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06 September 2010

The Long Halloween: Labour Day

Here we are folks, it's been a long year but our look at TV's Greatest Holiday Specials has come full circle. For a refresher:

Halloween - The Simpsons, "Treehouse of Horror V"
Thanksgiving - WKRP in Cincinnati, "Turkeys Away"
Christmas - Seinfeld, "The Strike"
New Year's - How I Met Your Mother, "The Limo"
Valentine's Day - Spongebob Squarepants, "Valentine's Day"
St. Paddy's Day - 30 Rock, "The Funcooker"
Easter - South Park, "Fantastic Easter Special"
Mother's Day - SNL, "Justin Timberlake/Ciara"
Flag Day - Futurama, "A Taste of Freedom"
Independence Day - The Wonder Years, "Independence Day"
Summer - Tiny Toon Adventures, "How I Spent My Vacation"

Brilliant stuff here. Labour Day is another tricky holiday because there's not a whole lot of new TV that goes on. There's also not really great Labour Day Traditions other than eating Hot Dogs and well, watching Television! It's almost ironic that such a Television-Focused holiday lacks a good special. That's the key though.

Labour Day is a perfect Marathon Day, almost every Cable Channel has some offerings. The big one is of course the Jerry Lewis Telethon (does anyone actually watch that?) but you can get a full list here. The best of those options are definitely uh...Jersey Shore? TBS is showcasing a ton of The Office, but really the best way to celebrate Labour Day is with Mike Rowe and Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel.



It's possible Rowe did some of his best work fucking around on QVC, but his ability to bullshit, identify and joke around with every annoyed Blue Collar worker and willingness to dive into any insane job or situation with a good attitude makes what could have been a very hokey show worthwhile. To get a good look at all the Labour everyone else around this nation is getting a day off from doing, I'd pick Dirty Jobs as my Labour Day show.

Have a fun day off, people, tomorrow we get back to the suckitude of work and school. Fry up some Hot Dogs, stock the couch full of beer and take a load off. For songs I guess you can play this lovely number by Blink 182 for its brief mentioning of a classic Labour Day Fiesta (eating Hot Dogs and shitting your pants). Spectacular, folks, simply spectacular.

As for the future of this on-going series from Norwegian Morning Wood, we might get a little more irregular (Fat Chance I find another Flag Day Special), but if there's something good out there it'll get a mention. Fun year, everybody - keep those TVs on!

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