You Will Be Visited By Three Ghosts!!! Christmas Carols in the TVCU
First, don't expect me to be pumping out a new blog every day, but I'm in the mood and I did make a Christmas promise to cover Scrooge.
Second, I don't usually cover material that originated from literature, but the three ghosts tend to return as a very traditional Christmas season TV trope, thus making them as worthy of inclusion as historical characters or mythical beings.
Note that as with Dracula, Tarzan, ect, I will not cover appearances and crossovers from literature and comics. That doesn't meant they don't exist in the TVCU. They just aren't my focus here. My upcoming Horror Crossover Universe will not be covering A Christmas Carol, despite its supernatural elements, as its genre is much more of a holiday/religious theme.
December 24 to 25, 1837--A CHRISTMAS CAROL--A miserly man named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three ghosts, who show him his past, present, and future, in an attempt to save him his soul from damnation by getting him to redeem himself. Though called ghosts or spirits, in fact, the only real ghost in the story is Scrooge's deceased partner Marley, who comes first to warn Scrooge. The three seem to be in fact angels (the third, the Ghost of Christmas Future, perhaps being an Angel of Death). It seems, especially based on future follow up stories, that these angels are not the only ones to serve this assignment. It seems to be a temporary gig. And additionally, the angels can take different forms, sometimes choosing to take forms (and personalities) of people more familiar to the chosen to make the process easier. Note that on this night the Ghostbusters (the Real ones) find themselves transported back in time from the 1980s and being disoriented, see the three ghosts and capture them. They return to find themselves in an alternate timeline where Christmas was no longer celebrated. They return to Scrooge's time and release the ghosts at the appropriate time so events go on as they should and the timeline is restored. (Some might argue that the Ghostbusters didn't actually return to their timeline's past, but to the mirror universe, but if that were the case, then they wouldn't have been able to restore events to normal.) (From episode X-Mas Marks the Spot)
Victorian Era--BLACKADDER'S CHRISTMAS CAROL--Three ghosts try to convince a very kind, caring and generous Blackadder how his ways will lead to a dark future.
Meanwhile--A KLINGON CHRISTMAS CAROL--set on the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS
December 24 to 25, 1837--MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL--Looniverse--From Thomas Paul Jennings: Apparently the design of (An American Tail) Fievel's father was from the chairman of the Rescue Aid Society in Disney's The Rescurers. Also some mice that appeared in The Rescuers make appearances in The Great Mouse Detective which itself shares a Lizard with Alice in Wonderland and has the same Big Ben chime as Mickey's Christmas Carol.
December 23 to 25, 1842--BUGS BUNNY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL--Looniverse--This one is tough for me. I consider Mickey's Christmas Carol to be the official Looniverse version of that tale. In this version, Sam is Scrooge, Porky is Cratchit. Bugs is dresses as a ghost to scare Scrooge. This can be reconciled. Because the story is such a variant, especially there being no ghosts or time travel, as well as the fact Scrooge here owns Cratchit's home and not only fires Cratchit but kicks him and his family out of their homes, it seems as if this may not be the same story, but just something coincidentally similar. So of course, let me say that this is an ancestor of Bugs. This Cratchit is an ancestor of Porky and this Scrooge is an ancestor of Sam. This also features ancestors of Sylvester, Tweety, Pepe Le Pew and Foghorn Leghorn.
1844--CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MOVIE--Doctor Who Universe--Not only does the same actor (Simon Callow) play Charles Dickens in both Doctor Who episodes "The Unquiet Dead" and "Wedding of River Song", but also plays him in Christmas Carol: The Movie. In fact, his dress, his beard, everything is the same. EVEN THE STAGE AND THE SPEECH HE GIVES TO INTRODUCE THE STORY IS THE SAME, EXCEPT IN THE MOVIE, THE STORY IS INTERRUPTED BRIEFLY BY A MOUSE RATHER THAN BY GHOSTS. I MEAN IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME!!! So though the main portion of the movie, which is animated, is fictional, the framing parts are in the Doctor Who Universe. Merry Christmas. Incidentally, the movie was made four years before the DW episode, which means the DW folks were apparently big fans of this film to not only get the same actor, but recreate the first seen exactly, props, costumes, scripts, and all, well, until the Doctor shows up and it all goes to Hell as usual.
between late 1894 and mid 1895--Gemma Doyle trilogy--From James Bojaciuk: I just finished reading the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray at the behest of one of my best friends. Basically Victorian schoolgirls go to an alternate dimension, find magic, things happen. There's more to it than that, but we hardly need to sum up 2,000 pages of plot. The series had two crossovers proper, both with Charles Dickens characters. A Great and Terrible Beauty (book one) featured an appearance of Mr. Bumble, who was very similar to the Mr. Bumble that Oliver Twist encountered. This man is likely the nephew of the original Mr. Bumble. In the last book, The Sweet Far Thing, Felicity Worthington makes the comment that someone will soon be "as fat as Fezziwig." Mr. Fezziwig was the employer of young Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Late in the last novel, when the walls between realities are breaking, all the skies turn blood red. I don't think I need to tell you what that means--we've got another Red Skies Crossover with the Crisis on Infinite Earths! Strange how these things just sneak up on you.
19th century--SHERLOCK HOLMES IN ORBIT “THE MOUSE AND THE MASTER” (SHORT STORY BY BRIAN M. THOMPSON)--A man attends a seance with several notable figures. Because of the characters involved, and references in the book to their individual chronologies that don’t match up, this must take place in a divergent timeline. Crosses: Dracula (Brian M. Thompson); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; A Picture of Dorian Gray; A Christmas Carol; Alice in Wonderland; Around the World in 80 Days
December 1962--MISTER MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL--Looniverse--Not a real cross with A Christmas Carol, as Scrooge is only performing in a broadway production of the story, but appearing as as guest star is Gerald McBoing-Boing.
1970--THE ODD COUPLE--"Scrooge gets an Oscar"--Oscar is visited by three ghosts, who take the form of Oscar's poker buddies.
1975--SANFORD AND SON--"Ebenezer Sanford"--Fred Sanford is visited by the three spirits. (Or was it a dream?)
1980--WKRP IN CINCINATTI--"Bah Humbug"--After eating some brownies he gets from DJ Dr. Johnny Fever, Mr. Carlson is visited by three ghosts.
1981--ALICE--"Mel's Christmas Carol"--Mel is visited by the spirits.
1983--FAMILY TIES--"A Keaton Christmas Carol"--Alex P. Keaton (now of course the republican senator from Ohio) is visited by three spirits who take the form of his family.
Christmas 1986--THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (ANIMATED SERIES)--SEASON 1 EPISODE 13 “X-MAS MARKS THE SPOT”--The Ghostbusters walk through some thick fog and are actually transported to Victorian era London where they interrupt the events of the three ghosts teaching Ebenezer Scrooge his lesson about the true meaning of Christmas by capturing the ghosts. Returning to the present, they find the world a much colder, darker place. They realize their alteration of the timeline has caused this, and return to the past to set the ghosts free to continue their lesson. This story brings A Christmas Carol into the Television Crossover Universe. Though a ghost story with spooky moments, I don’t consider the Charles Dickens classic a horror novel. It’s just too ingrained in my mind as a Christmas tale, that I associate with It’s a Wonderful Life, Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, and Charlie Brown.
1988—Michaelangelo #1—“A Christmas Carol”; Jim Lawson--Raphael, annoyed by Christmas cheer, runs off into the night to be alone and cranky; like so many annoyed people on Christmas day, his plans to be alone and cranky are utterly ruined by three ghosts trying to show him the error of his ways. I hardly need to make note that over the course of the story Ralph endures reruns of his childhood, sees his family good-naturedly making fun of him when he’s not around, and sees an insane older version of himself hiding in a swamp. Okay, Scrooge didn’t see that last one. Eventually Ralph learns the errors of his way, just like everyone else pestered by the Ghosts of Christmas, and wishes his family a “Merry Christmas!”
December 1988--SCROOGED--Santa appears. (Coming tomorrow will be a blog about the Christmas ghosts of Past, Present, and Future in the TVCU.)
1989--A DIFFERENT WORLD--"For Whom the Jingle Bell Tolls"--Whitney is visited by three ghosts who take on the forms of her friends and teachers.
1993-ish--BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD--Bongo Anomaly--Beavis is visited by the three ghosts.
1996--MARTIN--"Scrooge"--Martin is visited by the spirits.
1996--THE SPOOKTACULAR NEW ADVENTURES OF CASPER--"A Christmas Peril/Ms. Banshee's Holiday Hits/Good Morning Dr. Harvey/Fright Before Christmas"--Looniverse--The Three Ghosts appear, as well as other ghosts, of course.
November 2001--FAMILY GUY--"Screwed the Pooch"--Bongo AnomalyAfter Joe tells Peter to find a common ground with Lois’ father, Peter acts upon the advice as if he were Ebenezer Scrooge; he shouts at Bob Cratchit, who’s copying letters in the corner, telling him he has to work through Christmas, like in A Christmas Carol. Cratchit asks, “But, sir, what of Tiny Tim?” Peter responds, “Bah, he and his ukulele shall go wanting”, a reference to Tiny Tim the musician, not Cratchit’s son. The puppies born with human faces at the Quahog Animal Clinic recalls the pig who looked suspiciously like Herbert Garrison in “An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig” (South Park). Linda Blair from The Exorcist is at Brian’s trial, and does her famous 360-degree head-turning and vomiting.
2002--AQUA UNIT PATROL SQUAD 1--"Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past From the Future"--A robot that claims to be a ghost from the future (or possibly the past) arrives to lecture Carl and the Aqua Teen Hunger Force about how Christmas was celebrated in the past (or possibly the future).
December 2003--HEBREW HAMMER--One of the other dimensional tulpa variants of Santa is killed by his evil son, who wants to destroy Chanukah. The Jewish Justice League (not to be confused with that other Justice League) sends the Hebrew Hammer to save Chanukah. The Hammer's office is down the hall from Mike Hammer's, though probably not the original Mike Hammer but a relative. Also, Santa's son has an evil henchman who appears to be young Tiny Tim from Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL all grown up, and not such a good person.
2003--AQUA UNIT PATROL SQUAD 1--"The Last One"--The robot ghost returns.
December 2004--KARROLL’S CHRISTMAS (FILM)--Ever since he was humiliated in public by his girlfriend on Christmas, Allen Karrol has come to hate Christmas. He also hates his mean neighbor Zed Rosecog. On Christmas Eve, Allen gets visited first by Jacob Marley, then by the ghosts of Christmas Present, Past, and Future. The problem is they went to the wrong address. They were to visit Mr. Rosecog, and thus show Allen Mr. Rosecog’s present, past and future Christmases. Despite this, Allen still learns a lesson about the Christmas spirit, and how his own life has been intertwined with his neighbor. The film indicates that the original Dickens novel happened, and visits by three ghosts is a regular thing, but that the job is not always done by the same three ghosts. The Jacob Marley is not the same from A Christmas Carol. This one was related to Bob Marley. One of the ghosts references other ghosts he knows, including the Headless Horseman, Scooby-Doo, and Casper. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is already in. Is Scooby dead? Yes, kids. In the Television Crossover Universe, Scooby is dead. In fact, he was eaten in the film Slither. This crossover brings in Casper, the Friendly Ghost, but which version? Though I’m sure the implication is the cartoon version, there’s no solid in-story evidence to verify that. Therefore, my assumption is to consider this a reference to the version from the live action films. The first Casper film had a crossover with Ghostbusters, and thus is already solidly in the Television Crossover Universe. A ghost also makes a reference in which he compares himself to Freddy Krueger. Though that could be a pop culture reference or a reference to a real person, in this instance, since this film has already been demonstrated to fit in the Television Crossover Universe, we should just assume that this is indeed a reference to the Springwood Slasher.
2005--AQUA UNIT PATROL SQUAD 1--"Deleted Scenes"--The robot ghost returns.
2006--AMERICAN DAD--"The Best Christmas Story Never"--Bongo Anomaly--A new ghost of Christmas past, whose last job was a tooth fairy, brings Stan back to his childhood to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. Stan bolts, realizing that this is his opportunity to kill Jane Fonda before she ruins everything. Needless to say, a divergent timeline is created where the Soviets rule modern America. (Hey, is this the Red Dawn timeline?) Eventually, things are set right.
2010--THE SUITE LIFE ON DECK--"A London Carol"--Rather than three ghosts, London's mirror does the job. (And I just threw in another Disney show. Take that!!!)
2012--THE HIGH FRUCTOSE ADVENTURES OF THE ANNOYING ORANGE--"Orange Carol"--Looniverse--When it comes to animated stuff, it's really getting hard for me to keep track of what hasn't been connected yet. But if it's on Cartoon Network, it's usually safe to say it's in the Looniverse or the TVCU. In this case, I'm betting the Looniverse. Anyways, the Annoying Orange gets visited by the three ghosts.
April 2013--RAISING HOPE--"Arbor Daze"--Crossover with A Christmas Carol of sorts.
2013—Deadpool Killustrated; Cullen Bunn, Matteo Lolli, Sean Parsons, and Veronica Gandini
One of the infinite Deadpools in the infinite multiverse has a problem.
He knows he's fictional. He's a puppet dancing at the edge of a pen, colorist's brush tickling his funny places.
So he sets out, guns and swords and insanity and incredibly awful one-liners in tow, to kill every fictional universe, and keep on killing every fictional universe, until he arrives at Earth Zero and can murder every last writer. So it goes. We find him at the far end of the Marvel multiverse, having carved and shot and exploded his way from somewhere near the center out to the fringes. He forces captive mad scientists to make him a portal into the next multiverse over. As he leaves, he murders them with a pre-prepared trap.
But before they die, the mad scientists send a distress signal through the portal. It arrives in 1895 London, where it is swiftly brought to 221b Baker Street. The Holmes tulpa quickly gets the signal in order; and discovers that a madman is out, killing the universe. Because, as Deadpool thinks, killing the Commonwealth--or, as he calls it, the "Ideaverse"--will wipe away every character inspired by the tulpa.
Therefore, killing Mowgli prevents the existence of Tarzan and Ka-Zarr; or murdering the Little Meremaid prevents Namor. It's incredibly unlikely, but other kind of plan would you expect Deadpool to concoct?
While's he's out and about, killing everything you ever loved, Holmes fetches The Time Traveller's time machine. He and the Watson tulpa collect their own team to hunt down Deadpool: Beowulf, the monster-killer; Natty Bumpo, the tracker, Hua Mulan, the warrior; and the ever-trusty Dr. John H. Watson.
During this time, Deadpool implants one of his alternate personalities in Frankenstein's monster.
Holmes and his hunters track Deadpool all across the Commonwealth; finally, they confront him in 1627 Paris, over the corpses of the Three Musketeers. A fight ensues. Beowulf dies at the hands of Frankenstein's Monsters, which Watson then guns down. Deadpool steals the time machine, planning to deal a final blow to the Commonwealth. Holmes clambers aboard himself, and the two battle as spacetime passes them by. Just as Moriarty before him, Deadpool is thrown far away into the void of space.
The Commonwealth, however, is mortally wounded. No-one remembers the stories as they were. Things break apart, break down, like a wound allowed to fester. All that can repair it is memory. And so Holmes begins to recite, from memory, every altered story...
"My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be..."
The Commonwealth begins to heal.
Deadpool murders, in order: Don Quixote and Sancho, Moby Dick, Pinocchio (who was inside Moby Dick's belly), Ismael (from Moby Dick), Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin, Dracula and his brides, the Headless Horseman (in reality, Brom Bones), the Little Women, Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Future, Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau and his ani-men, the entire island of Lilliput, Julius Caesar and all of his murderers, the wonderfully heroic Kaa, Baloo Mowgil, and Baghera, the entire crew of the Hispaniola (from Treasure Island), Captain Ahab, Captain Nemo, and the Little Mermaid, Scylla and Charybdis, the three witches (from Macbeth), the narrator and the Raven (from Poe's "The Raven"), Dorian Grey, Gregor Samsa (from Kafka's The Metamorphosis), The Three Musketeers (and D'artagnan), Natty Bumpo, and, lastly, Beowulf.
With the universe restored, all of Deadpool's murders are undone and the stories resume their natural course.
Sometimes in a future--A JETSONS CHRISTMAS CAROL--Mr. Spacely, head of Spacely Sprockets and boss of George Jetson, gets visited by the ghosts.
ALTERNATE REALITIES: Mickey Mouse, the Looney Tunes gang, Mr. Magoo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Sesame, Dennis the Menace and Doctor Who have all but homaged, spoofed and lampooned the famous Charles Dickens Christmas story, A Christmas Carol. (Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, A Special Sesame Street Christmas, Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol, Mickey's Christmas Carol, A Jetson Christmas Carol, Blackadder's Christmas Carol, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Flintstones Christmas Carol, An All Dogs Christmas Carol, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo, Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas, A Dennis the Menace Christmas and Doctor Who in: A Christmas Carol respectively)
LOONIVERSE--From Thomas Paul Jennings: Apparently the design of (An American Tail) Fievel's father was from the chairman of the Rescue Aid Society in Disney's The Rescurers. Also some mice that appeared in The Rescuers make appearances in The Great Mouse Detective which itself shares a Lizard with Alice in Wonderland and has the same Big Ben chime as Mickey's Christmas Carol.
MUPPET UNIVERSE--As I've said before, everything is real somewhere. Even fiction within fiction. The Muppets exist in the TVCU. But many of them are actors, and they make movies. In the TVCU, they are just fictional movies, but in the MUPPET UNIVERSE, they are real. This includes, (but is not limited to) CinderElmo, the Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, the Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Muppet Classic Theater, Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince, and Elmos' Musical Adventure: Peter and the Wolf.
Second, I don't usually cover material that originated from literature, but the three ghosts tend to return as a very traditional Christmas season TV trope, thus making them as worthy of inclusion as historical characters or mythical beings.
Note that as with Dracula, Tarzan, ect, I will not cover appearances and crossovers from literature and comics. That doesn't meant they don't exist in the TVCU. They just aren't my focus here. My upcoming Horror Crossover Universe will not be covering A Christmas Carol, despite its supernatural elements, as its genre is much more of a holiday/religious theme.
December 24 to 25, 1837--A CHRISTMAS CAROL--A miserly man named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three ghosts, who show him his past, present, and future, in an attempt to save him his soul from damnation by getting him to redeem himself. Though called ghosts or spirits, in fact, the only real ghost in the story is Scrooge's deceased partner Marley, who comes first to warn Scrooge. The three seem to be in fact angels (the third, the Ghost of Christmas Future, perhaps being an Angel of Death). It seems, especially based on future follow up stories, that these angels are not the only ones to serve this assignment. It seems to be a temporary gig. And additionally, the angels can take different forms, sometimes choosing to take forms (and personalities) of people more familiar to the chosen to make the process easier. Note that on this night the Ghostbusters (the Real ones) find themselves transported back in time from the 1980s and being disoriented, see the three ghosts and capture them. They return to find themselves in an alternate timeline where Christmas was no longer celebrated. They return to Scrooge's time and release the ghosts at the appropriate time so events go on as they should and the timeline is restored. (Some might argue that the Ghostbusters didn't actually return to their timeline's past, but to the mirror universe, but if that were the case, then they wouldn't have been able to restore events to normal.) (From episode X-Mas Marks the Spot)
Victorian Era--BLACKADDER'S CHRISTMAS CAROL--Three ghosts try to convince a very kind, caring and generous Blackadder how his ways will lead to a dark future.
Meanwhile--A KLINGON CHRISTMAS CAROL--set on the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS
December 24 to 25, 1837--MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL--Looniverse--From Thomas Paul Jennings: Apparently the design of (An American Tail) Fievel's father was from the chairman of the Rescue Aid Society in Disney's The Rescurers. Also some mice that appeared in The Rescuers make appearances in The Great Mouse Detective which itself shares a Lizard with Alice in Wonderland and has the same Big Ben chime as Mickey's Christmas Carol.
December 23 to 25, 1842--BUGS BUNNY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL--Looniverse--This one is tough for me. I consider Mickey's Christmas Carol to be the official Looniverse version of that tale. In this version, Sam is Scrooge, Porky is Cratchit. Bugs is dresses as a ghost to scare Scrooge. This can be reconciled. Because the story is such a variant, especially there being no ghosts or time travel, as well as the fact Scrooge here owns Cratchit's home and not only fires Cratchit but kicks him and his family out of their homes, it seems as if this may not be the same story, but just something coincidentally similar. So of course, let me say that this is an ancestor of Bugs. This Cratchit is an ancestor of Porky and this Scrooge is an ancestor of Sam. This also features ancestors of Sylvester, Tweety, Pepe Le Pew and Foghorn Leghorn.
1844--CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MOVIE--Doctor Who Universe--Not only does the same actor (Simon Callow) play Charles Dickens in both Doctor Who episodes "The Unquiet Dead" and "Wedding of River Song", but also plays him in Christmas Carol: The Movie. In fact, his dress, his beard, everything is the same. EVEN THE STAGE AND THE SPEECH HE GIVES TO INTRODUCE THE STORY IS THE SAME, EXCEPT IN THE MOVIE, THE STORY IS INTERRUPTED BRIEFLY BY A MOUSE RATHER THAN BY GHOSTS. I MEAN IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME!!! So though the main portion of the movie, which is animated, is fictional, the framing parts are in the Doctor Who Universe. Merry Christmas. Incidentally, the movie was made four years before the DW episode, which means the DW folks were apparently big fans of this film to not only get the same actor, but recreate the first seen exactly, props, costumes, scripts, and all, well, until the Doctor shows up and it all goes to Hell as usual.
between late 1894 and mid 1895--Gemma Doyle trilogy--From James Bojaciuk: I just finished reading the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray at the behest of one of my best friends. Basically Victorian schoolgirls go to an alternate dimension, find magic, things happen. There's more to it than that, but we hardly need to sum up 2,000 pages of plot. The series had two crossovers proper, both with Charles Dickens characters. A Great and Terrible Beauty (book one) featured an appearance of Mr. Bumble, who was very similar to the Mr. Bumble that Oliver Twist encountered. This man is likely the nephew of the original Mr. Bumble. In the last book, The Sweet Far Thing, Felicity Worthington makes the comment that someone will soon be "as fat as Fezziwig." Mr. Fezziwig was the employer of young Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Late in the last novel, when the walls between realities are breaking, all the skies turn blood red. I don't think I need to tell you what that means--we've got another Red Skies Crossover with the Crisis on Infinite Earths! Strange how these things just sneak up on you.
It's strongly possible that the world the girls end up in is a post-apocalyptic Narnia several hundred years after Aslan destroyed it. My reasons for believing this will be covered in the Narnia blog. All three novels would have taken place between late 1894 and mid 1895 (TVCU time).
19th century--SHERLOCK HOLMES IN ORBIT “THE MOUSE AND THE MASTER” (SHORT STORY BY BRIAN M. THOMPSON)--A man attends a seance with several notable figures. Because of the characters involved, and references in the book to their individual chronologies that don’t match up, this must take place in a divergent timeline. Crosses: Dracula (Brian M. Thompson); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; A Picture of Dorian Gray; A Christmas Carol; Alice in Wonderland; Around the World in 80 Days
1970--THE ODD COUPLE--"Scrooge gets an Oscar"--Oscar is visited by three ghosts, who take the form of Oscar's poker buddies.
1975--SANFORD AND SON--"Ebenezer Sanford"--Fred Sanford is visited by the three spirits. (Or was it a dream?)
1980--WKRP IN CINCINATTI--"Bah Humbug"--After eating some brownies he gets from DJ Dr. Johnny Fever, Mr. Carlson is visited by three ghosts.
1981--ALICE--"Mel's Christmas Carol"--Mel is visited by the spirits.
1983--FAMILY TIES--"A Keaton Christmas Carol"--Alex P. Keaton (now of course the republican senator from Ohio) is visited by three spirits who take the form of his family.
Christmas 1986--THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (ANIMATED SERIES)--SEASON 1 EPISODE 13 “X-MAS MARKS THE SPOT”--The Ghostbusters walk through some thick fog and are actually transported to Victorian era London where they interrupt the events of the three ghosts teaching Ebenezer Scrooge his lesson about the true meaning of Christmas by capturing the ghosts. Returning to the present, they find the world a much colder, darker place. They realize their alteration of the timeline has caused this, and return to the past to set the ghosts free to continue their lesson. This story brings A Christmas Carol into the Television Crossover Universe. Though a ghost story with spooky moments, I don’t consider the Charles Dickens classic a horror novel. It’s just too ingrained in my mind as a Christmas tale, that I associate with It’s a Wonderful Life, Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, and Charlie Brown.
1988—Michaelangelo #1—“A Christmas Carol”; Jim Lawson--Raphael, annoyed by Christmas cheer, runs off into the night to be alone and cranky; like so many annoyed people on Christmas day, his plans to be alone and cranky are utterly ruined by three ghosts trying to show him the error of his ways. I hardly need to make note that over the course of the story Ralph endures reruns of his childhood, sees his family good-naturedly making fun of him when he’s not around, and sees an insane older version of himself hiding in a swamp. Okay, Scrooge didn’t see that last one. Eventually Ralph learns the errors of his way, just like everyone else pestered by the Ghosts of Christmas, and wishes his family a “Merry Christmas!”
December 1988--SCROOGED--Santa appears. (Coming tomorrow will be a blog about the Christmas ghosts of Past, Present, and Future in the TVCU.)
1989--A DIFFERENT WORLD--"For Whom the Jingle Bell Tolls"--Whitney is visited by three ghosts who take on the forms of her friends and teachers.
1993-ish--BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD--Bongo Anomaly--Beavis is visited by the three ghosts.
1996--MARTIN--"Scrooge"--Martin is visited by the spirits.
1996--THE SPOOKTACULAR NEW ADVENTURES OF CASPER--"A Christmas Peril/Ms. Banshee's Holiday Hits/Good Morning Dr. Harvey/Fright Before Christmas"--Looniverse--The Three Ghosts appear, as well as other ghosts, of course.
November 2001--FAMILY GUY--"Screwed the Pooch"--Bongo AnomalyAfter Joe tells Peter to find a common ground with Lois’ father, Peter acts upon the advice as if he were Ebenezer Scrooge; he shouts at Bob Cratchit, who’s copying letters in the corner, telling him he has to work through Christmas, like in A Christmas Carol. Cratchit asks, “But, sir, what of Tiny Tim?” Peter responds, “Bah, he and his ukulele shall go wanting”, a reference to Tiny Tim the musician, not Cratchit’s son. The puppies born with human faces at the Quahog Animal Clinic recalls the pig who looked suspiciously like Herbert Garrison in “An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig” (South Park). Linda Blair from The Exorcist is at Brian’s trial, and does her famous 360-degree head-turning and vomiting.
2002--AQUA UNIT PATROL SQUAD 1--"Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past From the Future"--A robot that claims to be a ghost from the future (or possibly the past) arrives to lecture Carl and the Aqua Teen Hunger Force about how Christmas was celebrated in the past (or possibly the future).
December 2003--HEBREW HAMMER--One of the other dimensional tulpa variants of Santa is killed by his evil son, who wants to destroy Chanukah. The Jewish Justice League (not to be confused with that other Justice League) sends the Hebrew Hammer to save Chanukah. The Hammer's office is down the hall from Mike Hammer's, though probably not the original Mike Hammer but a relative. Also, Santa's son has an evil henchman who appears to be young Tiny Tim from Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL all grown up, and not such a good person.
2003--AQUA UNIT PATROL SQUAD 1--"The Last One"--The robot ghost returns.
December 2004--KARROLL’S CHRISTMAS (FILM)--Ever since he was humiliated in public by his girlfriend on Christmas, Allen Karrol has come to hate Christmas. He also hates his mean neighbor Zed Rosecog. On Christmas Eve, Allen gets visited first by Jacob Marley, then by the ghosts of Christmas Present, Past, and Future. The problem is they went to the wrong address. They were to visit Mr. Rosecog, and thus show Allen Mr. Rosecog’s present, past and future Christmases. Despite this, Allen still learns a lesson about the Christmas spirit, and how his own life has been intertwined with his neighbor. The film indicates that the original Dickens novel happened, and visits by three ghosts is a regular thing, but that the job is not always done by the same three ghosts. The Jacob Marley is not the same from A Christmas Carol. This one was related to Bob Marley. One of the ghosts references other ghosts he knows, including the Headless Horseman, Scooby-Doo, and Casper. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is already in. Is Scooby dead? Yes, kids. In the Television Crossover Universe, Scooby is dead. In fact, he was eaten in the film Slither. This crossover brings in Casper, the Friendly Ghost, but which version? Though I’m sure the implication is the cartoon version, there’s no solid in-story evidence to verify that. Therefore, my assumption is to consider this a reference to the version from the live action films. The first Casper film had a crossover with Ghostbusters, and thus is already solidly in the Television Crossover Universe. A ghost also makes a reference in which he compares himself to Freddy Krueger. Though that could be a pop culture reference or a reference to a real person, in this instance, since this film has already been demonstrated to fit in the Television Crossover Universe, we should just assume that this is indeed a reference to the Springwood Slasher.
2005--AQUA UNIT PATROL SQUAD 1--"Deleted Scenes"--The robot ghost returns.
2006--AMERICAN DAD--"The Best Christmas Story Never"--Bongo Anomaly--A new ghost of Christmas past, whose last job was a tooth fairy, brings Stan back to his childhood to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. Stan bolts, realizing that this is his opportunity to kill Jane Fonda before she ruins everything. Needless to say, a divergent timeline is created where the Soviets rule modern America. (Hey, is this the Red Dawn timeline?) Eventually, things are set right.
2010--THE SUITE LIFE ON DECK--"A London Carol"--Rather than three ghosts, London's mirror does the job. (And I just threw in another Disney show. Take that!!!)
2012--THE HIGH FRUCTOSE ADVENTURES OF THE ANNOYING ORANGE--"Orange Carol"--Looniverse--When it comes to animated stuff, it's really getting hard for me to keep track of what hasn't been connected yet. But if it's on Cartoon Network, it's usually safe to say it's in the Looniverse or the TVCU. In this case, I'm betting the Looniverse. Anyways, the Annoying Orange gets visited by the three ghosts.
April 2013--RAISING HOPE--"Arbor Daze"--Crossover with A Christmas Carol of sorts.
2013—Deadpool Killustrated; Cullen Bunn, Matteo Lolli, Sean Parsons, and Veronica Gandini
One of the infinite Deadpools in the infinite multiverse has a problem.
He knows he's fictional. He's a puppet dancing at the edge of a pen, colorist's brush tickling his funny places.
So he sets out, guns and swords and insanity and incredibly awful one-liners in tow, to kill every fictional universe, and keep on killing every fictional universe, until he arrives at Earth Zero and can murder every last writer. So it goes. We find him at the far end of the Marvel multiverse, having carved and shot and exploded his way from somewhere near the center out to the fringes. He forces captive mad scientists to make him a portal into the next multiverse over. As he leaves, he murders them with a pre-prepared trap.
But before they die, the mad scientists send a distress signal through the portal. It arrives in 1895 London, where it is swiftly brought to 221b Baker Street. The Holmes tulpa quickly gets the signal in order; and discovers that a madman is out, killing the universe. Because, as Deadpool thinks, killing the Commonwealth--or, as he calls it, the "Ideaverse"--will wipe away every character inspired by the tulpa.
Therefore, killing Mowgli prevents the existence of Tarzan and Ka-Zarr; or murdering the Little Meremaid prevents Namor. It's incredibly unlikely, but other kind of plan would you expect Deadpool to concoct?
While's he's out and about, killing everything you ever loved, Holmes fetches The Time Traveller's time machine. He and the Watson tulpa collect their own team to hunt down Deadpool: Beowulf, the monster-killer; Natty Bumpo, the tracker, Hua Mulan, the warrior; and the ever-trusty Dr. John H. Watson.
During this time, Deadpool implants one of his alternate personalities in Frankenstein's monster.
Holmes and his hunters track Deadpool all across the Commonwealth; finally, they confront him in 1627 Paris, over the corpses of the Three Musketeers. A fight ensues. Beowulf dies at the hands of Frankenstein's Monsters, which Watson then guns down. Deadpool steals the time machine, planning to deal a final blow to the Commonwealth. Holmes clambers aboard himself, and the two battle as spacetime passes them by. Just as Moriarty before him, Deadpool is thrown far away into the void of space.
The Commonwealth, however, is mortally wounded. No-one remembers the stories as they were. Things break apart, break down, like a wound allowed to fester. All that can repair it is memory. And so Holmes begins to recite, from memory, every altered story...
"My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be..."
The Commonwealth begins to heal.
Deadpool murders, in order: Don Quixote and Sancho, Moby Dick, Pinocchio (who was inside Moby Dick's belly), Ismael (from Moby Dick), Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin, Dracula and his brides, the Headless Horseman (in reality, Brom Bones), the Little Women, Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Future, Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau and his ani-men, the entire island of Lilliput, Julius Caesar and all of his murderers, the wonderfully heroic Kaa, Baloo Mowgil, and Baghera, the entire crew of the Hispaniola (from Treasure Island), Captain Ahab, Captain Nemo, and the Little Mermaid, Scylla and Charybdis, the three witches (from Macbeth), the narrator and the Raven (from Poe's "The Raven"), Dorian Grey, Gregor Samsa (from Kafka's The Metamorphosis), The Three Musketeers (and D'artagnan), Natty Bumpo, and, lastly, Beowulf.
With the universe restored, all of Deadpool's murders are undone and the stories resume their natural course.
Sometimes in a future--A JETSONS CHRISTMAS CAROL--Mr. Spacely, head of Spacely Sprockets and boss of George Jetson, gets visited by the ghosts.
ALTERNATE REALITIES: Mickey Mouse, the Looney Tunes gang, Mr. Magoo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Sesame, Dennis the Menace and Doctor Who have all but homaged, spoofed and lampooned the famous Charles Dickens Christmas story, A Christmas Carol. (Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, A Special Sesame Street Christmas, Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol, Mickey's Christmas Carol, A Jetson Christmas Carol, Blackadder's Christmas Carol, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Flintstones Christmas Carol, An All Dogs Christmas Carol, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo, Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas, A Dennis the Menace Christmas and Doctor Who in: A Christmas Carol respectively)
LOONIVERSE--From Thomas Paul Jennings: Apparently the design of (An American Tail) Fievel's father was from the chairman of the Rescue Aid Society in Disney's The Rescurers. Also some mice that appeared in The Rescuers make appearances in The Great Mouse Detective which itself shares a Lizard with Alice in Wonderland and has the same Big Ben chime as Mickey's Christmas Carol.
MUPPET UNIVERSE--As I've said before, everything is real somewhere. Even fiction within fiction. The Muppets exist in the TVCU. But many of them are actors, and they make movies. In the TVCU, they are just fictional movies, but in the MUPPET UNIVERSE, they are real. This includes, (but is not limited to) CinderElmo, the Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, the Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Muppet Classic Theater, Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince, and Elmos' Musical Adventure: Peter and the Wolf.
RICH LITTLE UNIVERSE: Kind of like Skitlandia, except there are movies, and Rich Little plays all the characters. Edith Bunker appears in Rich Little's 1978 CHRISTMAS CAROL.
Note there are many film adaptations of A Christmas Carol, and each gets its own reality. Additionally, there have been many sequels both in print and on screen (and in radio and on stage for that matter). Though I'd love to count them all, the fact is, so many contradict each other, that I'd have to choose which ones are in and I'd likely do so with bias, so it's best to keep them all in separate realities until a cross can bring them in.
Note there are many film adaptations of A Christmas Carol, and each gets its own reality. Additionally, there have been many sequels both in print and on screen (and in radio and on stage for that matter). Though I'd love to count them all, the fact is, so many contradict each other, that I'd have to choose which ones are in and I'd likely do so with bias, so it's best to keep them all in separate realities until a cross can bring them in.
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