One of Alabama's most hallucinatory Christmas traditions has returned, delivering detailed reports on Santa's sacroiliac joint, an equatorial relocation of his North Pole workshop, and a song about feline ninjas protecting marine animals from six-pack rings.

Call it an early Christmas present: The crew behind the long-running "Dean and Company" public-access show has taken the wrapping off its 45th annual Christmas special.

The hourlong program aired Saturday on CW affiliate WTTO-TV 21; according to the show's Facebook page, it is scheduled to be shown at noon Sunday, Dec. 22, on ABC affiliate WBMA-TV 33/40.

It's also available for viewing on YouTube.

The loose plot posits that back trouble has prompted St. Nick to relocate his operation from the Arctic to Christmas Island, an isolated Australian territory in much warmer waters; problem is, the equatorial climate is messing with the old Christmas magic, and something has to be done about that.

In keeping with tradition, it's an hour of extremely gentle humor with a near-psychedelic mix of bright colors, skits and song-and-dance routines featuring original and familiar songs. "Welcome to 'Dean and Company,' the perpetrators advise near the beginning. "Watch and you could see your relatives or your friends, or it could even be you."

"Dean and Company" has been a feature of the Birmingham television scene since the late '70s, when it was created by Dana Dean Lesley Dougherty, her mother Daisy Dean Lesley and Dana's husband, Pat Dougherty. At least three generations of the extended Dean family take part in the latest edition of the Christmas special.

For more on "Dean and Company," visit https://www.facebook.com/DeanandCompanya.