The Christmas TV Companion: a Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials and Outrageous Oddities

by Joanna Wilson

Overview

Christmas on TV is wilder, weirder, and more wondrous than you think! The Christmas TV Companion is a funny, engaging look beyond the same Christmas specials that air every year to the cult TV rarities, over-the-top made-for-TV holiday specials, and bizarre, spacey shows that truly expand the notion of Christmas spirit. Loaded with pop culture references, this book is sure to please pop aficionados and TV junkies of all stripes. Its remarkable breadth of content covers the far-out gems of yesterday, as well as the irreverent and cutting edge Christmas material of today, from Arthur C. Clarke to South Park, and from Ed Sullivan to Squidbillies. This guide also contains practical examples for enhancing your own Christmas TV viewing.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940014653893
Publisher:	1701 Press
Publication date:	07/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	622 KB

About the Author

Joanna Wilson draws upon her academic background in film history and philosophy to create insightful commentary on pop culture of all kinds. She is the author of two books, Tis the Season TV: the Encyclopedia of Christmas-Themed Episodes, Specials, and Made-for-TV Movies (2010) and The Christmas TV Companion: a Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials, and Outrageous Oddities (2009). A lively and engaging speaker, she has appeared in two television specials as a commentator on Christmas entertainments. In 2010, she appeared in The Real Story of Christmas (2010), and the TV Guide Network's 25 Most Hilarious Holiday TV Moments (2010). As an expert on Christmas TV movies, Wilson was invited to moderate the cast reunion for a screening of the 1971 TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971) in December 2011. The cast reunion for the 40th Anniversary of The Homecoming included members of the much-beloved TV series The Waltons (1971-1981). Wilson writes a regularly updated blog about both popular and rare Christmas entertainments at www.ChristmasTVHistory.com. She also publishes a daily Twitter post of Christmas programming airing on TV. She is at work on her third book, which highlights Christmas music as seen in television episodes, specials, and movies, due to release for the holidays in 2012.

Editorial Reviews

A fun and fast read, The Christmas TV Companion is a good recap of Christmas television over the years. It's clear the author boasts a real passion for the topic, and has researched it thoroughly. The book brings up some great (and some terrible...) holiday-themed TV memories. After reading it -- or just flipping through - you'll want to make a beeline to your VHS collection (or DVDs...)...

John Kenneth Muir