mark.waltz After a rather inappropriate rap opening (with impossible to understand lyrics), this takes off with gusto in recreating all the classic moments from the 1983 cult favorite film adapted for the stage as a touring production and coming to Broadway in 2012. Having seen that production (right after visiting the other Christmas musical, "Elf!"), I was completely enchanted. Revisiting it the following year in the cavernous Madison Square Garden, I was too far away to regain that delight, but in anticipation of this TV special, prayed that all my favorite parts would be included. A few alterations didn't make much of a difference, although one major obvious blooper instantly got my attention, involving the infamous leg of lamp.Headlining the cast as the narrator and older version of the hopeful kid wanting the Red Ryder bee bee gun is the understated Matthew Broderick, perhaps not my first choice, but gray haired enough to be age appropriate. Chris Diamantopoulos and Maya Rudolph are perfect casting as the beleagured parents of the nearly angelic boys Ralphie and Randy (Andy Walken and Tyler Wladis) who bellow their lines a bit but do a fine job otherwise. Jane Krakowski youthens teacher Miss Shields, but seems very 1940's like in her singing and dancing. My favorite part of the Broadway production was Caroline O'Connor as the slightly older version (still younger than the 1983 version) who seems very 1940's and can be seen in the 2013's Tony Awards clip.A good majority of the Broadway score is present, and lovingly recreated. Certain changes are obviously p.c. based, but what matters is the joy that you can find if you open your hearts. Complaints about this being a musical were overwhelming to read, but it was never promoted as anything else. The important details are kept in place, especially the 1940's atmosphere. A little bit of Hannukah is added to diversify the holiday, and that's ok too. I just wish the continuity people noticed that there was another leg in the crate which made no sense for the burial of the entire lamp in that scene.

walterdennisleen Now age 75 , I can related to this story and best evaluate its merits versus all 4 prior medium versions, down to the fact that TV did not exist at the time of the story or in my house either but bith hosuies had coal fired heating and I really wanted that RR BB gun, Yes, every adult told me " YOU WILL SHOT YOUR EYE OUT" In life that RR BB gun was the only thing I really wanted that I never obtained, but I always loved and respected my parent anyhow. I I Enjoyed this 5th level version and saved it on tape to share some ( but not all ) with my grandchildren who always ask about the "Leg " nitelite in my home. Down to the playground "monkey bars" the stage set were as valid as the songs were bad and rushed. The openning jazz seen was unnecessary but the coming attractions( live or made to appear live -fooled me ) was awesome. However, I am one of the few peopel who can say that i heard the original the first time told ny the "Shep' on NYC WOR radio on Christmas eve 1959 ( or so) and then read the book ( In God We Trust All Others Pay Cash" --like JamesBond- first published in Playboy Magazine ), long before the movie . Two years ago I saw the PLAY off-broadway. Only true Jean Shepherd fans/followers realized how much is lost at evey new levelwhile perhaps adding something new-- like music ,or as in this live TV production some political correct stuff. Hiowever, while I can't remember 1959 so well ( it was 250,000 miles of air travel ago ) Schwartz was in fact a Jewish family so those new additiions may well be more valid than the movie. It is hard to please the young today or capture their attention , but I do hope i will not live to see" A Christmas Story- the Video Game".

NavyOrion Three freaking hours! Anyone who managed to see all of this Christmas train wreck must surely,by the end have wished for a Red Ryder BB gun, just so they could shoot their eyes out!Every promo for the special stressed the fact that it starred Maya Rudolph, who got top billing as Ralphie's mother (the rest of the supposedly "star-studded" cast was filled with other SNL has-beens and C-list never-weres.) This reflected the producer's blind conviction, against all evidence, that audiences find Maya Rudolph pleasant, talented, funny, or attractive. SHE IS NONE OF THESE.I wish they would give Rudolph her own expensive TV special, costarring Lena Dunham, Rebel Wilson, and Rosie O'Donnell. Then the Hollywood execs who insist on putting these mediocrities in front of cameras would lose a bunch of cash, and the 99.9% of us who have better taste could miss seeing all of them at the same time.

Keldrick Having been thoroughly disappointed by Peter Pan Live, The Sound of Music Live and Grease Live, I'm not sure why I expected A Christmas Story Live, based on one of my favorite movies of all time, to be any better. (ed. It was worse. Far worse than I could have possibly imagined.)The good: The kid playing Ralphie did look kinda like Peter Billingsley. That's it for the good. Everything else, from the awful pre-intro by some atrociously auto-tuned and over-mixed pop thing, to the horrible finale, was just wave after wave of telecinematic diarrhea. It was like the producers, director and Matthew Broderick went out on a weeklong bender of Pabst Blue Ribbon, dubious quality burritos, chili-cheese fries and buckets of MSG, then proceeded to explosively defecate this show on the consciousness of the North American people. Broderick, your career was pretty much dead. You should have let it die completely, rather than sign on to this. Every character, completely mis-cast, and without getting into specifics, the liberal-agenda political correctness B.S. sprinkled throughout was glaringly obvious and contrived.Everybody associated with this production, from the executive producers, all the way down to the youngest performer, even the poor kid from the catering company who put out the napkins, needs to be blackballed/blacklisted from the entertainment industry, and be forced to eke out their existence flipping burgers. And not the good $15/hr burger-flipping jobs in Washington state. The crappy $10/hr burger-flipping gigs where the employees still get treated like scum.Sadly, IMDB does not allow me to give this piece of excrement a zero-star rating. I'm looking at the other reviews, and anything that is not a 1star, I'm thinking "What the hell did you watch? Because you clearly saw something different than what I was watching."