Happy December Eve! Can you believe December is literally tomorrow?! 2022 has really flown by, and while it’s scary knowing that 2023 is only 31 days away, I am so excited for all the Christmas festivities before the year comes to a close! There are SO many festive activities to cram into the next 25 days, and one of those activities is bingeing some Christmas episodes and specials. There’s baking to be done, film and TV series to watch, books to be read and carols to be sung, so it’s hard to know where to start! So let’s start the festive season off with some Christmas episodes and specials that definitely need to be on your watch-list this month. I’ve shared a few lists over the years, and this one is a pretty nice mix of childhood nostalgia, classic sitcoms, Australian drama, and recent comedy gold, so there is definitely something for everyone. Let’s kick things off with one of the most-loved comedies of recent times, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. For a show that spanned eight seasons, only the first four seasons feature Christmas episodes, so let’s just focus on the first two here. In Christmas (season 1 episode 11), Christmas has come to the 99th Precinct and Jake has been given the best gift of all – he’s in control of Captain Holt and all his movements and decisions after Holt receives a number of death threats, resulting in Jake handcuffing himself to his boss. Meanwhile Amy is on a mission to create the perfect Christmas card for Holt, which means doing the impossible and trying to get a photo of Rosa smiling. Following that up is The Pontiac Bandit Returns (season 2 episode 10), which sees the return of Doug Judy, who Jake manages to arrest while undercover as Santa. Rosa believes that Doug could be a major help in tracking down the “Giggle Pig” dealer, and in true Doug Judy fashion, he uses this position to not only demand special treatment, but to also one-up the Nine-Nine once again and escape arrest. Christmas may be an aside to these episodes, but they’re classic Nine-Nine shenanigans that can’t be missed! For a little childhood nostalgia, there’s A Very CatDog Christmas (CatDog, season 2 episode 17), which sees CatDog inadvertently cancel Christmas for everyone when Cat gets too greedy. For Dog, Christmas is about being together, but for Cat, all he wants is the stuff. When Rancid Rabbit’s niece Rancine demands that she get CatDog for Christmas, Cat is swayed by all the things he’d have access to in the Rancid mansion. Santa, tired of everyone only being interested in flashy items for Christmas, is hurt by seeing CatDog literally sell themselves, cancelling Christmas as a result. It’s up to Dog to show everyone that the spirit of Christmas is the heart and not all the materialistic items that are attached to the day. It’s a sweet message wrapped in the fun of Nickelodeon nostalgia. Serving ALL the 80s vibes is Seasons Greetings (Degrassi Junior High, season 3 episode 4) with the students of Degrassi Junior High celebrating the last day of school before the Christmas break. Since Arthur’s family won the lottery earlier in the series, Yick has struggled with the financial differences between their families, resulting in a feud between the pair kicking off as they exchange Christmas presents. With the help of Arthur’s cousin Dorothy, the pair reminisce on their friendship and manage to patch things up. Meanwhile, when Spike’s babysitter has a family emergency, Emma arrives at school for the remainder of the day, giving Shane a chance to hold his daughter. And elsewhere, with Wheels struggling with the prospect of spending his first Christmas since the death of his parents, Joey invites him and his grandparents to spend Christmas with his family. While it’s not totally oozing festivities, it’s a fun instalment in the franchise. A little something different compared to all the other series and episodes featured on the list is the Australian mini-series Fires, which focuses on the 2019-2020 Black Summer Fires, which was one of the worst fire seasons we’ve faced here in Australia. This six-part series is an anthology which each episode following a different group of people at a different point during the season. Episode Four takes place on Christmas Eve where locals have sought refuge from the fires at a community hall. In order to help take everyone’s minds off the looming danger, Michelle and her former high school teacher Glen venture out, against the earlier advice from fire fighters, to gather supplies in order to add some festive cheer to the community hall, especially for the children. This series as a whole isn’t an easy watch, but it’s a breathtaking and heart-wrenching series that highlights the resilience of Australians, even in the most devastating of times. And while this episode has some on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments, there’s a lot of heart and it’s almost easy to forget the severity of the situation that has lead all these people to spending Christmas day with each other. Way back in one of my first Christmas episode posts, I talked about some of the early Mrs Browns Boys Christmas and New Years’ specials, but there are plenty more to binge this holiday season. In Mammy’s Christmas Punch (2015), the whole family surprises Agnes with a travel voucher in order to spend Christmas with her sister in Canada, but Agnes can’t understand why her family don’t want her around for Christmas. Meanwhile, Winnie starts writing a bucket list and Agnes works some Christmas magic to help her tick everything off. In Mammy’s Forest (2016) the Wash & Blow Salon goes up in flames, leaving Rory and Dino to set up shop in Agnes’ living room. Meanwhile, when Agnes says she’s not getting a Christmas tree this year, a whole forest ends up appearing in her living room. And in a touching moment, Agnes gifts Buster a present that he asked Santa for as a child but never received. And in Mammy’s Mummy (2017), Buster and Dermot are running Santa’s Grotto, with Grandad as Father Christmas and Bono as an Elf. Meanwhile everyone else is preoccupied by Rory’s plastic surgery, marking the moment that Damien McKiernan takes over the role from Rory Cowan. And in true Christmas fashion, Agnes is once again at odds with her Christmas tree year after year. I’ve done Friends and I’ve done Everybody Loves Raymond, so now it’s time for the next iconic 90s sitcom – Seinfeld! The first Christmas episode of the series is The Red Dot (season 3 episode 12), which sees George buy Elaine a cashmere sweater to thank her for getting him a job at Pendant Publishing. In true George fashion though, the sweater has a very small red dot on it, making it drastically reduced, and it doesn’t take long for Elaine to notice. Probably the most Christmas-y and most iconic of the lot is The Pick (season 4 episode 13), where Elaine sends out hundreds of Christmas cards to friends, family and colleagues. Only when it’s too late does she realise the photo she’s used on the card contains an unfortunate nip-slip that really can’t be missed. And in the first of two Christmas episodes in season six, The Race (season 6 episode 10) actually starts with a Christmas tree joke in Jerry’s opening monologue. While the main plot of the episode revolves around Jerry having a race rematch against high school nemesis Duncan, the Christmas-goodness comes with Kramer and Mickey taking on the role of a department store Santa and elf. It’s a show about nothing that really upholds that nothingness when it comes to Christmas, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Rounding out the list is another nostalgic kid’s classic in the form of Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? In Just Like Old Times (season 3 episode 10), the Chief comes down with a virus after being hacked by Carmen, and the duo are reunited for the first time since Carmen became a thief. In a case of role-reversal, Zack and Ivy are the ones leaving the clues to lead Carmen to her next theft. Through the educational aspects of the show, we learn about Christmas history and traditions from around the world, which is a nice little touch. You’re honestly never too old for a little adventure with the lady in red, and even as an adult the educational aspect of the show is still a fun way to learn a little something! If you’re looking for even more series to watch that feature Christmas episodes, check out my previous lists from 2018, 2019, and 2020. I’m slowly running out of Christmas episodes from series I’ve already watched, so it looks like I need to start bingeing some new series in the new year!
Happy watching! Victoria :) |
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