Unwrapping Christmas Reruns, Part 1: Silver Spoons “The Best Christmas Ever”

I dedicate this first Christmas-themed sitcom episode viewing to the Allison’s Written Words Christmas of 2016!

Hey, if you want originality, go somewhere else.  But if you come for the witty commentary and screenshots galore, then you’ve found the right place!

I decided that in the interest of posting lots of fun holiday-themed posts both here and on Retroist, rather than writing multiple recaps, I’ve decided on a three-part harmony viewing party of Christmas-themed sitcom reruns.  That’s not to say there won’t be a recap at some point this month, but why not sit back, relax, and watch some episodes instead?  You could even wrap your gifts as you do!

First up, we’ll go back to 1982, and to the sitcom Silver Spoons, the touching story of a young boy meeting his father for the first time, teaching dad a thing or two about being an adult, while learning to be a kid himself.

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It ran for five seasons (the first four on NBC from September 1982 until May 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 1986-March 1987).  It starred the oh-so-cute Ricky Schroeder as Ricky Stratton, a 12-year-old who meets his dad, Edward Stratton III in the pilot episode.

“The Best Christmas Ever” aired on December 18, 1982 (hey, one day before  I turned 2 months old!) and was season one’s thirteenth episode.  I’ve noticed this phenomenon with television shows – lucky number thirteen is almost always a Christmas-themed episode.  I’d be worried about the jinxing that can result from such placement, but this show was on for five seasons, so I don’t think there was anything anyone had to worry about.

This was also the first of two Christmas-themed episodes for the series (the other airing in season 3).  This leads me to believe the series didn’t want to wear out its Christmas joy by having a Christmas episode every season.  It seemed to be a little more common back then to not have a holiday-themed episode every season.  To me, this actually makes the episodes that shows do have even more memorable.

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In this episode, Ricky is humbled by the discovery of a homeless family living in a nearby cave, and wants to help after their son comes to the Stratton home seeking paid work.  It also features the biggest Christmas stocking EVER.

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So go on, click play, and watch the not-so-selfish Ricky have his best Christmas ever!

We’ll unwrap a second Christmas-themed rerun next week with another Christmas-themed sitcom episode from the archives!

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