Sunshine Christmas

I really enjoyed Sunshine Christmas and watch it whenever it comes on TV. I have it on VHS tape and watch it on my own also. I really liked the premise and the stars, especially Bill Mumy and Corey Fischer. Sunshine was one of my very favorite shows of the 70's. I felt that this movie fit my life as it was in the 70's and when I saw it Christmas 2004 it brought back some very wonderful and tender memories,as well as some sad ones. It also brought home how much growing up I have done since then and how much I miss those fun, 'innocent' times. This movie and series showed us young people were not only into drugs, sex and rock n roll in the 70's as most adults at the time thought. The John Denver music was wonderful especially the title song, Sunshine on my shoulders, my favorite song.

Sunshine Christmas was a holiday special done as a follow up to the original 1973 TV-Movie "Sunshine" with Cliff DeYoung and Christina Raines and the 1975 series with Cliff DeYoung and Meg Foster. The series only ran for 13 episodes.

The original TV-Movie was about DeYoung meeting a young woman who has a child and is dying of cancer. It was based on the diary of the woman and of all the things she wanted to say to her daughter as she grew up. The movie was produced at a time when John Denver was in his heyday and contains a lot of his music. To me, the story lines for all of them were weak, but the music with DeYoung, Bill Mumy, and Corey Fischer mad up for it.

This movie picks up after the series were the man and the daughter go to visit his family for Christmas.

Pat Hingle is great as the father and the music, like the other "Sunshine" programs, is great with DeYoung, Mumy, and Fischer. Along with the guys and their music, Meg Foster and Elizabeth Cheshire reprise their roles from the Sunshine series.

Today, you would find this story on The Hallmark Channel as you find, the normal family Christmas scenes of romance, conflict and reckoning. So if you like to see a typical Hallmark holiday program with good music, you will enjoy "A Sunshine Christmas".

I remember watching this as a kid. I remember being an excellent movie. I would love to own it on video. I am having a problem locating it. When I ask at video stores they seem not to have a clue. Any suggestions? I was surprised to see it here. So at least I know some one other than me knows its out there.