Before you stuff yourself with a meal full of with sodium, fat and carbs, why not enjoy a delicious appetizer of words and pictures? Sure, they won't taste as good, but they also won't upset your stomach (until you read the details about the Home Improvement episode).
Here's the story - this isn't a list of the Ten Best Thanksgiving episodes ever. Nor is it even a spotlight on our favorites (although many of them do make the cut). There are simply too many Thanksgiving episodes to choose from, many of which are variations on the same theme. And besides, when you think about it, compared to Christmas episodes, how many great ones immediately pop into your head?
Instead, this is an article about traditions. Sure, in most cases, "Traditions" sounds like a rehab facility, but around Thanksgiving-time, traditions are probably the most important part of the holiday. So let's celebrate time-honored family traditions that have been co-opted by television moguls and served back to us with all the trimmings, like laugh tracks, clichés and cheap ratings stunts.
Without further ado, let's talk turkey...
We have to start off with the big one: The Story of Thanksgiving. In elementary school, we learned about the Pilgrims, the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. But let's face it, time has passed and our memories are sketchy. So if anyone is qualified to give a refresher course on the first Thanksgiving, it's Linus. That cartoon boy takes his holidays very seriously, as evidenced by "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Unfortunately, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" lacks the interesting myth of "Pumpkin" and the unparalleled music score of "Christmas". It's basically Linus spouting facts while Snoopy serves up a depressing Thanksgiving meal including toast, jellybeans and popcorn.
Instead of a dreary special that relies on "history" and "truth", why not dine on bastardized versions of the same story that are both intentionally and embarrassingly funny, like the SNL sketch, "Nikey Turkey" and the Happy Days episode, "The First Thanksgiving."
The former features Chris Rock poking fun at the infamous Reebok Pump athletic shoe popular at the time, while the latter has a Pilgrim-era Fonzie making a grand entrance on a wooden motorcycle. It was the late '70s, people were high on drugs and listening to disco - they didn't know any better.
Even though history would have us believe Thanksgiving is all about Pilgrims and Native Americans coming together for a feast right before an epidemic ravaged the colony, let's face it, this holiday is about food. With so much to cook, so many guests to please and so much pressure to make sure everything comes out right, something's bound to go wrong. And in Television Land, that's a recipe for hilarity.
Did Aunt Erma overcook the turkey? Was the stuffing too bland? Boo-hoo. You may have had some disasters around the dinner table over the years, but in terms of the sheer abundance of food and jackassery involved, no one tops Jerry Springer.
Awkward dinners and their subsequent arguments are not limited to trailer trash and hillbillies. Take Cheers for example, the multiple Emmy award-winning show that anchored NBC's powerful Thursday night line-up in the '80s. They weren't above a good food fight, as evidenced by the episode, "Thanksgiving Orphans." There's nothing better than seeing stick-in-the-mud characters like Diane Chambers and Frasier Crane covered in mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. As a bonus, this was also the first and only time we'd get to see Norm's wife, Vera, only the writers cleverly kept the show's running gag going by covering her face in pumpkin pie.
To tell the truth, it's just not Thanksgiving without a family fight. Long-standing feuds simmer just below the surface like Grandma's cranberry-apple compote, waiting for that last sarcastic remark, backhanded compliment or fifth scotch and soda to push everyone over the edge. Every family has its problems and every Thanksgiving, those problems have a habit of surfacing. I'd call that a tradition, wouldn't you? And who better to represent our own dysfunctional families on television than The Simpsons and the family from Malcolm in the Middle.
In The Simpsons' "Bart vs. Thanksgiving," way back in Season 2, the show still hadn't become quite the cultural phenomenon it is today, but there were still traces of brilliance, like how they captured, with razor-sharp efficiency, the sentiments our parents evoke on this holiday. When Marge's mother arrived at the house for Thanksgiving, she greeted her daughter like this: "I have laryngitis, it hurts to talk, so I'll just say one thing: you never do anything right." She followed it up with this doozy at the dinner table: "At the risk of losing my voice, let me just say one more thing, I'm sorry I came." Ouch.
Malcolm in the Middle is often thought of as a live-action Simpsons, a family full of oddballs who can't get out of their own way. In the episode, "Thanksgiving," Reece takes on cooking duties, only to become more like a dictator than a chef. However, there's a method to his madness - his food is sublime, even when he decides to cook the turkey inside a monkfish, perhaps the ugliest creature on the face of the earth. As Reece slaves away in the kitchen, the rest of the family is imploding on news of Francis' impending divorce from Piama. But all arguing ends once the magnificent dinner is served. And then things go to hell once again when a drunken Malcolm stumbles in and pukes inside the turkey.
Continue on to Page 2 for more Thanksgiving traditions, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, Black Friday, and football.
Source : ign[dot]com
No comments:
Post a Comment