I thought this was a good episode but a little frustrating trying to catch all the 'blink and you miss it gags" while watching in real time. This is one that must be re-visited with a Pause function available.
A quick trigger finger is the only way to catch everything in the show’s opening . I liked seeing angelic Edna Crabapple and (I think) one of Phil Hartman’s characters in the quick pan. Who are Patty And Selma depicted as when Bart skateboards past them?
What other fun stuff do you catch?
I’m not sure who Patty and Selma are supposed to be either time (they’re in there at least twice). The first time is a decidedly weird set of outfits. I think if I’d seen them before, I’d remember them.
I especially liked Millhouse as Linus and Mr. Burns as the Ice Queen, myself.
I thought the ending was a bit saccharine, but I guess that was the point. The rest of the episode had me mostly laughing out loud.
I’m pretty sure the first time they’re just Happy Little Elves, like lots of other people.
The second time they’re “Snow Miser” & “Heat Miser” from one of the Rankin/Bass specials.
Ahh, so they’re in there at least 3 times, then. I haven’t seen that Rankin/Bass special, and was counting that as the first time they were in the opening. They’re also in the giant pan at the end with just about everyone in it. They’re lying in the snow, wearing Santa-themed bikinis.
I guess I missed the bikini shot then…can’t say I’m upset about that.
I think Patty and Selma are the heat miser and snow miser from The Year Without a Santa Clause.
Agreed on both counts. I loved the special Christmas opening (& laughed out loud at Patty and Selma as Heat Miser and Snow Miser), and the rest of the episode was pretty solid. But they did burn through a lot of quick gags that I didn’t catch all of: in the opening, and the rack of Christmas-themed DVDs, and the license plates at the end.
Edna’s last name starts with K. And I don’t think it was a Hartman character, at least it wasn’t either of his main characters, Troy McClure or Lionel Hutz. I really couldn’t place the guy. It almost looked like Moe that time his face got fixed, but with glasses. I did notice Frank Grimes’s grave in there someplace when I paused, but it didn’t look like him either (not that he’s a Hartman character, just someone who’s died on the show).
I had to laugh at the pathetic notion the show opened with, that there’s no snow anywhere in America. lol, right in the middle of our first good snow of the season.
The bed and breakfast stuff was kinda funny. Marge hating 2nd verses was hilarious. Lisa thinking seeds were a good present, how typical of her. At least Bart learned her her lesson, even if he had to be a bit of a jerk to do it.
Was there any significance or inside-jokeness about the license plates at the end? The slogans were cute, but I was trying to decipher the plate numbers.