Despite Christmas being over, every television channel from BBC1 to 3, from ITV to Sky, from Sy-Fy to Comedy Central, is clogged up with a constant cycle of holiday-related specials. Some choose to air Christmas and New Year’s themed episodes from well-known programmes, such as ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Friends’. Others, usually comedy themed quiz shows, choose to look over their funniest moments of the past year, or, if they’re desperate, throughout the show’s history. The final option, is, of course, to air a couple of episodes of a new show, catching the family just full enough from Christmas dinner to remain seated, but not too tired as to drift off to sleep on the comfy sofa. It’s like Sunday drama night, except all the time! Well, when everyone has essentially forgotten what day it is, every day could be Sunday. Anyway, here are some holiday specials from each category, which are worth a watch over the next few days.
Although Christmas is over, lots of decorations are still up, and everyone is still in that jolly-still-eating-Christmas-dinner-leftovers mood, meaning you have a perfectly good excuse to binge on sitcom Christmas specials. Though way, way, way too many are in existence (seriously, tone it down, scriptwriters), Dan Harmon’s ‘Community’ has some of the best of them. Despite Seasons 4, 5 and 6 not airing a Holiday-related episode (the seasons airing between January and May each year), the three in existence are side-splittingly funny, and heart-warmingly sweet. The first, ‘Comparative Religion’, deals with political correctness at a time when three holidays (Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza) have to fight for the limelight. Despite being a little weak (as all episodes of all first seasons everywhere are), it includes the iconic line; ‘Merry Christmas!’/’It’s December 10th!’ ‘Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas’ is a loving tribute to stop-motion-animated Christmas specials, complete with original musical numbers, and a journey to ‘save Christmas!’ The final one, ‘Regional Holiday Music’, as well as homage to the Christmas special, also mocks the popular programme ‘Glee’ (and is, in my opinion, one of the best ‘Community’ episodes in existence). So, if you’re in search of Christmas specials, spend one and a half hours of your life laughing until your sides ache.
The ‘overlooking the year’ traditional episode is, as previously mentioned, more typical to reality quiz/comedy shows than fictional series. “QI’, ‘Mock the Week’, ‘Have I Got News for You’ and ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’ all do this; though one of my favourites is not, in fact, a regular show. ‘The Big Fat Quiz of the Year’, which airs on New Year’s Eve, typically hosted by Jimmy Carr, is one of the most enjoyable look-backs of the past year; even though the hardships of 2015 have been more abundant than years past, I have no doubt the guest comedians will find a way to make us laugh.
Finally, a new show to air during this time is ‘Dickensian’. Although marketing it’s self as high-brow, which I have no doubt it can occasionally be, this is essentially a fan fiction about what would occur if all Dickens’ characters existed and interacted. Despite sometimes needing a list of his characters to work out who’s who, it is intriguing, spine-tingling, and beautifully shot. Hopefully, one of these will pique your interest, and the rest of your ever-shrinking holiday will be spent falling in love with a new show. Happy New Year!
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