Tag Archives: Christmas special

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The Bootleg Files: A Muppet Family Christmas

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BOOTLEG FILES 890: “A Muppet Family Christmas” (1987 television special with Kermit the Frog and a lot of friends).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS and DVD, but in edited versions.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Rights clearance issues.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not unless someone pays a lot of money to straighten things out.

This week’s column is different from its predecessors because the subject in the spotlight, the 1987 television special “A Muppet Family Christmas,” has been commercially released on VHS video and DVD. The problem is that the North American home entertainment format releases were forced to edit out a significant amount of musical numbers due to the problems in clearing the music rights for the songs. Even worse, the production has never been on Blu-ray, has never been on any streaming service and has been absent from broadcast television for decades – with little to no hope of being seen again in its entirety.
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The Bootleg Files: The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

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BOOTLEG FILES 712: “The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood” (1965 television special starring Liza Minnelli).

LAST SEEN: On DailyMotion.com.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On a highly dubious label.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The absence of the original color production.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely at all.

During the 1960s, the Christmas season brought a glut of holiday-oriented productions to television. But for every “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” that became an instant classic, there were scores of efforts that never clicked with audiences and became quickly forgotten.
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