Merry Christmas!

DVD Transfer 118 is a recording of mostly Christmas specials taped from TBN around 2001-03

CONTENTS

1. Legend of the Candy Cane (2001 animated special featuring the voices of Tom Bosley {"Happy Days"; "Father Dowling Mysteries"}; Florence Henderson {"The Brady Bunch"}; Paige O'Hara {"Beauty & the Beast"}; Malcolm-Jamal Warner {"The Cosby Show"; "Malcolm & Eddie"}; Bruce Marchiano {who has often played Jesus in various films, such as the "Visual Bible" series and more recently in Pure Flix's "The Encounter" series} and Ossie Davis {whose career spanned over 5 decades as an actor [often working with wife Ruby Dee] and one of the first black directors, Davis - who frequently worked with Spike Lee in his later career - was also a civil-rights activist who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington})

2. Winning in Life (Christmas message from Robb Thompson {pastor of Chicago suburb Tinley Park, IL's "Family Christian Center"} titled "Uncovering the Hidden Treasure of the Holidays")

3. A Christian Carol (no that's not a typo, this was presented as a "Christianized" version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol")

4. Ben-Hur (2003 GoodTimes Entertainment animated version; this adaptation of the 1880 novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" by Lew Wallace is introduced by screen legend Charlton Heston {who played the title character in the 1959 version and reprises the role as a voice actor here in what was Heston's final film role - as by the time it was released, Heston [who in addition to that role; Moses in 1956's "The Ten Commandments" and George Taylor in 1968's "Planet of the Apes", had been known in more recent years as president of the National Rifle Association] had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; ultimately passing away from pneumonia in 2008}. Other prominent voice actors {mostly based in Canada and several of whom later went on to work on "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and related series} included Scott McNeil; Tabitha St. Germain {later famous for her roles on "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" including Rarity, Princess Luna and Derpy Hooves}; Kathleen Barr {also a "Friendship is Magic" regular; mainly as the voice of Queen Chrysalis and Trixie Lulamoon, Barr's other notable voice work included Marie Kanker and Kevin in "Ed, Edd and Eddy" and Dot Matrix in "ReBoot"}; Willow Johnson {Starlight in "My Little Pony Tales"; Kasumi Tenyo in the English dub of the anime "Ranma 1/2" and Kikyo in the English dub of "Inuyasha"}; Long John Baldry {originally known as one of the first British singers to record the blues on a regular basis - including forming bands that launched the careers of Rod Stewart and Elton John - before working mainly as a voice actor, most famously as the voice of Dr. Robotnik in "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog". This would also be one of Baldry's last performances before his death from an antibiotic resistant chest infection in 2005}; Dale Wilson {best known as the narrator and other characters such as Mutt, Captain Grid-Iron and Overkill in the 1989-92 "G.I. Joe" cartoons}; Mackenzie Gray {other than Heston, perhaps the only other voice who was known more for on-camera acting; including a pair of appearances as Lex Luthor in "Smallville" and 3 appearances as Dr. Curdle in "Riverdale"}; Richard Newman {whose notable roles included Cranky Doodle Donkey in "Friendship is Magic" and Rhinox in "Beast Wars: Transformers"}; Ian James Corlett {best known as the voice of Goku in the original English dub of "Dragon Ball Z" as well as the title character in the 1994 animated version of "Mega Man"}; Michael Dobson {the eldest of the Dobson acting family alongside brothers Paul and Brian; Michael's best known roles included Starscream in the "Transformers Unicron Trilogy"; Cobra Commander in "G.I. Joe: Spy Troops" and "Valor vs. Venom" and Bulk Biceps in "Friendship is Magic"} and Lee Tockar {best known as Snips on "Friendship is Magic"; Fidgel in "3-2-1 Penguins!"; the title character in the 2007 "George of the Jungle" cartoon and Eugene "Bling Bling Boy" Hamilton in "Johnny Test"})

5. Rock Church (something along the lines of pursuing God in 2003. The Virginia Beach, VA megachurch was founded by Anne Gimenez {who was preaching} alongside her husband John in 1968 after John's conversion to Christianity {in large part due to the witness of Scott Ross, who had just started working for Pat Robertson around that time and who for many years afterwards would be the 700 Club's unofficial "celebrity interviewer"}. The Gimenezes would later become connected with what became known as the "Religious Right" when the first Washington for Jesus rally - organized by Gimenez alongside Robertson, Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell, Campus Crusade for Christ {now Cru} founder Bill Bright and Nigerian preacher Benson Idahosa - was held in 1980; with subsequent rallies held in 1988 {some of which can be seen in the 700 Club footage from DVD Transfer 40} and 1996 {which I went to with my family, my dad also went to the first one in 1980} which was succeeded by the America for Jesus rallies in 2004 and 2012. John Gimenez passed away in 2008 and Anne served as solo pastor for a time. Unfortunately, the last couple of years have seen the church shrouded with controversy related to the current pastor; John Blanchard {who married one of the Gimenez's daughters, Robin and had been pastor since 2013} when in late October 2021 Blanchard was one of several men arrested in a sting operation for trying to solicit sex from what they thought was a teenage girl - but was actually an undercover cop. To make matters worse, Anne bailed him out and the congregation apparently was kept unaware of the charges until the story broke in the news a few days later; prompting Rock Church to cover their rears, including going dark on much of their social media platforms. In a controversial ruling in October; all charges were subsequently dropped, but as late as this past Sunday (December 18); protestors could be seen outside Rock Church demanding Blanchard's ouster {in addition; Blanchard had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman who worked for the church in 2018; with charges being pressed but Blanchard ultimately being acquitted the following year})

6. Listen America (the political talk show hosted by Jerry Falwell Sr.; this and the previous clip were from the Angel One channel on Dish operated by the old SkyAngel firm. Falwell's guest in the partly taped-over recording is radio and longtime FOX News host Sean Hannity {then host of "Hannity & Colmes" alongside more liberal colleague Alan Colmes, upon Colmes stepping down in 2009; Hannity subsequently hosted the renamed "Hannity" solo} to discuss his book "Let Freedom Ring" and the then-upcoming 2002 midterms)