Question of the week: should there be Christmas specials?

16 December 2009 Rob Buckley TMINE 3 Comments

Probably the last question of the week this year, unless you all fancy another one next Tuesday, say. But to round off this year, I’m going to ask the unthinkable:

Should there even be Christmas specials?

Lots of shows do episodes set at Christmas (or Thanksgiving). However, scheduling being what it is, they can be delayed – so House‘s Christmas special ended up being shown in January last year IIRC. They also make less sense during re-runs, when they can be shown in any order. They can also be extremely lame or even offensive (think episodes where Jesus really does come down to make the world a better place – or does he?).

So to avoid these kinds of mix-ups and lamenesses, should writers steer clear of Christmas and other holiday-related episodes? Or is it all good fun and appropriate and only namby-pamby liberals would think otherwise?

As always, leave a comment with your answer or a link to your answer on your own blog.

Author

  • Rob Buckley

    I’m Rob Buckley, a journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of although you might have heard me on the podcast Lockdown Land or Radio 5 Live’s Saturday Edition or Afternoon Edition. I’ve edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for TV producers magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and was regularly sarcastic about television on the blink-and-you-missed-it “web site for urban hedonists” The Tribe. Since going freelance, I've contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly, Action Network, TV Scoop and The Custard TV.

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