Favorite Holiday TV Episodes

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Every year around this time, everyone begins talking about Christmas movies that we’ve all seen, some dozens of times. But when NetFlix began highlighting not only Christmas movies but also TV episodes, I began putting together my own list of some of my favorite holiday episodes. (Many of them you can see via NetFlix online streaming.)

In no particular order…

• Cagney & Lacey. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” (s2e9) – I rediscovered this 1980’s police drama when NetFlix got it for instant streaming. The last time I saw it was when I was only a teenager, and I didn’t realize at the time how deep the characters are, and I didn’t remember how character-driven and thought-provoking its stories are. Not your typical cop-show procedural. In this fun, less-dramatic episode, the detectives spend Christmas Eve chasing down a guy who stole a police car dressed as Santa, hearing tales along the way of his kindness. When they finally catch up to him, they manage a shady deal that feels like the right result.

• X-Files. “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas.” (s6e6) – Guest-starring Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin, this classic off-beat, creepy, suspense story finds Mulder and Scully trapped inside a haunted house on Christmas Eve, a house in which people tend to commit double-murders, and always on Christmas Eve. The duo find themselves being manipulated by the ghosts of two lovers who had made a lovers pact and killed themselves in 1918, and the only way they can save themselves is by recognizing and admitting the self-imposed limits that we all put on ourselves.

• Brothers & Sisters. “Light the Lights.” (s1e10) – As much a Hanukkah episode as a Christmas episode: Little Paige looks for God by wanting to explore her family’s Jewish roots, and the whole family finds themselves growing maybe just a little bit closer to Him. I particularly enjoy the lighting of the Hanukkah candles (even though Uncle Saul recites only one of the three blessings that are said on the first night of Hanukkah).

• The Bob Newhart Show. “I’m Dreaming of a Slight Christmas.” (s2e15) – As a kid, I remember my parents watching Bob Newhart as I fell asleep. As a young adult, I videotaped reruns off of Nick at Night, and laughed at them until my VCR wore out. You can’t watch this show online at NetFlix, but you can catch it on Hulu. It represents a glimpse into a bygone era. Why would Emily, for example, feel hostile, just because her psychologist husband puts a higher priority on his patients than on her? Leaving her to sit alone in their apartment on Christmas Eve, in a blizzard, with an overcooked, dried-out goose. But the climactic moment was Bob’s story about trudging through the snow. I so know that feeling: the trip takes ten times longer than it’s supposed to, and you end up with frozen toes and an exhausted body. Sigh. But you do it when it’s important.

• Frasier. “Perspectives on Christmas.” (s5e9) – Each of the main characters tells his own version of the story from Christmas Hell, to laughs galore. The moral: it’s not really about you; it’s about what the person you’re talking to is hearing and feeling and thinking.

• M*A*S*H. “Death Takes a Holiday.” (s9e5) – One of my favorite episodes of one of my favorite classic series. Unfortunately, you can’t stream it anywhere online AFAICT (though you can rent the DVD from NetFlix). Miserly old Major Charles Emerson Winchester III does an anonymous good deed, while BJ, Hawkeye, and Margaret fight to preserve Christmas for the family of a dying soldier. This episode contains one of the most poignant and memorable lines, on how precious and fragile life is.

• Roswell. “A Roswell Christmas Carol.” (s2e10) – Another dramatic favorite, this time with teenage aliens, and deep character struggles. Seriously, though, this episode touches me and almost always leaves me with a tear in my eye. Isabel strives to hold on to the one day a year when she can act like a normal person, instead of a closet alien. Tess seeks a connection with her adopted family and friends. Maria longs for recognition and purpose. Michael seeks control over life and relationships, but discovers (just a little bit) how key it is to rely on the people he loves. But in the main storyline, John Littlefield gives a stirring performance as the ghost of a father killed in a car accident, who sacrificed his own life in order to save his daughter. And in that connection, Max comes faces his own fear of risking himself in order to live who he is.

• Roseanne. “Santa Claus.” (s4e12) – Little-known fact: Joss Whedon and Amy Sherman-Palladino both wrote for Roseanne early in their careers. And the early seasons of the show exemplify the storytelling values that made it worth watching. In this episode, Roseanne herself plays Santa Claus at Rodbell’s Department Store, and inadvertently discovers something about her daughter Darlene’s new friend, something that throws her for a loop. But the conflict gives Darlene a chance to take a step toward allowing her mother into her life.

• Cheers. “Love Me, Love My Car.” (s11e11) – A goofy show, but a classic, and a wonderful episode that features the need and power of forgiveness. Being “in the doghouse” will never mean the same thing again. (And how can she do that, anyhow, without being charged with child abuse?) By the way, this episode features a charmingly non-neurotic Frasier. (Why do psychiatrists always make the most neurotic characters?)

• Ally McBeal. “The Man with the Bag.” (s4e8) – A sterling example of David E. Kelly’s skill at creating wacky, but believable, characters. Nelle’s father believes he’s Santa Claus, and so he is fired from his elementary school teaching job. So she asks John Cage to help her sue the school to get him his job back. Meanwhile, Ally gets nervous when the mother of boyfriend Larry’s son shows up for a surprise visit. In both cases, as much as there is magic in Christmas, there’s magic in giving of yourself, undeserved.

• Family Ties. “Miracle in Columbus.” (s6e17) – My favorite episodes of Family Ties do not feature the holidays. I’m thinking of “The Real Thing” (s4e1-2), or “Heartstrings” (s7e5-7), for example. But “Miracle in Columbus” is up there, a classic story of Christmas miracle.

What are some of your favorites?

Here’s wishing you a wonderful holiday!
-TimK