Fourth of July: What TV shows centered an episode around the holiday?
While many of America鈥檚 favorite TV shows have holiday episodes centering around Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Halloween, the Fourth of July is one celebration that鈥檚 usually left alone by writers.聽
The reason? In the past, most TV shows mostly followed a traditional network schedule, meaning they began their seasons in the fall and finished sometime in the spring, and adding a Fourth of July episode in the middle of November would seem a little odd.聽
(However, fun fact: the sitcom 鈥淪einfeld,鈥� which our readers selected as the best of all time, first made its appearance on television one day after the Fourth of July, on July 5, 1989. It aired as 鈥淭he Seinfeld Chronicles鈥� and the second episode wouldn鈥檛 air until May of the next year. 鈥淐hronicles鈥� is missing actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine, who wouldn鈥檛 make her appearance until the second episode.)聽
Despite the seasonal difficulties, some TV shows did set episodes during some kind of celebration of Independence Day. Here are a few.
1. The Bob Newhart Show,鈥� 1976
On the sitcom, which centered on psychologist Bob Hartley (Newhart), his wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), their neighbors, and Bob鈥檚 co-workers, the crew honored the Bicentennial with a party at the apartment of neighbor Howard. (The episode actually aired in October of the year.) However, Bob and Emily soon find themselves accidentally locked in the basement and multiple attendees of Howard鈥檚 party decide to dress up like Uncle Sam, only to discover that others had the same idea once they arrive.
2. "The Wonder Years,鈥� 1993
鈥淭he Wonder Years鈥� followed Kevin (Fred Savage), who is growing up during the late 鈥�60s and early 鈥�70s, and his family and friends. While the show鈥檚 series finale aired in May, the episode took place during the middle of the summer and centered on Kevin and Winnie (Danica McKellar) hitchhiking back to their hometown and getting there for the Fourth of July parade.
聽3. 鈥淢*A*S*H,鈥� 1980
"M*A*S*H" followed the members of a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War. The episode 鈥淎 War for All Seasons鈥� didn鈥檛 only center on Fourth of July but looked back at the entire year of 1951, from the group celebrating New Year鈥檚 at the beginning of it to the surgeons, nurses, and others getting ready to welcome 1952. During the episode, the group celebrates Fourth of July with a picnic and such traditions from home as fireworks and corn (though it鈥檚 not eaten on the cob as was intended, but is served creamed).聽
