Three Days of Halloween

Some years, we've given tons and tons of holiday specials. Some years, we just do a few recommendations. But, we're so close to Halloween already, this time around we're just doing three days and listing only television specials, not movies. And, yes, we agree that Wednesday looks very sparse... not sure why! If you know of other specials airing, let us know!

And, remember, times given are for the Pacific Time Zone.

Pixar

Tuesday, October 29th

7am: Henry Hugglemonster “The Halloween Scramble” (Disney Jr.)
7am: Kickin’ It “Boo Gi Nights” (Disney XD)
8am: Imagination Movers “A Monster Problem” (Disney Jr.)
8am: Lab Rats “The Haunting of Mission Creek High” (Disney XD)
8:30am: Charlie & Lola “Halloween” (Disney Jr.)
8:30am: Little Bill “The Halloween Costume” (NICK Jr.)
8:30am: Billy & Mandy “Wrath of the Spider Queen” “Jacked up Halloween” (Cartoon Network) 
8:30am: The Funky Phantom "Ghost Grabbers" (Boomerang)
9am: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Mickey’s Treat” (Disney)
9am: Team Umizoomi "The Ghost Family Costume Party" (NICK)
9:30am: Sofia the First “Princess Butterfly” (Disney)
9:30am: Rolie Polie Olie “Queen of the Pumpkins” (Disney Jr.)
10:30am: Henry Hugglemonster “The Halloween Scramble” (Disney)
10:30am: Higglytown Heroes “Higgly Halloween” (Disney Jr.)
11am: Bubble Guppies “Haunted House Party” (NICK) 
Noon: Cheers "House of Horrors with Formal Dining and Used Brick" (TVGuide)
1pm: Dora the Explorer “Halloween Parade” (NICK)
12:30pm: Handy Manny “Sounds like Halloween” (Disney Jr.)
1pm: Fish Hooks “Halloween Haul” (Disney XD)
2pm: Special Agent Oso “Pumpkin Eyes” (Disney Jr.)
2pm: Tiny Toon Adventures "Stuff that Goes Bump in the Night" (HUB)
2:30pm: Jungle Junction “Lance and the Jumpy Pumpkin” (Disney Jr.)
2:30pm: Tiny Toon Adventures "Hare Raising Night" (HUB)
2:30pm: Spookley the Square Pumpkin (Cartoon Network)
3pm: Michey Mouse Clubhouse Minnie’s Masquerade” (Disney Jr.)
3pm: Animaniacs "Scare Happy Slappy" "Witch One" "MacBeth" (HUB) 
3:30pm: Little Einsteins “Little Einsteins’ Halloween” (Disney Jr.)
3:30pm: Dear Dracula (Cartoon Network)
3:30pm: Oddities “Vampires of Philadelphia” (Science)
3:30pm: R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour "Punpkinhead" (HUB) 
4:30pm: Bill & Mandy “Jacked Up Halloween” (Cartoon Network)
5pm: Ed, Edd ‘n Eddy’s Boo-haw Haw (Cartoon Network)
5pm: Lab Rats “Night of the Living Virus” (Disney XD)
5:30pm: Lab Rats “The Haunting of Mission Creek High” (Disney XD)
5:30pm: Back at the Barnyard “The Haunting” (NickToons)
5:30pm: Adventure Time “The Creeps” “Bad to Worse” (Cartoon Network)
5:30pm: Jake and the Never Land Pirates “Night of the Golden Pirate Pumpkin” (Disney Jr.)
6pm: Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy (Cartoon Network)
7pm: Toy Story of TERROR! (Disney XD)
7:30pm: Laverne & Shirley “Haunted House” (HUB)
8pm: Big Time Rush “Big Time Terror” (TeenNick)
8pm: Laverne & Shirley "Murder on the Moose Jaw Express - Part 1" (HUB)
8:30pm: Laverne & Shirley "Murder on the Moose Jaw Express - Part 2" (HUB)
8:30pm: Big Time Rush “Big Time Halloween” (TeenNick)
8:30pm: Henry Hugglemonster “The Halloween Scramble” (Disney Jr.)
8:30pm: Kickin’ It “Wazombie Warriors” (Disney XD)
9pm: The Goldbergs “Who Are You Going to Telephone” (ABC)
9:30pm: Trophy Wife “Halloween” (ABC)
9pm: Wild Grinders “Wild Zombies” (NickToons)
10pm: Special Agent Oso “Pumpkin Eyes” (Disney Jr.)
10pm: Crash & Bernstein “Health-o-ween” (Disney XD)
10:30pm: Crash & Bernstein “Scaredy Crash” (Disney XD)

Wednesday, October 30^th

Midnight: Laverne & Shirley “Haunted House” (HUB)
12:30am: Laverne & Shirley "Murder on the Moose Jaw Express - Part 1" (HUB)
1am: Laverne & Shirley "Murder on the Moose Jaw Express - Part 2" (HUB)
1:30am: Laverne & Shirley "The Ghost Story" (HUB)
6am: Animaniacs "Scare Happy Slappy" "Witch One" "MacBeth" (HUB)
6:30am: Animaniacs "Hot, Bothered & Bedeviled" "Moon Over Minerva" "Skullhead Boneyhands" (HUB)
7am: Tiny Toon Adventures "The Horror of Slumber Party Mountain" (HUB)
7:30am: Tiny Toon Adventures "Toons from the Crypt" (HUB)
8:30am: Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures "Nothing to Fear but Berries Themselves" (HUB)
9am: Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures "The Berry Scary Fun Adventure" (HUB)
Noon: Pound Puppies "Nightmare on Pound Street" (HUB)
2pm: Tiny Toon Adventures "The Horror of Slumber Party Mountain" (HUB)
2:30pm: Tiny Toon Adventures "Toons from the Crypt" (HUB) 
3pm: Friends "The One with the Halloween Party" (TBS)
3pm: Animaniacs "Draculee Draculaa" "Phrankenrunt" (HUB)
7pm: Step by Step "Something Wild" (HUB)
7:30pm: Step by Step "Dream Lover" (HUB)
8pm: The Middle “Halloween IV” The Ghost Story” (ABC)
8pm: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch "A Halloween Story" (HUB)
8:30pm: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch "A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It" (HUB)
8:30pm: Back in the Game “Night Games” (ABC)
9pm: Modern Family “Open House of Horrors” (ABC)

Thursday, October 31^st

Midnight: Step by Step "Something Wild" (HUB)
12:30am: Step by Step "Dream Lover" (HUB)
12:45am: King of Queens "Ticker Treat" (TVLand)
1am: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch "A Halloween Story" (HUB)
1:30am: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch "A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It" (HUB)
3am: Roseanne “Skeleton in the Closet” (TVLand)
3:30am: Roseanne “BOO!” (TVLand)
4am: Roseanne “Trick or Treat” (TVLand)
4:30am: Roseanne “Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down” (TVLand)
5am: Roseanne "Halloween IV" (TVLand)
5:30am: Roseanne "Halloween V" (TVLand)
1pm: General Hospital Halloween Episode (ABC)
6am: Animaniacs "Hot, Bothered & Bedeviled" "Moon Over Minerva" "Skullhead Boneyhands" (HUB)
6:30am: The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow (HUB)
7:30am: Animaniacs "Scare Happy Slappy" "Witch One" "MacBeth" (HUB)
8am: Animaniacs "Draculee Draculaa" (HUB)10am: The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow (HUB)
11am: Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery (HUB)1pm: Home Improvement "The Haunting of the Taylor House" (Hallmark)
1:30pm: Home Improvement "Crazy for You" (Hallmark)
2pm: Home Improvement “Let Them Eat Cake” (Hallmark)
2:30pm: Home Improvement “I Was a Teenage Taylor” (Hallmark)
3pm: Home Improvement “A Night to Dismember” (Hallmark)
3pm: Goosebumps “The Haunted Mask (HUB)
3:30pm: Home Improvement “Bewitched” (Hallmark)
4pm: Goosebumps “The Haunted Mask 2” (HUB)
4pm: Little House on the Prairie “The Monster of Walnut Grove” (Hallmark)
5pm: Little House on the Prairie “The Halloween Dream” (Hallmark)
6pm: Little House on the Prairie “The Ghost Story” (Hallmark)
7pm: Little House on the Prairie “The Nightwalker” (Hallmark)
7:30pm: ALF "Some Enchanted Evening" (HUB)
8pm: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch "Good Will Haunting" (HUB)
8pm: Parks and Recreation “Recall Vote” (NBC)
8pm: Deadtime Stories “Little Magic Shop of Horrors” (NICK)
8pm: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (ABC)
8:30pm: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch "Episode LXXXI: The Phantom Menace" (HUB)
9pm: Grey’s Anatomy “Thriller” (ABC)
9pm: Everybody Loves Raymond "Halloween Candy" (TVLand)
10pm: Frasier “Halloween” (Hallmark)
10:30pm: Frasier “Tales from the Crypt” (Hallmark)
11pm: Frasier “Boo!” (Hallmark)
11:30pm: Frasier “Dark Side of the Moon” (Hallmark)
11:30pm: Secret Squirrel "Which Witch is Which" "Bold Rush" "Squiddly Double Diddley" (Boomerang)
11:35pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live “Half & Half Halloween Pageant” (ABC)
11:45pm: King of Queens "Ticker Treat" (TVLand)

December 22nd Holiday Recommendations

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So.Many.Holiday.Specials.!! If you don't want to sift through our entire holiday schedule, we've got another issue of daily recommendations for Thursday, December 22nd below. As always, times are Eastern and Pacific to the best of our knowledge (except when noted otherwise), but it's always good to double-check with your own provider.


5:30am & 4:30pm (PT): Casper's First Christmas (Boomerang)
- I didn't realize that this special was separate from Casper's Haunted Christmas until this year. I set it to DVR because the description mentions that Yogi Bear & the gang celebrate Christmas with Casper, the Friendly Ghost. Sounds kinda wacky... almost like that time the Jetsons met the Flintstones, haha. I'm recommending it based solely on the synopsis, so it might not be any good. But, it might be great...

9am: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air "Deck the Halls" (TBS)
- Can you imagine having your house professionally decorated every holiday season? That's what has been going on for the entirety of Ashley's life. So, Will takes it upon himself to decorate festively, both inside the mansion and out. This backfires when the neighbors complain about the garish look, but at least Ashely gets to see what Christmas can be.

3pm: Little House on the Prairie "Christmas at Plum Creek" (Hallmark)
- You've got to be a bit of a sap to like this episode, as it is more of "love your family" type of message. Each member of the Ingalls household tries to bring in extra money so that they can buy one another gifts. Laura, being too young to work, sells her horse so that she could buy Ma a stove. Touching, selfless, and rather unbelievable.

8pm: Family Guy "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas" (TBS)
- While it isn't my cup of tea, this episode, more affectionately known by some as "the Family Guy where Peter wants to watch Kiss Saves Santa," makes a lot of people laugh. Things go wrong pretty much right off the bat, as Peter accidentally gives away the family's presents. It only gets worse from there (including a fire in both the living room AND kitchen), and Lois ends up on a rampage, ruining Christmas by melting a Frosty the Snowman, killing a Goerge Bailey, and wrecking the town Christmas tree. Stewie, in an ironic twist of fate, brings her back to reality in the end.

9pm: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (ABCFamily)
- There's an animated opening. An extended family that arrives WAY TOO EARLY for Christmas. Clark getting locked in the attic while everyone else goes shopping. Cousin Eddie and family showing up unexpectedly. Over-lighting the house. Sledding way too quickly. A cat getting electrocuted. A kidnapping. And more. Go.

9pm: Everybody Loves Raymond "All I Want for Christmas" (TVLand)
- I really enjoy this episode because it's just funny. All Ray wants for Christmas is to have sex with Debra. They try hard to make the time, but of course his family interrupts. Multiple times. Once Frank is hip to what's going on, he tries to help the cause... but you can only imagine how funny that can be.

Top 10 TV Character Adoption Stories

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Quite some time ago I was flipping through the channels late at night and caught the episode of The Flintstones where Fred and Wilma have Pebbles. It really is hilarious if you haven't seen it. I saved it to my DVR and later showed a friend. He asked if the same thing happens when Bamm-Bamm is born, and I pointed out that Bamm-Bamm was adopted. He didn't know that, and I think that many people probably don't. So, I wanted to take some time to draw attention to some of the great adopted characters on television. I'm specifically looking at adopted characters whose stories are told or addressed in the show.  

10. George Camden from 7th Heaven. Although not a major character, George is adopted by Eric's parents, the Colonel and Ruth. In the same episode, Eric and Annie also consider adopting the child, which would have been interesting since the Camden kids did not particularly take to him. His real father shows up later in the series, and after some strife, gets along with everyone.

 

9. Arnold Jackson (and Willis) from Diff'rent Strokes. Mr. Drummond's housekeeper was the boys' mother, and after she died, he took them in. It's a real rags-to-riches story, and while the fact that the boys weren't Drummond's biological children popped up from time to time, it wasn't a big issue for arcs at a time.

8. Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls. I didn't know that Rose was adopted until I had seen thirty or forty episodes of the show. Turns out, her mother died in childbirth and her father was a monk who chose to return to the monastery (weird, huh?). She lived in an orphanage until she was 8, then was adopted by St. Olaf's favorite dairy-farming couple, the Lindstroms. There's an amusing storyline about Rose thinking that Bob Hope was her biological father, too. 

7. Natalie Green, from The Facts of Life. She grew up knowing that she was adopted, and while she was at the boarding school she decided that she wanted to meet her birthmother. Blair (who had the money and the connections) tracked down the woman, but Natalie ended up not showing to meet her, deciding that she was grateful for the parents who raised her. Later in the series she does meet her birthmom, but ultimately decides that she's very thankful for her adoptive parents. 

6. Skippy Handleman from Family Ties. Skippy accidentally found out he was adopted when he saw the papers in his mother's drawer. Skippy is determined to meet his birthmother, and brings Alex to see her. Skippy and his mother have a lot in common, and Skippy is excited to being a long-lasting relationship... only to have his mother tell him that she doesn't think that they should see one another again, and that he reminds her of a painful past. Skippy returns home to his loving parents, who have been heartbroken about the whole matter at the Keatons' home.

5. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore Seville; Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor Miller from Alvin & the Chipmunks. Going off of the cartoon stories of the chipmunks' & chipettes' origin, the guys were placed in a basket and their mother left them on Dave's doorstop. Dave struggled with them at first, but as soon as they got him a job with their recording of "Witch Doctor," all was well. The Chipettes, on the other hand, came from an orphanage in Australia, where they were a pet of a girl named Olivia. When Olivia was adopted, the chipettes were about to be exploited by the woman running the orphanage, but they ran away in a kangaroo's pouch, then stowed away on a ship to America. They lived in the park and worked in a restaurant, then rode a bus to California and got a singing job. They moved into a treehouse, but when they went to school, the school was upset that they had no guardian... so Dave's neighbor, Mrs. Miller, adopts the girls.

4. Steve Sanders from Beverly Hills, 90210. So this is a tricky one. He doesn't know he's adopted until the end of the first season. He went crazy trying to find his "real" parents, only to find just his mother's father, as his birthmother had died. Later we find out that his adoptive dad is his real dad as well, and only his mother, actress Samantha Sanders, was not actually a blood relative.

3. Punky Brewster from Punky Brewster. Her father abandons the family, then her mom leaves Punky and her dog (Brandon) at a shopping mall, never to return. Punky takes shelter in an empty apartment, but is found by the building's manager, who ends up jumping through a lot of hoops to adopt her. He fosters her for a while, she gets sent to an orphanage, but eventually the two live happily, and his curmudgeon ways disappear.

2. Bamm Bamm Rubble, from The Flintstones was the very first adopted child on television. He was left in a basket (as an orphan) at the Rubble's house, with a note revealing his unique name. Betty and Barney Rubble want to adopt him,and head to the Child Welfare office to make it official... only to discover they have to wait a week while their application is processed. They end up being denied, since someone was ahead of them on the waiting list. Betty and Barney take the other couple (rich folks) to court. Turns out, the woman from the other couple is pregnant, so they let the Rubbles have Bamm-Bamm.  In case you've never seen this one, I've added a couple clips:

cropped with SnipSnip

1. Albert Ingalls, from Little House on the Prairie. Charles wanted a son so badly, but a biological one just wasn't in the works (the only son Caroline birthed, died). They find Albert living on the streets when they live in Dakota Territory, and he comes back to Walnut Grove in the end. His biological father does come back into the picture for a short time, but it is ultimately the Ingalls who love the boy despite his faults... like burning down the school for the blind with his niece inside, getting addicted to morphine, having the town believe that he was an illegitimate father, and ultimately dying of cancer before he could achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.

I know I'm missing another dozen or so adopted characters, but I really enjoy these stories (I mean, wasn't Webster just a copy of Diff'rent Strokes, LoL?). What adoption stories come to your mind? 

2010 TV Stars: A Final Farewell

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, I know we've slipped into February already (is it just me, or is 2011 turning out to be the fastest year yet?!?), but I did want to do a little spotlight on the television actors we lost in 2010.

- Gary Coleman, from Diff'rent Strokes, died of a brain hemorrhage at age 42.

- Andrew Koening, who played Boner on Growing Pains, committed suicide at age 41.

- Barbara Billingsley, who is famous for her role as June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver, died at age 94.

- Tom Bosley of Happy Days fame died at age 83.

- Rue McClanahan suffered from a stroke and died at age 76, leaving Betty White as the only surviving Golden Girl.

- Charlie O'Donnell died at age 78. He preceded Pat Sajak as announcer for Wheel of Fortune.

- Harold Gould, of Rhoda and Golden Girls, died at 86 of prostate cancer.

- Leslie Nielsen died at age 84.

- James Wall, who played Mr. Baxter on Captain Kangaroo, died at age 92.

- Mitch Miller died at the age of 99.

- Jimmy Dean died at the age of 81.

- Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby, died at 88.

- Billie Mae Richards, who is the voice of the famous Rudolph in the stop-action animation specials, died at 88.

- Merlin Olsen, who played Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie, among other roles, died at 69, from complications of mesothelioma.

Did I miss anyone?

Favorite Episodes: Little House on the Prairie

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

When I was in the third grade, I read a lot of good books. See, we had this thing called S.Q.U.I.R.T. time after lunch, and we were allowed to read anything we wanted for fifteen minutes or so. It stood for Sustained Quiet Uninterrupted Independent Reading Time, or something very similar to that. I got attached to The Boxcar Children series with Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny, and ended up reading at least fifty of their books over the next few years. We also read Little House in the Big Woods, and several years later my mother picked up a boxed set for me at a thrift store, so I could read all of them. I rather enjoyed reading about life in the 1860s-1880s. All of the moves that the family made intrigued me. So, sometime around age fourteen, I found out they made a television show out of it. It's very different in a lot of ways (Mary never married, for instance), but still a good show. It has taken me years and years of daytime television repeats in order to catch all of the episodes, but I'm about 98% sure that I've seen them all, and so I am listing my favorites now.

Season 1: "Town Party, Country Party" (S01E07) Laura hurts her ankle, and meets a new friend who has one short leg. Charles builds a boot for Olga so that her legs are even and she can play with the other children, but Olga's father gets upset. Luckily, her grandmother approves and all is well in the end.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Season 2: "Four Eyes" (S02E02) In what is a seemingly memorable episode, Mary goes to Mankato to get glasses. At first she's thrilled at the perfect vision she now has, but soon the teasing at school causes her to pretend they are lost so she doesn't have to wear them. When Miss Beadle's beau stops by, Mary decides that glasses aren't the worst thing ever, and she goes back to wearing them.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Season 3: "Bunny" (S03E02) Long ago, Laura traded her horse for a stove to give to Caroline for Christmas. Nelly now has it, and when the horse throws her off, she fakes paralysis (rather well, actually). Laura is overcome with guilt for some reason, and decides to do whatever Nelly wants. Then, Laura realizes that Nelly is faking it, and throws her in a pond to prove it.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Season 4: "I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away" (S04E21 & S04E22) This is perhaps one of the most-watched episodes in the entire series. In the span of 2 hours (it's a double episode), Mary's sight begins to deteriorate, she goes blind, she goes to blind school, learns everything there is to know, and decides that she wants to become a blind teacher. (This is really unrealistic, as in the books it takes the family a while to save up the money, and Mary is gone for a long time. In real life, Mary's blind education takes 8 or 9 YEARS.)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

Season 5: "As Long As We're Together" (S05E01 & S05E02) This is the opener for the season, and the two-parter takes place just after my favorite from Season 4. The family moves to Winoka, and Mary begins working with Adam at the blind school. Charles and Caroline run the hotel, and before long the Garveys and the Olesons also show up. Nellie and Willie are in private school, while everyone else is taught by Alice in a barn. We meet Albert, an orphan who later gets adopted by the Ingalls family, and Mary turns 16.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

Season 6: "Crossed Connections" (S06E12, but the episodes are hard to number in this season because one of the movies isn't always counted) The telephone is invented, hehe. Harriet Olson is in charge of the town's lines, and eavesdrops on whatever she wants. Of course, she assumes the worst from various conversations and everything becomes one problem after another.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Season 7: "The In-Laws" (S07E09) Charles and Almanzo both believe that they have the quickest route to Sleep Eye. So, they race, but each has unexpected obstacles along the way. Laura and Caroline root for their respective husbands as they look forward to dinner.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Season 8: "The Reincarnation of Nellie" (S08E01 & S08E02) Nellie, Percival, and their children (Benjamin and Jennifer) move to New York, as do Mary and Adam. Mrs. Oleson misses Nellie so much that she adopts a troublemaking girl who looks extremely similar to Nellie. Nancy connives Willie into locking another girl in the ice shed so that Nancy can have the lead in the school play. Laura (who is teaching now) is wise to Nancy's tricks, and tricks her into being in the dunk tank instead.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

Season 9: "Little Lou" (S09E05) A circus midget arrives in town, with his wife and his mother. His wife soon dies in childbirth, and Lou gets a job at the bank to support his child. Mrs. Oleson protests, and he is fired. He cannot get another job, and soon begins stealing to provide. Then, when Nancy falls down a well, it's Lou who is able to save her, so he doesn't get tried for stealing.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5