The Greatest Christmas TV Episode Ever:
"Noël" from The West Wing

Some people regard "In Excelsis Deo" as the series' best Christmas episode, but for me "Noël" remains the standout. It captures the Christmas spirit without being overtly hokey or sentimental. It also showcases the reason why the Jed Bartlet White House such an enjoyable place to visit week-after-week, the fact that these people really care about each other to an unrealistic, but highly entertaining degree.

In the episode, Josh Lyman is suffering for post-traumatic stress disorder from the attack on the President that nearly killed him. He's speaking to a therapist, played by Adam Arkin, recalling the weeks leading up an incident where Josh injures his hand. During that time Josh blows up at the President, a fighter pilot with Josh's birthday crashes his airplane, and the West Wing staff attend a Yo-Yo Ma. After the concert, Josh cuts his hand by breaking his window of his apartment and finally admits after previously saying he cut his hand while breaking a glass. Dr. Stanley Keyworth (Adam Arkin) diagnoses Josh with PTS and determines some music triggers his mind to think of the attack on the President. The episode ends with a great exchange between Josh and Leo. Leo, a recovering alcoholic and pill addict, lets Josh know that he's sympathetic to his problems. In a great West Wing exchange, Leo tells Josh:

This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you, can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." [pause]...Long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand?

If only people at work were really this supportive.