The Office – “Christmas Party” Original airdate 12/6/05 Are you guys ready for some skin-crawlingly awkward holiday fun? Well, let me introduce you to a little thing called “Yankee Swap”. This Season Two episode set a new standard for awful Michael behavior and gives the entire staff a chance to […]

Arrested Development – “Afternoon Delight” Original airdate 12/19/04 In case I haven’t mentioned it a million times by now, Arrested Development is probably the greatest sitcom ever. And I only say “probably” so that I have wiggle room if somebody wants to argue with me. But really, those people are […]

Futurama – “A Tale of Two Santas” Original airdate 12/23/01 This is actually Futurama’s second Christmas episode, and FOX famously sat on this episode for years. Seems they were uncomfortable with the level of violence in this episode. Roll that one around in your head. FOX had an issue with […]

30 Rock – “Ludachristmas” Original airdate 12/13/07 This episode is pretty great. In fact, picking up a season or two of 30 Rock on DVD would make a great Christmas present to yourself. As the episode opens, Liz Lemon is very excited about her family’s Christmas visit. (Including her brother, […]

The Tick – “The Tick Loves Santa!” Original airdate 11/25/95 This is the animated Tick series, by the way. Not the short-lived live action version. And looking at that airdate, I just realized The Tick was doing superhero parody about a decade before superheroes had enough cultural cachet to warrant […]

Veronica Mars – “An Echolls Family Christmas” Original airdate 12/14/04 As with every first season episode, the mystery of the murder of Lily Kane runs through the background. However, we’ll put that aside so we can enjoy Christmas without all sorts of backstory. Some of Neptune High’s most disreputable students […]