[The long of it]
There's a scene in Homerpalooza where, for a school paper, Bart asks Homer what religion he practices. "You know," his father answers, "the one with all the well-meaning rules that don't work out in real life. Uh ... Christianity." I liked Homer's gently cynical (or is that realistic) interpretation of faith, so when I heard that he would be trying to do good deeds in this episode, I figured viewers could look forward to an evening of screwing things up royally. If we were lucky, it would be amusing, as well. "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" does exactly that, and then manages to be wonderfully unpredictable anyway.
The story is set in motion when one of Homer's crappy office presents turns out to be a Joe DiMaggio rookie card. Homer gets a mint for it from Comic Book Guy, and treats the family to a shopping spree at Springfield's upscale mall. He planned to set aside some money for a good Christmas tree this year, but instead blows most of it on an extravagant gift for himself. The Simpsons have to settle for a brown-needled tree from a lot in the seediest part of town. "Isn't it sufficient?" Homer crows, trying to psyche up his family.
Bearing the brunt of his family's anger, Homer soon repents and vows to spend the rest of the season being the most considerate man he knows how. To this point, you might argue that "Fifteenth Season" is a broadly predictable episode. But here's the switch: Homer's make- nice efforts are successful. That may not sound terribly funny on the surface, but it's the unconventional way he does his good deeds that makes me smile. I liked Homer's gift for Lenny, a photo cube with the corners sanded down so you can safely be poked in the eye with it. When Homer offers Marge the last pork chop, she breaks down in tears, saying, "I've been waiting so long for you to say that." Homer's touched at first, and then kind of creeped out.
If Homer's philanthropy does have a dark side, it would have to be the way it kindles Ned Flanders's jealousy. Homer steals Ned's thunder in the do-gooder field, and Ned vengefully promises to be the nicest man the world has ever seen. Then, he looks ashamedly at a picture of Jesus and says, "I said 'man,' not 'man-God.' Keep your pants on!" Maybe Maude's passing has strained Ned's faith a little, because he seems to be getting a little less likely to turn the other cheek. Whatever the reason, I like his character better this way -- deeply religious and upright, but fallible enough to be recognized as a human being.
Even if it weren't for the unexpected developments, I still would have liked this story. (And to be fair, in the third act Homer does screw up with kindness, as predicted.) The writers riff on four or five classic Christmas specials, to great effect. Two spoofs even switch animation styles completely, another surprise effect, albeit one we've seen before in "HOMR (BABF22)." I liked the family's spree at the yuppie mall that opens the show, and Hans Moleman has a terrific cameo near the end. The "Christmas Convoy" song was a highlight, with a trucker singing about hauling gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Bethlehem. Homer's spoof of a tune from "The Grinch" was clever, and sung quite well. The show's ending struck an unusually religious note for such an irreverent show, but this wasn't too heavy to dampen the fun. Yet with all that was going on, the writers again avoided making the show seem overstuffed or rushed.
The show's first, and arguably best, Christmas episode was "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (7G08)." It took a decade and a half, but the creative team now has a follow-up that compares with the original -- and that's certainly not something I would have predicted.
[The short of it]
This episode, one of the show's best Christmas specials since perhaps the first, has some nice surprises for the audience. Homer's considerate streak is not only effective, but funny, and it was interesting to see how it provoked a jealous streak in saintly Ned Flanders. Even without the plot twists, the show has much to recommend it: Good parodies of classic (and some less-than-classic) Christmas specials, the family's fun shopping spree, and some amusing songs. It took fifteen years, but now the show has another excellent Christmas episode. (A)
[DYNs]
... a Bohr model of an atom serves as an "X" in the plant's "Merry Xmas" banner? ... that's Moe's face on the Rembrandt? ... the background distortions on Homer's retouched "nicepoint" photo?
[References]
"Ultraman" (TV series) - Homer dressed as this Japanese superhero in the couch gag
"Pok�mon" (TV series) - in the couch gag, Maggie appears as Pikachu
"2001: A Space Odyssey" (movie) - theme music plays as Homer's waist expands [I assume there's a shot of a planet blocking out the stars in a similar fashion, but don't remember a specific one]
the California Raisins - stop-motion prunes similar [See "Personal Comments & Observations" section for more]
"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (TV holiday special) - "Silver and Gold" heard while the family starts their shopping spree - first Christmas cartoon Homer watches (with Jimmy Stewart) based on this show, right down to the switch in animation styles - some of the toys are the same as in the original, too
Abercrombie & Fitch (fashion retailers) - OFF can shop at Abercrombie & Rich
The Pottery Barn (home d�cor retailer) - Bart and Lisa browse through the Prodigy Barn
Victoria's Secret (lingerie retailer) - Marge shops at the equivalent store for men, Victor's Secret [See "Personal Comments & Observations" for more]
"Convoy" (song) - there's now a Christmas version, "Christmas Convoy"
"Tuesdays at Morrie's" (book and TV movie) - Homer compares the sadness from his family's rejection to this story
"Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" (TV holiday special) - spoofed as "Mr. McGrew's Christmas Carol"
"Family Matters" (TV series) - had a "Christmas Carol" spoof
"Star Trek" (TV series) - the Original Series did a "Christmas Carol" take-off, at least in the "Simpson" universe - Scotty foresees himself becoming fat, which he did - CBG deploys a sweater over the rip in his pants and calls it a "cloaking device"
"Here Comes Santa Clause" (song) - Ned provides somewhat self-righteous new lyrics to this song
"The Grinch that Stole Christmas" (children's book and TV special) - Homer has new words for the signature song - SLH has a "reindeer horn" just like Max the dog's - slinks snakelike around the house, just like Mr. Grinch - one of Apu's daughters looks like Cindy Lou Who (who was no more than two) - the overloaded car looks like the Grinch's overloaded sleigh - Homer listens for the reaction of the townspeople, like the Grinch does
"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" (TV holiday special) - caroling at the end is the same as in this cartoon
[Previous Episode References]
[BABF22] Stop-motion animation used [3G04], [BABF09] Homer refers to Margaret Cho [DABF01] Lisa mentions her Buddhism
[FFF]
Holiday special title card:
Christmas
with the
California
PrunesYuppie mall sign:
SPRINGFIELD HEIGHTS
PROMENADE OUR PRICES DISCRIMINATE
BECAUSE WE CAN'TStores at the mall:
Abercrombie & Rich
YOUR PICTURE ON A
R E M B R A N D TTHE PRODIGY BARN
VICTOR'S SECRET
Things Unnecessary
State capital shooting gallery:
Olympia, Salem [*], Boise, Helena [*], Bismarck [*], Pierre [*],
Cheyenne, Sacramento [*], Carson City, Salt Lake City [*],
Denver [*][*] Indicates that Bart had scored a hit on the city
Homer's gift to himself:
PERSONALIZED
TALKING
ASTROLABESeedy bar:
BAR
EGG HOT
NOG WASSAILHomer's gift tag:
FROM: SANTA
TO: MESecond holiday special title card:
Mr. Mcgrew's
CHRISTMAS
CAROLHeadstone engravings
EBENEZER [replaced] HOMER
MCGREW [ by ] SIMPSON UNLOVED
BY ALLMen's shelter signs:
SPRINGFIELD
MEN'S MISSION ONE HOT AND
MAYBE A COTKids' stockings (from right to left)
SASHI
PRIA
UMA
GHEET
NABENDU [*]
[**]OOP [*] This actually looked like "HABENDU", but the name started
with an "N" in "Eight Misbehavin' (BABF03)"
[**] First part isn't seen, but one of Apu's children is named,
"Anoop"City Hall fa�ade:
SPRINGFIELD CITY HALL
GOD-FREE SINCE '63[Oops!]
+ CBG doesn't even try to cheat Homer when buying the Joe DiMaggio card?
* What's the Hindu Nahasapeemapetilon family doing with Christmas decorations? (This isn't the first time they've made this error; Apu shows up in church in "Bart's Girlfriend (2F04).")
= The astrolabe isn't visible in some of the scenes where Homer watches Christmas cartoons (like the shot from above).
[Personal Comments & Observations]
The title of this episode commemorates the show's fifteenth broadcast season.
Homer says Mr. McGrew is like a "cartoon version of myself," blissfully unaware that he himself is a cartoon character.
Looking to boost sales of their crop, California's board of raisin producers launched a series of commercials featuring the "California Raisins," a group of singing, dancing, Motown-influenced raisins. To bring the raisins to life, the growers' ad agency used a "Claymation" technique. The raisins were modeled in clay, photographed, and then the clay would be moved a bit and another photograph taken. When the frames were replayed quickly, the clay raisins appeared to dance around. (You might also know this technique as "stop motion.") The same technique was used for the Prunes' Christmas special in this episode.
The ads were a big hit, probably even more so than actual real-life raisins you can eat, and spun off T-shirts and other promotional items. I believe the producers did make an animated special, but it must not have been that memorable because I have no idea if it was Christmas-related or not. Anyway, the Raisin fad was played out soon after, and the band took five, permanently. Maybe there will be a "Behind the Music" about them.
This is probably a coincidence, but there actually is a "Victor's Secret" store. A Kentucky purveyor of "adult toys" gave this name to his shop. The Victoria's Secret people objected, claiming infringement on their trademark name. The case has made it all the way to the Supreme Court, but I don't remember how (or if) it was resolved.
* Okay, I looked it up. An astrolabe is an instrument designed to separate a fool from his money. It's also used to calculate the positions of stars and planets, according to the folks at http://www.m-w.com.
- Kudos to the writers: They kept the names of Apu's kids consistent with "Eight Misbehavin'."