[7.1/10 on a “We’re very much on the edge of classic Simpsons” scale] This is an tough episode to crack. On the one hand, it features heaping helpings of Jerkass Homer, a cavalcade of cartoony, unbelievable story beats, and a bit of a cop out of an ending. On the other hand, you have a decent Bart story, a solid media satire in the proud Simpsons tradition, and an ending that could be called subversive for how it sends up the usual “town comes together to uplift downtrodden family” narrative.
What’s odd is that for most of the episode, “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace” feels like a redo of “Marge Be Not Proud”, another Simpsons X-mas episode. Here, as there, Bart makes a big mistake out of impatience and a desire for new toys, tries to cover it up, but feels guilty over what he did. The difference is that rather than really resolving that story, “Miracle” just pivots into a spoof of It’s a Wonderful Life-esque “town unites in friendship” stories. Both halves of the plot are unique and ripe for comedy, but they don’t really fit together.
Still, there’s a number of good gags in the episode, from the setup and payoff of Lisa’s yellow sweater, Homer asking if they can skip church, and even Lisa getting in on the “why you little” Bart attack. The bit with Kent Brockman exploiting the tragedy as usual is great satire on the news, and again, the show subverting rather than playing into the “we still have each other” ending is dark but very funny.
This is, like a lot of borderline era Simpsons episode, one with a lot of good stuff in it, but which is probably a draft or so away from everything coming together. Still some great gags in it though, and one of the series’s better X-mas episodes.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-12-19T02:23:47Z
[7.1/10 on a “We’re very much on the edge of classic Simpsons” scale] This is an tough episode to crack. On the one hand, it features heaping helpings of Jerkass Homer, a cavalcade of cartoony, unbelievable story beats, and a bit of a cop out of an ending. On the other hand, you have a decent Bart story, a solid media satire in the proud Simpsons tradition, and an ending that could be called subversive for how it sends up the usual “town comes together to uplift downtrodden family” narrative.
What’s odd is that for most of the episode, “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace” feels like a redo of “Marge Be Not Proud”, another Simpsons X-mas episode. Here, as there, Bart makes a big mistake out of impatience and a desire for new toys, tries to cover it up, but feels guilty over what he did. The difference is that rather than really resolving that story, “Miracle” just pivots into a spoof of It’s a Wonderful Life-esque “town unites in friendship” stories. Both halves of the plot are unique and ripe for comedy, but they don’t really fit together.
Still, there’s a number of good gags in the episode, from the setup and payoff of Lisa’s yellow sweater, Homer asking if they can skip church, and even Lisa getting in on the “why you little” Bart attack. The bit with Kent Brockman exploiting the tragedy as usual is great satire on the news, and again, the show subverting rather than playing into the “we still have each other” ending is dark but very funny.
This is, like a lot of borderline era Simpsons episode, one with a lot of good stuff in it, but which is probably a draft or so away from everything coming together. Still some great gags in it though, and one of the series’s better X-mas episodes.