The Simpsons

Season 22 Episode 8

The Fight Before Christmas

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7.6
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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

Marge easily gets in the holiday spirit, but it's a little more difficult for the rest of the family. After the family goes to sleep before Christmas morning, each of the kids has a holiday-themed dream:

First, Bart finds himself taking the Polar Express train to the North Pole where he encounters the elves working in preparation for Christmas Eve. Bart eventually faces Santa Claus (portrayed by Krusty) in hopes of getting a much-desired dirt bike for Christmas.

Second, Lisa dreams of a life in 1944 when Marge is away fighting in World War II. Because she was drafted while buying a Christmas tree, Lisa is reluctant to have another one in the house until her mother returns. But she has a change of heart when she finds herself at the tree lot and sees the same tree Marge purchased before leaving and it's remade in her image, leaving Lisa to take it home to serve as hope her mother will return home, which is certain as she carries out a plan to kill Hitler and some Nazis, similarly seen in Inglorious Basterds

While the others are sleeping, Marge writes a letter to Martha Stewart, who comes to Springfield and decorates the house in her own Christmas theme. But alas, this turns out to be a dream as well, as Homer and the kids present her with breakfast in bead, only to screw things up and decide to go out to eat.

Lastly, Maggie has a Fluppets-like (parody of The Muppets) dream of the family preparing to go on a Hawaiian vacation for Christmas, leaving Moe as their housesitter. However, he invites Katy Perry (guest-starring as herself in live-action) over, and the Simpsons' departure is further delayed by Mr. Burns, who catches Homer in the act of lying out of work to take the vacation. Fortunately, Katy is able to brighten their holiday.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (14)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • This episode gave me hope to watch this show after a couple bad episodes.

    9.5
    By timtoiletpaper, Sep 24, 2011
    This episode gave me hope to watch this show after a couple bad episodes( The Fool Monty, How Munched is That Birdie in the window). This episode is a Christmas special featuring four mini stories. ( sorry the mini episodes did not have titles)



    Short 1#: Bart is upset that he didn't get a dirt bike last Christmas. Staying up to shoot santa he falls asleep and has a dream. Bart rides the polar express to the north pole. Bart meets Santa(Krusty). Santa tells Bart he is broke. Feeling pity Bart does not shoot Santa. As soon as Bart leaves, Santa has a wild party. 6/10 This first of all wasn't the reason I said I loved the episode the humor was good but there was a terrible plot line.



    Short 2#: Lisa dreams that it is the 1940 and that Marge is at war and Homer is working in a factory. The Simpsons find out Marge is missing in action, sending Lisa into depression. Lisa makes a Christmas tree look like Marge, a symbol that Marge is okay. Marge is then seen killing Adolf Hitler 9/10 Good plot line and I like how they make it seem like a Christmas Tree house of Horror.



    Short 3#: Marge upset that she is the only one in holiday spirit. Sends a letter to Martha Stuart asking for help Stewart comes and does a bunch of crazy ideas such as turning Bart and Milhouse into nutcrackers then Marge asks her to leave. 2/10. This one didn't make any sense.



    Short 4#: This is the reason I loved this episode along with Lisa's dream. The Simpsons in a muppets parody plan to go to Hawaii until Mr.Burns stops them. Along with Moe, Christmas caroling and Katy Perry! 10/10.moreless

  • It's not terrific but it's WAY better than "Treehouse of Horror XXI"

    6.5
    By tigerdude22, Sep 03, 2011
    In my opinion, this wasn't the best Christmas "The Simpsons" episode that I have ever seen. It's not a terrific episode but it's also not a terrible episode either. I do admit that this episode is WAY better than the Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror XXI". I've only seen this episode twice so I don't remember much but I'll try to remember as much as I can. The segment that I really enjoyed the most and that I thought was excellent is Bart using "The Polar Express" train to go to the North Pole. There were so many parts in that segment that made me laugh harder than any of the other segment. Mainly because the other segments just aren't terrific. I did LOL when Krusty the Clown was Santa Claus. So yeah, the first segment with Bart taking the "The Polar Express" was definitely the best and funniest segment out of this episode. As for the World War II segment, it was just really boring and rehashed to me but I do remember laughing at maybe 2 parts in that segment. The Martha Stewart segment was just okay but it's better than the World War II segement and it had some funny parts. The final segment with the Simpsons characters as the muppets and Katy Perry being in there was pretty good (I guess) but I felt like that segment was unoriginal and not Simpsons material. Overall, this Christmas episode was just okay but it's WAY better than "Treehouse of Horror XXI" and the first segment was definitely the best and funiest segment in this episode. 6.5/10moreless

  • Ok episode.

    6.5
    By Sami5118, Aug 25, 2011
    My favorite part of this episode was probably the part with Lisa and the World War Two one. The rest of them were not that great. The last part was just weird and it wasn't that funny at all.



    I think this episode could be a lot better and alot more funny. It certainly isn't the best one of the season. Most of it wasn't that funny and the only really entertaining part was Lisa's part. 6.5/10moreless

  • mediocre

    5.0
    By futuramarama, Apr 25, 2011
    4 stories relating to christmas: in the first one, bart visits the north pole so he can get the present he has always wanted from santa. then, in the second, marge is in a war and lisa misses her. then martha stewart visits to help marge have the best christms ever, and in the last, the simpsons are puppets.



    the first segment was good, second was alright, third was meh and i thought the last was terrible. so, because of all this, my overall grade would be in the low "C" high "D" rang. Not that good, i did not thinkmoreless

  • Mixed feelings

    2.0
    By Bobinho26, Apr 25, 2011
    Not really sure what to think about this episode really. I have always liked Christmas specials, but the 6th of December is a bit too early for me to be in a Christmas mood.



    Nevertheless, the episode had some funny jokes and a few references to movies such as The Polar Express (hated it) and The Inglorious Basterds (not a Tarantino fan, sorry). What I absolutely did not like, on the contrary, i found it to be disgusting and offensive, was when Krusty was eating his own reindeer and Lisa, otherwise a big green/vegetarian/humanitarian activist, was eating ham.



    Another thing that surprised me was the guest appearance of Katy Perry. Do not get me wrong, i found her very attractive, especially in that dress, but i'm just not used to The Simpsons needing boobs and tight dresses to attract viewers. And this was in a muppet-themed sketch which was (probably) meant for kids. And to top it off, a sex joke in the end when Moe kisses Katy's "belly button".



    Normally, I would expect that from Family Guy, and be quite entertained by it, but somehow such things do not work for me with The Simpsons.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

Dan Castellaneta

Dan Castellaneta

Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and others
Julie Kavner

Julie Kavner

Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier
Nancy Cartwright

Nancy Cartwright

Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and others
Yeardley Smith

Yeardley Smith

Lisa Simpson
Hank Azaria

Hank Azaria

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Lou, and others
Harry Shearer

Harry Shearer

Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, and others
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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart

Herself

Guest Star

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Herself

Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (0)

  • QUOTES (0)

  • NOTES (2)

  • ALLUSIONS (4)

    • Inglorious Basterds
      Toward the end of the second short, Marge carries out a plan to blow up a movie theater where Adolph Hitler and a group of Nazis are attending, similarly seen in the above-titled 2009 movie which starred Brad Pitt.

    • The Muppet Christmas Special
      The DVD that Maggie shows Homer is The Fluppet Christmas Special. This is a parody of The Muppet Christmas Special that stars The Muppets' Kermit The Frog and Miss Piggy created by Jim Henson.

    • The Polar Express
      When Bart steps outside and there is a train in his front yard and Otto is the conductor and boards the train and goes to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. This is like the 2004 movie The Polar Express where a little boy boards a train in his front yard and goes to the North Pole to see Santa Claus and is welcomed by the conductor (voiced by Tom Hanks).

    • The Night Before Christmas
      The title of this episode is a play on the title of the 1823 poem The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clark Moore.

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