Five Bad Christmas Specials That Never Caught On [VIDEOS]

During the holiday season, when you can watch classics like Rudolph, Frosty, and Charlie Brown, there are hundreds of other Christmas specials that have been produced that don't get seen year in and year out.  There's probably a reason for that.  Here are 5 specials that just didn't have the staying power as the classics we know today.

He Man and She Ra: A Christmas Special

I hate to put this one in the 'bad' category, since I was such a fan of He Man and She Ra, but I think we'd have been better off if Eternia was a place that had never heard of Christmas and Santa.  They don't need an excuse to whoop up on Skeletor and company, and if you give those evil-doers a Holiday to crash, well, they're gonna crash it.  If you make it through the whole special now, you've had some pretty good eggnog, and I want some.

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

As if the song wasn't enough to hate Christmas forever, now you have a movie mystery, based on the Elmo and Patsy tune.  So, Santa crashes into Grandma, but apparently she's not dead, just missing.  The plot looks full of holes in this one, so though I've never seen it, I can guess why it doesn't come back every year.

A Very Brady Christmas

Who didn't want to see the happy Brady family get back together for Christmas?  Well, most fans would be up for that bit of nostalgia, but instead we have a mean, unhappy, and dysfunctional group.  The Brady kids hate their lives or are living lies.  Worst of all, some of the Brady kids, weren't even the real kids.  Look, if you can't get all the original cast together, DON'T do a reunion.  This depressing special hasn't been seen since the 80's and that's a good thing.

A Claymation Christmas Celebration

I'm not sure why, but I remember in grade school how cool it was to collect California Raisins...Raisins!  That's right, the dancing fruit from the Raisin Advisory Board ads, got so popular that they were in fast food kids' meals and yes, on Christmas specials.  I remember waiting with baited breath to see this one, only to be slightly disturbed by the singing camels, crazy bell guy, and goofy dinosaurs hosting the show.  Pretty sure it aired more than once, but didn't have the staying power to entertain us for the long haul, but have you ever tried a raisin after it's been around too long...blech!

Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

Yeah, this sounds like something straight out of SNL, but it's true.  I discovered this one on a compilation DVD with classics like the Grinch.  Rankin and Bass, of Rudolph fame, went to the well one too many times, and just ripped off Rudolph's story and gave it to a new animal to be ridiculed.  The problem is this one is just so laughable, and not in a good way.  The producers got kind of sloppy on this one and instead of good stop motion, they just sat creepy-looking stuffed animals, with goofy faces around the set to fill space.  The animation is worse than Rudolph, the story is silly, and parts are just way too sad to see every Christmas.