 |
| It's a good thing people stopped caring about The Simpsons and/or Christianity at this point, otherwise this image might've offended someone! |
Three unrelated tales fill up this Christmas special.
The First D'oh-El
At the church's Christmas service, Reverend Lovejoy can't come thanks to a 'train accident'. He tasks Flanders to give the sermon in his stead, but Flanders suffers a paper cut and passes out. Homer then decides to take up the mantle and tells the congregation the story of the first Christmas.
In the story, Joseph (Homer) is stunned to find his virgin wife Mary (Marge) pregnant. An angel (Lisa) proclaims the baby to be the son of God. The three wise men (Hibbert, Skinner and Frink) go to King Herod (Burns) to offer the "King of the Jews" gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. However, when Herod learns that they're referring to a child and not himself, he sends his soldiers out to find and kill the baby. In a barn in Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to Jesus (Bart), and its a joyous occasion for all present. Soon, though King Herod appears to kill the baby, forcing Joseph and Mary to flee with their baby. Fleeing to the hillside, Joseph cuts a large pine tree and sends it rolling towards Herod's army. It crushes them and their torches before standing back up to display itself as literally the first "Christmas tree". Back to the present, Homer makes the connection for everyone that the baby Jesus in this story grows up to be the Jesus most everyone knows.
Individual Score: +0.7
I Saw Grampa Cussing Santa Claus
Bart and Lisa are staying up late on Christmas Eve when they hear someone come in through the chimney, but its just Grampa. When Grampa notes that he's trying to kill Santa, Bart makes the mistake of asking why, so Grampa begins to tell his tale.
Abe Simpson and his never-before-mentioned brother Cyrus were in Pearl Harbor during World War II when, surprise!, they're attacked by the Japanese. The two get into their separate planes to counter attack, but Cyrus is shot down, and Abe (with ol' Monty Burns as his ineffective co-pilot) gets shot down as well. Abe and Monty wash ashore on some island, stranded. As they get accustomed to their new life, months pass. On what they somehow know is Christmas Eve, Burns shoots down a nearby aircraft. The two find the wreckage to learn that it was actually Santa Claus, unaware of what really happened to him. Abe and Burns help Santa rebuild his sleigh, but Burns knocks Santa out afterwards and tries to escape with seven of Santa's nine reindeer (Rudolph having been eaten by a snake). Abe grabs the last reindeer, Prancer, and gives chase, eventually catching up to Burns and subdues him. Santa gives his thanks and promises Abe he'll be rescued in a few days.
However, Santa never showed up, and Grampa had to leave the island on his own, and that's why he wants to kill Santa. Just then, Santa does show up and tells Abe that he's found Cyrus, who crashed in Tahiti but liked it so much he never left. Santa and Abe go to Tahiti to hang out with Cyrus, whose fifteen wives he doesn't have sex with pamper them quite well.
Individual Score: +0.8
The Nutcracker... Sweet
After the Simpsons see a poorly done version of The Nutcracker at the school, they realize that the songs within fall into the public domain and so everyone sings their version of the song. Also happening: Moe attempts to kill himself over and over as part of his traditional Christmas suicide attempts. Homer forgot to buy Marge a Christmas present, going out late on Christmas Eve to find one but failing as all the shops have closed. Still, Marge gives Homer her present: a Christmas present within a present that Homer can give to Marge. Homer is thrilled and gives it to Marge, who is somehow surprised to learn it contained a picture of the two of them. They (probably) make out right there.
Individual Score: +0.6
Quick Review
I'm going to be honest: this episode was better than I expected. I didn't expect the first Christmas story to be anything remotely funny, but it had quite a few chuckle-worthy moments. The middle segment was just barely the best of three, but the whole thing with Cyrus seemed unnecessary. The final act was okay too, but I am starting to get a little tired of the whole "suicidal Moe" bit, which is too bad because that isn't going away anytime soon.
Final Score: 7.2
No comments:
Post a Comment