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The Holiday Music Fest 2020

12/21/2020

Okay, this is a bit weird (with "a bit" being an understatement), though really quite wonderful.

Netflix says it commissioned a fellow named Keaton Patti to run 1,000 Christmas movies through a bot and “created our own mathematically perfect Holiday film made entirely by bots.” Now, of course, it’s possible that this is just a terrible video that they created to be funny. But it’s really SO nonsensical in insignificant ways that I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s on the level. In fact, the only thing noticeably missing is a bakery, department store and Christmas tree farm. But otherwise, they've given Hallmark a run for its money...

The Holiday Music Fest 2020

12/19/2020

In honor of the inveterate Chris Dunn, here is two hours of Darlene Love singing “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home”). No, really, two hours of it.

In 1986, Darlene Love was appearing in a show, Leader of the Pack, that Paul Shaffer was performing with. David Letterman came to a performance, loved her singing of this song and invited her on to her show to sing it – and kept inviting her back every year for 28 years through to his last season in 2014. And this is a compilation of all those appearances. The show always went out for a big, fun production – including how they’d introduce the saxophone solo in some different, often odd way. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing – which is pretty likely – at least jump to the 1:40 mark when, for the last show, Letterman invites our her as a guest. And then right after, at the very end of the video, is a fun, sort of “Making of…” segment on how they put the song together each year. Which ends with a montage of about half a dozen versions of her singing the song. And each are seamless and joyous.

The Holiday Music Fest 2020

12/18/2020

Okay, it's time. Last night I popped in my DVD of the holiday gem Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol for my annual viewing, so it's only fitting that today we offer its wonderful songs. And a joyous bonus. Actually, we even have a second bonus this year. The classic show was the first-ever animated holiday special, made in 1962 and for eight years it got repeated annually through 1969. But its simplistic animation finally caught up and alas it went out of the rotation. A shame since it's such a terrific production.

For all its being Mr. Magoo and only 52 minutes long, it's a very nice adaptation of the story. And the score...well, it's Broadway quality and probably the best musical score for an animated TV special, and one of the best for TV, period. The music is by Jule Styne (Gypsy, Bells are Ringing) and the lyrics by Bob Merrill (Carnival, Take Me Along) who -- while writing this -- were, in fact, in the middle of working on Funny Girl.

Though no longer on network TV, for a long time the show could be found every year on syndication. But unfortunately even that has largely faded away, though occasionally it pops up. But on its 50th anniversary in 2012, NBC brought it back to prime time, and happily its DVD release gave the show new life.

Here are the wonderful songs.

The first, "Ringle Ringle" introduces us to Scrooge and Bob Cratchit.

When Scrooge visits the Crachit house in Christmas Present, the family sings the rousing showstopper, "The Lord's Bright Blessing."

In Christmas Past, Scrooge returns to an almost-empty schoolhouse of his youth and sings a duet of himself as a young boy, "I'm All Alone in the World."

Still in Christmas Past, Scrooge's fiance Belle breaks up with him for find a new idol to love -- gold, and she sings wistfully about their love lost, the lovely "Winter was Warm."

In Christmas Future, Scrooge visits a junk shop run by thieves who have ransacked the now-empty house of a man who was died -- which he doesn't realize yet is him -- and they explain with very amusing glee that "We're Despicable."

And now the bonus.

For those who were skeptical of me calling this a Broadway-quality score, It turns out (aside from the reality that it is) that the show did play on Broadway -- sort of. In 2014, the Actors Fund did a benefit concert with a fairly elaborate staged reading of the TV show, with full costumes, limited sets and even some choreography. It was so successful that they brought it back a few years later. I've posted a video of that original production in the past (here, for those who'd like to see it), but for a change-of-pace this is a 4-minute montage of the follow-up. And like its predecessor, the production looks absolutely wonderful. And sounds like they used the original music arrangements.

(While I prefer the Scrooge in the 2014 production, I'm using this version in part so that we can get both up here, but also because it's a little bit longer, so there's more material. However, in addition, the actress who plays 'Belle' and sings "Winter is Warm' here is Sierra Boggess, a wonderful performer who was the original 'Ariel' in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid, and who has appeared in several videos I've posted from the BBC Proms.)

Since the show is only about 52 minutes, it's much too short to mount a full-blow musical on its own, but I suspect it could be paired with another one-act show or just be done in community theaters.

By the way, their adaptation of the thieves' song, "We're Despicable," is scary-good (in both years) how close they came with the casting (a touch better the first year) and even with the animated choreography. Even down to the tiny details, at one point, of the comically-weird, twisty hand movements. And fortunately, the best -- and closest -- of the performers is in both versions, the tall fellow with glasses.

And here's the second bonus -- which I just discovered today. Apparently, a soundtrack album was planned, but never released. And it turns out that an overture was arranged for the album -- and recorded. And it's now shown up on YouTube. I've seen the animated special many dozens of times, and not only never heard this before, but I never knew it existed. Which I assume is the case for most people who have watched the TV special regularly over the years. And like so many overtures of Jule Styne musicals, it's wonderful. So, finally -- curtain up.

The Holiday Music Fest 2020

12/14/2020

This is one of my favorite sketches from Saturday Night Live” done in 1999. There are several songs in it, so happily it qualifies for the Music part of the Fest. But it would qualify regardless because, for me, it's all Fest.

I've had a difficult time tracking it down over the years, but finally found it in 2017 after nearly 20 years of searching. I had code to embed it, but for some reason that doesn't work. I did upload it below, but because it's done with a screen video capture, the sound is a tinny. But it's worth it.

I swear to you that when I first saw this sketch, I didn’t know who was playing the lead “urchin” in it – in part for the hair and make-up (which is light, but enough), but in part because I was thinking about the main cast members and not at all about who was hosting that week. A few years later I saw a repeat of the show, and halfway through the sketch I almost shouted out, “Oh, my God, that’s Jennifer Aniston!” And so it is. Along with Rachel Dratch, and others. And it’s a hoot.

But other than that second viewing, I haven't see the sketch on TV since. Why on earth SNL doesn't include this in their annual Christmas Special compendium of holiday sketches over the years. It's not only one of their best Christmas sketches, it is, for me as I said, one of their best, period.

The Holiday Music Fest 2020

12/12/2020

I mentioned at the start of the Fest that we had a couple of old TV specials this year, and here's the other one. This was a tremendous treat for me to come across.

Back on December 14, 1979, the TV legends Kukla, Fran and Ollie reunited for a TV special. The show -- which was wonderfully titled 'Tis the Season to Be Ollie (a line from their much-earlier rendition of "Deck the Halls") -- was made for WMAQ, the NBC-owned station in Chicago (where I think they produced their TV series back in the 1950s and early 1960s. I don't know for sure if this was syndicated to other NBC "owned-and-operated" stations, but I suspect so. The storyline here is the Ollie is trying to figure out plans for what kind of special they should do. It's slow and gentle, the way that Kukla, Fran and Ollie always were are are -- though there's a sequence where Ollie suggests that make things a lot more hip -- but a joy, especially for fans, to see them reunited.

So, as their long-time theme song said, "here we are, back with you again Yes, by gum and yes, by golly, Kukla, Fran and dear old Ollie" -- and Burr Tillstrom with the Kuklapolitans.

Holiday Music Fest 2020

12/9/2020

Yesterday for the Holiday Music Fest, I posted a beautiful, haunting recording of "The Little Drummer Boy," sung in German by Marlene Dietrich. I thought this would be an appropriate follow-up.

This comes from Season One of The West Wing, a Christmas episode titled, "In Excelsis Deo." It's the last four-minutes, and one of the best final four minutes, not just of The West Wing, but a TV episode I've seen. Wonderful not only for what it's about, but that combined with the use of music, performance and editing. And it is an absolutely beautiful, moving setting for "The Little Drummer Boy."

The Holiday Music Fest 2020

12/5/2020

I mentioned earlier that for this year's Holiday Music Fest I had a few TV specials from the past. This is the first -- not a standalone special per se, but the Christmas special for the weekly Julie Andrews hour, and they went all out to make it stand out. This is from December 20, 1972, and the cast includes Jimmy Stewart, Joel Grey, Mama Cass Elliot, Carl Reiner, Steve Lawrence, Sergio Franchi, Dan Dailey, Alice Ghostley and Rich Little.

(Side note: For those who don't know his name, Dan Dailey had a successful movie career in the 1940s and 1950s, including many musicals, and even got an Oscar nomination as Best Actor for When My Baby Smiles at Me. I saw him on stage at the Blackstone Theater in Chicago as 'Oscar' in a 1966 production of The Odd Couple, which also starred Richard Benjamin as 'Felix,' who so often played nervous, neurotic characters and was memorably picture-perfect for the role. And years later I got to tell him that when I met him and his wife Paula Prentis at a Northwestern alumni party which was held before the football team played in the Rose Bowl in 1995. And yes, he was stunned. And pleased.)

(But I digress.

The special is very well done. Carl Reiner even has a solo song, and does a nice job on "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Jimmy Stewart is the main guest, and travels around with Julie Andrews – and just when you think that that's pretty much all he'll get to do, later in the show he actually gets a solo number with "Away in the Manger" -- then sings a bit on two duets, including one with Julie Andrews, which in the singing world is the definition of courageous.

What's also fun is that Alice Ghostley sings one of the little-known Christmas songs I've posted here the past few years from the TV musical The Stingiest Man in Town. For that matter, they also perform yet another little-known song I post here -- in fact, that I posted just the other day, “A Christmas Carol” from the movie Scrooge. And are a couple of fun short sketches between Jimmy Stewart and Rich Little. The spepcial also includes the original commercials which adds some whimsy.

(Note: for some reason, this may open at the 1:48 mark, but I think I've finally gotten it to begin at the start. If not, though, you can just click on the scroll bar at the bottom of the video to get it all the way back to the beginning.)

Writers Talk

11/29/2020

On this week’s episode of 3rd & Fairfax, the official podcast of the Writers Guild of America, the guest is screenwriter Scott Frank, who is the co-creator-showrunner-writer-director of The Queen’s Gambit, the most-watched limited-series on Netflix. He talks about adapting Walter Tevis’ novel, as well as his other work, that includes Get Shorty, Minority Report, Marley & Me, Logan, the limited-series Godless (for which he wrote and directed all episodes) and more.

The Thanksgiving Fest 2020

11/26/2020

As we continue on with our Fest --

During the years that The West Wing was on television, series creator Aaron Sorkin seemed to have great affection for Thanksgiving Day episodes. And he always seemed to come up with wonderful ones for the day. Here are a couple of sequences that especially have always stood out for me.

This first is from the "Shibboleth" episode when President Bartlet discovered that there was actually something called the Butterball Hot Line

Also from the same episode, this is when a turkey was dropped off to press secretary C.J. Cregg so that it could be pardoned.

Writers Talk

11/1/2020

On this week’s episode of 3rd and Fairfax, the official podcast of the Writers Guild of America, the guest is David Wiener, the developer/showrunner of the new Peacock series, Brave New World. His other credits include writing for Homecoming and Fear the Walking Dead. He talks about adapting Aldous Huxley’s classic sci-fi novel for the new streaming platform and why the series’ themes are more relevant than ever.