Reviews

It was good to see the gang again. The writing was sprightly and stylish, but the premise was all wrong. Who cares about a eulogy for Alan Brady? That angle fell completely flat. I would much rather have spent more time with Rob and Laura in their old living room where we had last seen them; and in color!

As far as I'm concerned, the whole show should have centered around Rob and Laura selling their home in New Rochelle and moving into that Manhattan apartment. It would have been a more fitting way to bring us from the 60s and into the 21st Century. It also would have had more of the flavor of the old show as they faced quirky prospective buyers, real estate agents, etc. Alan Brady could have made an offer to buy the house and turn it into a rental property with a shrewd Ritchie stepping up to buy it out from under him.

One last party at the New Rochelle house to celebrate the move would have given the cast a chance to reminisce over archival footage. It would have been far more upbeat than spending an hour talking about death. Who knows? It could have provided Carl Reiner with a great platform for spinning off another reunion show. With critics panning this reunion as they did, they may never do another reunion episode again. I hope that's not the case.

Shower of Stars' presentation of "A Christmas Carol" won an Emmy in 1954 for Best Art Direction in a Taped Program and was nominated for three others (Best Actor Single Performance - March, Best Individual Program, and Best Original Music - Herrmann). A DVD of the performance is available through PassportDVD.com.

March does a fine job with the material, even in a couple of strangely static musical interludes--after Marley's ghost exits and when Tiny Tim insists on singing his Christmas song for Scrooge at the dinner table. Those moments could have received better treatment. Yes, March's nose is augmented; but this is a typical opera stage convention for crotchety characters of any ethnicity. It's not too terribly distracting.

The music is drop-dead gorgeous. Bernard Herrmann wrote some of the most hauntingly beautiful music ever heard at the movies. This presentation is no exception.

A few flaws... Ray Middleton's performance is a bit over the top as Fred. The "Very Merry Christmas" song goes on forever when it's introduced by the Ghost of Christmas Present. The ending is not very strong; the 2.5 minute "Bless Us Everyone" song at the finale is accompanied only by one loooooooooooong closeup of March reacting to what he hears. The director could have used this song to much better effect.

Overall, "A Christmas Carol" is a very enjoyable Christmas treat! I wish there were a copy of it in it's original color presentation.