Rudolph’s Shiny New Year on ABC

By Ally Matteodo

There is no better choice for Best TV Show of the Week than Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, which aired on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 28^th.  Produced by the Rankin-Bass company which delighted generations of viewers with the stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, in this sequel Santa enlists Rudolph’s help once more, this time to rescue Happy, the baby New Year.  Father Time sends a message to Santa explaining that Baby New Year is missing—if he isn’t discovered before the end of December 31^st, the old year will go on and on, and it will remain December 31^st forever.  This leaves Rudolph with less than a week to discover Happy’s whereabouts.  Happy ran away for much the same reason that Rudolph originally ran away from his home—ridicule at the hands of his peers.  While Rudolph’s bright nose was the subject of scrutiny, Happy’s large ears elicit laughter from all those who view them.  Usually covered by a large top hat, whenever Happy takes the hat off and reveals them, he’s disappointed by the reaction of others who he believed were his friends, and departs.  While Rudolph crosses the Sands of Time desert, he comes across a screeching vulture named Aeon.  Aeon lives for an eon, and then perishes.  This would be his final year of life, but if he discovers Happy and keeps him from Father Time’s castle, he will be able to live in perpetuity.  Rudolph realizes he must find Happy before Aeon does.  Father Time believes that Happy traveled to the Archipelago of Last Year in the far north.  Each island represents a past year—when a year ends, he retreats to the archipelago and chooses an island.  There, his year stands still in time forever.  Rudolph travels to One Million B.C., and the island of 1023 which is populated by fairy tale characters like the Three Bears and Rumplestiltskin.  On the island of 1776, Aeon abducts Happy after a Fourth of July parade and brings him to the Island of No Name.  Rudolph, Big Ben (a giant whale), and Benjamin Franklin arrive on the island in the nick of time.  As the clock strikes midnight, Santa appears with his sleigh, and transports the group back to Father Time’s castle, where Happy is crowned as the New Year, and all is right with the world. 

 The prequel to this special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, represents one of the most beloved and long-running holiday specials in television history.  In Rudolph’s Shiny New Year Red Skelton lends his voice as narrator and Father Time, and it’s delightful to hear his voice once again and reflect upon this comedian’s many gifts.  Indeed, it’s heartening to see our old friends again, including Rudolph and Santa.  When Rudolph finally meets with Baby New Year, Happy at first refuses to remove his hat, afraid of enduring ridicule again.  Rudolph then shows him his bright red nose, and explains that Happy’s ears are what make him unique—they’re wonderfully special. That’s the reason that people laugh when they see them, it’s not out of meanness, it’s out of ebullience!  Even when the cold-hearted Aeon views the baby’s ears, he laughs uncontrollably, and Rudolph realizes that Aeon will never turn to ice and snow now due to the warmth of his happiness.  Everyone holds insecurities over a certain trait or feature of their own, and it’s specials such as this that encourage us to embrace our differences.  These idiosyncrasies can be a major source of happiness and assistance to others, and those who would make us feel ashamed are not worth our worry.  Rudolph explains to Happy that he believes due to his special big ears, this New Year will be the happiest and best yet, and there is much wisdom in the red-nosed reindeer’s words.  It’s only right to start the New Year off with optimism and hope of a brighter future.

Best TV Show of the Week

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