Is nothing sacred?

Next Monday, NBC will be airing a live-action version of the Rankin-Bass puppetoon classic The Year Without a Santa Claus, starring John Goodman as Santa, Harvey Fierstein as the Heatmiser, and Michael McKean as the Snowmeiser. Also present in the cast are Delta Burke and Chris Kattan.

Pardon us. The mediocrity is making us a little nauseous.

The original, 1974 version of The Year Without a Santa Claus was, for a number of years, pulled from the airwaves because--as rumor has it--parents were complaining that the Heatmiser was nothing but a thinly-veiled depiction of Satan. To which all we can ask is, Yeah. So? But, for whatever reason--a realization that that theory was ridiculous, or just a more general acceptance of Satan in all his guises--the classic cartoon has been airing at Christmastime for the last few years, and we are happy to tell you you can catch it tonight at 8 p.m. on the ABC Family Channel (channel 52 for those Comcast subscibers). And if one puppetoon classic isn't enough for you, they're airing a lot more the rest of the month. Check their schedule for dates and times.

Ahhh. Santa and Satan. We think we've just been possessed by the Christmas spirit!