This guest post from Lewis Beck
My favorite New Year's Eve program is actually a cartoon, and it's one that includes one of Christmas' most beloved characters, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The name of the show is
Rudolph's Shiny New Year, and it features the vocal talents of many well known performers of the day.
The marvelous Red Skelton provides the voice of Father Time. The animation in this show is so awesome that when you watch the animated Father Time, you can't help but see Skelton.
Frank Gorshin does the voice for Sir Ten-to-Three, while Morey Amsterdam brings life to O.M. (full name: One Million).
The premise is that Happy, the baby New Year, has run away. If he's not found, there won't be a new year at all. Father Time sends an urgent message to Santa Claus, who has just returned from delivering presents to the children of the world. Naturally, Santa asks Rudolph to help, and he does.
This program is so much fun. I love Father Time, and little Happy makes me giggle. He has a lot in common with Rudolph, which is really the crux of the show. It takes a while, but Rudolph eventually teaches Happy that people are laughing with him and not at him.
I watch this special every year on satellite TV from
www.bestchoicetv.com. It's the perfect way to start out the new year.