Classic TV Christmas Festival Part 2: What's Happening

One of these things does NOT happen in "Christmas," a first-season episode of "What's Happening!!"::

*Several characters exclaim "What's Happening!!" in the course of the show.
*Rerun's weight is ridiculed.
*Dee makes a snide comment.
*Mabel "Mama" King sings a seductive "Santa Baby" to the camera clad only in a Santa cap and skimpy mistletoe-themed lingerie.

Care to guess which isn't true?

Perhaps the "classic" status of this particular series is debatable, but here is a heartwarming Christmas episode with a simple premise that is executed well enough. Raj and Dee plan to spend Christmas alone, as per usual. They explain to a stunned Rerun and Dwayne that their Mama, a maid, can make big bucks by working on the big party days of the 24th and the 25th, and this year is no different.

Raj and Dee insist they'll be fine on their own, but when their dad Bill stops by, he insists they join him and his girlfriend for Christmas dinner the next day. after some drama--Bill's a bit of a no-account sometimes, you see, and Dee is reluctant--Dad convinces them they're coming. After all, Mama's working, right?

Only Mama ain't working. She plans to surprise the kids by telling them she took the day off to be with them, but when she gets home Christmas Eve, of course Raj tells her how happy their father is about getting to spend the holiday with them for the first time in 10 years. Mama cagily inquires if Bill's girlfriend will be there, and when she finds out she's the cook, she ends her brief thoughts of inviting herself over and pretends to be working.

Let me just say this all ends happily. What I like about this episode is the little touches of humanity that add up to a good dose of Christmas cheer. Besides the central drama involving the family, there's the generosity of Rerun and Dwayne's parents, who send over dishes for Raj and Dee thinking they'll be alone on the 25th. Dee sort of acknowledges she loves her brother when he gets her the doll she wanted. And Shirley even stops by with a pie. She apparently is set to devour it herself within minutes of her arrival, but that's our lovable Shirley.

There's one odd thing about "Christmas." [SPOILER ALERT]
When Mama's sacrifice is revealed in a typically wacky fashion, we almost instantly go to the inevitable happy scene of the whole family, plus Bill's girlfriend, sitting around a dinner table in merry spirits. We don't see the Big Explanation scene, and maybe I shouldn't complain, but it's an abrupt transition.

But, hey, it's "What's Happening!!," it's a feel-good half-hour, and it's Christmas. I guess that's all you need to know. For some reason, Hulu apparently doesn't have this right now among its roster of full episodes, but it's on the season 1 DVD if you want to look for that "Santa Baby" scene.