The Greatest Holiday Episodes Strikes Back

In December 2005, the lovely people who bring you the Bryan Awards brought to you the 100 Greatest Holiday (not just Christmas, but Thanksgiving and New Year’s, as well) Moments of All-Time. In December 2008, the man with the list checked it again, and revised it again. These episodes in the sequel list were episodes all aired prior to 2008, and they personify the spirit of the season. So, sit back and enjoy the list, albeit, there may be some argument over what made the list and what didn’t. So, without further ado, here are the “lucky yuletide hundred”:

The Greatest Holiday Moments of All-Time:

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

4. A Bing Crosby Christmas-- "Peace On Earth" with David Bowie (1977)

5. All in the Family, "The Draft Dodger" (1976)

6. The West Wing, "In Excelsis Deo" (1999)

7. The Perry Como Christmas Specials

8. The Bob Hope Christmas Specials

9. Cheers, "Thanksgiving Orphans" (1986)

10. The Andy Griffith Show, "Christmas Story" (1960)

11. WKRP in Cincinnati, "Turkey's Away" (1978)

12. South Park, "Christmas in Canada" (2003)

13. The West Wing, "Noel" (2000)

14. The Andy Williams Christmas Specials

15. The Office, "Christmas Party" (2005)

16. The I Love Lucy Christmas Special (1956 & 1989)

17. Dragnet, "A Christmas Story" (1953 & 1967)

18. The Twilight Zone, "The Night of the Meek" (1959)

19. M*A*S*H, "Death Takes the Holiday" (1980)

20. The Waltons, "The Thanksgiving Story" (1973)

21. Sesame Street, Mr. Hooper's Death (1983)

22. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid" (1970)

23. Happy Days, "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" (1974)

24. The Odd Couple, "Scrooge Gets an Oscar" (1970)

25. Texas, "The Christmas Miracle" (1982)

26. St. Elsewhere, “Santa Claus is Dead” (1985)

27. The Wonder Years, “Christmas” (1988)

28. The Bob Newhart Show, “Over the River and Through the Woods” (1975)

29. The Lawrence Welk Christmas Specials (1955-1985)

30. The Beverly Hillbillies, "Christmas in Hooterville" (1968)

31. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1970)

32. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

33. Frosty the Snowman (1969)

34. The Bob Newhart Show, "Bob Has to Have His Tonsils Out..." (1975)

35. Green Acres, "An Old Fashioned Christmas" (1966)

36. Guiding Light, "The Four Musketeers: Christmas in New York" (1983)

37. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)

38. The West Wing, "Oh, Holy Night" (2002)

39. How I Met Your Mother (2005)

40. The Edge of Night's Final Week (1984)

41. The Honeymooners, "The Night Before Christmas" (1955)

42. Bewitched, "A Vision of Sugar Plums" (1964)

43. ER, "The Blizzard" and "The Gift" (1994)

44. The Brady Bunch, "The Voice of Christmas" (1969)

45. The Jeffersons, "The Christmas Wedding" (1976)

46. All in the Family, "California, Here We Are" (1978)

47. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

48. The O.C., "The Best Chrismukkah Ever" (2003)

49. Gunsmoke, "P.S., Murry Christmas" (1971)

50. Ally McBeal, “Nine One One” (2001)

51. Friends, "The One With The Holiday Armadillo" (2000)

52. St. Elsewhere, “A Wing and a Prayer” (1983)

53. Little House on the Prairie, “Christmas at Plum Creek” (1974)

54. South Park, "Woodland Critter Christmas" (2004)

55. Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978)

56. Curb Your Enthusiasm, "Mary, Joseph, and Larry" (2002)

57. Saturday Night Live Christmas Episodes (1975-present)

58. Family Ties, "A Keaton Christmas Carol" (1983)

59. Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977)

60. The X-Files, "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" (1998)

61. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Not a Christmas Story" (1974)

62. The Beverly Hillbillies, "Home For Christmas" and "No Place Like Home" (1962)

63. Newhart, "No Room at the Inn" (1982)

64. The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989)

65. The Homecoming (1971)

66. A Christmas Carol (with George C. Scott) (1984)

67. The West Wing, "Shibboleth" (2000)

68. M*A*S*H, "Dear Dad" (1972)

69. The Bob Newhart Show, "His Busiest Season" (1972)

70. An American Christmas Carol (1979)

71. How I Met Your Mother, "The Limo" (2005)

72. The Ed Sullivan Show Christmas Episodes (1948-70)

73. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1950s-present)

74. The Honeymooners, "The Lost Christmas" (1995)

75. The Little Drummer Boy (1977)

76. Malcolm in the Middle, "Christmas" (2001)

77. Seinfeld, "Festivus" (1997)

78. The West Wing, "The Two Indians in the Lobby" (2001)

79. Gilmore Girls, "Forgiveness and Stuff" (2000)

80. M*A*S*H, "Dear Sis" (1978)

81. A Christmas Carol (with Kelsey Grammer) (2004)

82. Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas (1977)

83. Will & Grace, “Homo for the Holidays” (1999)

84. Frasier, "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskovitz" (1998)

85. Six Feet Under, "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (2002)

86. A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

87. The Dick Van Dyke Show, "The Alan Brady Show Presents" (1963)

88. Barney Miller, "Christmas Story" (1976)

89. The O.C., "The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't" (2004)

90. American Dreams, “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” (2004)

91. Ellery Queen, "The Adventures of Auld Lang Syne" (1975)

92. Six Feet Under, "Pilot" (2001)

93. The Man Who Saved Christmas (2002)

94. Dr. Kildare, "Tis the Season to Be Jolly" (1961)

95. South Park, "Mr. Hankey" (1997)

96. The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)

97. The Sopranos, "To Save Us All From Satan's Power" (2001)

98. Square Pegs, "A Child's Christmas in Weemawee" (1982)

99. Guiding Light, "Ross & Blake's Christmas Wedding/The Four Santas" (2003)

100. TBS's 24-hour marathon of "A Christmas Story"
for more on our selections, go to our official Blog on MySpace- blog.myspace.com/thebryanawards.