Fifteen months after its departure from the Nickelodeon lineup, Drake and Josh returned to Television in 2008 for one final appearance. Merry Christmas, Drake and Josh is the last we'll probably ever see from the two instantly recognizable Nickelodeon stars, and this proves that maybe one final film wasn't wholly necessary.
Drake and Josh ended in a very shaky way. There was a special called The Really Big Shrimp that was aired earlier than it should've been. It was intended to be the big finale of the show, but two episodes that had events that happened prior to the events in the special were aired shortly after. The final episode of the series was aired on September 16, 2007 closing the saga of one of Nickelodeon's last amusing show.
I think Nickelodeon felt obligated to produce one final special for Drake and Josh because of the awkward way it ended. The result is a very different, very odd new show featuring the same cast but different everything else.
Drake (Bell) and Josh (Peck) are still living together and still getting into trouble. After throwing an unwanted Christmas party on the roof of the theater Josh works at called The Premiere, Helen (Brown) forces them to work as a mall Santa and Santa's bag of gifts. Drake, who is in a Santa costume, gets the wish from a cute and innocent little girl named Mary Alice (Madison) that she wants "the best Christmas ever." Little does Drake know that he will have to give this girl "the best Christmas ever." Because everyone knows you can't break a Christmas promise. Not once, not ever.
Due to a horrible mix up of indescribable circumstances, Josh is thrown in jail, Drake tries to bail him out, they both get caught, and then the judge (played by a person some might not expect) says that they need to deliver the same girl "the best Christmas ever" or they will have to go to jail.
Mary Alice lives with a foster family compiled of the strangest kids imaginable. Well, I just saw The Sitter not too long ago, so I'll say these kids seem pretty greeting card-ish compared to the three in that film. They are twins Lily and Violet (played by the Goldstein sisters) who get into frequent fights, Zigfee (Gore) the most annoying of the bunch who can't speak a word of English, Trey (Wilson) who is goofy and off the wall with his creativity, and Luke (Graye) their guardian when the foster parent isn't around.
This is without a doubt the oddest Drake and Josh spectacle I've seen, but for strange, almost unidentifiable reasons. I'm not sure everyone will be able to pick up exactly what they don't like, but if you're a die hard fan of the show you'll feel something isn't on par with the show. The laugh track is gone, the show has traded its sitcom style for a more cinematic, polished look, and the characters are all there but different. Josh hardly even resembles the chubby goof he once was and Drake seems uninspired with his character.
Many believe the show was cancelled so Miranda Cosgrove, the boys' prankster sister Megan, could pursue her acting career in Nickelodeon's show iCarly. No official reason was given, but I suspect the boys are just getting too old. But this was one show I recall where the later episodes seemed more fun. The first season it seemed like Drake and Josh's characters wandered around in search of chemistry. They had some of it on The Amanda Show, but it wasn't shown so explicitly. Here, they are the center of attention, so the first season was more about the characters' adjustment to each other.
Merry Christmas, Drake and Josh is cute, soft, and original, but lacks the true charm of the entire series. The characters have all changed in personalities and appearances, and the actors sometimes look like they are contemplating better things to do with their time. It's time to let this sleeping show lie. I admire the fact that there is the revival and am tickled everyone came back, but with better writing and maybe a little looser grip on the directing this could've been a more relaxed and enjoyable special.
Starring: Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Miranda Cosgrove, Nancy Sullivan, Johnathan Goldstein, Jerry Trainor, Yvette Nicole Brown, Bailee Madison, David Pressman, Kimbo Slice, Daven Wilson, David Gore, and Camille and Cosette Goldstein. Directed by: Michael Grossman.
