Summer Camp Pick Out Some Christmas Telly

Festive classics re-appraised...

Summer Camp just flippin' love Christmas.

The jumpers, the cakes, the tinsel, the presents… pretty much all of it, in fact. So much so, that the duo have pieced together a new Christmas themed EP that is set to drop shortly through Moshi Moshi.

The duo explain: "We love Christmas and we love Christmas music. Christmas can be a time of high drama; the old family argument that always seems to come up, or it can be a time when you realise all the great stuff in your life. We've made an EP with some new songs celebrating all those things, and we've put a couple of our favourite Christmas covers on there too."

But it's not just music that the pair love – no, Summer Camp are actually big fans of Christmas telly. Sure, the schedules can be full of re-runs, but beneath the veneer of familiarity the festive schedules are chock full of televisual GOLD.

Summer Camp pick out a few favourites for Clash.

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Father Ted – 'A Christmassy Ted'

I mean, the whole episode opens with Ted fantasising about getting with Assumpta from Ballykissangel – dnd you thought Community was meta. But it's watching Ted and Dougal panic in the lingerie section of a department store while shopping that makes this episode a classic, especially when they start ticking off Hollywood combat film tropes. By the way, this article from earlier in the year is very good at covering Father Ted's legacy.

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Vicar Of Dibley – 'The Christmas Lunch Incident'

This episode has Peter Capaldi in it. Need I say more? OK fine, I will. Dawn French was in her element as Geraldine, and while the quality of the show isn't always consistent, this special is freakin' festive perfection.

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Only Fools And Horses – 'Heroes And Villains'

I'm a massive Only Fools And Horses fan, huge. The team behind Rodney and Del were doing slow set-ups building to glorious pay-offs at the same time as Larry David on Seinfeld, and they often surpassed their American counterparts. Those moments when you're laughing in advance because you've realised how every piece of the story is going to slot together long before the characters themselves see it. This special is very special. Also, any excuse to see David Jason in spandex.

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'Knowing Me Knowing Yule With Alan Partridge'

It's impossible to explain Alan to people not already acquainted with his particular brand of broadcasting… magic. Why would anyone want to watch a middle-aged man in beige trousers and a sad cardigan host a bizarre fake Christmas party? BECAUSE OF THE TITLE SEQUENCE ALONE. We watch this on tour when things are getting bleak and it's always life-affirmingly cringy. "No that isn't dandruff you saw me brushing off my shoulders, it's fake snow. A polyurethane composite".

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'Blackadder's Christmas Carol'

Atkinson is a national treasure, a NATIONAL TREASURE I SAY. It's also fun to see a Blackadder who's really nice. And slightly unsettling. But that's what you want at Christmas!

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Don't be lonely this Christmas – come and see Summer Camp at Hackney Picturehouse in London on December 19th – it'll be followed by a festive screening of Elf.

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