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FanFictions
- by Moira

Greatest Gift

1 Why Keith Hates Christmas
2 The Academy Years
3 A Christmas Wedding
4 Keith Loses Everything
5 Keith's Angel

6 Meeting the King
7 Meeting the Queen
8 Awakening
9 The Hunt
10 Time of Reckoning
11 The Dreamtime
12 Christmas Morning
13 Epilogue

About The Greatest Gift


The Story behind the Story

Philip Van Doren Stern wrote a short story titled 'The Greatest Gift'. He never could get anyone to buy it. He eventually gave up and had it printed up and sent it out as a Christmas card one Christmas. That's when R.K.O. Pictures came across it and bought the rights. But, being a short story it needed to be adapted for the big screen. They have several writers make an attempt at it but it never seemed right so they shelved it.

Enter Frank Capra. He found the story and bought the rights from R.K.O. He also got the other writers adaptations with the deal. But, he didn't like what they did with it. He felt that they were missing out on the biggest theme on the original tale. Of how one man can unknowingly dramatically change the events of his world. So he sat down himself using some of the other writer's ideas and wrote his own screenplay. Finally renaming it and shooting it as a motion picture. The film released in the theaters in 1946 and in spite of its star cast it was a flop.

But times were changing, and soon TVs were the thing to have and TV stations were hungry for anything to show especially at Christmas. When Frank Capra's film was made available for TV stations to play, it wasn't long before every TV station, hungry for Christmas content, played it at Christmas. And year after year it played eventually becoming one of the never to be missed movies of a many peoples holidays. THAT is how it became the Christmas classic we know it as today. And today one cannot imagine a Christmas without it. It truly isn't Christmas without 'It's a Wonderful Life.'

As for me, I figured I just do what Frank Capra did, and rewrote it yet again, using the same driving theme, one mans self doubts of his worth. I took a couple scenes almost verbatim from 'It's a Wonderful Life', only with slight changes. (Did you spot them?) Then I made all new scenes creating a new version of story and taking it to all new places. (and planets for that matter ;) )

Hope you enjoyed it.
Merry KA Christmas!

Fan Fiction, Moira, Greatest Gift, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, About