Nov 12, 2018
The Office owns TV Christmas episodes, the Friends own TV Thanksgivings, and Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have been serving up leftovers, er, repeats, of their beloved classic specials for both holidays for more than four decades. In this week’s very special holiday-themed episode of Pop Literacy, Jennifer and Kim trace the history of holiday episodes, break down the differences between Christmas and Turkey Day TV, and share their all-time favorites from each.
We also examine such TV tropes as A Christmas Carol (Alex P. Keaton as Scrooge!) and The Gift of the Magi (including an old school Saturday Night Live-themed opening featuring Donald, Ivana, and a bejeweled yacht anchor), go deep on all those holiday episodes of The Office and Friends, and offer our recommendations for holiday music and movies, too. Lastly, we dare to address that most heated of pop culture holiday debates: is Die Hard a Christmas movie?!
So pull up a chair at Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving table, serve yourself a delicious helping of Rachel Green’s meat trifle, and ponder which of Sheldon Cooper’s bath item gift baskets you’re going to give your neighbor, as you join us for “A Very Pop Literacy Holiday.”