CAROL CHRISTMAS, A

What happens when you pit three ghosts on a Christmas mission against a TV diva with attitude? You get a twist on Dickens that’s sure to light up any season…

With beauty, wealth, and her own talk show, Carol Cummings (Tori Spelling, Beverly Hills, 90210) is the hottest thing on television. Just ask her. She’s also the most impossible. Ask Jimmy Fields (Michael Landes, Hart’s War), her increasingly dispirited producer, and Roberta Timmons (Nina Siemaszko, Lonesome Dove), her compromised personal assistant—a single mother who can’t afford to lose her job. And just ask John Joyce (Jason Brooks, Baywatch), the city’s leading “good Samaritan” who once held a place in Carol’s heart before it was frozen by fame. As the holidays approach, there’s only one thing on Carol’s mind: deliver the best Christmas show her minions can muster—and scrooge anyone who doesn’t meet her demands. But when exhaustion takes over, so do the strangest hallucinations—like the ethereal appearance of her late Aunt Marla (Dinah Manoff, Grease), a heartless diva in her own right, weighted with the faded gold chains she forged in life. Once she taught Carol everything she knows. Now she’s back to caution her niece on the error of their ways.

There’s no better warning than three special guest stars. Get ready Carol Cummings, this is your life. First up, the Ghost of Christmas Past (Gary Coleman, Diff’rent Strokes), a diminutive former sitcom star who shows Carol how she lost out at true love when she traded John’s affections for her first big break. Next, the Ghost of Christmas Present, aka Dr. Bill (William Shatner, Star Trek), a quick-fix TV therapist who gives Carol a peek into the spirited and happy lives of all those she knows—and abuses. And last but not least, the Ghost of Christmas Future, her accommodating limo driver who’s delivered more than his share of up-and-coming stars into has-been oblivion. If Carol Cummings has a heart, this journey will help her find it. After all, this is Christmas, a time for miracles, and time for Carol to turn her life around—before it turns on her.

A Carol Christmas takes on a new look in this wise and witty, soulful and spirited update of Charles Dickens’s classic that’s sure to soften the heart of any Scrooge.