Ten Of The Greatest Thanksgiving Sitcom Episodes Of All Time
Sitcoms love to make us feel like part of the family by sharing their holiday traditions with us. They get all dressed up for Halloween, have family and friends over for Christmas and get ta gobblin’ up a delicious dinner on Thanksgiving day, just like real people!
Let’s take a fun trip down Thanksgiving memory lane with ten hand plucked sitcom episodes sure to make you thankful for finely crafted television shows:
1. Friends- The One With All The Thanksgivings-
Friends went all out for a Thanksgiving of remembrance during episode 8 of season 5, from all the way back in 1998. Through flashback sequences we get to see Monica before she lost all the weight, Chandler sporting a totally radical Flock of Seagulls haircut, and this unforgettable Monica turkey moment:
2. Family Ties - No Nukes Is Good Nukes-
Choosing an anti-nuke protest over a Thanksgiving feast seems like a fine message, but the true spirit of togetherness comes when Alex P., Mallory and Jennifer show they love and support their parents no matter how kooky their cause.
3. Modern Family - Punkin' Chunkin'-
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Modern Family put a totally progressive spin on the classic Thanksgiving episode by bringing the family together around some good ol' fashioned punkin chunkin, because nothing squashes family beef like launching orange squash through the air! Doesn't that look like a fun new take on Thanksgiving tradition?
4. Seinfeld - Mom & Pop Store-
Leave it up to the show about nothing to disguise their Thanksgiving episode under layers of stuffing. George buys John Voight's car, an Empire State Building statue pops Mr. Pitt's dream of holding a balloon in the Macy's parade, and a mom and pop store makes off with all of Jerry's sneakers.
5. WKRP In Cincinnati - Turkeys Away-
The episode of WKRP In Cincinnati entitled Turkeys Away was long considered the best Thanksgiving themed episode in the sitcom world, largely because of the ridiculous, yet somehow plausible, theme.
The plot- the station decides to give away free live turkeys by tossing them out of a helicopter, and the whole stunt becomes a turkey day disaster hilariously described by Les Nesman.
6. The Bob Newhart Show - Over the River and Through the Woods-
Bob’s character Bob Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show is about as straight laced as they come, so viewers were delighted when he and his friends decided to tie one on for turkey day. The drunkenness reaches the peak of hilarity when they decide to order some Chinese food, and Bob has a really hard time ordering Moo Goo Gai Pan for all!
7. Suburgatory - Thanksgiving-
Suburgatory is a really creative, and sadly short lived, sitcom about a young urbanite who moves to the suburbs with her single father, a place that's so surreal it's scary. In this Thanksgiving themed episode it is revealed that residents of Chatswin must dress like Pilgrims and Indians when attending Thanksgiving dinner parties, because that's how they do T-day in the 'burbs, yo!
8. Cheers - Thanksgiving Orphans-
Thanksgiving Orphans was set to become one the most important episodes in the history of Cheers, since Vera was going to come to dinner and her identity would finally be revealed. Unfortunately for viewers the whole gang got into a massive food fight and Vera ended up with a pie in the face, thereby concealing her identity once again.
9. Just Shoot Me- The First Thanksgiving-
The cast of characters who work at Blush magazine have dealt with their fair share of racy, provocative and downright smutty situations over the years, so it only makes sense that their Thanksgiving episode would be more mature than the rest. However, this episode keeps one traditional sitcom element alive for comedic effect- the misunderstanding due to eavesdropping.
Add this confused tension to the fact that Nina found her plus one at a rave she attended the night before and you've got a Thanksgiving episode for the record books!
10. Community - Cooperative Escapism In Familial Relations-
Community loves to go all out with their holiday themed episodes, however this episode wasn't animated, or ridiculously over the top in terms of storyline, because they chose to focus on having a more traditional Thanksgiving message.
This was a bold decision for Community, but one they handled quite well, as we meet Jeff Winger's long lost dad (James Brolin), and discover that the study group is truly like family to both each other and the viewers at home.
Well, there ya have it- ten Thanksgiving themed sitcom episodes that won't leave you feeling too full, or tryptophan tired, and you can binge watch all you want over the weekend and you won't gain a pound! Happy Thanksgiving weekend, comedy fans!
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