Next Stop, Christmas is a 2021 Hallmark Channel original movie, as part of their annual "Countdown to Christmas" movie lineup, originally airing on Christmas Day, 2021. Directed by Dustin Rickert, the film stars Lyndsy Fonseca, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson.
In 2021, Dr. Angie Reynolds (Fonseca) prepares to spend another Christmas alone on call for the hospital. However, after nodding off on her usual commuter train home, she awakens on an unknown and quaint train, overseen by a mysterious Conductor (Lloyd), and realizes she is back in her home town, in 2011. After she's recovered from the shock of time travel, she realizes that she now can make different choices in life and that the right actions might give her the ticket back to the future.
Tropes in this film include:
- Self-Serving Memory: While Angie has regretted turning down Tyler's proposal since he went on to become a famous celebrity sports announcer, going back to that Christmas helps Angie remember that she broke up with Tyler because he didn’t understand her bond with her family, acting as though she should be eager to get away from them and do something new rather than appreciating her old traditions. Angie's time in the past also helps her realise her attachment to her old friend Ben Lee, who she previously “dismissed” as another brother as he grew up as her neighbour.
- Shout-Out:
- Christopher Lloyd has a Time traveling train.
- Time-Travel Romance: Angie spends the film trying to decide on the two men in her past.
