Rate/Review Simpsons Christmas Stories (HABF01)

[Mr. Kurns]

I don't mean to trample on you or your idea.

Nah, that's cool, I wanted to see what people thought, I haven't even seen the episode yet what with me living the in the wretched hellhole that is Australia.

[DotheBartman]

This episode seems to be more in line with the latter-seasons tradition of having a non-THOH trilogy roughly every two seasons (Spinoff Showcase in season eight, Bible Stories in season ten, Tall Tales in season twelve, Tales from the Public Domain in season thirteen, Margical History Tour in season fifteen, and now this). I don't know that they could really think of three new ideas every year for the Christmas shows anyway, so I would doubt it'll happen. And I'm not sure that Christmas episodes in general are a tradition so much as just something they've done a bunch of times, though they do seem to be doing them at least once every two seasons also now.

[Mike Scully]

Can I ask Channel Surfer & Mike Scully what grades you gave it?

I missed this episode due to being out of town. Though I'll post a review once I see it.

[Jeff]

wasn't a great episode but since i'm a sucker for christmas episodes i'll give it a (4/5)

[coltonwiggum]

Now that I re-watch this episode, I'll change my opinion. I really liked the second act, and I think it could have made a great whole episode. Maybe it could have turned out to be one of Grandpas boring stories at the end, but right before the credits have him find the watch in his stocking. It would be awsome! But, its to late now. Dammit, I wish that I wrote for the Simpsons.

[90'sCartoonMan]

I don't think they should keep this format for Christmas episodes, especially since Halloween pretty much has that covered.

An enjoyable episode, even if the framing was terrible. They took a long time to set up the Lovejoy/Flanders/Homer thing at church just to have it for only one segment.

Homer's story itself was fun. I especially liked the Three Stooges stuff.

The second segment was definitely the weakest. Although I really enjoyed Dan and Harry's performances as young Abe and Burns, the whole thing was just too wacky for me (although the reindeer dogfight made me laugh). They shouldn't have had all that Tahiti stuff.

The third segment was hilarious. I especially loved Krusty and Willy. The whole thing was well done.

[BonerLand]

The Stooges bit was really great to see, this is probably one of the best episodes so far this season.

It really kept me interested (I seem to start channel surfing while watching some of this season's epps) (A-)

[simplysimpsons]

Something's wrong with the volume on the version of the episode I have (Although it's probably just my sound card broke again) so I'll have to keep this kinda brief:

It was mixed, but I enjoyed it overall. The first story was good (despite some of the comments here!) Yes, the family playing characters in the past has been done to death but this seemed fresh and original, and there were enough jokes to keep it going from start to end. It was great to see Dr Nick and Burns again too in good roles. B+

The second one was the weakest. Hank Azaria did a great voice as young Burns though, and the plot was coherent - but the ending felt like it was missing something and there were few memorable lines. Those that were memorable were both good and bad which isn't so great. C+

The third - definitely the best. Absolutely fantastic minus the crazy cat lady and probably the raccoons (The cat lady would have been funny, as others have said, if we hadn't seen her so often already). The songs were imaginative and hilarious. I thought Moe's suicide attempts would be horrible, but they were good. I wish they had done a whole episode like this! Grade A

It's worth noting that the animation was absolutely stunning the entire episode. I'd even go as far as saying the best of the series yet. The characters looked excellent and movements were fluid but classic at the same time.
But overall, despite a kinda weak second act, this is a keeper that I'll be playing at every future Christmas. B+, 4/5. Have a great Christmas Al J, Matt G and everyone!

[momsaysimcool]

The second one was the weakest. Hank Azaria did a great voice as young Burns

he did?

[Veryjammy]

I just watched The Nutcracker again and I seriously love the ending. It's heartwarming, clever, sincere and true to the characters; it gives more insight into Marge and Homer in thirty seconds than whole episodes of generic break-up crap #147 followed by lame reconciliation line ('You're the real endangered species'). I loved how they slowed the pace down, didn't feel the need to fill it with gags and were content to let their actions speak for themselves at points. I want more like this. Just weird that it had to come at the end of a 6 minute musical short.

[simplysimpsons]

er...Harry Shearer! sorry, didn't know what I was thinking...!

[grissom]

"Simpsons Christmas Stories"

Three part episodes like this have always been hit-or-miss, but one positive thing about them is that if one segment fails, it's over within a few minutes. Unless of course all of the segments are terrible, in which case that doesn't apply at all, but with this episode, it did. One segment was pretty awful, but the overall episode still gets a good grade since the bad segment was sandwiched in between two good segments. This episode's first segment was good overall. Not outstanding, but good. Jokes were solid for the most part, and it was good to see a lot of secondary characters used as characters in the story. That's another strength of episodes like this with a history related segment, characters we know are used as characters from the original story, but also keep some of their normal traits. Homer and Marge as Mary and Joseph were funny, and I couldn't stop laughing at Moe bowing down to the duck with the halo for some reason, the way Mr. Burns looked down at him and said, "What the hell are you doing?" cracked me up. Segment two was not nearly as good. The plot was really strange and disjointed and there seemed to be a lack of any actual attempts at humor. Mr. Burns as a young soldier was aggravating and unfunny, and the ending was ridiculous. Abe's brother actually being alive and living in Tahiti? It's just so stupid. It reminded me a lot of some script left over from the Scully era that finally got animated because Jean's people couldn't think of anything else to use. This segment really did drag the episode down. The final segment was nothing short of brilliant. It was similar to the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", which, as its title suggests, is a collection of short stories about many different characters written so that they intertwine with each other. This is one formula for an episode that has actually been underused. It's a unique way to write an episode, and in both cases it turned out great. I would even go as far as to say that this Christmas version could've been expanded into a full episode instead of just a short segment. The jokes came fast and were consistently funny. The fact that most of it was set to music just made it even better. Overall, this was a good episode, but I would've liked it a lot more if the second segment had been better. B

[Gibbles]

I would find it hard to believe that any one could watch this episode and not find something they like.

Act 1 started with the usually set up that has the characters telling each other the 3 stories that will be told thought out the episode, but as it turns out this set up is abandoned in act 2, (most likely due to the nutcracker thing being impossible for one of the characters to tell) so some of it feels like wasted time. However the Lovejoy and the train and Ned made it worth while.

The Birth of Christ sequence is done pretty well and full of some funny gags like the re gifting of Mer, and Homer's/Josef wine getting turned into water by Bart/Jesus. The Mr Burns King thing felt a little tacked on in an attempt to give the thing some drama, but it seemed to work out in the end because the Christmas tree thing was a nice touch, despite how ludicrous it was.

Act 2 stood out with its amazing animation, possible the best the show has seen to date. Harry Sheeree did a great job with the young voice burns which as others have said ironically is practically what Burns sounded like in the fist couple of seasons. I wasn't keen on seeing Santa as a real person but I am just gonna agree that it is not part of the Simpson's main reality. And I agree that the chase on the rain dear needed music.

Act 3 was the best of the bunch and a great way to end and episode. We get to see a bunch of Springfield landmarks, supporting characters, and the family acting as them selfs. Not to mention the songs were pretty well done, I especially enjoyed Homers one about finding a gift for Marge. I still don't find the cat lady funny and seeing her sing among the popular towns people seems like an unholy event of her becoming a full time regular, which seems wrong.

The episode ends with a sweet emotional ending that fits in well with the Christmas spirit and does a great job of showing how much Marge loves Homer.

Overall 5/5, there are a few nitpicks, but this episode was pretty much perfect.

[babjay]

My take on the episode:

Couch Gag: This was pretty good, and quite well done/though, some of this Seasons Couch Gags have been excellent, such as the ones from The Girl Who Slept Too little, and Marge's Son Poisoning, but unfortunately, the episodes haven't been excellent.
Grade: A

The First D'ohel: I didn't mind this one. The first minute or so of it went badly though, it was unrealistic, and was a lame way of explaining how Homer became Reverend for the Sermon. The story was strong, I don't usually like Characters playing Historical characters (eg: The episode Magical History Tour from Season 15), but this wasn't bad. The scene overall didn't bring many laughs to me, but it was good, and enjoyable to watch. The Christmas Tree bit was funny, as well as the parts with Bart (Jesus).
Grade: B

I Saw Grandpa Cussing Santa Claus: The storyline of this segment was interesting, but bad. They should have made Cyrus Grandpa's war buddy, with him posing as Abe's Half-Brother was just ridiculous and Un-original. I can't remember any Laugh Out Loud Jokes, and the gag about Grandpa and Mr. Burns Spooning was pointless, and just not-funny. The plot, as I have said, was original, but it didn't seem to have an awful lot to do with Christmas.
Grade: B/B+

The Nutcracker… Sweet: This, in my Opinion, was the best of the three. It reminded me of the classic Simpsons Episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season'" from Season 15. They should have based the whole episode on this segment, it would have made it a lot better. The joke with Willie was funny, and the music was well-done too. The Crazy Cat Lady made another return in this episode. This was the only episode with her in that I have ever seen that I have laughed at. I don't really see how Matt Groening and the Writers think that she is funny, but this was an exception. This was the one that I enjoyed the most, and has got me into the Christmas spirit!
Grade: A

Overall Review: This episode, like Season 17, was/has been really Hit and Miss. Some jokes were great here, and some were not. This was still one of my Favorites of the Season, and put me in the Mood for the holiday.
Overall Grade: B+

4/5

[Reverend Lovejoy]

However the Lovejoy and the train and Ned made it worth while.

Nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

Babjay, did you post that review on the Krustylu Studios forum? I remember commenting on that Homer line. It is lame, cos of the writers desperate urge to shove Lovejoy out of everything. Anyway, it says everywhere that his car broke down, but it was the train set. WTF?

[babjay]

Yeah, I've posted it on a few forums now...

[Flimpson Tide]

They're not trying to shove him out of everything...

[Gibbles]

I think it was more of a set up to have Homer telling the story, if Lovejoy told it then it would have been more accurate to the bible.

[Reverend Lovejoy]

They're not trying to shove him out of everything...

Depends which way you look at it.

Simpsons Christmas Stories - Lovejoy's trainset breaks down (what are the odds?) leaving Homer to do the sermon.

I've grown a costume on your face - Only see the same characters in the crowd shots, ignoring others (like Lovejoy), for no obvious reason.

Milhouse of sand and fog - Church scene cut short so the Simpsons can go to a black church, again for no obvious reason.

The girl who slept too little - Lovejoys appear in the crowd protesting against the stamp museum, but don't say anything, and you never see a good shot of them.

See Homer run - Everybody runs for Mayor? Yeah, right...

Last of the red hat mammas - Helen Lovejoy