a peace offering, here’s the first of two back-to-back episodes celebrating Xmas as imagined by “Futurama.”
Up first is “Xmas Story” from 1999, in which we’re introduced to the annual tradition of gift-giving and shelter-taking from a killer robot Santa Claus that awaits our descendants in the year 3000.
****
🕎 It’s the year 2000, and Christmas and Hanukkah have crossed paths at my doorstep in the form of Santa Claus and his part-Jewish friend… a weird turtle man.
In honor of Christmas Day and the first night of Hanukkah sharing a day on the calendar this year, we’re revisiting some old Friends, an escaped tarantula, a restaurant we may never be allowed in or out of again, and an unforgettable interfaith holiday mascot fit for a new m...
🎄It’s 1986, and the only way Drew Barrymore can save her new friends is to believe in the magic of toys… and Cincinnati.
From director Clive Donner comes a bonkers adaptation of “Babes in Toyland” starring Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Richard Mulligan as a weird, evil guy who lives in a bowling ball.
****
🎙 Guests:
Molly Patton (MollyPatton.com)
Becca Petunia (ToughPigs.com, Bear in the Big Blue Podcast, Bluesky)...
🎄It’s 2010, and I’m hiding in a closet from a flying shark that ate half my screwdriver.
I’ve finally caught up with the timeline of people who have been requesting that I watch the “Doctor Who” Christmas specials, particularly this twisted take on “A Christmas Carol” starring Michael Gambon in the Scrooge role and the 11th Doctor as at least 2 ghosts of Christmas.
****
🎙 Guests:
Andre Bennett (Bluesky)
Jack Ford (Tot...
🎄It’s 1970, and a couple of bear cubs have jumped through my window and are eating all my marshmallows.
Join us on a deeper than expected dive into a Christmas special by former Hanna-Barbera animator Tony Benedict that almost wasn’t released till the owner of a now-defunct Florida theme park swooped in and saved it.
CONTENT WARNING: No animals were harmed in the making of this podcast. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about ...
🎄It’s 2003, and nothing puts me in a festive mood quite like a bar fight.
Join us as we spend Christmas break with the Justice League — well, most of it. Wonder Woman’s off doing something else, and Batman… you know, smells.
****
🎙 Guests:
Joey O. (Y-Not Radio, Bluesky)
James Riley (Twitter)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
1. Mike talks “Comfort and Joy” on Tis the Podcast.
2. Paul Dini’s notes on “Comfort and J...
🎄It’s 1986, and Santa looks different after arriving late to the mall due to a flat reindeer.
Unfold that TV Guide you crafted into an angel centerpiece and join us for a semi-festive Christmas episode of “Mama’s Family” that will have you believing in either Santa or ghosts at the end of it.
****
🎙 Guest:
Joe Fulton (Christmas Aficionado)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
🎄It’s 1990, and Santa’s lost in my confusing network of chimneys.
Prepare yourself for a more silly than spooky Christmas special that takes us from Castle Duckula to a concussion-induced space adventure and back.
****
🎙 Guest:
Adam Parker Sibun (Merry Britsmas)
****
💬 Topics & Tangents:
1. “A Christmas Quacker” on the Internet Archive (it’s mislabeled as another episode).
🎄It’s 2020, and a gift-wrapped puppy licked my face and made my skin turn blue.
From the Chiodo Brothers comes a charming stop-motion Christmas special about how an alien invasion of the North Pole almost ruined Christmas — and the entire planet’s gravity, but also Christmas. Plus: A “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” Easter egg, some cameos from “Elf,” and Santa with nunchucks.
****
🎙 Guests:
Michael DiGiovanni (Pop Cul...
🎄It’s 1982, and I’m trapped at sea while Mickey Rooney butts into everyone’s conversation.
Join us as we embark on a Christmas cruise aboard the Pacific Princess for a very merry episode of “The Love Boat” featuring Maureen McCormick, Donny Osmond, and Mickey Rooney as an angel in disguise as your nosy neighbor.
****
🎙 Guests:
Guy Hutchinson (Pointless Nostalgia, GuyHutchinson.com)
William Bruce West (West Week Ever, ...
🎄It’s 1988, and the Spirit of Christmas just broke down my bedroom door to say hello.
This edition of Scrooge Sunday turns everyone’s favorite festive tale of redemption on its head and blows it out its enormous, muscular backside as great philanthropist and all-around softy Ebenezer Blackadder learns from watching his ancestors and descendants that it’s good to be bad.
****
🎙 Guest:
Jack Ford (Total Christmas Podcas...
🎄It’s 2001, and a rock giant is chasing us across the ocean, which has been entirely frozen over by fairies with minty fresh breath.
From the makers of “ReBoot” and Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” music video comes Barbie’s first feature-length movie, complete with motion capture of the New York City Ballet, revolutionary hair animation, and Tim Curry as an extra sassy Mouse King.
****
🎙 Guests:
Kristi and Bri from B...
🎄It’s 1984, and Santa’s in front of a firing squad because his executioner didn’t appreciate the socks he got last Christmas.
The slime is an extra festive shade of green in this Christmas episode of the show that defined Nickelodeon’s early years, featuring an all-star cast of the 5 most featured kid actors of “You Can’t Do That on Television.”
****
🎙 Guests:
Shawn Robare (Plastic Rocket Pop, Cult Film Club, Wolfman’s...
🎄It’s 1995, and Robert Downey Jr. may or may not be holding Kermit the Frog hostage until he gets his perfect Christmas tree.
The Advent Calendar House is back in time for a freakin’ country bear jamberoo as a family of Muppet mice risk their lives to bring home the top of the top of the top of the top of a Christmas tree fit for an eccentric future Iron Man. Also starring shy butler Leslie Nielsen, homesick Swedish maid Stockard...
🎄It’s 1992, and there’s no such thing as Buster Bunny.
The Advent Calendar House wraps up Christmas in July with the unofficial series finale of “Tiny Toon Adventures,” when Buster wishes he’d never been on the show, and the horrors within Montana Max’s Biff Tannen Pleasure Palace or whatever.
****
🎙 Guests:
Adam Pope (Geekster, YouTube, Remember That Show?)
William Bruce West (West Week Ever, Remember That Show?)
🎄It’s 1990… or 1962… and a quantum physicist forgot to powder his boss’s underwear.
This Scrooge Sunday edition of the Advent Calendar House involves time travel of a different sort as we follow Dr. Sam Beckett on a mission to save a mission, and the soul of the man trying to tear it down.
* CONTENT WARNING: This episode briefly discusses the death of actor Charles Rocket and the would-be death of his Scrooge-like character, Mic...
🦃 It’s 2015, and in my search for a noisy cryptid I accidentally freed 175 roided-up turkeys, but neither of those things is the real monster.
Join us as we rediscover a long lost Thanksgiving special concept Jim Henson dreamed up in the 1960s and meet the Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow.
****
🎙 Guests:
Ethan (The Hungry Reader, A Special Presentation or ALF Will Not Be Seen Tonight, Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet...
🎄 It’s 1992, and my daydreams of snow are melting into a bucket of water getting dumped on my head from an airplane.
Join us as we dive down the rabbit hole to the strange world of The Disney Channel’s “Adventures in Wonderland,” where the White Rabbit wears Rollerblades and the halls are decked with fresh produce, the way Christmas was meant to be celebrated.
****
🎙 Guests:
Kit Quinn (@missi0nbreakout,...
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.