Favorite Christmas Episodes (1 Viewer)

[Gary OS]

I was able to squeeze in the next two Lassie Christmas episodes last night before going to bed. Both were very nice and once again had all the elements that made that particular series so wonderful. Not sure if I'll get the two-parter, "Lassie's Gift of Love" (the last of the Timmy & Lassie Christmas eps), in before December 25th or not. But it makes for a nice viewing experience this time of the year.


Gary "then there are the three different 'Ranger' Christmas eps and a final one once the series moves Lassie on to Scott and Bob" O.

 

[younger1968]

I have over 99 completed shows and as we approached christmas then i will likely watch some christmas episodes from those series. I have in past few weeeks watch the Cheers (Sam's tries to get Rebecca a gift) or Family Ties (Alex as scrooge) or Square Pegs (Christmas episode) or Corner Gas (Hank wants to help needy family, but they are not needy) or Married with Children (Al Bundy has visit from Sam Kinison - Guardian Angel) or Magnum PI (Silent Night), etc.
Have a great holiday everyone!! All the best to you and your family over the holiday season!!

 

[bryan4999]

I watched a Christmas episode from Starsky & Hutch last night, season 2 #13, "Little Girl Lost". Kristy McNichol plays a little girl who is without family at Christmas, and S&H step in to thwart the criminals who are after her and provide a bit of Christmas cheer. Good episode, I really enjoyed it. A nice blend of S&H action, warmth and comedy.

 

[Professor Echo]

Too busy to get to much this year, but still attempting to squeeze in shows I've never seen before.
GUNSMOKE: "Magnus." Nice to see snow in Dodge City that actually looked like real snow. Episode packs in a lot for 25 minutes and is a good one, but Christmas is more the setting and not the theme. Very entertaining regardless. Christmas music was mostly Deck The Halls in a western arrangement.
FURY (don't know episode name): This isn't bad story wise and has a good message for kids, befitting a children's show, but it's bogged down by terrible staginess and cheap sets. One of my pet peeves are stage bound shows that are supposed to prominently feature the outdoors, but even worse are winter set stories with obvious fake snow, no breath moisture when people speak and characters not wearing coats. LOL. Music was Oh Come All Ye Faithful, natch.

 

[Gary OS]

Glen, by a strange coincidence, I watched...

#4 - Fury ("The Wayfarer") today. It really is a top favorite of mine, in spite of the great points you raise about the studio/set bound scenes in the episode. I'm with you all the way on that point, and it is accentuated by the fact that there's "snow" on the ground. But those minuses don't outweigh all the positives in this one for me. The setup is nice. The rebuke from Jim and Pete, explaining the true meaning of Christmas is solid and something we probably wouldn't hear with quite so much clarity today. I feel like Lloyd Corrigan nailed Uncle Kris as well. And I loved his addition to the true meaning of the season as the family gathered in the Living Room. The second half of the episode did seem a bit rushed and forced, what with the mother's sickness and all, but it wasn't bad. I certainly enjoyed seeing the boys help out the other two younger lads by giving their gifts away. Overall, I just liked the "feel" of the entire episode. Everything occurred on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, and the message was certainly something I enjoyed.


Gary "only 4 days left - 3 viewing days for me - till Christmas" O.

 

[Charles Ellis]

OK- I've found Cozi on TWC channel 161!

 

[Gary OS]

#3 - Have Gun, Will Travel ("The Hanging Cross"). This comes in high on my list for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it does take place on Christmas Eve and does center on the holiday from the special Paladin prologue opening till the end with the singing of "Silent Night." Secondly, I love the mid-point scene that takes place inside the church where both Beecher and Paladin get a crack at presenting two opposing points of view on what is most important in life. It's played perfectly, and what makes it extra special is the use of a particular CBS Library cue named "Religious Procession No. 1" which is an absolute favorite of mine. It's a tremendously moving piece of music that I've only heard used twice - once here and at the end of The Fugitive's "Angels Travel on Lonely Roads - Pt 2." I'm not sure if the church scene would impact me as much if a different cue had been used. Anyhow, this is a great episode that I have to watch each and every year. The series also had a Christmas episode in its final season ("Be Not Forgetful of Strangers") that was also pretty good.


Gary "boy, this season has really moved quickly" O.

 

[Mark Collins]

Thanks Garysb, I knew we were about to receive a new station here in Chicago on our NBC 5 so I thought I would check it out from my roof top antenna. There it was. I get all local METV 5 stations and now this one. Like Gary I also have Direct TV. My mother who has Comcast told me she was pulling in METV. Watching made living through some of that wind and snow a bit better than I would have thought.

 

[Professor Echo]

Gary O, we are in agreement on the FURY episode. I didn't mean to let my discontent over the studio bound filming get in the way of what was a very good story for kids about Christmas spirit vs. Christmas greed. Like you, I thought the second act was a bit much and wished they had just made them a poor family rather than having the mother be deathly ill on top of that, but the performances were all solid. A mixed review because of the poor production values, but a recommendation especially for parents to show their kids.

Last night I managed to find two more I've never seen:

EMMETT OTTER'S JUG BAND CHRISTMAS: Not quite sure why this one has eluded me until now, but it was very charming and like most of Jim Henson's stuff, never condescending or patronizing, working for both kids and adults. I wasn't too crazy about Paul Williams' music and songs, but the energy of the story and voice acting and the really cool special effects carried it over into a very nice holiday show.

OUR MISS BROOKS (sorry, too lazy to look up the episode title): This was really good, reminding me of a proto-SEINFELD type of show with a weird sort of cosmos all balancing out over very funny situations, coincidences, happenstances and criss cross storylines leading up to a hilarious conclusion. Another great message about the joys of giving contrasted with the agonies of obligatory giving, with each character trying to please another and only digging themselves in deeper and deeper as the greed of receiving increases. I have never seen this series before, but if this is a sample of how good it was, I'm dying to see more. Got so caught up in the intricate screwball plotting I didn't;pay attention to the Christmas music used, if any.

However, my annual viewing of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW Christmas episode this evening yielded a full vocal rendition of AWAY IN A MANGER and also instrumental snippets of a moody GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN.

 

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Jack P /t/295423/favorite-christmas-episodes/300#post_4015514
Night Gallery S2-"The Messiah Of Mott Street." This is a wonderfully done ecumenial tale of the Holiday season that can be appreciated by Jew and Christian alike when watching it, and it does so not in an overt fashion but in a way that makes you think, and for that you can credit the strength of Rod Serling's gifts as a writer.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Went on a Lassie marathon yesterday and got a lot of viewing done
I watched all of the Lassie Christmas episodes except for the last one from the "Ranger" S13 season.
S5 "The Christmas Story"
S7 "The Christmas Story"
S8 "The Yochim’s Christmas"
S10 "Lassie's Gift Of Love Pt 1 & 2"
S11 "The Little Christmas Tree" (1st "Ranger" season)
After watching all, I agree with Gary that the S5 "The Christmas Story" was the best of the episodes.
Also watched a couple of my annual view's,
S1 Love Boat "Silent Night" This one always strikes a chord for some reason
S13 Ozzie & Harriet "The Busy Christmas" This one will always be an annual view, thanks to Gary :tu: Rick's "The Christmas Song" closing is classic.
S1 The Pretender "Not Even a Mouse" I like everything about this one, the backcore is filled with great Christmas songs, and the closing "Twas the Night Before Christmas" reading at the orphanage ranks up in my top scenes among Christmas episodes.

 

[Gary OS]

Great list of episodes, Jeff! I'm with you all the way with the Lassie rankings. The first one is the best, but all the Timmy ones are really good. I watched the Ozzie & Harriet episodes - "Busy Christmas", "The Christmas Tree Lot", and "The Fruitcake" (this one wasn't a Christmas episode per say, but it did reference the holiday a lot). But my...

#2 all time Christmas episodes is - Dr. Kildare ("Season to be Jolly"). This one has it all. And I do mean A-L-L. The episode is loaded with beautiful Christmas music throughout. It has a powerful story about a drunken Santa that proclaims himself a heathen/atheist of the highest order, yet something isn't quite jiving with his protests of everything Christmas. It's just a fabulous story within the larger episode story about the hospital and all that happens that Christmas Eve day and night. The final 5+ minutes include the nurses moving from one floor to the next with candles in hand as they sing traditional Carols. It's a very nice touch, and something we'd unfortunately never see today in any hospital. There are numerous quotes from this one episode that are incredibly powerful, but I'll leave those for another time.


Gary "really, really, really hoping WBA gets the first season of this show out so I can get a clean copy of this greatest of the great Christmas episodes" O.

 

[Jack P]

I've gone out to OH for the family Christmas gathering but packed a few remaining unwatched items for the portable DVD player. Squeezed in another "Christmas In Washington" special, this time from 1987 and also the two Loretta Young Show episodes I meant to watch "Christmas Stopover" and "Three And Two, Please." I'll give an encore view of the Dragnet Christmas Story tomorrow which I never watch just once. It's that good.
Squeezed in some of the vintage radio stuff too with all the remaining Jack Benny Christmas episodes of 1949-1954. It's amusing how they worked in new variants of the recurring gag of Jack making life miserable for department store clerk Mel Blanc! In one of them, Bea Bendaret plays Mel's wife and you get to hear her Betty Rubble laugh years before Flintstones debuted. Am now listening to the Lux Radio Theater version of "It's A Wonderful Life" which has Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed reprising their roles, and Victor Moore assuming the role of Clarence.

 

[Professor Echo]

Mostly movies from here on in, but stopped by to wish everyone a MERRY HAPPY!

 

[Regulus]

Merry Christmas my friends! My Video players get a 48 hour reprieve as I go out to attend various Christmas Festivities these next two days. Tonight I'm going to three Christmas Eve services at three different churches (Make mine a TRIPLE!).
Tomorrow I'll be celebrating Christmas with Friends and Family. :patriot:

 

[Gary OS]

My 12 Days of Christmas TV on DVD ends with my favorite Christmas TV show of all time...

#1 - A Charlie Brown Christmas. 'Nuff said.


Gary "wishing all my friends here a very, Merry Christmas" O.

 

[jimmyjet]

i did not read the complete thread, so i dont know if it was already mentioned.
but bonanza where the old hermit and his young granddaughter was a very touching show for me.

 

[Professor Echo]

Watched the George C. Scott A CHRISTMAS CAROL last night for the Eve. I never cease being marveled by it. Scott never veers into caricature as some other interpretations of Scrooge have. This is a truly pathetic and in no small way, frightening man, borne out by beautifully atmospheric cinematography and settings which only emphasize his mood and plight. As pure cinema it is the arguably the best film version of the story, but on the basis of entertainment I am still partial to the Alistair Sim one. But the Scott one is incredibly beautiful, powerful and moving.
Merry Christmas! May all our personally chosen Gods bless us, everyone.

 

[Gary OS]

I just got in my favorite Christmas movie of all time on Dec 24th, "It's a Wonderful Life." I didn't think I was going to get a chance to watch it this year, but at the last second the company staying with my family and I said they wanted to watch it so we just squeezed it in. I also was able to view the Davey & Goliath special, entitled "Christmas Lost and Found" which is a nice little episode I try to watch every other year or so.


Gary "I hope everyone had a great Christmas" O.

 

[Tina_H_V]

Yes, I sure did, Gary, have a wonderful Merry Christmas. Here is hoping everyone else here at the HTF did as well.
Some of my favorite Christmas episodes are as follows:
The Bill Cosby Show, S1, A Christmas Ballad--Chet helps an old man get a job as Santa Claus at the community center where Chet works. The old man in this 1969 episode is played by none other than De Lawd himself, Rex Ingram, who, sadly, died shortly after filming this particular episode. The transfer on this presentation from SHOUT! is nothing less than sensational.
The Nanny, S3, Oy To The World--great animated fun as Fine Fran takes off with Brighton and her dog, Chester, ending up in the North Pole to help Santa save Christmas. Lots of costume changes for Miss Fine in this one!!!!! I love the art work!!!!
Car 54, Where Are You?, S1, Christmas at the 53rd--lots of song and dance at the annual Christmas party at the 53rd. Poignant ending at the of this one. Premiered in my main unit Christmas Day 2012.
Ally McBeal, S5, Nine One One--very poignant and quite a departure from the eight Christmas episodes which preceded this one in its first four seasons. However, this holiday episode, given its title, came on the heels of 9/11 itself, with serious questions of faith and doubt many were asking of themselves at the time. As with the Cosby episode, I wept openly at this ending.
I am very heavily into Christmas episodes of TV series from various decades, from the 1950s to the present. Over the past few years, my collection has grown exponentially. Now, I will need to make time all throughout the holidays to catch everything. Any and all newbies coming into my TV DVD collection get the premiere treatment on Christmas Day itself before going into rotation in subsequent years leading all the way up to midnight on Christmas Day!!!!!