Thanksgiving Makes For Some Great TV

If there’s one thing I love more than gorging myself on turkey (and stuffing, and cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie… mmm… wait, what was I talking about again?), it’s loafing on the living room couch before and after Thanksgiving dinner and taking in some fine Thanksgiving television.

Holiday-themed episodes of TV shows usually follow a predictable pattern—the gang is planning some kind of celebration until everything goes horribly awry. But by the end of the show, problems have been solved, fights have ended, and everyone sits down together to enjoy a nice meal and/or some serious present opening, accompanied by a well-known holiday tune.

While most Thanksgiving episodes still adhere to the formula, there’s something about them that makes them even more satisfying than Christmas/Hanukkah/Valentine’s Day specials. Maybe it’s because they tend to be less cheesy than other holiday shows. Maybe it’s because I just like watching people enjoy a hearty meal. Whatever the reason, Thanksgiving episodes deserve some appreciation.

So, without further ado, here’s my list of the best Thanksgiving episodes. They’re all funny, entertaining, and heartwarming without being cloying—yes, even that episode of South Park.

7. “The Magnificent Archibalds”—Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl’s first Thanksgiving ep, the awesomely named “Blair Waldorf Must Pie,” was a tonal mess that revealed Blair’s bulimia and then promptly forgot about it. Its second Thanksgiving installment, though, was pretty great, mostly because of Wallace Shawn and Blair’s gay dad’s famous pie. It does lose a few points because of the boring Nate storyline, though. When will GG’s writers get that we’d much rather just look at Chace Crawford than hear him talk?

6. “Bart vs. Thanksgiving”—The Simpsons

In this early episode of the longest-running show on TV, Bart ruins Lisa’s Thanksgiving centerpiece—which honors great women from American history, naturally—then runs away to a soup kitchen before realizing he should be, well, thankful for what he has. The best quote comes from Marge’s mean mother, Jacqueline: “I have laryngitis. It hurts to talk, so I’ll just say one thing: You never do anything right.”

5. “Thanksgiving”—Top Chef

The producers of Top Chef are all about giving their contestants seemingly impossible challenges, like creating a restaurant in a day or catering a wedding with only twelve hours to cook. In this Season 2 episode, the chefs are asked to cater a haute Thanksgiving meal. Many of the dishes go predictably, spectacularly wrong, prompting outspoken guest judge Anthony Bourdain to ask Tom and Padma, “What kind of crack house are you running here?”

4. “Slapsgiving”—How I Met Your Mother

Ah, Slapsgiving—“It’s the one day we set aside each year to gather together and give slaps,” explains Marshall, who plans to slap Barney after dinner’s done. But the best part of the episode isn’t the slap (which ends up being a little anti-climactic). It’s the following exchange between Barney and Robin:

Robin: “The Canadian thanksgiving celebrates explorer Martin Frobisher’s valiant, yet ultimately, unsuccessful attempt to find the Northwest Passage.”
Barney: “Why are you guys even a country?

3. “Free Fallin’”—Degrassi

And speaking of Canada, admit it: at some point in your life, you were really into this Canadian soap opera. I may or may not still be at that point. In any case, this ep from Season 6 has it all: drama between mean girl Paige and her ex-girlfriend Alex, an exploding turkey, and a dinner that reveals plenty of secrets. Oh, and it ends with a main character committing arson. Degrassi: it goes there.

2. “The One With Chandler in a Box”—Friends

This entire list could consist of nothing but episodes of Friends, the only sitcom I can think of that aired a special Thanksgiving-themed installment every year. My favorite one is this episode from Season 4, in which Chandler encloses himself to atone for kissing Joey’s girlfriend. Honorable mentions: “The One with the Rumor,” co-starring Brad Pitt as Rachel’s high-school nemisis, and “The One Where Ross Got High,” featuring an English trifle that combines jam and ladyfingers with beef sautéed with peas and onions (“It tastes like feet!”).

1. “Helen Keller! The Musical”—South Park

The greatest Thanksgiving episode of all time involves a disabled turkey named Gobbles, Timmy in a wig, and tons of inside jokes for musical theater nerds like me (“I shall swear it on my life: your play should want for nothing,” sings the play’s director, who played Jean Valjean in a community theater production of “Les Mis”). It’s not all about the punchlines, though: Timmy and Gobbles’s friendship is legit touching. I also have a soft spot for jokes about “The Miracle Worker,” since I played Blind Girl #3 in my high school’s production of the play. Seriously. Watch the episode yourself at South Park Studios.