Our ghosts are back and they are feeling festive. Our favourite dead people and their two alive friends are back for their first Christmas special episode. This time Mike and Alison are hosting Christmas for Mike's family including his parents and sisters. However, his mum and dad can't help themselves but get involved and ultimately take over.
This episode shows us what is the true meaning of Christmas. It is summed up perfectly by Julian who explains to the other ghosts how Christmas isn't supposed to be perfect yet we should be grateful for having one while we can. Our families may drive us mad sometimes but there is no one else we would rather spend this day with. In an ordinary year Mike and Alison hosting Christmas is a normal thing however it would look very different for this year due to the pandemic but this episode tells us to appreciate the people in our lives while we can, which is something we can all appreciate this year.
Charlotte Ritchie who plays Alison is trying to help Mike played by Kiell Smith-Bynoe but also attempting to please the ghosts by giving each one of them their Christmas wish. Mike is trying to keep his family under control and we are given a backstory to MP Julian Fawcett played by Simon Farnaby. Julian's backstory is quite sad, we learn when alive this character actively choose to be away from his wife and daughter during Christmas as he couldn’t deal with his daughter's baby cries. When he died his daughter was only 4 years old. Julian learns on what he missed by being away from his family at Christmas and since he died when his daughter was so young he never got to celebrate a Christmas with his child. That moment is heart-breaking but we learn the true meaning of Christmas, as cheesy as it sounds but it is true. Farnaby should be praised for his performance in this episode it was really emotional and heartfelt.
As mentioned we meet Mike's family in this episode, we don’t learn much about these individual characters themselves. Just that the parents mean well by interfering and the sisters are there to wind Mike up. Some viewers may find it disappointing we don't learn much about this family but really this show is about the ghosts and with only thirty minutes our attention is mainly on them. We are shown a familiar family dynamic which we can all relate too.
Each of the ghosts have their own different ideas and memories of what Christmas is. All our regular ghosts are in attendance and we even get to see the plague victims. The ghosts are like their own family, we watch them play a very intimate game of twister which ends in bickering and arguments as The Captain (Ben Willbond) and Thomas (Mathew Baynton) take the game too seriously. All performances are great throughout this episode, everything and everyone works in harmony.
The Ghost of Christmas is truly a fantastic Christmas special; it portrays everything that Christmas is. It has relatable moments and the carol at the end is quite emotional. All performances from the cast are so strong and the timing for jokes is perfect. This special will get you in the festive spirit. It may make you wish what we had and want we won’t have this year but it reminds us to appreciate what we have got and always make the most of it.
