All the Christmas Cheer on Sci Fi TV, Ever
This is rather an extensive list of just about every Christmas episode of every live action science fiction show that ever aired on television. Ever. Some of these shows are available on home video, but not all of them. Do you remember seeing any of them? Post your memories in the comments. (And don’t forget to check out Debbie’s list of the 5 best holiday episodes of The Twilight Zone.) We’ve even provided a few episodes for you to enjoy all over again.
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3rd Rock from the Sun: “Jolly Old St. Dick” (1996) — the Solomons experience their first Christmas on Earth
ALF:
“Oh, Tannerbaum” (1986) — Alf chops down the Tanners’ Christmas tree into kindling, so the family has to teach him about the holiday and get a new tree. You can watch the full episode here:
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“ALF’s Special Christmas” (1987) — The Tanners decide to spend Christmas at a a cabin in the woods, and Alf gets lost.
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Amazing Stories: “Santa ’85” (1985) — Douglas Seale stars as a Santa Claus who lands in jail with a group of fake Santas after tripping a burglar alarm. His only hope is the belief of an eight-year-old boy named Bobby
The Big Bang Theory:
“The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis” (2008) — the classic episode in which Sheldon Cooper actually initiates a hug. And gets Leonard Nimoy’s DNA.
“The Maternal Congruence” (2009) — Leonard’s mother comes to visit for the holidays, something Leonard neglected to mention to Penny. Oops.
“The Santa Simulation” (2012) — the guys play Dungeons and Dragons while the girls have Girls Night. Leonard devises an adventure wherein the gang must rescue Santa Claus from evil ogres, who have slaughtered the elves. And Sheldon’s final reaction is gut-wrenching.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “Amends” (1998) — Angel gets hassled by a bunch of evil apparitions who’d like to eliminate the Slayer
The Dead Zone: “A Very Dead Zone Christmas” (2005) — Johnny and Alex Sinclair have a shared vision that leads them to a man dressed as Santa, falling victim to three teenage muggers.
Doctor Who Christmas Specials — Mr. Harvey is working on a little something…
Early Edition: “Christmas” (1996) — Chuck gets thrown in jail after blowing a gasket because his car’s impounded, and he ends up breaking out with a man who thinks he’s Santa. Meanwhile, Gary tries to stop a bomb.
Eureka:
“O Little Town” (2010) — Fargo throws a big holiday shindig, unaware that the town’s defensive shield has malfunctioned and is shrinking. Nice “snow globe” effect toward the end.
“Do You See What I See?” (2011) — the town gets animated during an attempt to use a photon emitter to make it snow. Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) adds his voice to Carter’s Jeep, and the gang go through the styles of Loony Tunes, anime, Simpsons, Peanuts and Rankin/Bass stop-motion to find a solution to the problem. Plus — ninja snowmen!
Futurama:
“Xmas Story” (1999) — Robot Santa! Terrorizing New York!
“A Tale of Two Santas” (2001) — Making a delivery to Neptune, the gang encounter Robot Santa again. Bender makes the attempt to take his place.
“The Futurama Holiday Spectacular” (2010) — three tales involving Robot Santa, a Kwanzaa-bot, Christmas, Robanaca and Kwanzaa.
Ghost Whisperer: “Holiday Spirit” (2007) — Melinda deals with a ghost who thinks he’s Santa
Grimm: “Let Your Hair Down” (2011) — nominally a Christmas episode. Monroe really gets into the holiday spirit, decking his halls while Nick is searching for a missing girl. Read our recap here.
Haven: “Silent Night” (2011) — Residents of Haven are disappearing, and Audrey has to figure out why. Not only that, but they’re being erased from everyone’s memories when they vanish.
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: “A Star to Guide Them” (1996) — Hercules has to save the newborns after wicked Queen Maliphone convinces King Polonius to slaughter the firstborn children to insure one of them doesn’t ascend to the throne.
Journeyman: “Home by Another Way“ (2007) — Dan travels back to Christmas Eve 1979. His task: preventing layoffs at the paper.
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Lois & Clark:
“Season’s Greedings” (1994) — Toyman sends out Atomic Space Rats! And they shoot out a toxin that makes people greedy. Side effect: adults act like children. Even Clark’s not immune! This episode was written by Dean Cain.
“Home Is Where the Hurt Is” (1995) — Lois opts to stay in Metropolis instead of heading home, so her parents drop in! Meanwhile, Intergang has a new space flu to take down Superman, and the cure could kill him!
“Twas the Night Before Mxymas” (1996) — a photographer catches Lois (now Mrs. Clark Kent) in a compromising position with Superman. Howie Mandel appears as Mr. Mxyzptlk.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: “The Jingle Bells Affair” (1966) — Solo and Kuryakin are assigned to protect Russian Premier Georgi Koz during his visit to New York. What better way than to disguise him as Santa Claus?
Millennium:
“Midnight of the Century” (1997) — Frank starts having visions of his childhood, with Darren McGavin (Kolchak) as his father. The role was originally meant for Johnny Cash before the singer fell ill.
“Omertà” (1998) — Frank and Jordon visit Vermont for Christmas and get caught up with a supposedly dead Mafia hit man, who’s living in the woods with a group of mysterious women.
Night Gallery: “The Messiah on Mott Street” (1971) — in this segment, Mikey Goldman (played by Ricky Powell) looks for the Messiah to save his father Abraham (played by Edward G. Robinson, see?). Also stars Yaphet Kotto.
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The Outer Limits: “The Conversion” (1995) — Henry Marshall, having served his time in prison, goes to exact revenge on his ex-boss. After shooting up a crowd at the company Christmas party, Marshall meets the mysterious Lucas, who tries to convince him that all life is connected.
Phineas and Ferb:
“S’Winter/Toy to the World” (2008) – the boys create winter in the middle of summer
“Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” (2009) – Phineas and Ferb try to show their gratitude to Santa (voiced by Clancy Brown!), but Doofenshmirtz has just put the entire town of Danville on the naughty list.
“A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas” (2011) – the boys put on their own holiday special, featuring family and friends plus special guests — like Kelly Clarkson.
Pushing Daisies: “Corpsicle” (2007) — dead life insurance agents keep turning up inside snowmen
Quantum Leap: “A Little Miracle” (1990) — businessman Micheal Blake wants to bulldoze a mission and put up a high-rise, so Sam and Al pull a Dickens and scare him into reconsidering.
Roswell:
“A Roswell Christmas Carol” (2000) — Max opts to not help a man avoid death and thereby expose his identity, so the man haunts him because he didn’t help. Isabel tries to get everyone’s help with Christmas activities.
“Samuel Rising” (2001) — Max is fascinated by a young autistic child, while Isabel is full on “Christmas Nazi” again.
The Six Million Dollar Man: “A Bionic Christmas Carol” (1976) — Steve Austin is sent to investigate problems with an OSI project, only to find that the contractor’s CEO is a Scrooge. He uses his bionics to play out Dickens. Note that the Six Million Dollar Man action figure is on the shelves in the toy store Steve visits. Featuring Ray Walston and Dick Sargent.
Sliders: “Season’s Greedings” (1996) — the Slider gang head to Sky High, a mall floating above San Francisco, chasing down a woman who abandoned her baby with the professor. Features Chase Masterson.
Smallville:
“Lexmas” (2005) — shot by junkies trying to steal his car, Lex has a near-death vision of what life could have been like if he weren’t the spoiled rich gazillionaire with a chip on his shoulder.
“Gemini” (2007) — Lois tries to figure out how to stop a mysterious caller from blowing up a bomb that’s attached to Chloe. Clark urges Lana to restart the Isis Program to spy on Lex.
Space: Above and Beyond: “The River of Stars” (1995) — On Christmas Eve, the 58th is stranded in a damaged transport drifting toward enemy territory with no power and no weapons.
Starman: “The Gift” (1986) — Forrester (Robert Hays) gets a letter, supposedly from his mother, inviting him home for Christmas. But she claims to have never sent it. They make the best of it, because she’s dying of cancer.
Supernatural: “A Very Supernatural Christmas” (2007) — Sam and Dean go after the “anti-Claus” and find two old pagan gods. Features the flashback to when Sam found out what his father actually did, and where Dean got his gold amulet.
Taken: “Jacob and Jesse” (2002) — 1958, ten years after the Roswell crash, Russell Keys convinces his son Jesse to run away with him.
Tales from the Crypt: “And All Through the House” (1989) — On Christmas Eve, a mother kills her husband in the hopes of getting the insurance money. While dumping the body, she’s attacked by a mental patient dressed like Santa. Only she can’t call the police for help, because … well, she just killed someone.
Tales from the Darkside:
“Seasons of Belief” (1986) — a father tells his kids the scary Christmas Eve tale of the fearsome beast known as the Grither.
“The Yattering and Jack” (1987) — Jack Polo gets a visit from The Yattering, a 3 1/2 foot tall demon who wants to claim Jack’s soul.
Tru Calling: “Twas the Night Before Christmas…Again” (2008) — Christmas Eve: Tru gets a visit from a woman dead six months, and Davis fills in for a Santa who’s on a slab at the morgue.
The Twilight Zone: “The Night of the Meek” (1960) “Five Characters in Search of an Exit” (1961) “The Changing of the Guard” (1962) — See Debbie’s article
V: The Series: “Reflections in Terror” (1984) — the Visitors make a clone of the Star Child
Warehouse 13:
“Secret Santa” (2010) — On the “watch over and over” list just to see Judd Hirsch as Artie’s father, as the two Weisfelt men reunite after 30 years of estrangement. Meanwhile, Pete and Myka investigate a malevolent Santa who’s haunting a super-terrible corporate workaholic (Paul Blackthorne!).
“The Greatest Gift” (2011) — Pete wakes up in an alternate reality where no one knows him and none of the usual suspects work at the warehouse like they’re supposed to. Watch for the leg lamp from A Christmas Story among the artifacts.
Wonder Woman: “The Deadly Toys” (1977) — Wonder Woman has to save scientists targeted by an evil toymaker, who makes robot replicas. Watch it here.
The X-Files:
“Christmas Carol” (1997) — Scully and her mother go to San Diego to visit family, and she gets a phone call from someone asking for help — only to find a suicide. The dead woman’s little girl is a dead ringer for Scully’s dead sister Melissa.
“Emily” (1997) — turns out Emily is actually Scully‘s child, and Mulder heads to San Diego to help unravel the mystery.
“How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” (1998) — Mulder and Scully are on Christmas Eve stakeout duty, watching a house supposedly haunted by the ghosts of lovers who killed each other 81 years ago.
Xena: Warrior Princess: “A Solstice Carol” (1996) — Xena and Gabrielle stage Dickens in King Silvius’ bedroom to convince him to straighten up and fly right.
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What did we miss?
