Voice of ‘Simpsons’ Krabappel, ‘Newhart’ receptionist dies

Santa coming to Wilkes-Barre on Saturday

First Posted: 12/15/2013 FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE: Grown children of a certain age will tell you that in their day, the best holiday TV specials were an event. They ran only once a year, and were &#8220;appointment&#8221; viewing for a generation who couldn&#8217;t wait to see Bumbles bounce and the Grinch&#8217;s growing heart break that wire magnifying thingy.
Boy, how times have changed. These days those same holiday specials are trotted out at Thanksgiving and then get a few repeat showings on cable.
Still, as the calendar inches closer to Dec. 25, there are plenty of holiday specials tucked away in the nooks and crannies of your channel lineup. And we&#8217;re here to help you find them.
WEDNESDAY: Michael Bubl&#233;&#8217;s Christmas Special. The Canadian crooner has become a holiday favorite with his smooth-sounding versions of Christmas favorites. This year&#8217;s TV special features Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart and Cookie Monster as guests. Just a hunch: Cookie Monster will sing about wanting a cookie. 10 p.m., NBC
FRIDAY: &#8220;The I Love Lucy Christmas Special.&#8221; Four decades before everybody loved Raymond, TV viewers loved Lucy. And they still do. This &#8220;special&#8221; combines two original episodes that have been colorized for your convenience. 8 p.m., CBS
SATURDAY: &#8220;The Little Drummer Boy.&#8221; The tale of young Aaron, an orphaned drummer boy who has has learned to hate humans and whose only friends are a camel, a sheep and a donkey. Sounds pretty sad. Well, it is. But in a good way. You WILL cry. Oh, yes you will. 7 a.m., ABC Family
&#8220;The Santa Clause&#8221; 1,2 and 3: The movie trilogy about an overworked everyman who kills Santa and then takes his place. Sounds like it should be called &#8220;A Martin Scorsese Christmas.&#8221; Part 1 is at 6 p.m., part 2 at 8 and part 3 at 10.
HEY, BUDDY! Do you receive your share of annoying phone calls? And do you enjoy the spirit of the holidays? Then this Wednesday provides you an opportunity to do something about both. It&#8217;s &#8220;Answer the Phone Like Buddy the Elf Day.&#8221; When the phone rings, just pick it up and channel Will Ferrell&#8217;s character from the film &#8220;Elf.&#8221; Try these sample phrases: &#8220;What&#8217;s your favorite color?&#8221; &#8220;I like gumdrops. Do you like gumdrops?&#8221; Or maybe, &#8220;I&#8217;m smiling! I&#8217;m smiling! I like smiling!&#8221; Just remember to do it like you&#8217;ve had 37 cups of coffee.
DINNER AND A SHOW: It&#8217;s the timeless story of a greedy curmudgeon who despises the holidays, until an otherworldly intervention makes him feel much better. The Donald Trump story? No. He&#8217;d fire the ghosts and never turn nice. You know the story of Charles Dickens&#8217; &#8220;A Christmas Carol.&#8221; It&#8217;s as synonymous with the holidays as gingerbread and wracking up credit card debt. And this weekend, the fine folks over at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville will be performing &#8220;A Christmas Carol&#8221; just for you. There are shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and another Sunday afternoon.
A HOME FOR THE UNWANTED: Boy, aren&#8217;t you lucky. You got A Duck Dynasty Chia Pet as a gift. Now you can watch Uncle Si&#8217;s beard grow and slowly turned green like it was made of miniature kudzu. Too much fun for one human to endure? Never fear. Take that novelty gift, wrap it back up and toss it into the grab bag at the office Christmas party. It&#8217;s OK. Everyone&#8217;s doing it. If they weren&#8217;t, then Thursday wouldn&#8217;t have been declared &#8220;National Regifting Day.&#8221; So pass off those Stompeez Slippers from Aunt Bertha to Norm from cubicle six. You&#8217;ll be glad you did.
HOLLYWOOD&#8217;S BIG GUNS: For most of the world, this is the holiday season, But in Hollywood, it&#8217;s Oscar season. That time of year where the studios shine up their best films and parade them out for Academy voters to notice. This Friday alone, &#8220;American Hustle,&#8221; &#8220;Saving Mr. Banks,&#8221; and &#8220;Her&#8221; will hit the multiplex. All three made the American Film Institute&#8217;s list of best pictures of 2013. Yes. Yes. Very nice. But honestly, who needs quality film-making, when you&#8217;ve got Ron Burgundy. Also opening this week is &#8220;Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,&#8221; Will Ferrell&#8217;s follow-up to the 2004 original. So, it&#8217;s you choice: drama, smart comedy or dumb comedy.

5 Things You Need to Know This Week