(originally aired December 21, 1997)
Hey, another Christmas episode! We sure have come a long way since “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” and this episode, which apes a few elements from the previous two Xmas shows, is sure indicative of that. With its ridiculous premise and overt pushing of manufactured drama, it’s a bizarre episode with not a lot present to redeem it. Getting up early to sneak a peek at his gifts, Bart inadvertently burns down the Christmas tree, presents and all. He covers up the evidence and, to hide the truth from the family, makes up a cockamamie story involving witnessing a burglar robbing the house blind. When news of this spreads, the people of Springfield open their hearts and wallets to the Simpsons, which makes Bart even more remorseful. It isn’t long before his lie is exposed to the family, and later to everyone else, making them all town-wide pariahs. But in the end, the citizens of Springfield make things right, by stealing every item in the Simpson house to repay their debt.
Absurdities are abundant from the get-go, as the broken car heater spews snow into the car for some reason and Jerkass Homer selfishly bamboozles shoppers out of their gifts (at least he shoved some money in the cash register, but it doesn’t absolve that apparently he’s a thief now.) There are some parts of the Simpson family Christmas that are actually kind of nice though, like Marge’s two different kinds of Xmas cookies, and the extra-stretchy plastic tree. But the most telling moment is Homer setting up the outdoor decorations, like he did way back in the very first episode. Contrast, if you will: in “Open Fire,” Homer takes a minor spill off the roof (to adorable applause from his children), plugs in the lights, and only one or two works. This is then contrasted by Ned Flanders’s incredibly elaborate and garish display. In this episode, we see plastic reindeer plummet from the roof, followed by Homer, then followed more scaffolding in a loud, violent mess. Bart and Lisa laugh derisively. What was once a quieter, more subtle moment is now more bombastic and obvious, and it’s just not as funny. I’m not saying that no comedy should be overt, some of the best bits on the show have been over-the-top, but it’s interesting to see the two styles of joke telling over nine years and how much has changed. Though we did get the word “craptacular” out of it. Silver linings, folks.
Speaking of jokes, there aren’t many to be had here. Act two is dominated by Bart’s ever-increasing guilt as the town’s gratitude gets ramped up more and more. I guess just how pushed to the extreme it is, like the orphans giving Bart their only dollar, should be funny, but Bart’s tremendous remorse kind of dampens it. You can critique “Marge Be Not Proud” as insufferable due to Bart feeling bad for most of the episode, but at least in that storyline, it’s for a reason that’s relatable and logical. Everyone’s disappointed their parents, but no one’s sold a bullshit story of this magnitude. In the end, the Simpsons get theirs, but it’s really such a strange end. The townspeople are stealing picture frames, silverware, medicine, stuff that really won’t sell for much. So is it just vindictive nature that they’re doing this? Apu stealing the family pets? Ned participating in all of this? It’s an incredibly sour end, and not just because it’s a Christmas show. For all the ridiculous stuff in this episode, there was just a weird emptiness to it, compared to the richness of something like “Open Fire,” or even “Marge Be Not Proud.”
Tidbits and Quotes
– Homer parking across three handicap parking spaces led Marge to arrest him. Here, she just murmurs and goes along for the ride with her craaaaaazzzy husband.
– A minor point, but it seems here that Bart believes in Santa Claus. Remember the great line in the first Christmas show? (“There’s only one fat guy who brings presents and his name ain’t Santa.”)
– Bart’s dream lasts so long and is relatively joke free. I guess except for the firemen wildly flailing their hoses, which seemed surprisingly graphic to me. But in all, Homer’s toilet fantasy in “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson” was shorter, funnier and more efficient.
– I did kind of like a panic stricken Bart disposing of the evidence (“Snow covers everything. Pure, white snow…”)
– I like Lou’s Christmas tie. A little detail, but it’s not like I have much to quote here.
– Kent Brockman is pretty good in this one with his news reports about the robbery. I like him goading Marge for a quote on how she feels, then just making one up for her on the spot (“So when you realized Christmas was ruined, how did you feel?” “How do you think I felt?” “Absolutely devastated? … ‘absolutely devastated’: the words of a heartbroken mother.”)
– I like this exchange between Sideshow Mel and Apu (“You only live once!” “Hey, speak for yourself.”)
– The time frame of this episode is a little odd too. It seems to happen over the course of a few days, but it must be a bit longer since we see Lisa back at school. But then there’s still Christmas shit up everywhere.
– To try and raise the money to pay back the town, Marge goes on Jeopardy!… and loses a few thousand dollars. Besides the fact that apparently the family just drove to California and that this is another harbinger for five-second celebrity cameos, I like Alex Trebek in this and how ruthless he is (“I asked you before the game if you knew the rules and you said you did.”) After chasing the family out, I love his smirk and twinge of his mustache (and one of his goons gruffly commenting, “She ain’t gettin’ the home version.”)
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As stupid as the washcloth bit was, I thought it ended the episode on a nice tone.
Also I always assumed Flanders was just taking back all the shit that Homer had borrowed over the years
Also I always assumed Flanders was just taking back all the shit that Homer had borrowed over the years
-Same here. It would make sense, considering everything Homer ever borrowed from him (TV tray, a couple of camcorders, camping equipment, a weather vane, his muffler, his power sander…I’m sure there’s more).
Chronologically, this is the first episode that I consider to be downright bad – and it’s not just bad, it actually angers me. It’s another example of everyone in Springfield just being huge assholes to everyone else, and that never makes for pleasant viewing.
Homer hits a new low in the opening scene, parking across three handicapped spaces (deliberately this time) and then stealing gifts from random shoppers. Just seven episodes into Scully’s tenure as showrunner and Homer’s already hit maximum jerkass mode. Great.
This was the first Simpsons episode that I ever hated.
It seems like the VERY INSTANT Scully got his showrunner position on the show everything immediately went down the shitter. It’s actually pretty scary when you think about it.
We just went through the end of season 8, and you can see Oakley and Weinstein were losing steam, which is why they left. TV shows just aren’t meant to last this long, and I mean past 8 or 9 seasons. Season 9 is actually okay, a lot of this only looks worse in retrospect because the problems that would drown the show during seasons 10+ are starting to crop up more and more. If season 9 had been it, it wouldn’t be so bothersome. Trash of the Titans and The Trouble with Trillions, for instance, are fine episodes until you start remembering how much more jerkass Homer there is to go.
Agreed. The natural lifespan of a show tends to be 5-7 years. Part of this, of course, is because the actors age out of the roles (not here), but it’s more because there is only so much you can do with a concept and/or set of characters. The Simpsons had eight great years. You can’t ask for much more than that. Hell, Seinfeld, which is regarded by many as the greatest show of all time, went nine, but it’s nearly universally agreed that Season 9 was its worst.
The only shows I can think of that were strong for 10+ years are South Park and King of the Hill (both cartoons of.course). And even South Park had a lengthy run of subpar episodes before getting its mojo back a couple years ago.
This might be a hot take, but KoTH gets noticeably worse after the first six or seven seasons.
I also thought The Simpsons also remained strong until the end of Season 11, even with the show getting wackier at the end of Season 11.
Wow!
I absolutely hated this episode. The premise was ridiculous, no-one acted like themselves and worse of all, it just wasn’t funny.
But if you asked me what season this aired I wouldn’t have said as early as 9.
Interesting comparison with Homer falling off the roof too.
Though I do agree, the “absolutely devastated” line is great.
Wait, this is where “You only live once!” “Hey, speak for yourself.” came from? I’ve always liked that quote but forgot everything else about this episode.
Wow, seems I’m not the only person that thought this one was in a later season than it actually was.
Oddly enough I did like the orphans among other parts, since it’s just so wonderfully wrong in a Dickensian wayto have the tiny tim type orphans playing on Bart’s guilt so blatantly.
I just wish we saw them a bit later rather than just saw some guy yelling at them and them actually revealing the dollar they gave Bart was for medicine, —- I sort of wondered if Bart would give them the wash cloth at the end in compensation.
either way, while no where near a good episode, —- I’d take trash of the titans over this any day, it’s at the same time not as bad as some by a long way.
I knew this episode was terrible, but I never thought it was in a later season than it actually was. I never thought Angry Dad: The Movie was in an earlier season than it actually was either.
Terrible episode. The only part that made me laugh was the bit with Trebek, and that was completely gratuitous.
There’s a lot of good in this episode, but then there is A LOT of bad.
I actually like watching Homer drag his leg as if he is handicapped because it is something Homer would do. It’s hilariously stupid.
The same goes for the register scene, even though that is completely unrealistic given that cashiers have to log into a register in order for it to work, so it makes no sense.
I also like Bart’s dream. “Go Go Go! We’re number one. We’re number one. Give me a P!”
Lastly, I really like Alex Trebek’s delivery on his dialog.
However, the rest of the episode is meh. The salesman is even more dickish than he should be. Changing the amount a car costs and then poking Bart in the back was uncalled for. However, the worst is how the entire town treats them after it is revealed what happened. I don’t get why they didn’t tell Kent that Bart had just told him what happened just before he came at the door.
The ending is crap too and makes little sense. However, Flanders IS walking out with HIS stuff. The label on the grill is right there in plain sight. It could be worse though as every Xmas episode after this except one (Holidays of Futures Passed) completely sucks.
Obviously, the salesman pokes Bart in the back as a way of saying, “Shut up – I want to sell this car just as much as your father wants to buy it.”
He pokes Bart twice, though, when surely once is enough (see also Larry the bus driver tapping the “Do Not Talk to Driver” sign in “Lost Our Lisa”).
Bart’s pleas to donate the money to charity would probably be unsuccessful anyway – Homer would probably argue that doing this would leave them with nothing and hence back where they started, and Marge and Lisa would probably find themselves agreeing with him.
Terrible episode, and possibly the first Simpsons episode I ever hated. What is funny about the Simpsons having a bunch of terrible things happen to them on Christmas and being miserable? It’s just the pits.
Genuinely enjoyed this episode and it’s one of my favorites from season 9. Loved the first sequence with Bart burning down the tree and trying to dispose of it. Classic Bart behavior and showcases his 10 year old innocence and excitement for Christmas very well along with his guilt over what happened,
The rest of the episode definitely gets more mean spirited but it never bothered or failed to amuse me. Even though the ending goes pretty far I still loved how their left all alone in the house with nothing but the dish cloth and still manage to make the best of it. Dark episode but enjoyable nonetheless.
I absolutely hate this episode. It’s my least favorite of the season, actually. The whole plot itself is just ridiculous. Why do only the tree and presents burn down? The house should’ve also caught fire. Why is Homer just stealing things? Why does the car heater spew snow? There’s a ton of dumb and annoying elements.
The whole episode also has a sour feeling to it. The townspeople ostracize the Simpson family and then steal all their belongings. It’s true that the Simpsons did kind of scam the town, but it was really only Bart’s doing, and over an honest accident. That plot element just felt overly harsh, even for a show like this. And despite all the harshness and craziness, this episode still somehow manages to be bland (especially the first act… good God, is it boring…). It’s an absolutely terrible episode, with pretty much nothing redeeming it at all.
I previously commented that Ron Hauge wrote this episode, and this comment ended up being deleted (I assume because it was in response to another user’s comment, which that user had had deleted for whatever reason).
Anyway, Hauge’s first episode was the rather good “Homer’s Phobia” – but his next two were “The Canine Mutiny” (a convincing candidate for Worst Episode of the Classic Era) and this one, and he would go on to write three more, ending with the truly awful “Missionary: Impossible”.
Is it fair to say, then, that he was one of those writers with just *one* good episode in him?
I never liked this episode’s (among other things) complete waste of Alex Trebek, but now that he’s passed I resent this episode’s very existence all the more.
This was always my least favorite Christmas episode as a kid. In rewatching it today, I’ve grown to enjoy it much more than I ever have due to the great jokes and the ending being so solid. But jeez this is still probably the most cynical and mean spirited Christmas episode, and it’s less enjoyable as a result.
Having been watching the Christmas episodes in backwards order… I am genuinely surprised at the absolute hatred of this episode. It was a joy coming from where I’ve just been. I feel the episode was full of more subtle gags (Such as the “Kliff’s Kar Chalet” sign gag) and well delivered lines (Carl’s “You tell him Lenny” whilst coughing at the orange gas entering his lungs still believing it to be a con) then the future episodes would entail.
I do dislike the glimmers of jerkass Homer we get at the beginning of the episode (Parking across the disabled spots and I’m not sold on him stealing other people’s presents AND getting away with it), however he’s not too bad the rest of the episode. And I will say, this is possibly the start of Scully’s “Ah fuck it, it’s an ending’ type endings where the writers would find themselves in a hole and hope the audience won’t mind the show magically resetting in the next episode.
However, I felt most of the characters were in character in this episode. When the townspeople collectivise themselves as a mob, I let them off some of their crazier ways of thinking as the show’s always been like that (Pretty sure Reverend Lovejoy is holding a flaming stick in The Telltale Head).
And I genuinely enjoyed the show’s attempt to show Bart’s remorse/guilt. I don’t understand why people would find it boring or a negative. Well then, you’ll love the next 23 years where characters do something and don’t react anywhere nearly like humans. I also really liked seeing Bart act like a kid again – I actually prefer Bart believing in Santa rather than Season 1’s Bart who doesn’t. I think the more Bart acts like a kid the better especially considering the ‘teenage’ Bart we get from the 2000’s onwards.
The episode for me, sits quite comfortably in my 3.5/5 bracket. I am curious how much the comments are swayed by Mike’s initial review. And it’s understandable to an extent. But I’ve just come from the Grift of Magi review, where Mike gives a slightly surprisingly positive review and the majority of the comments are quite positive. Here he gives a slightly negative and the comments are in total agreement. I’m curious if there are any reviews on this blog where the two majorly differ. Anyway, My take is, this episode is superior to any Christmas episode coming up.
Bart vs. Itchy and Scratchy. Mike liked it, but most of the commenters didn’t.
I’m glad to see I’m not the only who considered this to be the first bad episode aired. I grew up watching the Simpsons as a child, and this is the first episode I outright disliked. And that includes the Principal And The Pauper, which I never hated, even when it first aired.
The fact that the first act is kind of solid and then it goes downhill into a sea of craptacular garbage is just goddamn sad.
I think one of the biggest problems with this episode is that Bart doesn’t feel like himself. It’s one thing for him to feel remorseful over the tree and presents catching fire, but he just seems depressed and guilty the whole time. It’s not really entertaining to watch. If anything, Bart should be happy that he got away with it or do whatever he can to keep the lie going. Maybe Lisa suspects something (because she obviously would) and Bart throws her off the scent or manipulates her into going along with the lie. Instead, Bart feels like shit the whole time for what he did, then just admits what he did and things get worse after he tells the truth. No scheming, no pride in himself for lying, no arrogance. It’s like they replaced Bart with any old sitcom kid.
You could say this is like the patient zero episode for Bart’s character because I feel like the writers start to lose interest in him and don’t understand him anymore. Especially since it becomes all about Homer at this point.
I did appreciate the end when they shot holes in that ridiculous “At least we have each other” nonsense. It’s not comforting to hear you still have something that was never in jeopardy to begin with.
There’s a particularly unforgivable syndication cut in this one, where they cut out Maggie’s mooing toy gurgling as it sinks into the melting plastic, while the scene of Marge hearing it and waking up, then Homer making a similar sound, is left in. Leaving it a total non-sequitur.