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[Fully Lost] "A Mac Davis Special: Christmas Odyssey - 2010" (Aired December 12, 1978 on NBC)

Television

Status: Fully Lost
Description:I am looking for the completely missing 1978 NBC Christmas variety special starring country singer Mac Davis, officially titled "A Mac Davis Special: Christmas Odyssey - 2010". It originally aired on Tuesday, December 12, 1978, at 10:00 PM EST.
Unlike his standard holiday shows, this was a bizarre, dystopian sci-fi musical variety special. The plot takes place in a future where traditional Christmas is outlawed and replaced by a corporate holiday called "Commerce Day". People who celebrate Christmas are persecuted. Ted Knight plays a "Santa Claus" character who is actually a government double agent sent to hunt down Christmas celebrators. The special also starred Bernadette Peters and Paul Lynde.
Proof of Existence:
It has an official IMDb Entry.
It is documented on the Mac Davis Christmas Specials Wiki.
Historical television logs from December 1978 print newspapers confirm the 10:00 PM air time. What is Missing / Search Efforts:
While Mac Davis's 1977, 1979, and 1980 specials have been salvaged from home VHS/Beta tapes and uploaded online, the full video broadcast of the 1978 special is entirely missing. No footage, clips, or audio tracks have ever surfaced on YouTube or trading circles.
I remember seeing this show as a kid, with singing about "R2D2 fish" and a money tree instead of a Christmas tree. A few users on r/RetroFuturism also remember watching it as children, but no one seems to have a recording. I am hoping to find someone who collects vintage TV master tapes or off-air home recordings from December 1978 who might have this captured.

Posted Aug 13, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC

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