one of the BEST xmas specials EVERRRRRRRR!
It's a shame HBO didn't stick to their roots and play this during the Holidays all the time like they did when I was a kid...Are there any good family xmas specials left???
shareIt's a shame HBO didn't stick to their roots and play this during the Holidays all the time like they did when I was a kid...Are there any good family xmas specials left???
shareI have a VHS of "Emmet" taped from HBO many years ago, and a commercial VHS purchased at Blockbuster several years ago. THEY ARE DIFFERENT! I am attempting to locate a commercial copy of the original version, but I do not know how to distinguish between the two. Can anyone help?
shareHi. This is someones Amazon.com review and it may help. PLEASE TELL ME IF YOUR TAPED VERSION IS NARRATED BY KERMET. Thanks!
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There are 2 versions of Emmet Otter, November 14, 2001
Reviewer: "roche1972" (Summit, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
To clear up some of the confusion and angry reviews about this special being edited, as a fan of Emmet Otter, let me explain that there are 2 different versions of this classic holiday special. In 1977, HBO first aired Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas and also ran it in 1978 and 1979 which is the version that's been available on VHS for years and was just released on DVD. In 1980, ABC snatched the special away from HBO for one year and made some changes to it including adding Kermit's voiceover narration, trimming some of the songs ("Ain't No Hole In The Washtub" and the reprise of "When The River Meets The Sea"), extending some scenes like the Riverside Rest scene where Emmet, Ma and the boys are singing inside where it pans over to Kermit narrating to us the audience (the original 1977 version did not have Kermit at the Riverside Rest but just dissolved onto the next scene when Emmet, Ma and the boys are walking home after singing) while trimming others. HBO began airing the special again in 1981 and throughout the '80s but instead of using the original 1977 version that they ran from 1977 to 1979, they instead ran the ABC network version which is what most viewers had remembered seeing and therefore were upset by the video release which was the original 1977 cut and not the 1980 network version. So my advice to those who still have a copy from HBO recorded during the '80s, keep it and buy the video version which is the original version that aired back in 1977 on HBO and watch them back to back and decide for yourself which version you like the most. Personally, I prefer the video edition because that was the version I had remembered watching as a kid. I just wanted to clear up any confusion by those who had bought the video or DVD and was disappointed to see what they thought was an "edited version" of what they had remembered seeing on ABC or HBO in the '80s which is not really the case when it comes to this classic holiday special where there are 2 versions: the 1977 cut which ran on HBO from 1977 to 1979 and the 1980 ABC network version which ran once on ABC in 1980 and on HBO from 1981 into the late '80s. Hope this information helps.
If I'm understanding correctly, the DVD version isn't the one I grew up with. I saw on Amazon that it cut out the line when Mrs. Otter tells Mrs. Fox to go jump off a dock. It also doesn't have Kermit ending it.
So is this other version available on VHS?
This show used to be a staple for me and my family on Xmas when I was a kid. Probably from when I was 2 or 3, all the way up through age 10 or so (The movie came out a year before I did). Heh heh.
I still can't believe Jim Henson is gone, and it has been quite a while, the man was a genius.
In God WWE Trust