tgif top 10: thanksgiving edition

Soon, we'll all commence our trek to Thanksgiving dinner tables with family and friends. The non-denominational holiday of thanks has provided a wealth of material for TV writers. My favorites are when something unexpectedly causes the characters to have to spend Thanksgiving all together. It's an old standby, but it gets me every time. Here are my top 10 favorite Thanksgiving episodes in no particular order.

Top 10 Thanksgiving episodes

1. "Thanksgiving Orphans" Cheers (season 5)
   Let's start with the classic example of the whole cast being thrown together for Thanksgiving. Norm trying to cook an impossibly huge turkey leads to a very hungry bunch waiting a looong time to eat, Diane dressed as a pilgrim, and a giant food fight where we get a long-awaited peak at Norm's wife Vera, but alas, a pumpkin pie masks her face.
   
   
   
   
2. "Thanks for the Memories" Grey's Anatomy (season 2)
   I consider season two the hey day of Grey's Anatomy, and this episode was one of the best. Izzie decides to play homemaker and cook a monstrous meal at Meredith's house. Dr. Burke swoops in with some unexpected holiday cheer and culinary skills. George (RIP) goes hunting with the rest of the O'Malley men, and dad gets shot in the bum. And Meredith treats a guy who just woke up from a 16-year coma whose family has moved on without him. And we wonder why she's the dark and twisty one.
   
   
3. "Thanksgiving" Felicity (season 1)
   I sometimes forget how much I loved this show, and then I'm reminded with episodes like this from the first season. Another great example of the whole cast ending up together for the holidays. Felicity decides to stay in New York for Thanksgiving to look after Julie who's still getting over the rape, Ben and Elena join them for dinner in the dorm. Noel's girlfriend Hanna shows up (Jennifer Garner!) to announce that she might move to NYC. Felicity and Noel fight, and Ben catches them kissing! Oh the Noel/Ben drama. To top it off, Javier and Sean show up at the last minute to round out the group. How great were Ian Gomez and Greg Grunberg in that show? Love.
   
   
4. "The One with the Rumor" Friends (season 8)
   Friends gets a double feature on this list since they really embraced the tradition of Thanksgiving episodes. One of my favorites was season 8 when Monica invites Ross' old (formerly fat) classmate (guest star Brad Pitt) for dinner. He announces the I Hate Rachel Green Club that he and Ross founded in high school and admits to spreading a rumor that Rachel had both girl and boy parts. Meanwhile, Joey takes Monica's challenge to eat an entire turkey, and has to stop half way through to change into elastic waste pants. Been there.
   
   
   
   
5. "The One Where Ross Got High" Friends (season 6)
   A second favorite comes from season six when Monica and Chandler are still hiding their relationship from the Gellar parents. While hiding the secret, Monica spills that Ross smoked pot in high school. My favorite part is Rachel accidentally adding meat sauteed with peas and carrots to a traditional British trifle. "It tastes like feet!"
   
   
6. "Miracle of Thanksgiving" Full House (season 1)
   The cheese factor is through the roof, as is Uncle Jesse's hair, but this was back in the good old days of Full House when the boy's found a way to make their first Thanksgiving without Mom Tanner a success, and Stephanie commented on everyone's rudeness.
   
   
7. "Bon Jour Sondra" The Cosby Show (season 1)
   A really early episode of Cosby, but it stuck with me for some reason. Never-before-seen oldest daughter Sondra comes home from college for Thanksgiving and announces her intention to spend the summer in Paris. All the Cosbys vote on this decision with Cliff being the most reluctant. My favorite part is young Theo anxiously stepping up to carve the turkey for the first time, and Cliff makes him practice on a cabbage and a chicken.
   
   
8. "Indians in the Lobby" The West Wing (season 3)
   One of many classic holiday episodes of The West Wing, this one features CJ trying to find someone in the Department of Interior to address the concerns of two American Indians who are staging a sit-in at the White House until they receive a long-awaited answer to their application to buy back stolen land. My favorite part is President Bartlett calling the Butterball Hotline for assistance.
   
   
   
   
9. "Home is Where the Afghan is" Roseanne (season 9)
   The final season of Roseanne is a contentious topic. Many opposed the sharp direction taken when the Connors won the lottery and Dan cheated. It wasn't my favorite season, but if you go back and watch, things were basically the same in the Connor house. I loved this one when Bev came out of the closet over turkey and stuffing (such a classic performance by Estelle Parsons), and they all realized that home is truly where the afghan is. Amen.
   
   
10. "A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving" Gilmore Girls (season 3)
    Because they pretty much make it into every Top 10 list, and because this is one of my favorite episodes of the series. Lorelei and Rory overbook themselves for Thanksgiving dinner. First, the Kim's for tofurkey and Dave Ragowski tunes on the guitar, followed by Lane getting her first kiss. Then to Luke's where those two crazy kids continue to drive us nuts. Sookie's where Jackson has decided to deep fry a turkey and everything else in sight. Finally, to Emily and Richard's where Rory reveals she has applied to Yale. That's a lot of turkey.

Just for fun, here's my Christmas episode top 10 list from last year.

chuck!

Chuck will return to NBC on Sunday, January 10th with BACK-TO-BACK episodes, then starting in the regular timeslot Monday, January 11th at 8:00. Three hours of Chuck Bartowski in 2 days!

late to the dance

I'm two weeks behind on So You Think You Can Dance, but that doesn't mean my love for the show has waned. Except for that unfortunate new stage. Last night, I watched the November 4th episode, and I still can't get Legacy and Kathryn's dance out of my head. I know I'm still new to the show, but this is one of the coolest dances I've ever seen. I've managed to remain unspoiled, so I'm really hoping these two are still in it!

kathrynlegacy 18 @ Yahoo! Video

yes, hello. mr. sorkin calling for mr. malina please.

Missing Aaron Sorkin in your television life? Or your personal life for that matter?

He's currently working on the Facebook movie with Justin Timberlake, but here's an interview with TV Guide where he talks about the next small screen project, another series that takes place back stage on a television set! As much as I loved Sports Night and Studio 60, they never really got the ratings. Let's hope third time's the charm.

Favorite quote:

Sorkin said he “hopes” to reunite on the project with at least some of the actors he’s worked with previously. “If you're a writer, when you're find an actor like Josh Malina, Felicity Huffman, Brad Whitford, Matt Perry, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, all these great actors that I've worked with, you just want to stick them in your pocket and work with them forever, so I hope so.”

YES PLEASE. All of the above.

be my guest

A lot of guest spot news coming from the scoopers this week. Here are some highlights:

House: We'll finally meet Foreman's long lost, incarcerated brother Marcus in February. He'll be played by Orlando Jones (Magnolia, Drum Line). The Foreman brothers will meet during Marcus' parole hearing, in which Dr. House will most definitely stick his nose. (Ausiello Files)

Better Off Ted: The lovely and talented Taye Diggs will play a love interest for Linda in the December 8th season premiere. Veridian encourages staff to date coworkers who are their perfect genetic match in order to save money on health insurance in the future. Ha! We owe this guest appearance to Diggs' close friendship with Jay Harrington, who also had a short stint on Private Practice. (Matt's TV News)

Private Practice: My friend Melissa McCarthy will be guesting as an expectant mother and patient of Dell's (glad he will be back) in January. (Ausiello Files)

Castle: Abigail Spencer, the infamous left-in-the-car teacher who just finished (hopefully) her stint on Mad Men, will play a murder victim's fiancee on next week's episode. Also, Perrey Reeves (or Mrs. Ari) will play the victim's wife. Uh oh! (TV Fanatic)

Parks & Recreation: No surprise, but great news. Will Arnett will guest as an MRI technician in an upcoming episode. I love him, and I love his taste in women. Also, Justin Theroux (John Adams, Six Feet Under) will join the cast in a recurring role as a friend of Ann's who's a potential love interest for Leslie. He's a great score for the show, but does this mean the cop is dunzo? I like him! (Watch with Kristin, Ausiello Files)

Modern Family: Late edition! This piece of dream casting was just posted. None other than Fred Williard has been cast as Phil's dad. Seriously, couldn't be more perfect. I can't wait. (Matt's TV News)

favorite monday tv moment

Last night was How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and Castle for me. Sorry House, you got the DVR spot tonight. My biggest laugh of the night came during BBT.

Leonard, Raj, and Howard go camping in the California desert to spy a meteor shower. Howard bumps into some "ladies" in an adjoining camp ground (described as 50-55 year-old Greatful Dead t-shirt wearing teachers driving a VW bus), who generously shared a bag of homemade cookies. Unknown to them, these cookies have a little kick. Ten minutes later, this conversation happens as each of them lie on the ground staring at the sky.

Raj: If I could speak the language of rabbits, they would be amazed, and I would be their king.

Leonard: I hate my name. It has NERD in it. Len-NERD.

Howard: I lost my virginity to my cousin Jeanie.

Raj: I would be kind to my rabbit subjects. At first.

Leonard: You know what's a cool name? Angelo. That has angel and jello in it.

Howard: It was my uncle Murray's funeral. We were all back at my aunt Barbara's house. Our eyes locked over the pickled herring. We never meant for it to happen.

Raj: One day, I host a great ball for the President of France. But the rabbits hate me and don't come. I'm embarrassed, so I eat all the lettuce in the world and make them watch.

Leonard: People can call me Angie. Yo Angie! How's it goin'? (in the voice of Rocky)

Howard: To this day, I can't look at pickled herring without being aroused and ashamed. Ohh cousin Jeanie.

And it goes without saying that Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parson's (Penny and Sheldon) scenes were hilariously perfect. I love those two on screen together. But I had to give props to the other geeks out from under Sheldon's shadow this week.

Also, how cute is that photo?

best series of the '00s?

Last week, The Onion's AV Club posted the top ten television series of the '00s. I'm not in a mental space to even begin taking on a list of my own right now, but I like their attempt and the evidence presented. They even list "essential episodes" that must be watched to appreciate each show

You should read the full story here, but here's a summary:

1. The Wire


2. The Sopranos


3. Arrested Development


4. Freaks & Geeks


5. Mad Men


6. Breaking Bad


7. The Office (UK)


8. Lost


9. Deadwood


10. The Shield

Although my list would include some slightly different shows, I can get behind almost all of these picks, except I've never seen Breaking Bad (on the queue), and I'm not sure The Office UK deserves a slot over the American version. If possible, I would give them equal billing.

What's your top ten? Can you believe we're almost done with this decade?