Actor and comedian Tim Allen, best known for his iconic role of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story series, recently return another of his most beloved roles that began back in 1994 with the first of The Santa Clause movies. I must confess; I adore these films and Allen is one of my comedic heroes (his 1999 cult-hit Galaxy Quest, I believe, remains one of the funniest and most emotionally intelligent comedies ever made)
Imagine my delight when they announced a continuation of the story with a limited series that has not only delivered in terms of quality but a few Star Wars references thrown in for good measure proving the Force is always with us.
In Chapter 4 of the new show; Allen’s Santa has returned to live his life as Scott Calvin but can’t quite shake his habits as Old St. Nick. Just as he’s about to order a hot chocolate at a coffee shop he notices a child he used to deliver gifts to and the little tyke is clutching none of other than global superstar himself…Baby Yoda! (Grogu to us) A nice touch to show how Grogu really has become a phenomenon but also a little reminder to parents everywhere that Baby Yoda plush toys are AVAILIBLE IN STORES NOW!
And finally a fun reference, possibly from self-professed “Sci-Fi freak” Allen himself, comes in Chapter 5 of the show. Scott Calvin is shown the history of Christmas and all the Santa Claus’ that have come before him and Santa the 17th who served as Scott’s predecessor tells him that all Santa’s are chosen as a product of their time and recalls some of the horrors that he had to live through while he served as Santa. These included; the great plague, two world wars and The Star Wars Holiday Special. To add the comedic effect of the scene, Allen simply nods and agrees as if all these atrocities are of the same detriment to the world.
Over forty years later from the infamous TV airing and it is still the butt of pop-culture jokes.
The Santa Clauses is streaming now only on Disney Plus and The Star Wars Holiday Special can be found in stockings for anyone on the naughty list.
