Remember When…

MASH is my all-time-number-one-favorite TV show there ever was! I am addicted and savor the moments when a MASH marathon comes on for the day. I don’t own any of the DVD’s. Maybe one day I will! But as my all-time-favorite, and I know many other’s all-time favorite, I thought today would be a great day to do some MASH trivia!

The TV series started in 1972. There were over 250 episodes made of MASH. It aired in the US, UK, Belgium, France, and West Germany.

William Christopher, who played Father Mulcahy and his wife Barbara had a son who was diagnosed with Autism right at the same time that he was called for the MASH role. They later wrote a book called Mixed Blessings .This is a great book and not only does it talk about all that they did to help their son, but also has letters that Barbara wrote throughout the years to her mom who lived on the East Coast. One particular letter that stood out for me was when Barbara told her mother about this “new show that Bill was being called for.” They didn’t know if “Mash would be a good match for his career, but they figured it was worth a try”. 

Some interesting information that I found was that McLean Stevenson, who played Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the TV series died of a heart attack on February 15 1996. The next day, Roger Bowen, who played Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the movie, died of the same cause.

Another interesting fact I found was that  Sesame Street’s Big Bird’s teddy bear is named Radar and this was for MASH’s Radar O’Reilly’s teddy bear.

OK…. I do really love MASH and could go all night with interesting trivia! But I will stop and give you your questions….

1. What was the nickname they gave Major Houlihan?

2. What does MASH stand for?

3. Do you know the TITLE of the MASH theme song?

4. What was Col. Potter’s horse’s name?

Last week was quite busy for me, so I was unable to do too much trivia. We had a wonderful Christmas and are just recovering from all the celebration!

Last week, my one bit of trivia was from the movie The Santa Clause with Tim Allen. This was a great show and we always love to watch it.

arradya answered all the questions correctly! Way to go! They were easy questions, but only if you knew the movie and you definitely knew it!

Here are the answers:

1.What did the elf give Charlie to help him call his dad?

A: Snow globe

2. After their visit to the North Pole, what happens to Scott Calvin?

A: He grows a beard and becomes fat. Like Santa.

3. What was the name of the head elf?

A: Bernard

4. What happened when Scott Calvin would shave his beard?

A: It grows quickly back

The Santa Clause with Tim Allen is a big family favorite in my house! This show was made in 1994 and we watch it each year. In The Santa Clause, Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) kills Santa accidentally and puts on his suit without knowing that he is taking on the role of Santa Claus. His son, Charlie (Eric Lloyd) is visiting him on Christmas Eve (the parents are divorced) and when he insists that his dad is Santa, all the adults think he is crazy. This is a great story and they all learn great lessons in the end.

I learned some really cool facts when looking up this story.

When Scott and Charlie are leaving the North Pole in the sleigh and pass by the moon; the moon has a distinct Mickey Mouse logo on it.

When the kids scream, “Let him go! Let Santa go!” that is a reference to Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

The role of Scott Calvin/Santa Clause was written with Bill Murray in mind and scheduling conflicts with another film forced Chevy Chase to turn down the opportunity.

When Scott and Charlie are driving the sleigh on the road, the truck they go by and ask about I-95 is driven by Jimmy Labriola, who played Benny on Tim Allen’s show “Home Improvement”.

The ladder that appears to help Scott and Charlie get to the roof was made by the “Rose Suchak Ladder Co.”, a reference to a question Charlie had asked about the line “There arose such a clatter” from the famous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (The Night Before Christmas).

On to your questions!

1. What did the elf give Charlie to help him call his dad?

2. After their visit to the North Pole, what happens to Scott Calvin?
3. What was the name of the head elf?
4. What happened when Scott Calvin would shave his beard?

Thanks for playing! Be sure to come back on the weekend for answers and come back tomorrow to play again!

Thanks for playing this week! I hope you had as much fun as I did discovering new things about these popular Christmas shows and remembering all your favorites!

I hope you all have a Fantastic Week as you prepare for Christmas this week! I will continue with some more trivia during this week, so please be sure to stop by and play along!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was first aired in 1964 and today, this makes it the longest Christmas show consequetively aired each season.

Contrary to what most believe, the song about Rudolph came years before the show!

The animations were filmed in Japan, but the soundtrack for “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was recorded in a studio near Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario because the majority of the cast was Canadian.

The first showing in 1964 did not have Santa picking up toys from the Island of Misfit Toys at the end. But a letter-writing campaign took place because everyone wanted a happy ending for the Misfit Toys. So, in 1965 new scenes were animated showing Santa’s sleigh rescuing the toys and finding homes for them all. Also in 1965, sponsor General Electric insisted on replacing the song “We’re a Couple of Misfits” with “Fame and Fortune”, a change that lasted until 1998, when “Misfits” was put back in.

I think most everyone has watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and if you have children, you more than likely still watch it. (and some who don’t) So, these questions should be easy for you!

Here are your questions:

1. Can you name all the reindeer?

2. What did Hermie want to be instead of a toymaker?

3. What made Rudolph fly?

4. What was Yukon Cornelius looking for?

5. What important job did they give to the Abominal Snowman?

Good Luck! All the answers of this week will be posted over the weekend!

In 1964, there was a movie called Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. I never actually knew about this show growing up, but last year I happened to catch it on AMC and laughed my head off the entire time! I laughed so hard that my sister, who of course already knew about the movie, bought me the DVD for Christmas last year!

This wasn’t a comedy-but it was definitely entertaining! 

The Martians are upset that their children have become obsessed with TV shows from Earth which uphold the virtues of Santa Claus. So, they go to Earth to kidnap Santa. While they are on Earth, they kidnap two children that lead the Martians to Santa.

This is the part where I came in to the movie the first time around. The children are scared under a rock because of a “Polar Bear”. The “Polar Bear” is CLEARLY a person dressed in a really cheap costume! This is where I started laughing because I remember those kinds of movies where people were dressed up in bear costumes and even as a child, I understood that it was not a bear!

 Then, a ”robot” that is part of the martian clan comes in to capture the children. They had was a person dressed up in silver spray painted boxes with dryer hoses for arms and legs!

Then, the Martians come out with these “laser guns” that were CLEARLY painted Whammo Air Blasters. (a child’s toy gun back then)  

The Martians take Santa and the two children back to Mars with them. Voldar, “a particularly grumpy Martian”, attempts to do away with the children and Santa before they get to Mars, but their leader Lomas stops him. When they arrive on Mars, Santa, and the two Earth children and another “not-so-smart” Martian , overcome the Martians by making everyone happy and showing the Martian children Christmas cheer.

This was Pia Zadora’s first show! (it is amazing she ever got anything after this!)

The majority of the film was shot in Long Island, New York in an abandoned aircraft hanger.

I don’t really expect you to answer any trivia about this movie, but for those of you who actually remember it, you will get 500 points just for remembering the movie!

So….let me know if you remember it! And, if you do, tell me what you remember.

Thanks for playing!

One of my favorite Christmas movies came out in 1983. A Christmas Story was an instant classic that everyone can relate to, no matter what generation you are from.

This movie was based in 1940 and I learned some really interesting facts about the movie!

Jack Nicholson was given the script and was very much interested in the role of the dad. But he didn’t find out about Nicholson’s interest until later on and they didn’t want to pay the higher fees that Nicholson would charge.

(Can you imagine Jack Nicholson in this role? I can’t!)

Jean Shepherd is the writer and narrator of this story. He wrote a book called “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash”, which the film is partly based on, is a collection of short stories that Jean Shepherd wrote for “Playboy” magazine during the 1960s, including the stories about the tongue sticking to the flagpole, and eating Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The subplot of the mangy dogs constantly harassing The Old Man was taken from another of Mr. Shepherd’s short story collections, “Wanda Hickey’s Night Of Golden Memories and Other Disasters.” In that book, the character of Ralph is about 17 years old. Jean Shepherd and his wife, Leigh Brown, did a cameo shot in this film. He was the grumpy man that was standing in line waiting for Santa at the department store. (his wife is the lady behind him)

For the famous scene when Flick sticks his tongue to the flagpole, there is a hidden suction tube was used to safely create the illusion that his tongue had frozen to the metal.

Director, Bob Clark had directed Porky’s in 1982. Because of his success in this film, he was able to make a movie that he wanted. If it were not for Porky’s success, A Christmas Story would have never happened.

On to your questions!

1. What did Ralphy want for Christmas?

2. What did everyone tell him when he said he wanted this?

3. What did Ralphy’s Aunt buy him for Christmas?

4. What did the Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring tell Ralphy?

5. What was Ralphy’s Dad’s “major award”

Thanks for playing! Be sure to come back tomorrow and play again and remember that Saturday I will reveal all the answers and include a link to your blog if you answered any questions!

Tonight, I sat in my living room and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas all by myself! The kids were all doing their own thing and are ”Way too old” for such a thing. But A Charlie Brown Christmas, for me is a tradition! This was Charles Schultz’s first animated film. The folks at CBS hated the idea of an animated Christmas special with a message that was so serious. And, they didn’t like that there was no “canned laughter” during the show, which was something very popular at the time.

Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson were convinced that the show would be a total flop. And 43 years later, it is the second longest running Christmas special on US network TV.

Because the actors were all children, they learned their lines just by sounding out the words. They really didn’t know what they were saying most of the time, and that is why they spoke a little differently than other voice over characters. (who were usually adults) This became a “Peanuts style” that is very well known how.

Charlie Brown and Linus are tossed by Snoopy right after the opening credits. In the first running of this show, Linus lands into a Coca-Cola sign (who was the sponsor of the first run) and at the end when they are singing, a message comes on the final screen that says “Merry Christmas from your local bottler of Coca-Cola” right after the United Feature Syndicate credit at the end.

When producer/director, Bill Melendez worried about the Biblical references in the show, he tried to talk Charles M. Schulz out of using any Biblical references (especially Linus’ speech). Schulz convinced him by saying, “If we don’t do it, who will?”

This is WHY I like A Charlie Brown Christmas so much! There are very few Christmas specials that talk about the REASON we have Christmas! I don’t understand why it is so difficult to talk about. Christmas is a religious holiday celebrated by Christians. This is the designated day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who we, as Christians, believe was born to fogive us of our sins, so we can have a place in Heaven when we die, if we ask for His forgiveness and live a Christian life.

This isn’t a Christian based blog, but since we are talking about Christmas shows and I am a Christian…. well… it is what it is!

So…. lets have some really fun trivia!

1. What was Linus’ speech on the stage? Can you give the actual words or give the scripture reference?

2. I said before that this is the second longest Christmas special to ever run. What was the first?

3. When Linus is giving his speech, is he holding his blanket?

4. How many Peanuts characters can you name?

Thanks for playing! Be sure to come back tomorrow for more trivia and be sure to answer as many questions as possible as I will link your blog on Saturday when I give the answers!

A Miracle on 34th Street was a timeless classic that would get even the biggest grinches into the Christmas spirit. This film came out in May of 1947 instead of Christmas time that year, because the producer said that more people watched movies in the summer than they did at Christmas time.  

All the Macy’s scenes were shot at the main New York store on 34th Street. Shooting was difficult because of the crew’s power needs exceeded the store’s electricity capacity and required additional power sources arranged in the store’s basement.

During the 1946 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Edmund Gwenn (who played Santa Claus in the movie) was the parade’s Santa because they had to film the parade for the scene. None of the parade watchers knew they were being filmed and they didn’t know that it was actor, Edmund Gwenn playing the role.

Here are your questions:

1. In the film, Santa wasn’t originally hired by Macy’s. Why did he step in at the last minute to be in the parade?

2. What did Santa do that made the customers at Macy’s happy?

3. When Santa was just about to loose his court case, what happened to change the court’s mind?

4. The single mom who was the special events director of Macy’s taught her daughter to not believe in Santa Claus. When the daughter begins to believe, what does she ask Santa for as a present for Christmas?

5. ****Bonus Question****
   Does Santa sleep with his whiskers “in” or “out”?

Good Luck! Be sure to answer as many as possible and at the end of the week I will include the answers along with your blog link!

Thanks to esper d for answering! You got #3 and #4 right!Thanks to not4ureyes2cfor answering! Great job! I could tell you did like me and sang the song in your head to answer #4! LOL

Cathyfor answering! Cathy got #2 and #4 right!

Thanks to Political Animal for answering this question! You got them all right and did very well! You didn’t get the bonus right…. But it was really funny and gave me a great laugh! Thanks for stopping by and playing! Be sure to come back and play some more!

KithlyaraGot all the answers right!

SpinningFactsGot all answers right!