We continue our look at some notable 1980s Christmas episodes by looking at an offbeat It’s a Garry Shandling Christmas.
In the early 1980s, Merrill Markoe co-created David Letterman’s Late Night series, and Markoe and Letterman shared a very specific sense of humor when it came to how they wanted their TV comedy to be done. They liked to make fun of the artifice of traditional TV that they grew up watching. Irony was the name of the game.
She and Letterman shared this sense of humor with Garry Shandling, who made his entire first sitcom (that he co-created with former Saturday Night Live writer Alan Zweibel) about the idea of making fun of sitcom tropes.
Markoe actually wrote the Season 2 Christmas episode, “It’s Garry Shandling’s Christmas Show,” where Garry throws a Christmas party. Tom Petty is part of a quartet of singers at the party.
Garry’s mother gives him his late father’s wife as a Christmas present. However, everyone eventually leaves the party, leaving Garry by himself. His father’s watch is missing. He turns his house upside down looking for it (he actually literally flips the house upside down), and even accuses his new neighbor (played by comedian Dom Irrera) of stealing it.
He is then locked out of his house. His mother reveals that she took the watch back as she realized she couldn’t part with it. Santa Claus then shows up, having hurt himself sliding down Garry’s chimney (which he had greased for some reason).
Santa then gives Garry a present by having a “traditional” Christmas scene take place in Garry’s house (ice skaters and the like).
It’s all just making fun of the idea of “traditional” Christmas specials. This obviously was a lot more innovative at the time, but it WAS innovative in 1987!
Feel free to write me at brian@poprefs.com if you have suggestions for other notable 1980s TV Christmas episodes!
She gave him his late father’s wife as a present? That would have been innovative!