Jump to content

Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Tag: New redirect
Line 1: Line 1:
#REDIRECT [[List of Shining Time Station episodes#Christmas Special (1990)]]
<!-- Please do not remove or change this AfD message until the discussion has been closed. -->

{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Shining Time Station: &#39;Tis a Gift|timestamp=20201009230343|year=2020|month=October|day=9|substed=yes|help=off}}
{{Rcat shell|
<!-- Once discussion is closed, please place on talk page: {{Old AfD multi|page=Shining Time Station: &#39;Tis a Gift|date=9 October 2020|result='''keep'''}} -->
{{R to related topic}}
<!-- End of AfD message, feel free to edit beyond this point -->
{{Unreferenced|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox television
| name = 'Tis a Gift
| image =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption =
| genre =
| creator =
| based_on =
| writer = [[Brian McConnachie]]
| screenplay =
| story =
| director = Gregory Lehane
| starring =
* [[Ringo Starr]]
* [[Didi Conn]]
* [[Nicole Leach]]
* [[Rachel Miner]]
* [[Brian O'Connor (actor)|Brian O'Connor]]
* [[Jason Woliner]]
* [[Lloyd Bridges]]
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer =
* Stephen Horelick
* [[Joe Raposo]]
| country = [[United States]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| num_episodes =
| producer =
* [[Britt Allcroft]]
* Rick Siggelkow
| editor = Michael Belanger
| cinematography =
| runtime = 56 minutes
| company = Quality Family Entertainment
| distributor =
| budget =
| network = [[PBS]]
| first_aired = {{Film date|1990|11|25}}
| last_aired =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| website =
| italic_title = no
}}
}}

''''''Tis a Gift''''' is a [[List of Christmas television specials|Christmas special]] of the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] television series ''[[Shining Time Station]]''. It was first broadcast on November 25, 1990.

==Synopsis and television cast change==

===Plot===
It is Christmastime at Shining Time Station. The scene opens with Mr. Conductor ([[Ringo Starr]]) carrying a freshly cut Christmas tree into his signal house.

The station is filled with people trying to catch trains to take them to see their families. Even Schemer ([[Brian O'Connor (actor)|Brian O'Connor]]) is in a good mood, because the Indian Valley committee is putting on a Christmas pageant and he is almost certain to get the part of Santa's helper. The kids, Matt ([[Jason Woliner]]) and Tanya ([[Nicole Leach]]), write letters to Santa Claus and Mr. Conductor sends them on their way.

An old man, Mr. Nicholas ([[Lloyd Bridges]]), enters the station carrying a Christmas tree with Harry's cousin, Tucker Cooper ([[Ardon Bess]]), and immediately knows everything about Stacy Jones ([[Didi Conn]]) from when she was a little girl. Mr. Nicholas says he is there to catch the Northern Star, a train that doesn't run on that railway, but Mr. Nicholas is confident it will come.

Meanwhile, Stacy agrees to watch Claire's (Judy Marshak) daughter, Vickie ([[Rachel Miner]]), a bratty little girl, at the station. Matt and Tanya dislike her because of her attitude. She meets Mr. Nicholas, who teaches her to be nice to people and it soon begins to work. Schemer's mother has made him a Santa's helper costume and he begins his campaign against Stacy by telling Midge Smoot ([[Bobo Lewis]]), J.B. King (Mart Hulswit) and the Mayor (Jerome Dempsey) untrue things about her.

Mr. Nicholas (actually [[Santa Claus]]) is still waiting for the Northern Star. To everyone's surprise, the train pulls into the station as he had predicted. Meanwhile, the fighting continues over who will play the part of Santa's helper. Mr. Nicholas encourages Vickie to use her gift of song to quell the conflict. Her singing of the 1848 Shaker song "Simple Gifts" reminds them all of the true spirit of Christmas. Harmony is restored as all gather around the tree to celebrate the power of believing and everyone gets to play Santa's helper and Vickey reconciles with her mom Claire.

===Notes===
The second-season casting change from Ringo Starr to George Carlin as Mr. Conductor would be explained by Starr's character having left Shining Time Station to go with Mr. Nicholas to the North Pole. While there is a brief encounter at the end of this program between Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Conductor, nothing in the story actually mentions Mr. Conductor's departure.

The snowy winter footage used for the opening and closing sequences was filmed at the [[Grand Canyon Railway]] between [[Williams, Arizona]] and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The final filmed scene of the title sequence shows the train pulling into the former Santa Fe Railway station at Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim. The historic Bright Angel Lodge and El Tovar Hotel are in the background nearby. The steam locomotive shown is #18, a 2-8-0 type. Number 18 appears again during the third musical number, "It's Christmas Time at the Railway Station", and also contributes the sound of its whistle, a [[Southern Pacific]] six-chime, for Mr. Nicholas' heard-but-not-seen "Northern Star." This locomotive later operated the [[Mount Hood Railroad]] in [[Oregon]] for 2006 & 2007 only, And from 2008 onwards, it is operating at the [[Rio Grande Scenic Railroad]] in [[Colorado]].

==Cast==
* [[Ringo Starr]] as Mr. Conductor
* [[Didi Conn]] as Stacy Jones
* [[Brian O'Connor (actor)|Brian O'Connor]] as Schemer
* [[Jason Woliner]] as Matt Jones
* [[Nicole Leach]] as Tanya Cupper
* [[Lloyd Bridges]] as Mr. Nicholas
* [[Ardon Bess]] as Tucker Cooper
* [[Bobo Lewis]] as Midge Smoot
* Jerome Dempsey as Mayor Flopdinger
* Mart Hulswit as Mr. J.B. King Esquire
* Judy Marshak as Claire
* [[Rachel Miner]] as Vickie

The Jukebox Band
* [[Jonathan Freeman (actor)|Jonathan Freeman]] as Tito
* Olga Marin as Didi
* [[Vaneese Thomas]] as Grace
* Alan Semok as Tex
* Craig Marin as Rex

==See also==
* [[List of American films of 1990]]
* [[List of Christmas television specials]]

==External links==

{{wikiquote}}

* {{IMDb title|id=0308884|title=Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift}}

{{Thomas}}

[[Category:PBS Kids shows]]
[[Category:1990 television specials]]
[[Category:Christmas television specials]]
[[Category:Thomas & Friends]]
[[Category:1990s American television specials]]
[[Category:PBS original programming]]

Revision as of 00:59, 17 October 2020

Redirect to:

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Shining_Time_Station:_%27Tis_a_Gift&oldid=983915020"