Whether it's the parades or football games or Charlie Brown cooking toast and popcorn, television is as much a part of Thanksgiving as the turkey and cranberry sauce. This year, we're giving thanks to some of our favorite TV holiday celebrations. It was supposed to be a top ten list, but just like with Thanksgiving dinner, we couldn't resist a little extra stuffing.

(S05E09) Let me start off by stating that any HIMYM episode involving the famous slap bet between Marshall and Barney is going to be funny. Just the act of Jason Segel's exaggerated slapping and Neil Patrick Harris' equally exaggerated pratfall in reaction is enough to get me rolling. I just wish the slaps weren't telegraphed so much in advance.

You have to remember that tonight is a sequel to the original Slapsgiving from two years ago. As sequels go, it's not bad; not as good as the original but satisfying nevertheless. But you knew at some point, Marshall was going to say "That's four!" and Barney was going to rub his face. So we have to examine the journey to get there. That journey started off well, but got a little predictable. Still didn't make the slap itself any less funny.

(S03E09) Well, the slap countdown clock is gone, and we've just experienced the first-ever Slapsgiving. Was it as good as everyone thought it was going to be?

Well, yes and no.

Despite how Barney felt about it, the impact of tonight's slap probably was blunted by the fact that we knew when it was coming. However, the goofiness that led up to the slap more than made up for that. And we even got a Robin / Ted plot that wasn't boring or annoying. So it was a bonus. Oh, and the slap was pretty funny too. Slaps always are.
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