Holiday TV Movies & (Non-Rankin Bass) Holiday Specials - General Discussion

[TVFan17]

I have no idea why I find this silliness and trivia so fascinating, but out of curiosity I wanted to look up the names of some of the writers of some of these holiday movies and see which ones they wrote.  I guess I'm fascinated to see if they have hits and misses, or if they mostly write all bad stories or all good stories.   I am also interested to see if any of the stories by the same writers have similar themes, plots or tones.    So, from the pages of IMDB I found...

 

The writer of Merry Matrimony for Hallmark (Rickie Castaneda) had a hand in writing Christmas Land (not alone, apparently), but she was not credited for it on IMDB.  Rickie also wrote (all for Hallmark): One Starry Christmas; Catch a Christmas Star; Naughty or Nice; Christmas Magic; Mistletoe Over Manhattan, and The Case for Christmas.

 

A writer named Tracy Andreen wrote Snow Bride (from Hallmark).  Interestingly, she also wrote Lifetime's The Spirit of Christmas, Hallmark's Ice Sculpture Christmas and a Hallmark movie called Stranded in Paradise (with Vanessa Marcil and James Denton).

 

A prolific writer named Barbara Kymlicka wrote a bunch o' holiday movies and more, including: A Very Merry Mix-Up (Hallmark); Becoming Santa (Lifetime);  A Gift-Wrapped Christmas (Lifetime); A Cookie Cutter Christmas (Hallmark); For Better or for Worse (Hallmark); Christmas in the City (Lifetime); A Bride for Christmas (Hallmark); Merry In-Laws (was that for Lifetime?); Holiday High School Reunion (Lifetime???); Holiday Engagement (Hallmark); and Dear Santa (Lifetime).

 

One of the guys who wrote The Christmas Ornament for Hallmark -- J.B. White -- also wrote: Ring by Spring; June in January; The Thanksgiving House; Be My Valentine; and Come Dance at My Wedding (all for Hallmark). 

 

The writer of Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade -- Nancey Silvers -- also wrote the Hallmark movies Murder, She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery; The Nine Lives of Christmas; A Country Wedding; and I Do, I Do, I Do (the latter two movies also star Autumn Reeser, who stars in Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade -- so I guess that's probably no coincidence).

 

Hmm... so all of the above-mentioned writers have written some good stories, and most of them are responsible for a few clunkers too.  I don't know if I am detecting any kind of similar tone or theme in the movies written by the same person, so I don't know if my investigation was fruitful or not.  Lol.

 

 

Oh, and here is a Fun Fact, courtesy of IMDB:   Actor Donovan Scott has played Santa Claus (or Santa-esque characters) in at least 14 projects over the years (including TV series and TV movies) dating back to a Frasier episode in 2000.  He has played Santa (or an assumed/suspected Santa) in Hallmark movies more than once:  most recently in Northpole 2: Open for Christmas, and also in Santa Switch;  Matchmaker Santa, and The Three Gifts.

 

 

More Fun Facts:  Dean Cain has seemingly done an astounding 15 Christmas/Holiday projects/movies dating back to 2001 (if my count was correct and I didn't skip anything), and bonus Easter and Halloween movies too!  He is the King of Christmas movies!

 

Patrick Muldoon has done 7 Christmas/Holiday movies.  He is the King in training!

 

 

 

I finally saw A Royal Christmad and liked it very much, EXCEPT for how they wrote Lacey's character in some parts. Why do they have to make her look like such an uncouth bumpkin, like when she first met the Queen and called her Mrs instead of Your Majesty or when she drank from the finger bowl. I'm sorry, but in this day and age, nobody is that stupid.

I found Christmas Angel will be on a network called BYU. This is the movie with Bruce Davidson. It's a tearjerker, but I've always liked it.

 

Hee hee.  I totally forgot about the finger bowl scene until I read your post.  You're right -- and I like the movie too, but that was just crazy.  I can see Lacey's character feeling out of place.  I can see her being a bit klutzy in her nervousness, and feeling awkward around the Queen.  But the finger bowl thing was too much.

 

Christmas Angel is definitely a tearjerker -- and definitely worth watching for anyone who wants a more serious, meaningful movie with a good message.  I just went back to my programming guide and did the search again, and yep -- it's BYU that it's on.  Oh, so it's Brigham Young's channel?  Interesting.  I didn't know they had a channel.

 

Regarding Christmas Angel - I didn't immediately realize which movie you guys were talking about until I did a search like Sherry suggested. I liked that movie when it first aired! I wish more movies would follow how they did the happy ending - don't end with just a kiss or the wedding, end with the actual "happily ever after" and show their normal life. Sadly, it appears that I do not get the BYU channel.

 

I'm not even sure if I get the BYU channel either!  I see the listing for Christmas Angel, and I guess I'm going to have to try to go to that channel and see if I get it.  I would have certainly watched Christmas Angel by now -- despite my usual gravitation towards the lighter holiday fare -- if it had been on Lifetime more than once this season!  I don't think it has been on Lifetime in December at all, and only once -- twice at most -- in November.

 

I agree -- the ending to the movie was good in that it wasn't a hasty, flimsy, throwaway shot of a quick kiss and then a fade to black.  It actually gave a good sense of closure and completion, and left us with the feeling that the young woman was going to be happy and continue doing the meaningful work.

[TVFan17]

Shanna Marie -- Snowmageddon, The 12 Disasters of Christmas, the classic Christmas Icetastrophe and other wintry movies are on SyFy this coming Thursday, December 24th.

 

 

Stupid ABC Family- they play Holiday in Handcuffs and Santa Claus half a dozen times but they can't play Christmas in Boston once? So bummed that I won't be watching it this year. And if I see one more commercial of them switching to Freeform I'm going to scream!

Woo hoo finally get to watch 12 Dates of Christmas this year- absolutely adore that movie, and maybe Hallmark should steal Mark Paul Gosselaar for a movie or two- he has aged so well.

 

ABC Family-soon-to-be-Freeform did play Christmas in Boston -- twice (12/3 and 12/16).  Here is the schedule -- https://www.facebook.com/25DaysofChristmas/posts/10153703274389581:0.  I stumbled upon it on its second showtime, when it was just ending.  

 

That is what drives me nuts about Lifetime, ION, ABC Family, etc. -- they don't repeat movies often enough, especially considering the vast array of movies across many channels that can take viewers away from each individual channel.  As much as people grumble and complain about the number of repeats on Hallmark, it is very, very helpful to have those repeats, as it enables everyone to see what they want to see at some point over the 2 months, or record it, or whatever.  I would rather have too many showtimes from which to choose than not enough showtimes.

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention, twoods, when I was saying that I hope you like All of My Heart (with Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott), while I love the movie and it is very charming, it absolutely does have one of the dreaded rushed/forever-ish endings that we have all talked about here.  So, be prepared for that.  But everything leading up to it is good (I think).

Edited December 23, 2015 by Sherry67

[ShelleySue]

Sherry67, thank you for doing all of that research.  It seems that the same people write all of the holiday movies.  I am confident that any of us could be added to that short list.  We could put together a few flow charts and could come up with at least ten different plots within an hour or two.  I don't know how to do a real flow chart in this format, so all that you have to do is use the following for a beginning.  Please feel free to add to it.

 

FEMALE PROTAGONIST:

(Choose 1)

Woman who is career driven, but realizes something is missing from her life

Woman who moved to the big city, leaving the love of her life behind

Woman is married and has a couple of kids, but wishes that she had chosen a different life

Woman stayed in small town to run the family business

Woman is widowed and doesn't  know how to move forward with her life

 

MALE PROTAGONIST:

(Choose 1)

Man who is career driven, but realizes something is missing from his lfe

Man who moved to the big city, leaving the love of his life behind

Man is engaged to a bitch, but doesn't seem to notice how horrible she is

Man is widowed and doesn't know how to move forward with his life

 

SETTING

(Can choose as many as you want to move story from one setting to another)

Big City department store

Small town Christmas tree farm/lot

Small town Victorian house that one of the protagonists inherited

Christmas hat store that is somehow open year-round

 

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

(Choose up to three)

Precocious child

Cat(s) or Dog(s)

Wise cracking female best friend

Immature male best friend

Married sibling, always ready to give advice

Parent(s) who pushes for child to get married

Edited December 23, 2015 by ShelleySue

[Shanna Marie]

To add to the female protagonist list:

Spunky single mom trying to either get a business started or keep a business going

Aspiring artist who gave up artistic ambitions due to either practicality or family reasons (raising sibling's kids, raising younger siblings)

 

To add to the male protagonist list (or maybe these count as love interest to female protagonist, depending on how you're classifying):

The guy who stayed in the small town -- is either a cop or firefighter, maybe a teacher, or else he builds furniture or does other carpentry-related work. Or maybe he's a firefighter who does carpentry or builds furniture in his spare time.

The guy who was super-successful as a lawyer, doctor, or businessman (top of his class from Harvard, of course) who either returned to or moved to a small town when he learned what was really important (usually paired with the woman who's career-driven but has something missing from her life, forced to go from big city to small town for business purposes, and you'd think she was being sent to Siberia from the way she acts)

 

And for supporting characters, there's the spunky older lady who offers advice and the mysterious, white-bearded older man who seems unusually wise in his advice. Hmm, could he be ...

 

For setting, you can include the advertising agency working on an important Christmas campaign and the party-planning company working on putting together a big Christmas-Eve event. Also the small-town Christmas festival that includes a children's play of some kind. This is the single most important event of the year.

[twoods]

I completely forgot that Netflix works on the tv again and saw so many Christmas movies on there! Lots that I like without ffing all the commercials, and it also has Christmas Angel that you guys speak highly of. May be watching these movies through New Years if I find the time.

I really enjoyed Christmas Land. The tree farm trope has been done many times, but never has there been a Christmas "land" sort of theme so it was nice to see. I liked both leads as well.

[ButterQueen]

I'm weary of Lacey Chabert. Sigh.

[Myrrhine]

On another note, did SyFy stop doing their Christmas disaster movies? Up until a year or so ago, they used to do annual holiday-themed disaster movies. There was one about an evil snowglobe that caused disasters, and they did a 2012 "end of the world" one. Most of them are centered around a family, usually with a whiny teenage daughter who ends up fighting to survive and save the day, and the disaster brings the family closer together, with a warm Christmas moment in the aftermath. I always wanted to combine the holiday disaster movie with the Lifetime/Hallmark style romantic comedy and have the disaster movie center around a pair of singles who fall in love as they try to survive and stop the disaster. The final scene could be them kissing in front of the smoldering ruins of their picturesque small town as it starts to snow.

I just watched Christmas Twister on ion, and it was about a family with a whiny teenaged daughter! I wanted it to be a perfect union of cheesy Christmas tropes and disaster flick , but it was 95% disaster flick with 5% Christmas trappings. Other than a few passing references to Christmas, it could have taken place in July.

Others I have watched recently:

Merry Ex-mas - probably wouldn't rewatch but I watched the whole thing.

I couldn't finish Catch a Christmas Star (?). I just didn't click with the leads.

This year I have really liked:

Crown for Christmas

Dashing through the Snow

Christmas Detour

Nine Lives of Christmas

Very Merry Mixup

So it was a pretty good year for me. I also liked the signed sealed delivered Christmas movie.

I'm weary of Lacey Chabert. Sigh.

She's not my favorite either. I hated Claudia so much it colors my experience of her in other things.

[Ms Lark]

I've watched so many holiday movies this year they've blurred! OK, I was fine with Nine Lives of Christmas until the end. Fireman deserts his post at the Fire Dept., misuses an emergency response vehicle (firetruck) with a cat to track down a girl, and invites said girl onto the truck for smoochies. Some may find it romantic, but given the lack of response and other problems we've had with the FD in DC, I was horrified! The writers must've out of their freakin' minds. Who okayed that decision?

[Kromm]

Anyone see this year's version of the sometimes cringewothy annual Michael Buble special?  

 

• Kylie Jenner = ugh.
• Jay Leno = double ugh.
• Tori Kelly = great. a somewhat weird dress that looked at the bottom like a Christmas bow, but basically....she killed it performance-wise.
• Trump joke = actually pretty funny (it was pretty cutting)
• Celine Dion = she can annoy me at times, but did a very straightforward performance, so I liked it.
• supermodel cameo (Gigi Hadid) = very cringeworthy. Shatner made it even worse.
• DAP Kings = kick ass. made up for anything bad in the special by far.
• social media play = also cringeworthy. It's annoying when shows where it doesn't make sense pander to/pretend to care about social media. They think tossing @someonesname and #somehashtag automatically makes for good TV. Not really. That said I WAS amused by the first song choice from that social media selection. Christmas Don't Be Late. The other "social media suggested" songs, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bell Rock were a lot more predictable. The final selection, Feliz Navidad was another actual great one though.
• Tori/Michael duet - was great. 
• Blake Shelton - annoying stalker jokes with Buble are of limited use to anyone
• Celine/Michael duet - is what it is. I've never thought Celine was particularly good at duets. She sings as well as ever, but it doesn't have any natural give and take.

[dalek]

Just finished watching Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol on my local CW station.  It does truncate the story quite a bit, but it makes up for it with really great music.  "I'm all alone in the world" is so sad, and "ringle, jingle" and "the lord's bright blessing" are fun.

 

Razzleberry dressing for everyone!

[EyewatchTV211]

For those of you who enjoyed the actor in Spirit of Christmas, I actually stumbled on a version with additional scenes that were deleted from the live show, including a scene of him shirtless. I am visiting my family briefly. We are Jewish, so my mom was asking for something to watch since there is nothing on and nothing to do. She wanted a mystery or something. We found that Spirit of Christmas was OnDemand with Verizon and decided to watch. I was surprised to see a few additional scenes, including the shirtless one. He was ironing his shirt when Kate stumbled upon "his room." So if anyone appreciated the actor physically, you may want to search it out. ;-)

Edited December 25, 2015 by VMepicgrl

[Luckylyn]

For those of you who enjoyed the actor in Spirit of Christmas, I actually stumbled on a version with additional scenes that were deleted from the live show, including a scene of him shirtless. I am visiting my family briefly. We are Jewish, so my mom was asking for something to watch since there is nothing on and nothing to do. She wanted a mystery or something. We found that Spirit of Christmas was OnDemand with Verizon and decided to watch. I was surprised to see a few additional scenes, including the shirtless one. He was ironing his shirt when Kate stumbled upon "his room." So if anyone appreciated the actor physically, you may want to search it out. ;-)

I'm going to look for the ondemand version with extra scenes for science.

[shapeshifter]

I don't know if this has re-aired on TV this year, but my daughter just made me watch 12 Dates of Christmas (2011 ABC Family) via Netflix. While it is not without redeeming qualities, OMG does it have some bad moments. The worst one was when the female main character, Kate, whose mother died a few years ago, and who Kate still misses to the point of resenting her father's new wife, is asked if she could change just one thing, what would it be? Kate replies that she would get back with her ex boyfriend--not get her mom back.

Edited December 25, 2015 by shapeshifter

[Notwisconsin]

Has anyone seen the South Park pilot (Spirit of Christmas: Jesus fights Santa to the death) recently?

 

Also, how no one has done a Scrooge marathon this year? all 287 versions back to back.....

[EyewatchTV211]

I'm going to look for the ondemand version with extra scenes for science.

Hope you are able to get it. ;-)

[TVFan17]

Well, I have been blessed with the gift of the upstairs neighbors moving out (thank you, Santa!).  So, while I have some peace -- before the next tenants movie in -- I have been trying to re-watch some movies to pay better attention.  I like to give some movies a second chance if they didn't impress me the first time around, especially if I was unable to pay decent attention on the first viewing.

 

I watched Merry Matrimony again, from start to finish, wondering if I had been too critical of it at first.    And... it is still one of my least favorite new movies this year.   It's not the best story, but, honestly, now that I have seen it twice I can definitely say that it is the actress who made the biggest impact, and not in a good way.  I think that if a different lead actress had starred in it, it would have been much better.  The lead actor isn't even bad.  Sure, he is one of those "Ken doll" types, physically, but he did an okay job.   He seemed pretty comfortable and natural, for the most part.  The actress did not seem comfortable or natural.  My first impression of her still stands -- she just doesn't seem to be having much fun.  The voice is too soft.  The delivery of dialogue is flat.   There wasn't really any chemistry between them.  I don't think she was enjoying playing the character. 

 

I watched some of Northpole 2 again as well, and... yeah.  It's just not my cup of tea -- too much of the elf for my taste.  If it had just been about the story at hand without the elf, I might have liked it better.

 

I caught a bit of 'Tis the Season for Love again, and my opinion of that didn't really change either.  It's still just kind of so-so.

 

I watched Charming Christmas again -- and I do like it well enough.  Or, rather, I liked it better on second viewing, but the main reason for that is still the scenes with Julie Benz and David Sutcliffe.  I like the movie for their scenes together.   I still wish there had been some clear answer as to who David Sutcliffe's character actually was, and I wish that all of the stuff with the employees' stories had been left out.

 

Otherwise, my opinion didn't change about the movies I already liked -- I still like them, or like them even more now (and that includes A Christmas Melody). 

 

I think that my favorite child actor from any of the new movies on any channel this year is the one in I'm Not Ready for Christmas (which I'm still very surprised that no one seems to like!).  She appears to be a smart child, without being too over the top about it.  She doesn't try to act ultra cutesy.  She doesn't constantly smirk or make odd expressions (like the kid in A Christmas Melody does).  She doesn't act like a baby, but she also doesn't act like a 40-year-old.  She doesn't act too cheery, or too precocious, or sullen and mopey.   She isn't running around and causing mayhem (although she is the one who asks Santa to grant her wish).   She is a good little actress who was not annoying.

 

I also attempted to watch a bit of Christmas Reunion (from ION) and Christmas in the Smokies (from INSP), and... was bored.  I ended up fast forwarding or skipping through them.  Hallmark and Lifetime (and ABC Family too, when they made new movies) score points for at least putting out movies that generally hold my attention, even if I end up not liking them by the end.  But with ION, UP and INSP, whether or not I will hang in there until the end is very iffy.

 

Aside from the When Calls the Heart New Year's deal tomorrow night, now we can look forward to Winterfest (first new movie is Saturday, January 2nd, one week from tomorrow) and the Countdown to Valentine's Day (first new movie should debut on Sunday, January 31st).  The Winterfest song is already annoying me.

 

Anyway, Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

 

 

I've watched so many holiday movies this year they've blurred! OK, I was fine with Nine Lives of Christmas until the end. Fireman deserts his post at the Fire Dept., misuses an emergency response vehicle (firetruck) with a cat to track down a girl, and invites said girl onto the truck for smoochies. Some may find it romantic, but given the lack of response and other problems we've had with the FD in DC, I was horrified! The writers must've out of their freakin' minds. Who okayed that decision?

 

I love Nine Lives of Christmas and didn't even think about lack of response from the FD, etc.  I really don't think the Christmas movies should be taken too seriously.  If we pick apart how the various professions are represented in these movies I'm sure we'd all be horrified, and find that all of the depictions are riddled with inaccuracies, ineptitude, irresponsibility, mistakes, omissions, etc.  This movie is a holiday-comedy-romance, and not really intended to be an accurate portrayal of firefighters.  At least they didn't show the guy actually ignoring a fire to go and win the girl.

 

Feature films show crazy, unrealistic scenarios too -- such as in The Hangover, when Bradley Cooper and company easily get into a cop car and then drive it around Las Vegas, getting shot at, and eventually get off the hook after letting some kids practice tasering them.  In real life, let's hope it wouldn't be that easy to steal a police car and drive around town with it, and that people couldn't get out of being lawfully and legally punished by being victims of sadistic, tasering children -- but it made for some funny moments in the movie! 

Edited December 26, 2015 by Sherry67

[Ms Lark]

Good points, but I'm still horrified due to our local issues. Too many fatal tragedies have occurred for me to handwave.

[Ubiquitous]

I noticed this year TBS AND TNT marathoned A Christmas Story this yesr. In addition, CMT "counter-programmed" with A Christmas Story 2. Do NOT watch it!

[jjj]

I love Nine Lives of Christmas and didn't even think about lack of response from the FD, etc. 

I just saw this and also loved it!  Another Hallmark final-two-minutes-of-plot-resolution!  The cats were beautiful, and I always like seeing a beautiful house in these movies. 

 

Also got to see "A Season for Miracles" finally -- and thank you all for your recommendations!  I only have time for a couple of movies, so it really helps to have guidance! 

 

And I see there is a marathon of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" on January 1. 

Edited December 26, 2015 by jjj

[TVFan17]

I just saw this and also loved it!  Another Hallmark final-two-minutes-of-plot-resolution!  The cats were beautiful, and I always like seeing a beautiful house in these movies. 

 

Also got to see "A Season for Miracles" finally -- and thank you all for your recommendations!  I only have time for a couple of movies, so it really helps to have guidance! 

 

I just watched Nine Lives of Christmas again this afternoon!  Yes -- those last 2 minutes are always crucial in these movies.   The guy goes from not even wanting a serious relationship to declaring his love and climbing "to the highest peak" -- but I loved every second of it, as silly as it may be!   The 'fixing up the house' part of it is interesting as well!  It's such a good movie, with a few genuine laughs, some endearing moments, cute cats and entertaining supporting characters.   

 

I hadn't planned on watching Nine Lives... today, as it was not listed in my cable menu/guide.  What was supposed to be on in its place was Christmas, Incorporated -- which I was definitely going to skip (it's not a favorite).  I was watching Let it Snow (another all time favorite of mine), and I planned to go run some errands or clean the refrigerator when it was done.  I saw the preview for Nine Lives... coming up immediately after Let it Snow finished, and I thought, "Ooooh!  I have to watch it!"  So I happily sat there for another 2 hours, enjoying every minute of it.  I have seen the movie many times since it debuted in 2014, but I still love it. 

 

And then, right after Nine Lives... ended another favorite (from this year's new batch) began -- On the Twelfth Day of Christmas. 

 

So, basically, I have been watching TV for hours and hours and wasting the afternoon!  Lol.  But... I love these movies.  I feel like I haven't been able to really concentrate on them and enjoy them until the last few days/week (when my upstairs neighbors moved out), and in one week the Christmas movies will all be over -- so I might as well enjoy them while I can. 

 

Tonight, another all time favorite of mine -- The Christmas Ornament -- is on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, so I will be watching it too!  I love it!

 

I know what you mean -- when you're really busy and there are sooooo many movies from which to choose, it's hard to know which ones to zero in on if you can only watch a handful of them.  You don't want to feel like you wasted your spare time on a crappy movie.  That's when recommendations and suggestions can come in handy.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Sherry67

[twoods]

I think what made Nine Lives one of my favorites was that it showed the leads falling in love because they spent weeks together getting the house ready. Plus, the leading lady was relatable and was a vet student who was nice, loved animals, and was good at fixing stuff. She wasn't a stuffy executive who didn't want to have a relationship- she just had no time and wanted to finish school. I also liked that she was dorky and always said something awkward to Brandon's character (I forgot his name).

Going to watch Recipe For A Perfect Christmas- always a favorite of mine.

[TVFan17]

...That moment when you come to the harsh realization that Lifetime has ended its Christmas movies for the year...

 

Lifetime wastes no time in getting back to its usual psycho-stalker fare after December 25th.  I flipped to the channel, forgetting that the Christmas movies were over, only to stumble upon a new movie with Eric Roberts as a creepy doctor, telling his teenage (tied up) hostage that he studied gynecology for a year.

 

Toto, we're not in Christmas Land anymore...

Edited December 27, 2015 by Sherry67

[Sara2009]

I watched " A Very Merry Mix-Up" the other day. The story has many contrivances, but I thought the leads were completely adorable together. I was surprised by how much I liked them.

[twoods]

I watched " A Very Merry Mix-Up" the other day. The story has many contrivances, but I thought the leads were completely adorable together. I was surprised by how much I liked them.

I agree. I hated it last year but gave it another chance this year because of all the love on here, and the saving grace was the easy chemistry between the leads. Plus, I liked his family a lot.

[Sara2009]

I agree. I hated it last year but gave it another chance this year because of all the love on here, and the saving grace was the easy chemistry between the leads. Plus, I liked his family a lot.

Ordinarily I would've disliked the " We're soul mates after a couple of days" aspect of it, but their chemistry sort of sold me on it.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Well, whose idea was it to cut those scenes out of The Spirit of Christmas? Boo!  Sadly, I probably won't be able to track down the extended version.  I actually really like this movie.  The main woman was pretty, the main guy was pretty, and we got a happy ending.  That was enough for me.

 

I watched A Christmas Kiss II this weekend.  I didn't like the main guy, I didn't find him attractive (like, at all), and I thought he was quite skeevy.  They really needed to cast a guy that was charming, and this guy wasn't it.  I was hoping that they were going to pull a switcheroo and pair the main woman with her best guy friend/neighbor, but no such luck.  Ugh, I hated the main guy so much!

 

I watched the Mariah Carey Christmas movie, and wow, is she a really bad actress!  She was seriously terrible.  I wasn't fond of the little girl in the movie, and I wish that the girl playing Mariah's daughter would have been the lead instead.  Brennan Elliott was great with the little kids, though.

 

I'm really annoyed that I have to wait until next year to see the second half of The Bridge.  I liked the guy playing Ryan, but the girl playing Molly has played a few characters that I really didn't like (on The Killing, How to Get Away with Murder, and The Carrie Diaries), so it was hard for me to enjoy her here.

 

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas was cute, and I liked both of the leads.  I enjoyed Maggie's homemade cards and watching Mitch/Maggie perform the challenges listed inside together.

 

 

[sacrebleu]

 

I'm really annoyed that I have to wait until next year to see the second half of The Bridge.

Yeah-- not really drawn in my that story to make part two a priority.

 

 

I finally caught A Season for Miracles. I'm kind of surprised David Conrad doesn't show up in more of these Hallmark movies. He seems tailor-made as the sensitive male lead. (Although  since this movie is 15 years old, maybe he's aged out of those parts).

 

I saw the 12 Gifts of Christmas and I think between that and A Gift-Wrapped Christmas, we've reached our quota of "quirky personal shoppers who teach workaholics how to enjoy the holiday season, reconnect with family, and find love!"

 

It was party planners last year (All About Christmas Eve and Best Christmas Party Ever were both last year IIRC)

 

Anyone have any thoughts on what other professions might be examined as perfect Hallmark movie fodder? Dog Walkers? (Workaholic finds himself the owner of a dog- hires free spirited dog walker who teaches him to enjoy the simple things) Come on! puppies and Christmas! 

 

It's a little behind trend-- but maybe we can get a food truck in there somehow. (Food truck chef teaches workaholic how to enjoy the spirit of Christmas) or (rival food truck chefs fall in love during a competition to create the best Christmas feast) or better yet (Uptight chef finds love at Christmas when a food truck chef teaches him/her to enjoy the simpler pleasures of the season)

Yeah-- I could totally write a food truck movie spec script, I'm sure.

Edited December 28, 2015 by sacrebleu

[EyewatchTV211]

Well, whose idea was it to cut those scenes out of The Spirit of Christmas? Boo!  Sadly, I probably won't be able to track down the extended version.  I actually really like this movie.  The main woman was pretty, the main guy was pretty, and we got a happy ending.  That was enough for me.

 

They have the entire movie on their website for now (Lifetime). I haven't watched that one to see if it is the uncut version or not, but you might want to give it a try. 

[TVFan17]

Back at the beginning of the season ("the season" being when Hallmark began airing Christmas movies, which was before any other channel began airing them), I think I mentioned that I was hoping to try to catch some of the movies that have somehow escaped me over the last several years.  I have closely followed Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas for five years in a row at this point, and have seen a huge portion of their movies, but there are still some that have escaped me due to lack of time or lack of DVR space (especially movies that are now on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel).  Or, perhaps I had seen bits and pieces of them in the past but not the whole movies.   But, thanks to Hallmark's frequent repeats, every year I am able to catch something that I have not seen in the past.  Most of the movies I have missed are not movies that were actually part of the Countdown, but just random Christmas movies that Hallmark made before officially starting the Countdown event.

 

So this year the 3 movies that I finally saw in their entirety were A Boyfriend for Christmas, Christmas Magic and, at long last, The Christmas Card.  I think that Christmas Magic is the most recent of those movies, but the other two are old (especially A Boyfriend for Christmas).

 

A Boyfriend for Christmas -- while being 10 or 11 years old at this point -- seems like it could have been made this year, in terms of plot and general Hallmark feel.  The notable thing is that this appears to be the only Hallmark movie Patrick Muldoon has done, though he is certainly no stranger to Christmas movies or TV movies in general on other channels (including Lifetime, UP and Ion).  It made me wonder why either he has chosen to not do anything else for Hallmark, or why Hallmark has chosen to not do anything else with him.  We know that they love to use many of the same actors in multiple movies, so I wonder where it went wrong between Patrick and Hallmark.  Come to think of it, Kelli Williams has never done anything else for the channel either.

 

 

Christmas Magic -- Lindy Booth (who also did a movie for Lifetime called Twelve Trees of Christmas in 2013) is very charming and likeable.  So then I wondered why Hallmark hasn't done more with her either!  Given their penchant for sticking to their family of actors,  I am surprised she hasn't done anything else for Hallmark.   Anyway, I liked the movie better than I thought I would, and I can almost say that I liked the whole movie except for one bit -- that song.  The song that the restaurant owner (played by occasional Hallmark actor Paul McGillion) plays is then played/sung again -- so something like 4 times in total..    It's okay one time, but when it keeps popping up it then becomes too hokey.

 

 

The Christmas Card -- Again, we have 2 lead actors who have never again appeared in a Hallmark movie.  But I digress... this movie is one that many, many, many people mention (online, but not really here in this thread) as being either their favorite Hallmark Christmas movie of all time, or the best Hallmark movie of all time.   This movie constantly gets praise.  Up until last night I had only seen bits and pieces of it, out of order, and didn't have a sense of what was happening.  I knew I would have to watch it from beginning to end to see if I, too, fell under the spell of The Christmas Card.  Would I, too, think that this movie (from 2006, I believe) was one of the best Hallmark Christmas movies of all time, or would it become one of my personal favorites?

 

The answer to that is NO.  It has not made my list of all-time Hallmark favorites.  I guess I can pretty much say that I don't understand the hype and high praise for this movie, but I think that some people automatically tend to reject hype in general, and most things don't live up to hype.  So it was very unlikely that I would have thought that the hype was warranted.  If no one had ever spoken of the movie at all, or in such glowing terms, I might have thought it was better.

 

The Christmas Card was not bad, by any means.   There are good parts to it.  For the kind of movie it is, the acting and writing are not bad.  Personally, I think that the highlight of the whole movie is Ed Asner -- he pretty much steals the show, as he does in many movies.  The other supporting characters/family members were good too.  The two leads ("Faith" and "Cody") had a bit of chemistry, but not tons of it.  I didn't find myself rooting for them to get together, or wanting to see more scenes with them together. 

 

"Paul," the rival/boyfriend/fiancé of Faith, was useless and boring, and when Faith broke up with him (on a dramatic, snowy Christmas Eve, if I recall correctly), he didn't even put up a fuss or try to fight to keep her.  And all she said was "I'm sorry."  No speech.  No explanation.  Nothing.  She just took off her engagement ring and handed it to him, and that was the end of it.  If I am remembering my details, supposedly they had been seeing each other for several years, and yet it all ends with an "I'm sorry" and nothing more is said?

 

And another thing that irritated me -- though this is a nitpicky detail and not really anything important to dwell on -- at the beginning of the movie, I thought it was completely silly that Faith walked into the diner and just sat down to start eating a plate of food on the counter.  She went in there to pick up her usual to-go order -- which just happened to be the exact same thing that her soon-to-be true love (Cody) ordered.  His food was on a plate, waiting for him on the counter, as he was off in the bathroom.  Faith just sits down, whips out the ketchup and starts eating his fries without even asking anyone behind the counter if the food was hers or if it belonged to someone else.  And then, when she is handed her actual to-go order and she apologizes to Cody for the mistake, she just walks out.  She should have offered to buy his meal or something -- he would have turned her down, of course, because he was that kind of guy, but she should have offered.   She just put ketchup all over his fries and started eating them, after all!  

[dalek]

I enjoyed watching a number of the Hallmark, Ion and Lifetime Christmas movies this year, but for a moment I'm going to turn into middle aged lady standing on the lawn yelling at clouds.

 

I wish some of the excellent Christmas specials from my childhood were aired today.  For instance, I would love for The House Without a Christmas Tree to be broadcast on tv again.  It was an excellent adaptation of the Gail Rock book, winning an Emmy for the scriptwriter.  And even though it is set in 1946 Nebraska, I think it would still be popular today, given that Scholastic still sells the book.

 

Also, I wish they would rerun The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  My mom and I used to watch it and laugh, and we're Jewish.

 

And aging up a bit to my University years, I wish Nickolodeon would rerun Rugrats Chanukah, and the Christmas episodes of Rocko's Modern Life and Hey Arnold.

[Kromm]

I noticed this year TBS AND TNT marathoned A Christmas Story this yesr. In addition, CMT "counter-programmed" with A Christmas Story 2. Do NOT watch it!

It's really not THAT bad. The main problem with watching it might be if it sours your experience with the "real" original. If it were somehow a standalone though I doubt people would be as down on it. It was not genius, but compared to some of these cheap ass cable channel movies it's comparable (and maybe superior to some just for having a vintage setting). 

[KLovestoShop]

Until my sister pointed it out to me, I had no idea that the lying, nasty designer in I'm Not Ready For Christmas was Maxwell Caufield. He's still good looking, but he sure has changed since his Grease 2 days.

[TVFan17]

Well, I hadn't planned on watching The Bridge (Part 1) this year because Part 2 is not going to air until Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas 2016.  I figured, why bother with Part 1 now when I can just watch it next year before Part 2 airs?

 

However, I was watching the final-showing-of-the-season of (one of my all-time Hallmark favorites) The Christmas Ornament, and right after it ended The Bridge began.  Since I was already in place and settled, and there wasn't anything pressing to do at that moment, I decided... why not watch it?  It was the only one of the 17 new Countdown Christmas movies that I hadn't seen.

 

And... I'm glad I did!  While I am not going to join the chorus of complaints and outbursts over Part 2 not premiering for another year, Part 1 of The Bridge was quite good and I am interested in following the second half of it.   I have not read the book upon which this movie was based, but I love the idea of the charming bookstore/gathering place, where everyone is like family.  I love the couple that runs the store -- played by Faith Ford and Ted McGinley.  The young leads -- "Molly" and "Ryan" -- were cute and likable.  All of the customers of The Bridge (that's the bookstore's name) are interesting characters too.  And there was even a "villain" of sorts in Molly's father -- although it is clear that he is not a really bad guy at his core, but just a meddlesome father who doesn't want to lose his daughter so he messes up her love life and tries to control her career path.

 

While The Bridge has a lot of the Hallmark bells and whistles that we all know, and a few tropes (such as the dreaded conflict that has to arise to keep the young lovers apart), it also feels like it has a bit more substance and weight to it.  It's not a super serious drama all the way through (nor is it is a lighthearted romp), but it makes sense that it moved over to the Movies & Mysteries Channel.  It seems to fit better there than on the main channel.  Anyway, it's good -- and I'm glad I watched it before the Christmas movies end (the last movie of the season will air on Friday night).

 

I also watched the "oldie" (from 2011), Mistletoe Over Manhattan (with Tricia Helfer) -- which used to run on the regular Hallmark Channel, but was banished to the Movies & Mysteries Channel this year.   In the past I had only seen a portion of it -- I thought I had seen the whole thing, but it turns out I hadn't.   It was pretty good as well -- standard Christmas movie fare -- and I realized that the "jerky boyfriend" in the movie was the leading man/cowboy in One Starry Christmas (from 2014).  I think he was in another Hallmark movie too, but I can't recall which one.

 

 

Until my sister pointed it out to me, I had no idea that the lying, nasty designer in I'm Not Ready For Christmas was Maxwell Caufield. He's still good looking, but he sure has changed since his Grease 2 days.

 

I thought he was a great casting choice for the role that he played in I'm Not Ready for Christmas. He pulled it off quite well. 

[Chas411]

I liked A Christmas Wish but I hated the attempts to villify the ex husband. Sure he wasn't a good husband but he seemed to genuinely love his kids and just wanted to see them more. I just didn't buy his sudden evilness and attempts for full custody.

 

I also liked the The Christmas Parade with Annalynne Mccord. I always like her in films.

[sacrebleu]

I finally caught The Spirit of Christmas. Does anyone know how I can get the cranberry colored sweater she was wearing in the last scenes? I seriously covet it. 

 

 

update: Jen Lilley was kind enough to 'like' the tweet I sent her, complimenting the movie and admiring her cranberry sweater-- but did not cough up any brand/retail info #twitterfail 

Edited January 4, 2016 by sacrebleu

[TVFan17]

In an effort to free up some desperately needed DVR space earlier today, I watched Trading Christmas (with Faith Ford, Gil Bellows, Tom Cavanagh, Gabrielle Miller) and Naughty or Nice (with Hilarie Burton), before deleting them.  They are not in the top 5, but probably in my top 10 or top 15 favorite Hallmark Christmas movies.   I had not had a chance to watch them in 2015.  In fact, I'm not even sure I watched them in 2014 (too many other movies to keep up with). 

 

Anyway, Trading Christmas is a very good movie.  It feels... mature.  There are funny moments, but it's not all wacky shenanigans and whimsical Santas.  The characters in it have had experiences and lived full lives -- albeit, different types of lives -- and they don't act like silly teenagers in love.  The couples actually kiss before the end of the movie, and it's easy to believe that they will be having adult relationships.  The 4 lead actors in it are not in their 20s.  I think that 3 of them (Faith, Gil and Tom) were in their 40s at the time the movie was filmed, and the other one (Gabrielle) was in her 30s, so that helps make the movie feel more substantial.  The writing is not bad.  The acting is good.  If this movie had had a bunch of youngsters in it, it probably would not have been as good.

 

Naughty or Nice is thoroughly entertaining too.  The co-worker/co-elf ("Marco") that works with Hilarie Burton's character at the mall is a highlight -- he has great comedic timing, and the writing for his character is quite good.  I like this movie because -- although it is essentially about Christmas magic going awry -- it has a bit of a cynical edge to it.  It is not all rainbows and candy canes and cheery Christmas carols.  Much like the Alicia Witt movie, I'm Not Ready for Christmas (which I liked), Naughty or Nice features a lead character (Hilarie Burton) who is not necessarily likeable at first.  She does things that are probably not right, and she isn't always pleasant.  Sometimes she is downright obnoxious.  Her office co-worker turns out to be unsavory.   And her neighbor is a not-very-well-hidden Christmas kleptomaniac, who steals from everyone in the neighborhood, but is forgiven by the end of the movie because she also helps charities.  So, I guess the movie is ultimately about forgiveness too, probably in the name of Christmas spirit, but it's not terribly serious in the delivery of that message.

[TVFan17]

Two new tidbits of Christmas movie news for 2016:

 

One of Hallmark's new movies has, apparently, already been filmed, and it is currently called A Puppy for Christmas.  It stars Cynthia Busby -- who we will see in the upcoming Winterfest movie Unleashing Mr. Darcy this month -- as well as Greyston Holt, Allison Price, and Derek Mcgrath.  The title of the movie could very likely be changed at least once before it airs.  I actually wonder if it was shot in December so that it will be ready to debut during Christmas in July, or if it will be held until Nov-Dec.

 

One of Lifetime's new Christmas movies for 2016 is currently called A Wish for Christmas, and it stars former teen star Joey Lawrence (who was also in Hallmark's movie Hitched for the Holidays back in 2012).  It also stars Leigh-Allyn Baker, Anna Fricks and...... Jeff Schroeder from Big Brother!?!?!

 

Of course, we know that Part 2 of The Bridge is definitely coming to the Hallmark Channel as well. 

 

 

There are more tidbits in this article -- http://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2016/01/early-christmas-movie-news-for-2016.html -   but the ones I listed above appear to be definite and confirmed/recently filmed, whereas some of the other bits of info in the article are not as definite or they are in that "could possibly happen" category.

 

Edited to add:  The movie that Hallmark favorite Autumn Reeser just finished filming in Canada appears to be a Christmas movie, or at least a winter movie.  At first I only saw a barn and stable sort of set-up in her photos posted to social media, so I wasn't sure what type of movie it was.  She has since posted photos of scenes with real snow, and finally a photo of herself standing in front of Christmas stockings and other décor, holding a kitten who is apparently in the movie too.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Sherry67

[Kromm]

Heh. Well aside from speculating on next Christmas' movies, I'm sure we're due Valentines' Day ones any moment now.  And after that I suppose Easter movies are at least possible (if unlikely). But definitely Valentines Day ones.  Then what's the next jump?  A token Independence Day one perhaps?  Then all the way to Halloween, right?

[TVFan17]

Heh. Well aside from speculating on next Christmas' movies, I'm sure we're due Valentines' Day ones any moment now.  And after that I suppose Easter movies are at least possible (if unlikely). But definitely Valentines Day ones.  Then what's the next jump?  A token Independence Day one perhaps?  Then all the way to Halloween, right?

 

Easter seems to be a forgotten holiday in TV movies, for some reason!  I think there was a Waltons Easter special 100 years ago.  And, of course, Rankin-Bass made a few Easter specials way, way back in the day.  Otherwise, it's overlooked unless it is a very religious sort of thing.

 

The "Countdown to Valentine's Day" (on Hallmark) looks like it will probably begin on Saturday, January 30th with the new movie Love Lessons (starring Meghan Markle).  The second new movie is on Sunday, January 31st, and it's called All Things Valentine (so far, unless Hallmark suddenly changes the title).  If Hallmark repeats what they did last year, there should be 2 weeks of almost 'round-the-clock movies up until February 14th, with more new ones on Feb. 6th and 7th and at least one more new movie on Valentine's Day weekend (so a total of at least 5 new movies for the whole event).

 

I think that the UP channel -- which isn't exactly a go-to channel for light, frothy Valentine's Day romances -- will probably air its movie Christian Mingle, starring Lacey Chabert, from last year, since it is partially about dating.

 

Lifetime seems to have veered away from making just straight romance movies (whether comedic or dramatic), haven't they?  It seems like everything they do now has some element of danger or seedy behavior in it.  So I wonder if they have any new movies in store for Valentine's Day weekend that continue that same kind of perilous theme, or if they will just run their best stalker movies that weekend.

 

The 4th of July was covered in one Hallmark movie a couple of years ago -- When Sparks Fly -- but they don't seem to really be pursuing it as a backdrop for romance.  They have also done a couple of movies that I guess could count as St. Patrick's Day movies -- although they don't really involve the actual day of March 17th, but, rather, they involve Ireland.  They have done a "spring" movie and a "summer" movie.  They will do their "June Weddings" month, which should involve at least 3 new movies.   "Fall Harvest" will cover any movies that are remotely Halloween-ish on Hallmark. 

 

But Lifetime will probably just air the stalker movies again in honor of October 31st!  Lol.

 

 

Edited to add:  Hallmark just posted a partial schedule for some of the days in its 2-week Countdown to Valentine's Day event, with the names and premiere dates of all 5 of the new movies -- http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/valentines-day/countdown-to-valentines-day-schedule.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Sherry67

[NYGirl]

I know I'm late..but it is Little Christmas!  Last weekend I watched a couple of movies on demand and in my DVR list.  One of them was Baby's First Christmas which wasn't too bad.  It was a little different type of storyline however nobody has a C-section at night and is home and fine the next day.  I had 4 ..I know of what I speak.

 

I also saw Nick St Nick with Frazier as Santa's son.  The strange part of that one is they hire the cook because she has hotel management experience and next thing you know he's marrying her at the end.  They had no chemistry throughout the movie.

 

North Pole 2.  I love that little elf.  I saw the first one last year and I loved her again this year with Lori Laughlin.  Tried and true plot line but I liked all the actors.

[TVFan17]

I know I'm late..but it is Little Christmas!  Last weekend I watched a couple of movies on demand and in my DVR list.  One of them was Baby's First Christmas which wasn't too bad.  It was a little different type of storyline however nobody has a C-section at night and is home and fine the next day.  I had 4 ..I know of what I speak.

 

I also saw Nick St Nick with Frazier as Santa's son.  The strange part of that one is they hire the cook because she has hotel management experience and next thing you know he's marrying her at the end.  They had no chemistry throughout the movie.

 

North Pole 2.  I love that little elf.  I saw the first one last year and I loved her again this year with Lori Laughlin.  Tried and true plot line but I liked all the actors.

 

It is sounding like there is a serious possibility of a Northpole 3 -- although I am not clear on whether it is in the works for this year's Countdown to Christmas or the one in 2017 -- so you will probably get more of Clementine the Elf.  Bailee Madison, who plays Clementine and who is also in the Good Witch series, is getting older and I wonder if Hallmark will eventually be putting her in romance movies. 

 

It's funny that you mentioned Baby's First Christmas.  That is one that was a premiere in a Countdown to Christmas line-up several years ago -- I want to say maybe 2012 or so, but I could be wrong -- and, for some odd reason, I have never watched it all the way through.  I have only seen little bits and pieces.  I have seen mostly every other movie that Hallmark has done in the last 5 years, but that one keeps escaping me.  I think it didn't look good to me when it first debuted and I skipped it, and then I didn't have any time to watch it the following year.  And now it is getting played much less often during Hallmark's movie marathons because there are so many new movies pushing all of the older movies out.  It was not shown too much at all this past Nov-Dec, and it was shown at odd hours.

 

However, I had planned on trying to catch it.  I said to myself, "This year, try to watch Baby's First Christmas."  And, of course, I didn't have any room on the DVR nor did I have any chances to watch it for quite a while.  By the time I did have  chance it was gone.  So if it is in the On Demand menu I might finally try to catch it there.  Chances are it will be all but extinct by the time of the next Countdown to Christmas.

[TVFan17]

I had no clue where to post this, because I don't think there is a dedicated ION thread.  In fact, it seems that a lot of people don't even get the ION channel so I don't know if it is worth starting a thread?? 

 

So... since Valentine's Day is a holiday and since there is no ION thread, I will post this link here in the holiday TV thread -- http://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2016/01/ion-television-valentines-day-movie-heart-felt.html.

 

On Friday, February 12th, ION is airing a new Valentine-themed movie called Heart Felt.  It stars Emmanuelle Vaugier (recently seen in Hallmark's movie Love in Paradise), Christopher Russell (recently seen in Hallmark's Merry Matrimony) and lots of other folks, including Thomas Calabro of Melrose Place fame.   This movie won't conflict with the new Valentine-themed movies on Hallmark that weekend, which is a smart move on ION's part.

 

ION did a Halloween-ish movie in 2015, and they have certainly jumped into the Christmas movie phenomenon.  I guess it's time to cover Valentine's Day too.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Sherry67

[WendyCR72]

I had no clue where to post this, because I don't think there is a dedicated ION thread.  In fact, it seems that a lot of people don't even get the ION channel so I don't know if it is worth starting a thread??

 

For future reference, there is a thread for ION in the Networks forums.

[TVFan17]

Around this time of year there are usually some very early, rather limited, details that trickle out about a few of the movies headed to assorted channels for the holiday season.  I could be wrong, but I think it was sort of around this time last year when Hallmark announced that it was going to have "Thanksgiving Week" (with 5 nights of new movie premieres).  Hallmark does have another upfront event coming at the end of this month, so there may be a few morsels of info on their holiday movies to come out of that event.

 

In the meantime, Net at It's a Wonderful Movie has been diligently keeping track of all of the clues that are coming in about any and all movies in the works for this coming holiday season -- not just for Hallmark, but any channel.  She adds to this blog anytime she gets more details -- http://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2016/01/early-christmas-movie-news-for-2016.html

 

Right now there are one or two movies that seem to be heading to Hallmark; at least another one or two that are going to UP; and then something for Lifetime, etc.  (In fact, one of the plots of the new movies sounds like something that was on Lifetime last year.)

 

This could end up being a year where we see a lot more new (or less frequent) faces in Hallmark's movies because some of their regular leading ladies might be otherwise occupied.    If they are cranking out at least another 21 new Christmas movies (spread across their 2 channels), if not more, that offers up plenty of chances for less familiar faces as well as some familiar faces to appear (and I'm not even counting any of the other movies they premiere before the Countdown to Christmas).

 

Edited to add:  I don't think that Net mentioned it in the blog I linked above, but one of this year's Hallmark Christmas movies is going to be another one directed by Mariah Carey.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Sherry67

[TVFan17]

When Calls the Heart fans will be happy to know that Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing will each appear in a Christmas movie for Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas this year -- http://itsawonderfulmovie.blogspot.com/2016/04/hearties-alert-when-calls-the-heart-hallmark-season-4-four-more-news.html

 

In the video announcement on Home & Family I thought they were talking about two separate movies -- with Erin in one and Daniel in the other -- but it could be just one movie featuring the two of them.  Not sure.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Sherry67

[TVFan17]

Coat of Many Colors 2 looks like it is happening (the title is buried in the first paragraph) -- http://www.productionweekly.com/

[Irlandesa]

Interesting.  I wonder how this next one will be.  The first walked a fine line of touching and schmaltzy and managed to just barely stay on the touching side of things.  But it could easily go so wrong.

[TVFan17]

Make way for Christmas in July, Hallmark style!  Seventeen days of movies, with the first part of it devoted only to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and the last part of it devoted to the main Hallmark Channel.

Gold Crown Christmas Week begins on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on July 1st, and ends on July 10th.

Christmas Keepsake Week on the main Hallmark Channel begins on July 8th and ends on July 17th.

A new movie starring Susie Abromeit is going to premiere.

Here is the full press release --

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2016/05/13/crown-media-family-networks-gifts-viewers-with-an-early-christmas-97201/20160513hallmark01/#GrybZSOJbuMqorxZ.99

[TVFan17]

Countdown to Christmas news -- http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2016/06/08/hallmark-channel-announces-start-of-production-on-countdown-to-christmas-33011/20160608hallmark01/#EccjXbwUMeEMptSM.99

[twoods]

These movies seem similar to the ones in the past, and lots of fake boyfriends, exes, and pretend families. Didn't we have like three movies with the title "A Family For Christmas"? And there has to be the obligatory prince movie. That being said, I will probably still attempt to watch every single one of them.