15 unexpected Christmas specials you have to see to believe

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land

While doing research, there was one special that came up on every list. Whether they were calling the specials “unexpected,” “weird,” or “bad,” this one show came up every single time. And though I’ve never watched it, I can only imagine why. Christmas Comes to Pac-Land was an animated Christmas special that was a spin-off from the ABC Saturday morning cartoon based on the Pac-Man game. Apparently, it was popular, too (despite being widely considered weird), because it re-aired annually throughout the ’80s, the ’90s, and even in the new millennium.

Pac-Man, Mrs. Pac-Man, Baby Pac, Chomp-Chomp, and Sour Puss are enjoying a rare snowfall in Pac-Land, playing in the snow and making “snow ghosts” while they have some quality family bonding time. While this is happening, Santa Claus and his reindeer are flying through the sky getting ready for their Christmas run when Santa realizes they might be lost.

Santa ends up guiding his sleigh right into a path of escaping ghosts (who had just chased after the Pac family) which terrifies him and the reindeer. His sleigh spirals off path and crashes right into Pac-Land. Pac-Man and his family find them and decide to help the big guy get back on his route to deliver his gifts to children around the world.

The people of Pac-Land don’t quite understand who Santa is but they agree to help him anyway. They give Santa a nice cup of cocoa and let his exhausted and injured reindeer rest while Pac-Man heads out to find Santa’s lost sack of toys. But someone found the toys before they did, and they have started playing with them. Pac-Man takes the sack of toys away from the ghosts, but they chomp him as payback for their fight earlier, leaving him weak and alone in the snow.

After nearly freezing to death in the blizzard, Pac-Man brings the toy back home. And even though Santa is happy to find the toys, he thinks it might be too late for him to finish his Christmas run, and his reindeer are still exhausted. Pac-Man and his family know exactly what will boost their energy, and they set out to find them power pellets to help them finish their deliveries.

It doesn’t sound that weird, but everyone else seems to think it deserved a spot on this list, so who am I to disagree?