SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Awesome Television Programs: Day 17 - "A Very Sunny Christmas"

ed note: This article was originally published on December 17th, 2016

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we are looking back at the great holiday music, movies, television episodes, and food of this great season. Enjoy

Day 17: "A Very Sunny Christmas"

Original air date - December 16th, 2010, released on DVD and Blu-ray November 17th, 2009 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen

The memories of our childhood Christmases tend to be filled with joy and excitement. Of course we do have a few friends who hated Christmas because their parents were not into the holiday spirit, but most of us have great memories. We got awesome toys, people came over to visit, and the day ended with some fun activities. As we get older, we start to learn all the things our parents did to make these great, or unpleasant, holiday memories. Sometimes these truths from our Christmas past will ruin our Christmas present, and make Christmas yet to come look even worse. Sometimes we are only left with a simple activity to take our minds off of the ugly lie that is Christmas.

In November of 2009, the long-running FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia released an extra long episode on DVD and Blu-ray titled A Very Sunny Christmas. The episode had some harsher than normal language, and some animated nudity. FX was not ready to air the very special episode of the Always Sunny gang. With a few edits for television, A Very Sunny Christmas made it's television debut on December 16th, 2010 as the sixth season finale.

The supersized holiday special has Mac and Charlie excited for Christmas, but Dee and Dennis are not feeling the joy. Mac and Charlie love Christmas because as kids their parents made the holidays awesome. Dee and Dennis hate Christmas because their dad Frank used the joyous day to promise his kids great gifts and just end up faking them out with empty packages. 

This year Frank goes too far. He buys Dennis dream car, a Lamborghini Countach, and Franks intends to keep it for himself. He also carries around a designer bag, Dee's dream gift, and fills the bag with cheese snacks and chocolate. The Reynold's kids have been pushed to the breaking point and decide to pull a Christmas Carol scheme on Frank to make him change. 

Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie are getting more excited for Christmas. On a visit to Mac's home, the two lifelong friends find a videotape of a young Mac at Christmas. Here we learn that Mac's criminal father used to take his family from house to house on Christmas morning to steal other families presents. It was presented to Mac as a South Philly tradition where you would go to other people's houses and take their presents while they went to your house and got presents for themselves. Once Charlie helps Mac see the truth, their Christmas spirit starts to dim. They decide to head over to see Charlie's mom, she is always filled with holiday joy.

At Charlie's house, Mac learns about the Christmases of the past in the Kelly household. Every year a Santa. or elf, would come to the door. The gentleman would give little Charlie a present, then head upstairs with mom Kelly. Many Santas, and elves, would come to the Kelly house on Christmas day. Being confronted with the fact that his beloved mother is an actual prostitue starts to completely break Charlie's fragile mind.

The Christmas Carol scheme of Dennis and Dee does not go well. Frank's old business partner Eugene, a man that Frank swindled millions of dollars from, is a born again Christian who just wants to talk about Jesus. Their attempt to show Frank how much people hate him just ends with the nude elder Reynolds bursting from a couch he demanded to be sown into. Their attempt to show him a future gravesite also fails spectacularly. The lesson of Christmas was not appearing before the Scrooge-like Frank.

With their terrible realizations, Mac and Charlie are still trying to make Christmas merry. On a trip to a mall to buy an old friend a new shirt, and a cool toy, poor Charlie spots the mall Santa and starts to approach the jolly fellow. Once on Santa's lap Charlie has one question, did Santa visit his mom (the real dialogue was too hot for FX, hence the early DVD release). With Santa quite confused, Charlie lunges at the man and red and starts to bite old St Nick's ear off. The scene ends with a little girl in hysterics.

The whole gang gets back together on Christmas Eve night and decide that the whole Christmas thing is garbage. They vow to forget their troubles by getting drunk and forgetting about all the awfulness. While they poor the first few drinks, Charlie receives a phone call and tells everyone that Frank died in a car accident.

Once the gang reaches the hospital, they see Frank very alive. He was in an accident, but just hurt his leg. He tells the crew that he had a vision, one that looks a lot like the Rudolph animated special. Through the vision he wants to be a better man. The gang doesn't buy it and heads back to the bar. The truth is that Frank does want to be better and has decorated the whole bar, with his old partner Eugene, for the holidays. Frank is giving Dennis the Lamborghini, Dee gets the designer bag, Mac and Charlie get the new hot toy, everyone is about to have a great Christmas.

Then Eugene enacts his own fake out and pulls a gun on the crew. He demands all the gifts and blows everyone down with an industrial snow machine. Christmas sucks once again. The only thing that everyone can do to make this Christmas worthwhile is to throw rocks at trains. Why wouldn't you throw rocks at trains?

The idea of a perfect Christmas is a myth. The truth of how people pull off a Christmas miracle is filled with some dark actions. Most people do not have criminal fathers, or prostitutes for mothers, but we all have parents who have gone to extremes to make the holidays memorable. When confronted with the truth, we have a choice to make. We can try to make the holidays joyous in our own way, or we can bite Santa's ear off. No matter what we choose, the day should definately end with anice group activity.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time had an Omni Bot. That thing was the stuff.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 10 "Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol"

ed note: This article was originally published on December 10th, 2016

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we are looking back at the great holiday music, movies, television episodes, and food of this great season. Enjoy

Day 10: "Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol"

Original air date - December 25th, 2010

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine

If you had one more day to spend with the person you love best, what day would you pick? Everyone has a variety of perfect days, but most of us look at Christmas as being the best of all the perfect days. We tend to be surrounded by joy, and we are usually with good friends. Many of our problems disappear on Christmas Day. The only thing that makes Christmas Day more magical is having your special someone by your side. If you had only one day left, it would be very hard not to pick Christmas Day.

In 2005 the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who was brought back to television after being off the airwaves for sixteen years. Since the relaunch, Doctor Who has produced a special Christmas episode every December. Most of the time the Christmas specials would have a holiday feel. There have been monster snowmen, a wardrobe that transported people to a magical winter world, and a town named Christmas. On Christmas Day of 2010, Doctor Who decided to adapt the most classic British holiday story, A Christmas Carol.

The story kicks off with newlywed companions Amy and Rory on a crashing starship. Their craft was stuck in a strange cloud formation surrounding a planet. The Doctor, played by Matt Smith, comes to help and learns that the dangerous clouds above the planet are controlled by one man on the surface. Here we meet Kazran Sardick played by Michael Gambon. Sardick is our Scrooge stand-in for this Christmas Carol. The Doctor learns that Kazran's father used to loan people money, and in exchange for the funds, the families would submit one of their loved ones to cryogenic freezing. The frozen person would not be released until the money is paid off. The Doctor decides that he needs to thaw the icy mans spirits, and since the Doctor has a time machine, why not pull a little Christmas Carol magic.

In order to pull off the Ghost of Christmas past, the Doctor goes back to when Kazran was a little boy and starts to change the man's memories. The young Kazran and the Doctor explore the clouds and learn that fish, and sharks swim in the skies. One adventure goes haywire, and a shark comes after the two. Everyone is ok, but part of the Doctor's trusty sonic screwdriver ends up in the shark. Young Kazran then convinces the Doctor to temporarily release one of his father's frozen debtor prisoners. The young women, Abigail, has a singing voice that can calm the sharks in the clouds. Kazran, Abigail, and the Doctor go on a shark-drawn carriage ride, and promise to meet up again every Christmas eve. 

Every year Abigail and the Doctor stay the same, but Kazran is growing one year old. During one adventure, Kazran and Abigail are around the same age and share a kiss. Their relationship grows every Christmas eve, until one time Abigail shares a secret with Kazran. That night as they put Abigail back into storage, Kazran tells the Doctor he does want to have anymore Christmas adventures. The camera pans away and we see a number counter on Abigails storage tank move to the number one.

The Doctor tries to reason with Kazran, but the old man will not let the crashing starship land safely. He is not concerned with the thousand of lives that will be lost. Companion Amy Pond is then projected via hologram to Kazran as the ghost of Christmas present. She explains that he can save everyone right now if he wants to. The entire ship is singing "Silent Night" to ease the ship through the clouds, but they can not control the sharks like Abigail could. They are going to crash.

Kazran says he does not care if they die, they should die. The Doctor comes again to try and reason with the man. Kazran tells the Doctor that his bitter nature is because of the Doctor and his adventures with Abigail. The secret she shared with Kazran all those years ago is that she is terminally ill, and the numbers on her storage unit count down the days she has left. Kazran understands that he is the Scrooge in the Doctor's Christmas Carol and does not care if he dies alone. His love for Abigail has turned him into to being a miser with her last day.

Here the Doctor reveals the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is Kazran himself. The Doctor has brought the young Kazran to the present and asks him if this is the man you want to be. The little boy is horrified when Kazran comes to hit him. Kazran stops his hand, and breaks down. He sees that his hoarding of the memories of Abigail has made him not enjoy those times past. Kazran agrees to land the ship, but his change of heart has made him unable to control the clouds. Kazran's father built the machine for the bitter person his son was. This new joyful person was not recognized by the "isomorphic" controls. There is only one person who can control the clouds, and that is Abigail.

Kazran releases Abigail, and she remarks about how he took way too much time to spend their last day together. She sings to the fish, the clouds break, and the starship lands safely. Amy acknowledges that she is aware that this is Abagail's last day. The Doctor remarks that it is, but her and Kazran gets one more perfect time. If only we could all be so lucky. The last shot is an old Kazran, and a joyful Abagail riding a shark-drawn carriage through the snowy clouds.

It is hard to pick what day we would want to be our last one with our best love. Many of us never think of the answer to this grim question. Yet somewhere out in the universe people on shark filled cloudy planets face this question. If we try to find that one last perfect day, we will grow old and bitter.  Do not be bitter, be joyful, and choose Christmas Day. You can never go wrong spending Christmas with the one you love.

RD

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If he could not choose Christmas Day as his last, he would choose May 11th. He has always had good weather and good fun on that day.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Advent Calendar of Great Holiday Movies: Day 24 "Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a great movie associated with the holiday season. Many will be awesome, some will be extra awesome. Enjoy.

Day 24: “Alastair Sim”

Opened Doors: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23

Christmas Eve is a time of comfortable tradition. The entire holiday season changes form day to day, year to year, generation to generation, reality to reality, and on and on. Yet when the 24th of December hits, we want things to be the way they have always been. We want comfort. Be it food, music, television, and movies, we want to revisit our favorites. For the month of December we have presented all the different holiday movies to fit the mood of the seasons. Today we present the best person who played the best role in the best holiday film series ever.

Alastair Sim was a Scottish film actor who worked in the middle part of the 20th century. He did many a Shakespeare plays, acted in a wide variety films, and made a nice career out of being a supporting player. In 1951 he got the chance to play Ebeneezer Scrooge in one of the many movie versions of “A Christmas Carol”.

With “Scrooge”, Alastair Sim created what many people believe to be the greatest film version of Ebenezer Scrooge. Where many people play Scrooge as an angry old man who was afraid to die and had a soft spot for one disabled child, Sim played Scrooge as a man who has sad, and needed to remember why happiness is important on Christmas and during the entire year. The portrayal was so beloved that Sim provided the voice for a 1971 Oscar winning animated short film of “A Christmas Carol”. In less than thirty minutes, Sim again showed the entire holiday movie loving public why he is the greatest Scrooge ever.

On the night before Christmas we will gather together and eat our favorite foods, eat our most wanted dishes, be with those we love the most, and watch our favorite holiday movie. Most of us will sit down to watch one of the many versions of “A Christmas Carol”. Do you want to watch the best. The only choice is Alastair Sim, and he gives you to different ways to watch his Scrooge.

Happy Christmas.

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. After you watch the best Scrooge, go listen to the best Christmas song ever.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Advent Calendar of Great Holiday Movies: Day 5 "Scrooge" (1970)

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a great movie associated with the holiday season. Many will be awesome, some will be extra awesome. Enjoy.

Day 5: “Scrooge” (1970)

Opened Doors: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4

The holiday season has it’s share of traditions. We have the almost universal traditions like trees, presents, and togetherness. Many families have a few personal traditions that are passed down generation to generation. Many of those traditions have to do with particular songs or stories that are important to a family or group of like minded individuals. As new generations take on the tradition, it sometimes gets modified to please the modern interests of the new caretakers.

Charles Dickens short story ‘A Christmas Carol” is one of those traditional stories that people have been enjoying during the holiday season for many generations. The tradition of the telling the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and the three Christmas ghosts has been told many different ways since it’s original publication. Many variations have been good, some bad, and some just downright strange.

1970’s “Scrooge” was the latest in a long line of “A Christmas Carol” film adaptations. The 1970 version was not even the first adaptation to use the name Scrooge as their title (we will discuss another one of these films later on). What set this “Scrooge” apart from the “A Christmas Carol” film adaptations of the past is that this theatrical version was a musical. Yes, the world finally got to see a singing and dancing Scrooge, Marley, the spirits, and of course a toe tapping Tiny Tim. Merry Christmas to all indeed.

“Scrooge” was a hit with a few of the critics in 1970. A 34 year old Albert Finney played the title character and was widely praised for his interpretation of the old miser. Finney won the 1971 Golden Globe for the role, and the film went on to be nominated for four Oscars. With that kind of critical success, one would think that “Scrooge” would have become a new holiday tradition in all homes that celebrate with a telling of “A Christmas Carol”.

The fact is that “Scrooge” is somewhat lost in a seas of far superior retellings of Dicken’s tale. The first song given to Scrooge is called “I Hate People”. Finney’s Scrooge is downright terrible human being that should not be redeemed. He is no miser, he is a narcissist. Once Scrooge does promise to be good, after he fears for no love in his death, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come sends the elderly Scrooge to hell. There is literally a sequence of Scrooge being set with chains, while Jacob Marley does the Devil’s books. It makes almost no sense whatsoever. Scrooge was already accepting Christmas in his heart. What was going to hell going to do to the old man? Scenes like this is what causes the 1970 musical film ‘Scrooge” to get lost in the new tradition shuffle.

The thing is though, “Scrooge” should get another chance. Yes the movie is different, but the music is not bad. Albert Finney may not bring the best interpretation of Ebenezer Scrooge to the screen, but it is definitely a different take. Plus, the look of the movie is incredible. The scene in hell looks something from the mind of a madman. It is definitely like nothing you have seen, or imagined, in any version of “A Christmas Carol”.

This holiday season will be filled with many of the same movies and programs we have watched for years. We watch them because we love the stories, and we appreciate the familiarity. A new tradition for us should be check out a lost version of our favorite holiday tales. Go give “Scrooge” a chance. You may find the joyous tunes, and surreal atmosphere of the movie, to fit right in with a tradition that needs updating.

RD

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Early December usually seems to drag on because we all just really wished it was Christmas today. Hey, there is a song about that.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Television Programs: Day 17 - "A Very Sunny Christmas"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 17: "A Very Sunny Christmas"

Original air date - December 16th, 2010, released on DVD and Blu-ray November 17th, 2009 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen

The memories of our childhood Christmases tend to be filled with joy and excitement. Of course we do have a few friends who hated Christmas because their parents were not into the holiday spirit, but most of us have great memories. We got awesome toys, people came over to visit, and the day ended with some fun activities. As we get older, we start to learn all the things our parents did to make these great, or unpleasant, holiday memories. Sometimes these truths from our Christmas past will ruin our Christmas present, and make Christmas yet to come look even worse. Sometimes we are only left with a simple activity to take our minds off of the ugly lie that is Christmas.

In November of 2009, the long-running FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia released an extra long episode on DVD and Blu-ray titled A Very Sunny Christmas. The episode had some harsher than normal language, and some animated nudity. FX was not ready to air the very special episode of the Always Sunny gang. With a few edits for television, A Very Sunny Christmas made it's television debut on December 16th, 2010 as the sixth season finale.

The supersized holiday special has Mac and Charlie excited for Christmas, but Dee and Dennis are not feeling the joy. Mac and Charlie love Christmas because as kids their parents made the holidays awesome. Dee and Dennis hate Christmas because their dad Frank used the joyous day to promise his kids great gifts and just end up faking them out with empty packages. 

This year Frank goes too far. He buys Dennis dream car, a Lamborghini Countach, and Franks intends to keep it for himself. He also carries around a designer bag, Dee's dream gift, and fills the bag with cheese snacks and chocolate. The Reynold's kids have been pushed to the breaking point and decide to pull a Christmas Carol scheme on Frank to make him change. 

Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie are getting more excited for Christmas. On a visit to Mac's home, the two lifelong friends find a videotape of a young Mac at Christmas. Here we learn that Mac's criminal father used to take his family from house to house on Christmas morning to steal other families presents. It was presented to Mac as a South Philly tradition where you would go to other people's houses and take their presents while they went to your house and got presents for themselves. Once Charlie helps Mac see the truth, their Christmas spirit starts to dim. They decide to head over to see Charlie's mom, she is always filled with holiday joy.

At Charlie's house, Mac learns about the Christmases of the past in the Kelly household. Every year a Santa. or elf, would come to the door. The gentleman would give little Charlie a present, then head upstairs with mom Kelly. Many Santas, and elves, would come to the Kelly house on Christmas day. Being confronted with the fact that his beloved mother is an actual prostitue starts to completely break Charlie's fragile mind.

The Christmas Carol scheme of Dennis and Dee does not go well. Frank's old business partner Eugene, a man that Frank swindled millions of dollars from, is a born again Christian who just wants to talk about Jesus. Their attempt to show Frank how much people hate him just ends with the nude elder Reynolds bursting from a couch he demanded to be sown into. Their attempt to show him a future gravesite also fails spectacularly. The lesson of Christmas was not appearing before the Scrooge-like Frank.

With their terrible realizations, Mac and Charlie are still trying to make Christmas merry. On a trip to a mall to buy an old friend a new shirt, and a cool toy, poor Charlie spots the mall Santa and starts to approach the jolly fellow. Once on Santa's lap Charlie has one question, did Santa visit his mom (the real dialogue was too hot for FX, hence the early DVD release). With Santa quite confused, Charlie lunges at the man and red and starts to bite old St Nick's ear off. The scene ends with a little girl in hysterics.

The whole gang gets back together on Christmas Eve night and decide that the whole Christmas thing is garbage. They vow to forget their troubles by getting drunk and forgetting about all the awfulness. While they poor the first few drinks, Charlie receives a phone call and tells everyone that Frank died in a car accident.

Once the gang reaches the hospital, they see Frank very alive. He was in an accident, but just hurt his leg. He tells the crew that he had a vision, one that looks a lot like the Rudolph animated special. Through the vision he wants to be a better man. The gang doesn't buy it and heads back to the bar. The truth is that Frank does want to be better and has decorated the whole bar, with his old partner Eugene, for the holidays. Frank is giving Dennis the Lamborghini, Dee gets the designer bag, Mac and Charlie get the new hot toy, everyone is about to have a great Christmas.

Then Eugene enacts his own fake out and pulls a gun on the crew. He demands all the gifts and blows everyone down with an industrial snow machine. Christmas sucks once again. The only thing that everyone can do to make this Christmas worthwhile is to throw rocks at trains. Why wouldn't you throw rocks at trains?

The idea of a perfect Christmas is a myth. The truth of how people pull off a Christmas miracle is filled with some dark actions. Most people do not have criminal fathers, or prostitutes for mothers, but we all have parents who have gone to extremes to make the holidays memorable. When confronted with the truth, we have a choice to make. We can try to make the holidays joyous in our own way, or we can bite Santa's ear off. No matter what we choose, the day should definately end with anice group activity.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time had an Omni Bot. That thing was the stuff.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 10 "Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 10: "Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol"

Original air date - December 25th, 2010

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine

If you had one more day to spend with the person you love best, what day would you pick? Everyone has a variety of perfect days, but most of us look at Christmas as being the best of all the perfect days. We tend to be surrounded by joy, and we are usually with good friends. Many of our problems disappear on Christmas Day. The only thing that makes Christmas Day more magical is having your special someone by your side. If you had only one day left, it would be very hard not to pick Christmas Day.

In 2005 the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who was brought back to television after being off the airwaves for sixteen years. Since the relaunch, Doctor Who has produced a special Christmas episode every December. Most of the time the Christmas specials would have a holiday feel. There have been monster snowmen, a wardrobe that transported people to a magical winter world, and a town named Christmas. On Christmas Day of 2010, Doctor Who decided to adapt the most classic British holiday story, A Christmas Carol.

The story kicks off with newlywed companions Amy and Rory on a crashing starship. Their craft was stuck in strange cloud formation surrounding a planet. The Doctor, played by Matt Smith, comes to help and learns that the dangerous clouds above the planet are controlled by one man on the surface. Here we meet Kazran Sardick played by Michael Gambon. Sardick is our Scrooge stand-in for this Christmas Carol. The Doctor learns that Kazran's father used to loan people money, and in exchange for the funds, the families would submit one of their loved ones to cryogenic freezing. The frozen person would not be released until the money is paid off. The Doctor decides that he needs to thaw the icy mans spirits, and since the Doctor has a time machine, why not pull a little Christmas Carol magic.

In order to pull off the Ghost of Christmas past, the Doctor goes back to when Kazran was a little boy and starts to change the man's memories. The young Kazran and the Doctor explore the clouds and learn that fish, and sharks swim in the skies. One adventure goes haywire, and a shark comes after the two. Everyone is ok, but part of the Doctor's trusty sonic screwdriver ends up in the shark. Young Kazran then convinces the Doctor to temporarily release one of his father's frozen debtor prisoners. The young women, Abigail, has a singing voice that can calm the sharks in the clouds. Kazran, Abigail, and the Doctor go on a shark-drawn carriage ride, and promise to meet up again every Christmas eve. 

Every year Abigail and the Doctor stay the same, but Kazran is growing one year old. During one adventure, Kazran and Abigail are around the same age and share a kiss. Their relationship grows every Christmas eve, until one time Abigail shares a secret with Kazran. That night as they put Abigail back into storage, Kazran tells the Doctor he does want to have anymore Christmas adventures. The camera pans away and we see a number counter on Abigails storage tank move to the number one.

The Doctor tries to reason with Kazran, but the old man will not let the crashing starship land safely. He is not concerned with the thousand of lives that will be lost. Companion Amy Pond is then projected via hologram to Kazran as the ghost of Christmas present. She explains that he can save everyone right now if he wants to. The entire ship is singing "Silent Night" to ease the ship through the clouds, but they can not control the sharks like Abigail could. They are going to crash.

Kazran says he does not care if they die, they should die. The Doctor comes again to try and reason with the man. Kazran tells the Doctor that his bitter nature is because of the Doctor and his adventures with Abigail. The secret she shared with Kazran all those years ago is that she is terminally ill, and the numbers on her storage unit count down the days she has left. Kazran understands that he is the Scrooge in the Doctor's Christmas Carol and does not care if he dies alone. His love for Abigail has turned him into to being a miser with her last day.

Here the Doctor reveals the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is Kazran himself. The Doctor has brought the young Kazran to the present and asks him if this is the man you want to be. The little boy is horrified when Kazran comes to hit him. Kazran stops his hand, and breaks down. He sees that his hoarding of the memories of Abigail has made him not enjoy those times past. Kazran agrees to land the ship, but his change of heart has made him unable to control the clouds. Kazran's father built the machine for the bitter person his son was. This new joyful person was not recognized by the "isomorphic" controls. There is only one person who can control the clouds, and that is Abigail.

Kazran releases Abigail, and she remarks about how he took way too much time to spend their last day together. She sings to the fish, the clouds break, and the starship lands safely. Amy acknowledges that she is aware that this is Abagail's last day. The Doctor remarks that it is, but her and Kazran gets one more perfect time. If only we could all be so lucky. The last shot is an old Kazran, and a joyful Abagail riding a shark-drawn carriage through the snowy clouds.

It is hard to pick what day we would want to be our last one with our best love. Many of us never think of the answer to this grim question. Yet somewhere out in the universe people on shark filled cloudy planets face this question. If we try to find that one last perfect day, we will grow old and bitter.  Do not be bitter, be joyful, and choose Christmas Day. You can never go wrong spending Christmas with the one you love.

RD

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If he could not choose Christmas Day as his last, he would choose May 11th. He has always had good weather and good fun on that day.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 10 - It Feels Like Christmas

ed note: This article was originally published on December 10th, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 10: It Feels Like Christmas by Paul Williams

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine

The best thing about Christmas Day is how happy I feel. The presents are always welcome, the food is great, but my feeling of personal contentment is the greatest gift I get every December 25th. The stress of buying presents is over, the long car ride to visit family is completed, the high anxiety of the holidays is gone. Finally being able to relax with my family gives me comfort. I wish I could have the feeling of Christmas all year long.

In 1992 Michael Caine took his turn playing Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol. The awesome Paul Williams, wrote many songs for The Muppets, uses "It Feels Like Christmas" as an introduction to the ideas presented by the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge has a lot and gives little, The Ghost of Christmas Present shows how those that have very little still give a lot during Christmas. The people (Muppets) are not giving store bought gifts, the are giving love and comfort. The spirit shows Scrooge that Christmas is about togetherness. Scrooge cannot keep Christmas because he is alone.

"It Feels Like Christmas" is the heartwarming ideal of the holidays. The comforts of love and family trump any toys and gadgets. The story of A Christmas Carol has always used happy gatherings as the path the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge on. The Muppet Christmas Carol is able to get the whole point across in under 3 minutes.

Christmas Day is not about rushing out to buy the right gift. Once the presents are all opened I look forward to the rest and relaxation I have been missing out on for weeks. I look forward to sitting by the fire with my family. I take joy in the love I am surrounded by. "It Feels like Christmas" may be a holiday song, but it's message carries on year round. I love Christmas for how it makes me feel. Whenever I am in the comfort of those I love, it really does feel like Christmas.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Being with family is the number one thing he loves about the holidays. The generosity of people is his second favorite thing - Support SeedSing.