Christmas With The Roses

I think I might have started a new Christmas tradition, Modern Philosophers.

I had the day off, and planned to relax on the couch watching some classic Christmas movies as I enjoyed yummy holiday treats.

That plan was derailed, however, when Spectrum decided to screw up the cable. Several of my channels stopped working, including the ones airing the shows I’d planned to watch.

Somehow, MTV was spared from the purge, so I was able to watch Bad Santa, but that was pretty much the only channel working other than CNN. As much as I’d love to spend the day following story after story on how President Trump was destroying the county, I decided to turn off the TV and do some reading.

At one point, however, I was really in the mood for Christmas programming. Alas, MTV was running Bad Santa and Bad Santa 2 all day (the sequel is nowhere near as good as the original, so not worth my time), so my Christmas Eve plans appeared shot.

Then I remembered the little gem nestled away on my DVR.

Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose is the thirteenth and final episode of Season Four of Schitt’s Creek.

I’ve come to the Schitt’s Creek party late since I didn’t have the channel on which it aired during its original run, but now Comedy Central airs five episodes every Friday.

So I’ve been watching it religiously from the beginning.

I normally delete the episodes after I watch them since space is limited on my DVR, but I loved the Christmas Special so much that I kept it.

And today was the third time I’ve watched it since Saturday.

If you haven’t checked out this show yet, it is a Serious Recommend. The writing is amazing. Daniel Levy is a comedy genius, and he penned this episode. The acting is also out of this world.

The show won all the EMMY Awards this year, and all were very deserved.

There is so much to love about this episode, and I laughed just as hard during the third viewing as I did during the first. Only this time, I knew when the best jokes were coming, so I started laughing in advance.

So many great gems. Mom’s wig wall. Moira’s reaction to drinking Johnny’s shake and discovering there’s no alcohol in it. David’s over the top expressions. Alexis’ naivety about the guest list.

We even get a peek into the Roses’ life before they lost everything, and it’s not surprising to discover that Johnny was the only one who didn’t take all their wealth for granted.

The scene where they release the Christmas tree, and the cast’s subsequent reactions, is TV comedy gold.

The episode definitely has an It’s A Wonderful Life vibe to it, but what I enjoy the most about it is that it is another brilliant episode of a remarkable show that just happens to take place during Christmas.

Some Christmas Specials try too hard to be about the holiday that they seem out of place in the regular run of the series.

I even tear up at the end, which is a sure sign of a Christmas Classic. The episode airs again tonight on Comedy Central, so you should check it out.