Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons Season 36 special, “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful.”
While The Simpsons Season 36's Christmas special, “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” is a wholly original effort, the double-length special features a number of clever references to the show's previous holiday specials. The Simpsons The season 37 renewal may not have been announced yet, but the series isn't resting on its laurels by any metric. Despite its longevity, the show has managed to effectively reinvent itself since its most critical point around season 33, with character-focused stories that prioritize emotional resonance over screwball comedy. This resulted in viewers and critics arguing that The Simpsons is enjoying a renaissance.
After more than 770 episodes The Simpsons Season 36's big changes prove the series is still making creative leaps. Season 36, Episode 6, “Women in Shorts,” was an anthology that focused on more than a dozen underrated female characters from Springfield, while the following episode was a Treehouse of Horror Presents special that adapted the works of Ray Bradbury to the world of the series. These inventive experiments prove that The Simpsons Season 36's changes are a welcome break from the norm, but the show's double-sized holiday special still references many classic outings past.
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'C'Mon Ye Faithful' ending recreates the first Simpsons episode
The Simpsons revisits the final frame of its pilot
Although The Simpsons The Season 36 special, “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” featured an original story and also included plenty of clever nods to the show's long history. One of the best homages comes at the very end of the special, when Marge and Homer cuddle under the tree while Lisa and Bart keep an eye on Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The panel at the end of the special owes an obvious debt to the ending of the show’s pilot, “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire.” Just like “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” that performance ended with an equally sweet image.
Seeing The Simpsons together at Christmas again, 35 years after its pilot aired, it's hard to argue that the show's consistency is a bad thing.
The Simpson family was gathered around the Christmas tree in both episodes, although Grandpa was present at the previous outing. A lot has changed since the first seasons of The Simpsonsbut while the show's tone may be less cynical and grounded these days, The final scene of “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful” proves that some things never change in Springfield. The Simpsons It's been criticized for its stagnant status quo before, but seeing The Simpsons together for Christmas 35 years after the pilot aired, it's hard to argue that the show's consistency is a bad thing.
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Homer has been Santa Claus before
Homer played Santa Claus when he saved Springfield from Funzo
The premise of “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful” centers on British mentalist Derren Brown's attempts, alongside a documentary crew, to instill Christmas spirit in the surly population of Springfield. This results in some mishaps, such as Homer becoming convinced he is Santa Claus after Brown inadvertently implants this idea in his mind. Although Homer ends up becoming disillusioned with the idea, it is important to note that this is not the first time that the character has played Santa Claus in The Simpsons. In Season 11, Episode 9, “The Grift of the Magi,” Homer dressed up as Santa Claus to steal lots of Funzo dolls from Springfield.
This bizarre fusion of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa's usual mission was caused by a shady toy company that released Funzo, even though they knew the toy was designed to destroy other toys once activated. To save The Simpsons' Barbie A parody of Malibu Stacy and the rest of the town's toys, Homer donned the famous red suit and squeezed through the town's chimneys, stealing their Funzos while Bart and Lisa distracted the homeowners with Christmas carols. One of the show's strongest holiday specials, “The Grift of the Magi” was also a satirical effort and a sweet holiday adventure.
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Bart tries to connect with Marge over the Christmas spirit
Marge and Bart's relationship framed the show's best Christmas special
In “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” Marge's relationship with Bart is put to the test when he torments the Flanders family by pretending to be the Christmas spirit and haunting their house. Marge is initially angry, but is encouraged to learn that Bart only did this so they would believe in God again after Ned's crisis of faith. The SimpsonsThe most touching Christmas episode of Season 7, Episode 11, “Marge Be Not Proud,” also centered on a disagreement between the mother-son duo. However, Bart's previous infraction was more serious where Marge was concerned.
It was Marge and Bart's fight on this outing that made “Marge Be Not Proud” stand out as a classic.
Marge and Bart's bond was put to the test in “Marge Be Not Proud” when Bart stole a video game that Marge refused to buy for him. Marge felt distanced from Bart in “Marge Be Not Proud,” while Bart felt abandoned by his motherbut the pair patched things up when he gifted her a framed family photo for Christmas. Although the show relied on Bart's antics and their subsequent fallout to anchor another smaller Christmas episode of The Simpsons in Season 9, Episode 10, “Miracle on Evergreen Terrace,” it was Marge and Bart’s fight on this outing that made “Marge Be Not Proud” stand out as a classic.
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Lisa's conversion to Buddhism is a Simpsons holiday tradition
Lisa questioned her faith for the first time at Christmas
In “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” Ned struggles with his faith when Homer realizes he is not really Santa Claus, leaving his neighbor unable to believe in any faith-based divine authority figure. Lisa discusses her faith in Buddhism with Ned and reassures him with a metaphorical parable about a sea turtle and an ox yoke. This is appropriate considering the fact that she originally converted to the faith in Season 13 Episode 6, “She Of Little Faith.” Although some of the saddest revelations in The Simpsons As season 36 threatens to change the show's status quo, Lisa's consistent faith remains solid.
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Gil gets Christmas redemption
Gil was the focus of a previous Simpsons Christmas special
Gil is without a doubt the saddest character in the history of The Simpsonsand he is never sadder than at Christmas. Based on the tragic desperate salesman played by Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen RossGil was the focus of season 18, episode 9, “Kill Gil, Parts 1 and 2”. In that festive special, Gil moved in with the Simpson family and refused to leave when their hospitality ran out. In “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful”, Gil Gets a More Hopeful Holiday Surprise When Brown's Documentary Team Makes Him Look Like a Heroimproving your pitiful self-image.
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'C'Mon Ye Faithful' Even References Non-Christmas Episodes
The Simpsons Christmas Special Features a Nod to a Season 1 Outing
At the beginning of “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” Homer insists to himself and Marge that he is a terrible gift giver. and Brown decides to hypnotize him to get him out of that mindset. However, Homer has some historical evidence to support his claim. He directly references giving Marge a bowling ball as a gift, which was the impetus for her near-affair with Jacques, the bowling instructor, in season 1, episode 9, “Life on the Fast Lane”. This isn’t the only non-Christmas episode to get a clever nod to “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful,” thanks to a more divisive later release.
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The Simpsons fixes an infamous non-Christmas plot with a twist
Homer's hypnosis gets much better the second time
While Brown hypnotizing Homer didn't go perfectly, considering he spends days thinking he's Santa Claus, it also could have gone a lot worse. In Season 13, Episode 5, “The Blunder Years,” an encounter with a hypnotist led Homer to discover a repressed memory of the discovery of Waylon Smithers Sr's corpse during his teenage years. The movie Bob's Burgers revived it Simpsons story and managed to make it funnier and less morbid than the divisive original episode, so it's fun to see “The C'Mon All Ye Faithful” revisiting the hypnotized Homer and providing a less traumatic ending to this plot.
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Moe's Darkest Christmas Tradition Returns in “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful”
The Simpsons Season 36 Holiday Special Proves Moe Found Meaning
Various holiday episodes The Simpsons include dark jokes about Moe taking his own lifeincluding “The Grift of the Magi” and season 17, episode 9, “Simpsons Christmas Stories.” However, “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful” offers a more hopeful spin on this, as Moe admits that while she normally considers it all over for the holidays, Homer acting like Santa Claus has reignited her zeal for life this Christmas. The Simpsons Season 36's change to this recurring joke is smart, as it references and subverts the usual execution of the recurring joke, surprising longtime viewers with a new twist.
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Homer and Flanders' differences have fueled Simpsons Christmas specials before
Homer and Flanders were contrasted in two Christmas episodes
In season 15, episode 7, “'Tis the Fifteenth Season,” Homer and Ned Flanders' divergent personalities are central to the holiday special's story. The same thing happens in “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful,” where Homer replaces Santa Claus while Ned is busy losing faith in God. The pair couldn't be more at odds than in both holiday specials, but a third Christmas episode of The Simpsons I saw the pair work together and form an unexpectedly hilarious duo. Ned and Homer's Christmas Simpsons The adventure is a classic ride that mainly revolves around the kids.
In Season 12, Episode 8, “Skinner's Sense of Snow,” Bart, Lisa and the rest of the Springfield Elementary students are trapped at school on Christmas due to a blizzard. As the children rebel, Homer and Ned try to save them in the episode's B story. Naturally, the pair of ill-prepared parents almost die in the process, but they eventually work together and free their children. Likewise, the ending of “O C'Mon All Ye Faithful” sees Ned regain his faith while a lucky accident convinces Brown that Homer really is Santa Claus. The Simpsons season 36's sweet holiday special finale.