Throwback Thursday: ‘The Witcher,’ ‘Supermarket Sweep,’ and Memorable Christmas Specials
The week of Christmas is finally upon us here at Throwback Thursday. This week we look at the really quiet week of December 20-26.
TV shows tend to be on hiatus this close to the holiday season, and not releasing any new content. However, some shows give us Christmas Specials to hold us over until the spring or summer when we get new content from them.
This week we look at Christmas Specials from Doctor Who, Call the Midwife, and When Calls the Heart. All of these specials warm us right down to our heart and soul, succeeding at getting us excited for the new year to come.
Since TV content is extremely quiet this week, so are our premieres. There are mostly only notable game shows to talk about — with the exception of The Witcher last year.
Fasten your seatbelts…it’s going to be a bumpy ride through TV history.
Major TV Moments:
The 11th Doctor ends his run with a nod to old foes (Doctor Who Season 8 Episode 0, “The Time of the Doctor”) (December 25, 2013)
Whenever the Doctor regenerates that episode is memorable in its own right. No one will forget the tearful goodbye the 10th Doctor gave as he regenerated into the 11th Doctor.
During the Christmas Special between Seasons 7 and 8, the 11th Doctor regenerates marking the end of Matt Smith’s run, and the transition into Peter Capaldi’s time as the iconic character.
The 11th Doctor doesn’t go out without a major fuss either, I mean why would he? In fact, his final moments are spent facing off against his biggest foes — the Daleks, the Angels, the Cybermen, and the Silence.
These are the kinds of episodes fans talk about for years to come because not only are we saying goodbye to the old Doctor we are also hitting all the heartstring notes with each iconic adversary. It’s a final faceoff worth remembering as we bid a fond farewell to this bowtie wearing incarnation.
The Midwives head to South Africa (Call the Midwife Season 6 Episode 0, “Christmas Special”) (December 25, 2016)
Call the Midwife does a fantastic job of showing us the darker side of medicine during the 50s and 60s. However, just before the start of Season 6, it outdoes itself by showing that the grit and grime of Poplar have nothing on the conditions in South Africa.
The girls head there in order to help a village clinic on the verge of collapse. The clinic doesn’t have the funds or the supplies to stay open and help the villagers.
By the time these ladies leave they have shown the South African clinic some proper techniques to provide better care for their women. However, it isn’t just the clinic that is changed — Nonnotus is never the same either.
To add to the happy spirit this episode leaves us with, fan favorites Barbara and Tom get engaged to be married.
Elizabeth becomes a mom (When Calls the Heart Season 6 Episode 0, “The Greatest Christmas Blessing”) (December 25, 2018)
For five seasons, fans watched as Elizabeth Thornton went from spoiled rich girl to skilled and seasoned frontier teacher. Then they sobbed along with her as she grieved the death of her beloved Jack.
Well, during the Christmas Special for Season 6, Elizabeth finds joy once again as she sets off on a brand new adventure — motherhood. She is anxiously awaiting the birth of her and Jack’s child when she decides to take a trip to find a crib.
She takes her two best friends — Abigail and Rosemary — along for the ride. Which ends up being the best decision of her life.
When she goes into labor on their way back to Hope Valley the women have to pull over and find shelter in an abandoned cabin. There, with help from Abigail and Rosemary, Elizabeth gives birth to her son — Jack Jr.
It’s the type of Christmas Miracle that really warms our hearts and puts a smile on our faces.
Premieres:
During the week of Christmas, television doesn’t really focus on putting out new programming. However, there are a select few that get premiere dates this week.
Most notably is 2019’s The Witcher which already has a vast, passionate following. Then there is the original Supermarket Sweep in 1965.
In between, we get quite a bit of children’s programming and game shows.
Here are a few TV shows that premiered this week in TV History:
- 1951 – Hallmark Hall of Fame
- 1965 – Supermarket Sweep
- 1965 – The Dating Game
- 1998 – Rolie Polie Olie
- 2005 – My Gym Partner’s a Monkey
- 2007 – Transformers: Animated
- 2019 – The Witcher
Finales:
Leverage Season 5 Episode 15, “The Long Goodbye Job” – December 25, 2012
After five intense seasons, the team lead by Nate Ford performs one last con before the show hangs it up. As far as series finales go, this one is pretty memorable.
What makes it great are all the parallels between it and the series premiere back in 2008. Parallels such as bringing it all back to the death of Nate’s son, mirror outfit change moments, and Parker point perfect imitating Nate’s mannerisms in the final moments of the series.
If there is one thing to say about Leverage, it’s that the show was consistently good during the entire run. It goes out with a bang as any show would want to, and all aspire for.
Tell-Tale TV Archives:
With Christmas being — literally — around the corner we decided to find as much content related to the holiday as possible. So we scraped up a few lists that we think you will like.
First, there is a list where one of our staff members ranked all Christmas episodes from The Office. Then there is our list of the most underrated characters from 2018. Finally, our incomparable Alicia Gilstorf gives us some cozy TV hidden gems to wrap ourselves up with during the holiday season.
2017
2018
2019
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What are some major TV premieres, finales, or moments you remember? Sound off in the comments below and your choice just might be featured in a future Throwback Thursday column.
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Mads Misasi
Mads is a part-time entertainment journalist and full-time marketing content creator. They love any and all TV Dramas with a few sitcoms mixed in. Join in the fun talking about TV by following them on Twitter: @dorothynyc89.