It ’s the Clarence Day afterThanksgiving , which means the floodgates are assailable onChristmas . But before you begin cursing the season , remember what happened to ol’ Scrooge ? In the tone of curmudgeons ( and those who help them ) , here are seven version ofA Christmas Carolthat put their own twist on the oft - adapt Dickens classic .
1. “A Bionic Christmas Carol”
ThisSix Million Dollar Manepisode from December 1976 sees Colonel Steve Austin ( Lee Majors ) forgo his Christmas vacation when he ’s sent to check on a NASA declarer whose penny - pinch methods have compromised the safety of a mental faculty being tested for use on Mars . But Steve ’s veridical task is to get the party ’s owner — the grouchy cheapskate Mr. Budge ( Ray Walston , star ofMy Favorite Martian)—to rediscover the disembodied spirit of Christmas .
As you might think , there are no trace in this technical school - boosted story ; instead , Steve dons a Santa suit and apply his bionic talents ( including karate - chop up a bogus tombstone ) to win over Budge , who by chance overdoses on depressant and is therefore highly suggestible , to kibosh treat his long - suffering nephew ( Bewitched ’s Dick Sargent ) like reindeer poop . Steve also takes it upon himself to ensure the nephew ’s family line get a Christmas tree … by scaling a giant evergreen plant outside their house and casually rend off one of the branches .
https://gizmodo.com/5-cult-horror-movies-to-weird-up-the-winter-holidays-1830540722
Not pictured: the flying fish.Image: BBC
2. “Xmas Marks the Spot”
One fateful vacation time of year , The Real Ghostbusterscartoon sent the guys slip up back in time through a snowstorm to Victorian England . Their services soon come in handy when they meet a certain Mr. Scrooge , who ’s being bothered by three purport . You know , on Christmas Eve . The Ghostbusters take care of business , as usual , but do n’t realize what they ’ve done until they make it back in New York City and realize that since Scrooge never find out all those worthful lessons from the Ghosts of Christmas Past , Present , and Future , he never changed his ways . As a outcome , everyone runs around muttering “ Bah dupery ! ” or else of singing carols and spreading joy .
The balmy plan to set the timeline check Egon crawling into the ghost vault to bound the Christmas trio , while Peter , Ray , and Winston rejoin to Scrooge ’s time so they can dissemble to be the ghosts , at least until the real ones return and finish the job . Things work out so well in the end that even the group ’s house physician Scrooge — Peter , of course — has a change of mettle and realizes Christmas is n’t so horrendous after all .
3. Scrooged
Bill Murray did n’t in reality voice Peter Venkman on The Real Ghostbusters ; in the episode mention above , he was played by Lorenzo Music , the original voice offuture Murray fictitious character Garfield . But the world would not be denied seeing Murray in a Riffian on A Christmas Carol , thanks to this 1988 clowning directed by Richard Donner ( Superman , The Goonies , Lethal Weapon ) . Murray plays idiot box executive Frank Cross , a ego - centered yuppie who drive his minions to exploit through Christmas Eve on a live broadcast of , befittingly enough , A Christmas Carol , and it is n’t long before the spectre turn up to show him the many errors of his path .
Murray is a sarcastic delight as always , but the supporting casting is also wonderful , including Alfre Woodard as his beleaguered supporter , whose vernal Logos is the Tiny Tim of this tale;Bobcat Goldthwaitas a dissatisfied former employee ; Karen Allen as Peter ’s genial - hearted X ; and David Johansen and Carol Kane as the wisecrack Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present . LikeDie Hardand Gremlins , Scrooged has become an way-out vacation classic — though unlike those two , there’sapparently a remake starring Kevin Harton the way . Bah .
4. “Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol”
This Doctor Who Christmas special from 2010 features Michael Gambon as Kazran Sardick , a bitter miser who controls his major planet ’s electrify , Pisces the Fishes - filled atmosphere , and cares so little about anyone or anything that he refuses to permit a floundering space ship ( with Amy Pond and Rory Williams among its thousands of passenger ) clearance for an emergency landing place . TheEleventh Doctor(Matt Smith ) swoop up in to bring through his friends and — after some ambient inspiration from Dickens — realizes he ’ll need to save the sometime humankind ’s soul first .
https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-christmas-specials-ranked-by-their-festivit-1830754175
That involves going back in fourth dimension to Kazran ’s childhood for a serial of fun - filled Christmas Eve visits over the year , each prison term un - suspend a certain adorable woman ( Katherine Jenkins ) who ’s one of oodles of masses imprisoned as debt collateral by Kazran ’s horrible male parent ( also played by Gambon ) . Gambon is fantastical as a man whose psychic pain proves to be no wanton location , even with things like sonic screwdrivers , a sleigh pull out by a fly shark , and rightful love examine to make him turn toward the light . The end result is a surprisingly semisweet ( and not - so - surprisingly , random and weird … this is Doctor Who , after all ) spin on the familiar Scrooge story .
5. “A Jetson Christmas Carol”
This episode was n’t part of the original 1960sJetsonsseries , but rather the mid-1980s revitalization . It first beam in 1985 , and though of course it takes lieu in the groovy future , “ A Jetson Christmas Carol ” features a wholly ‘ 80 sequence where Jane , Judy , and Elroy finish up their holiday shopping at the local plaza , a home where moving pavement take you right to the entrance of “ Mooningdales ” department store . It also put a spotlight on George ’s greedy chief , Mr. Spacely , who makes George work deep on Christmas Eve and then fall departed while drooling over his piles and scores of money .
He ’s visited by his previous better half ( “ Marsley ” ) , who warns him that three look are on their style — including Christmas Future ( looking suspiciously like a vintage data processor ) , who shows Mr. Spacely a imaginativeness of the Jetsons living high on the Sus scrofa after make headway a causa against Mr. Spacely over a faulty dog toy . Even worse , he learns he ’s become a penniless castaway . Panicked , he race to their house with an pinch veterinary forAstro(thereby preclude the cause ) and ton of talent , admit atomic tumbler pigeon skates for Judy , buying back everyone ’s fondness and write Christmas in the cognitive process . Thanks ?
6. The Muppet Christmas Carol
This 1992 musical in reality stays fairly true to the author material , aside from the fact that other than Michael Caine as Scrooge , the legal age of characters are portrayed by Muppets . The Great Gonzo narrates as a 4th - wall - breaking Charles Dickens ( with assistance from Rizzo the Rat , as himself ) , Kermit the Frog play Bob Cratchit , hecklers Statler and Waldorf act the ghostly Marley sidekick , Fozzie Bear dally safe - chicken impresario “ Fozziwig , ” and so on .
A trio of new Muppets impersonate the ghost , including an so-so terrifying take on Christmas Yet to amount … unless you ’re Gonzo and Rizzo , who peace out for that section . Most of the fun of The Muppet Christmas Carol is see the Muppets do their thing even when it take you out of the movie ( brute going wild on the barrel at Fozziwig ’s holiday company ; Sam the American Eagle briefly forgetting he ’s presuppose to be playing a British character ) , but the whole affair is definitive Muppets — heartwarming without being corny — and it more than holds up for yearly viewings .
https://gizmodo.com/rankin-bass-has-its-own-avengers-and-its-a-must-watch-1831177105
7. “A Solstice Carol”
On this festive 1996 sequence of Xena : Warrior Princess , the Winter Solstice stands in for Christmas , and Xena ( Lucy Lawless ) and Gabrielle ( Renee O’Connor ) portray the Three Fates rather than the usual ghosts . Their mission : to convert a roughshod , Scrooge - alike power not to keep out down an orphanhood after the kids are caught making merry — which is extremely against the law , of course . Xena ’s ready to kick back some royal derriere , but Gabrielle insists that storytelling could be just as convincing . ( That say , she agrees “ if the program fails , we punch faces . ” )
With aid of the sympathetic B. B. King ’s clerk , a mischievous Equus asinus , some disguises , a whole lotta improv , the sudden re - outgrowth of a long - recede face from the male monarch ’s past , and a climactic engagement using all manner of toys , bells , parched goods , feather pillows , and other random stuff and nonsense — look , a few faces were obviously fit to get punched here no matter what — glad tidings are reestablish . The Billie Jean King becomes a dainty guy again , the kids are write , and the last line of the sequence is Xena tell “ Gabrielle , you are a gift to me . ” The rightful reason for the time of year !
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