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Nostalgic
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Adventurous
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Curious
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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: December 16, 1987
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: A Muppet Family Christmas. [Stream on YouTube.]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Sure, yes, The Muppets teamed up for The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992, and if you’re in the mood to Muppet up your holidays, you can certainly do worse than Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge harassing Kermit as a saintly Bob Cratchit. You could also settle into the warm nostalgia of the Muppets and John Denver’s 1979 Christmas special. But for my money, the gold standard in Muppet Christmas specials is 1987’s A Muppet Family Christmas. Produced for ABC television in December of ’87, A Muppet Family Christmas is a historic teaming up of all the creatures from the Jim Henson universe: Kermit and the Muppet Show gang are the focus, of course, and if they’re who you’ve come to see, you won’t be disappointed; but they’re joined here by their cousins from Sesame Street and the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock. It’s a crossover event that really brings home the idea of a family Christmas.
As is almost always the case with a Muppets production, it’s funnier than you expect it will be, some thirty years later. Of course, A Muppet Family Christmas is primarily a delivery system for beloved holiday songs and Christmas carols. The special begins with “We Need a Little Christmas” and just keeps on going. If your idea of Christmas is family gathered around an out-of-tune piano and singing all the holiday favorites, this is the special for you. It’s also the special for you if you feel like watching the Swedish Chef cut through the holiday cheer with his semi-morbid quest to slaughter the holiday turkey … until he sets his sights on Big Bird. This is certainly the best holiday special where one beloved character attempts to murder another.
It’s classic Muppets in that it’s a little bit of everything; a true variety show. We even get a little proto-Muppet Babies action! It’s not on any of the major streaming TV sites, but you can watch a good-quality version on YouTube, and you’re highly encouraged to do so.
