AllMovie

This half-hour musical comedy-revue is staged as the Christmas episode of "The Alan Brady Show" (though clearly played by Carl Reiner, we still don't see Alan's face, since he is hidden behind a Santa beard). The program is a showcase for Brady staffers Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam), Sally Rogers (Rose Marie), and Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon) as well as Rob's wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) and son Ritchie (Larry Mathews). Highlights include "I Have Everything But You," an elaborate song-and-dance routine from Rob and Laura (both dressed in Santa suits); Sally's plaintive "Santa, Send Me a Fella"; a cello solo from Buddy ("Jingle Bells," what else?); an a capella choral tribute to Alan Brady, with unexpected interpolations; and the ensemble number "I Am a Fine Musician," previously performed on the second-season episode "The Sam Pomerantz Scandals." What many fans consider the low point of the show, Ritchie's off-key rendition of "The Little Drummer Boy," is generally cut from the syndication prints.