Miracle on Evergreen Terrace
Encyclopedia
"Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons
' ninth season
and originally aired on the Fox
network on December 21, 1997. Bart ruins Christmas for the Simpson family by burning down the tree and all their presents. It was written by Ron Hauge
, directed by Bob Anderson
and guest starred Alex Trebek
as himself. Ron Hauge was inspired to write the episode after learning of an orphanage
that had been ripped off. The episode was selected among other Christmas-themed episodes of the series, on a 2005 Christmas special DVD boxed set. I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide criticized the episode as a rehash of older themes, but it was also described as one of The Simpsons’ more memorable episodes in a review of the 2005 DVD boxed set release.
and Marge
go Christmas
shopping at the Try-N-Save, where frenzied shoppers are quickly snatching the holiday season's most popular toys. Homer, posing as a store cashier, buys toys that customers were attempting to buy from him.
At home, the family makes its last-minute Christmas preparations. At bedtime on Christmas Eve
, Marge tells everyone no one may open presents until 7 AM, and just to make sure there is no cheating, she confiscates all of the alarm clock
s. However, Bart, relying on an old Indian trick, drinks 12 glasses of water
in order to wake up early to use the bathroom
and get an early look at his presents. He awakens at 5:04 AM and unwraps his gifts. One of those presents is the coveted Inferno Buster 3000, a remote-controlled
fire truck. Bart has fun playing with the truck, until it sprays water on an overloaded electrical socket, and the Christmas tree bursts into flames. The flames immediately engulf the plastic Christmas tree
and all of the presents beneath it. Bart manages to extinguish the fire before it spreads, and hides the burned evidence outside beneath the snow
in the front yard.
When the family come downstairs at 7:01 AM, Bart lies to them. He makes up a story about how he caught a burglary
in progress, and the suspect made off with the tree and all of the family's presents. The police investigate, and Kent Brockman
decides to do a human interest story
on what he believes is the Simpsons' yuletide misfortune.
As a result of Brockman's report, everyone in Springfield shows their community spirit by giving them a new Christmas tree and $15,000. With the donations, Homer buys a new car. Driving it home Homer gets impatient when he gets stuck behind the Plow King
and decides to pass. He unknowingly drives the car onto a frozen lake. The ice cracks, causing the car to sink and blow up.
The next morning, Bart's conscience
gets to him, and finally he admits the truth. Soon, Kent Brockman and the Channel 6 news crew arrive to do a follow-up story. Homer slaps on a plastic smile and says everyone should stop looking for the "burglar" but that he does exist. The story quickly unravels when a cameraman, with help from Santa's Little Helper
, finds the burned remains of the Christmas tree. The family is forced to explain, but it is too late for the viewers, who feel they have been scammed
. The citizens shun and harass them until the family can pay back the $15,000.
Marge decides the only alternative is to try and win money by becoming a contestant on Jeopardy!
, but she performs very poorly and ends up with -$5,200. After the show, Alex Trebek
and two men approach the Simpsons family demanding that they pay the $5,200 that Marge was in the red, and the family runs away. When they get home, they find that everyone in Springfield
(including Alex Trebek
) has gathered on their lawn, and Marge thinks they have forgiven them. However, everyone enters the family's house and steals things from it, in order to cover the $15,000 debt. In the end, the family playfully fight over a tattered washcloth, the only thing they have left.
said he got the idea for the episode one day when he was headed into work. He was listening to the radio and heard of an orphanage getting ripped off, and they were getting back more than they gave. The spectators in the stands during Bart's dreams are various animators. When Krusty
says "15,000 Missoulians" it is a reference to Ron Hauge having lived in Missoula, Montana
. Citizens of Missoula are called Missoulians. When the Simpsons' car says "I'll Keell you" this is a reference to a Wiffleball
bat in the writer's office that said that.
while the scene where everyone rallies around to support the Simpsons is reminiscent of the last scene of the classic holiday movie It's a Wonderful Life
. The film is further spoofed when Homer tells Lisa to stop playing the piano which parodies a similar scene involving George Bailey
. A Charlie Brown Christmas
is also parodied when the senior citizens are dancing at the Springfield Retirement Castle—their dancing is based on the way the Peanuts
characters dance. Marge appears as a contestant on Jeopardy!
with host Alex Trebek
guest starring. One of the stuffed animals Chief Wiggum is carrying is Binky from Matt Groening's comic strip Life in Hell
.
of 9.8, equivalent to approximately 9.6 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following King of the Hill
.
The episode received mixed reviews from critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide said "A deliberately mawkish Christmas episode that is low on good jokes (although the Simpsons watching their own fire on TV is a good start) and a retread of any number of episodes where Bart does wrong, feels guilty and eventually has to fess up. The only real ray of sunshine is the closing moments when the neighbours get their revenge but the Simpsons find the family spirit after all." In its review of a 2005 Christmas special DVD boxed set of the series, The Journal
described "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
", "Miracle On Evergreen Terrace", "Skinner's Sense of Snow
" and "Dude, Where's My Ranch?
" among memorable episodes of The Simpsons. Andy Dougan wrote in Evening Times
that the episode is "one of the darkest, blackest Christmas cartoons ever animated." In his review of the episodes on the DVD Christmas With the Simpsons, Digitally Obsessed critic Joel Cunningham wrote that "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is "a good one [...] A nice combo of humor, satire, and heartwarming holiday fuzzies."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
and originally aired on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on December 21, 1997. Bart ruins Christmas for the Simpson family by burning down the tree and all their presents. It was written by Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. In his earlier career Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and a short lived reincarnation of The Carol Burnett Show...
, directed by Bob Anderson
Bob Anderson (director)
Bob Anderson is an animation director on The Simpsons. He also contributed additional sequence direction on The Simpsons Movie....
and guest starred Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
as himself. Ron Hauge was inspired to write the episode after learning of an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
that had been ripped off. The episode was selected among other Christmas-themed episodes of the series, on a 2005 Christmas special DVD boxed set. I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide criticized the episode as a rehash of older themes, but it was also described as one of The Simpsons’ more memorable episodes in a review of the 2005 DVD boxed set release.
Plot
HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
go Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
shopping at the Try-N-Save, where frenzied shoppers are quickly snatching the holiday season's most popular toys. Homer, posing as a store cashier, buys toys that customers were attempting to buy from him.
At home, the family makes its last-minute Christmas preparations. At bedtime on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, Marge tells everyone no one may open presents until 7 AM, and just to make sure there is no cheating, she confiscates all of the alarm clock
Alarm clock
An alarm clock is a clock that is designed to make a loud sound at a specific time. The primary use of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they are sometimes used for other reminders as well. To stop the sound, a button or handle on the clock is pressed; but...
s. However, Bart, relying on an old Indian trick, drinks 12 glasses of water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
in order to wake up early to use the bathroom
Bathroom
A bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
and get an early look at his presents. He awakens at 5:04 AM and unwraps his gifts. One of those presents is the coveted Inferno Buster 3000, a remote-controlled
Radio-controlled model
A radio-controlled model is a model that is steerable with the use of radio control. All types of vehicles imaginable have had RC systems installed in them, including cars, boats, planes, and even helicopters and scale railway locomotives....
fire truck. Bart has fun playing with the truck, until it sprays water on an overloaded electrical socket, and the Christmas tree bursts into flames. The flames immediately engulf the plastic Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
and all of the presents beneath it. Bart manages to extinguish the fire before it spreads, and hides the burned evidence outside beneath the snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
in the front yard.
When the family come downstairs at 7:01 AM, Bart lies to them. He makes up a story about how he caught a burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
in progress, and the suspect made off with the tree and all of the family's presents. The police investigate, and Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted"...
decides to do a human interest story
Human interest story
A human interest story is a feature story that discusses a person or people in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest or sympathy in the reader or viewer....
on what he believes is the Simpsons' yuletide misfortune.
As a result of Brockman's report, everyone in Springfield shows their community spirit by giving them a new Christmas tree and $15,000. With the donations, Homer buys a new car. Driving it home Homer gets impatient when he gets stuck behind the Plow King
Mr. Plow
"Mr. Plow" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 19, 1992. In the episode, Homer buys a snow plow and starts a business plowing driveways. It is a huge success, and inspired by this, Barney Gumble starts a...
and decides to pass. He unknowingly drives the car onto a frozen lake. The ice cracks, causing the car to sink and blow up.
The next morning, Bart's conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
gets to him, and finally he admits the truth. Soon, Kent Brockman and the Channel 6 news crew arrive to do a follow-up story. Homer slaps on a plastic smile and says everyone should stop looking for the "burglar" but that he does exist. The story quickly unravels when a cameraman, with help from Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper is a recurring character in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons...
, finds the burned remains of the Christmas tree. The family is forced to explain, but it is too late for the viewers, who feel they have been scammed
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
. The citizens shun and harass them until the family can pay back the $15,000.
Marge decides the only alternative is to try and win money by becoming a contestant on Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, but she performs very poorly and ends up with -$5,200. After the show, Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
and two men approach the Simpsons family demanding that they pay the $5,200 that Marge was in the red, and the family runs away. When they get home, they find that everyone in Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
(including Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
) has gathered on their lawn, and Marge thinks they have forgiven them. However, everyone enters the family's house and steals things from it, in order to cover the $15,000 debt. In the end, the family playfully fight over a tattered washcloth, the only thing they have left.
Production
Writer Ron HaugeRon Hauge
Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. In his earlier career Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and a short lived reincarnation of The Carol Burnett Show...
said he got the idea for the episode one day when he was headed into work. He was listening to the radio and heard of an orphanage getting ripped off, and they were getting back more than they gave. The spectators in the stands during Bart's dreams are various animators. When Krusty
Krusty
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski, better known as Krusty the Klown, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the long-time clown host of Bart and Lisa's favorite TV show, a combination of kiddie variety television...
says "15,000 Missoulians" it is a reference to Ron Hauge having lived in Missoula, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
. Citizens of Missoula are called Missoulians. When the Simpsons' car says "I'll Keell you" this is a reference to a Wiffleball
Wiffleball
Wiffle ball or wiffleball is a variation of the sport of baseball designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas. The game is played using a perforated, light-weight, rubbery plastic ball and a long, plastic bat.- History :...
bat in the writer's office that said that.
Cultural references
The episode has several references to Christmas films. The title is a play on Miracle on 34th StreetMiracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 Christmas film written by George Seaton from a story by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn...
while the scene where everyone rallies around to support the Simpsons is reminiscent of the last scene of the classic holiday movie It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
. The film is further spoofed when Homer tells Lisa to stop playing the piano which parodies a similar scene involving George Bailey
George Bailey (fictional character)
George Bailey is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. He is played by James Stewart. He is loosely based on George Pratt, a character in Philip Van Doren Stern's The Greatest Gift....
. A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas is the first prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. It was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy...
is also parodied when the senior citizens are dancing at the Springfield Retirement Castle—their dancing is based on the way the Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
characters dance. Marge appears as a contestant on Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
with host Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
guest starring. One of the stuffed animals Chief Wiggum is carrying is Binky from Matt Groening's comic strip Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" finished 23rd in ratings for the week of December 15-21, 1997, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 9.8, equivalent to approximately 9.6 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
.
The episode received mixed reviews from critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide said "A deliberately mawkish Christmas episode that is low on good jokes (although the Simpsons watching their own fire on TV is a good start) and a retread of any number of episodes where Bart does wrong, feels guilty and eventually has to fess up. The only real ray of sunshine is the closing moments when the neighbours get their revenge but the Simpsons find the family spirit after all." In its review of a 2005 Christmas special DVD boxed set of the series, The Journal
The Journal (newspaper)
The Journal is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne. Published by ncjMedia, , The Journal is produced every weekday and Saturday morning and is complemented by its sister publications the Evening Chronicle and the Sunday Sun.The newspaper mainly has a middle-class and professional...
described "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", is the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989...
", "Miracle On Evergreen Terrace", "Skinner's Sense of Snow
Skinner's Sense of Snow
"Skinner's Sense of Snow" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons twelfth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 2000. In the episode, a snowstorm traps the students with principal Seymour Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie in Springfield Elementary...
" and "Dude, Where's My Ranch?
Dude, Where's My Ranch?
"Dude, Where's My Ranch?" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode aired on April 27, 2003. It was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and was the first episode directed by Chris Clements.-Plot:...
" among memorable episodes of The Simpsons. Andy Dougan wrote in Evening Times
Evening Times
The Evening Times is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The paper, an evening sister paper of The Herald, was established in 1876. The paper's slogan is "Nobody Knows Glasgow Better"....
that the episode is "one of the darkest, blackest Christmas cartoons ever animated." In his review of the episodes on the DVD Christmas With the Simpsons, Digitally Obsessed critic Joel Cunningham wrote that "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is "a good one [...] A nice combo of humor, satire, and heartwarming holiday fuzzies."
External links
- "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" at The Simpsons.com