There was a time when “The Ed Sullivan Show” was a vital part of current culture. It was a show that was on TVs throughout the country. Of course, that was also a time when families gathered around the one TV in the house to watch the same content at the same time. It was a time when there were only three networks. It was a time when there was no streaming. In other words, it was a different time.

I’m of the age where I vaguely remember seeing the show as a child. More recently, I have watched it on MeTV, but the version they show are not full episodes, but just the musical performances from various episodes put together to fit a theme for each night’s offering.

This DVD is similar to those MeTV offerings, but it’s not solely music. You get performances by impressionist Rich Little and comedian George Carlin and more. As you can probably guess, the theme here is Christmas. That makes this an excellent excuse for the family to once again gather around the TV and watch something together.

You can consider it nostalgia, because it is. You might not like everything here. In fact, I’d be surprised if you do. The range of performances is very wide. It is a nice piece of holiday entertainment, though. It takes us back to an earlier era, but it still manages to entertain.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.