Ex-Valley resident compiles TV guide to holiday specials

By Elise Franco

Joanna Wilson is a “bona fide popular-culture expert and researcher.”

That’s how Wilson, a former Youngstown resident and author of “The Christmas TV Companion: A Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials and Outrageous Oddities,” is described by her publisher, Dominic Caruso.

Caruso, who started the publishing company 1701 Press in Cuyahoga Falls, said Wilson’s book was pitched as a handful of the strangest, wildest Christmas specials out there.

What it became was much more, he said.

“It encompassed so much more than I was actually expecting,” he said. “She presented me with all these different entries, and the writing was so incredibly witty and funny.”

“Christmas TV Companion,” released in October, is broken down into five chapters — macabre, sci-fi, animation, dark and variety. Within those categories are hundreds of entries that discuss television specials, made-for-TV movies, shorts and feature-length films.

Wilson, 41, of Cuyahoga Falls, said the book is a small selection from a larger encyclopedia of holiday specials she’s been working on since 2002.

“I’d been putting together an all-things Christmas encyclopedia,” she said. “These are just all the oddball things that came out of that.”

Wilson said to find the more unique and strange holiday specials, she spent countless days, weeks and months watching movies and shows she’d recorded on TV and checked out from libraries and video stores.

“After watching thousands of specials, there’s a lot of repeat, and this book is a lot of the more unique things that stand out, whether they’re weird or charming or unusual,” she said. “Sometimes the tone is so off the beaten path, but you can’t help but fall in love with them.”

Caruso, a Campbell native, said “The Christmas TV Companion” was the perfect first book for 1701 Press.

“Joanna had a really good idea,“ he said. “I thought it would be a good start for us.”

Wilson, who graduated from University of Toledo with a degree in philosophy and one in film studies, said her inspiration for the project came from Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

“It came from a personal project to just watch as many Christmas specials as possible; then when I was renting these things, I found a whole bunch of specials I had never seen or not seen for a while,” she said. “I began to write them down. ... Just two years ago I put a database on my computer, and only then did I realize how much data I had.”

Some of Wilson’s favorite entries include animation specials by “South Park” on Comedy Central and “Adult Swim” on Cartoon Network. She describes them as “very clever but so outrageous.”

Science fiction is one category that Wilson said seemed obscure at first, but she later discovered many holiday specials, including ones fom “Star Wars,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Alf” and “Mork & Mindy.”

“The Star Wars Holiday Special,” which aired in 1978 and starred many of the movie’s original cast, is one that Wilson described in detail.

An excerpt reads, “Within the mythos of this galaxy far, far away, they do not celebrate Christmas but their own holiday called Life Day ... in the tradition of television holiday specials, there are musical numbers and special guest stars.”

She said the two-hour special aired on TV only once and “became the stuff of legend” after bootleg copies of the film began circulating.

“Creator George Lucas ignores its existence; fans debate the rumors that it was the worst thing to ever air on TV,” she said in another excerpt.

Caruso said he’s still a fan of the more classic, traditional holiday specials.

“They’ve got this clear cheesy value, but they’re very sincere and charming,” he said.

Wilson’s full encyclopedia could be published as soon as next year, Caruso said.

“I’ve really been encouraging her to keep working to finish it,” he said.

Wilson said she’ll spend the next few months watching specials she’s recorded throughout the year in order to finish the full encyclopedia for 2010.

“Right now I’ve got two VCRs going. This is my busy time,” she said. “I’m going crazy until the first of January trying to tape all the new stuff that’s coming out this year.”

“The Christmas TV Companion” is available for purchase at www.1701press.com.

efranco@vindy.com

DATES AND LISTINGS

Today:

8 p.m.: Turner Classic Movies, “A Christmas Carol.”

8:30 p.m.: ABC Family, “The Polar Express.”

Friday:

7 p.m.: ABC Family, “Frosty’s Winter Wonderland” followed by “Home Alone.”

Saturday:

7 a.m.: ABC Family, “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.”

9 p.m.: Lifetime, “12 Men of Christmas.”

Sunday:

4 p.m.: ABC, “Elmo’s Christmas Countdown.”

Monday:

7 p.m.: ABC Family, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

8 p.m.: ABC, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

8 p.m.: Fox, “Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special.”

10 p.m.: ABC Family, “Jack Frost.”

Tuesday:

7 p.m.: ABC Family, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.”

7:30 p.m.: ABC Family, “Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too.”

8 p.m.: ABC, “Charlie Brown Christmas.”

8:30 p.m.: ABC, “Prep & Landing.”

Dec. 10:

9 p.m.: PBS, “Michael McDonald: This Christmas; A Soundstage Special Event.”

Dec. 11:

8 p.m.: “The Santa Clause 2.”

8 p.m.: NBC, “Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa.”

8 p.m.: CBS, “Yes, Virginia.”

Dec. 12:

4 p.m.: Lifetime Movie Network, “The Christmas Shoes.”

6 p.m.: Lifetime Movie Network, “The Christmas Blessing.”

8 p.m.: Lifetime Movie Network, “The Christmas Hope.”

8 p.m.: NBC, “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

Dec. 13:

8 a.m.: ABC Family, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.”

6 p.m.: ABC Family, “Santa Baby.”

8 p.m.: ABC Family, “Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe.”

Dec. 14:

5 p.m.: ABC Family, “Eloise at Christmas Time.”

8 p.m.: ABC, “Jennifer Hudson: I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

Dec. 17:

8 p.m.: NBC, “Saturday Night Live Christmas 2009.”

10 p.m.: ABC Family, “Jingle All the Way.”

Dec. 18:

8 p.m.: CBS, “Frosty the Snowman.”

8:30 p.m.: CBS, “Frosty Returns.”

Dec. 21:

7 p.m.: ABC Family, “Chasing Christmas.”

8 p.m.: ABC, “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.”

Dec. 23:

7:30 p.m.: ABC Family, “Miracle on 34th Street.”

8 p.m.: CBS, “A Home for the Holidays with Faith Hill.”

Dec. 24:

8 p.m.: NBC, “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

Dec. 25:

24-hour marathon, TBS, “A Christmas Story.”

10 a.m.: ABC, Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade.

Dec. 30:

8 p.m.: ABC, “Happy New Year Charlie Brown.”

8:30 p.m.: ABC, “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year.”

Dec. 31:

10 p.m.: ABC, “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010.”

11 p.m.: Fox, “Billboard’s New Year’s Eve Live.”

Source: TV Guide