“ | My uncle died in your bed! Merry Christmas! | ” |
— Marge Simpson |
"White Christmas Blues" is the twelfth Christmas episode of the animated series The Simpsons, aired as the eighth episode of the show's twenty-fifth season.[1]
Synopsis[]
Homer places the Christmas decorations up before he takes down the Halloween decorations. Marge scolds Homer as he hangs a skeleton with a Santa Claus beard. Meanwhile, Lisa and Bart lounge on the couch. Obviously bored, the Simpson kids are glued to the television set as Kent Brockman announces the plague of global warming in front of a "Sleetless in Seattle" headline. Two weeks before Christmas, a heatwave strikes Springfield as Marge places away the hats and mittens because of the warmth. When Homer goes to the backyard, he discovers that his hammock is filled with snow. Soon the kids find out that snow has fallen upon them finally. In the town center, Professor Frink tries to explain the origin of the snow, while Mayor Quimby calls the town a tourist attraction for its snow. The town denizens are in the Christmas spirit with Nelson Muntz's mother on the stripper pole, Moe's Tavern turning into Santa's workshop, kids making snow angels. When Marge goes to the Kwik-E-Mart, she's overwhelmed with the parking and the shopping. Everywhere she goes, Marge is reminded of how she can't afford Christmas. She feels like a failure.
Then, a family drives by Marge as she's about to enter her home. The patriarch of the family offers Marge $300 to spend the night at the Simpson household because there's no place else to go. Marge seems hesitant. Nevertheless, Homer discovers a family in his living room. At first, Homer thinks Marge has remarried after his passing, but then he realizes he's not dead. Marge tells Homer that these are their new boarders. Homer doesn't like the idea of sharing the room other than with Marge. She hands him a pamphlet of the Simpsons' Bed and Breakfast and asks Homer, "What would baby Jesus do?" in this situation. Homer automatically thinks of baby Jesus in various business management scenarios before supporting Marge's impulsive scheme.
While Bart and Homer take to their impromptu hotel management roles, Marge gets increasingly annoyed by the tourist requests and becomes short-tempered towards them. Her Christmas issues find a parallel in Lisa's plan to buy her family gifts that have more to do with feeling good about herself than buying things they will actually like; her choice of a present for Bart, a book, leads him to confront her with this and she admits it is true. She later trades in another gift and gets Bart an e-Reader. Marge is surprised when the tourists seem to be confronting her but sing a song of Christmas spirit and thanks. While she is touched by the gesture and wishes them safe travels, she remains ill at ease to the end with Christmas music.
Songs[]
All songs were uncredited.
- "Jingle Bells"
- "Good King Wenceslas"
- "Carol of the Bells"
- Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker: "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"
- "Merry Christmas, Baby" - The Beach Boys
- "Deck the Halls"
- "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen"
- "The First Noel"
- "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
Notes[]
- The two angels seen in the opening sequence are Edna Krabappel, whose voice actor, Marcia Wallace, had passed away approximately two months before the episode aired, and writer/producer Don Payne, who had passed away on March 26, 2013. This was notably the last Simpsons episode written by him.
- The number plate on the orange station eagon is SABF01, which is the episode's production code.
Cast[]
Voice actor/actress | Character(s) |
---|---|
Dan Castellaneta | Homer Simpson Krusty the Clown Mayor Quimby Rich Texan |
Julie Kavner | Marge Simpson |
Nancy Cartwright | Bart Simpson Todd Flanders |
Yeardley Smith | Lisa Simpson |
Hank Azaria | Professor Frink Carl Carlson Luigi Moe Szyslak Comic Book Guy Duffman Sea Captain Chief Clancy Wiggum Lou Apu Nahasapeemapetilon |
Harry Shearer | Scratchy Kent Brockman Lenny Leonard Dr. Julius Hibbert Reverend Lovejoy |
Pamela Hayden | Milhouse Van Houten |
Tress MacNeille | Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon |
Russi Taylor | Martin Prince |
Chris Edgerly | |
Maggie Roswell | Helen Lovejoy |
References[]
See also[]
- "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
- "Marge Be Not Proud"
- "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace"
- "Grift of the Magi"
- "Skinner's Sense of Snow"
- "She of Little Faith"
- "'Tis the Fifteenth Season"
- "Simpson Christmas Stories"
- "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II"
- "The Fight Before Christmas"
- "Holidays of Future Passed"
- "I Won't Be Home for Christmas"
- "The Nightmare After Krustmas"
- "'Tis the 30th Season"
- "Bobby, It's Cold Outside"
- "The Way of The Dog"
- "A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas"
- "Manger Things"
External links[]
- The Simpsons Wiki: White Christmas Blues
- "White Christmas Blues" at the Internet Movie Database
- "White Christmas Blues" recap at TV Tropes