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When it comes to classic Christmas films, it doesn’t get more quintessential than Rankin/Bass. The production company (which is no longer in business) created more than 45 movies between 1964 and 1985, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and The Little Drummer Boy. Their holiday-themed animated TV specials were some of their most popular, probably due to the iconic, doll-like characters, stop-motion movements, and themes of celebration and tradition.

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

The Pitch: Then All the Cavemen (and Founding Fathers) Loved Him

The magic of a good Christmas is an unparalleled childhood experience, but it always ends with the anticlimactic holiday hangover that is New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The final day of the year and the first day of the new one can be plenty of fun for adults, as they revolve around a paradoxical combination of socially sanctioned binge drinking and a renewed focus on fitness and career goals. But since one of those things is off...

AMC and AMC+ have more than 650 hours of holiday programming planned for this year’s “Best Christmas Ever” lineup kicking off on November 26 and running through December 26, 2023. The lineup includes classic Christmas films, including Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, Elf, and Christmas Vacation. For those who like to celebrate their winter holidays with a serving of horror, Shudder’s offering a new Joe Bob’s Creepy Christmas Special and the original film The Sacrifice Game.

This year’s “Best Christmas Ever” schedule also features Christmas with the Campbells, The Apology, and marathons of John Candy, Reese Witherspoon, and Bill Murray films.

Best Christmas Ever 2023:

The Sacrifice Game – Debuts December 8 on Shudder and AMC+

It’s bad enough that boarding school students Samantha and Clara can’t go home for the holidays, but things take a deadly turn when a murderous gang arrives at their doorstep – just in time for Christmas.

Paul Coker Jr., whose character and production designs for the classic Rankin/Bass stop-motion and animated holiday specials and his many years as one of Mad magazine’s “Usual Gang Of Idiots” endeared him to generations of fans, died following a brief illness at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 23. He was 93.

His death was confirmed to Deadline by his stepdaughter Lee Smithson Burd. “Paul was lucid and had his remarkable sense of humor until the end,” Smithson Burd said.

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

Coker’s contributions to the production and character design of the Rankin/Bass specials helped create some of the most indelible holiday images of the last half-century. As either a character designer or production designer, Coker lent his talents to such Christmas and Easter specials as Cricket on the Hearth (1967), Frosty the Snowman (1969), Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970), Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Monday, December 28, 2015 ratings — New episodes: Superstore and Telenovela. Specials: Happy New Year, Charlie Brown, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Reruns: Blindspot, Castle, Bones, Gotham, Supergirl, Scorpion, and NCIS: Los Angeles.

Note: The ratings for December 28, 2015, were delayed for several hours due to a change in the Nielsen system. Our apologies for the delay.

How are your shows doing? Check the current rankings:

ABC | CBS | The CW | Fox | NBC

ABC Family | AMC | FX | HBO | MTV | Showtime | Syfy | TNT | USA

Read More…...

'Tis the season to annoy everyone by using "'tis the season" way too many times when talking about holiday stuff. Halloween hasn't even happened yet, but the Christmas decorations are already taking over drug stores so ABC is just going ahead and announcing its 2015 holiday lineup. It's something to look forward to after the candy is gone, anyway, and since the "Toy Story 20th Anniversary Special" and "It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown" are involved, you should definitely mark your calendars.

Here's a chronological list of holiday programming highlights, via ABC:

Friday, November 27

"Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" - In the perennial favorite created in 1970 by Rankin-Bass Productions ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman"), Fred Astaire narrates this timeless tale of Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney), a young boy with an immense desire to do good things for others. The vocal cast features Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle, Keenan Wynn as Winter,...

Monday, December 29, 2014 ratings -- New episodes: Mike & Molly. Specials: Happy New Year, Charlie Brown and Rudolph's Shiny New Year. Reruns: 2 Broke Girls, Scorpion, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Originals, Jane the Virgin, State of Affairs, Gotham, Sleepy Hollow, and Castle.

How are your shows doing? Check the current rankings:

ABC | CBS | The CW | Fox | NBC

ABC Family | AMC | FX | HBO | Showtime | Syfy | TNT | USA

(more…)...

Fast National ratings for December 29, 2014. Monday's top program, and Monday's only original program, was CBS' new "Mike & Molly," which combined with a slew of other repeats to help the network win primetime in most measures. ABC with second with "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!" and "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" leading the way. On to the numbers... Among adults 18-49, CBS averaged a 1.2 rating for Monday night, tops in the key demographic. ABC was a close second with a  1.1 key demo rating. There was a big drop to NBC and Fox's 0.5 key demo rating and to the 0.4 key demo rating for The CW. Overall, CBS averaged an estimated 6.755 million viewers and a 4.2 rating/7 share for Monday primetime, far ahead of the 4.36 million viewers and 2.6/4 for ABC. NBC was third with 3.13 million viewers and a 2.1/4. There was a big drop to Fox's 1.69 million viewers and 1.1/2 and to the 0.7/1 and 1.11 million viewers for the night for The CW.

Monday, December 30, 2013 ratings -- New episodes: (none). Specials: iHeartradio Music Festival Night 1, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (reruns). Reruns:Hollywood Game Night, The Blacklist, Castle, Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, Mom, Person of Interest, and Mike & Molly.

How are your shows doing? Check the season rankings: ABC | CBS | The CW |Fox | NBC

Note: If you're not seeing the updated charts, please try reloading the page or go here.

These are the fast affiliate ratings. The percentages represent the change since the previous original episode. (Percentages aren't given for reruns or specials.) To see past ratings for a particular show, click the show's link. The show pages are updated with the daily final ratings when they become available.

Fast National ratings for Monday, Dec. 30, 2013

It was all repeats, all the time in primetime on the broadcast networks Monday night, with encores and a couple of yearly specials filling up everyone's schedule. "Mike & Molly" scored the night's best audience in both viewers and adults 18-49, leading CBS to a win in both categories.

The Eye averaged 5.2 million viewers and a 3.4 rating/6 share in households. ABC (3.8 million, 2.3/4) came in second. NBC (3.1 million, 2.0/3) edged Fox (3 million, 1.8/3) for third, and The CW trailed with 1.5 million viewers and a 0.9/1 (likely including some local pre-emptions).

CBS was the only network to break above the 1.0 barrier among adults 18-49, finishing with a 1.2. ABC and NBC tied for second at 0.9, and Fox was close behind with a 0.8. The CW posted a 0.5.

Monday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "How I Met Your Mother" rerun (4.7 million viewers, 3.0/5 households)/"2 Broke Girls" rerun (5.2 million, 3.3/5)

ABC: Specials - "Happy New Year,...

Ready or not... the 2013 holiday season is upon us and along with the busy shopping, cold temperatures and festive decorations come a slew of new yuletide specials and classic favorites. We've compiled the following list to help with your holiday viewing schedule this year!

Monday December 2

Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too - ABC Family 6:00 p.m.

The Santa Clause - ABC Family 8:00 p.m.

Cma Country Christmas hosted by Jennifer Nettles - ABC 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday December 3

An Accidental Christmas - Lifetime 10:00 p.m.

Scrooged - ABC Family 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday December 4

Christmas in Rockefeller Center - NBC 8:00 p.m.

SNL Christmas - NBC 9:00 p.m.

Deck the Halls - ABC Family 10:00 p.m.

Thursday December 5

The Sound of Music Live - NBC 8:00 p.m.

The Muppet Christmas Carol - ABC Family 9:00 p.m.

Friday December 6

Frosty the Snowman - CBS 8:00 p.m.

Yes...

Fast national ratings for Monday, Dec. 26, 2011

The day after Christmas brought NBC a bigger audience for the game show "Who's Still Standing?," although its adults 18-49 numbers are still fairly modest. CBS, however, led the broadcast networks on the night with a slate of repeats.

The Eye averaged 6.6 million viewers and a 4.1 rating/7 share in households in primetime, topping NBC's 5 million viewers and 2.9/5. ABC (3.8 million, 2.3/4) came in third. (Numbers for ABC and NBC may change some as affiliates in Atlanta and New Orleans, respectively, carried the "Monday Night Football" telecast.) Fox (2.9 million, 1.8/3) took fourth, and The CW trailed with 741,000 viewers and a 0.5/1.

CBS also led the adults 18-49 demographic with a 1.9 rating. NBC (1.4) was the only other net to break the 1.0 mark; ABC (0.9), Fox (0.8) and The CW (0.3) all fell below the line.

Monday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

NBC: "Who's Still Standing?" (6.9 million viewers, 4.0/7 households)

CBS: "How I Met Your Mother" rerun (5.9 million,...

What to watch on Monday, December 26...

Is today a holiday? Kinda seems like it. I'm not an astronomer or a scientist of any kind, but does it seem like sometimes holidays are so full they spill over into the next day? (And no, Boxing Day does Not count). I don't know, let's just finish eating our leftovers and playing with our now-broken toys. Oh, and this stuff:

Holiday Special, 8pm, ABC

Rudolph's Shiny New Year

More >>...

ABC Family is ramping up for its annual 25 Days of Christmas holiday gauntlet of whimsical, fun-for-the-whole-family programming. Today the delightful folks at ABC Family sent me my very own miniature Christmas tree and ornaments with which to decorate it. As you can see, my cat Milo was also very excited.

The programming is as follows. Mark your calendars! For more information, including movie descriptions, check out http://abcfamily.com/25days, Facebook.com/25DaysofChristmas, Twitter.com/ABCF25Days.

Thursday, December 1

(6:00-6:30 Pm Et/Pt) Mickey's Christmas Carol

(6:30-7:00 Pm Et/Pt) Winnie The Pooh And Christmas Too

(7:00-9:00 Pm Et/Pt) The Santa Clause

(9:00-11:00 Pm Et/Pt) The Santa Clause - Encore Presentation (Live Action)

Friday, December 2

(6:00-6:30 Pm Et/Pt) Dr. Seuss On The Loose

(6:30-7:00 Pm Et/Pt) Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

(7:00-7:30 Pm...

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010

Better late than never. NBC's rescheduled "Sunday Night Football" match-up between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles easily besting the night in viewers and adults 18-49.

NBC averaged 21.5 million viewers and a 12.5 rating/21 share in households for the night, toppling second-place CBS (9.8 million, 6.3/10), which had an otherwise strong showing for the 2010 "Kennedy Center Honors". Fox placed third with 4.0 million viewers and a 2.5/4, with ABC (3.7 million, 2.4/4) in fourth and the CW in last (814,000, 0.5/1).

NBC also boasts the best numbers in the 18-49 demographic in over a week, with a 7.3 rating for the night. No other network even cracked a the 2.0 mark, with CBS in second (1.6), Fox in third (1.3), ABC in fourth (1.0) and CW pulling up the rear (0.3).

Tuesday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

NBC: "Sunday Night Football" (20.7 million viewers, 12.1/20)

CBS: "NCIS" rerun (10.6 million, 6.5/11)

Fox: "Glee" rerun (4.1 million, 2.6/4)

ABC: "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" rerun (3.98 million,...

Hardcore Pawn

10/9c truTV

People sell the craziest things...as evidenced by the items brought into Detroit's American Jewelry and Loan. This pawn shop, featured in TruTV's popular series, opens its second season with a man trying to sell a DVD player that he says is actually an alien communication device, and a former porn star comes in with some of his old movies. The value of these items may be questionable, but for reality TV, this stuff is priceless! — Rhoda Charles

Read on for previews of Champs Sports Bowl, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Kennedy Center Honors, Cupcake Wars, Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and America's Septuplets Turn 13.

Read More >...

After the presents are opened, the halls are decked and the roast beast is carved, a lot of folks are looking to hit the movie theater or settle in front of their favorite holiday movies or TV show marathons. Zap2it's got you covered for all your Christmas weekend TV programming.

Friday, Dec. 24

A&E: "Criminal Minds" marathon

ABC Family: 25 Days of Christmas ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys," "Mickey's Christmas Special," "Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too," "Jack Frost," "Frosty's Winter Wonderland," "'Tas the Night Before Christmas," "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," "The Year Without Santa Claus" and "Rudolph's Shiny New Year.")

 

AMC: "Miracle on 34th Street," "White Christmas" marathon

Animal Planet: "Planet Earth" marathon

BBC America: "Doctor Who" marathon

Cartoon Network: Various cartoon holiday episodes

Cmt: "A Smoky Mountain Christmas," "Larry the Cable Guy's Star-studded Christmas Extravaganza," "Larry the Cable Guy...

by Shannon Hilson

1. Father Time from Rudolph's Shiny New Year

For those of you who do not know, I was... er... kind of weird as a kid. I was worrying about all kinds of bizarre stuff that kids don't worry about. The passage of time was one of those. Not only is this character kind of creepy-looking all by himself, but he's... Father Fucking Time, yo! He's responsible for it all and he must be stopped.

2. The Bunyip from Dot and the Kangaroo

What was this thing... I don't even... All I know is I apparently saw this movie as a child, saw this bunyip thing, and never forgot about it. I won't watch this movie even as an adult, so he must have had a really powerful effect. All I remember is being terrified that the bunyip was going to come kick my ass in the middle of the night and never,...

Fast National ratings for Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009

CBS coasted to a ratings victory Tuesday night on the strength of an "NCIS" repeat and its annual Kennedy Center Honors broadcast, which featured the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Mel Brooks.

CBS drew 10.7 million viewers and a 6.8 rating/11 share in households for the night, more than double the average for second-place ABC (5 million, 3.1/5). Fox (3.6 million, 2.1/3) came in third. NBC finished fourth with 2.9 million viewers and a 1.9/3, and The CW (925,000, 0.6/1) trailed.

No network broke the 2.0 mark in the adults 18-49 demographic, which CBS led with a 1.9. ABC and Fox tied for second at 1.5. NBC was fourth with a scant 0.9, and The CW managed only a 0.3.

Tuesday hour by hour:

8 p.m.

CBS: "NCIS" rerun (12.9 million viewers, 8.0/13 households)

ABC: Special - "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" (4.2 million, 2.3/4)

Fox: Movie - "The Benchwarmers" (3.6 million, 2.1/3)

NBC: "Parks and Recreation" reruns - two episodes (3 million, 2.0/3)

The CW: "90210" rerun (1.1 million,...

So, Lainey calls me today and she tells me this whole convoluted thing about new episodes of "Scrubs" and "Better Off Ted" and how they're supposed to be on today but they're really on Friday and she's chattering in my ear about how she's not at home and can't check her DVR and she doesn't remember what day they're airing and What Is This, Her Job? Well, it's a damn good thing it's Not her job, because she is a lying liar who tells lies. I don't even remember what "Better Off Ted" is and I thought "Scrubs" got canceled like two years ago, but I still somehow managed to suss out that "Scrubs" is a repeat tonight and "Better Off Ted" is a new episode. Or possibly the other way 'round. I don't know, I already wrote up the rest of this column and I'm just filling out the...

HBO has a True Blood marathon all night. At 8, ABC has Rudolph's Shiny New Year. PBS has a new, two-hour Nova at 8. Espn has the Champs Sports Bowl, Miami vs. Wisconsin. TCM has On the Waterfront at 8. At 9, CBS has The Kennedy Center Honors. Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9, followed by a new Ghost Lab. A&E has a new Psychic Kids at 9, then two new episodes of Paranormal State. Also at 9: BBC America has a new Britain's Missing Top Model. At 9:30, ABC has a new Better Off Ted, followed by a new 20/20. At 10, Bravo has a new Tabatha's Salon Takeover. Syfy has a new Ecw at 10. Biography has two new episodes of Shatner's Raw Nerve at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Continue reading What's On Tonight: Nova, Kennedy Center Honors, Better Off Ted

 

Filed under: Late Night,...

At 8, ABC has A Charlie Brown Christmas, followed by Disney's Prep & Landing, a new Scrubs and the season premiere of Better Off Ted. NBC has the two-hour season finale of The Biggest Loser at 8, then a new Jay Leno Show. Fox has a new, two-hour So You Think You Can Dance at 8.

The CW has two new episodes of 90210 and Melrose Place. ABC Family has The Year Without A Santa Claus at 8, followed by A Miser's Brothers Christmas and Rudolph's Shiny New Year. At 9, Food Network has a new Christmas Chopped. Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9, followed by a new Ghost Lab. Syfy has a new Scare Tactics at 9, then the series premiere of Outer Space Astronauts and a new Ecw. History Channel has a new How The Earth Was Made at 9. Vh-1 has 2009: That Really Happened at 9. Spike has a new Super Dave's Spike-Tacular at 9. Also...

Fox rose to the top of Tuesday primetime in the adults 18-49 demographic while CBS won in viewership for its two hours of coverage of the Kennedy Center honors.

Fox's 3.2 rating in the demographic for the night was the result of two hours of House repeats, which won both 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. in adults 18-49, according to preliminary estimates released Wednesday by Nielsen Media Research.

The 8 p.m. House (7.6 million, 2.8/8) tied with NCIS (11.8 million, 2.8/8) in the demo while NCIS was the top in viewership for the hour and the night. It was well ahead of NBC's Tom Brokaw Special ( 7.5 million, 2.1/6) and ABC's Rudolph's Shiny New Year (5 million, 1.7/5).

House (9.2 million, 3.6/10) was the unquestioned demo leader of a diminished 9 p.m. hour, while the first of the two-hour Kennedy Center Honors (10 million, 1.9/5) won both hours in viewership. ABC's two episodes of Big Day ( 3.9 million, 1.4/4) nor was NBC's repeat "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (8.2 million, 2.5/7).