Simpsons Christmas Stories
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Simpsons Christmas Stories" | |
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| Episode no. | 365 |
| Prod. code | HABF01 |
| Orig. Airdate | December 18, 2005 |
| Written by | Don Payne |
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore |
| Couch gag | On the front page of the Springfield Shopper, there is a picture of the Simpsons sitting on the couch. The title of the article is "Couch Gag Thrills Nation." |
| Season 17 September 11, 2005 – May 21, 2006 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Simpsons Christmas Stories" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons' seventeenth season, which originally aired on December 18, 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] The First (Annoyed Grunt)-El
When Reverend Lovejoy can't attend the Christmas sermon due to his train set catching on fire, Flanders immediately takes over. However, he gets a paper cut and faints. Homer decides to lead the sermon and tells the story of the first Christmas, with Marge as Mary, Homer as Joseph, Lisa as the angel Gabriel, Mr. Burns as King Herod, and Bart as Jesus.
Mary tells Joseph that she is pregnant, even though she's a virgin. The angel Gabriel appears to them and explains that Mary is going to give birth to the Son of God. The three wise men (Dr. Hibbert, Principal Skinner, and Professor Frink) tell King Herod that they are going to give gold, frankincense, and myrrh (which Professor Frink is re-gifting) to the King of the Jews. When Herod thinks that the gifts are for him, the men explain to him that they're for the baby Jesus. Herod becomes angry and claims that he will kill the baby.
At the Bethlehem Inn, the innkeeper (Moe) tells Mary and Joseph that he has plenty of rooms available with brand new carpeting. However, when Mary's water breaks, he forces them to stay in the barn. Mary successfully gives birth to the baby, and the three wise men, along with the two shepherds (Lenny and Carl) come to see Jesus. Joseph is upset because he isn't Jesus' father, and when he drinks some wine, the baby turns it into water.
When Jesus keeps crying, Mary gives him to Joseph. He entertains him by hurting himself and one of the wise men (Skinner). When Jesus finally falls asleep, Herod and his troops find the manger that they're staying in. They escape and trick the soldiers by putting Jesus' halo on a duck. On top of the hill, Joseph cuts down a pine tree, and as it rolls down, the soldiers get caught in it. The soldiers, along with Herod, are arranged like ornaments on the tree, and the duck, still wearing the halo, stands on top of the tree. Mary calls it a Christmas tree, and Homer concludes his service.
[edit] I Saw Grampa Cussing Santa Claus
When Bart and Lisa find Grampa trying to stick a bear trap on top of the chimney, Grampa tells them that he's trying to get his revenge on Santa Claus. Bart asks why, and to their dismay, Grampa tells them one of his many stories.
Back in World War II, Grampa and his brother Cyrus (never mentioned until now) were fighting off Japanese planes when Cyrus got shot down. Shortly after, Grampa, who was accompanied by Mr. Burns, also get shot down and are stranded on an island. After a few months, they see a plane in the sky, and Mr. Burns shoots it down. However, when they go over to investigate, they see that it is actually Santa Claus. They build him a new sleigh and gather up all the presents. When Santa is about to leave, Mr. Burns knocks him unconscious with a coconut and flies away in the sleigh and claims that he is going to keep all the presents. Grampa catches up to him on a reindeer and jumps onboard the sleigh. After he beats Mr. Burns with a tricycle, he gives the sleigh back to Santa. As Santa leaves, he tells Grampa that he'll be back in a few days. However, he never comes back, and Grampa has to get off using a jet ski he made out of coconuts.
Bart and Lisa believe that it's just another one of Grampa's far-fetched tales, but when they hear a thump in the den, they find that Santa is there. He tells them that Cyrus didn't die, but instead crashed into Tahiti. Santa takes Grampa there, and they meet up with Cyrus and his fifteen wives. Santa explains to Grampa that he didn't come back for him on the island due to his procrastination and eventually feeling embarrassed about it.
[edit] The Nutcracker...Sweet
After the children of Springfield Elementary perform The Nutcracker, everyone begins to go along their day singing to the tune of the songs from the play. This is done after mentioning that the songs in The Nutcracker are in the public domain and thus can be and are played constantly for free. After the opening number (sung to the tune of "Marche"), Moe continues his holiday tradition and attempts suicide thrice, first by hanging himself, next by riding a sleigh into open traffic, and then by shooting himself, and naturally, fails each time (done to the tune of "Dance of the Flutes").
That evening, Marge tells Homer that he'll like the present that she got him. Not wanting to upset her, Homer tells her that his present for her is outside and goes to buy her a present (sung to the tune of "Trepak"). Every store is closed, and all Apu has at the Kwik-E-Mart is some jerky made out of trout. Homer searches in garbage cans, gutters, trees, and he even chases down Milhouse, but he can't find anything.
When he gets home, Marge gives Homer his present (done to "Pas De Deux"). He opens it and sees that it is another present with a tag that reads, "To Marge, From Homer." Marge tells him that she knew that he would forget to give her a present, so she gave him one to give to her. He gives it to her and she unwraps it, and Homer sees that it is a picture of him dressed up as Santa with Marge on his lap. They hug and kiss and Moe, for the fourth time, attempts to comitt suicide by riding a sleigh into the road, missing an eighteen-wheel semi.
[edit] Trivia
- In addition to deliberate historical spoofs for comic effect (e.g. "Welcome class of 20 BC"), there is a sign in front of the church saying "Jesus: 2005 years young". Given the unhistorical but canonical birth date of 25.12.1, that would make Jesus 2004 years old at Christmas 2005.
- In Tahiti, there is a girl resembling "Lisa Jr." from Missionary: Impossible.
- The voice of Santa Claus in Grampa's story greatly resembles the voice of Robot Santa from Matt Groening's other animated show Futurama.
- The song played when Grampa and Burns fix the sleigh is 1936s "Sing, Sing, Sing", written by Louis Prima performed by Benny Goodman. This song also appeared in the episode Lady Bouvier's Lover.
- When we see Reverend Lovejoy talk about "so many plastic Christmases ruined", one of the figures lying on the table is Mr. Burns.
- The fourth episode of The Simpsons to date to air with a parental advisory warning before the episode in Australia for "adult themes". (Originally scheduled to air May 9, 2006 on Network Ten, but was pre-empted and replaced with "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation")
- Grampa says that he was on the island until after World War II, however this does not collaborate with the fact that his squadron, The Flying Hellfish, was said to have been in Germany at the end of the war, along with Grampa.
- The fighter plane that Grandpa and Burns are flying in is a F4U Corsair. Burns is shown as a gunner, however, this plane is only a single seater.
- This episode premiered on Christmas Day in the UK on Sky One.
[edit] Cultural references
- Homer amuses Bart with Three Stooges gags.
- Homer ends his Christmas sermon with a terrible imitation of Paul Harvey saying "Did you know that Baby Jesus grew up to be...Jesus?"
- Krusty's sidekick in 1964 bears a striking resemblance to Woody Allen, though his hairdo is very much like Sideshow Mel's.
- The island Abe and Burns are trapped on (along with the fact they survived a plane crash in the South Pacific) appears to be an allusion to Lost.
