Thanksgiving is upon us, and it’s high time to enjoy all of our favorite yearly traditions: the turkey, the stuffing, the pumpkin pie, the awkward family encounters, pretending to care about football… and, most of all, that venerable standby of episodic television, the Thanksgiving show. As best as we can determine, the first weekly series to do a Thanksgiving-centered episode was The Burns and Allen Show, back in 1951; Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy, and Mr. Peepers quickly followed suit, realizing that a Thanksgiving show offered plenty of fodder for conflict, resolution, and warm holiday cheer. We’ve selected ten of our favorite Thanksgiving episodes — and in the culinary spirit of the holiday, we present them in the ever-popular Zagat’s dining guide format, because why not? Check ‘em out after the jump and add your own in the comments.
It’s National Sandwich Day! That means it’s the 293rd birthday of John Montagu, or as he is more popularly known, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. His legacy is creating the glorious food item (food group, really), in which we stuff many things betwixt two slices of bread. This would later become bastardized by the invention of Hot Pockets and other sloth-friendly grub. In honor of this great day, we give you our ode to pop culture sandwiches past the break. Leave us your favorites — or favorite sandwich fixins so we can all consider new things to stuff our maws with, Liz Lemon style — below.
TV sitcoms are all about family. Even if the characters aren’t related by blood, friends and enemies alike still form bonds on the small screen for our viewing pleasure. They’re a tribe. Network shows provide someone for families to identify with, gawk at, and be envious of — all in the comfort of their own home. While technology has certainly made it possible to watch your favorite TV shows from just about anywhere, most families who loaf together with a little boob tube do so in their living room (or as it is sometimes aptly dubbed, the family room). Over the years there have been many famous TV living rooms where we watched our favorite characters grow up, share valuable life lessons, make us laugh, and more. Click through to revisit some of television’s most iconic living rooms, and recall what made them special. Who would you add to the list?
Bob Saget is trying to destroy our childhood. Over the weekend, video circulated of the one-time Full House super-dad accompanying Ben Folds on a cover of the Dr. Dre classic “Bitches Ain’t Shit,” reminding us once again that Danny Tanner is dead. Since we’ve followed Saget’s antics over the past few years, the incident wasn’t a surprise. It did, however, get us thinking about all the actors who have played apparently wholesome parents on our favorite TV shows, but who turned out to be a bit more complicated in real life. From raunchy comedians and crazy people to drug dealers and sex criminals, our list of badly behaved sitcom parents is after the jump.
You know that moment: You spot an actor that you’re sure you’ve seen before, but you just can’t tell where you know him from. Waiting until the credits roll so you can Google the actor’s name is torture. You can’t even focus on what you’re watching anymore! Many times, when we get this uncanny feeling, it turns out that the player who stumps us is a former child actor, all grown up. So, to help remedy your confusion — and our own — we’ve put together a handy guide to TV and film stars you loved when they were kids but don’t recognize now that they’re adults.
1. Yesterday Google gave all of its employees $1,000 cash “holiday bonuses” and 2011 salary increases of at least 10%. Are you jealous? [via Business Insider]
2. Cosby Show alum Malcolm-Jamal Warner will appear in an upcoming episode of Community as Andre, the ex-husband of Shirley. Do you think this character will be dyslexic, like Theo Huxtable? [via EW]
3. The creative team behind The Hills and Jersey Shore have reportedly approached Jennifer Aniston about having her own reality series. [via Contact Music]
4. A black-and-white Coke bottle on canvas by Andy Warhol sold for $35.36 million yesterday at Sotheby’s contemporary and post-war art auction — that’s $10 million more than they were expecting it to fetch. [via Yahoo!]
5. Channing Tatum is in negotiations to join Jonah Hill in the cast of 21 Jump Street remake. We’re guessing he’ll play Johnny Depp’s old part from the TV series. [via Deadline]
When we talk about the impending Thanksgiving holiday at Flavorpill HQ, we’re generally not discussing the best way to cook a bird. (That might be partially due to the fact that half of our editorial team is vegetarian.) What we do tend to debate are the best holiday-related films and TV episodes. After the jump we’ve rounded up clips from 10 Turkey Day classics — from Adam Sandler’s performance of “The Thanksgiving Song” to South Park’s Helen Keller! The Musical. Enjoy, and add to our list in the comments.
