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30 greatest Thanksgiving episodes of all time

By Reed Gaudens

385848 12: Actors (l-r): Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay star in NBC's comedy series "Friends" Episode: "The One Where Chandler Doesn''t Like Dogs." (Photo by Warner Bros. Television)
385848 12: Actors (l-r): Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay star in NBC's comedy series "Friends" Episode: "The One Where Chandler Doesn''t Like Dogs." (Photo by Warner Bros. Television) /
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PASADENA, CA – AUGUST 04: Actors Shiri Appleby (L) and Britt Robertson of “Life Unexpected” appear during the CW Network portion of the 2009 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa on August 4, 2009 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA – AUGUST 04: Actors Shiri Appleby (L) and Britt Robertson of “Life Unexpected” appear during the CW Network portion of the 2009 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa on August 4, 2009 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) /

22. Life Unexpected

Episode: Season 2, Episode 10, “Thanks Ungiven”

What’s on the menu: Of all the series featured on this list, Life Unexpected is no doubt the least known, and for shame. (The complete series of two seasons and 26 episodes can be binge-watched on Netflix right now.) As the marketing campaign touted, the family drama was very much the intersection of Juno and Gilmore Girls, but it harnessed a unique comfort all its own. And it just so happens to boast one of the best Thanksgiving episodes of all time.

In “Thanks Ungiven,” secrets abound around the holiday table, and it’s worth noting that this episode is just three removed from what would tragically become its series finale. Lux tries to keep her relationship with her teacher under wraps, Baze wants to keep his relationship with his boss from his father, and Cate fears the truth could turn Ryan away. Oh, and everyone brings way too many side dishes of mashed potatoes to dinner. Turkey, a variety of mashed potatoes, and secrets are on the menu for Life Unexpected’s Thanksgiving.

Why we’re thankful for it: Maybe Life Unexpected was flawed, maybe it was both ahead of its time and behind the times, but the comforts of the Thanksgiving episode were the same comforts that carried through the entire series. It was the little show that could, and it never tried to be anything it wasn’t, even during a time when television was starting to shift toward something darker. “Thanks Ungiven” and the remaining 25 episodes of LUX are a necessary throwback to a time on TV when a place called Stars Hollow was the place to be.

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