Friends has pretty much set the standard for what a Thanksgiving episode of a TV show could be. I mean, how many classic Friends gags have come from Thanksgiving episodes? How could anyone forget the one where Monica dances with a turkey on her head, the one where Rachel makes a gag-worthy trifle-shepherds pie combo dessert or the one where they compete in the Gellar Bowl?
Unfortunately, unless you find reruns on TV, have all of these episodes stowed away on your DVR or own the complete series on DVD, you're not going to easily find them online right now. However, the complete series of Friends will be coming to Netflix on Jan. 1, so you can catch up on all your holiday viewing then.
Luckily, there are plenty of other shows that you can stream on Netflix right now that are just as classic and entertaining as the Friends Turkey Day episodes. So when you need that inevitable break from your family on Thanksgiving, just get out your laptop and start living vicariously through your favorite TV characters' celebrations.
1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - "Pangs" (Season 4, Episode 8)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows just how supernatural Thanksgiving can be. As much as Buffy tries to put on a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner, the spirits just won't let her. A Native American spirit on the prowl for revenge stops by, and Angel makes a secret visit. Be thankful that your Thanksgiving celebration is usually not this exciting.
2. Cheers - "Thanksgiving Orphans" (Season 5, Episode 9)
Diane is the only one of the Cheers gang with Thanksgiving plans in this raucous episode, so the others decide to have a potluck at Carla's house. Of course, this goes horribly as dinner turns into an epic food fight. But the silver lining for everyone is that they finally get to meet Norm's long-mysterious wife Vera... sort of.
3. Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 - "It's a Miracle" (Season 2, Episode 3)
We see Chloe's dastardly deeds at their best in this Thanksgiving episode from the short-lived but sorely missed sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. It's hilarious to watch, but June's visit to Chloe's parents' house for Thanksgiving would be so, so awkward to experience in real life.
4. Everybody Loves Raymond - "No Fat" (Season 3, Episode 10)
When Marie makes a tofurkey for Thanksgiving dinner, the rest of the Barone family is. Not. Having. It. Each family members' attempt to eat it is priceless.
5. Family Ties - "No Nukes Is Good Nukes" (Season 1, Episode 8)
What better way to spend Thanksgiving than in jail? That's at least what the Keatons do when Steven and Elyse land in the slammer after getting arrested at an anti-nuclear war protest. However, the family somehow still finds a way to celebrate Turkey Day. Isn't that nice?
6. Gilmore Girls - "A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving" (Season 3, Episode 9)
Stars Hollow does Thanksgiving in the quirky way only it knows how. In this episode, Lorelai and Rory, the popular duo that they are, have to make it to four Thanksgiving celebrations with Lane's family, Sookie and Jackson, Luke and Lorelai's parents. Will they be able to do it? Let's just say there's a deep-fried turkey and a kiss that you're not going to want to miss.
7. Gossip Girl - "Blair Waldorf Must Pie!" (Season 1, Episode 9)
This is not only one of the best Thanksgiving episodes on TV, but it's also one of the best episodes of the Gossip Girl series. The episode is filled with drama and a ton of backstory on the characters, which helps illuminate why they do the destructive things they do.
8. How I Met Your Mother - "Slapsgiving" (Season 3, Episode 9)
I don't think there's a holiday that How I Met Your Mother doesn't do well, and Thanksgiving is no exception. This is a special episode because Marshall and Lily host their very first Thanksgiving dinner. The sentimentality of the occasion is of course ruined (or enhanced?) by Marshall's impending slap of Barney.
9. Mad Men - "The Wheel" (Season 1, Episode 13)
This fantastic episode of Mad Men caps off a riveting first season of the AMC drama. Mad Men doesn't really do holiday episodes in the traditional sense. It's more like the drama unfolds around a particular holiday, such as Thanksgiving does in this episode, which shows Don not wanting to spend time at home on this very family-oriented holiday. Ironically, "The Wheel" also brings us Don's classic nostalgia-tinged ad pitch for what he calls Kodak's "Carousel."
10. Orange is the New Black - "F--ksgiving" (Season 1, Episode 9)
This is not a Thanksgiving episode that's going to leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, but it is one that is pretty pivotal for the entire series. Piper can't wait for Thanksgiving, especially because she will get a visit from her fiance Larry. However, she ends up getting thrown into solitary confinement, which makes her miss the prison-wide celebration, and it also changes everything.
11. The West Wing - "Shibboleth" (Season 2, Episode 8)
I love this episode because it deals with the strange tradition of the presidential pardon of turkeys on Thanksgiving Day. In the episode, C.J. has to choose which of two turkeys President Bartlet will pardon, while the other is destined to become dinner. I don't know how she could possibly decide.
