Getting a television for Christmas in 1949 was a much bigger deal than it is today. Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, televisions were just becoming a household mainstay. Instead of gathering around the radio, families began gathering around their television sets for popular shows like The Silver Theater, ABC Barn Dance, The Goldbergs, and The Lone Ranger. Many of the first television shows were adaptations of successful radio programs.
The Final Song begins on Christmas Day 1949 when Sheffield surprises Victoria with a brand new television set with a lop-sided green bow on top. She isn’t sure what to make of it or what the garden club will think of her present!
Regardless, the family gathers around for a special showing of A Christmas Carol, narrated by Vincent Price. If you would like to watch this old, beloved version of the classic tale, click the link and pretend you are sitting in the Stilwell living room in 1949!
“Gilbert K. Chesterton once said, ‘In everybody there is a thing that loves children, fears death, and likes sunlight, and this thing enjoys Charles Dickens,” Vincent spoke and everyone leaned forward a bit to both look and listen.
“Well, I be,” Grandpa Chester said. “You really can see him.”
“Of course you can,” Sheffield replied.
“Shh,” Victoria hushed them.
“To begin with, Jacob Marley was dead,” Vincent continued, and they all watched on as the narration ended and the Christmas Carol unfolded before them.
The Final Song, Chapter 1