A Thinker in Space

Last week, I discussed the Christmas movies and specials that we watch occasionally. We don’t make it a point to watch those every year, though we do watch them every once in a while. The ones on this list are specials and movies that we often watch. The ones on next week’s list will be the ones we watch every year, some on specific days and many with family. These, though are what we watch at home while eating dinner or when we want to put something festive on when hanging out. I often watch these, some every other year, some with longer breaks in between, some nearly every year. There is no set schedule or calendar – we watch what we feel like watching each season!

These are once again loosely organized by the likelihood of them being watched in our household during any given Christmas season.

16 – The Time of the Doctor (Doctor Who)

The Time of the Doctor is likely in my top 5 episodes of Doctor Who, ever. Matt Smith was and has remained my favorite Doctor, and his exit is a perfect fit for the character’s arc. This is a beautiful story, and an excellent Christmas special. Moffat understands the Christmas spirit, and making Matt Smith’s final chapter into a Christmas story was a perfect choice. It sums up the character well, mixing the melancholy with the heartwarming feeling that Smith’s Doctor is so good at creating. It is only this low on the list because I definitely do not watch this every year – it is one that I find very affecting and I don’t always want to dive into the emotions this episode comes with. That being said, it is an incredible episode.

15 – A Year Without a Santa Claus

The Rankin/Bass Christmas specials are classics for a reason. I grew up watching five of them in particular – Frosty the Snowman, The Little Drummer Boy, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (and the lesser known sequel, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year), Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and A Year Without a Santa Claus. Nowadays, I will very rarely if ever watch Frosty, mostly watching the four big stop-motion specials. I talked about The Little Drummer Boy and Rudolph last week on the previous list, as they are ones I am less likely to watch, not because they are bad, more because I like these two a little bit more.

A Year Without a Santa Claus would likely have been a slot higher only a few years ago. This was my favorite Rankin/Bass as a kid, and I still love it as an adult. I think nowadays, though, that Santa Claus is Coming to Town is cleanly my favorite of the five aforementioned specials. The story of A Year Without a Santa Claus is entertaining, though the logic takes some significant suspension of disbelief (not a problem that I have with something like this). The Heat Miser and Snow Miser are entertaining characters, with a enjoyable dynamic (most of the reason I loved this when I was a kid), and the story has a satisfying conclusion. This is a solid Christmas classic that I enjoy watching frequently!

14 – Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Santa Claus is Coming to Town is another classic, giving us an interesting origin of Santa Claus with a great supporting cast. The villain, Burgermeister Meisterburger is hilarious, and the voice acting fits the relatively ludicrous plot excellently. There are a lot of great moments and some fun musical numbers, all combined into a story that reflects the Christmas season well. The joy, peace, and beauty of generosity and selflessness is on full display during this story, and it makes for a heartwarming Christmas watch.

There are so many Christmas stories, though, that I don’t feel a necessity to watch this every year. It is nice to pull out every once in a while, but not one that I feel the need to ensure we watch on a yearly basis!

As an aside, I couldn’t write about Santa Claus is Coming to Town without making a point to mention how much it bothers me that Santa refuses to call The Winter Warlock “Winter,” despite the warlock continuously asking him to do so. Even after many, many, many years we still see Santa refer to him as Mr. Warlock, with Winter once again saying perhaps for the millionth time “Winter, please.” Come on, Santa! Give the poor man a break.

13 – Call Me Mrs. Miracle

Call Me Mrs. Miracle isn’t the genre I normally go for. First and foremost, it’s a rom-com. Now, I’ll state for the record that I love a good romantic comedy. I enjoy so-called “chick flicks” if they are also great movies. Call Me Mrs. Miracle took some warming up for me, because it is… quite cheesy. But after multiple watches, I can safely say that I love this Christmas movie, and look forward to watching it if not every year than most years.

12 – Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas

Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas is often on a television during the Christmas season sometime. The five segments are chaotic and fun, and it is great to have on passively while decorating, hanging out, or playing games.

11 – Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas

Edging out Twice Upon a Christmas is its predecessor, Once Upon a Christmas! There are some great segments here, including an adaptation of Gift of the Magi, a take on the Groundhog Day formula, and a few other great segments with wholesome and meaningful Christmas lessons. Twice Upon a Christmas is a lot of fun, but I think that the messages of Once Upon a Christmas are stronger and more enduring, and thus it takes the slot above.

10 – The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe (Doctor Who)

I debated putting this one on the previous list, as it is more of a rare watch for me relative to the other Doctor Who specials (many of which are on this list). But it is a fantastic episode, and one that captures the Christmas spirit effectively, making for a great Christmas viewing! I talk about this one more in my list ranking the Doctor Who Christmas Specials.

9 – The Husbands of River Song (Doctor Who)

Another Doctor Who special I discuss in last week’s article, The Husbands of River Song is a fantastic Christmas story that has a lot of charm and brings a multi-year arc full circle. It is one of my favorite episodes of the show, and it works well as a Christmas special.

8 – Everybody Loves Raymond: The Christmas Specials

These end up on the background in our household at some point, as many of these are strong episodes and are fun to watch (though there is one we skip every year!). This show is quite entertaining with brilliant writing, and each season has a Christmas episode to watch!

7 – The Santa Clause

We have the past few years put this movie on while decorating our tree! The Santa Clause is a great movie, though it definitely is one that needs to be screened before being watched by young viewers. The story is entertaining, the dialogue is snappy, and the characters have great arcs. It has some classic Christmas corniness, but it doesn’t take away from its quality, and its answer to the Santa mythos is surprisingly satisfying.

6 – Regional Holiday Music (Community)

I don’t talk about adult comedies on this blog very often, but I have watched a few in my time and Community is one of the best. There are three holiday specials, two of which are so good that we watch them every year. Regional Holiday Music is one of these, and it is a very well-done musical episode with some fantastic lines. It does have a scene that we skip ever year though due to it being quite uncomfortable to watch. Other than that, this is one of the best episodes of the show.

5 – A Christmas Peril (Milo Murphy’s Law)

As a soft follow-up to Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy’s Law released in 2016 with two solid seasons (I cannot believe this show is 8 years old already). It is a lot of fun, with some great characters and a Phineas and Ferb crossover that was well-received. A Christmas Peril is a fantastic episode of the show, using its time travel beats to create a chaotic but enjoyable B-plot to Milo Murphy’s A-plot. It is a lot of fun, and we tend to watch this at least once a year (though we aren’t heartbroken when we miss it).

4 – Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas (Community)

The best Christmas episode of Community and one of the best episodes of the show, Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas is a journey into Abed’s mind, one of the show’s strongest characters, and is an emotionally-driven story with a lot of great moments (mixed with some unfortunate humor) and an ending that tends to leave my eyes a bit teary.

3 – The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

This was a huge surprise. Released in 2022, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was an unexpected announcement by Marvel Studios in a time where the content the studio was releasing had a lot of lukewarm reception. Leading up to the Christmas Special, I mostly wrote it off as unnecessary and was not invested in the slightest. I was not wowed by the first two Guardians movies (they have grown on me since) and thus wasn’t greatly affected by this announcement.

The special, which was released in November, stole our hearts immediately. A charming story with heartfelt messages and some hilarity that shows that James Gunn can write jokes that aren’t from an edgy teen’s standup routine hit our screens and brought joy and warmth into the homes of those who viewed it. We have watched this every year since its release, thoroughly enjoying the gags, frantic excitement and storytelling

2 – The Return of Doctor Mysterio (Doctor Who)

This is one of my favorite Doctor Who Christmas Specials. I talk about it a lot in my Doctor Who Christmas Specials list from earlier in the month, but it has a fantastic story, and is one of Peter Capaldi’s strongest episodes. The Superman motif works unexpectedly well in a Doctor Who episode, and the storywriting and dialogue are superb. The plot is beautiful and heartwarming, and there are so many fast-paced and enjoyable lines. It is most certainly a highlight of the 10^th season of the show, and I try and watch this every year.

1 – A Christmas Carol (Doctor Who)

I have only missed this viewing once or twice since I watched it for the first time over 10 years ago. Matt Smith is at his best in this episode, shining as the goofball Doctor with unexpected depth even in his ridiculous nature. This is one of my favorite episodes of the show, and its clever utilization of the Christmas Carol story is extremely effective. I look forward to viewing this every year, enjoying Matt Smith’s antics and the chaos this story comes with, along with the heart-wrenching (but heartwarming) revelations that come with the joy this episode radiates.

Final Thoughts

Christmas is my favorite time of year, with so much that makes the holiday special. Watching movies and shows is a great way to continue to immerse oneself in the holiday spirit, and good Christmas content is some of my favorite media out there (as you may have noticed from my list of favorite movies). This mini-series has been a ton of fun to put together, and I look forward to writing the final article!

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