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Many of us have our own special memories of holidays past. Some of us even associate certain holidays with movies we hold dearly to us. There is a seemingly endless list of films that are often aired at Christmas time, and even more for the Halloween season. Aside from the nationally-aired marathons of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 during the majority of the 1990s and the first airings of Holiday classics, there is no particular tradition associated with movies and Thanksgiving. However, lucky science fiction/horror fans who lived in the Tri-State area during the late 1970s and far into the 1980s have long-associated Thanksgiving Weekend with King Kong and Godzilla marathons aired by WOR-TV Channel 9 (also known as the Holiday Movie Special).  Let us visit the early 1980s. The New York Islanders were in the middle of a four-year streak as a Stanley Cup Championship hockey team, compact discs had yet to be introduced to the consumer market and renting movies wasn't the taken-for-granted pastime that it is today. The advent of DVD and on-demand video viewing were far off on the horizon. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ends at Noon, giving the viewer free reign over the television. It was around this time that WOR-TV began its Thanksgiving Weekend marathon. After the first few yearly airings, the marathon had a predictable schedule. WOR-TV on Turkey Day brought forth an invasion in the form of stop-motion-animated apes.....  Mighty Joe Young, King Kong and Son of Kong were the classics that were aired, roughly between Noon and 6PM. WOR-9 viewers were able to enjoy seeing enormous gorillas battle lions, giant cave bears and dinosaurs. Memories of sitting with family members in front of these black-and-white monster classics while the turkey was still cooking in the kitchen flood the mind.....with the fest ending around the time that dessert was being served. Although the holiday came once a year, the movies themselves were aired fairly often back then. However, the fact that the movies were aired on Thanksgiving made the holiday just that much more enjoyable.  Night would fall, family and visitors would say their goodbyes and return home as the holiday came to an end. The sun would rise the next morning on what many would consider to be a "bonus" to the holiday, unofficially creating a four-day holiday weekend that still stands in the wake of the forthcoming Holiday Season. Some people rest and clean up, others take to the malls to take advantage of insane sales. In the early 1980s, however, the day after Thanksgiving set the stage for WOR-9's second half of the Thanksgiving Weekend marathon. This time, Godzilla ruled the tube.....  King Kong Vs. Godzilla, Godzilla Vs. Megalon and Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster were aired. Although the films may have varied by year (with the likes of Godzilla Vs. The Cosmic Monster sneaking in there a few times), the remaining years of this television tradition featured these films. People lucky enough to have been off from school or work the day after Thanksgiving were treated to Godzilla's classic battles with King Kong on Mt. Fuji, Gigan and Megalon's assault on Jet Jaguar and Hedorah's many horrible attacks on Tokyo Bay. Lunchtime kicked off the fest, and it ended around the time many would stumble in the front door with packages purchased at the mall. Just as the family hour arrived and leftovers were being prepared, Godzilla walked off into the sunset.  From 1985-1987, the RKO Kong tradition disappeared from the Thanksgiving Day festivities while Kong's Toho counterparts were presented as a double feature rather than a trio of films the next day. King Kong Vs. Godzilla remained as part of the marathon, however, the rest of the Godzilla films were replaced by King Kong Escapes. "Oh well, it's better than nothing," is what many had probably thought. However, Kong being gone from Thanksgiving Day was a horrible beginning to the end of the tradition. AMC briefly kept the RKO Kong tradition alive a few years later.  The remainder of the tradition's last installment was in 1987. I myself remember receiving the monthly cable guide in the mail for November 1988, eagerly wanting to check the lineup for the day after Thanksgiving. I immediately turned to the page that featured programming the day after Thanksgiving. The listing: 1:00 PM - "Barnaby Jones." "What?!? Barnaby Jones is being aired instead of my movies?!?!?!" I was crushed. What was I to do, a kid who looked forward to King Kong and Godzilla every Thanksgiving weekend?!?! That is when I vowed to buy every Godzilla movie on VHS. Thus began my mammoth collection of movies, something that has been in existence for nearly 20 years.  Just as channel 9's tradition was tuned out, a totally new tradition was beginning. Although no one knew it, something big was about to be unleashed. Mystery Science Theatre 3000 launched Thanksgiving Day in 1988. For many years to come, MST3K "Turkey Day" marathons ran regularly on Comedy Central.  On the day after Thanksgiving of 1988, I had to settle for my brand-new VHS copy of Ghidrah, The Three Headed Monster. But hope was on the horizon; I had ordered Godzilla Vs. Megalon and Son of Godzilla from the Sears Holiday Wish Book. Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster were soon to follow. I was at least able to re-create part of the tradition. Luckily in this day and age, DVDs of these films are widely available. Universal has released discs of King Kong Vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes and Warner released DVDs of Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young and King Kong, while there are fantastic DVDs of Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla (aka Cosmic Monster) and Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (aka The Smog Monster). There's even a double feature disc of Godzilla Vs. Megalon and Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster floating around. Although these films are gone from the tube, we can all keep the tradition alive, whether in memory or with home video. "I think they're beginning to carve the turkey aleady in there.....put Kong on pause....." OTHER RESEARCH AND INFORMATION:The following clips are intended to give the reader an understanding of the nostalgia shared by fans of this tradition. More material will be posted as it is found. WOR-TV 9 Thanksgiving Promo for Upcoming Godzilla Marathon WOR-TV 9 Thanksgiving Odds and Ends King Kong Vs. Godzilla Trailer Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster Trailer
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