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Now, I love Donnie and Marie.  Call it a guilty pleasure.  I watched every Friday night on ABC as a kid.  I also loved their Christmas specials.

Here is an excerpt from the 1976 special

 
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The Problem

You cruise sites like this one and you relive memories from the past and you always end up asking yourself "why don't they show that anymore?".

You can wax poetic about people today and network executives not getting it and all of that but I think the real problem is that it's become a parody of itself.  People watch these shows today on DVD or Blu Ray because they think it's cool to be nostalgic rather than saying "It's because it's Christmas and that's what we do". 

How many young hipsters do you know who own the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas because they think it's hip to listen to a little Vince Guaraldi?  They live in an age where it's hip to listen to "old stuff", but the idea that "hey, it's Christmas!" never enters the mind.  It's as if our consciousness about Christmas has changed.  The holiday or it's meaning haven't changed and each culture celebrates it in its own way.  But only 30 years ago, these specials were front and center as part of our Christmases and never a thought came to mind that people just didn't care for it anymore.

I think these decisions were made in a back room at a network somewhere by a young exec who wished he or she worked at MTV.

Until people give the old specials a fresh look and realize that it's just as much a part of our Christmas as putting up the tree or drinking egg nog, we will always be searching for a Christmas we used to know.


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The Hollywood Palace was an hour long variety show on ABC TV.  There were many guests hosts (much like SNL) but Bing Crosby made the most appearances - 31 in all including starring on the Christmas specials.  The show ran from 1964 thru 1970, with Bing hosting the final show.

Here's Bing singing his perennial hit on The Hollywood Palace Christmas show from 1968.


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