michaeldthomas

6- The Venture Brothers- “A Very Venture Christmas”
Eleven minutes of brilliance. Like the series, it somehow mashes up everything pop culture while never feeling like a mere parody show.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Very_Venture_Christmas

5- Xena: Warrior Princess- “A Solstice Carol”
It’s just a lot of cheeky Xena fun as all of our modern tropes are transported into Xena’s mythic Greece.
http://www.whoosh.org/epguide/solstice.html

4- The Avengers- “Too Many Christmas Trees”
Rarely in cult television is the Christmas episode one of the best episodes of the series (note the lack of Buffy and Angel on this list). This is one of the greatest Avengers episodes ever. It’s fun and creepy. Steed gets great lines, and Emma gets to beat people up. There’s even a great Honor Blackman joke.
http://theavengers.tv/forever/peel1-13.htm

3- “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
It’s still smart, cynical, funny, and topical. We always dance to “Linus and Lucy.” Lynne and I still know every line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Charlie_Brown_Christmas

2- Doctor Who- “The Christmas Invasion”
Brilliant. One of the strongest introductory episodes for a Doctor ever. David Tennant is marvelous, and Billie Piper is exquisite. It’s funny, exciting, and full of Christmassy goodness.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2005/christmasinvasion.shtml

1- “A Muppet Family Christmas”
This is Christmas. Everything Jim Henson brought together in one fantastic special. Kermit and Robin meet the Fraggles! Big Bird meets the Swedish Chef! Christmas music and laughs throughout. It is a perfect special. I dare you not to tear up when Jim Henson shows up at the end.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Muppet_Family_Christmas