Christmas just isn't Christmas without Christmas on TV. Whether it's the made-for-television specials of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, a M*A*S*H* Christmas in Korea, Kramer playing Santa on Seinfeld, or the annual holiday disaster on The Simpsons or South Park, television's many representations of this beloved holiday have become as essential a part of our holiday season as lights, gifts, or mistletoe. In this entertaining chronicle of television and the Christmas season, former Television Critics Association President Diane Werts weaves discussion of the many programs that have appeared during the holiday season throughout the years with interviews with writers, producers, and stars. Not only are readers given a chance to re-live their favorite holiday moments on TV, but also to gain illuminating cultural insights into the increasingly strong bond that unites these two American traditions. Diane Werts's book is the first to cover the entire history of the depiction of Christmas on television, and includes a discussion of programs that celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the winter solstice. An introductory overview helps readers to understand the basis on which television's success with the holidays is based, and chronological chapters go on to consider the many different ways in which the season has been celebrated in variety shows, sitcoms, specials, and dramas of the past six decades.

A Guide to British television programmes shown at Christmas time, throughout the years.

For most of us, fond memories of the Christmas season are inseparable from TV’s holiday presentations. The world loves everything from iconic cartoons like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas to the ground-breaking Julia sitcom segment, “I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas,” Christmas in Rockefeller Center, and the 1992 TV-remake of Christmas in Connecticut directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Christmas TV Memories: Nostalgic Holiday Favorites of the Small Screen embraces it all, offering a tinsel-decked traipse down memory lane and chronicling animated classics, variety shows, made-for-TV features, and holiday-specific episodes of series like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. With a Foreword by best-selling Free to Be You and Me author and That Girl star Marlo Thomas, along with commentary from other celebrities, historical quotes, and insights from entertainment journalists and archivists, Christmas TV Memories serves as the go-to companion to the small screen’s most cherished holiday programs.

Explores the rich history of angels in America from Spanish colonialism and Puritan culture to modern incarnations found on TV, in movies, in comic books, and on bumper stickers. Finds that Americans have constructed the "useful angel" as a servant of man rather than an agent of God.

Bonanza aired on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973, playing to 480,000,000 viewers in over 97 countries. It was the second longest running western series, surpassed only by Gunsmoke, and continues to provide wholesome entertainment to old and new fans via syndication. This book provides an in-depth chronicle of the series and its stars. A history of the show from its inception to the current made-for-television movies is provided, and an episode guide includes a synopsis of each show and lists such details as the main characters of each episode and the actors who portrayed them, the dates they stayed with the show, date and time of original broadcast, writer, director, producer, executive producer, and supporting cast. Also provided are character sketches for each of the major recurring characters, career biographies of Lorne Green, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon, brief biographical sketches of the supporting cast, a discography of recordings of the Bonanza theme and recordings of the four major stars, and information on Bonanza television movies.