What was on TV? Thurs, Dec 23, 2004
The Office Christmas special! It's a masterpiece!
20 years ago, looking from a window above, it's like a story of love. Let's see what was on TV!
The Office Christmas Special (recorded)
Available on Hulu, BritBox, and Hoopla
The Office established such a bleak view of the world that feels more relevant with each passing year. People are vain, people are cowards. People are pathetic. We're all resigned to work we hate, afraid to dream, and forced to listen to the worst people in the world. I'm a pretty optimistic person, but the series' perfect twelve episodes are more than enough to turn me into a pessimist. David Brent is the worst and he will never change. Capitalism grinds all our good qualities to dust. Tim and Dawn will never get together. Their romance was just a pathetic dream of a future they are not brave enough to pursue.
But the Office didn't end with its second season, it ended in the most British way possible, with a Christmas special. And when the series ends with David Brent being a decent person for even one night and with Dawn being brave and kissing Tim, and with the whole group having a great Christmas party together, it feels like a true Christmas miracle. It's a miracle because you believe all this is possible. That even the nasty and brutish world of The Office, there is room for kindness, and community, and redemption, and bravery. And seeing those things in a world like this makes me believe they are possible in our own world, even during a holiday season like this one, when hope is hard. Hope always tastes best when it's surrounded by the sort of despair we recognize all too well. And hope always tastes best during the holidays. And the hope I feel when I finish this episode is oh so sweet.
Late Night
The Late Night with Conan O'Brien Christmas episode is not as good as the Thanksgiving episode. There's a fun remote segment in which Conan goes caroling, and some fun business at the beginning of the episode when his mic pac proves troublesome. But much of the episode is dedicated to a Bill Murray interview in which the main topic of discussion is gassy babies. It just never quite takes flight.
TiVo Status
The three-hour Masterpiece Theater miniseries The Lost Prince, plus a Kurt Browning skating special. 4 hours with 21 hours of space left.
