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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Thanksgiving Special

     My wife and I used to have a tradition of watching the Thanksgiving episode of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer every year on said holiday. With that time of year rolling around again, I thought I'd compile a list of geeky-related Thanksgiving shows to watch, just to help give a little variety. I was horribly disappointed to find that it was such a short, sad list:

     Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Pangs"
     Chuck: "Chuck Versus the Nemesis"
     Heroes: "Thanksgiving" 
     Quantum Leap: "The Leap Home" (Parts 1 and 2)
     Roswell: "Max In The City"
     Charmed: "The Truth Is Out There... And It Hurts" and "There's Something About Leo"
     Smallville: "Rage" and "Ambush"

And they were all crushed by the house-sized cornucopia
     Now, admittedly, I am unfamiliar with all but the first three of these, because I've yet to sit down and watch Quantum Leap, Roswell, Charmed, or Smallville (and I only ever intend to watch one of those; the prize goes to who can guess which one!). So I can't vouch for how "Thanksgiving-y" any of them are. Also, I'm only considering what I think of as "geeky" shows, which wouldn't include mainstream sitcoms or dramas, even if they are generally popular among geeks.
     Thanksgiving always seems to get the short end of the stick in our society. I'm not going to go onto a long rant about how Christmas decorations in our town go up the day after Halloween, because every time I do I only get fervent agreement from everyone. It makes me wonder: if everybody agrees that Christmas should hold off until December like the decent, respectful holiday it should be, than what vandal is sneaking into stores and onto the city streets to decorations a month early?
     Of course, geek shows can often get a free pass when it comes to holiday episodes, depending on their setting. If the show doesn't take place in modern America, then Thanksgiving isn't a thing and therefore it would just be weird to try to shoehorn it in (case in point: the Star Wars Christmas Special). But just off the top of my head, I can think of a lot of series that dropped the ball and totally should have had (or should have, if the show is still in production) Thanksgiving specials.

     EurekaTurkeyzilla, a genetically engineered bird created by one of the town's scientists in an attempt to feed everyone at once, rampages through the town.
     Stargate SG-1: The team accidentally stumbles across a world where they recreate their own version of the first Thanksgiving. And guess who else is invited to dinner? Goa'uld!
     Warehouse 13: The artifact: the gravy boat used at the first Thanksgiving. The mayhem: gravy flood!
     The X-Files: Mulder and Scully investigate a small town where the ghosts of all the slain turkeys of the past roam the streets in a demonic procession.

     That's just a primer, folks. Feel free to add more ideas in the comments.

2 comments:

  1. I want to watch all those episodes!

    And because I'm an awesome friend, allow me to remind you of the following Thanksgiving episodes that you neglected that I believe you watch:

    How I Met Your Mother - Belly Full of Turkey, Slapsgiving, Slapsgiving II: Revenge of the Slap, Blitzgiving, The Rebound Girl
    The Big Bang Theory - The Pirate Solution

    The Complete list is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thanksgiving_television_specials

    I also just realized Community has not done a Thanksgiving Episode, which seems like a travesty.

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    Replies
    1. I guess I consider HIMYM to be mainstream, and I consider Big Bang Theory to be an insulting travesty. So that doesn't count.

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