Each Christmas season, when CBS chooses to run other specials in place of their most successful NCIS show, we delight in watching the many excellent Christmas themed two-hour specials on Hallmark Channel. Instead of paying special attention to the NCIS show so we can write our weekly critique (the next new NCIS episode airs December 15), we relax and enjoy the wholesome uplifting shows shown on the Hallmark Channel.

Last night we watched “The Bridge,” Hallmark’s newest Christmas serving, based on a novel by Karen Kingsbury. She writes excellent, family friendly books. We remarked while watching the movie adaptation that the writing was a notch better than some of those we’d seen already this year on Hallmark. What a shock we received when the two hours ended, but the movie didn’t. Let this be a warning to those of you who recorded “The Bridge” with the intention of watching it closer to Christmas 2015. You might want to save that recording and watch in December of 2016.

We’ve been disappointed in the past when the producers of Mark Harmon’s NCIS show have made us wait an additional week to see the conclusion of a bifurcated and continued show. We were flabbergasted when at the clumsy end of “The Bridge”, the following message flashed on the screen … “To Be Continued … Christmas 2016.”

Yes, there are those who warn that our society is hooked on ‘instant gratification,’ but Hallmark Channel has taken the alternative to an extreme. Because of circumstances in our lives, some will not see the ending in 2016. Can we trust Hallmark in the future? They could have advertised that last night’s airing was the first installment. But, then maybe some with very hectic schedules would have taken a pass, knowing they may never see the conclusion. We feel like we were deceived. Kudos to the actors who really did a fine job; however, we think the producers of “The Bridge” are deserving of a ‘lump of coal.’

We know there are serious issues facing our nation at this time and we are going to save commenting on those for another blog posting. For now, we’d love to know what are your favorite Christmas movies!

Be Blessed, Diane and David Munson