Tis the Podcast

Life Is A Lot Easier When You Let Someone Else Carry Your Load. Even If You Can Carry It Yourself. (Almost Christmas)

Happy Monday, Christmas fanatics! And Happy May! We are officially one-third of the way done with 2021 already! Can you believe it? The most wonderful time of the year - the Ber months - will be here before you know it! We're already closer than halfway to Halloween, which means we're that much closer to Christmas! This year is flying!
This week, join Julia, Thom, and Anthony as they discuss the 2016 comedy-drama film Almost Christmas - their long overdue, first truly diverse, black-led holiday film since covering Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey! While y'all know they're all fans of a cinematic dysfunctional family, they haven't loved or related to one as much as they do the Meyers family in a long, long time. There's nothing but love all around for this talent-infused, heartwarming film, full of multiple Linus moments, which all three elves agree will be entering their Christmas canons. The only question that truly remains: where does it rank upon their Christmas canon list? Find out in this fun, jolly episode that's sure to leave you with a big smile on your face! 
Enjoy, y’all! And keep your eyes on your feeds this upcoming Thursday for the next installment of “Another Christmas Story” – Chapter Fourteen, which will be read to you by listener Kendall Farrae of the “For Forks Sake“ podcast!
 

"Another Christmas Story" - Chapter Thirteen - Christmas Time is Here - As Read By Mike Westfall of "Advent Calendar House"

Happy Thursday, Christmas fanatics! Welcome to the fourteenth official installment of "Another Christmas Story"!
This week, Mike Westfall of the always amazing, nostalgic, informative, and hilarious "Advent Calendar House" will read to all of you Chapter Thirteen of our tale, entitled "Christmas Time is Here". Within this chapter, we switch back to the perspectives of Aaron Rankin and his classmates on their Christmas Eve field trip to New York City! 
We hope you like it! If you do, make sure to share this episode and our website, upon which the text of this installment is posted, to get it in front of as many eyes as possible! Make sure to check your podcast feeds for your regular weekly episode on Monday, in which the elves cover the 2016 holiday film, "Almost Christmas", and next Thursday for the fourteenth official chapter of this story - "Chapter Fourteen: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town", which Kendall Farrae of "For Forks Sake" will be reading to you! In it, we switch back to the points of view of college students Elizabeth Meyer and Noah Clarke as they traverse Manhattan to find the perfect Christmas story for NYU's streaming website! 

Blessed Are The Pure In Heart, For They Shall See God. (The Little Drummer Boy)

Happy Monday, Christmas Fanatics! And welcome to the final official episode of April! Can you believe that? We are officially a third of the way through the year! Time is flying! 
This week, journey with the elves back to the wonderful world of Rankin/Bass to discuss the 1968 holiday special, "The Little Drummer Boy"! As is always the case when the hosts cover a Rankin/Bass special, opinions are all over the place with this one, with one elf defending the special, one elf enjoying it more than the other Rankin/Bass specials previously covered, and one absolutely hating it. Meanwhile, opinions voiced by our listeners are on opposite ends of the spectrum - people either really enjoy it, or really dislike it; there doesn't seem to be middle ground!
Discussed in this episode are the racist stereotypes perpetuated by character designs and historical (in)accuracy in this special; the origins of the traditional carol version of "The Little Drummer Boy"; Apple's recent unveiling event; Michael Keaton's officially announced return to the role of Batman in the upcoming "The Flash" movie; some fascinating Disney trivia that Anthony learned in a recent episodes of one of his favorite podcasts, "Dis-Order: Every Disney Film"; and much, much more! All of it together makes for a fun, fascinating episode you want to be sure you don't miss!
Enjoy, y'all! And keep your eyes on your feeds this upcoming Thursday for the next installment of "Another Christmas Story" - Chapter Thirteen, which will be read to you by the awesome and always hilarious Mike Westfall of "Advent Calendar House"! 

"Another Christmas Story" - Chapter Twelve - Christmas Wrapping - As Read By Scarlett Alexandra Of "NetfliXmas Podcast"

Happy Thursday, Christmas fanatics! Welcome to the thirteenth official installment of "Another Christmas Story"!
This week, Scarlett Alexandra of the always amazing and hilarious "NetfliXmas Podcast" will read to all of you Chapter Twelve of our tale, entitled "Christmas Wrapping". Within this chapter, we switch back to the perspectives of Joey Nazario and Mary Holiday as they cross paths again for the first time in the decade since their Christmas Eve blowout. Trust us when we say, Scarlett truly raised the bar this episode with her incredible reading of this chapter. And make sure to stay through the end credits to hear some hilarious bloopers of her recording as well! 
We hope you like it! If you do, make sure to share this episode and our website, upon which the text of this installment is posted, to get it in front of as many eyes as possible! Make sure to check your podcast feeds for your regular weekly episode on Monday, in which the elves journey back to the wonderful world of Rankin/Bass to discuss the 1968 special, "The Little Drummer Boy", based on the song of the same name, and next Thursday for the thirteenth official chapter of this story - "Chapter Thirteen: Christmas Time Is Here", which Mike Westfall of "Advent Calendar House" will be reading to you! In it, we switch back to the points of view of Aaron Rankin and his classmates on their Christmas Eve field trip to New York City!

That's Right, Bamm-Bamm. Everyone But Fred! (A Flintstones Christmas Carol)

This week the elves are joined by their good friend Sean Sotka from Christmas Podcasts Podcast, a podcast about all of your favorite Christmas podcasts. Together, have a good time talking Wisconsin, the classic Christmas-made-for-tv-movie A Flintstones Christmas Carol, and unpopular Christmas takes.
Also - make sure to keep your eyes on your podcast feeds this upcoming Thursday for the next chapter (Chapter Twelve!) of Another Christmas Story as read to you by Scarlett Alexandra of "NetfliXmas Podcast"! 

"Another Christmas Story" - Chapter Eleven - We Three Kings - As Read By Claude Bélanger

Happy Thursday, Christmas fanatics! Welcome to the twelfth official installment of "Another Christmas Story"!
This week, listener Claude Bélanger will read to all of you Chapter Eleven of our tale, entitled "We Three Kings". Within this chapter, we switch back to the perspective of President Emily Williams as she and her entourage arrive in New York City on Christmas Eve to greet her foreign visitors from Canada and England.
We hope you like it! If you do, make sure to share this episode and our website, upon which the text of this installment is posted, to get it in front of as many eyes as possible! Make sure to check your podcast feeds for your regular weekly episode on Monday, in which the elves are joined by Sean Sotka of "Christmas Podcasts Podcast to talk "A Flintstones Christmas Carol", and next Thursday for the twelfth official chapter of this story - "Chapter Twelve: Christmas Wrapping", which Scarlett of NetfliXmas will be reading to you! In it, Joey and Mary are reunited in the present for the first time since their blowout we witnessed in the prologue, which occurred ten years prior!
Enjoy, y'all!

What Is A Clown Doing Next To Baby Jesus? (Home Improvement)

Happy Monday, Christmas fanatics! This week, the elves gather at the North Pole to discuss the classic 90's television comedy, Home Improvement, for the last time! For those of you who want to join along and watch at home, the last batch of Christmas episodes we talk about are the following:
Season 5, Episode 12 - 'Twas the Flight Before Christmas 
Season 7, Episode 11 - Bright Christmas
Season 8, Episode 11 - Home for the Holidays
How do these Christmas episodes compare to the first two batches Home Improvement released? Are they as atmospheric and effective? Also discussed: the elves' Easter celebrations; the results of Round 2 of "Tis the Podcast's Ultimate Christmas Movie March Madness Bracket" and their predictions for Round 3; Anthony makes an embarrassing confession regarding his TV habits at this point during pandemic life and reveals how into a certain "reality" show he is; and much, much more! So, enjoy, and make sure to keep your eyes on your podcast feeds this upcoming Thursday for the next chapter of Another Christmas Story as read to you by listener, Claude Bélanger! 

"Another Christmas Story" - Chapter Ten - Carol of the Bells - As Read By Anthony Caruso

Happy Thursday, Christmas fanatics! Welcome to the eleventh official installment of "Another Christmas Story"!
This week, our very own Anthony Caruso will read to all of you Chapter Ten of our tale, entitled "Carol of the Bells". Within this chapter, we switch back to Aaron Rankin's point of view as he and his classmates arrive in New York City for their Christmastime class trip!
We hope you like it! If you do, make sure to share this episode and our website, upon which the text of this installment is posted, to get it in front of as many eyes as possible! Make sure to check your podcast feeds for your regular weekly episode on Monday, in which the elves will cover the last batch of "Home Improvement" Christmas episodes, and next Thursday for the twelfth official chapter of this story - "Chapter Eleven: We Three Kings", which listener, Claude Bélanger, will be reading to you!
Enjoy, y'all!

In The Words Of The Immortal Saint, Frosty The Snowman, "God Bless Us, Everyone". (ALF)

Happy Monday, Christmas fanatics! We hope you had an incredible Easter weekend and the Easter Bunny was good to you all! This week, the elves gather to discuss the two Christmas episodes of the hit 80's show, "ALF"! For those of you who want to watch along at home, the episodes discussed are:
Season 1, Episode 12 - Oh, Tannerbaum 
Season 2, Episodes 11 and 12 - ALF's Special Christmas
When it comes to the infamous Season 2 holiday special in particular, the elves take a pretty deep, extensive dive into the history of this baffling episode, which left all three quite depressed and confused, and allows Julia to go on a disappointed rant for the first time in a long time. While there's plenty of love and nostalgia for "ALF" the show and ALF the character - especially on the parts of Thom and Anthony - is it enough to rank both of these episodes high? Or does the true story that inspired the second episode, in addition to its overly saccharine and contrived nature, bog it down?
Also discussed in this episode: the elves talk about the results of the Round 1 voting for the Tis the Podcast March Madness bracket to determine the Ultimate Christmas movie; the trailer for James Gunn's The Suicide Squad; Anthony teases the newest tattoo he's getting; listener answers to the Question of the Week are read; and much, much, much more.
So settle in and relax with your leftover Easter Chocolate, open those windows and allow that cool Spring breeze inside, allow the elves to take you back in time to the 80's on a trip to Melmac, and enjoy this fun episode! And get excited because, now that we are post-Easter, we are one major holiday closer to Christmas! 
Also - make sure to keep your eyes on your podcast feeds this upcoming Thursday for the next chapter (Chapter Ten!) of Another Christmas Story as read to you by our very own Anthony Caruso! 
 
*Note: The deep dive article into "ALF's Special Christmas" that the elves repeatedly refer to in this episode can be found at the following link.* 

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' To Town

Happy Easter, Christmas Fanatics! With the weather outside finally warming up, signaling the arrival of Spring, we here at "Tis the Podcast" wanted to show our appreciation for you by sharing a very special Easter episode of the show in which Julia, Thom, and Anthony cover the 1977, Rankin/Bass stop-motion-animation special, "The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town" - the quasi-sequel to 1970's Christmas classic, "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"!  This once Patreon-exclusive episode is a blast from the past, so travel back one year ago as the three hosts discuss this not-very-original holiday special, and listen as Thom does an impression of one of the characters that ranks up there as the best impression ever heard on "Tis the Podcast"! Enjoy! And Patrons - make sure to check your Patreon feeds today in which you'll find a new Patreon-exclusive Easter episode, in which the elves cover the 1976 traditionally animated Rankin/Bass special, "The First Easter Rabbit"!