Review: St. Denis Medical, “Ho-Ho-Hollo” | Season 1, Episode 6
A darkly funny Christmas episode brings out the best in St. Denis
One of my favorite things about network television is its ability to deliver real-time holiday episodes that coincide with whatever cheer (or stress) we’re all feeling at the moment. And I especially love when shows embrace a particular holiday as their own. Modern Family and Brooklyn 99 were famous for Halloween episodes. Friends, New Girl, and This Is Us made Thanksgiving their brand. Now St. Denis Medical is staking its early claim as a Christmas show—and, if this episode is anything to go by, that could very well be the gift that keeps on giving.
“Ho-Ho-Hollo” is easily my favorite episode since the double premiere, if not just my favorite episode of the show so far. As I’ve talked about throughout these reviews, the first five episodes of the season have felt like the show re-calibrating and fine-tuning itself—making strides in some areas even as it backslides a bit elsewhere. But “Ho-Ho-Hollo” is the first episode where it feels like everything finally …