
Much like my last installment in Brilliant But Cancelled -- in which I reflected on the bitingly funny genius of Chris Lilley's Summer Heights High (and hell yes, you better believe I'm excited about the recently announced Ja'mie spin-off show) -- it's technically unfair to call this week's choice a cancelled series either. That's because Ricky Gervais, like Lilley, knows that shows only have a certain shelf life. Gervais -- whose new series Derek debuts on Netflix on Thursday, September 12 -- applied that theory to The Office and, the show under discussion here, Extras.

Forget Lords-a-Leaping or the Maids-a-Milking or whatever the heck Colly birds are. Since the 12 days of Christmas have three solid days at best (Day 5 of those Golden Rings sounds like a pretty good deal) we decided to pick an episode of television to correspond with each day instead. After all, the Christmas-themed episodes of shows like 30 Rock, M.A.S.H., and The O.C. are truly the gifts that keep on giving. So, all together now, here are the 12 Days of classic Christmas episodes to watch this and every season.