It's A Wonderful Red Green Christmas

This article is about the 1998 Season episode. For the 2000 Season episode, see A Very Merry Red Green Christmas.

8th Season, Episode 172 (Transcript | Credits)

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Harold makes his own advent calendar

Red and the gang celebrate Christmas as only they know how.

Cast (in order of appearance): Red Green , Harold Green , Mike Hamar , Hap Shaughnessy , Arnie Dogan , Dalton Humphrey , Moose Thompson (mentioned), Bernice Green (mentioned), Ranger Gord , Edgar Montrose , Winston Rothschild , Bill Smith , Anne-Marie Humphrey (mentioned)

Original Air Date: December 1998 (PBS)

DVD: The Red Green Show – 1998 Season

Watch the episode on YouTube (shorter version only)

Segment Summary

See also: Transcript

Plot: Red, Harold and the rest of the Possum Lodge gang do various Christmas-related things as only they can, including doing their own versions of Christmas calendars and offering some tips on giving Christmas gifts.

Opening Scene: Red tries to walk along outside the Lodge, holding huge armfuls of various Christmas lawn ornaments. But he trips and falls down. All the various lawn ornaments fall down on him.

The Possum Lodge Word Game: Mike tries to guess the word "giving" to win an all-expenses-paid trip to France.

If It Ain't Broke, You're Not Trying: Hap brings in a bunch of Christmas lights for Red to fix because a rat had chewed off the plug. Hap insists that the lights be fixed because he had invented them, as a way of saving his platoon from when he was in the army.

Arnie's Christmas Song: Arnie sings "I Love Christmas", playing it on his guitar, with Red and Harold joining in.

The Experts: Mike and Dalton give their views on whether or not Santa Claus exists. (PBS airing only)

Red's Poetry: Red and Harold read their own version of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". (PBS airing only)

Handyman Corner: Red makes a one-horse open sleigh out of a K-car.

Midlife: How to explain the existence of Santa Claus.

If It Ain't Broke, You're Not Trying: Edgar brings in a snow cannon for Red to fix. After fixing it, Edgar helps Red put tinsel on a Christmas tree. He does so by using tinfoil as the tinsel and firing it at the tree from the newly-fixed cannon.

The Experts: Dalton explains how to celebrate Christmas without becoming too commercial about it. (PBS airing only)

Adventures With Bill: Bill and Red go into the woods to cut down a Christmas tree.

If It Ain't Broke, You're Not Trying: Dalton brings in some Christmas lights for Red to fix. (PBS airing only)

Red's Handyman Tips: Red shows how to put up a nativity scene using electronics. (PBS airing only)

Closing Scene: Red and Harold exchange gifts.

Fun Facts

Trivia

• This is the first hour-long Red Green special that is not a clip show.
• This is the very first Red Green Christmas special.
• On both the 1998 Season DVD and the original CBC airings, this episode was severely edited (this is the version seen in the link to YouTube). The only segments that were featured were:
  • The Possum Lodge Word Game
  • If It Ain't Broke, You're Not Trying (with Hap)
  • Arnie's song
  • Handyman Corner
  • Midlife
  • Harold's Christmas Countdown segment (followed by Red's)
  • Adventures With Bill
  • If It Ain't Broke, You're Not Trying (with Edgar)
• This episode marks the first one since The Schoolhouse Project where two Lodge members instead of one (in this case, Mike and Dalton) join Red and Harold in a "The Experts" segment.
• The version aired on PBS was released on its own DVD, as well as on the "Complete Red Green High Quantity Collection" box set.

Inside References

• In Bill's scene, he pulls out two axes out of his pants.

Real-World References

• The title of this episode is likely based on the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life, whose story takes place during the Christmas season.
• The Ghost of Christmas Past (which is what Red claims his parents call Harold) refers to a character in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Fast Forward

• Three more Christmas specials, A Very Merry Red Green Christmas, A Lot Like Christmas and The Butter Man, would be released in seasons 10, 12 and 14 respectively. Plus, another Christmas-themed, regular episode, Xmas In July, would air in season 11.
• Harold and Red would once again discuss the true existence of Santa Claus in a The Experts segment in A Lot Like Christmas, this time with Hap.