# TV show episodes that rif on "It's a Wonderful Life"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 10, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720 "2010-12-10T23:18:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/1 "2010-12-10T23:18:31Z")
There have been a ton of tv shows that have done their own version of It’s a Wonderful Life, ranging from Married With Children to The OC. I have a question, though: in these episodes, do you think the characters are supposed to be **aware** of the existence of the classic film?
For fun, maybe we could list episodes where people think the characters are/are not aware of that George Bailey went through the same thing.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/2 "2010-12-11T00:59:17Z")
Just reading the title the first thing that came to mind was the MWC episode, which is one of the greatest Christmas specials of all time if not number one.
To answer the OP I don’t think Al was aware of the original.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/3 "2010-12-11T02:18:31Z")
_WKRP in Cincinatti._ There was no implication that the Big Guy thought he was living the movie.
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### Author:  [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/4 "2010-12-11T02:55:35Z")
Night Court did a riff on it years back, though I don’t think it was a Christmas episode (they were simply showing what would have happened had Harry not been born).
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/5 "2010-12-11T07:00:35Z")
SNL has done a couple over the years. My favorite was the “lost ending”: shown in black and white, the skit was a supposed rejected alternate ending, wherein Uncle Billy remembered that he gave the money in the paper to Mr. Potter, and George Bailey and the rest went to Potter’s office and beat the crap out of him. Dana Carvey played George, Jon Lovitz played Potter, and Phil Hartman played Uncle Billy.
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### Author:  [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/6 "2010-12-11T07:05:15Z")
Johnny Bravo had an episode where Johnny wished he was never born and when the angel showed him what everything would be like it turns out the world was a much better place and his family/friends were way happier without him.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/7 "2010-12-11T07:38:17Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#):
>
> SNL has done a couple over the years. My favorite was the “lost ending”: shown in black and white, the skit was a supposed rejected alternate ending, wherein Uncle Billy remembered that he gave the money in the paper to Mr. Potter, and George Bailey and the rest went to Potter’s office and beat the crap out of him. Dana Carvey played George, Jon Lovitz played Potter, and Phil Hartman played Uncle Billy.
That skit was incredible! One of SNL’s best.
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### Author:  [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/8 "2010-12-11T13:36:11Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#):
>
> SNL has done a couple over the years. My favorite was the “lost ending”: shown in black and white, the skit was a supposed rejected alternate ending, wherein Uncle Billy remembered that he gave the money in the paper to Mr. Potter, and George Bailey and the rest went to Potter’s office and beat the crap out of him. Dana Carvey played George, Jon Lovitz played Potter, and Phil Hartman played Uncle Billy.
A week before that aired, my brother & I were watching IAWL & he asked me if I thought Uncle Billy ever did remember what happened to the money. That next Saturday, we saw it!
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### Author:  [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Amazing_Hanna)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/9 "2010-12-12T01:50:06Z")
Not a TV show, but Don Rosa did a very good Donald Duck comic called “The Duck Who Never Was”, which was pretty much It´s a Wonderful Life with ducks.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/10 "2010-12-12T02:12:02Z")
_Beavis and Butthead_ had one where an angel tried to get Butthead to realize that the world would have been _better_ if he had never been born. Stewart ended up being really bossy and Beavis was his best friend. They were both volunteering at a homeless shelter on Christmas Eve.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/11 "2010-12-13T00:08:20Z")
So, can anyone think of an example where the character in question is aware of _It’s a Wonderful Life_? I’m beginning to think the default is that they are not.
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### Author:  [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/12 "2010-12-13T01:43:50Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#):
>
> SNL has done a couple over the years. My favorite was the “lost ending”: shown in black and white, the skit was a supposed rejected alternate ending, wherein Uncle Billy remembered that he gave the money in the paper to Mr. Potter, and George Bailey and the rest went to Potter’s office and beat the crap out of him. Dana Carvey played George, Jon Lovitz played Potter, and Phil Hartman played Uncle Billy.
The best part of it is how after Lovitz as Potter falls behind the desk, the cast drags him out to continue beating on him and it’s obviously a doll.
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### Author:  [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/13 "2010-12-13T02:12:23Z")
FWIW, Michael J. Fox hosted a special on movies with a time-travel or alternate history theme (maybe it was just the _BttF_ movies, but they referred to others). I’m sure they referenced _IaWL_ because I remember the shot of George slipping and sliding in the snow in the graveyard when he sees his brother’s gravestone.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-episodes-that-rif-on-its-a-wonderful-life/563720/14 "2010-12-13T02:28:32Z")
> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> So, can anyone think of an example where the character in question is aware of _It’s a Wonderful Life_? I’m beginning to think the default is that they are not.
Not in any of the ones I’ve seen, sorry.