The Moviegoer’s Favorite Holiday TV Shows
Hayley:
My favorite winter tradition as a kid was to watch all the claymation classics, so I adore Community season 2’s take on the holiday genre. In a season ripe with great episodes — like the paintball showdown and meta “Paradigms of Human Memory” — “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” still manages to distinguish itself as one of the best. In the wake of an inexplicably mental breakdown, Abed’s reality becomes stop-motion animated. With the help of the study group, Professor and newly anointed Christmas Wizard Duncan (John Oliver) tricks Abed into group therapy to find the root of his distress, and they all embark on a journey through Abed’s mind. Duncan’s goal is to find out why Abed is living in claymation; Abed’s is to find the meaning of Christmas. Each Greendale student is turned into a toy that represents their character — for example, Annie’s a wind-up ballerina because, in Britta’s words, she’s “fragile” and “tightly wound”.
The episode works so well in part because we experience it both through Abed’s eyes and those of the rest of the study group, who aren’t living in stop-motion. The whimsical North Pole adventure stays grounded with sarcastic quips from Jeff and Pierce. On top of musical numbers, humor, and the inventiveness that makes Community so good, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” also offers a nice message in the adaptability of tradition (that might ring even truer in yet another pandemic holiday).
Matt:
Running out the clock on the year every holiday season is always only about one thing, The New Year’s Day Twilight Zone marathon. It’s a day spent not only with one of the greatest shows of all time, but it’s the perfect detox from the previous year (and perhaps also the previous night), and just a wonderful way to start the new year. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. In your pajamas, inevitably eating leftovers, and spending time with some amazing golden oldies. Seasoned marathon veterans will know that the real classics don’t usually start to air until around 6pm. That’s when ‘Time enough at last’, ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet’, ‘Eye of the beholder’ and ‘Five characters in search of an exit’ start to show up in the schedule.
Further down the list of favorites in a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind, and airing in the mid-afternoon slots, are some of the real gems though, the deeper cuts, especially from some of the earlier seasons. The wonderful ‘A Stop at Willoughby’, ‘A Hundred Yards Over the Rim’ and my all-time favorite, ‘Nick of Time’, with a barely-out-of-diapers William Shatner losing his mind thinking a diner’s fortune teller machine is actually telling the truth.
These days it might feel like real life is more like an episode of the Twilight Zone (we’re looking at you, Black Mirror), but starting every January 1st spending all day with these old friends, who never truly seem to age, and are always just as compelling and expertly-written as they were 60 years ago, always seems to be the perfect way to ease into the new year.
The Twilight Zone New Year’s Day marathon airs on SyFy on New Year’s Day
Emma:
Christmas has never been my favorite time of year. Sure, the decorations are pretty and the joy of the masses is contagious, but I’ve just never felt quite as holly jolly as others. Enter Festivus, a new winter celebration free from the commercial pressures of the holiday season, introduced to most by Seinfeld’s classic season 9 episode, “The Strike.” Originally thought up by author Daniel O'Keefe, it happens every year on December 23 and includes a Festivus dinner, an aluminum pole in place of a tree, the Airing of Grievances, and Feats of Strength. Also featured in the episode are the gang’s typically absurd antics, here in the form of a bagel strike, phone tag, a woman with two faces, and the Human Fund. The jokes still hold up after almost 23 years, making me laugh after countless rewatches, and this episode sees some of Frank Costanza’s (Jerry Stiller) best moments.
Find out more about a Festivus for the rest of us on Netflix.
Karan:
While my choice might be a bit basic (fair), it’s such a memorable episode that I don’t think any other comes close. I am, of course, talking about “The One with the Routine” (Friends Season 6 Episode 10). This episode has its quintessentially Christmas bits with Rachel, Chandler and Phoebe agonizing over finding Monica’s presents, but what sets it apart is the namesake scene. I didn’t quite expect a dance routine at all, and certainly not the one we get. But it is at once so hilarious and so utterly Friends that you can’t help but falling in love with it. Ross and Monica give everything and more to the dance, and their conviction leads us to believe in it. After all, it’s a celebration of their childhood memories, and the fact they unashamedly embrace it is the most festive thing aspect of the episode. Coming out of the episode, you’ll have all the good vibes you need and more. If that isn’t the perfect Christmas TV episode, what is?
Friends is available to stream on HBO Max
Maya:
In the episode “Camp David” of the HBO comedy Veep, we get to get a glimpse into how the president might spend her Christmas. In this episode, President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) heads to Camp David with her family to exchange gifts, and in the holiday spirit, have secret negotiations with the Chinese government. This is one of my favorite holiday episodes because it is incredibly chaotic. Selina rushes to find gifts for the Chinese delegates as their gift was better than her initial one. Naturally, she gifts them with random things found around the house, including wine from New Zealand and a geode. While all this negotiating and gift-exchanging is happening, the infamous Jonah is running for office in New Hampshire. While Jonah (Timothy Simons) eventually wins his election, throughout the episode he manages to throw an apple at his opponent during a debate and literally shoot himself in the foot. Everything about this episode screams chaotic family Christmas, all while dealing with matters of national importance. In typical Veep fashion, everything in this episode that can go wrong, goes wrong.
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