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Full Frontal presents Christmas on I.C.E., on TBS
TBS; TV.com; YouTube (segments); YouTube (full special)

This is a special episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee that aired on December 19, 2018. There's Christmas trees and ice skating, though the latter is part of the pun in the special's title. The episode focuses on the harm being done to refugees and asylum-seekers by the Trump administration, particularly in the form of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The show raised money for Kids In Need of Defense. In the weeks leading up to the special, there were several amusing promos. There was also a pre-show on YouTube. I didn't get to see the special when it first aired, so I watched it in segments on YouTube. But they were numbered 1 through 9, excluding 2 and 4. But I did eventually manage to DVR a rerun. (Edit: In 2020, the entire special was released on YouTube.)

Part 1 begins with a flashback to Sam learning to ice skate as a kid, and her mother (played by Ana Gasteyer) harshly scolding her for not being better at it. In the present, Sam introduces the special and its purpose, before singing "The Least Terrible Season of the Year."

When I watched the TV recording, I found that part 2 was Jeff Goldblum, Actually, a spoof of "Love, Actually." (I had already seen this online as a promo for the special.)

Part 3 is "The New Ellis Island," about what people trying to immigrate or seek asylum go through when coming to America. (I think this segment had already aired on an earlier episode of "Full Frontal.")

Part 4 is PeeBee's Christmas Nightmare, a spoof of Pee-wee's Playhouse, with Sam dressed up like Pee-wee Herman. (This had also been on YouTube before the special aired, though I didn't see it until watching the TV recording.)

Part 5, for some reason, was not on my recording of the special, but it is on the YouTube playlist at the top of this page. Full Frontal correspondent Amy Hoggart visits a Christmas tree farm, and learns how many such places employ immigrants (including undocumented ones) to grow and care for the trees Americans decorate their homes with at Christmas. (This may or may not have been a segment on an earlier episode, I'm not sure.)

Part 6 is cohosted by Sam and professional figure skater Adam Rippon, watching ice skaters doing a dramatization of how to deal with I.C.E.

Part 7, "Give the Gift of Egg Nog," is a spoof of a 1980s charity single like Do They Know It's Christmas?

Part 8 is "Lumpkin or Leave It," about scarcity of both temporary housing and immigration lawyers for people waiting for hearings to determine whether they'll be granted asylum. The show bought and fixed up a house to provide more housing for such people in Lumpkin, Georgia. (This segment may have aired on an earlier episode.)

Part 9 is the conclusion of the special, in which Sam summarizes the show's message about the true meaning of Christmas. Also she does a bit of skating.

Anyway, there's lots of humor and a bunch of guest stars, and it's all for a good cause. Definitely glad to have seen it.


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