The On-Screen Advent Calendar 2012: Day Two

TOP 5 GREATEST TV CHRISTMAS SPECIALS
With twenty-three days to go until Christmas Day, we're already counting down to plenty of festive television specials including new instalments of Doctor Who, Outnumbered, Top Of The Pops, Downton Abbey, Call The Midwife and plenty more. But what brought us here? Today, let's look back at the best of festive telly, recapping the Top 5 Greatest TV Christmas Specials we've ever seen this merry industry bring us. Here are our choices- feel free to leave yours at the local social networking ports...
5. SHERLOCK: A SCANDAL IN BELGRAVIA- Okay, so this one wasn't strictly a 'special' as such, but it did air on New Year's Day 2012 in the festive period and feature a couple of Christmas-set scenes between Sherlock and Molly. Scandal boasts one of the most cunning resolutions to a cliffhanger of recent times, and makes its mark as one of the greatest pieces of television broadcast this year.
4. SMALLVILLE: LEXMAS- This Superman DC drama was no doubt overlong and at times rather zealous, yet the early Christmas episode Lexmas remains its finest festive hour. Set in an alternate reality where Lex Luthor was married to Lana Lang with children, this adventure set a dark precedent for what was to come for the anti-hero character, however it's still a fantastic romp in its own right.
3. GAVIN & STACEY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL- Because really, who doesn't need a bit of Essex and Barry Island in their life on Christmas Day? James Corden and Ruth Jones penned a marvellous special of Gavin & Stacey for 2009's December 25th that with the help of the ever-lovable cast became a classic outing in its own right which like the series as a whole will never be forgotten.
2. THE VICAR OF DIBLEY: THE CHRISTMAS LUNCH INCIDENT- You'd have to be livign under a Christmas Pudding-shaped rock to have not seen this Christmas classic. The Vicar Of Dibley had its fair share of memorable moments, but few instalments of the show garnered as many laughs as the Vicar's foray with three entire Christmas lunches. A bonafida festive clasic.
1. DOCTOR WHO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL- At the top of the list, though, remains a fantastic semi-adaptation of a Dickens legend. Yes, we all loved The Christmas Invasion, The Runaway Bride, Voyage Of The Damned, The Next Doctor, The End Of Time and The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe. That said, until we see The Snowmen at least, this musical adventure from the Doctor and pals in 2010 remains the show's most bold hour of festivity.