Advent Calendar House

Latest Episodes:

Roseanne - Halloween IV Jul 13, 2025

Show notes

🎃 This year, Halloween in July has fallen on a Scrooge Sunday, so we’re hitting two holiday tropes with one garbage disposal.

🎙️ Gerry Davila and Brandon Medley join us on a journey back to 1992 to watch Roseanne endure a haunting by the Ghosts of Halloween Past, Present, and Future.

📺 At press time, the episode “Halloween IV” is available on Peacock.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

The Story Behind Roseanne’s Iconic Chicken Shirt (Decider, 2018).

The “Psych” pineapple.

October 30th is Mischief Night in New Jersey and, apparently, nowhere else.

Elks Lodges lodges are real.

Our Halloween costumes from around 1992, and the worst things we’ve gotten while trick-or-treating.

Lee Arenberg (Ghost of Halloween Past) in “The Wizard.”

Mario Reccuzo (Ghost of Halloween Present) on “California Dreams.”

Dan and Jackie’s amazing beheaded Marie Antoinette costume.

A background actor is wearing a Pigs in Space costume.

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📼 Commercials:

Walgreens Halloween Decorations (1992)

How a Count Eats a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1990)

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s14 #1990s #halloween #scroogesunday

The Charmings - Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

🎄 Hey, remember the Christmas episode of that show on ABC where Snow White and Prince Charming are transported by the Evil Queen to a land without magic and have to adjust to modern-day America? No, you don’t, because you’re thinking of “Once Upon a Time,” which didn’t have a Christmas episode, which was rude.

🎙️ Kristi and Bri from Bad Princess Movies join us as we go back an even longer time ago to the enchanted year of 1987 to meet The Charmings, who did have a Christmas episode!

📺 You can watch “Yes, Lillian, There Is a Santa Claus” on YouTube, or this VHS-recorded copy with commercials.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

This episode was advertised during the original broadcast of “A Muppet Family Christmas.”

The first season’s opening credits explains the backstory.

Judy Parfitt (Lillian) as another fairytale queen in “Ever After: A Cinderella Story.”

Carol Huston Signs for ‘The Charmings’ (L.A. Times, 1987).

The Calgary Castle and the even crazier themed vacation homes being built near me.

The Enchanted Forest park in British Columbia.

John Astin as the Devil in another episode of “The Charmings.”

The “He-Man village” was actually the massive Eternia playset.

Tony Steedman (Santa) as Socrates in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”

Judy Parfitt on the pain of losing her husband (Steedman) to dementia (Daily Mail, 2014).

Dick Van Dyke’s Learn Not to Burn hot door PSA.

Gordon Ramsay should play Santa.

Robert Bork, or: Yes, Virginia, You Can Reject a Supreme Court Nominee.

One originally cut episode finally aired on CTV in 2021.

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📼 Commercials:

Masters of the Universe: Eternia Playset (1986)

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s14 #1980s

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Christmas Aliens Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

🎄 Cowabunga! In nearly 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, 2004’s “The Christmas Aliens” is somehow their only animated Christmas episode.

🎙️ Anthony Strand, Shawn Robare, and Jaime Hood join the ride as we follow Michelangelo and a kitty named Klunk on a Christmas Eve car chase to save a truckload of stolen Little Orphan Alien dolls meant for a group of little orphan human Earthlings, all while Splinter makes a sewer full of guests wait for Mikey to arrive before they eat.

📺 At press time, “The Christmas Aliens” is available on Paramount+.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

Read the original 1985 comic on Mirage Studios’ old, preserved website.

Our episode on “We Wish You a Turtle Christmas.”

The Lost and Unused Theme Songs of the 2003 series.

Bruce Wayne’s long dining room table.

Similar chase scenes in “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Speed.”

Terence Archie (Silver Sentry) as Apollo Creed in “Rocky: The Musical.”

Ice Cream Kitty!

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📼 Commercials:

Happy Honda Days: Ninja Turtles, featuring the original 1980s voice cast (2018).

WIZARDS The Podcast Guide to Comics.

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s14 #2000s #tmnt #comics

Here Comes Peter Cottontail Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

🐰 It’s Easter in July, and those two things together are the least confusing thing about today’s episode.

🎙️ It’s a race across the calendar with Michael May and Sammy Hain as we follow Peter Cottontail through time on his quest to reclaim the title of Chief Easter Bunny from the evil January Q. Irontail, voiced by Vincent Price, in Rankin/Bass’s first non-Christmas holiday special from 1971.

📺 You can find “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” on Tubi, or this restored version on the YouTube channel “The Rankin Bass Archive.”

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

“The Easter Bunny That Overslept,” the book, and a read-along video.

This special has the same opening as Disney’s “Aladdin.”

Vincent Price hosting “Read, Write, and Draw” on The Disney Channel.

Jim and Dwight are the worst party planning committee on “The Office.”

Patton Oswalt on Easter eggs.

Seymour S. Sassafras is probably a Time Lord.

Today’s TV Trope: Loophole Abuse.

The Halloween segment reuses music from “Mad Monster Party?”

Is the title of Chief Easter Bunny always on the line like a 24/7 wrestling championship?

Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet.

Yosemite Sam attempts to cook hasenpfeffer.

The Easter Bunny in Hell in “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.”

This special got a sequel in 2005.

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📼 Commercials:

Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs (1978)

FOLCs Forever: A Lois & Clark Rewatch Podcast.

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s14 #1970s #easter #rankinbass

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - Not a Christmas Story Jul 05, 2025

Show notes

🎄 We’re snowed in a bit earlier than expected, so we’ve hunkered down to have a Christmas feast from around the world with the WJM TV family in a 1974 non-Christmas Christmas episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

🎙️ Joining the party is film critic and author Alonso Duralde, who recommended this episode. A newly Revised and Updated edition of Alonso’s book, “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas,” is being released in September, but you can pre-order it now.

You can also find Alonso at The Film Verdict; check out his other book, Hollywood Pride; and listen to Linoleum Knife, Maximum Film, Breakfast All Day, and Deck the Hallmark.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

Pre-order the Revised and Updated Edition of “Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.”

IMDb’s photo gallery for this episode has 20 screenshots of Mary in a towel.

Betty White’s amazing Christmas dress.

Harrison Ford recalls what he told George Lucas while shooting the first “Star Wars” movie.

I couldn’t find a recipe for “soufflé tour légende,” but here’s one for “Mr. Grant You Took Half Veal Prince Orloff!”

Today’s TV Trope: Social Semi-Circle.

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📼 Commercials:

Burger King Gift Certificates Christmas Commercial (1974)

Season’s Eatings.

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s14 #1970s

Futurama - A Tale of Two Santas Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

🌴 In Part 2 of our “Futurama” Xmas double-header, we meet the only thing worse than an evil robot Santa… two evil robot Santas.

🎙️ Michael DiGiovanni, Erin Evans, Joey O., and Donnie Storms return for 2001’s “A Tale of Two Santas.”
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💬 Topics & Tangents:

“Box Car Blues” (1930).

Santa’s Death Fortress sure looks like Elsa’s ice palace.

Coolio’s final acting role before his death was a return as the voice of Kwanzaa-bot.

An ode to Musicmatch Jukebox and our turn-of-the-century mp3 albums we’re still holding onto.

My favorite joke in all of “Futurama.”

“I’m Spartacus!”

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📼 Commercials:

America Online Keyword: eBay (2001).

A Bomb for Christmas: A made-for-podcast Christmas movie featuring your old pal, me.

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s14 #2000s

Futurama - Xmas Story Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

🌴 The Advent Calendar House has awoken from what feels like a thousand-year slumber and a lame April Fool’s joke. As a peace offering, here’s the first of two back-to-back episodes celebrating Xmas as imagined by “Futurama.”

🎙️ It’s extra crowded in the cryogenic chamber as Michael DiGiovanni, Erin Evans, Joey O., and Donnie Storms drop in for 1999’s “Xmas Story,” in which we’re introduced to the annual tradition of gift-giving and shelter-taking from a killer robot Santa Claus that awaits our descendants in the year 3000.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

“Fresh Hare” (1942).

Orange Cassidy sleeping through his own wrestling match.

“Why Chaucer Said ‘Ax’ Instead of ‘Ask,’ and Why Some Still Do” (NPR, 2013).

“Why is the number 1,729 hidden in Futurama episodes?” (BBC, 2013).

The classic dangling from a clock tower scenes from “Safety Last” and “Back to the Future.”

John Goodman’s other appearances as Santa.

Randy Johnson hits a bird with a fastball.

Corona Extra’s Christmas palm tree commercial.

The lyrics to “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” are sinister enough by themselves.

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📼 Commercials:

Hess Truck 1999 Space Shuttle Toy.

Stick to Shorts: A Classic Cartoons Podcast.

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s14 #1990s

Friends - The One with the Holiday Armadillo Dec 25, 2024

Show notes

🕎 It’s the year 2000, and Christmas and Hanukkah have crossed paths at my doorstep in the form of Santa Claus and his part-Jewish friend… a weird turtle man.

🎙 Becca Petunia and April Ryley join us as we revisit some old Friends in honor of Christmas Day and the first night of Hanukkah sharing a day on the calendar this year. Plus: An escaped tarantula, a restaurant we may never be allowed in or out of again, and an unforgettable interfaith holiday mascot fit for a new millennium.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

How often does the first night of Hanukkah fall on Christmas? (Vox, 2016)

What the ‘Friends’ Holiday Armadillo Episode Gets Right About Interfaith Families (Hey Alma, 2021)

The “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” drum roll outtake reel.

A transcript including deleted scenes reveals Ben wants Santa to bring him an ant farm.

Formication (with an M, y’all), the false sense of feeling like bugs are crawling on you.

Halloween Adventure is real and still open.

Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.

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📼 Commercials:

AT&T True Savings with David Schwimmer (circa 1996)

The Studio Demands It!

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s13 #2000s #hanukkah

Babes in Toyland (1986) Dec 24, 2024

Show notes

🎄 It’s Christmas Eve 1986, and the only way Drew Barrymore can save her new friends is to believe in the magic of toys… and Cincinnati.

🎙 Molly Patton, Becca Petunia, and Adam Pope join us for a bonkers adaptation of “Babes in Toyland” from director Clive Donner and starring Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves, and Richard Mulligan as a weird, evil guy who lives in a bowling ball.

📺 You can watch “Babes in Toyland” on Tubi, the 3-hour original broadcast with commercials, or the unofficial “Director’s Cut” without ads.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

Misfits in Toyland (NSFW), an unrelated horror-comedy webcomic.

Keanu Reeves (Jack) on “Going Great” (1985)

Googy Gress (Georgie) in “Wayne’s World 2.”

Today’s TV Trope: And You Were There.

The Cookie Jar House of South Jersey.

The Undertaker’s entrance at WrestleMania IX, in the middle of the afternoon.

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (and Tripping Daisy’s cover of theme song).

The Toymaster’s Santa coat looks like Belle’s from “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.”

Was It Great, or Were You 8?

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📼 Commercials:

McDonald’s: Recital (1986)

Give ’Em All a Little Pat of Butter (1986)

TGI Podcast

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s13 #1980s

Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol Dec 22, 2024

Show notes

🎄 It’s 2010, and I’m hiding in a closet from a flying shark that ate half my screwdriver.

I’ve finally caught up with the timeline of people who have been requesting that I watch the “Doctor Who” Christmas specials.

🎙 Andre Bennett, Jack Ford from the Total Christmas Podcast, and Anthony Strand from ToughPigs.com join me for a twisted take on “A Christmas Carol” starring Michael Gambon in the Scrooge role and the 11th Doctor as at least 2 ghosts of Christmas.

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💬 Topics & Tangents:

Andre’s review of this episode from 2011.

Anthony ranks all of Steven Moffat’s “Doctor Who” episodes.

Amy and Rory’s outfits may or may not be but probably are a nod to a similar scene in a 2001 “Only Fools and Horses” Christmas special.

Michael Gambon in “Toys,” as the Ultragorgon on Jim Henson’s “Monster Maker,” and as the Ghost of Christmas Present in 2001’s “Christmas Carol: The Movie.”

Abigail is basically Nora Fries from Batman.

Katherine Jenkins on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Danny Horn (Young Adult Kazran) on Bandcamp.

Greenland sharks could live for hundreds of years.

“Abigail’s Song (Silence Is All You Know)”

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📼 Commercials:

Tesco Christmas Advert: “Mrs. Belcher” (2010)

Tinsel Tunes: The Christmas Music Podcast

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Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.
Find us at adventcalendar.house.

#s13 #2010s #scroogesunday