The 10 best Christmas TV episodes
It's Christmas day! That means presents, family, good food and some good TV. Well maybe that last one is just for us (we do love TV here at Entertain This!). But just in case you need some streaming ideas for your brand new iPad, we've rounded up our 10 favorite Christmas episodes. Some are heartfelt, some merry and some just downright hilarious. A Festivus for the rest of us, indeed.
10. "Ludachristmas," 30 Rock, season 2, episode 9
Leave it to Kenneth to put the Christ back in Christmas. Everybody's favorite NBC page stops a rowdy and drunk "Ludachristmas" party from happening in order to teach the TGS staff members the biblical story of Christmas. This is also the episode that features Andy Richter as Liz's amnesiac brother, so basically we need to watch this again right now.
9. "An Echolls Family Christmas," Veronica Mars, season 1, episode 10
If you need a little intrigue with your holiday cheer, look no further than Neptune, Calif., where you can't even get through a Christmas party without someone getting stabbed. That's right, the first Mars Christmas episode has everything we love from the show: Veronica and Logan, class issues, movie stars, violence, Keith the hero and Veronica just killing it at poker. Oh, and also that part where Logan and Duncan are wearing the same Christmas boxers. It's just too good.
8. "Afternoon Delight," Arrested Development, season 2, episode 6
Afternoon Delight is anything but. The Bluth family have to learn this the hard way when trying to throw not one but two office Christmas parties for the Bluth Company employees. And even if this episode doesn't have Michael accidentally singing this song to his niece, it still has G.O.B. and his expensive suits. Come on.
7. "A Christmas Carol," Doctor Who, season 5, episode 14
Like many British TV shows, Doctor Who has a yearly Christmas special, though a little outside the season itself and more of a standalone episode. In Matt Smith's (aka the Eleventh Doctor) first holiday outing he must save a crashing spaceship by teaching a grumpy old man the true meaning of Christmas using the past, present and future. It might be cheesy if the episode isn't self-aware enough to pull it off. The holographic Amy in her skimpy police outfit saying, "I'm the ghost of Christmas present," is one of the best moments.
6. "Christmas Party," The Office,season 2, episode 10
A lot of the times Michael Scott wasn't so much a bad person as he was a well-meaning (if a little selfish) idiot. This is demonstrated perfectly in the season two Christmas episode. Upset with his handmade gift in the office Secret Santa, Michael forces everyone into a Yankee Swap (White Elephant) so he can get a better gift, which sets the whole office off (plus derails Jim's latest heartfelt attempt to show his affection for Pam). But don't worry, there's plenty of alcohol to save them all in the clinch.
5. "The One with the Holiday Armadillo," Friends, season 7 ,episode 10
Ross did a lot of "goofy" (you know, stupid) things on Friends' 10 seasons, but this one takes the cake. His personality never comes out more than in this episode where he dresses as the "Holiday Armadillo" in order to teach his son Ben about Hanukkah at the same time Chandler dresses as Santa. The episode is made when Chandler arrives and says, "What are you doing here … weird … turtle … man?"
4. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," The Simpsons, season 1, episode 1
http://www.hulu.com/watch/29531
Besides the fact that this is one heck of a Christmas episode (Homer is a mall Santa!) this also just happens to be the very first episode of the Simpsons ever. And more than 20 years later it's still one of the show's best.
3. "The Strike," Seinfeld, season 9, episode 10
Christmas? What Christmas? It's a "Festivus for the rest of us!" So says Frank Costanza on "The Strike" (in which we learn that Kramer does have a job, he's just been on strike for 12 years). But that memorable line, which might be one of the most memorable lines from Seinfeld itself, which is saying something, actually comes from George's dad in response to Kramer's made-up celebration, also part of the episode. And who wouldn't want a holiday complete with a Festivus pole?
2. "A Roswell Christmas Carol," Roswell, season 2, episode 10
The short-lived WB series about teenage aliens (which also doubled as Katherine Heigl's first show) delivers one of our favorite Christmas episodes of all time. Super-powered alien Max must confront his guilt after he lets a man die so he doesn't expose himself, and that guilt sends him and his healing powers to a children's cancer ward. It may not be the happiest of Christmases -- just thinking about the scene where Max is healing the kids makes us tear up -- but it's definitely one of the most powerful.
1. "In Excelsis Deo," The West Wing, season 1, episode 10
Sometimes Aaron Sorkin shows can go over the top with their sentimentality and preaching, but in The West Wing's first Christmas episode, Sorkin gets it just right. When Toby discovers that a homeless veteran died while wearing a coat he gave to charity, it becomes his mission to give the man a proper funeral. When that funeral is intercut with a young boys' choir singing The Little Drummer Boy as President Bartlett and co. line up to watch, well let's just say the tears were flowing profusely.
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