Glee: Extraordinary Merry Christmas

"Extraordinary Merry Christmas" is the ninth episode and mid-season finale of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, and the fifty-third overall. Written by Marti Noxon and directed by Matthew Morrison, the episode aired on Fox in the United States on December 13, 2011, and features the members of New Directions starring in a black-and-white Christmas television special that is presented within the episode itself. Nine songs are performed over the course of the episode, eight of which come from the second Glee Christmas soundtrack album, Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2. The episode has the same name as an original song on that album, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", which was written for Glee by the show's executive music producer Adam Anders, song producer Peer Åström, and Shelly Peiken. The remaining eight songs are covers, and all nine were released as singles. Reviewers generally praised the music in the episode. Although reviewers were polarized in their views of the episode as a whole, the special within the episode received mostly favorable comments, though the rest of the episode was deemed light on plot. Some aspects of the framing sequences were criticized, such as Rachel's excessive demands for Christmas presents despite the fact that she is Jewish. Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 7.13 million American viewers and garnered a 3.0/8 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The total viewership was up marginally from the previous episode, "Hold On to Sixteen".