In Fat Albert 99% of the interactions between characters are how much they annoy one another. This is no different in the Christmas Special. The special opens on the guys putting on a Christmas pageant. Then there are two knocks on the door. First it’s Old Mister Tyrone. He owns the junkyard the boys hang out in. Tyrone tells the boys to leave so he can bulldoze their clubhouse to the ground. Tyrone leaves. The second knock is a small boy named Marshall. Marshall’s family is living out of their car and their car just broke down. Marshall’s father is unemployed and his mother is expecting another baby in the next few hours. Just like at the birth of Christ, the family is so desperate they saw a clubhouse in a junkyard and decided this was an appropriate place to ask for help. The gang decides to help the family. Meanwhile, Fat Albert works as a Santa for Mister Tyrone so he doesn’t bulldoze the clubhouse, but the gang shows up and screws up the deal. Tyrone berates the boys and the homeless character, Mudfoot, overhears. Mudfoot calls Tyrone a horrible person. Fat Albert defends Tyrone and tells Mudfoot he’s only pissed off because his wife passed away. The confrontation leaves Tyrone reconsidering his attitude. Marshall gets back to the clubhouse first and overhears his parents bemoaning the fact they have no income and a growing family. Marshall decides to run away. Fat Albert gets him to stay by saying they would be much poorer if Marshall ran away (Although, that’s pretty hard to believe since right now his mother is giving birth in a condemned junkyard clubhouse). This special had a pretty strong social message and a very obvious Jesus allegory. For the late 70’s, I was surprised at how this message was poignant even 30 years later. Great specials stand the test of time and teach us all about the true meaning of Christmas and The Fat Albert Christmas Special accomplishes both these goals. “You are like school at vacation time. No Class!” “No Insurance? You’ll have to go to the city hospital. They handle CHARITY CASES.”
