‘Pat Boone and Family: Christmas & Thanksgiving Specials’

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

Two Pat Boone & Family holiday specials combine to get viewers into the holiday spirit on this one DVD. There are plenty of songs and some silly skits.

Pat’s wife Shirley and their daughters Cherry, Lindy, Debby, and Laurie join their famous father for some old-time variety shows. The shows aired in 1978 and 1979, and they definitely look it. There are no special effects or anything else modern so these shows are a good blast from the past!

The Christmas special has the Boone family preparing for a large party, but no one shows up. Well, almost no one. Norman Fell and Audra Lindley, aka The Ropers from Three’s Company, accept the invitation. The Hudson Brothers who also had their own variety show appear in these Boone specials. Also making cameos are Rosemary Clooney, Dinah Shore, Tom Bosley, Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone, and their friends. And Bob Hope appears in a skit with Pat at the milk bar. Yes, if you know anything about Pat Boone you know how wholesome his image is and he drinks milk.

The Thanksgiving special celebrates the entire Boone family, with a nod to Debby who had recently married her husband Gabriel Ferrer. Frankly, the best scenes from these TV specials are with the four sisters.

There are some bonus features on the DVD, including a new interview with Pat Boone, a look at the family through the years, a featurette about Debby and her hit song “You Light Up My Life,” and more. And throughout the two specials viewers do get entertained with some fun songs by the Boones together and separately. It’s kind of like a mix-and-match Boones!

Are these shows hokey? Yes. Are these what we loved back in the day? Yes. Are they still entertaining? To those who love this family and nostalgia television, absolutely.

To reiterate, this disc is a blast from the past.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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