Setting the TV table for some Thanksgiving family fun

As a fan of Thanksgiving,it's been my observation that this savory holiday tends to get fast forwarded nowadays( all the better to start up your seasonal shopping spree!) and to bring us back to enjoying this delicious occasion properly, I will be posting a few Turkey Day pop culture reminders.

To start with, Thanksgiving is a time meant to spend with family and friends,which doesn't always go off perfectly but that's what makes for a great anecdote to share at holiday gatherings for years to come! Many of our favorite TV shows do serve up a good Thanksgiving episode or two yet also offer us a look at different ways that people get together and deal with each other for this special meal,so here's a tasting menu of small screen T-Day delights:

GILMORE GIRLS: Our title ladies begin their Thanksgiving run with a visit to the Kim family, with Lane nervously watching the punch bowl as her mother scowls at relatives who abuse her furniture and cheerfully passes out plates of tofurkey. While Lorelai is hardily a tofurkey fan, she does keep up a fine tradition of bringing a little something to the dinner,even if her napkin maneuver is hard to pull off:

SUPERGIRL: Yes, even superheroines need some holiday time and while it's always fun to watch Kara cook the turkey with her heat vision(so not kidding about that), it's the family drama that brings the real flavor there.

Last season, her sister Alex and buddy James had big reveals to make at dinner but an inter-dimensional disruption cut both of those announcements short. Just as well, since the bland blathering of future boyfriend Mon-El was also nipped in the bud(so glad that he won't be back for Thanksgiving this year!),although his confusion about the holiday was further enhanced:

SNL: It's a long standing joke that Thanksgiving forces you to mingle with those particular relatives whose world views are decidedly different from yours and that a fight at the table is inevitable ,to say the least.

However, one recent Saturday Night Live skit gave us the best solution to stopping such disputes from ruining everyone's appetite. Just crank up the music of the moment and in this case, it was Adele's latest album,which allowed even the uptight aunt at the table to rock harmoniously and humorously with her niece's new boyfriend:

FRIENDS: Over the years, the Central Perk pals joyfully shared many a Turkey Day together yet there was one time that they did not.

Most of them had made other plans or good reason not to go home to their family this time out and yet Monica wound up cooking three different versions of potatoes,only to have the entire meal burned to a crisp due to a parade balloon distraction. The mood of the day went downhill from there.

However, one more look out the window caused them to rally together and full embrace the spirit of the day, even Chandler, who got to carve the cheesy main course:

 

So, no matter what the circumstances, Thanksgiving is a good time to gather around your loved ones and rejoice in the good things in your lives. Granted, counting your blessings is getting harder to do these days but it's not impossible.

Also, don't caught up in the fancy trappings of the day such as the perfect place setting and the right style of food. As one of the best episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond shows us, a Thanksgiving dinner tastes fine any time and especially in your pajamas: