This particular episode, judging from the other reviews I've read on here, hasn't had the best reception. Sure, some call it a bleak and "sad" Christmas special, but it emphasizes on what The Simpsons are all about - a cartoon family who are always plagued with bad problems and mishaps, no matter how brutal and idiotic it can tend to be.
I've watched this particular episode off and on throughout the past several years and even have it on DVD and every time, like usual, I'm entertained. Bart, the ultimate brat, ruins the Yuletide festivities for the family by waking up earlier than the others to unwrap his presents, but an accident causes a fire to burn the tree and presents down to a round shaped blob. Bart covers up all the evidence and, in a moment of quick thinking, claims to the family that a burglar with hooks for hands and a dollar sign on his shirt, stole everything.
The story ultimately makes the news on TV and, in the true spirit of Christmas, the townsfolk of Springfield all sympathize and lavish the family with $15, 000 dollars in cash. They use their new found wealth to buy a car, but the drive didn't last long. It slid on an icy lake and mysteriously exploded after crashing through the ice into the freezing waters below. Christmas was ruined again.
Bart's accident eventually becomes exposed and the heartfelt and generous feelings from the town turn into downright hostility and death threats towards the family. Marge tries to find a solution by competing on the Jeopardy game show, but that heightened the debt even further, especially when Alex Trebek and his "judges" demanded payback for her -$5,200 loss.
The Simpsons may have had a lot of really awful things happening to them, but this dilemma is somewhat tame compared to what they've been through in other episodes. As usual, they get through it and then go through a further comedy of errors in subsequent shows.
It's unbelievable that this show lasted for 30 years which is proof that the entertainment of The Simpsons has never worn off. "The Simpsons Movie" in 2007 was even a box office smash. The legacy of this program will always go on though it's not for all tastes. This is indeed one of my favorite Christmas specials of all time, considering it went against the usual tiring formula of "learning to be happy and finding the true meaning of Christmas" in those other Yuletide TV shows. I highly recommend this zany depiction of the Holiday Season. It's in the true spirit of The Simpsons and their constant calamities.
I've watched this particular episode off and on throughout the past several years and even have it on DVD and every time, like usual, I'm entertained. Bart, the ultimate brat, ruins the Yuletide festivities for the family by waking up earlier than the others to unwrap his presents, but an accident causes a fire to burn the tree and presents down to a round shaped blob. Bart covers up all the evidence and, in a moment of quick thinking, claims to the family that a burglar with hooks for hands and a dollar sign on his shirt, stole everything.
The story ultimately makes the news on TV and, in the true spirit of Christmas, the townsfolk of Springfield all sympathize and lavish the family with $15, 000 dollars in cash. They use their new found wealth to buy a car, but the drive didn't last long. It slid on an icy lake and mysteriously exploded after crashing through the ice into the freezing waters below. Christmas was ruined again.
Bart's accident eventually becomes exposed and the heartfelt and generous feelings from the town turn into downright hostility and death threats towards the family. Marge tries to find a solution by competing on the Jeopardy game show, but that heightened the debt even further, especially when Alex Trebek and his "judges" demanded payback for her -$5,200 loss.
The Simpsons may have had a lot of really awful things happening to them, but this dilemma is somewhat tame compared to what they've been through in other episodes. As usual, they get through it and then go through a further comedy of errors in subsequent shows.
It's unbelievable that this show lasted for 30 years which is proof that the entertainment of The Simpsons has never worn off. "The Simpsons Movie" in 2007 was even a box office smash. The legacy of this program will always go on though it's not for all tastes. This is indeed one of my favorite Christmas specials of all time, considering it went against the usual tiring formula of "learning to be happy and finding the true meaning of Christmas" in those other Yuletide TV shows. I highly recommend this zany depiction of the Holiday Season. It's in the true spirit of The Simpsons and their constant calamities.