Releasing shortly after the finale of the fourth season, the Trailer Park Boys Xmas Special is a 45 minute long prequel to the TV series. Taking place in December of 1997 this Christmas special sees the boys up to their old ways, with Ricky being bailed out of jail at the start as to help Julien with his Christmas scheme. However most interestingly the audience is treated to seeing Jaime before he became J-Roc as well as, Jim and Barbra Lahey still being married with Lahey and Randy formally meeting each other as Barb takes him in over Christmas. The special plays out like an elongated episode, which is definitely not a bad thing unless you're not a fan of the Trailer Park Boys formula. For me this special mostly worked, it featured subpar writing and some goofy jokes although outside of its Christmas theme I did not find it all too special. I liked Ricky's epiphany near the end but the most enjoyable aspect for me came from the aforementioned setup of some seeing characters in positions that are different from their circumstances in the series. It was charming to hear some characters talk about their plans for the future when we know as the audience how it will play out. It should be noted though that I do not recommend this special for first-time viewers; similar to a film like Rogue One, the Trailer Park Boys Xmas Special you will get the most out of this special if you've been a viewer of the TV show and have some recollection of the events/characters in the show. I am sure most people who view this special are already Trailer Park Boys fans, however, there probably are some outliers who will check out the special without having any context of who some of the characters are and it will hurt their experience. I doubt it's a story that will pull in any new viewers, it is a perfectly fine special that I'm sure will please even the most casual of Trailer Park Boys fan and for that reason, I am giving the Trailer Park Boys Xmas Special a 6/10. I do recommend this short for anyone who is a fan of the series and I possibly see myself getting some rewatches out of it during the holiday season.
