credit sequence, Martin Mull tells the staff that they  have "a hastily rehearsed production number" to perform. This was  actually a true statement. The shows creators had planned to use  "We Need A Little Christmas" from the musical Mame as the opening  number, but with new lyrics written specifically for the special.  However, when the songs composer Jerry Herman (qv) rejected the  new lyrics, the opening had to be scrapped and restaged using the  songs original lyrics. The actors had less than an hour to learn  the new number before the show was taped.