Halloween has now come and gone and with it have gone the smattering of Halloween-related sitcom episodes that have graced both network and cable alike. Soon, Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes will usher us into the most wonderful time of the year. As such, I figured I would take this opportunity to break down the trope that is the “Holiday Episode.”
Almost every sitcom has been guilty of the it at one point or another, but in actuality holiday episodes make sense. Every sitcom I can think of follows Earth’s seasonal calendar, so it makes sense that those characters would celebrate Christmas, Halloween and the like. Sometimes, they can even be funny. I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy most of “The Office’s” holiday episodes, and damn near every “Community” holiday episode is funny as hell.
However, “The Office” also typifies the misuses and pratfalls of holiday episodes. Many a time, they function as an excuse to dress characters up in funny costumes and use seasonal humor as a crutch—it’s a lot easier to make jokes about Christmas than come up with an episode with totally organic humor. Being a TV writer is tough, and on some level I appreciate the need for seasonal episodes. But it’s hard to endure the same kinds of jokes used year after year and it’s boring to see characters go through the same motions every year. It’s infuriating to see the “this joke is not that funny, but it would be funny if the character were wearing an unwieldy/slutty/vaguely off-putting costume” process at work time and time again.
The worst part of seasonal episodes, though, is that 90 percent of them share the same plot. It goes something like this: one or more characters become disillusioned with their current situation or fellow characters, but by the end of the episode everyone gets together and everything is great again. We, along with our televised peers, re-learn the value of family and friends and go enjoy our respective holiday seasons, and we feel good until things pick up again after the mid-season break. Christmas episodes, especially, are guilty of this phenomenon. Or, if your sitcom has an ethically and/or culturally diverse cast, your cast will struggle with the diverse traditions associated with that culture (actually, tradition is a huge part of most Christmas episodes too).
Personally, I don’t care what most show’s characters are doing on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, President’s Day, etc. If you have a good television program, seasonal episodes don’t really matter, no matter how hyped the networks make them. If you have a bad television program, showing us how your characters do the holiday season generally does not make your show better. People are not going to suddenly start watching “Mulaney” and “Bad Judge” just because they have a rip-roaring, kind-hearted Thanksgiving. The 18-49 age group is not going to run back to “New Girl” because this year’s Halloween episode was way cuter than normal.
My final (half-serious) gripe with seasonal episodes is this: none of the right shows do seasonal episodes! I do not care how “The Mindy Project” celebrates Halloween, but how awesome would a “The Walking Dead” Halloween episode be? Sample Plot: Rick cannot tell the difference between who’s trick-or-treating and who’s just a zombie, and just goes nuts, while Carl dresses up as his own lost childhood because it’s the scariest thing anyone can think of. The entire world would watch that. Whatever happened to “A Very True Detective Christmas?” These and many other great ideas will never leave the cutting room floor. Ah, well. I guess we’ll just have to imagine how Walter White would have explained his suddenly very lavish Christmas gifts to Skyler.
Like Christmas Episodes? Got an idea for another awesome holiday special? Let Jake know at smasal@wisc.edu.
