This is a two part article, the second being about my
favorite Thanksgiving sitcom episodes. Here, I want to talk about specials.
Unlike Christmas and Halloween, there really aren’t that many Thanksgiving
specials around. I guess when you think about it, Thanksgiving isn’t that
exciting a holiday. There are no costumes or scary decoration. There are no
presents, no stress and aggravation trying to find the perfect gift. No
legendary characters to make dozens of stories about. I mean, how many times
can you tell the story of the 1st Thanksgiving? However, over the
years there are a few specials which have made it onto TV and I wanted to share
them with you. It would not be Thanksgiving without these shows.
#5. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
Yes, I know this is a
movie, but I had to add it. I gotta own up, I hadn’t seen this movie in
years
until recently. I always thought I hated it, and so I avoided it. Then I
put it
on, and not only was it actually funny and well written, it was also a
pretty decent
Thanksgiving movie. The whole plot is about Steve Martin trying to get
home for
the holiday, except that John Candy complicates things. As things keep
happening both guys learn some lessons about themselves, and become
friends. I enjoy this movie now,
and figure I must have been too young when I first saw it.
#4. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
This classic is about
Charlie Brown being forced to cook a dinner for his friends Pepperment Patty
and Marcy. Snoopy thankfully helps out but all they serve is popcorn and toast.
Charlie Brown’s grandma then saves he day by inviting his friends over with his
family for dinner. I will be honest, this is not my favorite Charlie Brown
special. It seems like they didn’t have enough story, several minutes is just music
while Snoopy does silly things. On top of that, I don’t like the story very
much. It’s Patty’s personality to be bossy but she really gets pushy in this
one. Not only does she force Charlie Brown to have them over, she gets mad when
the dinner does not meet expectations. I love her in the Easter special, here
she is just a bitch. Is that why Lucy disappears, because Patty is being pushy
enough for both? Anyway, this is still a Thanksgiving special and I do watch it
every year. I just don’t enjoy it as much as others. Though it is cute to see Snoopy dressed a Pilgrim.
#3. A Winnie The Pooh Thanksgiving.
This was a really good
special, as we get another story about how much of a control freak Rabbit is.
Why are there so many Winnie the Pooh stories centered around him? Anyway,
Rabbit has planned a typical Thanksgiving feast, and when his friends bring odd
items like acorns he sends them to get traditional food because it just can’t be
Thanksgiving without things like turkey. Winnie the Pooh and Piglet go to get a turkey, Tigger and
Eeyore collect cranberries, and Gopher works on the pies. This all works out as
you can imagine, with everything getting destroyed. Rabbit is disappointed and
says the holiday is ruined. However his friends put a meal together based on
what they have and invite Rabbit, because it wouldn’t be a holiday without him.
Rabbit learns you don’t need decorations or a turkey to have Thanksgiving; you
just need friends around you.
#2.Garfield’s Thanksgiving.
Yeah, this is what I call a
Thanksgiving special! I loved it for a couple of reasons. The beginning is
basically a typical Garfield story. Jon takes Garfield to the vet, Liz, where
Jon hits on her. Liz puts Garfield on a diet, and of course he is not happy
about. He moans and gripes, while Jon gets ready to have Liz come over for
Thanksgiving dinner. When she does come over, Liz changes her mind about the
diet. However, Jon is a horrible cook and Garfield spoiled the food he had
prepared. Now there is a no dinner, what do they do? Call grandma, of course!
While Jon keeps Liz entertained (or bored) grandma comes in and saves the day.
This is my favorite Garfield special, it feels like it came right off the
comics page. There are classic Garfield gags and very little music, which I
think spoil a lot of the other specials. My favorite part is when Garfield
explains to Odie that Thanksgiving is the day people celebrate food by eating
as much of it as possible. Gotta love a cartoon that doesn’t force education
down your throat, it’s just good fun.
#1.Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
What
can I say? 85 years
and still going strong. Seriously, can you imagine Thanksgiving without
this on
in the morning? I know I couldn’t. I have been watching this as long as I
can
remember. It’s hard to remember the parade when I was a kid, but some
memories
stick out. In 1984 they had a Master of the Universe float which was
really
cool. Then around 1989 Alf co-hosted. I always remember how excited he
got at
the Garfield balloon. There is always a sesame street float, all kinds
of celebrities, and great music
acts. The Rockette’s of course, and the balloons! Kermit, Superman, Bart
Simpson, Snoopy, Mickey Mouse…and that barely scratches the surface! The
two most famous have to be Woody Woodpecker and Underdog. These two
balloons have been the subject of more
Thanksgiving related jokes than I can imagine.
Maybe
someday I will actually see this parade live, but I have no problem watching it
from home. It is a true tradition, and the best part is always the end when
Santa Claus makes his appearance. You always felt then that the holiday’s had
officially started, and what a great way to kick them off indeed!
Finally, what about the Bugs Bunny specials? Never saw them,
and they were really just excuses to show old clips.
Next time we will dive into my favorite sitcom episodes.
There may not be a whole lot of specials, but sitcom episodes are another
story. Sitcoms are a natural for Thanksgiving shows, but we’ll talk more about
that later.
No comments:
Post a Comment