Betamax Christmas

This year's holiday TV seems like the most anemic in memory. Flipping the TV dial, it's really striking how little Christmas stuff there is to be found on those many channels. I think I caught the end of a Rankin/Bass special around December 5th, but that's about it. What has happened to the Christmas TV of my youth? Where are all the Christmas cartoon specials? Where are any of the 400 or so adaptations of A Christmas Carol? Where's the Christmas episode of Perfect Strangers?

If, like me, you need a little retro Christmas TV, right this very minute, Betamax Christmas will put the jolly back in your holly. The site recreates a full evening of Christmas TV programming circa 1986 or so, complete with rabbit ears on the TV that you have to fiddle with to get a better picture. (You change the channel by flipping the remote floating over on the right. It seems obvious once you notice it, but it took me a while to spot it.)

Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.