holiday eps?

[bandito]

i wonder why the writers never had any holiday eps. the only one that was close was when beaver was in that x-mas play. does anyone know any others?

[DarleneIllyria]

I'm not sure why they didn't have more episodes centered around holidays. It's the same thing with 'The Andy Griffith Show'. They only had one Christmas episode. I don't know why they chose to not celebrate more holidays on each show. I could always say that some people don't celebrate Christmas and both shows didn't want to throw the episodes in viewers faces that doesn't celebrate Christmas. I'm not sure though.

[frani]

I don't remember holiday eps for any of those old shows like I love Lucy or Donna Reed or Father Knows Best. maybe that's a fairly recent practice. There was one Honeymooner xmas ep but that was all. I think it had to do with a sense of fantasy they were going for. Just a thought.

[DarleneIllyria]

Originally posted by frani
I don't remember holiday eps for any of those old shows like I love Lucy or Donna Reed or Father Knows Best. maybe that's a fairly recent practice. There was one Honeymooner xmas ep but that was all. I think it had to do with a sense of fantasy they were going for. Just a thought.

I'm not sure about DR or FKB, but Lucy had a xmas episode. It's pretty rare though. Let me see if I can remember some of the episode. Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel dress up as Santa Claus but the end they have another Santa Claus. The 5th SC turns out to be the real SC. That's all I can really remember. If you check over at the I Love Lucy board, I'm sure somebody will be able to give you a more stable plot line.

[FOL85NatandMrsGRock]

didn't they do a valentines day episode? i coulda swore that leave it to beaver had a valentines day episode, cuz didn't beaver and wally do a commercial for it!?!?!

[B&W fan]

What I've always heard concerning the lack of Holiday episodes on these shows is lame, IMHO. But here it is. The producers of these shows often feel that holiday episodes mess up syndication. IOW, they feel like putting holiday shows into the lineup limits them with syndication airings, because no one wants to run those holiday episodes at any time during the year other than the holiday itself.

For instance, both I Love Lucy and TAGS (short for Andy Griffith Show) had one Christmas episode each during their long run. And to this day, those holiday episodes ONLY show up at Christmas, if at all. And that's not really good for syndication contracts, because you basically lose a show in the lineup (i.e. it gets skipped during the year as the show is running on Nick or TVLand or etc.)

Therefore most of these shows forego the holiday episodes thinking it will help them in the long run with better syndication deals.

Personally, I think that stinks! I have over the years painstakingly collected all my favorite Holiday episodes from my favorite shows to watch at Christmas. Among the Christmas ones I have are:

I Love Lucy
TAGS
Bewitched (they had a couple, but I've got the first & best one)
Gunsmoke (a really neat episode)
Mary Tyler Moore (of course this one is now on the new DVD set)
Dick Van Dyke Show
Gilligan's Island
Flintstones (the original 1/2 hour version, not the remake)
Father Knows Best (2 different Christmas episodes)
Dennis the Menace
Donna Reed
Beverly Hillbillies

and many others. I always have a Merry Christmas with that line-up.


B&W "I hope that made sense" fan

[boechsner]

Almost every TV series has a Christmas episode. At least the series that were on for more than 3 years do. Leave It to Beaver is an exception, however, Beaver does play an angel in the Christmas play in the episode The Haircut.

The Donna Reed Show, Bachelor Father, Father Knows Best, I Love Lucy and December Bride are all 50's sitcoms and they have Christmas episodes.

[B&W fan]

Originally posted by boechsner
Almost every TV series has a Christmas episode. At least the series that were on for more than 3 years do. Leave It to Beaver is an exception, however, Beaver does play an angel in the Christmas play in the episode The Haircut.

The Donna Reed Show, Bachelor Father, Father Knows Best, I Love Lucy and December Bride are all 50's sitcoms and they have Christmas episodes.

While this is true, haven't you noticed that MOST of these shows only ran one or two Christmas episodes, often in the first or second season, even though they had opportunities to do so EACH season! I think this is for syndication purposes, from what I've read.

For instance, take TAGS, Dick Van Dyke Show, and I Love Lucy. Each show had only one Christmas episode, even though they ran for many years. In fact, to further illustrate my point, I'm not sure I can think of any show from the 50's or 60's that had a new Christmas episode for EACH season.

B&W "I certainly believe LITB should have done a Christmas episode - it's about the only thing I think they did wrong in production" fan

[boechsner]

I personally think it's kind of hard to do a Christmas episode each year. It gets repetiative and there's really not much that can be done. Perhaps, it's a matter of the writers not being able to come up with fresh holiday episodes that are original.

Christmas episodes from selected series:

227 (3):
(Mary's Christmas 12/14/85)
(The Night They Arrested Santa 12/10/88)
(Guess Who's Not Coming to Christmas? 12/16/89)

The Addams Family (1):
(Christmas with the Addams Family 12/24/65)

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (7):
(The Boys' Christmas Money 12/19/52)
(The Miracle 12/25/53)
(The Lost Christmas Gift 12/24/54)
(Christmas in October 10/24/56)
(Busy Christmas 12/19/56)
(The Day After Christmas 12/26/56)
(The Christmas Tree Lot 12/18/57)

ALF (3):
(Oh, Tannerbaum 12/22/86)
(ALF's Special Christmas Part 1 and 2 12/14/87)

Alice (4):
(A Semi-Merry Christmas 12/18/77)
(Mel the Magi 12/23/79)
(Mel's Christmas Carol 12/20/81)
('Tis the Season to Be Jealous 12/25/83)

All in the Family (6):
(Christmas Day at the Bunkers' 12/18/71)
(Edith's Christmas Story 12/22/73)
(Edith's Crisis of Faith Part 1 and 2 12/25/77)
(California, Here We Are Part 1 and 2 12/17/78)

Bachelor Father (1):
(Deck the Halls 12/19/61)

Barney Miller (3):
(Christmas Story 12/23/76)
(Toys 12/14/78)
(Homeless 12/17/81)

Benson (2):
(Mary and Her Lambs 12/17/82)
(Home for Christmas 12/21/84)

The Beverly Hillbillies (5):
(Home for Christmas 12/19/62)
(Christmas at the Clampetts 12/25/63)
(The Christmas Present 12/21/66)
(The Week Before Christmas 12/18/68)
(Christmas in Hooterville 12/25/68)

Bewitched (4):
(A Vision of Sugar Plums 12/24/64)
(Humbug Not to Be Spoken Here 12/21/67)
(Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays 12/18/69)
(Sisters at Heart 12/24/70)

Blossom (1):
(It's a Marginal Life 12/16/91)

The Bob Newhart Show (6):
(His Busiest Season 12/23/72)
(I'm Dreaming of a Slight Christmas 12/22/73)
(Home is Where the Hurt Is 12/21/74)
(Bob Has to Have His Tonsils Out 12/20/75)
(Making Up is the Thing to Do 12/25/76)
('Twas the Pie Before Christmas 12/24/77)

Boy Meets World (2):
(A Very Topanga Christmas 12/19/97)
(Santa's Little Helpers 12/11/98)

The Brady Bunch (1):
(The Voice of Christmas 12/19/69)

Car 54, Where Are You? (1):
(Christmas at the 53rd 12/24/61)

Charles in Charge (2):
(Home for the Holidays 12/19/84)
(Yule Laff)

Cheers (1):
(Christmas Cheers 12/17/87)

Coach (3):
(Christmas Brains 12/18/90)
(My True Love Gave to Me ... 12/15/92)
(Christmas of the Van Damned 12/14/93)

The Cosby Show (2):
(Getting to Know You 12/14/89)
(Clair's Place 12/19/91)

December Bride (2):
(The Christmas Show 12/20/54)
(Car for Christmas)

Dennis the Menace (3):
(The Christmas Story 12/20/59)
(The Christmas Horse 12/25/60)
(The Fifteen Foot Christmas Tree 12/24/61)

Designing Women (1):
(I'll Be Home for Christmas 12/21/87)

Dharma & Greg (1):
(Haus Arrest 12/17/97)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1):
(The Alan Brady Show Presents 12/18/63)

Diff'rent Strokes (3):
(Retrospective Part 1 and 2 12/29/78)
(Santa's Helper 12/18/82)

A Different World (5):
(The Gift of the Magi 12/17/87)
(For Whom the Jingle Bell Tolls 12/21/89)
(I'm Dreaming of a Wayne Christmas 12/13/90)
(Twelve Steps of Christmas 12/19/91)
(White Christmas 12/17/92)

The Donna Reed Show (1):
(A Very Merry Christmas 12/24/58)

Doogie Howser, M.D. (2):
(Doogie the Red-Nosed Reindeer 12/13/89)
(It's a Wonderful Laugh 12/18/91)

The Drew Carey Show (3):
(Isomers Have Distinct Characteristics 12/20/95)
(Drew's Holiday Punch 12/16/98)
(Fetal Attraction 12/20/00)

Ellen (3):
(The Christmas Show 12/14/94)
(Do You Fear What I Fear? 12/20/95)
(Fleas Navidad 12/18/96)

Empty Nest (1):
(A Christmas Story 12/16/89)

Everybody Loves Raymond (5):
(All I Want for Christmas 12/15/97)
(The Toaster 12/14/98)
(The Christmas Picture 12/13/99)
(Christmas Present 12/11/00)
(Season's Greetings 12/17/01)

The Facts of Life (4):
(The Christmas Show 12/21/83)
(Christmas in the Big House 12/19/84)
(Christmas Baby 12/14/85)
(It's a Wonderful Christmas 12/12/87)

Family Matters (7):
(Have Yourself a Very Winslow Christmas 12/21/90)
(It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Urkel 12/11/92)
(Christmas is Where the Heart Is 12/10/93)
(Miracle on Elm Street 12/16/94)
(Fa La La La Laagghh! 12/15/95)
(It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 12/13/96)
(Deck the Malls 12/19/97)

Family Ties
(A Christmas Story 12/15/82)
(A Keaton Christmas Carol 12/14/83)
(Miracle in Columbus 12/20/87)

Father Knows Best (3):
(The Christmas Story 12/19/54)
(The Angel's Sweater 12/19/56)
(The Christmas Story 12/15/58 recut with flashbacks)

The Flying Nun (1):
(Wailing in a Winter Wonderland 12/21/67)

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (3):
(Deck the Halls 12/10/90)
(Christmas Show 12/16/91)
('Twas the Night Before Christening 12/20/93)

Friends (4):
(The One With Phoebe's Dad 12/14/95)
(The One Where Rachel Quits 12/12/96)
(The One with the Holiday Armadillo 12/14/00)
(The One with the Creepy Holiday Card 12/13/01)

Full House (4):
(Our Very First Christmas Show 12/16/88)
(A Very Tanner Christmas 12/15/92)
(The Perfect Couple 12/14/93)
(Arrest Ye Merry Gentleman 12/13/94)

Gilligan's Island (1):
(Birds Gotta Fly, Fish Gotta Talk 12/19/64)

Gimme a Break! (4):
(A Kanisky Christmas 12/22/83)
(The Spirit of Christmas 12/22/84)
(Snippets 12/14/85)
(Christmas in New York 12/10/86)

The Golden Girls (2):
('Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas 12/20/86)
(Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas 12/16/89)

Good Times (3):
(Sometimes There's No Bottom in the Bottle 12/10/74)
(Penny's Christmas 12/21/77)
(The Traveling Christmas 12/20/78)

Grace Under Fire (4):
(The Holidays 12/13/94)
(Emmet, We Hardly Knew Ye 12/20/95)
(A Holly, Jolly Christmas 12/18/96)
(Mother Christmas 12/16/97)

Green Acres (1):
(An Old Fashioned Christmas 12/21/66)

Growing Pains (3):
(A Christmas Story 12/10/85)
(The Kid 12/16/86)
(It's Not Easy Being Green 12/21/91)

Hazel (2):
(Hazel's Christmas Shopping 12/21/61)
(Just 86 Shopping Minutes to Christmas 12/24/64)

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (4):
(Miracle in Oaktown 12/15/92)
(Santa's Got a Brand New Bag 12/10/93)
(Christmas Show 12/16/94)
(Christmas '95 12/15/95)

Happy Days (5):
(Guess Who's Coming to Christmas? 12/17/74)
(Richie Branches Out 12/7/76)
(Christmas Time 12/19/78)
(White Christmas 12/16/80)
(All I Want for Christmas 12/14/82)

Head of the Class (1):
(Vicki's Torn Genes 12/18/90)

The Hogan Family (1):
(Ho, Ho, Hogans 7/20/91)

Home Improvement (6):
(Yule Better Watch Out 12/17/91)
(I'm Scheming of a White Christmas 12/16/92)
('Twas the Blight Before Christmas 12/15/93)
('Twas the Night Before Chaos 12/13/94)
('Twas the Flight Before Christmas 12/12/95)
(Bright Christmas 12/16/97)

I Love Lucy (1):
(Jingle Bells 12/24/56)

The Jeffersons (5):
(The Christmas Wedding 12/22/76)
(984 W. 124th Street, Apt. 5C 12/24/77)
(George Finds a Father 12/20/78)
(All I Want for Christmas 12/21/80)
(Father Christmas 12/11/83)

Just Shoot Me (3):
(Jesus, It's Christmas 12/16/97)
(How the Finch Stole Christmas 12/15/98)
(Christmas? Christmas! 12/13/01)

Kate & Allie (1):
(The Nightmare Before Christmas 12/14/87)

The King of Queens (2):
(Better Camera 12/11/00)
(Ovary Action 12/17/01)

Laverne & Shirley (2):
(Christmas at the Booby Hatch 12/21/76)
(Oh, Come All Ye Burns 12/19/78)

Make Room for Daddy
(Christmas 12/22/53)
(Christmas and Clowns 12/24/56)

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1):
(Have Reindeer, Will Travel 12/8/61)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1):
(Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid 12/19/70)

Maude (4):
(The Office Party 12/18/73)
(The Christmas Party 12/22/75)
(Walter's Christmas Gift 12/20/76)
(Maude's Christmas Surprise 12/19/77)

McHale's Navy
(The Day They Captured Santa Claus 12/27/62)

Mister Ed (1):
(Ed's Christmas Story 12/22/63)

Mr. Belvedere (2):
(Christmas Story 12/18/87)
(A Happy Guy's Christmas 12/16/89)

The Monkees (1):
(The Christmas Show 12/25/67)

Mork & Mindy (1):
(Mork's First Christmas 12/14/78)

My Two Dads (2):
('Tis the Season 12/20/87)
(I'm Dreaming of a Holiday Episode 12/20/89)

The Nanny (3):
(Christmas Episode 12/22/93)
(Hurricane Fran 12/18/96)
(The Hanukkah Story 12/16/98)

Newhart (1):
(No Room at the Inn 12/20/82)

NewsRadio (3):
(Xmas Story 12/19/95)
(Christmas 12/18/96)
(Stupid Holiday Charity Talent Show 12/16/97)

Night Court (2):
(The Night Court Before Christmas 12/21/88)
(Santa on the Lamb 12/11/91)

One Day at a Time (2):
(Girl Talk 12/25/78)
(Not a Creature Was Staying 12/25/83)

Our Miss Brooks (2):
(Christmas Show 1952 12/27/52)
(Christmas Show 12/25/53)

The Partridge Family (1):
(Don't Bring Your Guns to Town, Santa 12/17/71)

The Patty Duke Show
(Christmas Present 12/25/63)

Perfect Strangers (2):
(A Christmas Story 12/17/86)
(The Gift of the Mypiot 12/16/88)

Petticoat Junction (2):
(Cannonball Christmas 12/24/63)
(The Santa Claus Special 12/20/66)

Rhoda (1):
(Guess What I Got You for the Holidays? 12/16/74)

Roseanne (5):
(Santa Claus 12/24/91)
(It's No Place Like Home for the Holidays 12/15/92)
(White Trash Christmas 12/14/93)
(December Bride 12/12/95)
(Home for the Holidays 12/17/96)

Sanford & Son (1):
(Ebenezer Sanford 12/12/75)

Saved by the Bell (2):
(Home for Christmas Part 1 and 2 12/7 and 12/14/91)

That Girl
(Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid 12/22/66)
('Twas the Night Before Christmas, You're Under Arrest 12/21/67)

Three's Company (1):
(Three's Christmas 12/20/77)

Too Close for Comfort (1):
(Mr. Christmas 12/16/82)

Webster (2):
(The Man in the Red Flannel Suit 12/12/86)
(Simple Gifts 12/14/87)

Welcome Back, Kotter
(Sweathog Christmas Special)

What's Happening!! (1):
(Christmas 12/11/76)

Who's the Boss? (3):
(Requiem 12/18/85)
(The Christmas Card 12/16/86)
(A Spirited Christmas 12/20/88)

WKRP in Cincinnati (1):
(Bah, Humbug 12/20/80)

The Wonder Years (4):
(Christmas 12/14/88)
(A Very Cutlip Christmas 12/12/90)
(Christmas Party 12/11/91)
(Let Nothing You Dismay 12/16/92)