Prep and Landing

 It's become a tradition to post a Xmas themed post every year.  It's also become a tradition that I end up late posting these.  So in keeping with that tradition, it's February and here's this year's Xmas post.  I surveyed the TVCU Crew for what I should cover this year, and Prep and Landing is what was decided, so here we go.  



1912 to Present--Santa has appeared on screen since 1912, in over a thousand films and television shows. Not all are TVCU canon. Of those that are, some are of the “real” Santa and some are just a man in the suit, but it’s a TVCU concept that anyone wearing the suit can become possessed by the Christmas Spirit, a magical tulpa like aspect of Jesus. Some of those appearances from the TVCU (or Television Crossover Multiverse) are: BABES IN TOYLAND, ROAD TO UTOPIA, SANTA AND THE FAIRY SNOW QUEEN, I LOVE LUCY, THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM, RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, THE FLINTSTONES, THUNDERBIRDS, BATMAN, MISTEROGERS, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, BEWITCHED, THE BRADY BUNCH, SANTA AND THE THREE BEARS, ADAM-12, MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD, THE FIRST EASTER RABBIT, RUDOLPH’S SHINY NEW YEAR, MCCLOUD, A FLINTSTONE CHRISTMAS, LOU GRANT, RAGGEDY ANN AND ANDY IN THE GREAT SANTA CLAUS CAPER, ALL IN THE FAMILY, BENJI’S VERY OWN CHRISTMAS STORY, LAVERNE & SHIRLEY, RUDOLPH AND FROSTY’S CHRISTMAS IN JULY, BUGS BUNNY’S LOONEY CHRISTMAS TALES, THE LITTLE RASCALS’ CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, A FAMILY CIRCUS CHRISTMAS, CASPER’S FIRST CHRISTMAS, ALICE, YOGI’S FIRST CHRISTMAS, A CHIPMUNK CHRISTMAS, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, DIFF’RENT STROKES, GLORIA, A CHRISTMAS STORY, T.J. HOOKER, TRANCERS, WHO’S THE BOSS?, ST. ELSEWHERE, THE FALL GUY, BABAR AND FATHER CHRISTMAS, THE GOLDEN GIRLS, D.C. FOLLIES, JAKE AND THE FATMAN, THE FACTS OF LIFE, CHEERS, NIGHT COURT, THE CHARMINGS, 3-2-1, HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN, CHRISTMAS AT PEE WEE’S PLAYHOUSE, PUNKY BREWSTER, ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS, SCROOGED, A VERY BRADY CHRISTMAS, SANTA BARBERA, THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, MACGYVER, HOME ALONE, A DIFFERENT WORLD, RED DWARF, KNOTS LANDING, INSPECTOR GADGET SAVES CHRISTMAS, MARRIED WITH CHILDREN, HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, BONKERS, PICKET FENCES, EEK! THE CAT, FAMILY MATTERS, MARTIN, THE NANNY, THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR, THE SANTA CLAUSE, LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, MURPHY BROWN, BEVERLY HILLS 90210, A.J.’S TIME TRAVELLERS, V.R. TROOPERS, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS, THE TICK, SISTER SISTER, FREAKAZOID!, NEWSRADIO, ELMO SAVES CHRISTMAS, SONIC CHRISTMAS BLAST, CAROLINE IN THE CITY, 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN, ROSEANNE, THE MUNSTERS’ SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, THE DREW CAREY SHOW, EARLY EDITION, MEEGO, STEP BY STEP, OPERATION BUGS BUNNY, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MOVIE, SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH, THE NEW ADDAMS FAMILY, RECESS, BARNEY’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, FUTURAMA, GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER, FRASIER, PROVIDENCE, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER & THE ISLAND OF MISFIT TOYS, BIG WOLF ON CAMPUS, JOHNNY BRAVO, SPIN CITY, THE HUGHLEYS, THE PARKERS, ROSWELL, THE LOBO PARAMILITARY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, EASTENDERS, THE SANTA CLAUSE 2, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, FRIDAY AFTER NEXT, RUGRATS, JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES, BECKER, THE HEBREW HAMMER, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS: ‘TWAS THE FIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, CAILLOU'S HOLIDAY MOVIE, ELF, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE: BERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS, THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS, FELIX THE CAT SAVES CHRISTMAS, MICKEY’S TWICE UPON A CHRISTMAS, SEED OF CHUCKY, LAX, AMERICAN DRAGON: JAKE LONG, THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY & MANDY, THAT ‘70S SHOW, FOSTER’S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS, MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT, THE SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE, BLACK CHRISTMAS, HOGFATHER, CHRISTMAS IN WONDERLAND, MY FRIENDS TIGGER AND POOH - SUPER SLEUTH CHRISTMAS MOVIE, A DENNIS THE MENACE CHRISTMAS, SHREK THE HALLS, ER, ELMO’S CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN, SOUTH PARK, A MUPPETS CHRISTMAS: LETTERS TO SANTA, THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS, BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, A MISER BROTHERS’ CHRISTMAS, HANNAH MONTANA, FAIRY TALE POLICE, MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, SANTA BUDDIES, BACK AT THE BARNYARD, DORA THE EXPLORER, PHINEAS AND FERB, PREP & LANDING, THE MIDDLE, CSI: NY, 30 ROCK, PREP & LANDING STOCKING STUFFER: OPERATION SECRET SANTA, THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, CRAZY DRACULA SPRING BREAK WEEKEND, A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS, ICE AGE: A MAMMOTH CHRISTMAS, PREP & LANDING: NAUGHTY VS. NICE, DAN VS., RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, SANTA PAWS 2: THE SANTA PUPS, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, REGULAR SHOW, THE LOONEY TUNES SHOW, LES MISERABLES, THE SIMPSONS, SCARY MOVIE 5, INTO THE WOOD, CHASING FAIRY TAIL, MISTER SCROOGE TO SEE YOU, THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL, GLEE, THE NOSTALGIA CRITIC, GRUMPY CAT’S WORST CHRISTMAS EVER, ELF: BUDDY’S MUSICAL CHRISTMAS, TWO AND A HALF MEN, THE LIBRARIANS, DOCTOR WHO, FAMILY GUY, AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE, BOB’S BURGERS, POWER RANGERS DINO CHARGE, MARVEL SUPER HERO ADVENTURES: FROST FIGHT!, and CORONATION STREET. (And I’m sure I’ve forgotten some still.)



December 1940--A CHRISTMAS STORY--Santa appears in this story of a child and a dream.  This is in because it has crossed with WAREHOUSE 13.  It then further pulls in PREP AND LANDING and BLACK XMAS.  [The screenplay for A Christmas Story is based on material from author Jean Shepherd's collection of short stories, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Three of the semi-autobiographical short stories on which the film is based were originally published in Playboy magazine between 1964 and 1966. Shepherd later read "Duel in the Snow, or Red Ryder nails the Cleveland Street Kid" and told the otherwise unpublished story "Flick's Tongue" on his WOR Radio talk show, as can be heard in one of the DVD extras. Bob Clark states on the DVD commentary that he became interested in Shepherd's work when he heard "Flick's Tongue" on the radio in 1968. Additional source material for the film, according to Clark, came from unpublished anecdotes that Shepherd told live audiences "on the college circuit."



December 2009--PREP AND LANDING--Wayne gets a new rookie partner, Lanny, after his previous partner got the promotion he wanted. Lanny has to remind Wayne of the Spirit of Christmas and the importance of being an elf in Santa's Prep and Landing elite unit.  James Bojaciuk places this in the last 1940s because of the appearance of Ralphie and the little girl who likes the Tin Man from A Christmas Story in the later Naughty vs. Nice.  However, this story also has a sled named Rosebud (Citizen Kane, 1941), and the Xmas tree used by Charlie Brown in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965).  There is also modern technology used, such as hacking a computer database in this series.  I suspect that due to the magical nature of the North Pole, that this may take place in the present, but that there may be some sort of time anomalies involved, perhaps created by Santa himself and his ability to travel the world in one night on Xmas eve.  



December 2010--PREP AND LANDING STOCKING STUFFER: OPERATION: SECRET SANTA--The film begins with Mrs. Claus asking the elves, Prep & Landing, to help her steal something from Santa's workshop. It's odd that neither of them question this and spend much of the cartoon trying to sneak past a sleeping Santa. But there wasn't much in the humor department nor was there much in the way of the story. Not bad, but easy to skip.



December 2011--Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice--A little girl who tried to get herself on the "nice" list by hacking Santa's database had a flashback to visiting Santa at the mall. Behind her in line were Ralphie and the kid in the leather helmet from A Christmas Story. 

December 2011--Prep & Landing:  Tiny's Big Adventure--A short film focused on Tiny the elf.



December 24 - 25, 2011--PREP AND LANDING: MANSION IMPOSSIBLE--The elves are sent to deliver gifts to Avengers Mansion, and have trouble with the mansion’s security systems. After all the trouble they endure, Santa decides next year he’ll send them to Xavier's School for the Gifted instead.


December 2014--The Simpsons--"I'll Won't Be Home for Christmas"--Prep and Landing's skeletons seen!!!  Considering that they haven't appeared since 2011, I guess they are officially dead in the TVCU!!!

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