If ever there was a man you wouldn’t want to turn to for advice on surviving the holidays, it’s probably legendary curmudgeon Lewis Black. And yet, that’s just what the History Channel will do, as they’ve shown by sending me a copy of Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black.

Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black will send the charming and convivial–wait, I am talking about Lewis Black here, right? Oh yeah, I am–Lewis Black out to talk to a variety of actors, comedians and other figures to tell you how to get along with the holidays. It’s not so easy, between the travel and the anxiety of family and all that sort of thing, to make it through the holidays for a lot of people, and even those who have good relationships with their families still aren’t exactly keen on the thought of spending long amounts of time with the same people in the same relatively confined space. But you’ll also get the stories of the history and origins of the holidays, and I mean the holidays: you’ll get Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas, as well as a bit on New Years Eve and the bizarre hybrid that is Chrismukkah.

It’s amazing, but as holiday primer and comic gleefest, Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black will both teach you a whole lot and make you laugh profusely. It’s not hard to believe that a History Channel show would be informative. That’s standard operating procedure for History Channel. But that a History Channel show would be hilarious? Oh no, that’s not the kind of thing you expect to see from them. I actually learned a lot from this show, and yet I’m glad I saw it. Watching Lewis Black play Santa Claus at a mall was inspired enough for any two movies. It’s a holiday special that encompasses most every holiday that might show up in the two months that make up the end of the year.

The Screenhead Ten Scale hands this holiday extravaganza with loads of information, comic bliss and humorously-delivered knowledge a full ten out of ten for being hilarious and informative all at the same time. It’s hard to enjoy your education for your own sake, but when it’s delivered in the midst of a whole bunch of great jokes, well, that makes for a downright perfect video. That’s what you’ve got here–the holiday special for all time.