Yuletide TV Day 25: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Series: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 

Episode: S1E15 "Deck the Halls"

Original airdate: December 10, 1990

Santa? Plastic Santa

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: Amazon Video

Unique Christmas Story:

In "Deck the Halls" Will Smith needs to deal with a family who is taking a dull approach to Christmas. The Banks family doesn't share the unbounding joy Will feels for the season. Even his cousin Ashley, the youngest of the Banks whom Will hopes will get excited for the season, has decided to use her winter break to learn vocabulary.

Will's aunt takes pity on him an sends him to pick up their Christmas decorations, instead of having them delivered and put up by a service. Will takes Ashley along with him and gets involved in one of the funniest and most depressing exchanges about the season with the store clerk. The store clerk is the epitome of 90's L.A. culture. He doesn't like anything mainstream and takes his holiday inspiration from Jamaica and its tropical climate.

But Will isn't going to settle for a straight-laced Christmas. He ditches the decorations and takes Ashley to buy their own. He covers the house in obnoxious lights, reindeer, candy canes and jolly men in red suits. However, he soon finds his efforts to spread some Christmas cheer have riled up the neighbors who view the display as too tacky for their upscale tastes.

It's a story with a happy ending, but one that also demonstrates the importance of letting loose during the Christmas. There are few opportunities throughout the year when it is socially acceptable to have unbridled enthusiasm about an event, and Will shows that Christmas is the perfect time to do so.

Unique Christmas Message:

If you got it, flaunt it.

That's it for Christmas folks, hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Keep checking back for more posts and some year end wrap ups next week.

Yuletide TV Day 24: Community

Series: Community

Episode: S1E12 "Comparative Religion"

Original airdate: December 10, 2009

Santa? Non-denominational Mr. Winter

Other holidays mentioned: Something called Merry Happy, Hanukkah

Availability: Hulu Plus and DVD

Unique Christmas Story:

Tis is probably not the episode that most people would pick when overing a Community Christmas, but let me make my argument as to why this is the best of the three Community Christmas episodes. I won't deny the sure brilliance of "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas," I love that episode. I also won't deny the sheer fun that oozes out of "Regional Holiday Music," but that episode doesn't have a whole lot going on beyond the musical numbers.

I like "Comparative Religion" for its un-elaborative-ness. I don't mean it's simplistic in the way Cheers, was, in fact there are some big issues being dealt with in this episode. It's a nice half-way point in the show's first season where the characters are still discovering things about each other, and in this case, that thing is each other's religious beliefs. But wrapped up in their religious dialogue is also a story that stays true to the show's college experience roots.

This episode really deals with bullies. There are two kinds of bullies in the world: aggressive and passive-aggressive. The aggressive bully in this episode picks on Abed, and Jeff, who is tries to calm the bully down gets roped into a fight with him on the school grounds. Shirley is the passive-aggressive bully. When everyone is discussing their holiday plans she finds out not everyone in the study-group is Christian. While she invites everyone to come to her holiday party to celebrate their traditions, she gives  the party an overwhelming Christian vibe, going so far as to shove Annie's menorah into the depths of a Christmas tree.

Jeff is roped into a conflict with both bullies. Shirley does not want anyone to be fighting around Christmas and bans Jeff from her party. This alienates the rest of the group who don't believe Shirley is acting very Christian by doing so.

The episode has a lot of great moments, including the one below where Jeff puts some of Troy's fight advice into practice:

Like most of the Christmas episodes this one has a happy ending, but also takes a closer look at how we respect other people's traditions during this season than any other episode I've covered. 

Watch the episode and hit the comments with your thoughts.

Unique Christmas Message:

Everyone's faith is weird. 

Tomorrow:

I spend Christmas with a kid born and raised in West Philadelphia.

Yuletide TV Day 23: Mad Men

Series: Mad Men

Episode: S4E2 "Christmas Comes but Once a Year"

Original airdate: August 1, 2010

Santa? Roger Sterling, arguably the best Santa

Other holidays mentioned: None, because it's the 60's

Availability: Netflix 

Unique Christmas Story:
As we get closer to Christmas, the pressures of the holidays begin to mount. Time runs short, demands are high and everyone is running around to make sure all of their plans come to fruition. Nothing can throw a wrench in those plans like an unwelcome guest.

In only the second episode of Mad Men's fourth season, Matthew Weiner breaks out a Christmas episode that deals with this very issue.

The new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is a fledgling agency still trying to hold its ground. A large chunk of their business is made up by one client—Lucky Strike. Because of their tight budget, they make modest holiday plans; no big party, just modest gifts and bonuses for the employees. Unfortunately, those plans get thrown out the window when Lee Garner Jr. announces that he's going to be in town and is looking for some entertainment.

So Roger rounds up the troops to pull together a last minute party that won't disappoint, because they can't afford for Lee to be unhappy. The whole team goes to great lengths to meet his demands, no matter how degrading they may be. They know Lee owns them, and so does Lee. 

Every now and then Christmas brings about a particularly demanding guest. Whether its an older relative who is used to having everything their own way or a child who just wants to open presents, we put up with these people because it's Christmas.

Watch the episode and hit the comments with your thoughts.

Unique Christmas Message:
No message, just this beautiful musical montage:

Tomorrow:
Spoiler, it's a Community episode, but not the one you might think.

Yuletide TV Day 22: How I Met Your Mother

Series: How I Met Your Mother

Episode: S7E12 "Symphony of Illumination"

Original airdate: December 5, 2011

Santa? Nope

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: Netflix 

Unique Christmas Story:

HIMYM has a number of Christmas episodes to choose from, some much more in the spirit of the season than "Symphony of  Illumination," but I chose this episode because it is one of the best representations of what the show has become in its later seasons: a mediocre system that still manages to rock its loyal viewers with emotional episodes like this one.

"Symphony of Illumination" begins by pulling the rug out from under viewers. Instead of the normal Bob Saget overtones introducing the episode, we hear Robin Scherbatsky talking to her two kids. Wait? What? Robin has kids? Something that has never even been remotely foreshadowed before in the series? Bold move HIMYM.

Robin's narration calls into another interesting question about the series. For six seasons, every episode has been narrated by future Ted, but why not let someone else take the reigns for an episode? Scrubs did it all the time. Sure JD narrated most of the episodes inside his head, but every now and then he would pass it off and let someone else do the heavy lifting for an episode. But the fact that HIMYM never did it before makes it stick all the more.

The episode begins with Robin thinking she is pregnant, but things quickly turn when she discovers not only is she not pregnant, but she is unable to ever have kids. 

During soe Christmas or another I'm everyone has had the experience where they didn;t end up getting what they wanted, but "Symphony" turns that idea on its head. Robin has always said she has never anted kids, but not wanting to, and not being able to are two different things. Robin has always been established as a very independent character. she's strong willed and makes her own decisions, so if one day she decided she did want kids, it wouldn;t go against the grain of her character. However, while Robin has never been a control freak, having something like decision to have children be taken out of her control puts her off balance. 

She decides not to tell any of her friends because she knows they will overreact. HIMYM is famous for it's codewords, and Robin decides to substitute not being able to become a pole-vaulter for her inability to have a child. 

Despite ebing told she cannot have kids, Robin continues to talk to her future kids sitting on the couch listening to her story. She reveals Barney is their father, and all the while as a viewer you are left to think that this story will have a happy ending. If not being able to have a child has become a bit overused as a plot device, why not subvert that by reversing the decision?

But, alas, not all holiday stories have a happy ending, and even though Robin still has not shared her grief with her friends by the end of this episode, she knows they are there to support her no matter what.

Unique Christmas Message:

Our true friends are the ones that will set up holiday light display in our apartment set to ACDC.

Tomorrow: 
Christmas, Christmas, 60's, cigarettes...

Yuletide TV Day 21: Misfits

Series: Misfits

Episode: S2E7 "Christmas Special (Episode Seven)"

Original airdate: October 25, 2010

Santa? Nathan in a Santa suit

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: Hulu

Unique Christmas Story:

I'll start this with a warning. This Christmas story is not appropriate for all ages. Misfits is a foul-mouthed show, but I had forgotten just how bad this episode was until I rewatched it. I tend to remember something for how good of story it tells, not how many crude jokes it makes, so believe me when I say underneath the sex jokes and language, there is a pretty good Christmas story being told.

In my American Dad! post I talked about the episode and how it dealt with the second coming of Christ. "Christmas Special (Episode Seven)" deals with a similar idea, although this Christ is a false one.

This episode is unique because it uses Christmas to advance the plot of the show forward by leaps and bounds. Misfits changed radically after this episode and it is because it introduced a concept that allowed it to play with the dynamics of the show.

"Christmas Special" introduces a character named Seth. Seth is a dealer, in super powers. He can absorb someone's powers and imbue them with new ones, for the right price. 

A priest at the community center is frustrated by the lack of people showing up for his Christmas services, so he takes what little money he has to buy a power that allows him to walk on water. Pow! New Jesus! People start sowing up and opening their pocket books, and the more they give, the more powers he is able to buy.

Meanwhile, the Misfits also find out about Seth, and in a combination of greed and frustration they decide to sell their own powers for cash. The only on who hesitates is Simon, the one among hem who embraces the responsibility that comes with the power he has received. However, even he ends up selling his power after being manipulated by his girlfriend.

Due to an unfortunate series of events, the Misfits realize they have taken their powers for granted, and look to get them back, only to find they don't have enough cash. To add insult to injury, Seth has already sold off some of their powers.

Despite their lack of abilities, the gang decides to confront fake-Jesus and steal the cash he has collected from his followers.

They return to Seth with the stolen cash, pushing the reset button for future seasons.

This episode has everything you could want for Christmas: Jesus, super powers, manipulating loved ones and lessons in giving and receiving.

Watch the entire episode below, and hit the comments with your Christmas musings.

Unique Christmas Message:

You never know the true value of what you already have.

Later today:

Have yourself, an emotionally devastating Christmas.

Yuletide TV Day 20: Smallville

Series: Smallville

Episode: S5E9 "Lexmas"

Original airdate: December 8, 2005

Santa? Drunk Santa and Santa Clark

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: iTunes 

Unique Christmas Story:
"Lexmas" is, in a way, a rip-off of the Nicolas Cage movie "The Family Man," which in turn is a rip-off of "It's a Wonderful Life." In "The Family Man," instead of seeing what the world would be like if he had never been born, Nic Cage gets to see what his life would have been like if he stayed with the woman he loved. Manipulating this idea for their own designs, the people behind Smallville use "Lexmas" as a fork in the road for Lex Luthor.

Lex is shot on Christmas Eve while doing a shady deal to dig up dirt on Jonathan Kent. He goes into a coma and wakes up next to Lana Lang with their child jumping on their bed. This episode is well into the fifth season of Smallville, a show that started with Lex and Clark Kent as friends, but slowly evolved the relationship to the one fans are familiar with today. This episode is the point of no return for Lex. His dead mother informs him he is seeing what his life will be like if he gives up his quest for power. If he does not, he will succumb to it and turn into the villain viewers know he will become.

The episode's result is a foregone conclusion, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting to watch. Sure the plot device is a bit of a cheat, but it works well in both a Christmas context and for the plotting of the show.

Michael Rosenbaum plays Lex Luthor with depth. Lex Luthor is a complicated villain to begin with, but placing him in a context where he can see what it would be like to live a happy life puts a nice spin on an otherwise familiar tale.

Lex comes from a troubled background, so he gets to experience the happiness of having a family with Lana, a strong friendship with Clark and a proxy father in Jonathan Kent. This Lex is one who uses his intellect and cunning for good, and lives a richer life because of it.

As I said though, we all know how this ends. When something happens to Lana, Lex realizes that because he forfeited everything that comes with being a Luthor, he won't be able to save her.

So he chooses a different path, the one he is destined for, in the hopes that his power with be able to bring him everything he longs for anyway.

Unique Christmas Message:
Um...don't...be...Lex Luthor. That's the best I got.

Tomorrow:
My final trip across the pond will include an encounter with some super-powered delinquents. 

Yuletide TV Day 19: Top Gear

Series: Top Gear

Episode: S12E8 "Vietnam Special"

Original airdate: December 28, 2008

Santa? No

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: Netflix 

Unique Christmas Story:

I have to hand it to the British. They really dig putting Christmas and television together. While most U.S. shows stop running new episodes the closer it gets to Christmas, England uses Christmas as a time to break out special episodes of series. It's a tradition perhaps made most famous by Dr. Who (and before you ask, no there won't be any Who on this year's list), but it has been adopted by other British shows. Even if a show isn't normally on the air around Christmas, it still might pop up for a special one-off episode. Imagine if American TV started doing that. Think of a Breaking Bad or Archer  or Sons of Anarchy Christmas special. How awesome would that be?

Anyway, Top Gear, one of the most watched shows...in the world, also puts out a special episode around the holidays. Instead of an episode filled with a handful of small segments, the Christmas Special usually involves a multi-day trip in an exotic locale where the cars and presenters are put to the test in extreme conditions. These episodes are almost all wonderful, but I chose "Vietnam Special" because it deals with two important holiday themes: travel and gift-giving.

I never understood people who go on trips during the holidays. I can understand leaving after Christmas to take sometime before the New Year to go visit some tropical paradise, but I've always spent Christmas with my family. I don't know how to do anything else, nor would I want to. People always complain about travel, but half of them bring it on themselves (the other half of course doing the right thing and visiting their family). 

The boys of Top Gear head to Vietnam to try their hand at something a little different. They are given what they believe is a large amount of Vietnamese currency to buy a car. They find however, they have only enough to buy some motorized bikes. So in a Top Gear first, they spend an entire episode riding motorcycles and motorized scooters, instead of flashy sportscars. 

On their cycling trip they need to travel the length of the county, over 1,000 miles in seven days. People might not like airports during the holidays, but I don't think they'd trade for a chance to ride through the harrowing streets of Vietnam on a motor bike. 

One of the great things about Top Gear is that show really is all about the journey. They've spent multiple episodes trying to find the world's best driving roads, so even though they're traveling on beat up bikes, as opposed to say a Bugatti, the trip is still a pleasure to watch. See, while I may not enjoy suffering the pains of traveling during the holidays, I do delight in seeing the suffering of others in these kind of circumstances. The boys always give each other a hard time on these kind of trips, and this one they take on another challenge to make one another miserable.

Despite their small bikes, they each try and get either very large or very delicate gifts for each other to strap onto the back of their bikes. The goal is to try keep the gifts in one piece; a challenge when traveling through the wet and wild roads of Vietnam. 

However, underneath the razzing in some genuine affection the boys share for each other, not so unlike some our own Christmas celebrations I would guess.

Unique Christmas Message:

Keep up or get left behind, that's in the Christmas spirit, right?

Tomorrow:

I look for someone to save me.

Yuletide TV Day 18: Saturday Night Live

Series: Saturday Night Live

Episodes: S17E9 "Steve Martin"; S24E9 "Alec Baldwin"; S32E9 "Justin Timberlake"

Original airdates: December 14, 1991; December 12, 1998; December 16, 2006

Santa? Yes

Other holidays mentioned: Hanukkah and Kwanza

Availability: Netflix and Hulu Plus

Unique Christmas story:
Narrator's Note: Because Blogger sucks (or more likely because I'm slightly inept with this interface) I can only embed one video in a post. However, I have hyperlinked to a ton of sketches I talk about in here. 

The problem with SNL is that no matter who the host is or during which cast an episode airs, there is rarely an episode that is solid all the way through. Lorne Michels has said that the night they do every sketch perfectly is the night he retires. Even more rare is an SNL Christmas episode that has all of its sketches focus entirely on the Christmas season. SNL is meant to be topical, and that often means that Christmas sketches are mixed in with political ones during these Christmas episodes.

That is why instead of choosing just one SNL Christmas episode, I have choosen three from the past twenty or so years featuring three of the most popular hosts during that time. Each episode has its own highlights and lowlights that illustrate that talents and limitations of the cast and writers at the time.

Starting with the Steve Martin episode from 1991, this Christmas episode, has very few actual Christmas themed sketches. It does however have one of the most spectacular cold opens I think the show has ever done. SNL is notorious for having their hosts sing or walk around backstage during monologues, but in this instance the show starts backstage with a overwhelmed Chris Farley talking to a care free Steve Martin.

Martin's persona on the show has grown into it's own recurring character with Martin taking on the demeanor of a man who can barely be bothered to learn the names of the new members. But in the start of this episode, Martin makes a declaration not to phone it in, leading to a cold open, which features not only the most impressive cast SNL has ever had at one time, but also gives some lines to the people behind the scenes, something I have rarely ever seen SNL do.

The cold open turns into a commentary on the show itself. At the time SNL was a bit lost, but working its way into the famed early 90's that brought about a number of memorable sketches. Martin takes viewers through the backstage while collecting the rest of the cast who each have their own comments on what they contribute (or fail to contribute) to the show. The opening acts not only as a way for the show to kick itself into gear, but proclaims a message of working together to produce something great.

From their the show has some choice sketches, including Adam Sandlers and Farley's Schmitt's Gay beer commercial, and Kevin Nealon showing his strength as a Weekend Update anchor by throwing out some choice jokes about the end of the Soviet Union. The end of SNL has become home to the oddball sketch of the night, one which is either delightfully strange, or simply doesn't work.  This episode is no different, with Kevin Nealon and Rob Schneider playing door men outside an apartment making some off the wall comments about the residents of their building.

Fast-forward nine years to Alec Baldwin and an SNL that was trying to balance the Monica Lewinsky scandal with the joys of Christmas. This episode got some attention last year because it famously predicted Jimmy Fallon would host the SNL Christmas episode in 2011 during Baldwin's monologue. The monologue plays on Dicken's Christmas Carol, with John Goodman popping up as the Ghost of SNL hosts present, and Fallon coming on later as the ghost of SNL host's future. Like Martin's cold open, this monologue emphasizes the importance of putting in an effort for the Christmas episode, because a great host brings great things out of the cast.

The rest of the episode features many SNL tropes, like a fake talk show segment and a fake commercial, but even if they feel familiar, its still fun to watch the chemistry between this cast which features Will Ferrel, Jimmy Fallon and Cheri Oteri. The big dud in this episode is Colin Quinn's Weekend Update. I had never seen much of Quinn's work on Update, but this was just truly awful. He grinds the show to halt with bad jokes, and over reliance on talking back to the audience reactions. While Martin may play like he has a big ego, Quinn's is no joke, and it almost wrecks the episode. Thankfully, Tim Meadows (who, fun fact, is the only cast member to appear in both this episode and Martin's) comes in with a soulful Kwanza song that helps repiar some of the damage.

This episode also features one of the most beautiful and unique performances I have ever seen from an SNL musical guest: opera great Luciano Pavorotti and Vanessa Williams along with the Philadelphia Boys Choir singing "Adeste Fideles." While you won't see this if you stream the episode on Netflix,  the clip is available online, and can be viewed below:

Finally, there is Justin Timberlake, who along with Jon Hamm, has become of the most loved SNL hosts of the modern era. Timberlake's episode gets off to a strong start with the help of SNL's only female cast members at the time, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Kristin Wiig, singing a song about
their new boyfriend, Santa.

Timeberlake's monologue and musical performances are cut out on Netflix, but most of the sketches included make this the strongest episode overall of the three I've listed. The ringer of this episode though is the classic Digital Short, "D*ck in a Box." It stills packs a good number of laughs and it's fun to listen to the audience reaction hearing it the first time. Timberlake is a talented host and brings along hi staples, like the singing guy in a food costume, and teaming up with Jimmy Fallon for the Barry Gibb Talk show.

SNL is never going to be perfect but the Christmas episodes always manage to bring out at least one memorable sketch that's worth taking another look at during the holidays.

Unique Christmas Message:
Sometimes you need to take the good with the bad.

Tomorrow:
A bit of an unorthodox Christmas celebration.

Yuletide TV Day 17: Scrubs

Series: Scrubs

Episode: S1E11 "My Own Personal Jesus"

Original airdate: December 11, 2001

Santa? Neil Flynn in a Santa hat

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: Netflix 

Unique Christmas Story:

So far, I've dealt with a number of shows dealing with characters who lose their Christmas spirit, but "My Own Personal Jesus" is perhaps the first where a character deals with a real crisis of faith. This also is the first Scrubs episode to really take the focus off of J.D. Later episodes in the series will have someone else take over the narration, but even with Zach Braff still providing the voice-over, what happens with J.D. in this episode is simply not as interesting as what is happening with Turk. In fact, I had to think really hard about what J.D. even did in this episode, and I just watched it yesterday.

Despite, being on for nine seasons, Scrubs was always battling for more episodes, so it has very few Christmas episodes since the writers never knew when the season would get to air. This actually works in their favor as they were able to produce one good Christmas episode that helps define the series as whole.

Donald Faison is able to pull of a pretty terrific feat of acting in this episode. Turk is perhaps one of the more demanding roles in the series. There are so many different hats he is forced to put on: J.D.'s goofy best friend, the cocky surgeon, the loving husband. He plays them all admirably, but there are too few other episodes in the series where he is able to play Turk this earnestly.

Turk is excited for Christmas. He's excited to go to church and he's excited to get in the spirit. Carla and J.D. don't share his enthusiasm and do their best not to bring him down. His resiliency is put to the test when he is placed on call on Christmas Eve. Here's a taste of what he is put through:

Just like that his spirit is broken, and his faith is put to the test. How can he be expected to believe in God who doesn't watch out for people? It's a fair question, and one we probably ask ourselves more than we care to admit. Some say believing in God is easy and others say there is nothing harder. Faison does an excellent job of a man struggling with his beliefs. He demonstrates that it can be just as hard to give up a belief as it is to believe in it.

But what kin of Christmas story would this be if there wasn't a happy ending? Another subplot more memorable than J.D.'s is Eliot trying to find a pregnant girl who walked out of the exam room. The girl has a complication with her pregnancy she is unaware of and needs to deliver right away. On the roof, Turk is hit by some divine inspiration and rushes off to the park and finds the girl sitting under the Christmas tree.

Turk's faith is restored, like so many others during the holidays, by going out and helping someone in need. As a doctor he helps people everyday, but they are always brought to him in the hospital. Here, he is going out into the world to help someone who is not only in need of medical assistance, but needs some guidance as well.

Unique Christmas Message:

None of us are Superman.

Tomorrow:

A special triple-feature featuring a television staple.

Yuletide TV Day 16: Spin City

Series: Spin City

Episode: S2E12 "Miracle Near 34th Street"

Original airdate: December 10, 1997

Santa? City-employed Santa's, Richard Kind Santa and...um...dead Santa

Other holidays mentioned: None, but there is a carefully placed menorah in one scene

Availability: YouTube 

Unique Christmas Story:

In the version of this episode I watched on YouTube (the first part of which is below), Michael J. Fox introduces the episode by saying it was one of the funniest episodes they have ever done, but also one of the darker Christmas episodes a sitcom has ever done. For the most part, he isn't wrong on either count.

The cast of Spin City has some serious comedic chops, and the chemistry between the actors is remarkable. For example, when Mike say he hates "The Little Drummer Boy," all his coworkers start singing it. It's that kind of comrade that bands them together in this episode.

While there are a couple subplots swirling around, the main action surrounds the mayor talking about when he learned Santa Claus wasn't real right in front of a small child. Cue an episode dedicated to damage control and attempts to restore the child's innocence.

The first issue Mike runs into is procuring a Santa Claus. It turns out he fired all the Santa's employed by the city when he cut the holiday budget. His attempts at negotiating with the Santa's go poorly first with a rough exchange of verbal insults, and then an inevitable brawl, again right in front of the child.

In a last ditch attempt, Mike arranges a meeting at the kid's house, complete with a Santa trying to make his way down the chimney. However, Santa gets stuck and the whole thing falls apart once again.

Mike's efforts show how much some people try to make the holidays special for others. Even as we get older, and Christmas becomes more of a chore than something to look forward to, we still go to great lengths to make it special for children. We try and help them make the memories they will never forget, and maybe, if we're lucky some of that Christmas cheer rubs off on us. 

Unique Christmas Message:

Beware of children asking for Bunsen burners for Christmas.

Tomorrow: 

I look at another Bill Lawrence sitcom. 

Yuletide TV Day 15: Home Improvement

Series: Home Improvement

Episode: S5E12 " 'Twas the Flight Before Christmas"

Original air date: December 12, 1995

Santa? Nope

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: YouTube

Unique Christmas Story:

I have a lot of difficulty with change. For all of my life I celebrated Christmas in the exact same fashion. It's a tradition I can set my watch by, and I like it that way. Sometimes I think about what it will be like when I move forward in my life and enter a serious relationship. Choosing between spending Christmas with my family or Christmas with my wife's is not a decision I look forward to making. I honestly don't know how some people do it.

These are some of the issues that this Home Improvement Christmas episode deals with. In some ways, Home Improvement is pretty lazy when it comes to its Christmas episodes. Almost every one in its nine seasons features Tim participating in the neighborhood lights contest. In another way though, the show exemplifies the importance of tradition by having this staple each year, but then creating new subplots that twist around it.

In season five's twist, Tim hands off the light duties to his three sons because he and Al need to go act as grand marshals at an elf parade (for the prestige, Al explains). However, the real reason Tim wants to go is to pick up a rare book for Jill at the bookstore in the town the parade is being held (ah, the days before the internet). Al meanwhile is getting into a tiff with his girlfriend who is upset with him for scrubbing their New Year's plans to spend time with his mother.

Most of the episode deals with Al trying to come to terms with which of these two women (his girlfriend or his mother) he should be putting first in his life. He feels a responsibility to take care of his mother, but wants to lead his own life with his girlfriend. 

Meanwhile, bad weather forces Tim and Al to get stuck in an airport with a surly clerk. There isn't much holiday insight provided in these scenes, but they are funny. Traveling during the holidays can be an awful experience, and there are a lot of different ways to approach it. Sitcoms use it to raise suspense, but there never seems to be any real anger here of Al and Tim not making it back in time to celebrate with their loved ones. Besides, that isn't what this episode is trying to get across to the viewer.

Sometimes we have to pick and choose who want to spend time with, and those decisions are never easy. But by looking at what is most important, we can always make the right choice.

Watch the entire episode below and hit the comments with your own holidays plans.

Unique Christmas Message:
If you're looking for good advice during Christmas, just ask the neighbor on the other side of the fence.

Tomorrow:
Christmas, New York, politics and more sitcoms.

Yuletide TV Day 14: Cheers

Series: Cheers

Episode: S6E12 "Christmas Cheers"

Original airdate: December 17, 1987

Santa? A whole horde of mall Santas

Other holidays mentioned: None, but Lilith rattles off a good number of Christmas greetings in a variety of languages

Availability: Netflix

Unique Christmas story:
My apologies for not posting yesterday, my internet went out unexpectedly. No worries though, I'm back on track and will post two today to catch up.

Not all Christmas stories need to be elaborate, and Cheers was a show famous for its simplicity. So it isn't surprising that for one of the few Christmas episode Cheers ever did, they keep the plot simple, while still cramming a lot into the episode.

The problem with a show like Cheers is that it needs to service a large number of characters, so this epsidoe features a number of familiar Christmas sitcom tropes like helping those in need, mall Santas, mixing up presents, not being able to get home for the holidays and trying to escape to a tropical location.

The show starts out with the gang at the bar watching "It's a Wonderful Life," and complaining about the number of times its shown on TV during the holiday season. However, everyone tears up at the end of the film. It's a good commentary on how the holidays may wear on people but it is nonetheless an emotional holiday.

The main plot of the episode then shifts to Sam griping to Rebecca about having to keep the bar open on Christmas Eve. This allows him to exchange presents with Carla and Woody, but trouble arises when they tell Sam they also have bought presents for Rebecca. Cue Sam trying to find a store open on Christmas Eve so he can buy a last minute gift.

Meanwhile, Cliff is trying to win a trip to Disney by holding a canned food drive at the bar, Norm is working as a Mall Santa, and Fraiser is being the Christmas cynic.

Sam, unable to find an open shop, runs into a woman willing to sell him some of her items. Sam brings her back to the bar, where Norm has brought along his Santa school friends, Cliff has lost out on the trip to Disney World by one can, and Fraiser and Lilith have stopped by to drop off presents.

Sam gives Rebecca her presents, thinking they are a pair of earmuffs, but is surprised when she opens the gift and finds it is not what he thought.

Overall it is a very mellow episode. The stakes are low and the laughs are mild, but it's still enjoyable to see this slice of Christmas among people who enjoy each others company.

Unique Christmas Message:
Be careful buying gifts from strangers on the street, you may get more than you bargained for.

Later today:
I visit a man famous for playing Santa, before he was famous for playing Santa.

Yuletide TV Day 13: M*A*S*H

Series: M*A*S*H

Episode: S9E4 "Death Takes A Holiday"

Original airdate: December 15, 1980

Santa? Yes

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: DVD

Unique Christmas Story:
Let me help you get in the mood for reading this post. This should do the trick:


.......................


Ok, so I guess there isn't a good version of the theme song online, but I'm going to assume you know how it goes. Just imagine that playing gently in the background while you read this.

The premise for "Death Takes a Holiday" is fairly straight forward. A solider gets wounded during what is supposed to be a Christmas ceasefire, and BJ, with Hawkeye's help, takes it upon himself to make sure the man makes it through the night.

The man's wounds are fatal, but BJ does everything in his power to make sure the man lives past midnight. Being away from his family and put in one of the most horrific places to be during a war outside the front lines, BJ puts extra value on the ability to celebrate Christmas without dealing with the trappings of war. He can't be with his own family on Christmas, but he wants to make sure that this soldiers family doesn't have to think of Christmas as the day their father died.

Everyone wants Christmas to be a happy time. That's where all the stress comes from. Everyone is rushing around to make sure everything goes according to plan. They want to plan the best party, buy the best gifts and cook the best food. BJ is every person who has ever gone out of their way to make the holidays nice for someone else.

His story is nicely paralleled by that of Major Charles Winchester, another man going to great lengths to make the holidays nice for others. The Winchesters have a tradition of anonymously donating a gift to the less fortunate each year, and it is a tradition Charles carries over to an orphanage in Korea. Most of the camp pegs him as miser when he makes a small public donation, but he is determined to carry out his plan in secret.

Both characters try to do something nice for a stranger, but while Charles (mostly) succeeds, BJ's patient doesn't look like he'll make it to midnight. A small gesture by Hawkeye, though, helps BJ achieve his goal.

It's a quiet Christmas story, one that is deftly handled without being overly sappy or dramatic, and one that makes us treasure our own celebrations.

Unique Christmas Message:
If you're under the clock this Christmas, make the clock work for you.

Tomorrow:
Surprise! This was just the tip of the sitcom iceberg.

Yuletide TV Day 12: Band of Brothers/The Pacific

Series: Band of Brothers/The Pacific

Episodes: S1E6"Bastogne"/S1E1"Guadalcanal/Leckie"

Original airdates: October 7, 2001/March 14, 2010

Santa? No

Other holidays mentioned: Band of Brothers - None; The Pacific - Fourth of July

Availability: DVD 

Unique Christmas Story:
Hey, two episodes for the price of one, what more could you want?

I thought it was important to look at two episodes from two mini-series that focus on WWII, but in different theaters. It may be surprising to find that both of these miniseries decided to include Christmas in their story lines, but when you're trying to cover the events of an entire war it's kind of hard not to.

WWII has taken on a bit of a mythical aura, in part due to mini-series and films like these. Part of it also has to do with living through 9/11. My childhood was spent in the protective and innocent 90's, while I spent my teen years living in a post-9/11 world. It's a world where our enemies could be anywhere, and the internet exposed some of our greatest heroes as frauds.

Because of this, WWII becomes a story more than a history lesson. It has clearly defined lines of good and evil, there are identifiable heroes and villains, and it was the last war of its kind to be fought. The atomic bomb meant wars would never be fought in the same way again, and so far that has held true.

If you've taken a history class, you most likely remember the story of the Christmas truce during WWI. What these two episodes, taking place in different theaters and at different times of the war, show is WWII didn't mess around, and these episodes are able to make you feel the terror, the cold and the emotional heartache going on in each of the soldiers.

In "Bastogne" the 101st airborne finds themself encircled by German troops in the winter of 1944. The medic, Eugene, is running from foxhole to foxhole, scrounging for medical supplies, like a parent trying to find this year's must-have toy for their child. Being cut off from supplies, Eugene knows it's not a matter of if his comrades get hurt, but when.

The cold and fighting slowly drive Eugene and men around him mad. They don't know if they're going to get reinforcements and they don't know what the Germans have planned for them. But Eugene is able to get a lift into town with the wounded he looks after and meets a Belgian nurse named, Renee. He finds solace in her company and the two form a bond during his trips her makeshift medical center. Think of the 101st as Eugene's family at Christmas. Television would have us believe that nothing is more stressful than getting a bunch of family members under one roof to celebrate a holiday. So, what will a character due to get away from the stress? They go to the bar, and that's really all Eugene is doing here. He's looking for a little escape from the war.

But on his final trip back, Eugene finds the medical center bombed out. He knows Renee has not survived and he returns to the fighting. Eugene can't escape the war, and we can't escape our families.

In The Pacific, the mini-series starts at Christmastime with Marines who get to spend the holiday at home before going off to war. It's an interesting choice, as we don't get the training setup like in Band of Brothers, nor are we thrown right into the action. Instead, The Pacific gives a glimpse of the characters before they are thrown into the war, and all of this takes up a very small portion of the episode as a whole.

However, it does set up a very Christmas-y theme. Christmas is last time many of us see our families before entering into the new year. It's a snapshot of what we have become in the past 365 days, before we morph into something new. In a similar fashion, the Marines in The Pacific say a final farewell to their loved ones. They don't know if they'll be able to make it back alive, and if they do make it back, they might not be the same as when they left.

Unique Christmas Message:
Christmas may feel like a battle, but it's one worth fighting.

Tomorrow:
I move from one war to the next by looking at Christmastime in Korea.

Yuletide TV Day 11: American Dad!

Series: American Dad! 

Episode: S5E9 "Rapture's Delight"

Original airdate: December 13, 2009

Santa? Alien Santa

Other holidays mentioned: None

Availability: Netflix and Hulu Plus

Unique Christmas Story:

The phrase "War on Christmas" gets thrown around a lot, especially by Fox News nowadays, but this Christmas episode of the under-appreciated American Dad! takes that phrase literally.

Many of the shows I have covered so far have featured Santa in some capacity, but few have taken on the man who is the real reason to celebrate the holiday, Jesus Christ. Not, so with American Dad! Seth MacFarlane has never been one to shy away from any touchy subject, so a Christmas episode based around the second coming of Christ and his war against the Anti-Christ isn't too absurd coming from him.  

"Rapture's Delight" is unlike any Christmas episode I had ever seen before and is all the better for it. The story is divided in two. The first half deals with Stan griping about Chreasters (another subject a surprsingly few number of shows have taken a stab at addressing) and warning about the Rapture. It's overzealous WASPiness that is typical Stan behavior, until the Rapture actually happens while Stan and his wife are having sex in the church closet.

Stan tries to deal with being left behind, while Francine tries to deal with Stan's overbearing Christianity. She takes solace in a stranger she meets at a diner who turns out to be Jesus. He has returned to Earth to wage war against the Anti-Christ, and asks Francine to be his girlfriend.

The second half of the episode fast-forwards seven years to the end of Armageddon. Jesus, who looks like this:

This is how I like my Jesus. Bad. Ass.

seeks Stans, now with a hook hand and glass eye, to help save Francine from the Anti-Christ.

What follows is an amazing riff on post-apocalyptic 80's movies as Stan and Jesus make their way to Francine.

The Anti-Christ turns out to be a cross between Bizarro Superman and Jim Carrey's Riddler, simultaneously over-the-top and slightly sinister. He is the opposite of Jesus in every way. Jesus was a carpenter so the Anti-Christ is unable to construct a good trap to hold his prisoners. Again, it's absurd, but it's an absurdity that works.

Like most of the episodes I've written about so far, American Dad! manages to squeeze a little heart out of its left-field approach to Christmas. The final moments may feel a little trite, and call to attention a whole mess of questions about every episode of the show moving forward, but it works surprisingly well for an episode that feels like it could very easily have been a flop.

Hit the comments with your thoughts.

Unique Christmas Message:

God pays twice as much attention on Christmas.

Tomorrow:

I go from a War on Christmas, to Christmas during wartime.