Rudolph’s Shiny New Year

It’s a special, post-Christmas bonus episode of the Advent Calendar House as we turn back the years to 1976 and tip our oversized hat hiding our oversized ears to Rankin/Bass’s first sequel special, “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year.”

On This EpisodeMike Westfall (@fallwestmike), the living embodiment of a friendly reminder that someday you’re going to die.Brandon Medley (@brandmed) from Blessed Are the Geek.Joey O. (@ImGonnaDJ24) from Y-Not Radio and Words With Nerds.Topics and TangentsRudolph devolves into a younger-looking reindeer, because the original model may have been lost. But also he seems to forget he can fly.According to our narrator, Father Time (Red Skelton), this story begins “on that very same foggy night.” As in Christmas Eve. When Santa’s kind of busy.I learned who Red Skelton was from a joke in a Tex Avery cartoon.Rudolph has to cross a desert to see a man who lives under a star about a baby who must be found in order to save the world.“The Phantom Tollbooth,” in example.Tik-Tok from “Return to Oz,” in example.Creepier song about time: “The Moving Finger Writes” from this, or “Older” by They Might Be Giants?Ralph Archibold, Philadelphia’s longtime Ben Franklin impersonator.Billy Corgan rides a roller coaster.Previous Episodes of This Podcast MentionedSeason 1, Bonus: The First Easter RabbitSeason 2, Episode 3: ’Twas the Night Before ChristmasSeason 2, Episode 5: The Life and Adventures of Santa ClausSeason 2, Episode 12: Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas DonkeySeason 3, Episode 2: Pinocchio’s ChristmasSeason 3, Episode 8: Mister Magoo’s Christmas CarolSeason 3, Episode 12: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

The Advent Calendar House is on the web at adventcalendar.house, on Twitter @adventcalhouse, and part of the Christmas Podcast Network.