DVD
The Simpsons
Christmas 2

Starring: The Simpsons
20th Century Fox
RRP: £15.99
28513DVD
Certificate: PG
Available 25 October 2004


More festive fun with the second volume of Christmas related Simpsons episodes. Will Homer manage to sort out the families cash flow problems before Christmas? Will Bart spend Christmas trapped in school? Will Homer's song, Flanders is a Jerk, make it as the Christmas number one? And will Homer mend his selfish ways? Find out in this collection...

When The Simpsons realise their finances are in trouble, Homer asks Mr Burns for a raise. In true scrooge style, Mr Burns refuses instead promoting Homer to 'prank monkey'. At Mr. Burns prompting, Homer must play practical jokes and for every nasty trick he plays on an unsuspecting sucker in Springfield, he is paid handsomely. Things get a little out of hand when some hi-jinks go wrong and Homer realises his dignity is worth more than money...

Homer Vs. Dignity explores the lengths one man will go to in order to put food on the table. Homer sets about systematically playing pranks to amuse Mr Burns - even dressing up as a Panda and fooling the visitors into thinking that Springfield Zoo has a new inmate. But will Homer really ruin the Christmas parade by dressing up as Santa Clause and throwing buckets full of fish heads over the unsuspecting residents of Springfield? Would you for a million dollars? This episode scores extra points due to the fact that Mr Burns appears and is up to his usual mean and twisted antics.


On the last day of school before Christmas, Springfield is covered in a blanket of snow after a freak storm. Bart and Lisa are horrified to learn that Springfield Elementary is still open and arrive at school to find that only a few students and Principal Skinner are in attendance. They realise at the end of the day that they have been snowed in and under Skinner's martial law, the students are forced to suffer through a night at school. The kids manage to make their unbearable situation a little more tolerable by capturing Skinner and taking over the school...

Skinner's Sense Of Snow has possibly the dodgiest line of any Simpsons episode I've seen. Skinner, tied up in a dodgeball sack, commands the school hamster to: "Chew through my ball sack!" Highlights of this episode include Homer being forced to take his family to the French circus, Cirque de Purée, and Homer and Flanders spending the night together... when they become trapped in a car.


While out Christmas carolling, the family finds out from a lawyer that the carol they are singing is copyrighted, leading Homer to write his own carol:
Flanders is a Jerk. The song rockets up the charts and the Simpsons are overwhelmed by the song's sudden success. They decide to get away from it all and take a peaceful vacation at a dude ranch where Homer and Bart make friends with a Native American tribe and Lisa falls in love...

The funniest thing about Dude Where's My Ranch? is the hilarious Flanders is a Jerk song. Not only that, but William Shatner also gets to sing it. There's a sideways dig at the way America has treated the Native American Indians, and a lesson to be learned about love.


When Homer is given a rare rookie card by an Burns - oblivious-to-its-value - he sells it for a pile of cash. He spends most of the money on himself, only coming to appreciate his greedy ways when he sees A Christmas Carol on TV. Once Homer realises his error in judgement he starts to do favours for everyone he can, making Flanders jealous of Homer for becoming Springfield's new 'King of Being Nice'. Each desperate to be the best, Homer and Flanders engage in a "nice-off," each trying to outdo the other to earn the town's praise...

'Tis the Fifteenth Season is the funniest episode in this collection. There are some great touches to this, including a Manga inspired opening, and a couple of claymation TV show. The main story though, rips off the often used Christmas Carol story to turn Homer around from a selfish person into a selfless person. However, this ends up putting Flanders's back up and the ensuing battle is well staged.


The only real extra, other than a couple of trailers, is a multi-angle look at the elements that made up 'Tis The Fifteenth Season. But then, you get four fantastic Simpsons episodes - what more do you want?

Amber Leigh

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