2022 Halloween TV Movie Calendar

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked, now that the boys (aka nephews) are in college are you going to stop the TV/Movie calendars ? I was immediately like no, it’s not about them I enjoy it too. However, I admit that this year’s calendar was way harder than in years past and if Christmas is the same well it might be time to hang up my calendar for good. As you will see the calendar is dominated by a few specific networks. Now I know there’s more to life than Freeform, AMC, and SYFY and yet here we are. I have been unable to find hardly any of the things that I used to find that routinely made the calendar’s of years past. 

Where’s my network TV? Calendars filled with Food Network (More on their insanity in a few), Cartoon Network, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox breaking their “regularly scheduled programs” for “specials” or “movies” from their respective studios that fit the season. Alas that is either no more or they just aren’t announcing anything yet instead focusing on their regular programing as their new seasons start kicking off. I guess they don’t care about my calendar as much as I do or those of you that have reached out to me in mid-September to ask when it’s coming. Soon was my reply…soon. So many of the sites I used to use to populate this calendar are no longer active, or like me only show the 3 mentioned above, heck one just recreated the Freeform calendar and said ..eh good enough. Are my sources done with this process? Are they just unable to find anything so they put out what they could hoping we’d understand? Are the networks moving away from the fall specials, I mean each is associated with a specific streaming service that can air these things without messing with their precious lineups? So why waste the air waves and the advertising dollars. Has it finally happened, has Digital made this thing …. Obsolete ? Maybe so but let’s do it at least one more time cause well I am not ready to let this thing die, tho I admit it might be on life support.

You may notice that I’m sending this out on the 30^th of September which is of course not October 1^st. I did that for a number of reasons.

1. I’m going to a friend’s house Friday night to watch Hocus Pocus 2 and wanted this to be done before so I didn’t have to worry or think about it could instead focus on the black flame.
2. It allows people to use their respective office printers to print the thing as they move into the weekend, your IT people will thank me for that one.
3. It’s football season down South and I didn’t want this to get lost in the shuffle of traveling to see your respective teams play.
4. I wanted you all to have it before the weekend so as to not miss the first weekend of fun with your family and friends, which is what this thing is all about anyway and why I continue to do it
5. It’s my calendar and I’ll release it when I darn well please. Thank you very much.

For those new to this party, and there are several of you, I will re-state the rules, for those veterans out there please forgive me for giving a short explanation and allow your attention to wander freely if you’d like. (thanks for that line Albus! – 10 pts for your house if you can tell me which Harry Potter book that’s paraphrased from).

So the Rules:

• I live in the central time zone, the times on this calendar reflect that, adjust accordingly for those that have traveled north of the Mason Dixie Line or spread your wings out West. Don’t call me cause you missed your “favorite” show/movie, that’s not my mess. Be a big girl or boy and crank up that DVR and find out when it comes on again cause odds are it will.
• Time Zones are hard and sometimes I screw up the conversion from Eastern Time Zone to Central. See Note above for how I feel about you finding a mistake of time on the calendar.
• Unless otherwise stated the times are PM, this calendar is also geared towards the after work hours of life cause well it’s about me and that’s when I can watch. My office won’t like it if I watch these movies at my desk as I format documents, I mean I do that but they don’t really like it. Feel free to check out these channels and look at the day time viewing for those that are able cause it’s there but I’m at work so it doesn’t exist in my world.
• Lastly this calendar shows things I want to see, movies and specials that take me back to my childhood or that just make me happy. Some are kid themed and some are more adult oriented. PLEASE be mindful of that before you sit down with your little and they can’t sleep cause Freddy might get them. That’s your mess not mine. Seriously don’t be that person and there’s always one. This is supposed to be for fun, if you make it not be for fun well you won’t get it next year. PS if you don’t get this one you don’t get the Christmas one either so be sure that’s what you need/want before firing off that e-mail. This isn’t social media where you can say whatever you want without consequences.  
• I have been doing this calendar since at least 2008, and have learned over the years that saving it to your phone so you can check it on the fly is the best way. I do that either as a JPEG or PDF so I make both available cause I’m awesome like that. When I print it, and I do, I print it 11X17 but 8.5X11 is often good enough, especially this year with so much additional space on it.

Now I must warn you … these networks have some kind of dyslexia cause I have noticed that they will show the movies and their sequels sometimes in order sometimes but often not so much …. I’ve only listed one or the ones I want to try and catch in the idea that if you are watching you will also be alerted that the next show after Halloween Town is well Halloween Town 2.  In the case of Halloween or Friday the 13th or even Nightmare on Elm Street when there are more sequels than the Queen had jewels (RIP Liz) they really got dumb. Like on one day (same network mind you) they show Halloween 6 (1995)…then 4 (1988 ß My favorite BTW) …then 5 (1989)…then resurrection (2002), then H20 (1998), and then end the day with the original from 1978. Like what?! I get it ..show the popular ones when more are watching but that just made my head hurt and now I gotta go lay down.

As always I’ve highlighted shows I hope to catch in purple but also wanted to alert you to a few items of note below, assuming that you are still with me and if so …. Wow congrats!

Freeform - 31 Nights of Halloween – They 100% understand the assignment. I will admit when they went from ABC Family to whatever they were then to Freeform I was nervous. However I think they know what their core audience wants so for the entire Month of October (and for Christmas they do even more (Nov/Dec)) they show seasonal programing all month long. That’s not to say that everything they air is worthy of your time, or that they aren’t re-airing things so much it feels like watching MTV on the weekend, but if you are looking for something the littles can watch, that they will enjoy and you will too grab a chair, get a blanket, and some popcorn and enjoy. This is my go-to when I can’t find anything else to watch that particular evening.  

Syfy - 31 Days of Halloween – SYFY also understands the assignment. If Freeform is where you go with your littles, SYFY is where you go after your littles trot off to bed. It’s truly the greatest place to watch Halloween fun this time of year cause they don’t hold back at all. They show classics and new movies and everything in between. This year they are even showing Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 (which he had to make after screwing up the Halloween franchise (that’s not just my opinion btw which is law of course, but by his own admission he knew he messed up and had to fix it – seriously don’t watch the first one, after a horrible 15-30 minutes it’s a freaking shot by shot remake of the original Halloween but not even as good if that’s possible. . . but his second one more than made up for it). If you are looking good ole horror … this is the place you need to land nightly. Tho where’s my Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where’s my SAW, where’s My Bloody Valentine, Resident Evil, Leprechaun, BLAIR FREAKING WITCH? At this point I’d even take Jessica Biel in her two tight white t-shirt and low slung pants in my face for 2 hours, or even ……. Candyman……  just to see something different. NOTE: While this calendar is not about series who have a horror type twist, I am going to break this rule to tell you all to checkout Reginald the Vampire when it premier’s on SYFY Oct. 5^th cause it looks like it’s going to be great fun and it’s my rule and I can break it if I wanna!!!!

AMC - Fear Fest starts – AMC is where you go for Classic horror. I admit over the years I’ve had a love hate relationship with Fear Fest over the years cause at one point the Walking Dead took it over and I ranted that it’s not about the Walking Dead or the many spin offs and talk shows it created. However I do admit that they have over 80 shows over the next few weeks that kind of make up for it. This year they appear to be having a Stephen King love fest (Pet Cemetery, Misery, Carrie, etc) instead of Fear Fest but I’m not even mad at that. Thei programing this year includes lots of Friday the 13^th, House of Wax (the original and I believe the Chad Michael Murray/Paris Hilton versions), Thirteen Ghosts, Jeepers Creepers and btw CandyMan makes an appearance (that’s 2) on this channel several times.

Fox – The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror - The Simpson's Halloween special on Fox is going to have 2 specials for their annual "Treehouse of Horror.” Instead of breaking it up into several smaller stories they will have 2 episodes that focus on a singular Halloween themed fun one of which will include a Pennywise spoof! According to their Twitter the It Spoof will air Oct. 23^rd so at least we know when that one will air!

Hallmark – Fall Harvest - Halmark is debuting several “fall” themed movies (not scary but puts you in the mood for that Pumpkin Spiced Latte I guess). Many of these movies debuted in a few months ago and are re-airing now but there are a few “premieres” that will hit the screen that I’ve highlighted on the calendar. If you are looking for Fall but not scary or gory … these are your people. Watch them now before they go into full on Christmas meltdown. These don’t rate high on my list but I like to throw some stuff on there for you guys sometimes too.  

Disney Channel – Monstober - Halloween themed related movies and shows throughout the month and as the faithful to this calendar know ..that’s not what this is about but they do have a few “original movies” that might be worth your time or just fire up Disney Plus and watch Hocus Pocus. The fact they have not embraced Disney+ and re-aired some of their classics is something I will never understand.

Turner Classic Movies - This might be the last time TCM shows up on my calendar cause my cable provider has decided that I don’t deserve Ted’s classic movies (throw back to those old enough to remember how it all started). However, I love the nod to “classic” horror and the shows that can’t be found elsewhere. There is an ap for this one but it is stupid expensive and so I haven’t bit the bullet on that one just yet. So, enjoy it while you can, if you can. It appears Vampires are the name of the game this year Tho they also show things like The Ghost Ship and Spider Baby, Frankenstein, and the 2001 : A Space Odyssey so it’s not all blood suckers this year.

Food Network - Once again Food Network jumped the Halloween gun by airing most of their programing in September, which totally makes sense. Halloween Baking Championship started Sep. 12^th Halloween Wars started Sep. 18^th, Halloween Cookie Challenge started Sep. 26^th …. I’m done with you Food Network … however there are a few bright spots. Outrageous Pumpkins starts Oct. 2^nd    Kids Baking Championship Trick or Treat starts Oct. 17^th if you are interested in that kind of thing.

Let’s talk Digital … since that’s all the rage …

Ok … Digital and Streaming is taking over and thus TV is only interested in keeping their heads above water not special programing no matter the season. Heck my nephews don’t even have cable anymore. So, they use the calendar to look up show names as opposed to setting DVRs. I knew it was coming and this calendar was my way of trying to keep it at bay, but it’s still sad to me that we are in fact here. That you can only see the Great Pumpkin if you have Apple TV+ (unless PBS brokers some deal again – if they are I’m not finding it yet but it’s my sincere belief that they are currently in a room having those talks), or Disney+ is the only place to see Hocus Pocus 2 (available Sep 30^th) , or Peacock is where you go to see the epic conclusion to the Halloween franchise (Halloween Ends available Oct. 14^th) as we know it. While it’s fun having these shows at our fingertips it also takes away from the anticipation of it, at least to me. That I am sorry I can’t do anything that night cause whatever is on and I don’t wanna miss it moments are now a thing of the past. Heck even most network TV will be on Hulu within 24-48 hours, so go have dinner with that friend after work and don’t worry NCIS whatever will be available online tomorrow.

So for my digital folks, of which I admit I am now one, see the links below but I will admit that all of me believes if we calculated up the “subscriptions” for all these services we’d see that Cable had its advantages.

The Best Halloween Movies to Watch on Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and More in 2022 - TV Guide

Best Halloween TV Shows to Stream in 2022 (people.com)

The Best Halloween TV Show Episodes Ever (movieweb.com)

Peacock October 2022 Movies, TV Series and Sports (vitalthrills.com)

Netflix Launches Its "Streams & Screams" Hub for Halloween Horror (comicbook.com)

In closing, assuming you are still with me and God only know why you would be, the intention of this calendar, is to get you and your loved ones to pause and spend some time making memories. Maybe carve a pumpkin while watching, create some fantastic Halloween Treats from your various Social Media sites while watching, or work on your costume – don’t forget the props - and RELAX  and unwind from the busy work day, work week.

 

So, sit back, scare yourself, and have a GREAT Halloween! It’s fall people enjoy it!

Marcy

This is Halloween ......

       EDIT : Due to my awesomeness the powers that be have decided to air the Great Pumpkin on PBS Oct. 24th at 7:30 Eastern which is of course when most families are sitting down to watch TV not rushing home or preparing dinner. Sigh ... anyway you will have the opportunity to watch this beloved special but don't always count on that ..... 

  

n    Now back to our originally scheduled shenanigans! 

       Attention fellow lovers of Halloween TV fun …….let’s get some unpleasant business out of the way first … In case you missed it last year, Peanuts anything has moved exclusively to Apple TV + and thus you won’t find our beloved Great Pumpkin on this year’s calendar, or I guess any future calendars. For the record I believe I’ve been predicting this for over a decade so I’m not going to say I told you so but ……… I mean I totes did. I was really hoping the powers that be would come to their senses and realize what a missed opportunity this was but well if they had any senses we’d have less “reboots” or “remakes” than we do flavors of Oreo’s. I was going to bore you with my reboot rant but I’m going to spare you … this time! However can we talk about how they will show say Friday the 13^th part 3, 4, 2, and then 1 ? Like that’s so messed up …. Or they will show Halloween 4 but not Halloween. What’s up with that?!

 

       That being said I’m kind of super excited about the new Child Play SERIES “Chucky’ that will be on Syfy this year starting October 12^th. However, since that’s a series and not a special it’s not on this calendar but should be, cause it looks AWESOME! …wait …where was I … oh yeah, the move of Peanuts to Apple TV+ … If you have it log on…..pull it up and enjoy … the rest of us will just grab our DVDs while we still can. For you old schoolers your VHS might need to be dusted off before you insert it but should still be good to go too. God love ya if like me you are still rocking the old school VHS machine. I myself got me a little VHS/DVD combo, when my former VCR died a horrible, horrible death after eating my copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a super sad day for sure. Dad still says was a waste of money. Who is laughing now Dad ?! well….me….I guess ….. just me, but I stand by my decision that day at the Best Buy to pay a little extra for the luxury of being able to choose my format when watching goodness on my TV instead of upgrading to that Blu-Ray fad.  

 
So now that that’s taken care of ……. I present to you the 2021 Halloween Calendar. It’s back guys! I’m going to keep it going until the universe says we’ve had enough.  Or until you guys stop asking about it … in August.
 
A few items of note ….
FreeForm is doing 31 nights of Halloween – this is the place that your littles will need to land but note that just cause it’s on this channel this time of year does not mean it’s “Halloween” fun and what’s with their new alignment with Fox that allows them to show not only the Simpsons but now Family Guy as well? I do admit that at some point FreeForm tried to take over the calendar but I think I held them at bay … somewhat but good try FreeForm.

SYFY is also doing 31 days of Halloween – That’s the place to go for some fun, gory, good times!

AMC Fear Fest begins October 1^st – Classics are all over the place here with some walking dead sprinkled around for flavor. Tune in to see Pet Sematary, The Shining, Scream, all the Final Destinations, and of course the OG …. Michael Meyers in Halloween.

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXXII airs on FOX on Oct. 10^th. It’s Must See TV. This year’s special will be 5 segments instead of the usual three.

TCM is trying to get back on my calendars by throwing a Halloween Marathon starting October 29^th at 7 through October 31^st. That’s 32 classic movies guys ….  Spooky, creepy, horrifying, and humorous over the course of 48 hours. This includes movies starring the likes of Vincent Price, Linda Blair, and even Mel Books in Young Frankenstein, a MUST see if you haven’t seen it. 

Food Network is still in the corner cause like last year they started most of their programing in the middle of September (cause that’s when I want to get my Halloween Wars on of course). They slightly redeem themselves by bringing back “Outrageous Pumpkins” with Alyson Hannigan starting Oct. 3^rd and airing every Sunday at 9 and Kids Baking Championship “Oh My Gourd!” (Seriously get in the corner Food Network and likely make a nest you are going to be there for a while). KBC OMG (which is truly what they are calling it btw) will air Monday at 7 starting Oct. 18^th. I’m not even going to rant about the fact that Halloween Wars removed the “pumpkin” aspect of the show and how the host is only appearing via prerecorded videos .. I mean just cancel the damn thing already and put it out of its misery.

There is also exciting news on the “streaming” front …… Disney+ will have a new “Lego Star Wars” called “Terrifying Tales” or something like that but the real exciting news is that they will be debuting the “Muppets Haunted Mansion” on Oct 8th. Peacock will be showing the brand-new Halloween Movie “Halloween Kills” starting Oct. 15^th will Jamie finally kill him or nah … my guess is nah but I’m thankful for Universal and Peacock for making this happen. Peacock will also air a “Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween” starting Oct. 14^th and if that’s not worth getting Peacock well nothing is. Peacock is free yall …. Go get it ! Hulu is having a Huluween (seriously can’t make this stuff up) with a special Halloween section featuring both classic movies and “Halloween episodes” of favorite shows. ! Netflix has some new “specials” as well such as Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween, Escape the Undertaker, Scaredy Cats, and Nightbooks. All kinds of good stuff on Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney+, Peacock and *cough* AppleTV+ this year … plus some amazing classics so check em out. 

Hallmark – Hallmark is doing some “Fall Harvest” thing with some “new” movies so I threw them on the calendar if only cause Freeform was taking over. Might be a good fall alternative to gruesome and scary, or a mind-numbing bore to fall asleep to after a stressful workday.  

As this is the 12th (give or take) year of doing this …. I’m not going to bore you with the rules …. Just know ….. If your kid is easily skittish and couldn’t sleep after watching say Texas Chainsaw Massacre don’t blame me … as some have done in the past, it’s not my problem. I’m in the Central time zone, if you aren’t then adjust accordingly. Check your own listings as yes sometimes I make mistakes and conversion from Eastern Time Zone is hard yall.
 
The intention of this calendar is to get your family to pause and spend some time together making memories. Maybe carve a pumpkin while watching, create some fantastic Halloween Treats from your various Social Media sites, or work on your costume – don’t forget the props - and RELAX with your family, friends and loved ones (sometimes those overlap). This years must see special will be next year’s Peanuts only available via streaming if we aren’t careful ….. so, let’s not let that happen again. 

       **NOTE ** if you save the image below it will not be cut off, but if I share it as "normal" it makes it really small and basically unreadable. 

 
So, sit back, scare yourself, and have a GREAT Halloween! It’s fall people enjoy it!
 
Marcy 

Freeform: Party of Five (reboot?)

So dear reader I was a HUGE fan of Party of Five that debuted on the Fox Network in the fall of 1994 and aired until 2000. That was back when Fox was the network for tweens and teens a like. The timeframe in which FOX had 90210, Melrose Place, X-files, The Heights and a slew of others. For a while it seemed that if Aaron Spelling could crap out a show Fox would put it on the air.

Party of Five was my jam! For the record this was not an Aaron Spelling show but it was in the same league as those because of the quality that Christopher Keyers and Amy Lippman brought to the table. I loved the Salinger Family so much that in college I had to write a script for a class and I used a story I wrote that would today have been a fan fiction. Of course I got an A. I had been working on that story for a stupid number of years so I was not surprised by that grade. I knew those characters, I knew how they would interact, I knew how they would play against one another, this show taught me how to build drama into a story. My professor even asked me later if that was a real show. I told him yes and then proceeded to give him several VHS tapes I had made over the years for him to watch. He loved the show as much as I did. I was a member of the group who flooded the network with letters, like honest to goodness letters on notebook paper mailed to the network, when we thought it was going to be cancelled both times. I remember loggin into Prodigy (that's right) to go into message boards to talk about the show immediately after it was over. The show beat out ER and NYPD Blue for the Golden Globe in 1996 and the explosion of excitement that came out of my bedroom scared our dog. My freshman year of college my roommate and I made a pact that I could watch Party of Five and she would be allowed to watch X-files. I wanted a soft-top Jeep like Bailey had. My password in college had PO5 in it. No joke. I loved everything about this show and support everything this cast has done since. 

This show suffered the same fate as Red Band Society of a few years ago (which Fox tanked on early as I discussed here) it sounded stupid depressing and thus people didn’t get behind it early. I mean it’s about a show of 5 kids whose parents are killed by a drunk driver and the ups and downs of what follows next. That sounds like a GREAT time doesn’t it. However the show was about so much more than that. It was a show that put a spotlight on drinking, teenage angst, the ups and downs of growing up, struggling with grades and friendships and independence. It was a show that could have been recorded in anyone's house had a camera been set up. It felt real. It felt honest. It felt like this was a family I could have been a part of.  

The cast alone was worth coming to the TV for, I mean you had Matthew Fox (Charlie), Scott Wolf (Bailey), Neve Campbell (Julia), Lacey Chabert (Claudia) and a younger son Owen who was just there as an extra thing to deal with as the main cast. Add to that Scott Grimes (Will – Bailey’s BFF), Paula Devicq (nanny/Charlie’s eventual GF), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Sarah – Bailey’s GF), Michael Gorjan (Justin – Julia’s first BF), Jermey London (Griffin – Julia’s Bad boy BF), Tom Mason (Joe – Co-owner of Salinger’s (family Resturant) and BFF of Dad Salinger), Mitchell Anderson (Claudia’s music teacher), Megan Ward (Bailey’s GF #2 (Bailey went through a good number of them) and a host of so many others that got their start on Party of Five. Plus they had a super awesome dog. I’m just saying it’s a great show of whose who of actors that went on to bigger and better things after their time in San Francisco.

However here’s where I am concerned. Freeform has developed a “reboot”of the show featuring 5 kids who must take care of themselves after their parents were deported back to Mexico. They appear to also be in SF but I'm not sure on that. My fear is that this show will take away from the show that I loved and the show that made me want to be a writer from a very early age. This show showed me what the written word could do in the right hands. I have nothing against this show I wish it well but believe that the comparison to the original will either make it or break it (another great show on ABC Family that should have been able to finish their story). It’s going to debut next week and both Keyser and Lippman are back at the helm and I’ve seen the amazing things they can do with the right cast. So I'm in but I'm also concerned. 

News about the rebooted show can be found here and here. 

I’m going to watch this show. I’m going to give it a chance but here’s what concerns me. 

• Original Party of Five had a family that ran a Resturant and upon their death the oldest son had to put his dreams to the side so that he could keep the Resturant going. 
• Party of Five reboot also has a family that ran a Resturant and upon their dad’s deportation the oldest son is faced with having to put his dreams aside to keep the Resturant going. 

• Original Party of Five the second oldest takes on the role of running the family, while failing school and dealing with the stress of that while the oldest son struggles with being the head of the family
• Party of Five reboot according to the commercial the second oldest son is also failing school and appears to be taking on the role of caring for the family at home while the oldest son struggles with being the head of the family. 

• Original Party of Five the youngest kid in the family is scared that the family will be split up at the drop of the hat cause of any problems in the family. At one point in the pilot she turns to Bailey with tears in her eyes and says “Are they going to split us up?” to which Baily says “of course not” but he’s terrified that they will.
• Party of Five reboot again according to the commercial the youngest daughter says “are they going to split us up?” 

• Original Party of Five from the very first episode the social worker assigned to the family is a presence that at any moment could destroy everything. At the end of the day she had the best interest of the family at heart but they all knew that she had the power to take everything away. The episode when she comes for a surprise visit and Baily is trying to act like it isn’t all falling apart when it clearly is in my top ten list of amazing episodes from this series.
• Party of Five reboot the social worker, again according to the commercial will also be a key figure. 

• Original Party of Five in the first episode (or the first few episodes) Julia bails on the family dinner cause she’s a rebellious teen upset with the world. Bailey pulls her aside and explains to her why it was so important while they are on a swing set in the park that they took Claudia and Owen to. It’s a very powerful scene.
• Party of Five reboot according to the commercial the character that I’m assuming is the new Bailey (second oldest son) is on a swing talking to his sister in what looks like a similar conversation happening. 

• Original Party of Five has 5 kids, 3 boys and 2 girls between the ages of say 20 and 6 months. 
• Party of Five reboot again according to the commercial there are 5 kids, two boys two girls and I’m not sure if the baby is a boy or girl, I believe a boy. 

• Original Party of Five The family would come together every week for a family dinner at the family Resturant. Hence the name of the show, as the guy (usually Joe but sometimes a random waiter or waitress) would yell “Salinger Party of Five” as he led them to their booth. Most shows would incorporate this family tradition which was a nice way to see this family as a normal family even after all the crazy.
• Party of Five reboot according to the commercial the family is at the Resturant having dinner when dad gets a phone call and rushes to the kitchen to “clear it out” saying “you know what to do” as the ICE people raid the kitchen only to have the twist be that they are there for the parents not the staff. So I’m guessing that is yet another aspect that the shows have in common. 

I can’t get over the idea that they did this to themselves. According to the commercials the parents don’t have “papers” to show the “ICE” people and thus are deported for not having the proper identification to be in the country. I am not going to get caught up in a debate on that point. However in the original the idea that this family was ripped to shreds by something they couldn’t have controlled (AKA a drunk driver running a red light) is what drove the story. By far the most powerful episode of the entire series was when the drunk driver got out of jail after something dumb like 11 months and how each of the kids dealt with that news was super powerful. 

It also concerns me that this show seems like a shot by shot remake of the original with the exception of the parents being deported not dead. The entire thing that made the original so compelling was that these kids were literally on their own. They had to figure everything out together as a group. The idea that the new show will be able to call mom and dad for assistance whenever they need it takes away some of the stress. Granted mom and dad can’t help but I know my day goes better sometimes by just hearing my mom’s voice.

As I said I’m going to give this show a chance, I’m going to watch it but my fear initially is that Keyser and Lippman just took their scripts from back in the day did a find and replace for the characters and turned in their scripts. However I know them better or at least I hope so. I believe they are better than that. I have to believe that. I just don't want this show to ruin the awesome that was the original and this show should have had its own identity cause it's going to be compared to the original and had it had the opportunity to stand on its own feet maybe it would have had a better chance. 

Anyway the new reboot will air Jan. 8^th on Freeform with the first two episodes airing at 9/8 central feel free to check it out along with me cause if it’s only half as good as the original it’s going to be worth your time.

Enjoy,

Marcy
@beaslma

2016 Christmas TV Schedule

PLEASE find below a Jpeg of the 2016 Christmas TV Schedule. Once again, the calendar is set up in 11X17 format but if you have to print it 8.5x11 it is readable, but if you can print it 11X17 your eyes will thank you. The best way is to save the JPEG to your favorite portable device and zoom in and out, tho it breaks up some the more you zoom. If you would like a PDF send me a DM on twitter (@beaslma) and I'll send it your way.

This year I tried to highlight new specials (meaning had not aired previously before Jan. 1, 2016) in RED but as they are new be mindful of what you and your family sit down to watch. I vouch not for their quality, their rating level, or even their sappiness. I for one had to look up who Taraji was, why her holiday was white hot, and if that was a good thing or not. To save you the same trouble, it turns out she’s on Empire, a show that hasn’t graced my eye holes but I understand for those that have viewed it… they like it. Hence she gets her own holiday show Dec. 8^th on Fox. There are some new shows, some old classics, and some mediocre stuff that just fills the time slots throughout the month, some of which made this calendar.

I found a good list on the TV Guide channel’s website of specials/shows coming on with great descriptions but they failed to list what CHANNEL the shows/specials would air on. I found this less than helpful. Come on TV Guide Channel you are better than that, or you used to be (PS there’s a reason not many “get a TV guide anymore” … just saying.

Hallmark, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries (HMM on the calendar btw), Lifetime, and Lifetime Movie Network have been vomiting Christmas themed movies since like last October (meaning 2015) it seems so only a hand full of theirs made the listings. That being said Lifetime decided to only release the first week or so of December, cause yeah that totally makes sense. It’s like they hate my calendar…but that can’t be true, everyone loves the Calendar…EVERYONE! Right?!

It’s amazing to me really that they take the same concept, really the same story, change to a different “snow covered town,” change out the actors (usually Candance Cameron Bure for Lacey Chabert (from Party of Five fame, and Meg on the 1^st season of Family Guy, and Eliza on the Wild Thornberrys—didn’t know that did you? See you learned something by reading my rambling. Good for you!)), add a super cute guy who has lived in said “snow covered town” his entire life, put a new title on the movie and we got us a show!

As always there are guidelines. . . .

First . . .  a few guidelines:

·         NO E-MAILS about taking Christ out of Christmas, it’s just a really long word and using X-Mas allows for more shows on the already full calendar.

§  Thanks for your understanding.

§  For those that don’t understand I’ll be glad to remove you from the list just let me know.

·         I live in the central time zone, the times on this calendar reflect that, adjust accordingly.

§  That said unless otherwise stated the times are PM

·         This calendar does not focus on established shows “Christmas special episodes” so watch out for those … some are fun to re-watch this time of year. Psych for one has a great Christmas episode, and so did How I Met Your Mother, Friends, Wings, Family Ties, and other established shows.

o    Again, that is not what this is about. 

·         This calendar contains shows I want to see, so a mixture of adult themed shows/movies and kid themed shows/movies are represented. Some are classics and some are new, so PLEASE be mindful of what is on before you sit the kids down with popcorn to watch.

§  Don’t call me cause your little one watched some holiday movie on Lifetime and now has “questions”. . . . that’s your mess not mine.

¾      Please NOTE: The Disney version of a Christmas Carol (AKA the computer animated Jim Carrey version) is a little dark and can be scary (much like the original story btw), you might want to check it out before you and little man/lady plop down with popcorn and a blanket to “watch a classic” that may also result in sleepless nights for both you and said child. Not me I’ll be sleeping like a baby like an adult.  

·         Keep an eye out for additional shows/movies that pop up throughout the month as networks change their lineups.

·         Feel free to add your own specials and traditions to the calendar that’s what it is there for.

·         As stated some channels have been vomiting Holiday specials for several months so if a network had several great specials in a row I only listed one figuring you’d be alerted to the others, hey something had to give right!?

·         For you stay at home mom’s they run specials all day long and for the most part my calendar focuses on the after work hour times since that is when I can watch.

¾      That’s right it’s all about me I just share the wealth cause I’m awesome like that!

A few programs of note:

·         A Charlie Brown Christmas – ABC Dec. 1^st with repeat showing on Dec. 22^nd. A must viewing if you have little people in your life, even if they aren’t in the room, better yet tie them to a chair and force them to watch. They will thank you one day, if you know… social services will let them.

o    My lawyer has informed me that actively suggesting that you tie your kids to a chair might result in well you tying your kid to a chair, I don’t not condone that and don’t support it at least that’s what her statement said to write.

·         I can only find A Christmas Story during the TBS Christmas Day Marathon so make sure you work it into your Christmas celebrations.

¾         Bless you Ted Turner, you crazy old man, may this tradition live forever!!

¾         I think it’s a rule you watch at least once.

o    If it’s not a rule it should be.

·         National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, one of the best movies ever, comes on several times this year. If you don’t know the joy of Chevy Chase finally getting the lights to work…well I feel sorry for you and your family and the people that know you because you are missing the joy in your life. Correct that this year please!

·         IT’s A Wonderful Life – Dec. 3^rd on NBC Repeats on Dec. 24^th

·         The “boys” in my life informed me that DIEHARD should have been on the calendar …. boys are silly … however and I couldn’t find it showing anywhere so yeah there’s that. If you all find it let me know so I can let them know.

o    Sorry fellas. I tried, kinda.

A few programs of note that are not “Christmas” related but interesting enough to make the calendar include:

o    CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute – Dec. 11^th – it’s nice seeing that in a world full of insanity there are some people out there trying to do good and are being recognized for it. It’s a really inspirational night even if this year you have to deal with Kelly Rippa, so check it out.

o    Could have been worse, could have been Kathy Griffin, for the love of all that is good CNN please don’t make me suffer through that!!!!

o    Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show – Dec. 5^th on CBS – a dear friend of mine loves this and insists that it go on the calendar every year, she’s the boss.

Anyway, the intention of this calendar, much like the Halloween one is to get your family to pause and spend some time together making memories. In this season where we spend so much time rushing around we forget to enjoy the down time and enjoy the family time. Great specials come and go and if we don’t watch they will go forever.

Today’s “classic Christmas special” may be next year’s no show on the calendar. That’s the other reason for this calendar, if we stop watching they will stop showing. I’m looking at you CBS and Yes Virginia which I’m sure is airing but I can’t find out when so keep an eye out for it. The point is, just because you have The Grinch (which is not on this calendar nearly enough (NOTE: I can’t tell if it’s animated or the movie anymore and I’m NOT ok with that, when I could tell I marked it (TOON)) on your shelf or Charlie Brown Christmas (which comes on twice this year), take the time to watch it with your family as it airs so that it will air for years to come.  If not for me do it for the children, as they are our future, according to some nice lady.

So sit back, laugh, smile, and cry (some of these are sad, I mean who doesn’t cry when George Bailey is standing next to the tree with Mary and his friends are coming in to save the Bailey Savings and Loan, oh no did I give the end away ?!) and have a GREAT Christmas!

Marcy (@beaslma)

2015 Christmas TV Specials Calendar

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!! Merry Christmas!!!! Happy Freaking Holidays!!!!

As I've said before my favorite thing about the holidays is sitting down to watch a good ole fashioned Christmas TV/Movie special usually with a bowl of popcorn and my mom sitting nearby. I like to make a Christmas TV/Movie Specials calendar so I don't miss a single moment of my favorites both those that I've watched a million times and those that are new favorites.

As you all know Hallmark, and ABC Family have been showing Holiday Specials since no joke JULY. That’s right people July, I mean how insane is that? I just couldn’t buy into the program tho until now. I'm ready to throw on some flannel jammies, pop some popcorn and cry my eyes out. Every year my beloved animated specials are being shown fewer times and early (The Grinch was on this past Sunday ... wait ... what?!) Thank goodness for ABC Family who is keeping the stop motion animation alive and well, they are showing some of the goodness throughout the day... every day ... literally.  

As I said ... Hallmark, Lifetime, and ABC Family have been vomiting Christmas specials since everyone was still popping fireworks so those channels didn’t get as much love as they usually do. If something had to be cut for room on that particular day those channels got cut first. If say ABC family was showing 3 great shows in a row I only listed one and figured while watching it you’d be alerted to the others, unless it was a show I wanted to see cause that’s right it’s all about me you are just invited in the car.

That said if I don’t have the channel I didn’t include it … again cause it’s about me. There are some great specials on the Hallmark Mysteries and Movie (or something like that) Channel or the Inspiration channel, and other specialty channels like that so check those out if you are lucky enough to have those channels. I don't so those channels can suck it!

This calendar comes with rules ... not quite as ridged as a Mogwai but still rules that need to be mentioned. 

First . . .  a few guidelines:

• NO messages about taking Christ out of Christmas, it’s just a really long word and using X-Mas allows for more shows on the already full calendar.

• Thanks for your understanding.
• For those that don’t understand feel free to move on and forget that this calendar exists. 

• I live in the central time zone, the times on this calendar reflect that, adjust accordingly.

• That said unless otherwise stated the times are PM

• This calendar does not focus on established show “Christmas special episodes” so watch out for those … I did however add a great episode of Psych cause my best friend loves it and she asked nicely.
• This calendar contains shows I want to see, so a mixture of adult themed shows/movies and kid themed shows/movies are represented. Some are classics and some are new, so PLEASE be mindful of what is on before you sit the kids down with popcorn to watch.

• Don’t call me cause your little one watched some holiday movie on Lifetime or and now has “questions”. . . . that’s your mess not mine.

• Please NOTE: The Disney version of a Christmas Carol (AKA the computer animated Jim Carrey version) is a little dark and can be scary (much like the original story btw), you might want to check it out before you and little man/lady plop down with popcorn and a blanket to “watch a classic.”

• Keep an eye out for additional shows/movies that pop up throughout the month as networks change their lineups.
• Feel free to add your own specials and traditions to the calendar that’s what it is there for.
• For you stay at home mom’s they run specials all day long and for the most part my calendar focuses on the after work hour times since that is when I can watch.

• That’s right it’s all about me!

A few programs of note:

• 50^th Anniversary Special about A Charlie Brown Christmas – ABC Nov. 30^th -  a special talking about the greatest Christmas special ever created followd by the actual show. A must viewing if you have little people in your life, even if they aren’t in the room. Repeats on Dec. 24^th
• I can only find A Christmas Story during the TBS Christmas Day Marathon so make sure you work it into your Christmas celebrations. Last year it was on several times ... this year it's sparse .. I hope the channels just haven't finalized their line ups yet.

• Bless you Ted Turner, you crazy old man, may this tradition live forever!!

• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, one of the best movies ever, comes on several times this year. If you don’t know the joy of Chevy Chase finally getting the lights to finally work…well I feel sorry for you and your family and the people that know you because you are missing the joy in your life. Correct that this year please!
• IT’s A Wonderful Life – Dec. 5^th on NBC Repeats on Dec. 24^th
• The “boys” in my life informed me that DIEHARD should have been on the calendar …. boys are silly … however and I couldn’t find it showing anywhere so yeah there’s that. 

A few programs of note that are not “Christmas” related but interesting enough to make the calendar include:

• To Kill A Mockingbird – NBC – Nov. 28^th – a must viewing at least in our house.
• The Wiz – NBC Dec. 3^rd – with the ever ahmazing Queen Latifah
• CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute – Dec. 6^th – it’s nice seeing that in a world full of insanity there are some people out there trying to do good and are being recognized for it. NOTE: I don’t understand why they have already announced the winner, if you don’t want to know stay away from CNN.com. Either way it’s a really inspirational night so check it out.
• Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show – Dec. 8^th on CBS – a dear friend of mine loves this and insists that it go on the calendar every year, she’s the boss.

Anyway, the intention of this calendar, much like the Halloween one is to get your family to pause and spend some time together making memories. In this season where we spend so much time rushing around we forget to enjoy the down time and enjoy the family time. Great specials come and go and if we don’t watch they will go forever.

Today’s “classic Christmas special” may be next year’s no show on the calendar. That’s the other reason for this calendar, if we stop watching they will stop showing. So just because you have The Grinch (which is not on this calendar nearly enough (NOTE: I can’t tell if it’s animated or the movie anymore and I’m NOT ok with that!) on your shelf or the Charlie Brown Christmas (which comes on twice this year), take the time to watch it with your family as it airs so that it will air for years to come.  I can name a ton of specials that no longer come on cause we stopped watching ... Garfield, the Chipmunks, the Smurfs, the Flintstones, The Nutcracker, Casper, the Gift of the Magi, etc.,

So here's the 2015 calendar, you should be able to save it and zoom in and out without losing too much readability. You are best printing it 11X17 if possible.

 

So sit back, laugh, smile, and cry (some of these are sad, I mean who doesn’t cry when George Bailey is standing next to the tree with Mary and his friends are coming in to save the Bailey Savings and Loan, oh no did I give the end away ?!) and have a good Drunksgiving, a full Thanksgiving, and a safe BlackFriday, so that you can enjoy this fun and have a wonderful Christmas!

Marcy (@beaslma)