Experience Rankin/Bass’s first festive follow-up to “Rudolph” through our eyes as we explore the 1967 TV special, “Cricket on the Hearth,” based on Charles Dickens’s other Christmas story.

On This Episode

1. Mike Westfall (@fallwestmike), chanteuse cat who has nothing to do with anything.
2. Brian Earl (@XmasPastPodcast), from the Christmas Past podcast.

Topics and Tangents

1. “Cricket on the Hearth” is the “Die Hard” of Dickens Christmas stories.
2. The history of legends about crickets on hearths bringing good luck.
3. Listen to the “Cricket on the Hearth” soundtrack.
4. Brian’s Christmas Past episode on Golden Age Christmas TV Cartoons.
5. Christmas TV History’s Joanna Wilson on Rankin/Bass Voice Actors.
6. This special takes a bizarre, hard left turn into a song about “Fish ’n’ Chips.”
7. A clearly implied, off-camera murder in the Christmas show for families, right before cutting to commercial.

Previous Episodes of This Podcast Mentioned

• Season 1, Episode 1: Frosty the Snowman
• Season 1, Bonus: The First Easter Rabbit

“Cricket on the Hearth” ©1967 Rankin/Bass Productions.

The Advent Calendar House on the web at adventcalendar.house, on Twitter @adventcalhouse, and part of the Christmas Podcast Network.