It’s that wonderful season of the year again when most people wish each other peace and goodwill, yes the holidays. It doesn’t matter which one you celebrate, the message is usually the same, be kind and compassionate to those around you… and spend lots of money… and watch our holiday programming. Holiday episodes of TV shows have probably been around about as long as television has. They’re a long standing and time honored tradition, at least in the US. I was going to review a movie this week, but it dawned on me that I hadn’t done a list style article in some time, and I thought that my alternate approach would be a little bit of time saver. Boy was I wrong. However, I braved the metaphorical holiday elements to bring you some highlight episodes of shows that I enjoy. Some are totally understandable, and some are completely WTF worthy so without further delay, here are my top six Holiday TV episodes for 2016!
1) The Big Bang Theory: Bath Gift Item Hypothesis
BBT was pretty fresh in my mind as I went into this article as I had recently been confronted with the fact that not everyone likes this show. Now, I’m no fanboy myself, but I do enjoy the zany antics and the obtuse nerdy characters. We have a tradition at our house that we get the latest season of this show for Christmas each year and we typically watch it while we open presents, and cook. They’ve done a few holiday episodes, but this one is still my favorite. The A plot gets going when Penny gets Sheldon a gift. Sheldon explains condescendingly that the law of reciprocity applies and now he has to get her a gift that sufficiently represents how she interprets their relationship. In the meantime on the B plot, Leonard is working with a hotshot physicist named Dave, who is played by Michael Tracco of Battlestar Galactica fame. Penny and Dave have a run in and Penny immediately takes to him, going so far as to pretend to be totally into science and stuff. In the end, Penny finds out that Dave is married, Leonard and Penny exchange some pretty brilliant gag gifts, and they’re able to reach an understanding between one another. But the A plot is really where this episode is at. Sheldon concocts a scheme to get several bath item gift baskets. He’ll open Penny’s gift, then excuse himself to ‘use the restroom’ where he’ll look up the price of the gift, and then give her a basket of similar value. However, during the previously mentioned gift exchange, Penny gives Sheldon a napkin autographed by Leonard Nimoy, which also contains trace amounts of his DNA. Sheldon’s response is hysterical! You really should give this one episode a watch. It’s early enough in the series that the schtick hadn’t gotten old yet, and it’s a source of some awesome holiday hilarity.
2) Batman The Animated Series: Christmas With the Joker
Anyone who was elementary/middle school aged in the early to mid 90s knew all about BTAS, and probably watched it religiously. Heck, even adults could get behind this show due to its darker tone, fantastic animation style and deeper themes. Surprisingly, the show’s second episode is a holiday episode. It also happens to be the show’s introduction of the Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill. On Christmas Eve, the Joker escapes Arkham Asylum, because of course he does. Batman and Robin go out on patrol only to find Gotham at disconcerting levels of peace so, seeing that they’re not needed, they call it a night. Bruce and Dick sit down to enjoy a presentation of It’s a Wonderful Life, but the broadcast is hijacked by the Joker who has taken prisoners that he threatens to kill unless Batman can locate them by midnight (it’s already 11:29, so that’s kind of a big deal). Batman and Robin trace the source of the transmission and head out to the location, but Joker’s thugs blow out a railway bridge minutes before a train is supposed to cross it. This scene actually plays up Joker’s ingenuity and insanity pretty well as one of the hostages has a mother on the train. It’s played down as a possible coincidence by Joker, but that ambiguity only adds to the character. Batman and Robin save the train, and head to the location of the broadcast. That ends up just being a decoy deathtrap. They end up having to take out a giant cannon, but manage to do so. Finally, Joker gives the last clue that Batman needs in order to pinpoint where Joker is holding the hostages. Fittingly, it’s at an abandoned toy manufacturing plant. Batman and Robin go there to confront JOker, but must fight off toy themed death machines and thugs with guns first. The Joker reveals himself, Batman saves the hostages, and Joker. Batman also takes a pie to the face, and he and Joker actually almost share a laugh before Joker is returned to Arkham. This episode is by no means light, but it is lighter than most of the rest. What really stands out here is the music. It’s fantastically festive and just amazing! Bruce learns to appreciate the good things that he has in his life as he and Dick finally sit down to watch their movie. The entire episode is a thrill ride blended with mystery. I recommend a watch to get yourself in the holiday spirit.
3) Smallville: Lexmas
I’m sure more than a few of my readers are fans of Arrow and The Flash, and the like. I think it’s a safe bet that none of those shows would exist if it hadn’t been for Smallville. It set the pattern for successful DC comic based shows, and it was wildly successful in its day. It ran for 10 seasons for crying out loud! I'd even say that it’s one of the better interpretations of the Superman mythology, and there’s a review somewhere in there, but for now, let’s look at this holiday special. First of all, Smallville is typically one of the last shows that I expect to have holiday episodes. It spent most episodes being serious, and mostly down to Earth, but it could be campy and not take itself seriously at times, which is one of the reasons that I like it so much. The episode in question does a riff on It’s a Wonderful Life, which is good because I doubt that I’ll ever actually watch that movie so getting the jist in a show that I enjoy fills that microscopic void in my life. The episode takes an interesting spin on the source material as it’s Lex Luthor who gets the what if scenario. He gets shot, and experiences his near death stuff, but it’s paralleled somewhat by what happens to him in the real world as well. Speaking of, in the B plot Chloe Sullivan, and Clark deliver presents to needy children, and in the process, Clark talks the Santa Claus off of a roof where he fully intends to commit suicide because the Christmas spirit is dead. It’s pretty awesome. Anyway, in Lex’s vision, he’s happily married to Lana Lang. They have a son and another child on the way. He’s settled into middle class suburban life after leaving LexCorp, and life is good for him. He and Clark are even really good friends. Everything seems idyllic until Lana goes into labor. Complications from delivery threaten her life and Lex goes to his dad for help. Lionel turns him down in the most harsh way imaginable, and Lana dies. This last bit happens as Lex's life is saved and he's ripped out of his holiday vision. It’s fitting that Lex Luthor would have a near death vision, and by the end, all he’s learned is that in order to achieve what he really wants in life, he has to pursue his lust for power. It’s an interesting spin on a classic tale, and I highly recommend checking it out!
4)The Real Ghostbusters: X-Mas Marks the Spot
Real Ghostbusters was a staple show for any 80s kid, and I was no different. I thoroughly enjoyed the animated exploits of my favorite ghost busting gang. Not surprisingly, they did a holiday episode, which I can only imagine aired around Christmas as an attempt to get some last minute toy sales. This episode, interestingly enough, was written by J. Michael Straczynski, of Babylon 5 fame. He did quite a bit of cartoon writing back in the day. In this holiday story, the GBs get lost in the middle of nowhere on Christmas Eve. Peter is being a humbug, that’s important. They cross through a rift in time that takes them to 1837 in whatever town A Christmas Carol took place in. They unwittingly bust the three ghosts that were supposed to teach Ebenezer Scrooge a lesson. This changes the present so that no one celebrates, or even likes Christmas. The GBs realize what happened, but not before Egon puts the ghosts in the containment unit. So the three other GBs, Ray, Peter, and Winston have to go back through the time rift, and attempt to do the ghosts’ job for them until Egan can hopefully retrieve the ghosts and return them. It’s some pretty hilarious hijinks as the GBs impersonate the three ghosts. Peter dressed in a tutu uses a View Master to show Scrooge his past, Winston and Ray fly Scrooge around town via a very large boom device, but in the end, Egon comes through and the actual ghosts are able to do their jobs. Peter learns to appreciate Christmas even though his were usually pretty rotten, and they all live happily ever after. This is by no means high brow entertainment. I didn’t promise that it would be, but it is entertaining. Real Ghostbusters is a classic 80s cartoon, and it’s still got a lot of entertainment value. It’s funny and it’s got a nice holiday message so if you can, give it a go!
5) Robotech: Season’s Greetings
I won’t lie to you, as I watched this one, I wasn’t sure that I was going to include it. There are a few reasons for that. The main two are, Robotech is a show that I’m sure more than a few are going to be unfamiliar with, and also, this episode really doesn’t manage to thee itself around the holidays until the very end so I was afraid that it just co opted the Christmas name. So a little background… Robotech is primarily about a group of humans aboard an alien ship that they repaired called the SDF-1. Another race, the Zentradi, want the ship so that they can adapt its technology for their own use. There are three primary characters Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, and Lynn Minmay. These three spend a lot of the show locked in a love triangle. There are big freaking robots, dogfights, and a ton of explosions. It was a groundbreaker back in its day and it really still holds up well today. Season’s Greetings is an interesting take on the holiday episode being as it’s not a terribly light hearted story. There’s a Zentradi guy named Khyron who wants to steal the human’s fuel, called protoculture so that he can power his battlecruiser. In the meantime, humanity is settling back into life on Earth after a pretty long hiatus, and gearing up for some holiday cheer. Rick, and Lisa are having a spat so she decides that she’ll surprise him at home so they can smooth things over. Minmay has become disenfranchised with her success as a singer, and goes to Rick for comfort because she feels alone in the world. Rick and Minmay are talking and Lisa overhears, which makes her angry. On Christmas Day, the Zentradi attack and steal the fuel. There’s an amazingly rendered dogfight, and it seems like the humans might get their fuel back, but the Zentradi detonate bombs all over the city and use the diversion to escape. There are many civilians who are displaced by the destruction, and that’s where the holiday theme finally shows through. Even with homes destroyed, many of the people come together in solidarity to join in carols together. Race, religion and ethnicity are unimportant as they raise their voices together. It’s a surprisingly touching message from a typically dour show. I would readily recommend Robotech to anyone, but caution them that it’s a show where context is key so you do have to watch from beginning to end to really understand what’s happening.
6) Star Trek The Next Generation: All Good Things;;;
It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a little Trek in my life and as it turns out, there was this one time that the Star Trek writers decided to do a thickly veiled holiday episode… in June… as the series finale. AGT is a pretty well known episode of TNG, but as a refresher, Picard finds himself jumping through time, specifically, he’s jumping between his past, present and future. Annnnnnnd, then the veil comes off…. In his past, he’s jumping to the time of the Enterprise’s first mission to Farpoint. In his future, he’s a senile old man who’s taken to tending his family’s vineyard. Picard faces a number of challenges throughout this episode. First, he has absolutely no clue what’s actually going on. He’s not sure whether his time jumping is real, or a hallucination. Second, in his past and future, none of his crew trust him. In the past, it’s because of their unfamiliarity, and in the future, it’s because he’s lost his marbles. There are also some key players missing in each time period besides the present. In the past, Riker and LaForge are at Farpoint, which the Enterprise never actually reaches before the end of the episode. In the future, everyone has gone their separate ways, but Troi has passed away. My guess is that the writers didn’t want the make up department to have to make Marina Sirtis look old, but let’s face it, the sex appeal on TNG always lay with Crusher. Afterall, red in the head, fire in… Well, you probably know the adage… Anyway, the absence of these people doesn’t really pose too much of a problem, but it is noticeable. By the end, Picard learns that Q has been shifting him through time. There’s a universe destroying anomaly that Picard himself caused by initiating a very specific type of scan at a very specific spatial location. With some help from his crew, Picard is able to use ships from all three time periods to destroy the anomaly and return the universe to its proper frame. The episode ties up with Picard back at the court where Q had put humanity on trial at the very beginning of the show. He speaks ominously about the trial never truly being over and bids Picard a fair adieu. And then the episode ends with Picard finally joining his crew for poker at Riker’s. It’s an episode that explores some complex stuff even for TNG, and it’s easy to see the parallels to A Christmas Carol even though the festive nature of the story has been removed. It’s a fun ride, and a great end to a great show, and I highly recommend giving it a watch!
Bonus ROUND! Back to the Future The Animated Series: A Dickens of a Christmas
I’m only doing a review of this because I had to commit 26 minutes of my life to it, and if I had to do it, then so do you! It’s not surprising that after the success of the BttF trilogy, Universal would want to continue to capitalize on it, and indoctrinate an even younger audience with it. I remember changing channels when this show came on. However, it does have a point of interest to offer. Bill Nye occasionally did cameos as Doc Brown’s assistant during live action sequences that bookended each episode. Anyway, I well and truly have no idea what to say about this episode. It was so disjointed, and confusing. I barely managed to follow it. So Doc Brown, his wife Clara, his sons, his dog, and Marty are all at each other’s throats because it’s July and they don’t have AC for some reason. Doc gets a great idea to use the time machine to go back to 1845 England to celebrate Christmas with Charles Dickens. They go back in time, and Doc let’s his oldest son Jules hold onto the keys to the car. The keys get stolen and Jules and Verne have to go off to recover them. This somehow ends with them joining thieves as pick pockets. Meanwhile, Clara gets thrown in debtor’s prison by, I kid you not, Ebiffnezer Tannen! So Marty has to figure out a way to free her while the Doc goes after the kids. I swear I couldn’t make this up if I tried. So Doc finds out the name of the guy who’s using his sons to kipe pocket watches off of unsuspecting dupes, and he goes to confront the man. The sons talk the boy who initially stole the keys into helping them to recover said keys and free Doc, which more or less goes off without a hitch, but may include a brief chase scene. Marty in the meantime, decides that the best way to get Ebiffnezer to free Clara is to pretend to be the three ghosts from A Christmas Carol. This is the only area where I will award any points to this show. Biff, because the other one takes too long to type and makes me die a little inside while doing so, totally misses the point. When Marty is showing him miserable people who only have chestnuts for dinner, he tries to steal the chestnuts! When he’s shown kids working in the labor houses, he sheds a tear over a forgotten debt! It’s only after Marty accidentally shows him a holo-vid of Godzilla that Biff gets convinced to change his ways. It’s cheesy, but I’ll give it a “C” for creativity. The Brown family get to spend Christmas morning with Dickens until Biff shows up, recognizes Marty and chases the whole family back to the time machine. Would I recommend this to anyone? Only if you’re really drunk. It’s almost completely incoherent. Even by early 90s cartoon standards, this was pretty bad, but it’s a holiday episode so I guess in the spirit of said holiday, I can cut it a little slack. It was well acted, and the animation was good so what the heck, give this one a watch too! You’ll definitely regret it!
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