christmastime is here!

Don't know about you ladies and gents, but Mr. Miller is puttin' this at the top of his Cul Yuletide Presents list.

From the press kit: "Are you tired of the same old Christmas TV specials? 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.

We all look forward to watching Christmas specials on TV. But, our best Christmas entertainment doesn’t need to depend on whatever happens to air in a particular year. There’s a lot more interesting Christmas programming out there than what actually broadcasts. You can choose and control your viewing schedule according to your own unique tastes. 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-center 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 passion for this unique subject is infused with humorous dry wit and insight which is contagious for her readers.

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 some guidelines for creating their own holiday viewing marathons on a theme befitting their own tastes.

The Christmas TV Companion provides every TV junkie and pop culture fan a new source of Christmas joy. Readers will be surprised at the depth and breadth of the amount and diversity of Christmas material produced for film and television in the past six decades. These installments are accessible because the book is organized into chapters by themes or genres familiar to TV fans.

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.

Author Joanna Wilson is a bona fide popular culture expert and researcher. She draws upon her education in film and philosophy to create insightful commentary on pop culture of all kinds. The Christmas TV Companion was carefully drawn from research materials Ms. Wilson has gathered for a larger, forthcoming project: a more comprehensive TV encyclopedia of Christmas-themed episodes, specials and made-for-TV movies which is due for release in 2010. This is her first book.

The Christmas TV Companion: a Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials & Outrageous Oddities
by Joanna Wilson"

Go here to the website get it for me, Santa... er, for yourself, I mean.