FRIENDS: First of all, we can all be thankful for Friends on Thanksgiving and every day. The hilarious and iconic sitcom entertained us all for ten years. Included in all ten seasons of the show were funny, traditional Thanksgiving episodes. There is the episode that Joey gets a turkey stuck on his head. There are episodes that feature amazing guest stars, such as Brad Pitt and Reese Witherspoon. And, of course, there is the episode where they all play football and get competitive. Feast this holiday season on them: The One Where Underdog Gets Away (1994), The One With The List (1995), The One With The Football (1996), The One With Chandler In A Box (1997), The One With All The Thanksgivings (1998), The One Where Ross Got High (1999), The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs (2000), The One With The Rumor (2001), The One With Rachel’s Sister (2002), and The One With The Late Thanksgiving (2003.)
GILMORE GIRLS: Who doesn’t love Gilmore Girls? The answer is no one! Lorelai and Rory taught us everything we need to know about life and love. The mother, daughter duo proved to be characters that we all related to. The cute town, all of the coffee, the sarcastic jokes, the lovable and quirky characters – it all compliments the festive fall season perfectly. Indulge in their Thanksgiving episodes: A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving (2002) and He’s Slippin’ Em Bread Dig? (2005.)
THE KING OF QUEENS: Doug and Carrie brought laughter into homes across the country. In the very first season there is Supermarket Story (1998) which dishes everything: Carrie stealing a woman’s parking spot and full shopping cart, her father Arthur flirting with the sample lady, and Doug being himself – typically getting into funny situations. Who could forget the episode when Doug and Carrie had everyone over for Thanksgiving dinner and they all felt sorry for some con man who ended up robbing them. There is also: Roamin’ Holiday (1999), Dark Meet (2000), Loaner Car (2002) and Thanks Man (2003.) Many thanks for the laughs – Kevin James, Leah Remini and Jerry Stiller!
GOSSIP GIRL: You know you love them, Xoxo! This show was a perfect example of “Revenge is best served cold, on a platter” and the Thanksgiving episodes it featured never were a letdown. The elite prep school characters served fashion, laughs, love and attitude in true New Yorker Fashion. Relive it by watching: Blair Waldorf Must Pie (2007), The Magnificent Archibalds (2008) and The Treasure of Serena Madre (2009.)
THAT 70’S SHOW: “Hello Wisconsin!” Although we are not living in the seventies, we can be retro and feel like we’re there by watching That 70’s Show. Plus, what’s more enjoyable than watching Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis on screen? Check out: Thanksgiving (1998), Thank You (2002) and You Can’t Always Get What You Want (2004.)
THE OC: “Welcome to the OC, *****!” With the weather starting to get colder, we could all use a virtual vacation to Newport Beach in Orange County, home of our favorite Cali characters on The O.C. The Homecoming (2003), The Secret (2003) and The Cold Turkey (2006) have all of the drama and laughs you could wish for this Thanksgiving.
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND: Everyone loves eating on Thanksgiving just as much as they love Raymond. The Thanksgiving episodes that are to die for: Turkey or Fish (1996), No Fat (1998), No Thanks (1999), Fighting In-Laws (2000), Older Women (2001), The Bird (2003) and Debra’s Parents (2004.) Thanks guys!
MAD MEN: The advertising characters working on Madison Avenue, including the leading man Don Draper, will have you mad for more and more. Check out The Wheel (2007) and Public Relations (2010) for their take on Thanksgiving themed episodes.
BEVERLY HILLS, 90210: The crown jewel of television – Beverly Hills, 90210. Donna Martin (played by Tori Spelling) and the gang have left us with plenty of episodes to fulfill our appetites. Their Thanksgiving episodes through the years are: The Kindness of Strangers (1992), Radar Love (1993), Breast Side Up (1995), If I Had A Hammer (1996), You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello (1998) and What’s In A Name (1999.) It’s always fun to go back to the 90’s, one of the most fun decades of them all.
THE SOPRANOS: Mangia! Nothing is better than food and nobody knows how to make food better than Italians. The Italian characters on The Sopranos make us an offer we can’t refuse every episode with; family, food, values, humor and messages about life. Take a ride down the New Jersey Turnpike in the series that The Writers Guild of America named in 2013 – “The Best Written Television Series of All Time.” Tony, Carmela, Paulie Walnuts, Dr. Jennifer Melfi, the crew is all there. In 2001 the show’s episode He Is Risen revolved around Thanksgiving. Watch it even if you are busy – if you have other plans – Fugghedaboudit!