030 Rudolph’s Shiny New Year: The Weirdest Holiday Special You Forgot Existed

Are we still allowed to say “Happy New Year”?
Apparently yes — at least long enough to revisit one of the strangest holiday TV specials ever made.

In this episode, we dive headfirst into Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976), the Rankin/Bass stop-motion follow-up that somehow thought the world needed Baby New Year, an evil immortal vulture, time-traveling islands, friendly dinosaurs, and a deeply questionable Rudolph.

We break down:

• Why New Year–themed movies and TV specials are surprisingly rare
• How Rudolph’s Shiny New Year tried (and failed) to cash in on the popularity of the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• The absolutely bonkers plot involving Father Time, Baby New Year “Happy,” and the threat of December 31st lasting forever
• The Archipelago of Last Years (yes, really), including cavemen, dinosaurs, and the Island of No Name
• The creepy motivations of Eon the Terrible, an evil vulture trying to stop time itself
• Why Rudolph — of all characters — comes off as… not very nice
• How Rankin/Bass stop-motion (“Animagic”) remains impressive even when the story completely falls apart
• Which holiday specials do still hold up — and which are best left forgotten

We also talk voice casting (hello, Red Skelton and Frank Gorshin), nostalgia vs. reality, and whether this is a holiday special anyone actually needs to revisit.

Spoiler alert: If you’ve never seen Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, there’s probably a reason — and we’re not convinced you should fix that.

🎄⏰🦌