The Judy Garland Show (1963–1964)

Episode #1.12

1h | Comedy, Music | Episode aired 22 December 1963

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Judy Garland Christmas Show (1963)

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Music is inextricably intertwined with Christmas. One thing I love to do at the holidays is watch TV variety specials--and the 1963 Christmas show of the short-lived The Judy Garland Show is one of my favorites. If you haven't seen it recently, you should make the excuse to enjoy it again. This Christmas episode has been released on DVD and is fairly easy to locate. 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of this particular Christmas episode giving me the perfect opportunity to share my thoughts on it. The review below is an excerpt taken from my book The Christmas TV Companion in the chapter on outstanding Christmas TV variety moments.

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Judy Garland Christmas Special 1963 incl commercials 1 Hour HQ
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Friday, December 6, 2013

Glee Christmas (2011)

As promised, I'd like to share with you how the 2011 Christmas episode of the musical TV comedy series Glee pays tribute to the Judy Garland Christmas Show from 1963. It's so nice to see younger generations of TV viewers being introduced to classic Christmas TV entertainment. To see my original review of Garland's spectacular 1963 Christmas episode click HERE. I wrote about the 2011 Glee episode "Extraordinary Merry Christmas" in my latest book Merry Musical Christmas Vol. 1. This book discusses the highlights of the best musical moments in TV sitcoms and dramas. [Later volumes will focus on Christmas musical moments in children's TV programs, Christmas movies, animated TV specials, and eventually TV variety specials]. The following review is an excerpt from Merry Musical Christmas Vol. 1.

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"The third season of Glee produced another outstanding holiday episode, 2011’s “Extraordinary Merry Christmas.” Although the Glee Club members promise Coach Sylvester they will volunteer at a local homeless shelter, most of them cancel when a new opportunity arises. The New Directions star in a musical Christmas special for local television. Under Artie’s direction, “The Glee Holiday Spectacular” combines the best of two of his favorite TV specials: the Christmas episode of The Judy Garland Show and the Star Wars Holiday Special. In a side story, Finn feels pressured to spend a lot of money on a special Christmas gift for Rachel in order to make her happy. In the end, the Glee Club members join Quinn and Sam at the homeless shelter to help out, and Rachel comes to recognize the specialness of the gift that Finn gives her.

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