This single DVD contains 9 Christmas episodes of CBS’s most endearing comedies. All were influential to those that came after. These weekly shows offered that much-needed relief from the pressures of whatever decade they appeared in. The stars are names that everybody knows, even those that appeared 50 years or more ago. Celebrate Christmas with these classic moments in television history.
The Beverly Hillbillies – Christmas At The Clampetts (12/25/1963)
The Drysdales have showered the Clampetts with all kinds of fancy gifts. Unfortunately, the family doesn’t quite understand them. They think a television is a washing machine. When they find out that Mrs. Drysdale wants a mink, they decide to return the favor. Of course, the Clampetts think she wants a live mink.
The Lucy Show – Together For Christmas (12/24/1962)
The Carmichaels and the Bagleys spend their first Christmas with each other. They may not be able to agree on the menu, the color of the tree, or anything else. The madness results in busted-up decorations and massacred trees in this zany Lucy Christmas episode.
Petticoat Junction – Cannonball Christmas (12/24/1963)
Homer Bedloe decides he’s going to put an end to the carol train.
Happy Days – Richie Branches Out (12/7/1976)
Richie wants to meet the girl who posed for a cola poster. It’s all he wants for Christmas, and he’ll do anything to make it happen. The guys pose as hardware executives to con the girl’s phone number out of the ad agency.
Laverne & Shirley – O Come All Ye Bums (12/19/1978)
Frank doesn’t have enough money to put on the annual Christmas dinner for the homeless. So the gang try to raise money to keep the event on schedule.
Mork & Mindy – Mork’s First Christmas (12/14/1978)
At first Mork thinks a mind-numbing tragedy has struck planet Earth. Then he learns about Christmas. Eugene takes Mork Christmas shopping. But Mork doesn’t quite get the hang of wrapping presents, so he hides them all over the house.
The Odd Couple – Scrooge Gets An Oscar (12/17/1970)
When Oscar throws Felix out on Christmas, he’s visited by the mistakes of his past.
Cheers – The Spy Who Came In For A Cold One (12/16/1982)
Diane’s the only one who is suspicious when a stranger arrives and captivates the bar with tales of being an agent during World War II.
Love, American Style – Love And The Christmas Punch (11/17/1972)
It’s pure slapstick with this short segment from the anthology series.
Video
Each episode is presented in its original full frame broadcast format. There’s a lot of grain in these episodes. The colors are pretty muted. The shows are from the 1960’s all the way to the 1980’s, so you know to expect a ton of variation. After all, it’s hard to really judge video quality when you’re laughing so hard your eyes are watering.
Audio
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono tracks are pretty bland. The dialog is usually clear, and really, does anything else matter? Some of the themes clip a bit in the intro and even sometimes throughout the show. I might have been able to detect other nuances in the sound if I weren’t laughing so hard that I missed them.
Special Features
Nothing
Final Thoughts:
I have mixed feelings about these best-of compilations. Here I think it might be a good idea. Christmas has always been a special time for television shows. That’s never been more true than you will find on these comedy classics. So are you going to stuff someone’s stocking with these little ol’ gems? “I know the answer to this, but I’m gonna ask you anyway.”
