5 Classic Christmas Episodes You Can Watch Right Now
For those of you who aren't content pumping Rankin-Bass specials through your rust-armored VCR this Christmas, here are five classic holiday episodes to rouse your yuletide. Expect cameos from Sam Kinison and Juliana Hatfield!
The Wonder Years
I started watching reruns The Wonder Years on the HUB Network thinking it couldn't be as good as I remembered. Astoundingly, The Wonder Years lives up to any nostalgia for Kevin Arnold's everyman travails and Winnie Cooper's everywoman elusiveness. In this Christmas episode, Jack organizes the annual Arnold Christmas party despite his kids' wishes. Best of all, the show enjoys its first foray into drug culture thanks to a delinquent houseguest who sneaks into the basement for some festive ganja.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
In "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid," Mary is forced to spend Christmas Day working. Her spinoff-bound friends are all in fine form: Rhoda and Phyllis drop by, and Lou Grant administers a proper spiritual beatdown early to Mary in the episode.
My So-Called Life
I love a good Christmas episode with a sad ending. The much-mourned My So-Called Life added a supernatural touch to its grounded proceedings with "So-Called Angels," featuring a mysterious homeless youth played by rocker Juliana Hatfield. Thank you for everything, 1995. Click here to watch.
Arrested Development
We shouldn't have to wait until Christmas for discussions about the real meaning of the Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," but Arrested Development packed that and more expected Bluth insanity into its second-season Christmas party episode.
Married... With Children
As 30 Rock's Keith Powell pointed out to us, the early days of Married... With Children could be pretty great. Here, Sam Kinison turns up as a guardian angel in the best spin on the It's a Wonderful Life conceit that sitcoms seemed to love in the '80s and '90s.
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Comments
Whoo, boy -- of all the Christmas episodes of ANYthing I've ever watched (& that's a pretty large number of Christmas episodes), the MS-CL is, by far, the best ever. Sounds a little over-the-top? Have you seen it? Every characterization was perfect, the direction was perfect, production values were kicked up a notch...just the Perfect Christmas Show of a pretty damn perfect series.
THERUDEDOG, I'm gonna see if I agree with you or not - I came upon this site through Pajiba and Dustin Rowles' recommendation, and watched 'The Wonder Years' and 'Mary Tyler Moore' episodes, both of which I'd forgotten about. It's great to be at home after all the xmas socializing and being able to see these classics at the click of a mouse, this is a great site. Now I've HAVE to check out the 'MS-CL' episode, a show I didn't pay attention to when it was originally airing. I'll check back in...
The My So Called Life ep was pretty good as far as Christmas themed ones go, though Juliana Hatfield's appearance was the draw at least on my end. But where's the love for the Simpson's 1st aired episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" it's when Homer doesn't get his bonus so he bets his money on Santa's Little Helper at the dog track. Classic!