The Simpsons: Christmas with the Simpsons [DVD] [1990]

Product Description

Contains the following episodes:

• The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
  This Christmas the Simpsons are blessed with a new furry family member. Just when the dysfunctional family thought the Christmas tree would be sparse due to Mr Burns canceling Homer’s holiday bonus, Santa’s Little Helper arrives.
  
• Mr Plow
  Barney and Homer go into the snow-ploughing business and find the competition a little hard to bear, with hilarious consequences.
  
• Miracle on Evergreen Terrace
  Springfield pulls together for the Simpsons after they are visited by the mysterious Christmas thief and all their Christmas presents disappear. The town donates $15,000 dollars to the Simpsons’ plight and an intense manhunt ensues. But could the real criminal be closer to home than they think ….?
  
• Grift of the Magi
  A sinister toy company unveils Funzo, next ‘Tickle Me Elmo’-style fad, to Springfield’s Christmas shoppers. Guest starring Gary Coleman as himself and Tim Robbins as Jim Hope.
  
• She of Little Faith
  Desperate for money, the First Church of Springfield decides to rent out its wall space to local advertisers. Horrified at the ‘living commercial’ the church has become, Lisa withdraws herself from the church and converts to Buddhism. Richard Gere guest stars as himself.

The Simpsons have never been as big on Christmas as they have on Halloween and while Christmas with The Simpsons contains five episodes, one of them, "Mr Plow", is only seasonal insofar as it contains snow. Fortunately, it's also a cracker, with Homer resorting to low-budget screen advertising to launch his snowploughing business ("It may be a lousy channel but the Simpsons are on TV!") before a pep-talk he gives to inebriate buddy Barney encourages the latter to set up as a rival.

This compilation also contains "The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", the very first Simpsons episode broadcast, in which their dog Santa's Little Helper is introduced. Years on, this episode looks ancient and a little average by later, stratospheric standards. "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is a slightly downbeat parody of It's a Wonderful Life, in which the town turns on the Simpsons after helping them out when Bart lied about their presents being burgled. "Grift of the Magi" features luckless ex-sitcom star Gary Coleman reprising his real-life job as a security guard as an unscrupulous toy company aggressively merchandise a faddish new toy in time for Christmas ("If you don't have Funzo, you're nothing".) The plot is very similar to "She of Little Faith"--uncharacteristic repetition for this show--but that's forgiven as Lisa is forced to become a Buddhist following the commercialisation of the church in another episode that's as un-seasonally un-cosy as you'd expect from the greatest TV programme ever made.

On the DVD: Christmas with The Simpsonscontains one extra feature: a short montage of evil power plant boss Mr Burns' finest comedic moments, including his tussle with baby Maggie over ownership of teddybear BoBo and a money fight with the servile Smithers. --David Stubbs