Popular culture author and researcher Joanna Wilson has written a new book, The Christmas TV Companion: a Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials and Outrageous Oddities that will add a twinkle to your holiday viewing entertainment. She has collected the most unusual, overlooked and often bizarre episodes with a Christmas theme to add to your regular holiday TV schedule.
For TV junkies and pop culture aficionados, this book offers suggestions as well as commentary for an expanded array of holiday material. The Christmas TV Companion includes science fiction episodes, macabre Christmas-themed installments, off-beat animated programming, extraordinary musical experiences from variety series, and a miscellany of dark-themed installments and stylized films that are surprisingly antithetical to traditional Christmas. The listings are specially selected for their unusual interest as well as their accessibility. There is something here for every TV viewer looking to watch something different this holiday season.
Loaded with pop culture references, Wilson's book is an engaging survey of fascinating Christmas programming from television and film history, as well as the cutting-edge, irreverent material of today. The book is filled with summaries and commentary written with the enthusiasm of a true pop culture lover. Wilson's contagious passion for this unique subject is infused with her own brand of humorous dry wit and insight.
Not only does Wilson uncover interesting cult themed chapters of the most unusual Christmas material, but she also makes the book a practical guide. She includes family-friendly suggestions for each themed chapter for children to participate along with adults. And, there are nine Make Your Own Marathon (MYOM) recommendations to help one schedule their own holiday viewing. Of the nine, there are MYOM lists for each themed chapter (i.e., sci-fi, macabre, variety, animation, and dark). Have you ever considered watching a Star Trek-inspired Christmas marathon? There are also MYOM lists between each chapter that provide additional unique viewing opportunities. For example, Wilson compiles a marathon on the coolest and hippest of our culture who appear in Christmas material. Did you know Steve McQueen stars in a Christmas episode of the classic TV western Wanted Dead or Alive? Another example of a MYOM features overlooked Christmas specials of the past that deserve a second chance for a wider audience. Additionally, the book's appendix offers readers guidelines for creating their own holiday viewing marathons on a theme befitting their own tastes.
Wilson's book is a one-of-a-kind assemblage of pop culture research and commentary. It is sure to be a must-have Christmas book for every TV junkie and pop culture fan.
