REMINDER: A CHRISTMAS CAROL - THE MUSICAL on TV tonight!!- Page 3

[Jon]

Posted: 11/28/04 at 11:26pm

Jacob Marley was Jewish?

Jason Alexander played him like Max Bialistock. The song, in it's minor key, reminded me of "King of Broadway".

The woman playing Mrs. Fezziwig seemed to be channelling Angela Lansbury's singing voice from Sweeney Todd.

[MagicToDo82]

Posted: 11/28/04 at 11:28pm

I was definitely seeing the Bialystock in Jacob Marley.

[rclocalz]

Posted: 11/28/04 at 11:49pm

When I first heard of a musical version of "A Christmas Carol" I was quite excited. After seeing this on TV I feel quite depressed. I thought that your suppose to be happy during the holidays, but after seeing this musical I feel depressed to know that some people in the U.S. who aren't fans of musicals probably watched this tonight and will never watch a musical again.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/28/04 at 11:54pm

Oh good, so I suppose it's omre worth it for me to catch CI instead? I wont' bother to tape it if it sucks so much.

[mebice]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 12:08am

When you get depressed, don't worry. You can always watch Muppet Christmas Carol...the songs in there are 100 times better. I know its childish with the muppets...but the music makes up for having to put up with kermit a hundred fold.
My thoughts on this version. I agree..i actually turned it off after the ghost of present. i like jacob marley. i thought jesse sounded nothing how i thought he would sound, but of course my only basis is a SOUNDTRACK (lol get a hobby you geeks) and that was done almost 10 years ago..so...jane was good....music was far far far far too repetitive! this is half the reason i turned it off.. i think that is all i have to say
goodnight...tech week resumes tomorrow..and just got done with a 10 out of 12...so goodnight

[FabalaCohen]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 12:55am

Okay, only got to watch parts of it because my roomie (who does not comprehend my musical obsessing- or so I think) came in for a good bit. Misssed the first half-hour and almost all of Jesse (cept for his last two lines as Ghost of Christmas Present).

From what I saw, I thought it was decent. Not stellar, but it's for TV. Thought Jane was good in her part, ditto for Jason. Is there a chance for a rerun on NBC/Bravo or any word of DVD release?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 1:00am

My mom recorded it for me, but I came in right when the ghost of Christmas Future came into do her work. Kelsey Grammar annoyed me with the looks he gave, but he had a decent voice. And I liked the song at the graveyard and when the children came in holding their candles. I will have to watch what was recorded for me to get a full decision on if I like it or not, but of what I saw, it was pretty good.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 1:07am

i missed the first 17 minutes but actually enjoyed it...i adore the patrick stewart version but always end up falling asleep at some point (i'm universally sick). i liked that it was kinda fast paced, not to mention i'm a fan of the bulk of the cast)

[MaTakeALookAtMe]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 1:43am

Yeah..bah humbug to this one!

Kelsey Grammar, not my favorite to begin with, is so damn boring and mediocre.

Totally lackluster and uninspired.

[Musetta1957]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 2:07am

Chiming in from the West Coast.

Wow, that was embarassing.

Luckily, I didn't start watching until about 10.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 3:01am

I liked it. I like how it was kind of like an operetta and mostly sung through. very nice. I guess since I don't really like any of the other christmas carols this one will be my favorite becasue it's a musical, fast pased and fun to watch. the dancing was really great, I think. And I enjoyed the performances from all the Broadway favorites. very nice.

[Dulcinea]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 3:09am

I find Kelsey Grammar to be incredibly egotistical and I don't know whay he considers himself a singer. I just wish there was more Ruthie Henshall

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 3:14am

He sounded good on the Anastasia soundtrack.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 6:16am

What was annoying was watching 10 minutes of the movie & 8 minutes of commercials. The running time was listed as 1 hour & 36 minutes but NBC had to cut into that figure as the amount of commercials was nauseating. Viewers probably turned out as many got fed up with the incessant commercials every 5 minutes

I enjoyed the movie. Thought Link By Link staged well. Jessie Martin;s song not staged well. Either Stro was unavailable or they could not afford her fee.On scale of 1 to 10 I give it an 8.

Updated On: 11/29/04 at 06:16 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 9:28am

I have to agree with Roxy. It wasn't all that bad. I give it a 7 or 8.

[ckeaton]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 9:55am

I enjoyed it, but I forgot that everyone in the whole damn thing had a song.

:)

I enjoyed it, but I like the Hellesen/DeBerry version better.

[Loge]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 10:38am

I am glad I stuck with Desperate Housewives. It's the best show on TV and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time last night. I tuned into Christmas Carol during the commercials and after Desperate Housewives. From what I saw, I was only impressed with "Link-by-Link" and J. K.'s Ghost of Christmas Present. Other than that, I thought it was horrible. Anything that has J. Love Hewitt in it causes the alarms to sound before I even see it.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 11:07am

Jane Krakowski was the best part of the film. Jennifer L. Hewitt was very good, as well.

I actually enjoyed the "Home" song. In the graveyard when the children came out and sang, it brought tears to my eyes.

But that's it. All other components SUCKED. One more exception - I LIKE how the three ghosts were townspeople in the beginning (didn't like how Scrooge knew it was them, especially at the end).

Just horrible. It's supposed to be a spooky tale that brings the Christmas spirit.

Yes, A MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL *WAS* so much better. THAT movie, even though it was some muppets, gave me chills. Spooked me. Provided a believeable Scrooge. Was good in every way.

I love Lynn Ahrens (and Stephen Flaherty's) work, but this is Ahrens' first work that I actually dislike. Lynn - stick with Stephen.

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 11:18am

I thought it was OK...not stellar...but OK.

[timote316]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 11:23am

I agree with jacob. I would have been unhappy had I spent money to see it in theaters, but it was alright for TV. I liked Link by Link, and Jesse's song.

One thing I did notice was that Jesse's singing voice has gotten a little higher since Rent. Either that or he's never showcased his range. I hope he can still sing Collins like on the Rent cast recording... oh well, he's great. lol

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 11:27am

Because I'm absolutely addicted to DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (a campy night time soap with fantastic actors??? WHO FREAKING KNEW???), I only switched back and forth during commercial breaks.

This CHRISTMAS CAROL made me with desperately that I was a Jew.

[lesserworm]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 11:33am

The music was not very good at all, but at least it wasn't annoying. It just wasn't memorable. The ghosts weren't scary or haunting, either which kind of ruined it.

[dotmarie]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 12:45pm

I stopped watching after Krakow's part, it was my bedtime.

I thought it was alright. The music WAS very repetitive. Ruthie needed a bigger part, but at least she got to sing!

I found Jason Alexander's wig to be funny.

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 12:50pm

Anyone know where you can find the complete cast list? They didn't play the credits and I wanted to know who some of the dancers were.

[dididda]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 1:05pm

i too very much like the idea of the three ghosts in the begining, anyone know about a dvd or cd of this version?

and i loved at the end with the children and the candles and ruthie coming back, i only wish that all of the people came(why just the mother and sister, why not emily, etc.)

overall on a scale of 1 to 10 i give it a 6.5 i thought it truly did get better towards the end and i get the sense that it would be really quite something on stage. i think the thing that really made the cookie crumble for me was grammer as scrooge, it was just too much overacting too much like "im going to be mean now, so that means scrunching my face and walking iwth a cain.".
i dont know, i was expecting more but c'est la vie.