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It's a standard thing this time of year. Travelers loaded with gifts are trying to make their way home to spend the holidays with family and friends. This scenario is often played out in movies where our hero finally makes his or her way home just in time to spend Christmas with the family. After all...

"Tell the truth. You're getting kind of tired of writing about ' A Christmas Carol ,' aren't you?" No, this wasn't an e-mail that some disgruntled JHM reader sent me. But -- rather -- the ever-wise & patient Nancy (Who -- FYI -- has been formatting each & every one...

Are you a fan of William Shatner 's Emmy Award-winning work on ABC 's " Boston Legal "? If so, then you should be aware that one of the main reasons that William was cast as daffy Denny Crane was because " The Practice " creator David E. Kelley supposedly caught Shatner's...

Belle has always been one of the more intriguing characters in Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale. The woman who gave Ebenezer Scrooge back his engagement ring because she was the first to see how hard his heart was becoming. Whatever became of Belle after she walked out of Ebenezer's life...

Some adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" are like a huge holiday meal. Rich, meaty, memorable. Really stick-to-your-ribs kind of shows. And then there are those holiday specials like " A Diva's Christmas Caro l." Which are the television equivalent of Chinese food. Don't get...

As I mentioned in this past Sunday's review of " Ebbie ," " A Christmas Carol " is a surprisingly resilient story. It can survive a change of location or time period. Even giving Ebenezer Scrooge a sex change operation doesn't necessarily undercut the emotional effectiveness...

On paper, this sounds like such a clever idea. Shifting the location of "A Christmas Carol" out to the Old West. I mean, what better place is there to tell a ghost story than around a campfire? And then the truly genius notion of hiring Academy Award-winner Jack Palance to play a westernized...

Just how good is The Muppet Christmas Carol "? Well, to be honest, that depends on whether or not you saw the version that ran in theaters back in 1992 OR the version of this Brian Henson film that now runs on television and/or is currently available for sale on DVD. "What's the difference...

You know, when you think about it, "A Christmas Carol" has contributed many memorable phrases to our holiday vernacular. These include: "Bah, Humbug!" "God bless us, every one! " And, of course, my personal favorite: "The b*tch hit me with a toaster." Wait a minute...

For "A Christmas Carol" fans, it's one of the guilty pleasures of watching " Scrooged ." Those brief glimpses you get of that totally ridiculous version of "Scrooge" that Bill Murray & Co. were struggling to get on the air. Copyright 1999 Paramount Home Entertainment...

I don't really need to explain who Basil Rathbone was, right? I mean, we're talking about the acclaimed actor who crossed swords with Errol Flynn in " The Adventures of Robin Hood ," traded quips with Danny Kaye in " The Court Jester " and even served as the narrator of the...

It is one of my favorite Hollywood "What If" stories. And -- appropriately enough -- you can read a full-blown account of this tale over on one of my favorite blogs, Mark Evanier's great " newsfromme.com ." Here's the Reader's Digest version: W.C. Fields (Who was a Dickens...

Okay. I know. We all love those moments in "A Christmas Carol" after Scrooge has been redeemed. When the old skinflint tries to make amends to all those he's wronged over the years. That's when Dickens' classic holiday tale becomes truly heart-warming. But -- prior to this point...

Picking up where we left off yesterday ... You know that somewhat queasy, bloated feeling that you sometimes feel on Christmas Day? After you've made a little too merry, maybe had one too many glasses of eggnog? Well, 1970's " Scrooge " is the cinematic equivalent of that feeling. Copyright...

Remember how I talked yesterday about how the CBS " Shower of Stars " version of " Scrooge " should have worked? What with a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright handling the adaptation of Dickens' classic holiday tale, a two-time Academy Award-winner performing the title role and...

Picking up where we left off yesterday ... Following MGM's good looking if somewhat heartless " A Christmas Carol ," leave it to English filmmakers to deliver what many consider to be the very best movie version of Charles Dickens' holiday tale. Copyright 1999 United Home What is it...

Picking up where we left off yesterday ... Most of you Disney dweebs out there will probably be able to identify this character. Copyright 1964 Walt Disney Productions That's right. Admiral Boom from Walt Disney Productions' 1964 release, " Mary Poppins ." Naming this next character...

Here in the U.S., Thanksgiving officially ushers in the holiday season. Between now and New Year's Day, you won't be able to turn your television on without encountering some holiday special. Which brings us to the subject of today's article. Which (I should warn you) is the first installment...