That Girl / Mary Tyler Moore Christmas Episodes Connection

One of the finest Holiday half-hours of the 1960s was when plucky Anne Marie Hollister got stuck on Christmas Eve in the private school where she was working. It was a touching episode of That Girl that took place as a flashback.

This episode was typical of the way sitcoms celebrated the season back in the day - schmaltzy, with a bittersweet edge that played up the emotional aspect of Christmas, with plotlines generally revolving around helping out someone in need.



One of the most fondly remembered Christmas comedies of all time would have to be The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode from 1970 where Mary was forced to work on Christmas Eve and her co-workers show up unexpectedly in the middle of the night to keep her company.

An interesting aside - this episode was written by the same guy (James L. Brooks) who wrote the That Girl episode referenced above called 'Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid'.

The MTM episode is entitled 'Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid II', co-written with Allan Burns.



Here's a roundup of Christmas episodes from the 1950s - 1970s to jump start the season. From Jack Benny to Carol Burnett.