9. Happy Days, "The First Thanksgiving" (1978)
It's history come to life Happy Days-style when Marion tries to get her Packers-obsessed family to appreciate the meaning of the holiday by recounting the story of the Pilgrims, as enacted by the regulars in 16th-century garb. (Fonzie rides a wooden motorcycle! Richie finds blueberries on Blueberry Hill!) The show sneaks in a lesson about racism when Pilgrim Fonzie tells Pilgrim Howard that the Indians are really our friends. Meanwhile, back in Milwaukee, the all-white cast enjoys their meal.
10. Buffy The Vampire Slayer, "Pangs" (1999)
The fourth-season Buffy Thanksgiving episode features some fairly mealy-mouthed debate about the holiday's real history and meaning: When a Native American spirit of vengeance starts slaughtering people (and infecting Xander with syphilis and smallpox) in symbolic revenge for his lost tribe, the Scooby gang argues about whether Thanksgiving is a celebration of togetherness or imperialistic bloodshed. But the episode is far more memorable for the manic banter and the many crossing plotlines, as a defanged Spike shows up seeking asylum and gets tied to a chair, Anya gets incorporated into the group as Xander's official girlfriend, and Buffy goes obsessively overboard trying to make the holiday perfect. And finally, Angel hovers in the background, trying to protect Buffy without revealing that he's back in town, which leads to one of Joss Whedon's typically stomach-dropping episode-enders.
11. Hello Larry/Diff'rent Strokes, "Thanksgiving Crossover" (1979)
After spinning off from the hit Diff'rent Strokes, the non-hit sitcom Hello Larry frequently called on its mother show's cast to drum up better ratings. In the third and final team-up, prosaically titled "Thanksgiving Crossover," media-mogul-to-be Larry brings his family from Oregon to New York to look into managing a TV station, with financial help from Mr. Drummond. But the business deal strains their friendship and threatens their peaceful holiday dinner. Yank on that wishbone and call for a reconciliation, Arnold!
12. Iron Chef, "Turkey Battle" (1994)
In the original Japanese version of Iron Chef, the only theme ingredients more entertaining than the traditional Japanese ones were the more Western ones, which frequently baffled the contestants. In an "in honor of our new American viewers" Turkey Battle, Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto damns the food poisoning and presses ahead with several dishes featuring turkey prepared practically raw. Hey, ptomaine beats tofurkey.
13. Mad About You, "Giblets For Murray" (1994)
During the brief interim between when Mad About You was merely irritating and when it became insufferable—during the third season, in other words—the series kicked out this funny bit of farce, which had Paul and Jamie hosting both sets of in-laws and dealing with their gripes about the lack of canned cranberry sauce and the absence of marshmallows on the sweet potatoes. The couple stands up for themselves and their right to host their Thanksgiving their way, until their dog Murray eats the turkey, forcing them to sneak down to the corner grocery to get another one. And another one. And another one.
14. Northern Exposure, "Thanksgiving" (1992)
As one of the only TV shows ever to feature Native Americans prominently in the cast, Northern Exposure dealt with its Thanksgiving episode a little differently, by acknowledging what happened after the Pilgrims and the natives broke bread together. In Cicely, Alaska, the Indians spend Thanksgiving throwing tomatoes at the white folks, who smile and wave in return. All except for Joel, who's annoyed that he—a Jew—is lumped in with the Anglos. But by the end of the episode, Chris is delivering a homespun homily into his radio microphone, and everyone's friendly again. Damn, that show was nice while it lasted.
15. The Simpsons, "Bart Vs. Thanksgiving" (1990)
After a fight over who gets to use the glue (refereed by Homer, who warns, "Glue friendly or I'll take away the glue and no one will have any glue to glue with"), the tension between Bart and Lisa escalates until he runs away and winds up eating dinner in a homeless shelter. In all the commotion, Homer nearly misses Hooray For Everything's halftime salute to the "dancin'-est hemisphere," the western hemisphere.
16. The West Wing, "Shibboleth" (2000)
C.J. tries to decide which of two Thanksgiving turkeys is photogenic enough to get "a presidential pardon and a full life at a children's zoo," and which gets eaten. (President Bartlet: "If the Oscars were like that, I'd watch.") Meanwhile, debates rage over what to do with a handful of Christian Chinese refugees facing imprisonment at home if deported, and what to do about a potential judicial appointee who's bound to make school prayer a national issue. "Shibboleth" features The West Wing creator/writer Aaron Sorkin at the top of his game, giving an inside look into the corridors of power while also exploring what faith, oaths, and grace mean in the real world. All this, plus a heartwarming ending, just in time for the holidays.
17. WKRP In Cincinnati, "Turkeys Away"
Ten words: "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
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