My first reaction: Heather and Tim doing a new Christmas story, a mashup of Dickens and Hodgson, how cool!
My second reaction: Argh! That's such a great idea, why did I not think of it?
My third reaction: Oh well. If someone's going to run with this idea that I'd never thought of, there are no better hands it could be in.
I really got a kick out of this one. Among other things, one of the things I liked about this story was how faithful it was in many of the details to A Christmas Carol. There are so many adaptations of A Christmas Carol, but most of them vary quite a bit more in the details. In this one, the descriptions of each of the ghosts was pretty much the same as the original, including the old/young appearance of Past, and the fact that the third ghost is "Christmas Yet to Come" rather than "Christmas Future". I liked how each ghost was progressively more aware of the ruse from the start, and the story gradually shifts from the familiar tale of Ebenezer to Hodgson's own tale. And I liked the homages to Hodgson with the name and the magnetic pentacle. There were so many funny parts it's hard to choose my favorite, but I think it would have to be when Hodgson, driven by his scientific curiosity, peeks under the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Present.
The one thing I didn't like was that the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was entirely too chatty for my tastes. I prefer the original foreboding and silent figure that conveys everything with gestures and scene. In every adaptation of A Christmas Carol, I always look forward to that interpretation. On the other hand, I don't see how else that ghost could've bridged to the ending given here if the ghost couldn't speak. And I liked the ending, with hints of It's a Wonderful Life. So I guess I can't really complain.
Of the four time spirits (including Hodgson) I'd say that the Ghost of Christmas Possible would be the least effective of the group. Past can help you understand how you came to be the way you are (to better understand and evoke change). Present can show you how you're affecting others right now (to better understand and evoke change). Future fills you with a sense of dread for the consequences of your current actions (to better understand and evoke change). But for the most part, the ability to see what is possible is more of a curse than a blessing, for it is more likely to instill regret and depression than resolve for change. It's already TOO LATE to evoke the changes suggested.
So what is he going to show Scrooge?
1. At first he suggests using it to show what his life could've been like. But what would that entail? What a great present time this would've been if he hadn't been such a bastard? How Tiny Tim would never have gotten so ill in the first place? How he could've been happily married if he hadn't screwed up his relationship? What good is it to show him how happy his life could've been if he can't get onto that track of reality. He can try to change, but if he's shown the most ideal of timelines then anything he can branch to now is certain to be a disappointment. He will have seen these other realities with their own eyes, and would be filled with regret at having missed forever his opportunity to really experience them. He might even be driven to suicide.
2. Then he suggests that he could pull the plot from It's a Wonderful Life, but would that really work in this circumstance? By every account I've heard, the experience of Scrooge's fellow man would've been improved dramatically if he'd never been born. Someone else would've filled his economic niche, and that person would likely be less mean and stingy just from random chance. So is the ghost going to show him an alternate present in which Scrooge was never born and the world is such a better place? Again, to what purpose? It worked in It's a Wonderful Life because there were tangible ways he'd improved the world that could be shown. Again, I think the results would be more likely to be regret and depression, possibly leading to suicide.
