Fondly Recalled Television Series Christmas Episodes
by misspaddylee | created - 06 Nov 2010 | updated - 13 Dec 2021 | PublicI am from the generation that grew up watching way too much television. Here are 24 classic series and 48 episodes of good cheer, and maybe a tear or two.
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1. The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
Not Rated | 30 min | Comedy
The comic misadventures of the "skinflint" comedian and his friends.
Stars: Jack Benny, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Don Wilson, Dennis Day
Votes: 1,647
Jack Does Christmas Shopping (originally aired Dec. 12, 1954)
2. Dragnet (1951–1959)
TV-14 | 30 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Sgt. Joe Friday and his partners methodically investigate crimes in Los Angeles.
Stars: Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Olan Soule, Vic Perrin
Votes: 2,363
The Big Llittle Jesus (originally aired Dec. 17, 1953)
3. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson raise their two sons Ricky and David. As the sons age, they experience teenage dating problems, marriage and careers.
Stars: Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson, Ricky Nelson, David Nelson
Votes: 1,603
Late Christmas Gift (Dec. 26, 1952) Busy Christmas (Dec. 19, 1956) The Christmas Tree Lot (Dec. 18, 1957
4. The Honeymooners (1955–1956)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family
A bus driver and his sewer worker friend struggle to strike it rich while their wives look on with weary patience.
Stars: Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, Joyce Randolph
Votes: 6,230
T'was the Night Before Christmas (Dec. 24, 1955)
5. The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954–1959)
30 min | Family, Western
Rusty was orphaned in an Indian raid. He and his dog Rin Tin Tin were adopted by the troops at Fort Apache in Arizona, and helped establish law and order in and around Mesa Grande.
Stars: Lee Aaker, James Brown, Rin Tin Tin II, Joe Sawyer
Votes: 856
Miracle of the Mission (Dec. 12, 1958)
6. The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family
A loving mother and wife deals with situations and problems of a middle-class family in the late 1950s and the early 1960s.
Stars: Donna Reed, Paul Petersen, Carl Betz, Shelley Fabares
Votes: 1,894
A Very Merry Christmas (Dec. 24, 1958)
7. The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
TV-PG | 51 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Ordinary people find themselves in extraordinarily astounding situations, which they each try to solve in a remarkable manner.
Stars: Rod Serling, Robert McCord, Jay Overholts, James Turley
Votes: 93,099
The Night of the Meek (Dec. 23, 1960)
8. Car 54, Where Are You? (1961–1963)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Sitcom featuring the zany hijinks of New York's finest.
Stars: Joe E. Ross, Fred Gwynne, Paul Reed, Al Lewis
Votes: 1,876
Christmas at the 53rd (Dec. 24, 1961)
9. Petticoat Junction (1963–1970)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy
The misadventures of the family staff of The Shady Rest Hotel and their neighbors of Hooterville.
Stars: Edgar Buchanan, Linda Henning, Bea Benaderet, Frank Cady
Votes: 3,647
Cannonball Christmas (Dec. 24, 1965) The Santa Claus Special (Dec. 20, 1966)
10. Bonanza (1959–1973)
TV-PG | 49 min | Western
The Wild West adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their Nevada ranch while helping the surrounding community.
Stars: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts
Votes: 10,990
All Ye His Saints (Dec. 19, 1965)
11. Bewitched (1964–1972)
TV-G | 25 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A witch married to an ordinary man cannot resist using her magic powers to solve the problems her family faces.
Stars: Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Dick Sargent, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 24,365
A Vision of Sugar Plums (Dec. 27, 1962)
12. Dragnet 1967 (1967–1970)
TV-14 | 30 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Police Detective Sgt. Joe Friday and his partners investigate crimes in Los Angeles.
Stars: Jack Webb, Harry Morgan, Don Ross, Marco Lopez
Votes: 3,406
The Christmas Story (Dec. 24, 1967)
- remake of The Big Little Jesus
13. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
The lives and trials of a young single woman and her friends, both at work and at home.
Stars: Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Gavin MacLeod, Valerie Harper
Votes: 10,167
Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid II (Dec. 19, 1970)
14. Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
TV-PG | 60 min | Western
Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in rough-and-tumble Dodge City.
Stars: James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Ken Curtis
Votes: 8,742
P.S. Murry Christmas (Dec. 27, 1971)
15. The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy
The professional and personal misadventures of a psychologist and his family, patients, friends and colleagues.
Stars: Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette, Bill Daily, Marcia Wallace
Votes: 6,733
His Busiest Season (Dec. 23, 1972) I'm Dreaming of a Slight Christmas (Dec. 22, 1973) Home is Where the Hurt Is (Dec. 21, 1974) Bob Has to Have His Tonsils Out, So He Spends Christmas Eve In (Dec. 20, 1975)
16. Barney Miller (1975–1982)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
The Captain of the NYPD 12th Precinct and his staff handle the various local troubles and characters that come into the squad room.
Stars: Hal Linden, Abe Vigoda, Max Gail, Steve Landesberg
Votes: 7,369
Christmas Story (Dec. 23, 1976) Toys (Dec. 14, 1978) Homeless (Dec. 17, 1981)
17. WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
The misadventures of the staff of a struggling Top 40 rock radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Stars: Gary Sandy, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson, Howard Hesseman
Votes: 11,235
Jennifer's Home for Christmas (Dec. 17, 1979) Bah, Humbug (Dec. 20, 1980)
18. Simon & Simon (1981–1989)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two brothers of disparate tastes and manners run a private detective agency.
Stars: Jameson Parker, Gerald McRaney, Mary Carver, Tim Reid
Votes: 6,105
Yes, Virginia, There is a Liberace (Dec. 20, 1984)
19. Murphy Brown (1988–2018)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
The personal and professional misadventures of an opinionated but beloved woman working as a television journalist.
Stars: Candice Bergen, Grant Shaud, Robert Pastorelli, Faith Ford
Votes: 10,634
Jingle Hell, Jingle Hell, Jingle All the Way (Dec. 17, 1990) I'm Dreaming of a Brown Christmas (Dec. 14, 1992) Brown in Toyland (Dec. 12, 1994)
20. Father Dowling Mysteries (1989–1991)
TV-PG | 45 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
An amiable, inquisitive Chicago priest moonlights as a detective and is assisted by a rather worldly, lock-picking nun.
Stars: Tom Bosley, Tracy Nelson, Mary Wickes, James Stephens
Votes: 2,136
The Christmas Mystery (Dec. 13, 1990)
21. Frasier (1993–2004)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy
Dr. Frasier Crane moves back to his hometown of Seattle, where he lives with his father and works as a radio psychiatrist.
Stars: Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin
Votes: 95,415
Miracle on Third or Fourth Street (Dec. 16, 1993) Frasier Grinch (Dec. 19, 1985) Perspectives on Christmas (Dec. 16, 1997) Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz (Dec. 17, 1998) The Fight Before Christmas (Dec. 16, 1999) Mary Christmas (Dec. 12, 2000) We Two Kings (Dec. 10, 2002)
22. The West Wing (1999–2006)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama
Inside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
Stars: Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, John Spencer
Votes: 85,529
In Excelsis Deo (Dec. 15, 1999) Noel (Dec. 20, 2000) Holy Night (Dec. 11, 2002) Abu el Banat (Dec. 3, 2003)
23. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007)
TV-14 | 44 min | Comedy, Drama
A behind-the-scenes look at a fictional sketch-comedy television show.
Stars: Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford, Steven Weber
Votes: 25,214
The Christmas Show (Dec. 4, 2006)
24. Wagon Train (1957–1965)
TV-PG | 75 min | Western
Stories of the journeys of a wagon train as it leaves post-Civil War Missouri on its way to California through the plains, deserts, and Rocky Mountains.
Stars: Frank McGrath, Terry Wilson, Robert Horton, John McIntire
Votes: 3,750
The Mary Ellen Thomas Story (Dec. 24, 1958)
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