Gavin & Stacey - S2E8 - Christmas Special 2008

This is why Mick asked if the Eastenders Xmas episode was on because he was in it lol watch him here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENFX0Z-iUFw

I was surprised when Smithy says he bought his girlfriend a Tiffany's bracelet. The most popular design in 2008 cost £150. Same one now costs £775...

Carpool Karaoke came from Smithy doing a Comic Relief sketch for Charity with George Michael in that car you should look at that lol George was so funny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvuENG3O9TM

Oh they also skipped Dawn calling Nessa a “truck driving d*ke”

almost literally

Christmas crackers containing awful pun jokes are part of their ridiculous charm! 😂

Jess should look out for the annual #DuvetKnowItsChristmas for photos of the sleeping arrangements that people end up with when staying with family for the holidays.

when is season 3 ????

You could react to James Cordon’s skit for Red Nose Day where he’s driving with George Michael now.

The audio is out of sync for me! Idk if that’s the same for anyone else? You two are fine it’s just the audio to the tv show xx

Best thing about this episode is it truly shows what a British family Christmas looks like - love, chaos, fun and fights. Too much alcohol and food, too many people round at once and too much noise. But never too much fun.

It was freezing cold and he said it was legal maybe it was the body heat thing

I feel bad for smithy but to be fair to Dave, he IS essentially raising the baby and doing all the work with Nessa, which is no easy feat! It's not surprising he bonded with him. Anyway this ep is an all timer. More incredible lines than is possible to mention

i was 2/3 (20yrs now) when this came out and i still laugh over the eastenders jokes knowing archie(mick) was playing such an opposite roll in it but kathy’s still going very strong in eastenders especially after ian’s jail sentence now😂and stacey’s the eastenders strictly cast from eastenders this year!

Basically the whole gag of the Lucy thing is that we never really know how old she is. The hints are there that she’s most likely under age but we’ll never truly know 😂

Seeing Smithy in the lingerie department reminded me you won't get to see Father Ted in a similar situation 😕

The Shipman’s never keep secrets 😂

That's British history right there, that's a last Christmas with family watching the TV with the last xmas that people had with there, nans, dad's, mom's, that's a true classic, something that I will remember for the rest of my life with the last true Xmas with the the family ❤️ what a episode to watch together

Pleaseeee watch outnumbered 🥹

Rob before his hair transplant

Aww man I’m gutted it’s the edited version! The original is a belter!

never got the bounty hate haha I love it

The fact the cheese joke in one of your crackers was a reference to Caerphilly a town in South Wales is peak unintended meta. The actor who plays Dave Coaches (Steffan Rhodri) is like me, a Swansea boy, the fierce rivals of Cardiff football club so I felt just as betrayed as Smithy did in that scene re the bubba football shirts 🤣

It’s hurt my feelings this is a edited version taking out Doris saying she’s absolutely twatted 🥲

Larry Lamb who plays Gav's dad Mick was also a big star in EastEnders at the time, as the bad guy Alfie Mitchell.

Dave Coaches is quite possibly the most evil character ever, imagine forcing Cardiff city onto a kid. Horrible behaviour.

It's so jarring hearing the different music

This is a strange edited version never seen before 😄 missed some good lines in there, but still love this special 🙂

West, Shipman, Sutcliffe. In the UK, you know

I love how they draw attention to the cringey, very un-festive lyrics of ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’.

Peter sutcliffe joke right over their heads unfortunately

I like the Bounty ones 😍 I also just thought, I'm feeling very spoilt watching these weekly as when they first came out we'd have to wait months and in some cases, years!

"You remember Dave, Dave Coaches" Ness is so damn funny

Don't worry Bryn's hair reappears

shame you watched the wrong one

Mike and Jess what you won't know is the little boy sitting on Nessa's lap at the start in the tent asking for the xbox is actually her real life nephew

You have to watch Archie Mitchell evil moments from Eastenders. Evil mick was insane, you won’t look at mick the same ever again 😭

Did you spot the double meaning when Jason mentioned Bryn gave him a Han Solo?

The best!!!

I really hope you guys react to "Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell".

That was great...truth be told (lol)...I've legit only watched the 2019 christmas special, can't remember any of if tbh. I've heard about Gavin & Stacey all my life growing up living in England obviously I would have but never been bothered about it so it's great watching it along with you guys.

Funny think is Mick used to be in Eastenders he played a character called Archie defo a bad man from. What I remember, that’s when Eastenders was still watchable it’s not great now

Ahh shame you ended up with the edited version. Missed out on some cracking lines.

I was more surprised that Smithy got his girlfriend a Tiffany's bracelet. Whatever it was, it probably costs 10x more now.

Just a note about your cracker joke - how to look after your cheese - It's not Philly cheese in the punchline, it's Caerphilly cheese (from Caerphilly in Wales). So "Caerphilly.....Carefully"......get it? It's a terrible joke anyway 😆

Micks right in all fairness Pam would have been more upset leaving it longer to tell her

The scene with Smithy singing in the car is the initial gag of what led to James Corden's carpool karaoke..

This is like the UKGold version, with all the swearing cut out. BBC version is better.

“Just need a break from the driving you know” is probably my favourite line of the entire show

"shipman never keeps secrets" that's is genius writing

Jess got royaly blue balled with the fishing trip story 🤣🤣

So glad you mentioned the hair. Gavin's hair looks like it was painted on at the beginning. Have no idea if he is dying it but it's awfully black! This is a fabulous episode. Watched it many times and always enjoy it. Very good writing don't you think! I love Smithy in this and that opening scene with them singing over the phone is great. It's a real shame that James Corden, after his huge success in this show, let it go to his head and is now very unpopular over here in the UK. I prefer to think of him always as Smithy. Loving that you are loving the show.

16:36 Another case of great timing: Midge Ure who they mentioned here was the guy who told Boaby to "get fked" over the phone in yesterday's Still Game.

A Shipman never keeps secrets 😂

There's a really fun 'making of' for this episode called 12 Days of Christmas. Worth checking out some time!

What I love about Gavin & Stacey is on the one hand it's a very grounded, realistic and relatable group of people. Then on the other hand they're all absolutely insane 😂

U love the two other specials and the god damn fishing trip haha mental we get to the point but then something pops up enjoy the reaction ❤️

Some of the English humour will still be missed on you. Gav saying a shipman never keeps secrets is ironic, as our biggest ever serial killer Harold Shipman killed many of his patients without anyone knowing for years and then killed himself before anybody could find out the true extent.

I always loved Mick's line about the Eastender's special. It's because Larry Lamb's character was killed off in that same episode.

Sutcliffe , another famous murderer and a wee bit of trivia the actor who plays Mick was talking about the soap opera EastEnders , in which he played a right baddie.

EastEnders is the worst program on British TV in my opinion

My favourite line was cut out "hit her in the face you truck driving dyke"

How do you find Will Smith in the snow? You look for the fresh prints. What cheese do you use to coax a bear out of a cave? Camembert.

Always gets me that Mick asks when the Eastenders Christmas special is on, whilst he was also acting in Eastenders 😂 totally different character, polar opposite on the moral scale, great actor

Talking of him doing the carpool Karaoke you’ve gotta do the Smithy comic relief and sport relief videos, there’s 4 I think. The last one with George Michael (and many other celebs) is where he got the idea for it

I need a Dawn cause whenever I've punched someone I've gotten a bollocking.

Mick actually starred in Eastenders too

You should react to eastenders you will be finished in 2080 its on tv 6 days a week.

I love this episode so much it’s so cosy . My Welsh Granny always called it Bailey. She loved a glass of Bailey 😆. My other grandma was called Edna I always took the mick out of her name 🤣

I always thought Mick was Dirty Den and that was the joke... I Googled it and no he wasn't lol.

It's much more fun to set a limit and everyone has to find the best present under a price, which means the kids can join in as well. I remember I had an ex that would make me things, and I'd always be like "what's this crap?", but obviously pretending to care at the time. However I went to my mum's house and got my old stuff out of the attic and that was the stuff I enjoyed the most seeing again. It makes me feel bad now for cheating on her, but it's like oh she did care and I should have been more respectful really. Where as other stuff I've been bought, it's all long gone now, no meaning.

‘What, the boner?’ - best line of the night 😂

Gavin and Stacey Christmas Specials are my favourite Christmas Specials

Funny that the characters in this episode spoke about the BBC drama show, EastEnders, because Larry Lamb (who plays Mick in Gavin and Stacey) also had a role in EastEnders, from July 2008 to December 2009, at the same time he was making Gavin and Stacey! Larry played Archie Mitchell in EastEnders, a really nasty piece of work who manipulated everyone around him to get what he wanted, and it was interesting to see the difference in the two characters he had to play.

Larry lamb who plays mick, actually played a villain character in eastenders called Archie Mitchell around the time the Christmas special aired

This special holds such a place in my heart. I remember watching it live in 2008 when it went out and it’s just the feeling I get when watching it now that transports me back. Watching it at the time with family who are no longer with us. Being younger, having very few worries. Cosy, Christmas at home. Unmatched. Thank you for such a lovely reaction ❤️🎄

when they talk about eastenders, they are talking about a british soap opera. the ironic part was that mick was the main villian at the same time that this episode was filmed

Mick is the dad I would love to be to my kids as they grow older

Just dropped the kids off at school, hot cuppa in hand I’m so here for this 😂

I know how irrelevant this is yet god I would give half my next paycheque to watch them react to Billy Elliot :L Also Mike and Jess would LOVE Santa-Con in London once a year lol You know you've married a real one when she remembered Piccolo from DB/DBZ :L

And Mick was a notorious villain in Eastenders!

I love the joke: "She says a Shipman never keeps secrets". Mike and Jess - Dr. Harold Shipman kept the secret that he was killing his elderly patients. The eventual total was about 250. The most prolific serial killer in the world.

Walked into my local Lidl and they already have mince pies out. So what the heck maybe it is Christmas time 🙃

Was a terrible cracker joke(but most are-it’s almost traditional to groan at them) but it was referring to Caerphilly, which is a cheese from South Wales- the same region as Barry.

Larry Lamb (Mick) was in EastEnders at the time playing such an evil Character ha! Maybe we should recommend some classic EastEnders episodes…….

Mike lost both those Christmas crackers trick is to let the other person pull it you just hold = guaranteed toy every time

Caerphilly is a Welsh cheese. How fitting.

Am I right in thinking Mick was in Eastenders at the time? If so very Meta.

Such a great special, and it still hold up after nearly 20 years! Shame you got the PG version (didn't know that existed) but at least it will be safe for youtube 😂

Hahahaaha you two are the only people I’ve ever known to realise they leave without Pete’s mum!

Gavin & Stacey at this point had reached real beloved status in the UK. Series 1 was broadcast on the digital-only channel BBC3, averaging 760k viewers. Due to excellent critical reviews and repeat viewers, Series 2 was promoted to BBC2, and this episode was awarded a peak slot of 10pm on BBC1 on Christmas Eve, pulling in 7.2 million viewers. I’m so excited for you guys to see the rest of this show and where it takes the characters. Theres so much hilarious, heartwarming and heartbreaking stuff to come.

Not sure if its already been said but the cheese cracker joke, handle it "Caer-philly" is a reference to Caerphilly cheese - Caerphilly is a town in Wales 😊

I did my turkey one year exactly like Mick

Where James Corden started carpool karaoke - the singalong with Gav 👍🏻

Always think of how great the character of Doris was, and also how I hadn’t noticed her as ‘old nan’ in Game of Thrones season 1, just before she passed away. Great actress

Am I crazy or is the swearing taken out? In the car Smithy says ‘dickhead’ and when he’s with Stacey in M&S he says ‘bath shit’ 😅

Ah this is the edited version, just a note for the final ( know we are not there just yet!) But there are 2 versions one for the US and the UK version. The music is different. Doesn't seem like much of a change but does make a massive difference in some important scenes.

Wooo!

They cut out Doris' best line in the entire show 🙃

I noticed this on a previous reaction to this episode from another reactor, that I assume for the US version of this they didn't have the rights to some of the songs so they have been replaced, as well as cutting out some lines of dialogue due to swearing - bit odd

Mikey Jessmas 🎅🏻

Oh no, you’ve got the edited version, they’ve taken out the swearing. Smithy is suppose to shout ‘Dickhead’ when he’s behind the driver and Doris’ line at the end of her scene is meant to go ‘Well that was 10 o’clock this morning and, truth be told Gwen, I’m absolutely twatted’. And they’ve changed some of the music.

The swear words are missing! Smithy shouts "oh come on dickhead' in the car when he's singing and Doris says she is "absolutely twatted"....also missed Dawn calling Nessa a truck driving something that rhymes with Mike 🤣

One of my favourite hours of TV ever.

Cracker jokes are supposed to be a bit crap so everyone moans but you're all laughing at how bad the joke is. It's a safer way to get a laugh than good jokes some people might not get.

The channel should eat a full roast and consume a lot of booze before every Christmas episode for the full uk experience

‘Oh my Christ!’ Turn around Michael, do not look in my direction…🤣

After a few dozen viewings, it'll be nice having a fresh watch! Merry Christmas guys 🤔😉

It's Chriiiiiistmaaaaas

My favourite Christmas Special despite not being a big Gavin & Stacey fan. Just feels quite familiar and warm.