Notes for FABF02 ('Tis the Fifteenth Season)

Tonight's episode had a fairly straightforward plot; with all the Christmas (special)-related gags (which really seemed to be the main point of the episode), it would have been too rushed with a subplot, so this worked pretty well. Everyone was mostly in character, not to mention that Homer seems to be getting smarter, and the execution was good. Though the plot is seasonal, this is a nice "everyday" episode...A-

DYN: ...the sign at the Android's Dungeon said "We buy baseball cards" instead of the usual "Take me to your comic books and baseball cards"? ...Homer's gift underwear is folded like the American flag? ...Lenny's eyes are apparently still very sensitive? ...Gil didn't hang himself after all (or wasn't successful)? ...Flanders somehow makes a "widower's salary" at the Leftorium? (This seems to imply that Maude worked before, and now she doesn't even need to be taken care of...) ...there hasn't been a Gracie Noise for a while? (Not that there was one, but still) ...after last week's episode full of Jewish jokes, now we get one full of Christmas jokes?

Previous episode references: BABF22: Couch gag music recalls the Transformazoid music; claymation used 7G08: The Simpsons have no money left for a Christmas tree and have to get a cheaper one CABF06: Cheesy Christmas movie seen BABF16: Homer imagines his doom predicted on TV 5F08: Hobos wearing Homer's standard outfit like Cooter BABF13: A hint that Rod might swing another way 5F07: A talking Krusty product that warns against touching its private regions DABF02: Lisa still Buddhist BABF07: Homer stealing Christmas presents to save the town BABF07, DABF02, 4F11, several more: Moe's (Christmastime) suicide attempts

Some other references: The California Raisins: Some viewers may be too young to remember this promotional tool of the raisin board (unless they've been watching I Love the 80s), where claymation raisins just like this performed (often fruit-related) covers of popular songs; for anyone who somehow didn't know, prunes are dried plums (as raisins are dried grapes). Things Remembered: "Things Unnecessary" is a pretty accurate description of this chain of stores with (as I recall) basically higher-quality novelty and display items Calvin and Hobbes: The snowman with an axe in its head reminds me of various snowmen built by Calvin Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the stop-action version): One holiday film Homer watches is done in this style and includes some inhabitants of the Island of Misfit Toys (e.g. the spotted elephant) Family Matters: The Urkel Christmas Carol based on this show, but there was one episode of that with a similar idea (an angel-to-be shows Laura how things would be if Steve were cool and she were nerdy, and she amends her ways - "It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Urkel") How the Grinch Stole Christmas!: Extended reference with Homer's night of theft, including his song, SLH as Max with one antler, an octuplet as Cindy-Lou Who, the large sack of presents on top the vehicle...various other details as well

Goofs:

Matt Garvey wrote:

...seems to reflect many fans' opinions that Marge is getting a little too nutty. (Sorry, I hit "send" a little too soon.)

"Matt Garvey" wrote in message news:[email]...

I think we all knew what word would be used to rhyme with "skunk"...

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 03:24:05 GMT, "Dr Music" wrote:

I'm not touching that with a thirty nine and a half-foot pole

Don't forget the Latitude/Longitude 'clue' on the Astrolabe:

42 N 71 W

That would be somewhere around northern NJ at a guess.

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 04:19:53 GMT, Me wrote:

1.5 miles (2.4 km) WNW of Bridgewater, MA, USA

http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=42&lon=-71

Scott Munro wrote in news:[email]:

Ahh, I was thinking too far south... anyway, there is some wiggle-room in lat/long specified without any minutes/seconds, but Springfield, MA will fall ALMOST within those numbers (42.101N, 72.59W), it's possible I saw the longitude wrong - it was only on screen for a second or two...

Someone that recorded it should probably confirm the numbers before adding it to the capsule (I'd bet they chose Springfield, MA's lat/long)

Yup.

42 N 071 W

Jerry P. http://members.aol.com/jibberuski

S1.3 BAR+++ LIS+++ HOM+++ MRG+ MIL+ f++/+++ n+ $0 M22 (s12:) CABF01, CABF08, CABF09, CABF14 (s13:) DABF01, DABF04, DABF13, DABF15 (s14:) EABF03, EABF05, EABF07, EABF17

Matt Garvey wrote in news:[email]:

"According to Harpers Index, sales of California Raisin(TM) merchandise in North America topped $450 million [in 1993]. Sales of actual California raisins were only $400 million during the same period."

http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/89q2/raisins.456.html

Jim

are you even a LITTLE ashamed that you know that?

sarcastress wrote:

You mean the title? Not really - since I didn't know it. I felt like being thorough, so I went to epguides.com and clicked on the description of the first Christmas-broadcast-time episode I saw that seemed to fit, and there it was. Took 30 seconds.

In alt.tv.simpsons, on the "Notes for FABF02 ('Tis the Fifteenth Season)" thread, Matt Garvey wrote:

I expected to find her name on this month's "Simpsons" calendar, which lists the birthdays of famous musicians. It's not there, but these folks were born on the 25th:

	Cab Calloway (b. 1907)
	Annie Lennox (b. 1954)
	Shane MacGowan (b. 1957)

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 21:27:36 -0500, Matt Garvey wrote:

The flash cube - Little Big Mom.

[...]

Not just _Rudolph_. The concept of an aged, iconic, beloved Hollywood legend as an on-screen character is almost certainly modeled on _Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town_ (1970), another Rankin-Bass stop-motion animation production which starred Fred Astaire as a mailman/narrator.