Everybody has a favorite TV show from their past, and our reasons for loving them are personal. Be it Lost in Space, Dynasty or even Room 222, certain shows stick with us forever.

For me, that show is The Odd Couple.

For those of you have been living in a cave, the show is based on the Neil Simon play and classic movie. It deals with two mismatched room mates: Felix Unger, a neat freak, and Oscar Madison, super-slob. In the early seventies, the movie was a big hit, and ABC, desperate for hit shows, gave producer Gary Marshall the task of making a series out of this property. He really hit the jackpot in his casting, with Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman  as Oscar.
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Some time back, I wrote a piece where I spoke of my dread of the new ABC Family Christmas special, A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, based on the beloved characters from The Year Without a Santa Claus. Based on what I had seen of it, I predicted it would be dreadful. I also promised that if I was wrong and enjoyed it, I would write a glowing review.

I don’t have to write that review. This “new Holiday classic” was pretty lousy.

The plot was about Santa being disabled while testing a new sonic sled, and the Miser Brothers, Heat & Snow, being framed for it by their brother North Wind who, for reasons not disclosed during the special, wants Santa’s job for himself. The Misers then have to fill in for Santa.

For those of you who missed the show, I’ll save you the trouble; eventually, Christmas goes on as planned. By the way, some villain wanting Santa’s job is a staple of Holiday classics, and I’ve never understood it. Who wants to tear around the globe in the freezing cold and come home stinking of reindeer droppings and stale cookies? Is it because you only have to work one day a year?

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A big part of the Christmas season is, for me, watching all the classic holiday Christmas specials. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without Frosty, Rudolph, the Grinch, and all my other holiday TV pals.

One of my favorite specials is the holiday classic, The Year Without a Santa Claus, featuring a memorable appearance by two brothers, Heat Miser and Snow Miser, who apparently have some hand in the current global warming crisis, due to some complicated family issues.

I love these characters so much that I was delighted/dismayed when the ABC Family Channel announced they would premier a new special, A Miser Brothers Christmas, on December 13th (as part of their annual however-many days of showing crappy Christmas movies thing they do every year). I was delighted because I, of course, was happy to see my old pals back, and thrilled that Mickey Rooney was returning as the voice of Santa, and that George S. Irving was reprising his role as Heat Miser. Sadly, Dick Shawn will not be playing Snow Miser again, as he is dead.

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This Wednesday, CBS will air the first of many airings of the holiday classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It is, of course, a wonderful TV tradition, but now having seen it roughly a gazillion times, I have some observations/questions about the plot.

• First off, why are all the denizens of the North Pole such jerks? In a place populated by pointy-eared people and talking animals, why is a shiny red nose such a handicap? My uncle had a shiny red nose (due mainly to his heavy consumption of liquor), and we didn’t make such a big deal of it. Santa, in particular, seems really judgmental.

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