I watched this on TV last night, and I just want to say first and foremost that I am a die-hard Rankin Bass fan. That being said: It wasn't bad in terms of TV special quality (which isn't saying much). The first will always be better; great original Christmas specials can never be made better. But it made three choices that make it OK in my book: 1) It was not remade as a CG feature (who else was creeped out by the bad CG animation remakes these last few years?).<br /><br />2) It kept at least one of the Rankin Bass songs. I had so prepared myself for the lack of music, which defines the magic of the original... but we do get to hear a live action remake of the Heat Miser / Cold Miser song that I thoroughly enjoyed (with choreographed sexy dancing ladies, for some reason). It's rare to see characters singing anymore in TV or the Movies; even the latest Disney films lack that, so I was surprised and delighted to hear this version.<br /><br />3) It claims to be based on the original book of the same name that Rankin and Bass based their story on, therefore giving more room for interpretation without necessarily being a remake of the original movie.<br /><br />Of course, there are noticeable flaws. Overuse of throwbacks to previous Christmas specials and pop culture references, for one. The acting was very stilted, and it was obvious that many of these NBC TV stars were fulfilling an obligation of some sort to the network. The editing, writing, and costuming was often downright confusing (can anyone help explain Carol Kane's getup?).<br /><br />But did I enjoy myself? Yup. Do I expect to see this on TV again next year? Definitely not. So try to catch it if you can; if not, just pop in the original and have a very merry holiday.