1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
As animated Peanuts specials go, 1973's Emmy-winning A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is pretty anemic and by-the-book: Lucy yanks the football out from under Charlie Brown before he can kick it. Sally gripes about schoolwork. Linus gives an erudite summation of the holiday's importance and history. And Charlie Brown is wishy-washy. There's a vague nod toward plot: Peppermint Patty calls and invites herself, Marcie, and Franklin across town to Thanksgiving dinner at Charlie Brown's place, unaware—since his only response to her is "Well, uh, I…"—that he's actually going to be at his grandmother's. At Linus' prompting, Snoopy prepares a kids' version of a home-cooked meal: toast, popcorn, jellybeans, and pretzel sticks. When Peppermint Patty complains about the lack of traditional turkey and cranberry sauce, Charlie Brown leaves the table in embarrassment; Peppermint Patty ends up sending Marcie to apologize. Which leads to the special's best exchange. Linus: "This is not unlike another famous Thanksgiving episode. Do you remember the story of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins and Captain Miles Standish?" Peppermint Patty: "This isn't like that at all." Really, though, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is most memorable for its extended Snoopy goofery, and the pleasantly jazzy, mournful song "Little Birdie," featuring longtime Charlie Brown composer Vince Guaraldi actually singing.
2. Amazing Stories, "Thanksgiving" (1986)
A very young Kyra Sedgwick and a not-so-young David Carradine play a farm family who dig a well on their property and discover a mysterious unseen underground civilization that sends gold and jewels up the hole whenever Sedgwick sends food down. The cranky Carradine hates living off their largesse, so he heads into the well to take control of the riches under his feet, but when Sedgwick pulls his rope back up, she finds another load of precious metals, and a note thanking her for "the turkey." Nothing says holiday fun like a twist ending.
3. Bewitched, "Samantha's Thanksgiving To Remember" (1967)
The ironies pile up when Aunt Clara sends Darrin and Samantha (and, accidentally, nosy neighbor Gladys) to historical Salem to experience a traditional Thanksgiving. Through a series of mishaps, Darrin ends up being accused of witchcraft, and Samantha has to defend him. Later, she makes a turkey dinner, using her magical powers to keep the mashed potatoes from getting lumpy.
4. The Bob Newhart Show, "Over The River And Through The Woods" (1975)
In what's widely cited as one of the best episodes of the whole series, Bob and his buddies wind up going stag on Thanksgiving, so they get rip-roaring drunk and order Chinese food from The House Of Hu. By the time Bob is done on the phone, he's placed three orders for moo goo gai pan and one for "moo goo goo goo." Buried in the madcappery is a vein of real emotion, based equally on the despair of being single during the holidays, and the liberation of being able to dispense with tradition because no one really cares.
5. John Madden's Turducken Awards (Annual)
NFL commentator John Madden provides what may be the most venerable Thanksgiving tradition in American sports, angry PETA activists aside. While pro football teams slam into each other on the playing field like sides of beef, Madden prepares his own meat collision in the broadcast booth, presenting a post-game Turducken feast to the winners. Years before gene splicing made artificially created Frankenfoods the unsettling cuisine trend of the age, Madden was stuffing chickens inside ducks, then shoving both of them inside turkeys like some kind of demented home-economics teacher, even grafting on extra legs to maximize the number of drumsticks to hand out. The resulting dish is probably tasty enough to make Homer Simpson drool, even if it looks a little like one of David Cronenberg's dreams.
6. Cheers, "Thanksgiving Orphans" (1986)
The gang winds up at Carla's house, where the side dishes are all set to go, while Norm's enormous turkey—dubbed "Birdzilla"—refuses to cook. The tension mounts as the peas get cold and the gravy congeals, and eventually a food fight breaks out. Who says you need a family to experience dysfunction?
7. Friends, "The One Where Ross Got High" (1999)
Most TV series barely acknowledge Thanksgiving, but Friends made its Thanksgiving episodes an annual tradition, building on running gags like Joey's gluttony, Chandler's disgust with the whole holiday, and Monica's frustration as she slaves all day to make a meal that everyone nitpicks over. In the funniest Friends Thanksgiving episode, Monica confronts the added pressure of hosting her parents, who don't know she's living with Chandler. She distracts her folks by bringing up one of Ross' past indiscretions, setting off one of Friends' classic can-you-top-this? confession scenes, divulging stolen Playboys, broken porch swings, and quickie divorces. Meanwhile, Rachel tries to contribute to the meal by making English trifle for dessert, but because the pages of her cookbook are stuck together, she puts meat in it. ("It tastes like feet," Ross whines.)
8. Gilmore Girls, "A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving" (2002)
Our heroines get invited to four thanksgiving dinners, and proceed to binge their way across Stars Hollow. Anyone who's ever been annoyed by how much junk Lorelai and Rory eat—without ever gaining any weight—will especially hate this otherwise very entertaining episode, though it at least acknowledges that even the Gilmore girls have their gastronomical limits.
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