These days, The Simpsons is as synonymous with Halloween as candy and costumes. Via its annual Treehouse of Horror installment, which returns October 19th this year, The Simpsons has contributed more to Halloween pop culture than any other entity in my lifetime. Other shows have had memorable Halloween offerings, but none have taken over the holiday like The Simpsons. It’s a big part of the brand and Treehouse of Horror is a frequent go-to for license holders of The Simpsons. Jakks Pacific, who currently has the license to produce action figures, went to the Treehouse well last year with a Count Burns figure. It wasn’t very good so I didn’t bother getting it, but this year they’re back with a far better offering in the form of King Homer.
If you like King Homer then you’re eating well this year.
King Homer hails from the segment of the same name as part of Treehouse of Horror III. This is actually the second version of the character from Jakks who earlier this year released a plush doll of King Homer. Last year, they did the evil Krusty doll featured in the first segment of Treehouse III so that installment is apparently a favorite within the walls of Jakks Pacific. King Homer is part of the deluxe line of 5″ figures meaning it features more paint and an action feature. I don’t know how the action feature became associated with “deluxe” as that’s something more associated with children’s toys, but that’s the approach Jakks has taken.
Jakks uses the word “deluxe” fairly loosely.
King Homer comes in a rather attractive all black box with some nice graphics on it. This would look fine for in-box collectors, but for those who take it out you will find one figure, one accessory, and one impressive platform. King Homer may be deluxe in pricing, but he’s conventional in size at about 5″. The platform will take him up to 6″. The sculpt looks to be very on-model and the paint is nice where needed. The segment was in black and white so Jakks only had to account for that sort of gradient and it looks fine. His restraints are gray and permanently part of the sculpt and his face bares an angry roar.
He’s pretty much just meant for this.
As you could probably surmise just by looking at him, this is essentially King Kong, but Homer. The sculpt is tailored for that look with tufted fur around the ankles, wrists, and the back of the neck. He has ape-like feet with four digits, in keeping things consistent with other Simpsons features, and he even has some sculpted nipples. The figure is molded in the dark gray plastic and the lighter gray as well as the whites are painted features. The only accessories are the platform and tiny Marge. The platform is molded in a very light gray with some painted silver parts that add a little splash to the set. Marge is in her white dress and not in any apparent distress. She’s painted rather well given how small she is and appears to be more or less in scale with Homer.
“Oh, Homie…”
The articulation for Homer is exactly the same as standard Homer. The only different is this one has an action feature. Basically, you are supposed to put him on his platform and then press the button on his back which makes his arms wiggle at the shoulders like he’s breaking free. There isn’t a pass-through button on the platform to activate it so you kind of just push Homer into it. The springy feature means Homer’s arms can never be at his sides and it honestly adds nothing to the experience for me personally. I’d have preferred he not have an action feature. Are kids really buying these more expensive offerings? Hell, are they even buying the cheaper ones?
“Come on, Barney, say the line!” “Ugh…I am so Krunchy the Clown…?”
As a Simpsons fan, having this King Homer to throw on a shelf during Halloween is fun. It displays well, but you’re forgiven if you think it shouldn’t be any more expensive than the standard offerings. The action feature stinks, but it doesn’t ruin the sculpt so I can excuse it (or rather ignore it). The figure is $20, but most of the deluxe offerings last year wound up on sale so if you don’t care about getting this guy in time for Halloween this year you may be able to save yourself some money by waiting.
For more Simpsons and Treehouse of Horror check these out:
One thing I wasn’t expecting for 2025 was that the hardest line to collect would be The Simpsons by Jakks Pacific. It’s a mass retail release so, if anything, I thought it would be pretty easy. My assumption has been proven wrong and I think it’s because this is a line that is trying to…
Happy Halloween fellow toy enthusiasts and fans of The Simpsons! Every year since 1990, there has been a Halloween edition of The Simpsons. The annual anthology style episode called Treehouse of Horror is basically appointment viewing each and every year. Sometimes it arrives before Halloween, sometimes on Halloween, and often times after Halloween (as it’s…
We are onto the third wave of Ultimates! from Super7 based on The Simpsons. Like past waves, plenty of questions abound when it comes to Super7’s character selection and they’re not unfounded. Perhaps the two most questionable inclusions in this third wave are the subject of today’s post: Kang and Kodos. These are two separate…
The Springfield on your shelf has made some additions these past few weeks.
One thing I wasn’t expecting for 2025 was that the hardest line to collect would be The Simpsons by Jakks Pacific. It’s a mass retail release so, if anything, I thought it would be pretty easy. My assumption has been proven wrong and I think it’s because this is a line that is trying to serve too many audiences. It’s Jakks and they specialize in lower cost toys sold at Walmart and Target for brands like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros. With The Simpsons, Jakks has basically taken that same approach with a property that probably doesn’t have much appeal to kids. It’s adults that are likely buying these and it’s adult collectors who want every character. Jakks keeps sending plenty of Homers and Barts to the stores while collectors struggle to find the Lennys and Carls. Jakks also doesn’t prioritize selling these things to more collector friendly outlets making it quite difficult to just preorder what you want.
Despite that frustration, I will say the line is pretty solid for what it is: a low cost, articulated, line of characters as seen on The Simpsons. It’s a better take on the old Playmates Toys World of Springfield line, though it has so far lacked the dioramas of that line which seemed to be reserved for the 2.5″ scale line. I’m definitely only interested in the 5″ scale line with only few exceptions and I’m mostly happy with it. I do wish they were more selective with their expressions on the figures, but that seems to be something that’s getting better which we’re going to talk about today.
It was a little while ago that I found Wave 3 in my travels. I wanted to do a combined Wave 3 and Wave 4 post, but I’ve been unable to get all of the figures from Wave 4 that I’m out looking for. Since then, I’ve received Wave 5 so we’re just going to skip over the missing figures which for me are Carl Carlson and Bumblebee Man. The fourth figure in the line is blue shirt Bart which I don’t need. I also didn’t want hockey Bart from Wave 5, but he does look fine if you’re into that variant. Let’s blast through these though as there isn’t a ton to talk about for each.
Marge and her big baby have arrived to complete the family.
The headliner for Wave 3 was Marge Simpson. We got Homer, Bart, and Lisa in the first two waves leaving her as the family member most needed. She is easily the tallest figure so far standing at 5.75″ to the top of her hair. She also might be the most on-model of the family as she has a slight smile which works well as a default portrait and her hair bends ever so slightly back. Everything is where it should be with her red pearl necklace, green dress, and a butt that won’t quit. The only thing I don’t care for about the presentation is the very visible seem line in her hair about 2/3rds of the way up. Apparently, they couldn’t cast it as one piece? It’s a bit odd. She also can’t articulate for crap because the dress kills basically everything from the waist down. You’ll only be posing her arms.
The scale will never stop bothering me with this line.
And if you’re saying to yourself, “Hey! What about Maggie?” – don’t worry, for she is Marge’s lone accessory. Yeah, it kind of stinks that Marge doesn’t come with something fun like a potato or toxic drinking water, but it’s definitely great that we got Maggie. She’s in her blue onesie with her trusty pacifier in place. Jakks gave her articulation at the head, shoulders, and waist which is basically a ball joint that lets her rotate and pivot. The only issue with Maggie is the same as the rest of the kids: she’s way out of scale with the adults. Her head is the same size as Marge’s and she looks ridiculous in Marge’s arms, if you can get her to stand while holding Maggie. Since she basically is an accessory she doesn’t actually come with any. It might have been a better release model if Jakks gave Marge some accessories and sold Maggie with the Simpson pets as a three pack, but hey, at least we have the whole family.
He can’t properly grip the bat or scratch himself in sensitive areas, but I’m such a mark for the episode that I have to like this Homer.
The Homer variant of Wave 3 is Home Run Homer from the iconic episode “Homer at the Bat.” That’s the one where Homer joins the Nuclear Power softball league with his trusty Wonder Bat. Homer is basically the same head as the first wave Homer with a body clad in his softball uniform. The body is mostly new since the uniform requires red piping which Jakks did with plastic instead of paint. I think the only paint might be his name on the chest, the white belt loops, black belt buckle, and gray spikes on the bottoms of his cleats. For accessories, Homer has a removable hat and good old Wonder Bat. He looks really nice, though the hat is quite large on his head making me question the decision to make it removable and not just part of the sculpt. The real downer though is Homer’s inability to hold his bat with two hands. Solicitation images implied this was possible, but they lied. He also lacks a vertical hinge for his wrists so he can’t call his shot. I would have preferred better articulation and a new expression as well. Still, as a representative from one of my personal favorite episodes, I can’t not like this one.
The mug is nice and round so Lenny doesn’t have to worry about it injuring his eye. The bag on the other hand…
Another member of that famous softball team, Lenny Leonard, also finds himself in Wave 3. Unlike Homer though, this is standard Lenny as one would find him at work at Springfield’s Nuclear Power Plant. Jakks did a good job with getting the color of Lenny’s olive shirt right and I like that he has half-closed eyes as his expression. Lenny is a bit trickier to render in three dimensions so he doesn’t look as on-model as Marge and Homer, but that’s mostly just from the front. If you view him as he would normally be presented in the show from the side or at a three quarters angle he looks solid. His hair is also just a little off as Jakks took an almost semi-realistic view to the shape. In that, it reminds me of their Sonic figures and how his hair (quils) is tough to translate into 3D. For accessories, Lenny has a mug of coffee and a bag lunch. Perfectly suitable for him, and at least he doesn’t have to worry about getting any pudding in his eye.
His mom says he’s cool while his music teacher insists that no one likes him. Who are you going to believe?
The last figure of Wave 3 is the little wiener nobody likes: Milhouse. I kid, of course, as I do like this figure which comes with perhaps the most ambitious accessory in the line yet: a bicycle. It would have been a lot cheaper to just give him an issue of Biclops, though it also would have been funnier to actually give him Lisa’s bike. Milhouse looks great though, but suffers from the child scaling like Bart and Lisa. His articulation is essentially the same as Bart and he can sit on the bike fairly convincingly. The bike has a stand, though it can still be tricky to get Milhouse properly balanced on it. The one difference with Bart that’s a bit odd is Jakks sculpted his knee articulation into his shorts rather than have it begin just past them. I suppose his shorts are traditionally longer than Bart’s, but it does look a bit weird. It’s also extra noticeable since he needs to bend his knees to ride his bike. That aside, he does look good and I think he turned out better than Bart and Lisa.
Carl’s absence feels especially painful now. And that’s the Super7 Faming Moe, if you’re curious.
As I mentioned before, Wave 4 is the one I’m struggling with and the only figure I’ve managed to land is Barney Gumble. If that’s the only I can find at least it might be the best. Barney rivals Marge for title of most on-model which is impressive considering he has a design that should also be hard to translate. He scales well with Homer, Moe, and Lenny and has that perfect dead-ass drunk expression. If I have one critique, it’s that his shirt is too orange when it should be closer to a salmon. He actually articulates pretty damn well and comes with two accessories: a lunchbox and a big hoagie. Yeah, they don’t really make much sense for Barney, but Jakks wasn’t going to pack alcohol related accessories in with him. I’m struggling to think of anything from the show that would work. I guess they could have given him a soda can, but that would be equally lame. Maybe that plant he never watered? A cup of quarters? No, that might be too close to a gambling reference. Maybe this should just have been the first alternate portrait in the line of Barney mid belch?
“The problem with kids these days…”
Wave 5 is where we’re getting some more side characters, though I would say it’s headlined by the inclusion of Abe “Grandpa” Simpson. This is where Jakks seems to be taking the portrait criticism to heart as Abe appears to be clearly modeled after the “Old man yells at cloud,” meme. I just find it ironic that they took this approach with a character who would have looked good with a dead-eyed stare. Still, I do like it though Abe’s head looks a little fat to me. The forehead area doesn’t have as dramatic a slope to it so he’s a bit off-model. It’s almost like a more Saturday morning approach to the character. The sculpt of his shirt looks nice though and his bolo tie is painted. His glasses are also clear plastic unlike Milhouse who has his eyes painted onto the lenses. The eyeglasses are too thick, a frequent issue for toy manufacturers, as well. His lone accessory is a cane and that suits him. If I am allowed to be pedantic, and Simpsons fans are known for such, Jakks did screw up by making his left hand the fisted hand and the right the gripping hand if they wanted to properly match the Old man yells at cloud image. I’ll let it slide though.
I don’t really care for any of Mrs. K’s accessories so I think I’ll just give her Lenny’s coffee.
Bart’s teach, Mrs. Krabappel, finds herself among the characters of Wave 5. Like Lenny, she’s a bit off-model as she has a head that’s tough to render in three dimensions. Her eyes are off and it throws off the look of her as they’re too narrow and elongated. A half-lidded approach might have served her well and some bag lines under the eyes. She’s a little too happy and glowing for the downtrodden teacher. She also suffers from the same issue as Marge where her plastic skirt hinders any articulation she may have at the waist and below. Her accessories are a ruler and an eraser, which I guess is fine. I honestly would have been okay with a repeat of Lenny’s coffee mug or her picture of Woodrow. There’s no paint on either accessory so they don’t look great and you can barely tell the ruler is sculpted. She can hold them though so I guess that works.
Out of the box, he could hold his breath spray, but I left him holding his glass of OJ for too long and now he can’t.
The last figure we’re going to take a look at is everyone’s favorite aquatic lifeform enthusiast, Troy McClure. You may remember him from such toy lines as The World of Springfield and Super7 ReAction! He’s depicted in his traditional look of pink sweater, red tie, and white pants. He has a nice, toothy, grin and I like that Jakks did include some bags under the eyes for old Troy, though some crow’s feet would have helped too. The head is maybe a tad undersized as it looks a bit off-model to me. I’m also surprised they went with an open mouth instead of just his smile, but I don’t mind as it makes him look like he’s in mid sentence. They also didn’t give him a microphone which surprised me and instead he has his breath spray from the episode “A Fish Called Selma.” I had to look at the package to figure out what it was as it looks more like a bottle with a screw top. His other accessory is pretty great though: The Juice Loosener. As seen in the episode “Marge in Chains,” the Juice Loosener is a juicer with horrible efficiency as illustrated by the included glass with an orange, circular, sticker on the bottom to show how much juice one can expect to get from an entire bag of oranges. It’s pretty great, and since Troy has a thumb’s up gesture for his left hand, he can hold the glass in his right (FYI: not an easy fit) and enthusiastically gesture with his left!
Sure would be nice to have a bully to chase these two. Or a principal.
That’s going to do it for this look at some Jakks Pacific Simpsons figures. I would say, in short, Marge, Barney, Milhouse, and Home Run Homer turned out pretty great by the standards of the line. The rest are pretty good, including Maggie, though suffer from being a bit off-model. I find Mrs. Krabappel to be the least interesting of them because it doesn’t capture the right spirit of the character for me. She’s sarcastic while this figure makes her look more like the ideal teacher eager to spread some knowledge. It’s hard to argue though that this isn’t a solid selection of characters. I assume we’ll be seeing the likes of Skinner, Ralph, and maybe even Super Intendent Chalmers pretty soon. Jasper would pair well with Abe, and we still don’t have a 5″ scale Flanders or Sideshow Bob. If the next wave has been announced I missed it, but I’ll also remain on the hunt for Bumblebee Man and especially Carl. My Lenny needs his Carl as do the other denizens of Moe’s Tavern.
We’ve got more Simpsons goodness from Jakks and others:
I think it was early this year that we found out Super7’s line of ReAction and Ultimates! action figures based on The Simpsons was ending after just a couple of years. That meant Super7 was done after four waves of Ultimates! and four waves of ReAction figures. We had seen figures for a possible fifth…
Back in October, we took a look at the very first wave of action figures from Jakks Pacific based on The Simpsons. At the time, I only had two figures from that inaugural wave: Homer and Bart. It was a series of great interest to myself and other Simpsons fans since it’s existence basically meant…
It has been just over 10 years since I last posted about a Lego set featuring The Simpsons. That last set, the Kwik-E-Mart, came out in 2015 and was preceded by the home of the Simpson family the year prior. Those sets along with two waves of mini figures seemed to sell pretty well, but…
Well folks, we did it! We made it to another Christmas! These things come faster and faster each year which makes something like an online advent calendar helpful as it attempts to keep the season from going by even faster. It’s cliché, but the years go by even faster the older you get and if you have kids it seems worse. It’s great to stop, breathe, and just try to take it all in for I know if I’m fortunate enough to live to be an old man I’ll probably look back on my life and think it went by in a flash.
That’s the sort of melancholy vibes Christmas brings about for me, but it’s important to remember this is a day of fun. Of revelry! I try to save a good one for each December 25th, or at least a weird one (I did go with Samurai Pizza Cats one year), and this year I felt like turning the day over to America’s real first family: The Simpsons.
Homer is going full Grinch in this one. Well, sort of.
The Simpsons has been featured here before. Many times too. The show has staked its claim to Halloween via the Treehouse of Horror anthology series, but it was Christmas that marked the show’s debut. For years the show avoided the topic as how could anyone hope to top the show’s debut episode? Eventually, that fear subsided and the show started cranking them out. Not quite annually, but there’s certainly plenty at this point. And today’s episode comes from the show’s fifteenth season and is appropriately titled “‘Tis the Fifteenth Season.” At the time, it felt like quite the achievement to be on the air so long that it was celebrated, or at least marked, in the very title of the episode. Now, it almost seems quaint. Fifteen seasons isn’t even half the show’s current total. Will The Simpsons ever end? When I was a mopey teen angry the show wasn’t as funny as I remembered it being I would have said it needs to die, but now I’m just curious to see how long it can go. There’s a comfort in knowing that every fall a new season of The Simpsons debuts. It probably won’t go on forever, but that doesn’t mean it can’t try.
In almost any other episode, I would have liked this couch gag, but this is not the holiday couch gag I’m looking for.
The first episode aired of The Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” was pretty much a Homer (Dan Castellaneta) story. He was denied a Christmas bonus and Marge (Julie Kavner) spent all of the family’s extra money on getting a tattoo removed off of Bart (Nancy Cartwright). Rather than come clean, Homer takes a part time job as a mall Santa to earn extra money in hopes of providing his family with the kind of gifts he felt they deserved. Or rather, the type of gifts that would make him feel like a successful provider. Following that episode, Homer would take a back seat in future holiday outings. We had episodes centered around Bart, Lisa, and even Marge while Homer was like a sidecar. The kids need his help in the waning moments of “Grift of the Magi” to steal some toys, he and Flanders have a B plot in “Skinner’s Sense of Snow,” and that’s kind of it. In today’s episode, Homer is very much the focal point as he must learn the spirit of giving, then learn to reject materialism, then…become the Grinch? This one ends in a place one wouldn’t have predicted at the start, so let’s jump into it and see how we get there.
How is it that Itchy and Scratchy are able to exist in this space?
This holiday episode of The Simpsons begins with the standard, abbreviated, opening where we just jump right to Marge almost running Homer over in the driveway. The couch gag isn’t even holiday themed, it’s anime, which is a surprise. We’re not off to a good start here. The episode proper then begins not with Christmas, but Thanksgiving. The family is watching a Channel 6 holiday broadcast featuring Krusty (Castellaneta), Sideshow Mel (Castellaneta), Mr. Teeny, and a large woman dressed as a ballerina. Am I supposed to know who she is? Kent Brockman is appearing via cardboard cutout which Krusty informs us he’s contractually allowed to do because he’s in rehab. Again. Oh, and Itchy and Scratchy are present too which is really confusing. Are they someone in costume? Are they animation and we can’t tell because the whole show is animated? Anyway, Krusty informs the viewers for every dollar spent on Krusty merchandise he’ll be nice to a sick kid. And that hookers with a cold count as sick kids. Never change, Krusty.
Homer no like sweater.
It’s now time for Christmas decorating, and set to “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” we see Homer and the kids putting up the decorations. Bart and Lisa (Yeardley Smith) twirl some string lights like a lasso and fling them on the bushes outside. Homer tries to do the same with a tree and inadvertently kills two birds in the process which he slyly covers with snow and walks off. Inside, the stockings are being hung with care one by one until we get to Grandpa (Castellaneta) who hangs an IV bag instead. Marge is shown putting the family dog, Santa’s Little Helper, in a festive sweater which he predictably hates. We pan over to Snowball II who is already in a sweater and doing her best to get it off. The camera continues it’s pan to find Homer also in a sweater and also desperately trying to remove it with his teeth like an animal. Never change, Homer.
Looks like someone forgot Lenny’s present.
We now are taken to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant where it’s apparently already time to exchange Secret Santa gifts. Carl (Hank Azaria) is Homer’s Secret Santa and he has quite the present for the big guy: a new DVD player and the first season of Magnum P.I. Homer is quite happy with this extravagant offering (come on Carl, there had to have been a limit you blew by), but there’s a problem. No one has a present for Lenny (No, not Lenny!) and that’s because Homer is his Secret Santa. Realizing he forgot, Homer runs offscreen and we get to hear him battle with a vending machine. Lenny (Harry Shearer) can tell what’s going on and a scowl crosses his face before Homer returns with his gift: a roll of Certs. Homer seems pleased with himself, but Lenny doesn’t hold back and tells him that his gift flat-out stinks. Carl piles on too telling Homer he’s the most selfish man he knows (then why did you go all out on Homer’s gift, Carl?). Homer appears offended and tries to defend himself by saying Mr. Burns is the most selfish man around. He starts to bad mouth him, and Skinner, only for Burns to sidle up behind him without him knowing.
I’m surprised this hasn’t been utilized for a current plot.
Burns (Shearer) hears the insults, but laughs startling Homer. He declares that Homer’s very obvious description of him describes “Cathy in personnel” to a tee. Who is this mystery woman? No time for that, for Burns is here to hand out Christmas bonuses. This feels familiar. The bonus this year? A five dollar voucher to the plant cafeteria which no one is happy with. I guess it’s better than the series premiere when they got nothing? Burns has something special for Bart though, I guess because he knows Homer has a son? They’ve obviously crossed paths many a time, but I don’t get the sense that he’s giving Bart a gift because of any of that. The gift is, as Burns puts it, a confectioner’s card of a current baseball player. The way he phrases it he clearly doesn’t place any value on this card, but it’s a Joe DiMaggio card and a pretty famous one in card collecting circles at that. Not that Homer is aware. Burns refers to DiMaggio as a rookie for the New York Nine and when Homer says the name in disbelief (likely because he knows that Joe DiMaggio has long since passed his rookie days) Burns confirms it’s him and adds, “It seems they’re now letting ethnics into the big leagues.” He then turns away from Homer and is surprised to see Cathy (Tress MacNeille), from personnel! She looks exactly like Burns and he asks her how things in personnel are she has a one word response for him: Excellent.
Oh no! He must deftly lick it off!
Homer may not know how valuable the card is, but he knows it’s worth something so he takes it to the only place in town he’d logically go: The Android’s Dungeon. Homer finds Comic Book Guy (Azaria) eating some nachos from his usual perch atop his stool and asks if he can get any money for the card? Comic Book Guy takes one look at it and nearly has a heart attack as he turns up his cash register and empties its contents onto the counter. He greedily snatches the card from Homer, but then immediately begins to fret because he got nacho cheese on it. He reasons the only solution is to deftly lick it off, which he does. Homer just grabs his armful of cash and walks off remarking “Freak,” under his breath. We don’t know how much Homer just got, but probably not a substantial amount? Most stores only keep so much money on-hand, though I suppose a business that buys and sells might have more than usual. Either way, he probably didn’t get full value since that’s a card worth tens of thousands of dollars, but at least he’s happy.
Jesus was a prune? I guess I’ve learned something today.
We return to 742 Evergreen Terrace to find the rest of the family seated in front of the TV. A common past time for the Simpson family. They’re watching the 1986 “classic” Christmas with the California Prunes. Obviously, this is a parody of the 1987 sorta classic A Claymation Christmas which featured the California Raisins, a special I probably should have covered by now, but just have not. This could almost barely be considered a parody as we get to see some of this special which features claymation characters that look almost exactly like the California Raisins. There’s a soulful rendition of “Oh Holy Night” being played (and possibly sung by Karl Wiedergott since he’s listed in the credits, but not assigned a role), but with words adjusted to better fit prunes like “We are the fruit that your grandmother eats.” It’s also a nativity scene so if you ever wanted to see what Jesus would look like as a prune, well now you have. I think this is actually really close to the actual segment it’s parodying so if this seems ridiculous, there’s a more sincere version out there. Lisa declares it offensive to Christians and prunes. You know what it’s not offensive to? Animation fans, because this segment looks way too good to just be a quick gag on an episode of The Simpsons.
Comic Book Guy sure keeps a lot of cash in his register.
Homer then comes bursting into the room with his hands and pockets overflowing with cash. He declares they’re going shopping at the Springfield Heights Promenade. Marge jumps up with excitement declaring “That’s the rich people’s mall! Let’s shop till we droop!” Lisa corrects her to say it’s drop, but Marge just scolds her with “That’s a very violent image, Lisa.” Burl Ives then whisks us into Springfield Heights with his version of “Silver and Gold.” The tagline for this place is “Our prices discriminate because we can’t.” It’s basically a fancy outdoor marketplace. I’m not sure if it’s based on anything specific, but it has a similar vibe to Boston’s Quincy Market and there’s a hint a little ways in that might give that away. For a sight gag, we get an Abercrombie and Rich store and there’s a cart that will put your image on a Rembrandt. Moe is clearly pictured on such a painting. Seems almost too tacky for this place, but if it is anything like Quincy Market then it’s also a tourist trap and tourists buy all kinds of stupid stuff.
Cameos of Christmases Past.
Homer is handing out wads of cash to everyone in the family to go buy Christmas presents with. And when they’re done, he also promises to get a glorious Christmas tree for the home. In fact, he declares it will be so large that its absence from the forest will cause mudslides and flooding. Everyone cheers this except Lisa. That’s some nice attention to detail. We cut to Bart and Lisa shopping together and Lisa has stumbled upon a toy store called The Prodigy Barn. Very quickly there’s a cameo of the rich happiest kid in the world and his mom from “Marge Be Not Proud,” though his hair is now blond instead of brown. Inside, Bart is playing a video game console clearly modeled after the original PlayStation as he’s blasting state capitols on a map of the United States. He soon realizes that this game is trying to teach him stuff and reacts angrily tossing the controller at the screen and declaring “That’ll teach you to teach me!”
This may be more of a gift for Marge.
We jump to Marge shopping at Victor’s Secret, an obvious pun on Victoria’s Secret, where she’s looking to buy a present for her beloved Homie. She’s picked out some very large underwear that’s sort of tiger striped, but she needs the clerk to help her figure out if it’s the right size for Homer. Make that two clerks as they both easily fit into the underwear and Marge is delighted that it’s the right size. They (Castellaneta) then offer to gift wrap it for her and in order to do so they have to fold it like a flag. They stuff it into a tiny box and hand it over to Marge warning her to stand back when she opens it.
This episode is from before everything had Wi-Fi capabilities. I bet that astrolabe was obsolete in less than five years.
Outside of a store called Things Unnecessary, Homer is rummaging through his bag of goods with a contented look on his face. We then find out he’s bought the family all key rings. Cheap, stupid, key rings. He drops his gifts though when he catches a window display for a talking astrolabe. He immediately goes inside where a clerk with a British accent shows it to him. He wants to make it a gift for himself and notes how it is so unnecessary. The clerk (Shearer) laughs and remarks that he has excellent taste then lists the features which include a pad of paper and pen for writing upside down. Homer is pretty much sold, but then he looks at the price tag: 500 bucks. If he buys this he won’t have anything left for a tree. The astrolabe (I think it’s Azaria, but it’s not listed in the credits on IMDB) then announces that today is the birthday of comedian Margaret Cho, which makes this December 5th. We can also see the current coordinates for the location of this device which online sleuths discovered long ago point to Boston, hence my Quincy Market theory. “That’s the birthday I’m always forgetting, I must have it!” And with that, Homer has bought an extremely unnecessary and extremely expensive gift for himself.
What is it with sitcoms and their Christmas suicide jokes? I feel like I should apologize for how many there have been this year.
We cut to the car and the family is on the road. Bart asks if they can get their big tree now and Homer laughs nervously and confirms that they can as he also inspects the cash he has left which totals 2 bucks. He still insists that they’ll get a tree from the finest lot in town as he proceeds to lead the family to a rather unsavory part of town. Lisa is the first one to remark that she doesn’t like this neighborhood, but Homer just tells her to lock her door and avoid eye contact while he turns on the radio. It’s a version of the song “Convoy,” which was part of the plot of “Radio Bart” way back when, only now it’s “Christmas Convoy.” It’s our soundtrack to the sights which includes Gil preparing to hang himself with Christmas lights, some hobos roasting pigeons over a flaming drum, and a bloody snowman with an axe in its head.
Well, sufficient is certainly one way to describe it.
Homer pulls into a pretty sad looking tree lot and buys the best tree 2 bucks will get you, which is pretty brown and lacking in fullness. Homer presents it to the family as a great tree, but Marge points out that it looks a little dry. Homer tries to insist it just needs a little love, but when he rubs it the tree bursts into flames. I’m betting Homer thinks the tree will magically transform when decorated into a glorious one, like it did for Charlie Brown. We cut to the house and the partially burned tree is up. Homer remarks, “Isn’t it sufficient?” and pats it again once again causing the tree to go up in flames. He’s ready with a fire extinguisher and quickly puts it out, but Bart is left to wonder why they couldn’t afford a good tree? Marge asks Homer if there’s something he’s not telling them and right on cue we hear the astrolabe announce that it’s 6:31 PM in Montreal.
A man sobs alone with his astrolabe at Christmas time. Is there a sadder sight?
Marge rightly asks where that voice came from, but Homer tries to play it off as Maggie finally talking. She finds the astrolabe all wrapped up with a tag on it that says “To: Me, From: Santa.” Marge exchanges the gift for Maggie, who Homer was holding, and confronts him on the fact that he wasted their money on an extravagant gift for himself. Homer tries to reason with her that there’s a trickle down theory at play here: If he’s happy then he’s less abusive to the rest of the family. I should try that the next time I buy an expensive action figure. Lisa is the one to inform him that this time he was just plain selfish as sad music plays and the family leaves Homer with his toy. The astrolabe then announces “I am not returnable,” causing Homer to start sobbing. It then announces it will begin testing its smoke alarm for the next three hours which causes Homer to sob louder and announce, “This is sadder than Tuesdays with Morrie.”
Marge has opted for pettiness and I for one support her.
Where do Homer and Marge often settle their disputes? In bed, of course, as we find Homer trying to defend his selfish act. He tries to suggest that she is in fact selfish too for choosing to get her haircut at Supercuts instead of Regular Cuts, the joke being Supercuts is a pretty cheap place to get a haircut. And whoever does Marge’s hair deserves a lot. Marge is obviously not taking the bait and just points out to Homer that Christmas is the time to think of others, but he only cares about himself. He denies this accusation pointing out that he cared what they thought when they found out. She informs him that he can sleep on the couch tonight, but Homer just wants her to yell at him now and get it over with. Marge refuses instead opting to parcel out her anger over the next few days and weeks so she can jab at him when he seems most content. Homer can only groan as he grabs his pillow and flees.
This doesn’t seem like much of a punishment for Homer.
Homer has decided to stay up late watching Christmas specials with his selfish purchase. He’s also opted to unwrap it early as well and even declares that he doesn’t need Marge since he has the astrolabe. It responds to him by telling him that Columbia’s chief export is coffee. On television is The Year Santa Got Lost starring Jimmy Stewart (Castellaneta) as the voice of the mailman. It looks like another claymation piece and the characters all resemble toys from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, except for the mailman who just looks like a mailman. I guess he’s a nod to Special Delivery from Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. It’s a very boring story that Jimmy is telling and Homer taps out insisting that Jimmy Stewart as a puppet is just wrong. On the next channel is Mr. Mcgrew’s Christmas Carol, a parody of Mr. Magoo. It’s sort of like the California Prunes from earlier in that this parody is so similar to the thing it’s parodying that it’s almost indistinguishable. Upon stumbling on this, Homer declares he loves that blind, senile, old man! He’s then interrupted by his father knocking on a window in his bathrobe claiming he can’t find his way back to the nursing home. Homer shouts at him, “I heard you the first five times!” then throws his shoe at the window. A bunch of snow falls off the roof and poor Grandpa is buried.
Oh that Magoo McGrew, that’s not a woman, you silly, old man!
We get to see some of McGrew (Castellaneta) which looks a lot like the actual Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, the very first animated Christmas special made for television. I’ve never covered it because it’s, well, terribly boring. We get to watch McGrew mistake a potbelly stove for a pregnant woman which somehow leads to him sticking his head into a roaring fire. Homer laughs for, once again, old McGrew has mistaken something for something. As the special moves along, Homer comes to realize that McGrew is just like him. Well, except for the rich part. When it gets to the climactic scene at the cemetary, Homer is on the floor in front of the TV begging the ghost to spare McGrew and to take Tiny Tim instead! The ghost gestures to the headstone which reads Ebenezer McGrew. Homer then sees it as reading” Homer Simpson – Unloved by All. He cries out “Unloved by Al? No!” then the ghost gestures again and he reads it correctly and yells even louder.
Marge wanted to see more of this Star Trek Christmas Carol and I think I’m with her.
The next morning, Homer is still in the midst of a fretful sleep moaning on the couch “I’ll be good.” Lisa wakes him up with some concern in her voice and Homer just asks her what day is it? She tells him it’s Saturday, December 6h and Homer jumps up saying “Good! There’s still four more days till Christmas!” No one bothers to correct him. We next find the family at breakfast where Homer is talking about the amazing cartoon he watched the night before. He describes it and Lisa has to point out that what he watched was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and that it’s been around for 160 years. Bart points out that television has been mining that thing for decades and he is certainly not wrong. What’s sort of implausible here is that someone who watches as much TV as Homer would be unfamiliar with it. Bart gets to prove his point by turning on the TV (there sure has been a lot of the family watching TV so far in this one) to reveal an Urkel parody and a Star Trek one. Marge thinks the Star Trek one looks pretty good. Homer then announces that TV and nightmares have joined forces to convince him to be a less selfish man. He vows to become the least selfish man in town and Marge reminds him that he’s made this promise before. Homer points out that this time he’s sober…ish. That’s a bit alarming since it’s only breakfast.
It really is the perfect gift for someone always getting stuff in his eye.
Time to see Homer put his words to action. We find Flanders (Shearer) and his two boys, Rod (Pamela Hayden) and Todd (Cartwright), taking some boxes of old clothes and lima beans to an area frequented by the homeless, only Homer beat them to the punch. He gave them his old clothes and we get to see a whole bunch of unhoused men dressed like Homer. One comes over to remark that these new pants smell worse than his old ones, but Homer just says “You’re welcome.” To the Nuclear Power Plant where Homer owes Lenny a present. A real present. Homer presents Lenny with a photo cube that’s full of pictures of them (and Carl) which Lenny seems to appreciate. And there’s another surprise, Homer filed down all of the corners so it won’t hurt if it comes into contact with Lenny’s frequently injured eye. He demonstrates by jabbing Lenny in the eye and he smiles uncomfortably and announces it only stings a little.
Marge has been waiting fifteen seasons for this.
Back at the house, the family is finishing up dinner when Homer goes to eat the last porkchop, catches himself, and then walks the platter over to Marge. He offers her the last porkchop and Marge is so overcome with emotion she doesn’t know what to do. Homer has never offered her the last porkchop and she happily accepts. She is super emotional about it as she’s basically sobbing while she eats it remarking that his thoughtfulness tastes so good and that tears are the sweetest sauce. She’s not even bothering to use utensils, just her hands, and all the rest of the family can do is stare at her. Homer also adds that she’s starting to creep him out.
I feel like we’ve been here before.
We then cut to the family at church where Ned and Homer are in charge of the collection plates, though they’re really more like baskets on poles. Homer gets to Burns who just deposits a coin into the basket so Homer jabs at him. He drops another coin in, but Homer is still not satisfied so he keeps jabbing him in the face. Burns finally relents by emptying his entire wallet into the basket, including his credit cards and eventually the wallet itself. He then angrily suggests that Homer take his blood too and pricks his finger, but only dust comes out which Burns acknowledges by saying “Yes, I’m old.” Ned happily empties his basket into a sack held by the Reverend Lovejoy (Shearer) who is only too happy to inform Ned that this week he came in a distant second to Homer who has a rather impressive haul. Homer announces he’s not looking for glory, he’s just trying to buy that stairway to Heaven Jesus sang about. When Ned corrects him that it was actually Led Zeppelin who sang that song, he just scoffs and tells him to get back to his bong, hippy! He and the reverend then smugly walk off leaving Ned to stew in anger. His kids come over and Todd asks him if he’s jealous of Homer with some shock in his voice. Ned confesses that he is a little jealous. To try and cheer him up, Rod confesses he’s jealous of girls because they get to wear dresses and Ned angrily responds with “One problem at a time, boy.” This was the era where Ned Flanders became a more bigoted Christian. I know some people don’t like this turn for Ned, but when a show is on for as long as The Simpsons characters are going to change with the times.
Homer: a man of many talents. Or maybe just this one?
We return, yet again, to the Simpson master bedroom only now things are far less frosty. Marge is delighted in Homer’s transformation and he has come to view being unselfish as a natural high like hiking or paint thinner. And he’s not done! Homer then unveils to Marge his latest gift to the town: an ice skating rink in the Simpson backyard. How he built that without Marge’s knowledge is not specified. Similarly, how could he, the man who couldn’t afford a Christmas tree, manage to buy all of the materials needed for a rink? I should stop asking questions. It’s a hit though as numerous people are skating on it. Comic Book Guy demonstrates he’s pretty nimble for a man of his generous waist even though his leap results in a fall. A fall that splits his pants. With a declaration of “Activate cloaking device,” he ties his coat around his waist, only for that to rip too. Overcome with depression, he chooses to engage candy bar sadly.
Nelson is showing off and giving Flanders the business here. What a guy.
Ned is shown making his way to the Springfield Men’s Mission singing “Here comes sandwiches,” to the tune of “Here Comes Santa Claus.” He has a plate of cheese on bread for the homeless who dwell here, but because this is Season 15 Ned we have to get a little peak in his head as he refers to this as Boozy Bum Lane. In other words, this is the Ned who partakes in charity not because it’s right or just a nice thing to do, but because he just wants to get into Heaven. He’s shocked to find the place empty, so shocked he even spells out the H word (no, not that one). And he soon realizes that everyone is at Homer’s where they can rent skates for free (how did he come into possession of all these skates? Shut up, Joe, just go with it) no matter how gross and black their feet may be. Ned is frustrated and dismayed to hear Gil (Castellaneta) refer to Homer as the nicest guy in town. Nelson (Cartwright) is also there to deliver his customary “Ha! Ha!” and add a dash of “Your position has been usurped!” He also makes a couple more passes to rub it in even laughing “You’re sad at Christmas!” While he does he demonstrates some really fine tandem skating with Sherri or Terri. Sometimes a guy surprises you.
Great sight gag, I approve!
After an act break, we return to the TV! Man, this episode has a lot of old Simpsons tropes between the bedroom scenes and the plot-advancing television spots. It’s the nightly news with Kent Brockman (Shearer) delivering a breaking news report on the nicest guy in town: Homer Simpson. He has to deliver it in his Brockman way though by first shocking and horrifying the viewer with the announcement that Santa Claus is dead! This gets a scream out of Bart and Lisa who are, strangely, the only ones watching the news in the house. Bart didn’t seem to believe in Santa way back in the first episode, but I guess he’s had a change of heart? Or maybe it’s just a part of him he can’t let go? This was all a clever setup by Brockman to declare that Santa might as well be dead, because Homer Simpson has stolen his spotlight. They then show a photo of Homer strangling Bart in front of Marge and Lisa, but it’s been digitally altered to replace Bart with an image of a bouquet of flowers.
Ned, you’re starting to freak me out a little bit.
Next door, Ned is practically steaming watching this report. He starts tugging on his moustache and assuring himself “Pain is the cleanser,” in an attempt to banish his jealous thoughts. Mel Gibson would approve. A ring of the doorbell gets him off the couch and it’s a pregnant woman (Hayden) who needs help with her car. An overzealous Ned offers to jump the car, rotate the tires, and even fold the map she’s holding. This just turns her off and, calling Ned a creep, the woman says she was looking for Homer Simpson. That is apparently the last straw as Ned vows to show the whole town that he’s nicer than Homer. That he can be the nicest man who ever lived! He then looks at a picture of Jesus on the wall and tells him he said nicest man, not man-god, and to keep his pants on. I don’t think Jesus wore pants, Ned. Hah!
Skinner and his mother asking the important questions here.
To make good on his boast, Ned has decided to go door-to-door dressed as Santa Claus handing out presents to everyone in town. His first stop is the Skinner residence where Seymour (Shearer) is flabbergasted by Ned’s mission. Agnes (MacNeille) barks at him, “What’s your angle, pervert?” and Ned is actually honest by answering “Giving in this world, living in the next!” In other words, he just wants to get into Heaven. When Skinner asks how he can possibly afford this on a widower’s salary, Ned informs him he rented out his house to a fraternity. We cut back to Ned’s home and there are Greek letters (Sigma, Chi, Sigma? I’m not up on frat business) above the door and a keg goes flying through the front window. We hear an agitated Rod also shouting “Stay out of our medicine cabinet!”
That’s quite an imagination you’ve got there, Homer.
Homer takes note of Flanders’ good deeds and scoffs at them. We see he’s already been to the Simpson house and gifted Bart a Krusty-branded version of Operation. We hear the toy groan when Bart “tweezes my wang.” I feel like they’re usually more subtle than that? Homer, apparently taking Ned’s bait, wants to outdo him and thinks the best way is to buy everyone a car. Lisa, ever the voice of reason, is there to tell her father that he doesn’t need to outdo Mr. Flanders and to remind him to remember the theme of the season. Homer seems to think it’s despair and Lisa goes on to share her feelings on the matter of gifts as a Buddhist. She thinks people would be better off without presents, which gets Homer thinking. We see a car, a Christmas sweater, and then an image of Budai (smiling fat dude often mistaken for Buddha), and they all combine into an image of Budai (Azaria) driving. He offers Homer some sage advice, “[…]attachment to material goods kills the soul.” Then, for some reason, Budai gets pulled over by the cops in Homer’s imagination and vows to never return to jail. Homer is satisfied now and decides he needs to take away everyone’s presents! He then thanks, Buddha which brings back his brain cloud to show Budai getting arrested and threatening the cops that they’re in trouble if he ever gets out.
Look at Santa’s Little Helper! He’s cuter than Bradford II!
And now it’s time for an extended Grinch parody! Homer, with assistance from Santa’s Little Helper, is going to go house to house stealing all the presents under the tree in town on Christmas Eve. And as he does so, he’s going to sing about to the tune of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” which goes something like this: You’re a hero, Homer Jay. You’re as crafty as a skunk. They’ll thank you in the morning for stealing Flanders’ junk, Homer Jay! You’re a double-bacon genius burger, and just a little drunk!” As he does, we see clips of him walking like the Grinch, slithering like the Grinch, cutting down stockings like the drink, and chloroforming a toddler like the Grinch. Wait! That’s all Homer and not a good look for the big guy.
This sort of thing didn’t work out all that well for the Grinch, but maybe it will for Homer.
At dawn, Homer is seen driving the family station wagon into the center of town with a massive sack of stuff tied to the roof. He hops out of the car and douses the bag in gasoline before hopping onto the ground to put a hand to his ear. There he waits to listen to the thanks coming from the folks of Springfield. It’s a rather clever inverse of the Grinch. He wanted to hear sadness and anger over his stealing Christmas, but heard singing instead. Homer wants to hear the singing, but he just hears anger. First from Lenny, then Dolph (MacNeille), and then we start to jump around. Snake (Azaria) is shown shocked and saddened by the fact that he’s been robbed at Christmas and reflects, “Man, so this is how it feels.” In a season of Simpsons repeating Family Guy gags, I feel like I have to point out that Family Guy did a very similar joke where an inmate stabs himself to see how it feels. We then jump to a rather sad scene at Nelson’s house. He wonders if his dad came back in the night to steal their presents while his mom (MacNeille) just gruffly says “I wouldn’t put it past him.” She references the night he left and Nelson gets defensive insisting he just went to the store and when he gets back he’s going to wave those Pop Tarts right in her face! Poor, delusional, Nelson.
Definitely not a gracious mob.
Homer then pulls back a little disappointment in hearing anger, but he points out happily that a mob is approaching shaking its fists in anger! The show decides to let Cookie Kwan (MacNeille) and Drederick Tatum (Azaria) get some lines in before the mob begins pummeling a confused Homer with snowballs. Even the Simpson family joins in on the beating. And who comes to Homer’s aid? Why, it’s Ned Flanders, of course. He stands protectively between Homer and the mob to tell them what Homer did was wrong, but that maybe he was also wrong to give everyone those gifts? Ned gets bombarded with snowballs for suggesting such and knocked to the ground.
Well, I hope this hurts less than a football to the groin, Hans.
Now, it’s Homer’s turn to rise to Ned’s defense. He shouts out for everyone to wait and look to the sky for there is the Christmas they need. And in the sky high above Springfield is a brilliant, shining, star. Everyone is transfixed with Selma (Kavner) even declaring it a miracle. We cut abruptly to find out that it isn’t a star, but a flare fired by Hans Moleman (Castellaneta) who appears to have gone off the road and is stuck chest-deep in the snow. It’s his last flare too, but don’t worry, for rescue dogs have come to his aid! Oh, actually those are wolves and the McGrew-like Moleman is blind and confused and sure to die.
Homer’s big speech is a thing of beauty. Bravo to writer, Michael Price, who penned this one.
Back in the center of town, Ned is finishing up reading from the Bible, the same passage old Linus referenced in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Before he can finish though, Mayor Quimby (Castellaneta) buts in to say that Ned can’t pray on city property. Homer takes it from there, “Let’s just say that on this day, a million years ago, a dude was born who most of us think was magic, but others don’t, and that’s cool. But we’re probably right. Amen.” The crowd returns with an “Amen” as well, and I just love that summation by Homer. It sums up that Christian smugness so prevalent in American society since that’s the majority opinion.
He’s such a good boy!
Homer then decides, with Ned’s help, to return all the gifts! As the two toss gifts to the mob, we get the expected animation of Santa’s Little Helper doing his Max impression as well. To sneak in an extra joke, we also get to see Professor Frink (Azaria) open his present and find it’s a brassiere (his choice of words), but in the spirit of Christmas, decides to make pretend that he has boobs. Bart is shown sharing his sentiments that this is a great Christmas and that not even Moe’s (Azaria) annual suicide attempt can bring him down. We then cut to Moe on top of City Hall threatening to jump and no one taking him seriously. Moe vows to jump and that they’ll all be sorry, but then laughs and confesses he’s not going to do it, but slips and falls anyway.
And as for Moe…who did NOT die!
No one was paying attention to old Moe for they were busy launching into a rendition of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” because we need to tie this back to Peanuts one more time. Moe actually gets to deliver the “Peace on Earth and mercy mild,” line so we see he’s not dead, just really, really, hurt. As the crowd sings, we cut back to the wrapped astrolabe on the roof of Homer’s car. We hear it say that today is the birth of Jesus, and also the birthday for singer Barbara Mandrell. Snake then steals it for good measure, a nice way to bring the whole story back around to the beginning. We fade out on the crowd singing. Merry Christmas!
I like that they got the astrolabe into the end somehow.
As far as Simpsons Christmas episode go, that is one of the most joke-heavy ones they’ve done. There are tons of one-liners and just silly moments for the sake of comedy. Yeah, there are plenty of holes one can go poking through it, especially if past episodes are brought up. I’m always a little surprised when this turns into a “Homer Loves Flanders” redux in the second half thus leading into the Grinch parody. It’s quite a ride considering where we started. There’s really no B plot as the plot of the episode just moves from one stage to the next. I like that about it and it is reminiscent of “Grift of the Magi,” another Christmas episode that just moved from one situation to the next. The difference there is that one morphed into a Christmas episode where as this one was pretty much committed the whole way through.
The stop-motion segments are great and really help to give the episode a “special” sort of feel.
As I mentioned during the write-up, there are a ton of moments where TV is used to advance the plot. I’m pretty much okay with it though as there was some great comedy to be found there. The Christmas special parodies were all well done, even if some played it mostly straight. The extra surprise of stop-motion utilized was pretty damn cool too and shout out to Chiodo Brothers Productions, Inc. for producing those segments. Some of the jokes could be described as easy or layups, but I found they worked. And try to keep in perspective that some of this stuff was still pretty novel back in 2003. Now, a Grinch parody feels a bit more played-out, though I’m struggling to think of many Magoo parodies so The Simpsons was and is still ahead of the curve there.
“‘Tis the Fifteenth Season” may honestly be the funniest Christmas episode of The Simpsons. That doesn’t mean it’s the best, but there’s a solid amount of laughs to be found. Some don’t like the portrayal of “Jerk Ass” Homer like we see in the first act and I also know folks who don’t like what Flanders morphed into in the 2000s. Such opinions are valid, but for me, it works. This is funny television. It’s not trying to make much of a statement, just lampoon Christmas specials. There isn’t really a cynical message either so if you don’t care for those types of Christmas specials then I don’t think this one qualifies. It’s just a bunch of stuff that happened at Christmas.
Merry Christmas from me and the Simpsons.
And that’s it for the 2024 edition of The Christmas Spot! If it’s the last time I do this 25 specials in 25 days thing then I feel like I went out with a pretty solid selection of Christmas episodes. There was some good, even some great, and some stinkers, but those are fun to read and write about. It was a lot though as I finish writing this one on December 23rd, possibly the latest I’ve taken to finish one of these. That’s partly why I feel like I need to take a step back because it’s become harder and harder to find the time (and material) to keep this up. Whether you read one or 25 of these things this year, thank you, and I hope you had some fun. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, joyous Wednesday, and good luck in the new year!
That’s a wrap on Christmas 2024, but if you must have more here’s what we had to say on this day last Christmas and beyond:
We have reached another Christmas Day! It’s a great time to celebrate and enjoy the moment for tomorrow we mourn the passing of the season. It’s the great come-down every year. For this holiday, I am once again returning to my list of the best of the best when it comes to Christmas specials. This…
Welcome to Christmas Day 2022! We made it another year and another long year is ahead of us until we make it back, but right now, it’s time to celebrate! And in keeping with the theme of this year’s countdown, we are once again looking at another much beloved Christmas special on this day. Before…
We made it! Another year in the books, and another Christmas has come. Indulge in it. Bask in it, for it only comes once a year, and not to get too dramatic, but you never know how many you’re going to get. And we’re ending this year’s edition of The Christmas Spot with another throwback…
It just wouldn’t be Halloween without The Simpsons.
Happy Halloween fellow toy enthusiasts and fans of The Simpsons! Every year since 1990, there has been a Halloween edition of The Simpsons. The annual anthology style episode called Treehouse of Horror is basically appointment viewing each and every year. Sometimes it arrives before Halloween, sometimes on Halloween, and often times after Halloween (as it’s doing this year for some unknown reason). It would be nice if there could be some consistency when it comes to that aspect of the annual show, but at least with Halloween occurring on a Thursday this year it’s not a long wait until Sunday.
Here at The Nostalgia Spot, much time was spent on Simpsons action figures in 2024, and in particular, those from Super7. The company announced it had the license a few years ago to produce action figures based on the show, but it took a long time to get things moving along. As a result, Disney may or may not have grown impatient or they just didn’t like the returns they were getting from Super7 because the company yanked the license (along with all other Disney licenses) away and gave it to Jakks Pacific. That lead to three waves of Ultimates! figures getting released in a short window earlier this year with varying degrees of quality (most not great). I enjoyed some of those figures, but I also did not enjoy some and I was pretty harsh at times. This isn’t an apology though, the figures are what they are, and the criticism was warranted. When I finished that though I opined on if I should make a post about some Super7 figures based on The Simpsons that I did enjoy. Namely, the ReAction brand.
The ReAction figures are a little bigger than the new Jakks 2.5″ (Bart on skateboard) line, but a lot smaller than the Jakks 5″ line (far right).
Super7’s ReAction brand is its retro-style action figure. Loosely based on what Kenner started in the late 70s with Star Wars, these are approximately 3.75″ figures with five points of articulation: head, shoulders, hips. All of those points are simple swivels and Super7 has used this format for basically a whole bunch of licenses over the years. Personally, I don’t have any nostalgia for the original Star Wars line from Kenner so I typically am not interested in these intentionally ugly, limited articulation offerings from Super7. It also doesn’t help that they’re usually around 20 bucks (ouch). However, for some properties Super7 alters its approach slightly to basically sculpt and paint the figures to match the source material and that’s what it did with The Simpsons.
Each wave of Simpsons Treehouse of Horror ReAction consists of four figures.
Super7 did four waves of Simpsons ReAction. One was based on the movie within the show, McBane, while another was a series of Troy McClure two-packs (and they were great). The other two were devoted to Treehouse of Horror. Wave one consisted of Reaper Homer, Skeleton Marge, Inside Out Bart, and Kang as Bob Dole. The articulation across the board is terrible, but the sculpts are pretty nice and these figures are fully painted. What really helps sell them is the yellow paint for the skin, something the much larger and more expensive Ultimates! figures skimped on at times. The Marge sculpt, in particular, is very nice as she has a skeleton body with her normal head (in a horrified expression). Inside her rib cage is a trapped Snowball II and even the little kitty appears to be fully painted. She’s a bit tough to stand because the hips are a touch loose and her hair makes her top heavy, but overall she’s rather nice looking.
Finally! I have Bob Dole’s boneless face in plastic!
Homer also looks great. This take on the “Reaper Madness” segment where Homer became the Grim Reaper captures the likeness well. He has one skeletal arm and one normal one. Plus, he has two accessories: his scythe which he can hold okay with his left hand, and the scroll ordering him to kill Marge which he can hold with his right. He’s even more limited articulation wise, but these things are basically just little statues. Kang-Dole is depicted from the moment in the segment where Homer yanks the Bob Dole mask off of his head exposing the top of his eyeball. The Bob Dole mask is an accessory and it’s kind of creepy. The details on the figure are nice though and it’s certainly a memorable segment from the show. Inside Out Bart is perhaps the least interesting of the bunch. Even though the concept should lend itself well to figure form, there’s less paint since they were able to just mold him in pink and just paint a few veins here and there. His expression is also odd, but he has his cane and top hat and looks fine. It’s just the limited posing (even for this form as his legs do very little) of this form factor that lets the figure down since this character only exists for a dancing segment and he definitely can’t be posed in any dancing maneuvers.
Not the most creative character selection, Super7.
Wave two was surprisingly more of the same for Super7. It once again features a version of Homer, Marge, and Bart and then throws in a side character, which in this case is Groundskeeper Willie. Marge comes in her witch attire from “Easy-Bake Coven.” She has a laughing expression and comes with her broom. She, of course, can’t really ride the broom and even though she’s wearing a long skirt Super7 still gave her hip articulation by splitting the sculpt. I hate when they do that and it’s one reason why I’ve never been tempted by their Misfits ReAction figures. They left the robed Homer alone, but not Marge. It just looks stupid, and the limited articulation doesn’t add much. Still, she’s a good representation of this Marge, even if a little less exciting than the skeleton one.
Both Homers look pretty great.
Homer is in his Snake form from the segment “Hell Toupee.” That means he looks like regular Homer, only he has a gray shirt and hair. Somewhat to my surprise, Disney let Super7 sculpt his pack of cigarettes under his right sleeve. It’s a small detail, but they’re so averse to smoking in anything that I’m surprised they didn’t insist on removing it. He also comes with a corkscrew with Moe’s heart stuck on the end. It’s pretty gruesome for such a small item, but I appreciate his right hand being sculpted in such a way that he holds it properly. The Bart in this wave is technically not Bart, but Hugo from the segment “The Thing and I.” His shirt is a little darker than usual and his clothes are tattered. The remnants of his shackles are still on his ankles and he comes with a glass of milk and plate of fish heads. His grip on the glass is pretty loose and can get annoying as dropping that tiny accessory can lead to a long search for it. The plate of fish heads also just kind of rests on his right hand and can be precarious since it throws off his balance. Basically, once you get him right, don’t touch him! The sculpt looks nice though and he’s well painted, though the tattered bits of the hem of his shirt could have been done better. It’s basically seamless with his body so it looks odd upon close inspection.
Willie, with his Jakks counterpart.
The last figure in the wave is Groundskeeper Willie in his Freddy Krueger attire from “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace.” He is perhaps the most preposed of the line (Hugo is as well) as his knees are bent and his arms are situated in such a fashion that he can hold his included rake with two hands. It basically just means he has one pose so the articulation on this guy is almost pointless. He looks great though and I’m definitely not upset about his inclusion or anything. I do think this line is open to criticism when it comes to character selection. We get two each of Bart, Marge, and Homer, but no Lisa? After the Ultimates! completely shut out her, Marge, and every female in Springfield it was disappointing to see the ReAction figures almost do the same. We could have easily received a witch Lisa instead of Marge, or maybe sorcerer Lisa, Einstein Lisa, snail Lisa, or a multitude of others. Hawk Lisa with a shrew Maggie (or whatever she was supposed to be in “The Island of Dr. Hibbert”) could have been a way to get both of the Simpson daughters into the line.
I love what Super7 gave us, but could we have sacrificed a Marge for a Lisa? I get that Homer and Bart are the most popular, but we needed a Lisa!
All other criticisms of character selection mostly stem from the line only lasting two waves. It’s a shame, because Treehouse of Horror is ripe for more figures. I might have preferred a fly Bart or werewolf Bart to the inside out one, but it’s not like Inside Out Bart is a bad pull or anything. Plus it comes from one of the best editions of Treehouse of Horror. With this line, Super7 had a great process. The sculpts were on model, they didn’t sacrifice on paint, and even the scale looks pretty good. I was certainly looking forward to more and it’s a shame this is it. If you want to collect what’s present here, you definitely won’t want to wait. Most places are sold out with figures only available on the aftermarket where folks are looking to get more for them now that the line is cancelled and no more are coming. At 20 bucks a piece, they were already too expensive for what they are. I could forgive it because at least they looked nice (and I got some of these on sale too), but at any more than that it becomes a really hard to sell. You have to be a hardcore fan of The Simpsons and Treehouse of Horror in particular to spend more than that, and if you are such a fan there’s a good chance you already have them. Happy Halloween!
For more Simpsons figures, and even some Treehouse ones, look no further:
We are onto the third wave of Ultimates! from Super7 based on The Simpsons. Like past waves, plenty of questions abound when it comes to Super7’s character selection and they’re not unfounded. Perhaps the two most questionable inclusions in this third wave are the subject of today’s post: Kang and Kodos. These are two separate…
Last week, we concluded our look at the third wave of Super7’s line of figures based on The Simpsons and now we embark on the fourth and final wave. That’s right, Disney pulled the rug out from under Super7 and handed The Simpsons license over to Jakks. Their products will start rolling out this fall.…
I think it was early this year that we found out Super7’s line of ReAction and Ultimates! action figures based on The Simpsons was ending after just a couple of years. That meant Super7 was done after four waves of Ultimates! and four waves of ReAction figures. We had seen figures for a possible fifth…
Another company is taking a whack at The Simpsons.
I think it was early this year that we found out Super7’s line of ReAction and Ultimates! action figures based on The Simpsons was ending after just a couple of years. That meant Super7 was done after four waves of Ultimates! and four waves of ReAction figures. We had seen figures for a possible fifth wave and listings for another wave of ReAction figures, but they will never see the light of day. If you’re curious about my thoughts on that whole mess, check out my review of King Size Homer linked at the bottom of this entry. Safe to say, I was let down and really not surprised that Disney pulled the plug. Super7 took too long to bring figures to market and frustrated the fanbase with its character selection. And once the backlog was unleashed earlier this year, the quality took a nosedive as well which would have only further irritated Disney.
It is entirely my assumption that Disney ended the deal with Super7 largely over money in that they probably wanted more. They also apparently had another partner ready and willing to dive into The Simpsons in Jakks Pacific. Unlike Super7, Jakks is a company that specializes in low cost action figures and toys released at mass market retail. You have probably seen their figures based on various Super Mario Bros. licenses and Sonic the Hedgehog. The Simpsons is apparently their next mountain to climb and it’s possible that Jakks either wouldn’t do the deal with Disney or wasn’t willing to pay as much as Disney wanted without some kind of exclusivity over the license. For fans of the property, it basically just means we’ve swapped out one company for another. The approach of the two is very different and it remains to be seen what the finished product will look like for Jakks when it comes to selection, but for now we have a few figures we can look at and assess.
I don’t have any of the figures from Playmates, but I can show you how they scale with Super7 Ultimates!
The Jakks approach for The Simpsons is a lot like their video game figures in that there are basically two lines: a 2.5″ line and a 5″ line. I don’t actually know what the measurements of the smaller line are because I have yet to buy any. They are small though and minimally articulated. It looks like this line will be how Jakks gets play sets into market as there’s already a Homer and living room set. The 5″ line is the one I’m more interested in as it’s a more fully articulated line of figures. The 5″ scale also has the added benefit of fitting in with the old World of Springfield toy line from Playmates that existed in the early part of the century. There’s also a third tier, a deluxe line, that’s starting to come out. These figures will feature more paint and come with dioramas and special features. I’m not sure about that line at this time as the price is around $25 for those and I’m not seeing the value, but maybe I’ll change my mind. There’s also a talking Krusty doll (I have it, it’s great for what it is) and a roleplay item in the form of Moe’s telephone. I might have to get that too, but it’s very much a “toy” and something I don’t need (not like that ever stopped me).
And I can also show you how they scale with the Super7 ReAction line.
Wave One of the 5″ line contains four figures: Homer, Bart, Willie, and Otto. I have so far only managed to find the two Simpson boys, but I do hope to run into Willie and Otto at some point. The figures are sold in window boxes with the same licensing art across all of them. It’s fine and sturdy and if you’re an in-box collector the window is generous and provides for a good look at the figure inside. Each figure will retail for about $13 and it looks like the aim is to do a figure with at least one accessory. As a first wave, this seems like a solid approach to get two family members and two fairly prominent side characters. Otto was definitely more of a factor early in the show’s life, which I do kind of appreciate since it’s those long-time fans that are mostly likely to buy these. After Super7 failed to release any women in their main line though, I’m a little remiss that Jakks did the same. It looks like we won’t have to wait long though for such characters to arrive as Wave Two is set to include Lisa along with Krusty, Moe, and another Homer. I guess Marge will have to wait until the third wave.
The scale here is not great.
Homer and Bart follow a pretty similar approach. Homer is around 5″ tall while Bart is a tick under 4″. You will likely notice right away that the scale is pretty far off for the pair. Bart is way too big, but it’s basically the same scale as what Playmates did. Toy companies have a tendency to make the smallest characters in a property bigger than they should be while the largest characters tend to be smaller than they should be. In the case of Homer, I think his size is perfect. His proportions look pretty good and I really have no complaints there. Bart, in addition to being too big, also doesn’t look proportional to me. His head is huge relative to his body and his arms and legs are too long. The arms and legs I can excuse since it’s probably to help facilitate articulation, but he’s not a great looking figure. I pretty much bought him because he’s, well, Bart!
Homer actually scales pretty well with little Hugo here. I think I prefer the kids be just a little too small than too big.
Both figures feature minimal paint applications. There’s really almost none to speak of. On Homer, it’s possible the only paint is the black hair that zig zags around his head and the pupils of his eyes. His mouth and the white part of his eyes look like they may be separate pieces of colored plastic glued into place. It’s certainly the case with the eyes, while I’m less certain about the mouth. For Bart, his pupils are painted along with some of the parts of his shoes. And with the shoes, the only paint might actually be the white circles on the inside of his sneakers (something Super7 failed to paint) as the soles of his shoes are all white and there’s a little excess plastic around his socks which makes me think that too is a molded piece. It’s possible the blue is painted on and then the white circles over that.
Similarly, this new Bart doesn’t look too bad beside an Ultimates! Homer.
The lack of paint basically means these figures have a very glossy appearance. From a collector’s standpoint, it’s the thing that bothers me the most. Yes, I know, we’re talking about a very low price point here, but if just the heads were at least painted it would give these figures a much nicer aesthetic. The other issue that stands out for me are the portraits. Both characters have a hint of a smile that’s really only visible from the side or a 3/4 angle. From the front, there isn’t much personality to convey. The Simpsons are a pretty animated bunch and I would have liked some more personality. Something else that kind of bums me out is that the heads don’t feel like they’ll be easy to remove. If Jakks had planned it better, perhaps we could swap portraits with future Bart and Homer variants to create more expressive poses.
My favorite detail about Homer’s behavior at work is how he always just takes the box of donuts from the break room and heads into the bathroom.
This line is a fully articulated one and Homer and Bart probably have as much articulation as one would expect of a Simpsons line. It’s also the same setup for both. There’s a swivel head, ball-hinged shoulders, biceps swivel, single-jointed elbow, wrist swivel and hinge, ball-jointed waist, ball-socket hips, single-hinged knees, and ankle swivels. Bart’s thighs can also swivel where they meet his shorts, though it’s tight enough that I wonder if it’s intentional. I was also able to get his lower leg to rotate at the knee which I only did because his lower leg was inserted backwards out of the box. Again, I’m not sure if it’s supposed to do that, but it did. Homer’s elbow range is a little less than 90 degrees, while Bart’s is a little more. The waist joint is mostly a rotation point, but there’s a tiny bit of tilt all around on the ball joint there. It’s decent and probably enough for this brand. The arms are a little ugly since both characters are bare armed, but what are you going to do? I suppose a more collector focused line would do swappable arm parts instead of joints, but that clearly isn’t what Jakks is going for. The only joint that’s really worth criticizing is the lack of an ankle rocker. I suppose a simple ball joint for the head would also be superior to what we have.
Eating and skateboarding, that’s pretty much what both characters like to do most. Aside from maybe watch TV.
Both figures do feature a primary accessory. I suppose for Homer we technically have two. For Bart, it’s his skateboard which features a single peg at the rear of the board and purple wheels that really spin. The board itself is red plastic with stickers applied for the other colors. I always thought of Bart’s board as more orange than red, but it’s fine. Even though Bart’s right hand is a gripping hand, he doesn’t come with a slingshot or anything. For Homer, he has a pink box of donuts with an articulated lid. Inside the box, are eleven donuts which are non removable. There’s one missing because it’s separate and Homer can hold it. It has a big bite missing and it’s Homer’s favorite donut with the raspberry glaze. It too appears to be two pieces of different colored plastic glued together. That approach must be way cheaper than paint for Jakks to go through all of this trouble assembling tiny donuts.
Homer’s box of donuts turned out pretty well.
Overall, I would say these figures of Homer and Bart are pretty much as expected. They look cheap and they feel cheap because they are cheap. Now, they don’t feel fragile or anything and they have a nice weight to them, but they definitely don’t feel like a true “collectible.” I’m far more pleased with Homer than I am Bart and it has everything to do with the scale and proportions on Bart. I’m tempted to buy the 2.5″ Bart to see if I like how he fits with Homer and maybe making that my way of collecting the Springfield kids. I like how Homer looks with the ReAction Hugo so it gives me optimism that He’ll look good with the smaller Bart.
They might not be the figures we want, but maybe they’re what we deserve?
If you’re looking to start another collection of The Simpsons action figures, these are currently showing up at both Target and Walmart and have been for quite a few weeks now. It actually took me awhile to find a Bart that didn’t have misaligned pupils which is what took me so long to get to them. Amazon is also selling the first wave and they can be found at other online retailers. The figures should retail for about $13 so it’s definitely an affordable line, but you also get what you pay for. I’m largely interested in this line and I do plan to buy more, but I’m not excited about it. It’s mostly a feeling of acceptance that is driving me to buy these as more than anything they just remind me of what I want from the brand. And that’s 5″ scale figures with more paint and more accessories. Not so much accessories in the form of “stuff,” but just in extra expressions via portraits and hands. I can pose Homer with his donuts, but his mouth isn’t open to bite into one nor can he just drool over them. These figures are very sterile, but The Simpsons should be anything but.
If these figures from Jakks Pacific aren’t really doing it for you, maybe you’ll like the stuff Super7 did:
Well, we’ve done it. We’ve reached the last figure in Super7’s line of Ultimates! action figures based on The Simpsons. Did we save the best for last? No, not really, but I am happy to say today’s figure is definitely not the worst. And this fourth and final wave has featured multiple contenders for worst…
We are onto the third wave of Ultimates! from Super7 based on The Simpsons. Like past waves, plenty of questions abound when it comes to Super7’s character selection and they’re not unfounded. Perhaps the two most questionable inclusions in this third wave are the subject of today’s post: Kang and Kodos. These are two separate…
When I concluded my review of wave 1 of The Simpsons Ultimates! from Super7 I was thinking that I’d be back with more reviews later in the year. That was in February of 2023. We are now in April of 2024 and finally wave two has arrived (my original order was place January 5th, 2022).…
Well, we’ve done it. We’ve reached the last figure in Super7’s line of Ultimates! action figures based on The Simpsons. Did we save the best for last? No, not really, but I am happy to say today’s figure is definitely not the worst. And this fourth and final wave has featured multiple contenders for worst in the line. I don’t wish to beat a dead horse, but for whatever reason this fourth wave was pretty terrible. Even the figures that look fine, like last week’s Drederick Tatum, suffer from inexcusable levels of quality control. How hard is it to make sure an arm or a leg fits properly? I don’t know. A lot of toy companies seem to have no issues with such things, but Super7 has certainly made it look challenging with this line.
A much wider Homer than we’re used to.
King-Size Homer comes from the episode of the same name from the show’s seventh season. It is our second Homer Simpson in this short-lived line of action figures which normally wouldn’t seem like something that stood out, but here it does considering we never got a Marge or a Lisa in the line. The company that made it a point to include a female character in each wave of its Mighty Morphin Power Rangers line didn’t seem to find any value in doing the Simpson women before double-dipping on Homer. Cool. At least this Homer is a little more of a popular variant than wave one’s Deep Space Homer. Not that Homer going to space wasn’t a memorable episode, it’s just that there are a lot of Homer variants I would have gone with over that one. I still would have chosen several over this version as well, but I concede that of all the various Homer Simpson looks he’s had in the show, this is among the most memorable. And it’s way better than Dancing Homer or Homer the Vigilante, though it’s no Mr. Plow.
Oh look, he’s monologuing again.
King-Size Homer comes in the standard box with no slipcover, as has been true of every figure in this wave. If you’re unfamiliar with the episode, this gargantuan Homer is the result of him trying to gain a bunch of weight to be declared medically obese and thus eligible to work from home. As evidenced by his appearance here, Homer was pretty successful in packing on the pounds (thank you Play-Doh doughnut) and achieved his dream. Homer stands at right around the 7″ mark which is more or less in-line with the wave one figure, only now he possesses far more girth. He’s in his floral moo-moo and comes packaged with his “fat guy hat” and has an optional soft goods cape. Since this Homer is far bigger than the last, everything here is new sculpt and it looks pretty good. Homer has his much girthier neck and even his hands have been enlarged to match the show.
This sort of thing drives me nuts.
As for the paint, well it’s again another mixed bag. Unlike that first wave Homer, this one is done in yellow plastic and not painted over. There is a matte coat to cut down on the shininess of the plastic, but he has a cheaper look than that first Homer as a result, but it also puts him in-line with Devil Flanders, Burns, and Ralph. The strands of hair atop his head are done with soft plastic and with Homer it works far better than it does with Ralph. Unfortunately, he’s packaged wearing his hat and the default head on my figure has some warped hair as a result. It also has a blob of white paint on the back of the head too. The garment he’s wearing looks okay and the flowers are painted cleanly, but they did a thing that really annoys me. Since Homer has a cut for articulation in the torso, some of the floral pattern gets broken up and if you line-up one flower it doesn’t line up all of them. The cape looks nice at least and it’s well-tailored. It might be a tad on the small side, but it’s not as if it gets lost when he’s wearing it. It just slips over the head and it completes the look. The paint on the shoes and eyes is hit or miss. Some portraits look good, while others have a sloppy edge to the eyes. My Homer’s right shoe has a chunk of white missing around the sole.
Reaching broom included.
For accessories, Homer comes with various items from the episode that should look pretty familiar. For heads, we get one with a slight smile, a side-eyed angry expression, and one where he’s making his “Ooo” mouth. It’s basically the same expression that Deep Space Homer came with, which is one I like, but it feels a little redundant. For hands, Homer has fists and that’s really the only “set” he has as the rest are specialized hands. He has a gripping left hand which seems intended to work with his ice cream cone (Ooo, raspberry). The cone looks fine and comes close to matching Ralph’s alternate head which I suppose is nice for symmetry. There’s a different-shaped gripping right hand and that’s intended to work with Homer’s “reaching broom.” In the episode, Homer sits on the couch watching TV and utilizes the broom to just whack the keyboard of his work computer so it seems like he’s doing something. The broom-head has sculpted indentations for his fingers and thumb to slot into and he gets a pretty good grip on it. Sadly, his articulation is lacking so he can’t really use it as intended, but we’ll get to that. There’s also an open left hand and that one works well with the famous drinking bird. This is the bird Homer got from his brother Herb in the season three episode “Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes” and it’s a novelty toy. It returns as Homer’s assistant in the episode. The bird is articulated so you can simulate the pendulum effect it’s supposed to have. The sculpt and paint are fine, and this is an accessory Homer had to come with. Lastly, Homer has a pointing right hand and his medal which he is awarded at the end of the episode for using his ass to prevent the release of deadly, poison, gas.
At least they got this guy in.
It’s a solid spread of accessories and I think Super7 keyed in on the right objects from the episode to give Homer. They could have given him a computer, but as we saw with Ralph, without something to put the PC on it serves little purpose. I would have preferred an expression that could work with the ice cream cone, but I suspect that didn’t happen because he can’t reach his face. There is absolutely one thing missing though and it’s Homer’s sign from the episode that reads “Give Me Ride or Everybody Dies.” Really, that scene should have been priority for Super7. Cut the pointing hand and replace it with a hitchhiker’s thumb. Cut either alternate portrait and give us exasperated Homer with his hair limp. When you’re going to do these episode specific action figures you really need to hit on the episode’s best jokes and Super7 certainly whiffed on that one.
They’ve been staring at this bird for hours.
As for the articulation I’ve been teasing, what is there really to say? It’s terrible. Just look at this guy. It was going to be bad and it is as expected. He is basically a statue with arms that swivel. The head is the only aspect of the figure that has moderate range, because the rest does not. The elbows are poor, the diaphragm twist adds little, and the garment renders the leg articulation absolutely useless. They could have done absolutely nothing with his legs and the figure probably would not have suffered for it. I’m not going to kill Super7 for the articulation here because there isn’t much that can be done with a comically obese Homer Simpson. Maybe if they had done all of the clothes with soft goods it would have allowed for the legs to have some utility, but to do what, really? I guess it would be cool if he could sit down, but the line didn’t last long enough for Super7 to deliver a couch. The only thing that sucks is the lack of a vertical wrist hinge so he could properly wield his reaching broom. The cape at least has a wire, so you can add some dramatic flair to your Homer, but this is a figure that is just going to stand there.
You’re probably not getting that cone much closer to his face.
King-Size Homer isn’t exactly a homerun Homer, but he’s a cromulent one. The look, aside from my nitpick with the floral pattern, is on-model and while I bemoan the lack of yellow paint at least the finish is a matte one. The accessories are also pretty solid and the figure looks good with or without the costume accessories in the form of the hat and cape. I’d be a lot higher on the figure if Super7 had nailed the “Give Me Ride or Everybody Dies” scene and if this figure carried the standard MSRP of $55. It does not and instead will set you back $65. I guess because there is a minor uptick in plastic versus some of the other figures? Hell if I know why it’s more money since one would assume Homer is going to sell the best out of all of the figures in the wave. I can kind of see charging more for an obscure character like Drederick Tatum, but a popular version of Homer? The pricing is absurd, but is functionally moot since this line is dead. This figure is all but guaranteed to hit the clearance rack before long so you need only wait it out if you want a better deal.
The only award this line will ever receive.
And that’s a wrap on Super7’s journey with The Simpsons. It got off to an odd start given the confusing character selection and long wait for wave one. Plus the thing with Moe’s apron wasn’t great, but remedied in a fairly painless fashion. I felt the quality of the first two waves was pretty damn good though and the figures were about as good as I think could be expected of Super7. The issues with those figures were just the choice of characters and I suppose disagreements over accessories. Starting with the third wave though, the quality took a hit in particular with Burns and Ralph and this fourth wave was practically a disaster. King-Size Homer is the only figure in the wave without blatantly obvious quality control issues. I suppose the only good thing for Super7 is that waves 2, 3, and 4 basically all arrived at the same time so the line didn’t experience a gradual decline, it just went off a cliff.
“Way to lower the quality of the line, Flanders!”
It leaves me wondering what will be the legacy of Super7’s take on The Simpsons? I’m guessing it will be viewed as a failure considering a great many fans were unhappy about the character selection and we know the intent was to pivot away from this approach with the canceled fifth wave. It should have a “missed opportunity” vibe, but did we really miss out on much? If the fourth wave is any indication then no, because it can be assumed the fifth would have sucked just as hard. The majority of this line was just flat-out not worth the money and yet the price kept going up while the figures were getting worse. That’s a pretty bad combination. The figures also lack an attention to detail that would have made it feel like truly hardcore Simpsons fans were in charge at Super7. Lacking that charm, there’s no pull. I don’t see these figures appreciating in value and becoming something fans who missed out on chase down ten years from now. Maybe they will the ReAction figures which were actually pretty well done. Perhaps I should make a post on them because they were certainly more deserving of your money than the Ultimates! line and they actually form a cohesive display, premature death and all. In the end, The Simpsons and Super7 is just a thing that happened. If the line has any sort of lasting ramifications it may be something we look back on as the beginning of the end for Super7’s Ultimates! because the company’s reputation certainly didn’t get better by producing this line.
Here it is, for better or worse, the entire assortment of Simpsons Ultimates! by Super7.
We have looked at 15 figures from Super7’s line of Ultimates! action figures based on The Simpsons and we’re about to look at the 16th. What I’m wondering at this stage is do I need to keep talking about the baffling character selection? Yes, yes I do. Drederick Tatum is today’s figure, the show’s Mike…
Last week, we started on our journey through the fourth and final wave of Ultimates! from Super7 based on The Simpsons. It did not start well. Devil Flanders represented a new low point for the line and maybe for Super7 as a whole. I know I certainly do not own a worse Super7 figure than…
Last week, we concluded our look at the third wave of Super7’s line of figures based on The Simpsons and now we embark on the fourth and final wave. That’s right, Disney pulled the rug out from under Super7 and handed The Simpsons license over to Jakks. Their products will start rolling out this fall.…
He has arrived from the far reaches of space. At least, I think he did since it took him awhile to get here.
Slowly but surely I am clearing out all of the action figure preorders I placed in the year 2021. Of the ones that had been remaining, the line I was most looking forward to experiencing was the line of Super7 Ultimates! based on The Simpsons. It was August of 2021 when these suckers went up for pre-order and I was pretty damn excited to see someone making new figures for The Simpsons. The Playmates World of Springfield line from the late 90s and early 2000s was never my cup of tea while the stuff McFarlane did was more diorama based than action figures. I had experience with Super7, and while some of that was good and some not as good, it felt like a property they could handle. To show my support, I preordered that entire first wave direct from Super7 which meant paying upfront, paying a lot for shipping, and enduring a lengthy wait. I wanted to make sure they knew at least one person out there was really excited for The Simpsons, and at long last, my toys have been delivered.
Super7 always has great packaging, but this is probably my favorite as it’s both attractive and useful as a reference.
Up first is Deep Space Homer which is a version of Homer Simpson based on the episode of the same name. If you needed a refresher, Super7 has you covered since they put that information right on the box which includes information on which season this figure is from, the episode number for that season, and the original air date (this episode is almost 29 years old which makes me feel rather old). The box and packaging is standard Super7, but since this is a new line I can mention it in greater detail. The slipcover is a cloudy blue sky with the logo for the show embossed on the front. On the rear is a character image of Homer floating in space and it’s very well done. The interior box continues with the cloudy sky theme and includes another image of Homer on the back plus all of the episode info I mentioned before. The front is where our window lies and the rear insert inside the box features the portraits of many of Springfield’s finest. It’s very well done and it presents the figure well so if you’re an in-box collector this should make you pretty happy. Though I don’t know how in-box collectors display these – with or without the slipcover? I’m guessing they don’t bother with the brown shipper box they come in, or maybe they do? I can’t pretend to understand the ways of the in-box collector.
Space: where no Simpson has gone before.
Homer is fairly easy to remove from the packaging without causing any permanent damage to the box. Unfortunately, Super7 has switched to those annoying tie-downs that NECA often uses which need to be snipped in order to get the figure out. Usually, they just use the blister alone to keep the figure in place with usually one twist-tie, but this entire wave of Simpsons figures all used these clear, plastic, things that I hate. Once he’s out, Homer stands right around 7″ to the top of his dome, not including his two hairs above that. He’s probably going to be the character everyone is designed to scale around so putting him right at that 7″ mark feels appropriate. He’s a pretty chunky figure given that he’s wearing a spacesuit. My main concern when Super7 announced this line was how the unique yellow complexion would be handled. With Homer, only his head features visible skin on account of the space suit and for his head it appears that they cast it in yellow, but then painted over it with more yellow to give it a matte finish. And it looks good! His muzzle looks to be a separate piece that is glued in. It could be cast in yellow, or it could be cast in brown, or any color really, but it’s also painted and the finish is nice. The eyes are just painted over the plastic and they’re just okay. The edges are not very clean as the white bleeds onto the flesh at the edge. Will it be noticeable on a shelf? No, but it could have been better. I’m left to wonder if maybe a black outline around the eyes could have solved this issue while also adding a little more pop to the look? It’s just as likely that they would have looked bad that way too and I’m not brave enough to paint them on myself to find out. The black line for the spiky bit of hair that goes around his head is pretty clean, and for the two hairs on top of his head Super7 used black, plastic, wire. It looks really good and it seems pretty secure too.
Little details like this are why Super7’s episode specific approach works best.
For the body, Super7 basically just went with white plastic. It has a pretty matte appearance so it looks rather nice. The body appears to be unpainted, but the limbs have a layer of white paint applied. It’s most notable at the joints, but it’s likely what is helping to achieve this look. He has a tiny American flag on his left shoulder and a NASA logo on the right (did they have to pay for that?) and both appear to be decals. The zipper on the front of the suit is really nicely done in a chrome-like silver and the logo on the chest is cleanly applied. The only somewhat sloppy bits are the blue trim at the neck, wrists, and ankles. There’s some blue bleeding onto the top of my figure’s suit from the neck, and as was the case with the eyes, it’s just not a very clean line at the ankles and wrists. It sticks out a little more too since we’re talking blue on white whereas the yellow overpowers the white around the eyes a bit when standing at a distance. The space helmet, which just pops on and off and is held on by pressure, is fairly clean. It looks like they used a white acrylic for the rear, and a clear for the front and painted white onto the clear portion. It looks a little different as a result, but it’s on the top of the dome and not that noticeable. The interior is painted for the blue trim at the base which you have to be mindful of when putting it on and off as paint could rub off onto the figure’s head which wouldn’t look very good. I assume the yellow could also potentially rub off onto the clear helmet too.
I bet you can hear these images.
To complete Homer’s look from the episode, Super7 went with three distinct portraits. The default one is a pretty stoic expression, but on the rear of the figure is written in black ink “Insert Brain Here” which was a prank the guys played on Homer in the episode. It’s amusing, but the actual expression on Homer’s face is just too plain. Too boring. I would have preferred a smile, or better yet, Super7 could have made his muzzle swappable to get a bunch of expressions into the box. I’m curious if they tried that out or not during the planning stage. Homer’s next expression is a more quizzical look. He’s making an “Ooo” face, or I suppose it could be played off as a whistle. It’s a good expression though because I can “hear” it when I look at it. His third expression is probably the most fun as he has an open mouth and his head is tilted back. This is to imitate Homer floating after the wayward potato chips from the episode and it’s the look I’m guessing many will utilize. The space helmet can fit over all of the heads, though it’s a little tricky with the opened mouth head and I probably wouldn’t bother with it for that one. Swapping the heads wasn’t as easy as I’d like it to be. The hole on the default head is noticeably larger than either extra head so I just went ahead and applied hot water to each before putting it on. That seemed to work fine as the soft plastic snaps in place rather easily. They unfortunately don’t go right back on after doing that so I may have to heat them each time I wish to change a head.
“Mmm…salt…”
Because we need to know how ants behave in space.
Homer has some other stuff to round out his look from the episode. I know a lot of people want Super7 to just make standard versions of the Simpson family, but by being so episode specific it does help to narrow down the accessories. For Homer, we get the ever important inanimate carbon rod. It’s a green cylinder of plastic that also glows in the dark. In Rod we trust! We also get a bag of potato chips – ruffled. The logo could have been applied to the red bag a little better as the red bleeds through the white, but it’s fine. To go with that are seven individual chips. They’re actually fully painted so I’m curious what color the plastic is underneath (probably yellow) and they look pretty convincing. Homer can hold them, or you can pile them into the open mouth head. Homer also comes with the ant colony from the episode, before he smashes into it. The paint inside it is transparent, sort of like stained glass, and tiny ants are visible. It’s pretty neat and I wonder how expensive this silly, little, thing was. It can also stand on its own which is nice. To interact with these things, Homer has three sets of hands: fists, tight grip, and loose grip. His hands are cast in gray plastic so there’s less chance of paint rub with his accessories. The tight gripping hands can hold the chips between the thumb and index finger and they can also pinch the top of the potato chips bag. The loose hands aren’t really needed for much, basically just the ant farm if you want Homer to hold it. They do come in handy though if you want Homer to enjoy a nice Flaming Homer if you happen to have Moe. Or is it a Flaming Moe since it came with Moe?
In Rod we trust!
Careful! They’re ruffled!
You probably only need to take one look at this Homer figure to know that the articulation isn’t going to be impressive. And it’s not, but we have to talk about it. The head is on a double-ball peg, though the lower ball doesn’t have much play. He can rotate, look up, and there’s a little tilt. The shoulders can’t be raised out to the side very far without the patches on the sleeves obstructing things. They can rotate around and the elbow bends almost 90 degrees, which is more than I was expecting. There is a swivel at the elbow and the wrists rotate and hinge in and out for all hands. The clearance is actually really well done here and you get a lot out of those hinges, which again, was not something I expected. We get a diaphragm cut on this guy which is some sort of peg system. It might be a double-ball, but it basically just allows for rotation with minimal forward and back. I don’t think a spacesuit is meant to allow for much there anyway, so it’s forgivable. At the hips, we get some fancy new ball and socket joints. I much prefer these to the peg system Super7 usually uses. Again though, not a whole lot of range. Homer isn’t coming anywhere close to a split, nor does he kick forward and back much. There is a thigh swivel and, like the elbows, you get almost a 90 degree bend at the knee despite the bulk of the pants. The knees also swivel and we get a swivel and hinge at the ankle that doesn’t offer a whole lot. What happened to the ankle rocker, Super7? That’s really my one, true, complaint with the articulation. I expected something very limited given this is a Simpsons character in a spacesuit, but I still expect an ankle rocker. This is, unfortunately, a trend with the line we’ll have to talk about again. Having that pivot point just opens up the stances available and, without it, Homer basically has to keep himself in a rather vanilla stance.
Futurama seems like the likely next step, no?Oooo…big Homer.
Limitations aside, I am pretty happy with this release from Super7. My only real concern going in was alleviated with the paint app, and the overall sculpt and presentation is handled really well which is what I care about most. The paint and at least some of the articulation could have been better, but as is, I’m still enjoying what I have here. Accessories, expressions, and the overall look are things we’re unlikely to get a true consensus on, but as an expression of this particular version of Homer Simpson, I think Super7 nailed it. Is it worth $55? That’s harder to say. For me, someone who is a big Simpsons fan and a big fan of action figures, it is. It’s not a slam dunk and I am influenced by the fact that I paid for this figure over 18 months ago so that pain is a thing of the past. The figure still doesn’t have that premium, collector, feel to it. The packaging and presentation does, but the figure itself comes up a little short if I’m being honest. That will probably be enough to turn away casual Simpsons fans or casual action figure fans that may love The Simpsons. I feel like this is a solid entry point for this line and this license for Super7 so hopefully it’s a sign of things to come. Check back soon to hear my thoughts on the rest of the first wave in the coming days.
When it comes to arcade cabinets, there are few that would interest me as far as a purchasing decision is concerned. One such cabinet though has always been The Simpsons arcade game, and it’s not really because of the game’s quality. The game is fine, one of the better brawlers out there, it’s just limited…
Wednesday, August 18th, ended up being quite an eventful little day in the world of toy collecting. There were some reveals from major toy companies, leaks, and even those long neglected Street Sharks fans got something to get excited about late in the day. Personally, it was a good day for me too as I…
After a long stretch of posting about Christmas and Batman exclusively, it’s time to get things back on track here at The Nostalgia Spot. Here’s a subject I’ve been sitting on for quite some time. I love The Simpsons, and I also love video games, so it stands to reason I should love Simpsons video…
I’ve had Super Nintendo under the tree once before, but never on the tree!
As someone who loves Christmas time, the concept of Christmas in July should sound appealing. Instead, I’ve always kind of thumbed my nose at it. Part of what makes Christmas so special is the fact that it only comes once a year. Even though the actual holiday season is pretty lengthy, it still never overstays its welcome, for me anyways. And when it’s over, it’s over. I always put out my Christmas stuff on the day after Thanksgiving and I’m quick to put it away. Sometimes I leave stuff out until New Year’s Day, but if there is some unseasonable warmth between the 25th and the first then I’ll take advantage of that when it comes to the outdoor decorations.
Christmas in July is something that exists because it’s halfway until Christmas, and probably because Christmas is such a strong performer at retail. I’m assuming most of the Christmas in July mindset is driven by corporations looking to make an extra buck during the summer months and for companies like Hallmark, it’s become the time of year to unveil the latest in holiday décor. As a kid, I can recall Cartoon Network also using it as an excuse to tap into the trove of Christmas cartoons and fill some programming blocks during leaner times. Their Christmas in July programming was never appointment viewing or anything for me, but it wasn’t something I was offended by either. Even though in my household growing up we had a Christmas Tape; a VHS of Christmas specials recorded off of TV. That tape was completely off limits between New Year’s and Thanksgiving and it wasn’t as if it was under lock and key, it was just understood that to indulge in such when it wasn’t Christmas was borderline offensive. That tape, by the way, still exists to this day.
As an adult, I’ve softened a bit on the whole Christmas in July thing. The past couple of years I’ve caught Christmas episodes of popular shows on television during this time of year. Just last weekend Disney aired the excellent Duck the Halls, and getting in an early viewing was actually somewhat pleasurable. In 2020, it was positively delightful to take in some Christmas programming during a long year of lockdowns and isolation and catching a show set in the winter time is a bit therapeutic during a heatwave. No, I’m not getting out the decorations and breaking out the Christmas Tape, but a little holiday cheer in July isn’t so bad.
Isn’t it cute? Sadly, the NES ornament from last year is put away with the other Christmas stuff so no comparison shot with that.
One thing that’s good for Christmas lovers during the summer months is it’s a good time to do some shopping. Around the holidays, anything Christmas related is sold at its peak value, but during the rest of the year you can score some deals. I’m always on the look-out for stuff I like that I don’t have, and I’ll share some of my more recent scores shortly. Things that aren’t cheap or on-sale though are Hallmark ornaments. Like a lot of people who enjoy Christmas, I have probably more ornaments than can reasonably fit on an average-sized tree. And with the kids reaching school age, I’m probably due for a lot more homemade ones too that I’ll have to find room for. As a result, I tend to be rather picky these days with what ornaments I invest in, but one I couldn’t turn down was the new Super Nintendo ornament from Hallmark.
Part of me wishes the controllers weren’t glued down, but I’m sure there are some grooves in the sculpt for them so it probably wouldn’t look as good if someone were to pop them off.
Last year, I grabbed the Nintendo Entertainment System ornament from Hallmark and was quite enchanted by it. The sculpt is fantastic and it plays the theme from Super Mario Bros. when you press the power button. Naturally, I had to pair the SNES one with it when I was made aware of it. The SNES one is modeled after the US SNES and it features two controllers and has a copy of Super Mario World in the game slot. When you press the power button, it plays the main theme from the game complete with sound effects as-if you were watching the demo screen. The Super Mario World theme isn’t as beloved as the Super Mario Bros. one, but it’s still an ear worm all its own and an appropriate choice for the ornament considering it was a pack-in game originally (and I originally received my copy and a SNES on Christmas, as I imagine many kids did who had one). It might have been cool to see a different Nintendo franchise get to shine a little, but it’s also hard to fault Hallmark for just sticking with Mario. The ornament was created by artist Jake Angell and retails for a pretty reasonable sum of $20. It comes with the batteries needed to work the music, though Hallmark continues to cheap out on us by not including an ornament hook or ribbon to actually hang the thing from the tree.
Even the backside is accurate. The only question remaining is will this thing yellow over time like the real thing?!
The ornament itself though looks terrific. It’s pretty tiny, measuring approximately 2 and 7/16″ wide by nearly 3″ long. The power, reset, and eject buttons are sculpted and detailed, though only the power button functions. It also presses down instead of slides. Both the Player 1 and Player 2 controllers are sculpted separately and attached to the ornament; one on the left side and one on the top-rear. The attention to detail is, again, superb as the shape of the face buttons are even accurately represented in addition to the colors. The L button on the Player 1 controller kind of words on my ornament as well, though it doesn’t actually do anything and I’m not certain it’s supposed to have this much play. I am left wishing the controllers weren’t glued to the unit though. If the wires had been done to be bendy that would have been pretty near. Especially because the Player 1 chord wraps under the console so it doesn’t sit perfectly flush on a surface should you choose to utilize this as a desk adornment instead of a tree one. The rear of the unit is also accurately represented with really the only thing missing being the 1-800 Nintendo repair sticker.
It even fits in pretty well with your quarter scale action figures!
It should also be noted, the song is loud! I was pretty surprised when I hit the button for the first time that such a small device can generate such a big noise. As stated though, you get the regular theme from Super Mario World with some sound effects of Mario jumping around and finding Yoshi. It then breaks into the victory theme to close it out which is a nice touch. All in all, if you’re a Nintendo fan then you’re probably getting this thing or someone who loves you is planning on gifting it to you in December. It will probably be a big seller if it’s anything like last year’s ornament so it’s actually a good thing that it’s out now so you get several months to try to score one. They’ll be stocked regularly from now until the end of the year and you can pre-order it from some stores right now so anyone who wants it should be able to get it for retail. It might get harder though the closer we get to the actual holiday.
New ornaments are fun and all, but what people really love are novelty, singing, dancing, figurines which is why I invested in a Santa Dancing Homer. This guy comes courtesy of eBay as he’s no longer in production. He features a 2002 copywrite which makes sense as this was when Simpsons merch was still pretty robust. It would fall off not long after and resurface for the 25th anniversary, though surprisingly little seemed to come out for the 30th. Are we as a culture just officially sick of The Simpsons? Maybe, though I’m not. I hope it never ends! There’s just something comforting about there always being new episodes of a show that’s been on since I was a kid and it’s not some dumb news program or pro wrestling. And yeah, I know, it past its peak in 1999 or so, but so what?!
In case you’re wondering, yes, that countdown is accurate.
Homer is festively attired in a Santa suit which has a soft, though somewhat rigid, texture. Not including the base he’s attached to, Homer is about 12″ tall with the base adding roughly 1 1/4″ to that height so he doesn’t require a lot of room for display. The portions of his body that are visible are cast in yellow plastic and the added details, like his eyes and trademark stubble, are painted effects. I suppose it should be noted this Santa suit is a bit nicer looking than the one he wore in the series premiere, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” though it’s pretty similar to the much later Christmas episode “Grift of the Magi.” The main difference between the two is the original costume came with a scruffy beard.
Homer runs on double A batteries and is not, by himself, posable. When you have fresh batteries in him, you can either activate him via the yellow button or by a switch on the bottom of the base. The yellow button will make him wiggle and utter one of his many phrases or sing a song. The button on the bottom of the base is for activating the motion-sensing function so you can scare people who walk by him. When he does animate, his lower jaw moves and his hips sway. Sometimes he’ll turn his head too. If he goes into song, his arms will move up and down a bit along with the hip swaying and mouth-flapping. The songs are pretty amusing as Homer doesn’t know all of the words. When he sings “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” he mostly just says the song’s title over and over and ad-libs a bit all while adhering to the song’s melody. The speaker is a little fuzzy, but Homer can be understood clearly and obviously the lines were recorded by Dan Castellaneta. It’s a novelty Christmas item, so how much you enjoy it probably depends on how much you like Homer Simpson. I love Homer, so this decoration is an easy win. It also wasn’t hard to come by, nor was it super expensive. I think I basically ended up paying retail for it, though he’s used. Another neat feature is that you can use a 6V wall plug to power him if you would rather not use batteries. It’s not a bad idea since batteries being left in a Christmas decoration like this one throughout the year can often lead to leakage and a ruined toy.
The last holiday item we’re going to look at is a simple one: this plush Santa Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was in reading the book Rad Plastic earlier this year that I was reminded about the plush line of TMNT toys from the early 90s and it was the first time I can recall being made aware of this Christmas variant. It pains me that the original Fred Wolf cartoon never did do a Christmas episode, but this plush kind of makes up for that. Well, not really, but hey, it’s Christmas!
There’s not much to say about this guy though: what you see is what you get. The tags on him reflect a 1990 release for this guy and that agrees with the book. It’s basically the same as the regular plush turtles that were available, only this one has Santa pants and boots stitched onto it. He’s about 17″ long from the top of the head to the tip of his toe as his feet are kind of outstretched as there’s no stitching to orient his feet in a standing position. The coat can probably be removed, as I don’t see any stitching holding it to the body, but it has white elbow pads stitched to it that are pretty tight and I don’t want to risk messing this up. The white elbow pads are actually a nice touch and the white cuffs on the boots basically line-up with where Raph’s kneepads normally would end up. It even appears he has his red elbow pads on underneath the jacket, though it’s impossible to say if the same is true for the knees. He also comes with a removable hat that mostly just rests on his head. I wish it was a bit bigger, but it’s all right.
“Aww c’mon, man! You’re embarrassing me and the other Raphs around here with that get-up!”
As you can probably imagine, this was another eBay purchase and yet another inexpensive one. For a 30 year old plush, Raph is in pretty good shape. The whites are still white, and the only sign of ware really is on the eyes which are a bit scratched. This style of plush is definitely assembled on the cheap, so there are exposed seems and I don’t really like the material used for the mask as it’s thin and prone to wrinkling. On the plus side, he has no odor which is always the risk when buying an old, used, plush and he’s still quite soft to the touch. It’s probably helped that he’s a Christmas decoration and whoever owned him before me may have had him put away 11 months out of the year lessening the annual ware and tare. He’s kind of dumb, but what can I say, I like him!
Well, that’s about all of the holiday cheer I have in me at the moment. Maybe I’ve inspired you to hit a Hallmark store or check popular resell locations for some Christmas stuff while the getting is good. It’s a good time to be on the hunt right now, but things tend to change quickly. If you need more Christmas in July though, you could always head on over to The Christmas Spot and check out several year’s worth of Christmas goodness. I’m already at work on the 2021 version and I’ve got some slight changes in store for this year, but don’t worry, you’re still getting 25 posts in 25 days about a Christmas special of some kind. Unfortunately, there will not be anything TMNT related this year, but it’s a safe assumption we’ll be heading back to Springfield, at least. And you know what? Mario may make an appearance this year too. Be sure to check back in December! Merry July, everybody!
It’s been a few years since Lego released its Simpsons products. Somewhat tied in with the show’s 25th anniversary, Lego released two waves of mini figures and two sets over the course of a little over a year. I was a pretty big fan of the stuff Lego did with the license and scooped it all up. The Simpsons ended up being a part of the short-lived Lego Dimensions brand, an offshoot of Skylanders and Disney Infinity in which toys interact with a video game. Aside from that though, the Lego flirtation with The Simpsons ended there. I’m not sure what the reason was for it to come to an end. It’s probably a simple one in that Lego only licensed it for two sets and two waves of figures. Lego has maintained a fairly wholesome image for the life of the company so it’s also possible there was some minor discomfort with the brand and ending it sooner than later was for the best. It seemed to me like the figures and sets sold rather well, so I doubt Lego lost money, but they only put out so many waves of mini figures per year and devoting a third to a niche product like The Simpsons may have felt unnecessary.
Whatever the reason, I’ve been a little bummed at the line’s discontinuation. It’s true I had a hard time foreseeing it continue for the simple fact that there aren’t many iconic locales from the show that could be done as a $200 set. Springfield Elementary and The Nuclear Power Plant would probably require a bigger investment, and Lego isn’t going near a Moe’s Tavern or Duff Brewery. The Flanders residence is probably too niche, as is the Springfield Retirement Castle. The only one that felt like it had a shot of getting made was The Android’s Dungeon. Lego may have had to do it smaller than the Kwik-E-Mart which would have necessitated a lower MSRP and maybe the license made that difficult. They could have tried to make it as large as the famous convenience store, but that might have been too silly. I think they could have done it though, but evidently it wasn’t meant to be.
And that’s a shame, because what’s really missing is not so much more sets, but more figures. Without a third set it seemed unlikely we would see more figures, and the figures are probably a little on the costly side since Lego makes unique head sculpts for each one. Just look at the characters Lego did not touch (I’m not bothering to list ones tied in with alcohol, religion, or organized crime for obvious reasons): Skinner, Superintendent Chalmers, Sideshow Bob, Lenny, Carl, Otto, Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, Frank Grimes, Sideshow Mel, Kent Brockman, Radioactive Man, Bumblebee Man, Roger Myers Jr, Agnes Skinner, Poochie. I could keep going, but the one that really bugs me is Principal Skinner since we have a Mrs. Krabappel and it’s kind of sad we have Ned Flanders, but not the rest of his family. Chief Wiggum doesn’t have his boys, Homer doesn’t have any co-workers – like I said, I could go on and on.
Wanting to do something with Lego, while also adding to my Simpsons collection, I picked up a set of Lego Creator. Set 31052, to be specific, which is a 3 – in – 1 set dubbed Vacation Getaways that can be constructed as an RV with boat, a camp with Jeep-like vehicle, or a massive boat. I eyed it for the RV construction which appears to be its main function. Why? Because it bares a strong resemblance to the RV Flanders has in “Call of the Simpsons” and “Lemon of Troy.” Since Ned doesn’t have a house, I figured I could give him some wheels. And as a bonus, it comes with a bear that Maggie can befriend as she did in “Call of the Simpsons.”
What we’re going for.
Construction of the RV is pretty simple and straight-forward. It’s a little on the narrow side, but a lot is packed into it (kind of like a real RV). The roof is removable in two places and intended to act as a place to store fold-up chairs and tables. There’s a portable grill as well that can be placed on top. The interior features a breakfast nook, sleeping area, kitchenette, and latrine with a two-seat cockpit upfront. One section can slide out where the bed is to make it a little roomier, and there’s lots of little built-in pieces that add to the livable nature of the set. The rear also opens up for better access. It comes with two mini figures of its own: an adult woman and an adolescent boy. A little speedboat and trailer can be built and attached (also a plus since Ned has a boat in “Homer Loves Flanders”) and it works really well. There’s also the bear and two trees that can be built as well.
Some other accessories featured are a side-mounted canopy that can be rolled out. It works much better than I thought it would. There’s a skateboard, camera, some periodicals, and a suitcase as well. The RV itself is white with a red and black stripe that, wouldn’t you know, is actually pretty damn close to what Ned’s RV looked like in the show right down to the number of windows. The likeness is so close that if Lego had done a Flanders RV set it probably wouldn’t deviate much from what’s here. The only things missing are the pink curtains and a giant lemon tree to strap to the top.
The only real downside to this set is it probably wouldn’t be a ton of fun to play with. The interior is so narrow there isn’t a lot of room for the figures. The cockpit is especially tricky to seat figures in because it’s not easily accessible, even with the roof off. Still, that’s rather minor for what I need it to do since it’s basically going to sit on a shelf with the other Simpsons Lego sets and figures. It was a fun build, and it scratched an itch I had to construct a Lego set. I just wish we had all of the characters from “Lemon of Troy” to pile into the RV to really recreate something special. This set has been retired, but it can still be easily found new on various websites for around MSRP. That might not be true for much longer, so if you’re like me and looking to expand for Simpsons Lego presence in your home you may want to act fast.
The holiday most often associated with The Simpsons is clearly Halloween, thanks to the annual presence from the Treehouse of Horror series. Which is why I find it funny that the show’s very first episode was a Christmas special (though it should be noted, it was the 8th episode by production order). I can’t think of another long-running show that lead-off with a Christmas special. South Park famously originated as a Christmas short, but that wasn’t its first true episode. “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” also aired a full month before the show’s second episode so that it could air before Christmas. It was also not written by Matt Groening, or any of the other individuals most associated with the show, but cartoonist Mimi Pond. It was also her only contribution to the show and the only episode from the show to air in the 1980s.
“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” succeeds as both a Christmas special and as an introduction for the series. Homer is depicted as a screw-up who wants to give his family a good Christmas, but his miserly boss has decided not to give out bonuses this year. When Marge has to use what little savings they have to get a tattoo removed off of their son, Homer looks to get a second job to pay for Christmas. He doesn’t tell his family and decides to take a part-time job as a mall Santa. This includes a humorous sequence of Homer going through Santa training, learning how to laugh and what to say to bad kids who sit on his lap. His plan blows up in his face though when he receives a meager payout on Christmas Eve. Defeated, he and Bart decide to accompany fellow Santa Barney Gumble to the dog track and wager their bucks on a long-shot, who Homer feels compelled to bet on because of his name: Santa’s Little Helper. The dog, of course, loses but when his owner kicks him to the curb the Simpsons gain a new pet, and a worthy Christmas present.
The gang’s all here for the first episode.
It’s a cute story and a good window into what the show is all about when it’s at its best. The Simpsons don’t always catch the best breaks, through some of their own doing, but they find a way to make it work. They’re basically a happy family that cares about one another, unlike a certain other animated TV family. As viewers, we like them, even though we laugh at them. There’s enough pity in Homer’s plight to get a reaction, but not so much that the episode becomes a depressing slog.
“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” is still the best Christmas special produced by the long-running series and can be found on the season one box set. It’s also been released on DVD as part of a holiday collection of episodes and is guaranteed to air this season on FXX, along with the other Christmas specials. Just keep an eye out for it if you wish to catch it that way.
It’s been a few years since Lego released its Simpsons products. Somewhat tied in with the show’s 25th anniversary, Lego released two waves of mini figures and two sets over the course of a little over a year. I was a pretty big fan of the stuff Lego did with the license and scooped it all up. The Simpsons ended up being a part of the short-lived Lego Dimensions brand, an offshoot of Skylanders and Disney Infinity in which toys interact with a video game. Aside from that though, the Lego flirtation with The Simpsons ended there. I’m not sure what the reason was for it to come to an end. It’s probably a simple one in that Lego only licensed it for two sets and two waves of figures. Lego has maintained a fairly wholesome image for the life of the company so it’s also possible there was some minor discomfort with the brand and ending it sooner than later was for the best. It seemed to me like the figures and sets sold rather well, so I doubt Lego lost money, but they only put out so many waves of mini figures per year and devoting a third to a niche product like The Simpsons may have felt unnecessary.
And that’s a shame, because what’s really missing is not so much more sets, but more figures. Without a third set it seemed unlikely we would see more figures, and the figures are probably a little on the costly side since Lego makes unique head sculpts for each one. Just look at the characters Lego did not touch (I’m not bothering to list ones tied in with alcohol, religion, or organized crime for obvious reasons): Skinner, Superintendent Chalmers, Sideshow Bob, Lenny, Carl, Otto, Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, Frank Grimes, Sideshow Mel, Kent Brockman, Radioactive Man, Bumblebee Man, Roger Myers Jr, Agnes Skinner, Poochie. I could keep going, but the one that really bugs me is Principal Skinner since we have a Mrs. Krabappel and it’s kind of sad we have Ned Flanders, but not the rest of his family. Chief Wiggum doesn’t have his boys, Homer doesn’t have any co-workers – like I said, I could go on and on.
The Nostalgia Spot 