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| "Help, I need tungsten to live. T-" oh wait, that was the other episode. |
Bart injures what is essentially his ass, forcing him not just to an ass-cast, but also a wheelchair. Bart finds it hard to go to school as the elementary school is not wheelchair accessible. Fat Tony and the mafia instantly catch wind of this and quickly go to build ramps every which way before Principal Skinner can say no. The project takes so long that Bart has since healed and can walk just fine, so poorly built that it literally crumbles upon being touched, and yet the mafia "charges" Skinner $200,000 for its construction. Skinner is forced to pay the money, but as a direct result the elementary school closes down.
Concerned parents meet up at Skinner's house to discuss options to raise the $200,000 needed to reopen the school. Marge suggests asking Mr. Burns for a donation despite Burns' general disgust towards such things. Skinner tries to get to Burns by having a play to showcase how bad off Burns would be if there was no school to teach children. Burns is initially moved by the play, but still refuses to donate money.
Soon, though, the school returns to operation thanks to funding from "Kid First Industries", who fires all of the school's previous staff. Under new management, there is hardly any learning to be had, as the new teachers would rather try to get kids to talk about toys and such. Lisa is off put by this, obviously, and after being forced to stay after for trying to learn math, she discovers a hidden room with research data. She's attacked by a small robot and flees, though later on when she tries to show someone that room, it has reverted back to a broom closet.
A short time later, Lisa sees a commercial for a Furby-like toy called Funzo, a name she had contributed at school, with the same build and voice as the robot she saw earlier. Lisa figures out that Kid First Industries had used the school and its students to market research up a new toy just in time for Christmas. She and Bart sneak into the company's HQ, poorly guarded by Gary Coleman, and confront executives over it. They confirm Lisa's suspicions, but 'apologize' by giving the pair their own Funzo.
A short time later, back home, the two realize that Funzo is also programmed to find and destroy any other toy it comes across. Unable to stop the masses from buying Funzos, the kids get Homer's help to nab every Funzo in every house on Christmas Eve. They go to the tire fire to destroy a bag full of Funzos, and successfully do so. Just then, Gary Coleman appears to stop them, albeit too late, and he and the family end up in a rather lengthy yet civil conversation that eventually becomes one about the commercialization of Christmas, a discussion that lasts until the following morning. After Coleman destroys one last Funzo that escaped the fire, the Simpsons invite Gary over for Christmas dinner. Mr. Burns, after being visited by three rather timely ghosts that night, decides to give the elementary school the funding it needs after all, and Moe decides not to kill himself once again and bakes a Christmas turkey for the Simpson family.
Quick Review
This was an alright episode, I suppose. Mr. Burns' appearance was fine as was Gary Coleman's guest appearance, but there was a lull during the middle while the whole Funzo plotline was developing. There were a few jokes here and there during the lull, but there were plenty of jokes that didn't work so well either. In all, its not one of the better episodes out there.
Final Score: 7.2
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