TV's Tinsel Tidings

 

It's that time of year again. Christmas has come round and one of the traditions is to gather around the television to watch some of your favourite TV Christmas Specials. I'm going to list my favourite; what makes the list will be established TV series that had an episode around the festive period to mark the occasion. 

Continue reading to see what made my list...

5) Bob's Burgers: Father of the Bob (S05, E06)

First on my list is Bob's Burgers, an animation that follows the character of Bob Belcher and his family all while trying to balance their burger joint. This hilarious and wholesome TV show has been running since 2011 and always features a special episode centered around the holidays, whether they'd be Halloween, Thanksgiving or the holiday we're focusing on: Christmas. Father of the Bob has the whole Belcher family visiting Bob's father for a festive party. Bob, due to a strained relationship with his dad, is reluctant to stay longer than 15 minutes and ends up stuck in the kitchen with his dad, becoming more and more competitive with each other. Bob wants to prove his worth but his father remains dismissive. Meanwhile, the kids have realised they have forgotten to get a present for their dad and go to the basement to try and put something together. They themselves get competitive with trying to out-better each other to make a gift for their father. In the end, Bob finds out that his dad is secretly proud of him and they make amends after Bob Sr admits his downfalls.

Bob's Burgers is one of my favourite contemporary animations, it's easily enjoyed by everyone while also containing jokes that are aimed at the adults. The reason why Father of the Bob made the list over the other Christmas specials is due to the subtlety of it being a Christmas episode, it's not cheesy or over the top, just the right balance, making it an episode that could be viewed at any other time and not just this time of year. The chaos antics of the kids paired with the whole family coming together gives the episode a nice of balance between comedy and a wholesome show. Also, Bill Hader starring as Bob Sr certainly contributes.

4) Ghosts: The Ghost of Christmas (S02 E00)

Ah, what a gem this British comedy is. From the stars of Horrible Histories comes Ghosts, a TV series that follows a couple who decide to buy and renovate a country manor house into a B&B. Alison ends up with a bump on her head which allows her to see the other patrons of the house, those who have lived and died before them. A variety of ghostly characters are featured, all with different backgrounds and timelines on how they ended up at the manor. The comedy ensues from the ghosts trying to exist amongst their living guests. This particular episode features Alison's husband Mike's family coming to stay for Christmas. Alongside these events, the audience gets a glimpse into one of the ghost's lives before they died; Julien, a crass, inappropriate politician who appears as he died, wearing a suit with no trousers. We see that he always made excuses to not be with his wife and young baby at Christmas time, instead preferring to stay out at Christmas parties and doing everything he can to avoid responsibility. The flashbacks are interspersed with the current day, with Mike and Alison trying to accommodate everyone. Mike's sister has brought her young baby who she struggles to calm and get to sleep, until Julien steps in, surprising the other ghosts and the audience at how much of a natural he is when trying to distract the baby. After Mike has left to sulk due to his family constantly interfering with his way of doing Christmas, the family and ghosts come together to enjoy the day as one.

I am a big fan of the stars of this show. After following their performances in Horrible Histories and Yonderland, I became a fan of Ghosts that was also written and created by them. The ridiculous situations that the ghosts get themselves into are hilarious and the double entendre jokes that they can get away with are a delight to watch. As time goes on, you end up being fond of each character, even with the least likable ones. Here, we can see the regret Julien had in not spending more time with his family before it was too late and showing a softer, caring side other than his usual buffoonery. Ghosts is as heart-warming as it is witty and I continue to look forward to more episodes.

3) Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Yippie Kayak (S03 E10)

 

A show that on first glance doesn't appear as funny as it ends up being, Brooklyn Nine-Nine follows a group of detectives based in Brooklyn, with the main character Jake being the immature, yet brilliant detective; Charles Boyle, Jake's best friend who is devoted to him to a fault; Amy, the Type-A detective who ends up in a sweet relationship with Jake; Terry, the macho yet sensitive sergeant; Rosa, the tough and mysterious hardened cop; Gina, the very self-assured and sassy assistant; and Captain Holt, the out and proud but very stoic captain of the precinct. This episode focuses on Jake as he realises he's forgotten to buy a Christmas present for Boyle. As luck has it, Boyle ends up crashing the shopping trip Jake and Gina are on when the shop they're in are taken over by thieves. Jake, after realising the events mirror his favourite movie, Die Hard is excited to go on a mission to save the hostages. Gina is taken hostage and it's up to Jake and Boyle to take on the gang and get everyone to safety. Meanwhile, Holt and Rosa are taking part in a swimming competition which Amy is determined to join, even though she hates being cold. Just as she's about to start the competition, Amy gets a message from Jake that they're in trouble and Amy stops the competition and demands Holt and Rose to join her to save Jake and Boyle. Over at the shopping mall, Jake has managed to get himself captured and it's up to Boyle to be the hero and save the day.

This is actually one of the first episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine I had seen so I have a fondness for this particular episode. I initially didn't start watching this series as I was under the impression it was a slap-stick comedy with unfunny jokes but after watching this episode, I realised that the jokes are sharp, the characters fleshed out and it is really progressive for a show about cops in New York. This episode, you get a sense of what each character is about, Jake learning from his initial immature ways and Boyle being allowed to take charge for once. Paired with setting it up as a tribute to Die Hard, Yippie Kayak not only remains my favourite Christmas episode, but one of my favourite episodes of the series.

2) Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion (E167)

What's Christmas without a Doctor Who special? For the penultimate choice on this list, I'm choosing the 10th Doctor's first full episode. The Doctor is a Time Lord, an alien who goes on adventures through space and time, usually with a companion by his side. The Doctor, being an alien, has the ability to regenerate if his body is due to die. During this episode, the Doctor has newly regenerated, much to the surprise of his companion Rose. As the Doctor recovers, it's up to Rose and her family to deal with an incoming alien invasion wanting to take over Earth, all the while the Doctor rests in bed. Just when everything seems at a loss, with the aliens kidnapping Rose, her family and the Prime Minister, the Doctor emerges fully restored and ready to battle the aliens.

Even though the Doctor spends half of the episode in bed, The Christmas Invasion remains my favourite Christmas special of the show. It was the first Christmas special of the new series (the show had been airing from the 1960s until the 1980s, being revived in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor) and it was the first full episode showing off David Tennant's talents as the new Doctor. I'd been a fan of Tennant's since his turn in the series Casanova as the lead so I was very excited when he was announced as the actor taking over Eccleston. Tennant definitely proved himself with this episode, being able to balance the comedic elements of the role with the dramatic scenes. Tennant's chemistry with Billie Piper who played Rose was obvious from this episode and there was a bubbling anticipation from here, of what adventures the series would see them go on. His reign as the Doctor still remains one of the popular incarnations, being on the show for 3 series and several specials. The episode acts as a new era, allowing those who had never seen the series to pick it up easily without needing to go back. No other specials of the series quite captured the excitement that this episode brought. We're currently on the 14th version of the Doctor as played by Ncuti Gatwa and even though we won't get a Christmas special this year, I'm very much looking forward to what he will bring to the famous role.

1) Black Mirror: White Christmas (S02 E04)

This is it, number one on my list of Christmas TV specials comes in the form of Black Mirror, one of my favourite shows that delve into the possible problems of technology in the near-distant future. From the mind of Charlie Brooker, the episode starts with Joe and Matt hanging around a cabin with Matt telling the story of how he got to be at this remote outpost. We see Matt being in charge of an online community who wish to seduce women. One scenario ends in disaster with one of the men in the community trying to seduce a woman under Matt's instructions, not knowing that the woman is actually severely mentally unwell. The woman proceeds to murder her date and kills herself, leading Matt to delete all evidence of the online community. However, due to this unfortunate event, his wife has blocked him from existence, and in this universe that means quite literally: he and his wife are physically unable to see and hear each other, with a static white noise in place of where that person should be. After Matt has told his story, Joe starts to slowly open up about how he came to the outpost. Joe is living with his girlfriend Beth; after entertaining friends at their apartment, Beth goes to bed early with Joe cleaning up where he finds a pregnancy test. He questions Beth but Beth threatens to have an abortion which leads to a major argument and Beth blocking Joe. Joe is living his life when he bumps into Beth, not being able to see anything but the image of Beth still being pregnant. This sends Joe into a spiral and he spends his time tracking Beth down. As the years go on, Beth ends up dying in a tragic accident and Joe is finally able to see the child; except the child is clearly not his. Joe, already on a spiral, ends up spinning out of control and confronts Beth's father, where he ends up dying by Joe's hand. As Joe flees, Beth's daughter comes to find her grandfather and tries to find help to no avail. Back at the outpost, we see that the whole set-up is a virtual loop, designed to punish those who have committed crimes with Joe having to relive everything all over.

Ah what an episode, what a twist! The early episodes of Black Mirror always had me gripped with tension and anticipating each twist, leaving me heartbroken every time. Each episode was an insightful message to society, what might happen if we get carried away with technology and the dangers this may carry. The performances in this episode are breath-taking, with the audience despising Jon Hamm's character Matt while Rafe Spall's turn as Joe leaves the audience conflicted between sympathy and disgust. This episode stays in the audience's mind long after the credits have ended due to the bleak and pessimistic ending, certainly different to that of your standard Christmas TV special which is why it stands out. While Black Mirror continues on under the production of Netflix, it never got to the standards of when it was an indie series being on Channel 4. I still look forward to see where Charlie Brooker goes next and what more madness he conjures.

That concludes my Christmas Special countdown. I hope you have a very merry Christmas for those that celebrate and for all to enjoy this festive period. Stay tuned for new posts in the new year.

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