Christmas at the Simpsons: 3 important episodes

Deadly Christmas – S01EP1

Simpsons Christmas Episodes –

You never really know which episode The Simpsons begins. The birth of the animated series takes place between two attacks. First, Une Soiree d’Enfer is the first produced episode of the series but the last season to broadcast.

In it, director Penny Marshall (but yes, the one who made Big, a Christmas classic for many!) Plays Madame Botz, a burglar babysitter who will have to deal with the children of the series. Then there’s Mortal Christmas, or Simpson Roasting on an Open Fire in its original version. Which brings the whole family together for New Year’s Eve.

Versions-Simpsons Christmas Episodes

Aired on December 17, 1989, on the Fox channel in the United States, the episode recorded the second-best audience for the track at that time.

For those in the background who have never seen an episode of The Simpsons in their life.

And also, starting with this story will immediately tell you the recurrences of the series.

We meet, of course, every member of the Simpson family; Parents, out of touch with the rest of society.

And also, proof of that is this thunderous late first appearance at the Springfield Elementary School Christmas Pageant, and then the kids.

Lisa is already showing her independence and culture by signing an astonishing number that features Tah Wanga, Santa Claus of the South Seas.

Then, Bart, the eldest, faces any authority, first school, by disrupting the choir ( Long live the wind becomes Long live the end, long live the end of this cheesy song.

Then family by getting a tattoo despite the disagreement of his parents. And finally, Maggie, the youngest, stoic presence punctuated by the sound of her pacifier but who is always there to deliver a joke. The presentation of the family made, accompanied by other recurring characters such as the main Skinner, the Flanders family, Abraham Simpson or Patty and Selma Bouvier.

And while this episode presents the rowdy tone of one of American pop culture’s most beloved families, it also offers its caustic essence. The Christmas of hell reserve for Homer, an employee at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, goes throughout the episode too much hassle to find what to offer a lovely Christmas to all his family. The absence of a bonus and the swallowing up of savings following Bart’s stupidity mean that New Year’s Eve will be a Stations of the Cross for this father.

Mr Snow Plow – S04EP09

Speaking of Mortal Christmas was evoked a series of more serious, more bittersweet than what we now know.

But between the two periods, there was a time when the series entered its golden age. A significant era began with the fourth season, broadcast in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in France.

The one where The Simpsons let go in terms of stories, gags, and references.

The original essence of the series is gone; it just merged with an absurdity necessary for its satirical cause. The ninth episode of the season bears witness to this, with a sweet winter scent. Following a car accident after yet another drinking bout at Moe’s, Homer purchases a snowplough vehicle.

He was using his car’s power to set up a business helping the city of Springfield.

His power races into competition when his friend Barney Gumble decides to compete unfairly with him. An unparalleled rivalry follows, which resolve, of course, by a pretty moral on friendship conducive to celebrations. This episode is a must-see for the avalanche of gags it provides without directly touching the end-of-year celebrations evoked by the winter atmosphere. Whether it was Adam West’s cameo, already having fun on his own before landing at Seth MacFarlane’s years later.

Marge and Her Little Thief – S07EP11

From my point of view, this episode has a nostalgic value.

It is one of those that my parents had recorded on a cassette during their first broadcasts on Canal + at the time. Season 7 is invaluable to me. And its eleventh episode seems quite striking for its more moralistic tone than usual.

We all know this period when the end of the year holidays arrives.

The gaming industries are unpacking their entire video game arsenal to line their pockets and bring gifts to the tree. With the crime revealed to the family, Bart’s guilt grows as Marge refuses to consider him a child, following his disappointment. The season will put the morality of Bart to the test, the latter who will then have sold his soul written on a piece of paper to Milhouse a few episodes before.

This episode skillfully uses the Christmas period to reassure and reunite the family to stress the maternal relationship between Marge and her son. Of course, all’s well that ends well for the Simpson family. And also,  the heavy but childish tone of the episode makes it probably the most moving episode of this selection.