tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post5153843860822393714..comments2024-03-27T22:27:16.556-04:00Comments on It's About TV: A "Christmas Carol" the likes of which you haven't seen before!Mitchell Hadleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-67863647787794769712017-12-28T23:32:10.809-05:002017-12-28T23:32:10.809-05:00That description actually sounds a lot like Blacka...That description actually sounds a lot like <i>Blackadder's Christmas Carol,</i> in which our titular hero is the nicest man in London (and consequently taken advantage of by everyone). It isn't until he's visited by the ghost (played by Robbie Coltrane) that he realizes what a sucker he's been, and how his crooked and devious ancestors really had the best of it. Of course, he winds up insulting Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, therefore losing a cash award he was to receive for being such a humanitarian. A real cure for some of those anodyne "Carol" knockoffs out there.<br /><br />Merry Christmas to you as well, Mike, and a very Happy New Year!Mitchell Hadleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08695771505209080030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042603612494762084.post-82676880285727843842017-12-28T17:08:24.909-05:002017-12-28T17:08:24.909-05:00I'm fairly sure that there hasn't been a c...I'm fairly sure that there hasn't been a classic story that was on the receiving end of more variations than <i>A Christmas Carol</i>.<br /><br />The one I'd like to see again was done in 1985, on <i>George Burns Comedy Week</i>, a short-lived anthology series on CBS (anthologies were a quick fad of that season).<br /><br />George Burns, 89 at the time, was the Serlingesque host for original half-hour comedy plays; Steve Martin was executive producer.<br /><br />For their seasonal show, GBCW presented "Christmas Carol II: The Sequel", starring James Whitmore as Scrooge.<br />The premise: it's one year after the original story, and Scrooge has become such a complete pushover that Marley and the other ghosts have to come back to get him on a more moderate path.<br />I didn't see it at the time, and since GBCW didn't make it past midseason I missed out altogether; it didn't even get a VHS tape release.<br />(I did manage to find a bootleg VHS of some of the episodes, including this one; I think I still have it here in the place, but unfortunately I can't find a working VHS player anywhere, so there too.)<br /><br />Back to the point:<br />Just about everybody has had a swat at Scrooge, going all the way back to Dickens's own time, so if you really want to go ahead with this, you ought to find a really original angle - this one's been done before, by many, <i>many</i> others.<br />Meantimes, I'm on the lookout for any DVD presence of <i>George Burns Comedy Week</i>, which deserved more of a shot than CBS gave it in 1985 (Martin Grams, take note).<br /><br />That aside, Merry Christmas.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.com