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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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4. How I Met Your Mother

Episode: Season 3, Episode 9, “Slapsgiving”

What’s on the menu: In the same vein as Friends, New Girl, and Happy Endings, the similarly themed group-of-friends sitcom How I Met Your Mother gifted the world some of its own legen — wait for it — dary Thanksgiving episodes. But it wasn’t content on merely celebrating a holiday. No, HIMYM had to create its own elaborate holiday that would become a famous line throughout the entire series. In the third season, Slapsgiving was born.

More so than any other running sitcom gag, Slapsgiving has such a rich backstory that it’s rather difficult to explain with rewinding back for context. The episode refers to the Season 2 episode “Slap Bet,” which gave us both Robin Sparkles and the titular slap bet. When Barney made that bet with Marshall, he signed his life away. In the final terms of the bet, Barney agrees to receive five slaps whenever Marshall opts to dole them out. On Slapsgiving, Barney gets his third slap and an original song from Marshall. Better than pie.

Why we’re thankful for it: How I Met Your Mother has its detractors, especially thanks to that polarizing series finale, and it has its faults. But when the series was on fire, it was one of television’s funniest and most original comedies. Season 3 gave us plenty to be thankful for, such as two incredible guest appearances from Britney Spears (who’s credited for saving the show), but Marshall’s extravagant third slap was the cherry on top of a great season. And who doesn’t still have “You Just Got Slapped” stuck in their heads?

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