It’s time to celebrate the Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanza/ Festivus Holiday season, so all around Cinema Blend we’re enjoying Twelve Days of Christmas. Yes, we know traditionally the “12 days” start with Christmas, but we plan on being celebrated out by that time, so we’re pushing the twelve days leading up to the holiday.
Here in Blend Television we’re celebrating by counting down our some of our all time favorite holiday episodes, in an effort to boost your Christmas spirit. These aren’t the 12 best out there by any means, just twelve of our favorites. Some of them you might enjoy like we do. Others you might want to check out for the first time. So without further ado:
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
The Office’s “A Benihana Christmas” episode is high up on my list of all-time favorite holiday episodes. The hour-long installment manages tie the holidays in with the usual awkward hilarity and that the series delivers each week.
“A Benihana Christmas” aired in the third season when the gang at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton was still adjusting to the merge. After Angela kicks Karen out of the Christmas party-planning meeting, Pam decides to try and bond with Karen by uniting with her against Angela and forming their own party-planning committee. This results in two parties. Meanwhile, Carol dumps Michael after she finds out that he photoshopped himself into an old family photo of her, her kids and her ex-husband and used it as his Christmas card. So Andy, who is desperately trying to get on Michael’s good side, takes him to Benihana (aka Asian Hooters) to cheer him up.
Like any great episode of The Office, the main plot isn’t the reason this episode was an instant classic. In the end, it’s all about the little moments: Dwight showing up with a dead goose that he accidentally ran over (“It’s a Christmas miracle!”). Michael listening to the preview clip of the sad song over and over because he’s too cheap to shell out the dollar it would cost him to buy the whole song. Seeing the DM-Scranton staff trying to decide which party to attend. Karaoke. Michael not being able to tell the two Benihana chicks that he and Andy brought back to the office apart . And of course, the very ending when Dwight chucks his cell phone off the roof after Jim and Pam successfully convince him that the CIA is trying to recruit him.
It should also be noted that this is one of those rare episodes in which we get to see Michael let his guard down, if only for a few minutes. As always, this happens during a conversation with Jim. During their chat, Michael admits to Jim that he marked one of the Benihana girls so he’d be able to tell them apart. Domo Arigato, Mr. Scott-o.
