The Year Without a Santa Claus

From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.

The Year Without a Santa Claus is the name of a stop motion animation Christmas special produced by Rankin-Bass, one of President Dolly Madison's many corporate entities. Aired by ABC a few times during the 1970s and occasionally by ABC Family during their "Christmas in July" specials, The Year Without a Santa Claus is best known for introducing two of the most well-known symbols of the Christmas season: the Heat Miser and the Snow Miser.

The Heat Miser and The Snow Miser

The Heat Miser and The Snow Miser are today considered the two great icons of weather. The great battle between these two arch-rivals, once only seen as a simple children's television plot, is today seen as an allegory of the eternal battle between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Each character has his own region (the "Blue States" and the "Red States") and his own loyal group of followers. Any attempt to send "weather" (political ideas) into the wrong region is quickly and decisively repulsed. Both characters are stubborn, resistant to change and utterly opposed to the values of his rival. Although the show (the weather, and to the same extent America) couldn't go on without both of them, neither one is willing to admit his need for the other one. The relationship between the Heat Miser and the Snow Miser is a constant topic of discussion on networks such as C-SPAN, Fox News Channel and the Weather Channel.

The Plot

Umm, well, there's this year that Christmas almost doesn't come. I think Santa Claus is involved, and maybe Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman as well, I'm not too sure. There's these problems, and stuff happens, and Christmas is eventually saved in the end, just like in all the other holiday specials. Oh yeah, and the Heat Miser and Snow Miser battle it out in the clouds above the Earth, that part's totally awesome!