# TV shows without christmas episodes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291 "2010-12-24T16:05:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/1 "2010-12-24T16:05:50Z")
While waiting for the next Doctor Who christmas special, a thought occurred to me. Are there any long running programs that thoughout their run never had a Christmas episodes? I am not counting shows that were a) canceled before they had a chance, or b) by format could not have had one. LOST and 24 for example. Was there a Gunsmoke Christmas? Holiday on the Ponderosa? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/2 "2010-12-24T18:17:05Z")
IIRC, Christmas never happened at SouthFork on the nighttime soap _Dallas_. I don’t think Santa ever came to the Cleavers on _Leave it to Beaver_. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/3 "2010-12-24T19:02:12Z")
I wouldn’t expect _Crossing Delancey_ to have had a Christmas episode, but I never saw the show so I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/4 "2010-12-24T20:30:02Z")
I doubt if any of the _Law and Order_ programs had a christmas episode. I do know that they have date/time stamps around the holidays. I once opined in another thread that there courtroom scene with date/time stamp, as Thursday, Nov. 25 which would have been Thanksgiving Day. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/5 "2010-12-24T20:35:01Z")
I may be forgetting, but I’d be surprised if any of the \*Star Trek \*series did a Christmas episode. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/6 "2010-12-24T21:52:06Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I wouldn’t expect _Crossing Delancey_ to have had a Christmas episode, but I never saw the show so I’m not sure. Wasn’t that a movie, not a series? ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/7 "2010-12-24T21:58:25Z")
I think Star Trek would mention it once in awhile. Picard even had Christmas with his family in The Nexus in Generations. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/8 "2010-12-24T22:03:52Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I may be forgetting, but I’d be surprised if any of the \*Star Trek \*series did a Christmas episode. Captain, my sensors are picking up a spirit from an Earth holiday past… ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/9 "2010-12-24T22:08:49Z")
Santa would never make it out of a Star Trek episode alive with that suit… ---
**Author:** ![\_mostly\_Harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/9d8465/32.png) [@\_mostly\_Harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_mostly_Harmless)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/10 "2010-12-24T22:11:31Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > Santa would never make it out of a Star Trek episode alive with that suit… HA! A very good point, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/11 "2010-12-25T00:30:53Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > I am not counting shows that were a) canceled before they had a chance, or b) by format could not have had one. LOST and 24 for example. Why would the format of \*Lost \*preclude Christmas scenes? They were time traveling like mofos in the last few seasons. They could’ve had the original Nativity on The Island fer Chrissake (pun intended). ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/12 "2010-12-25T02:47:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I may be forgetting, but I’d be surprised if any of the \*Star Trek \*series did a Christmas episode. I’m pretty sure one of the TOS episodes had a Christmas party going on in the background, but it wasn’t the focus of the episode. Neither **Battlestar Galactica** did a [del]Christmas[/del] Caprican Solstice Festival episode. I didn’t watch alot of the later season eps, but I don’t remember **Stargate: SG1** ever doing a Christmas episode. IIRC **I Love Lucy** only had one Christmas episode and it wasn’t included in the syndication package because Desi Arnaz hated it so much. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/13 "2010-12-25T03:25:39Z")
Has _60 Minutes_ (and similar) ever done a Christmas episode? ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/14 "2010-12-25T12:33:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Why would the format of \*Lost \*preclude Christmas scenes? They were time traveling like mofos in the last few seasons. They could’ve had the original Nativity on The Island fer Chrissake (pun intended). i think the main storyline would have made a christmas reference difficult. It could have been done as one of the flashbacks. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/15 "2010-12-25T13:10:42Z")
I don’t remember one from _Sanford and Son._ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Amazing_Hanna)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/16 "2010-12-25T13:38:50Z")
Most anime shows don’t have Christmas episodes, and if they do, it’s usually about romantic dates with falling snow, not about Santa Claus giving presents or about keeping the family together. There are, as always, [exceptions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fePtLL7oRDg). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/17 "2010-12-25T14:05:54Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I’m pretty sure one of the TOS episodes had a Christmas party going on in the background, but it wasn’t the focus of the episode. Here’s everything about Christmas mentioned in Star Trek: > **[Christmas](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Christmas)** > > Christmas was an annual Earth religious and cultural holiday that commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ and was celebrated on December 25. While central to the faith of Christianity, it also expanded to include secular fixtures such as Santa Claus,... ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/18 "2010-12-25T21:32:18Z")
> [@Neidhart](#): > > I don’t remember one from _Sanford and Son._ There is a xmas episode _Sanford & Son_ on TVLand right now. “Ebenezer Sanford”. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/19 "2010-12-25T21:57:27Z")
_Burn Notice_ seems to have escaped the festive spirit so far. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291/20 "2010-12-25T22:05:38Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > Was there a Gunsmoke Christmas? Holiday on the Ponderosa? I can’t speak for “Gunsmoke”, but there was a Christmas episode of “Bonanza”. I happen to love “Bonanza”, but even I have to admit that this episode was the most obnoxious sappy thing ever. It was a total rip-off of the story “Heidi” and played with a brave little blind girl to really pour on the pathos. “Bonanza” had an Easter episode too, where Hoss dresses up in a bunny costume. As Dave Barry says, I swear I am not making this up. I’ve never actually seen that episode, but I sure as hell would like to. This wasn’t asked for in the OP, but the weirdest Christmas episode I’ve ever seen was shown just last night on ME-TV. It was called “The Night They Shot Santa Claus” from “The Untouchables”. A friend of Eliot Ness is playing Santa Claus for a bunch of orphans when mobsters in a speeding car guns him down right in front of the kids. Ness investigates and finds out his friend was a junkie who was plying Ness for information to sell to the mob for drugs. This news ruins Ness’ Christmas, so he has no choice but to slap around the mob boss who shot Santa Claus. An instant classic in my book. It even features a long soliloquy by Edward Asner about how said mob boss killed a guy for saying Babe Ruth was a better player than the Chicago Cubs Hack Wilson, a 56 run a year hitter. This is a must see show for Cub fans. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-shows-without-christmas-episodes/565291.md?page=2)