Grift of the Magi

Plot

Bart and Milhouse must stay inside the Simpsons house when an ozone hole moves over Springfield. They dress as ladies and jump on Homer and Marge's bed, singing "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves". Homer enters abruptly, causing Bart to fall onto a bowling ball and break his coccyx. Dr. Hibbert says Bart will need a wheelchair until the bone heals.

At Springfield Elementary, Bart cannot enter because the school lacks ramps for the disabled. Principal Skinner considers building a ramp, but mafia boss Fat Tony offers his construction company for the job. The new ramp system collapses, and Fat Tony demands $200,000 payment, forcing Skinner to close the school. Toy company Kid First Industries, led by Jim Hope, privatizes the school.

Classes now focus on toys and marketing. Lisa is sent to detention for doing math in marketing class, where she discovers a secret room behind the blackboard; the company uses students for research to create a Christmas toy. She tries to show evidence to Homer, Marge, and Chief Wiggum, but the company destroys the room first. At home, Bart and Lisa see an advertisement for Funzo, a toy with features suggested by Springfield Elementary students.

They visit Hope's office, and he gives them a Funzo, which they find is programmed to destroy other toys. On Christmas Eve, with Homer's help, they steal all Funzo toys from under Christmas trees in Springfield, intending to burn them at the town's tire fire. Gary Coleman, a Kid First Industries security guard, arrives to stop them. They argue all night, then settle into a discussion about the commercialization of Christmas.

Coleman changes his mind and helps destroy the Funzos. He accepts Homer's invitation to Christmas dinner, canceling plans with George Clooney. Mr. Burns, visited by three ghosts, donates to Springfield Elementary.

Production

"Grift of the Magi" was written by Tom Martin and directed by Matthew Nastuk as part of the eleventh season. It was Martin's first solo writing credit for the series; he had previously co-written the season ten episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" with George Meyer, Brian Scully, and Mike Scully. Martin got the idea for the episode after reading a magazine article about companies advertising in school textbooks, which he saw as a conflict that could lead to big problems.

The episode satirizes the commercialization of Christmas, according to DVD Talk reviewer Adam Tyner, and a Newsday writer noted it skewers the annual craze for a single hot toy. Mike Scully said in 2008 that the episode was produced when every year seemed to have a hot toy like Furbies. Martin added that the media created a rush at toy stores for various things, and this episode came on the heels of the Furby. Guest stars include Tim Robbins as Jim Hope, Gary Coleman as himself, Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony, and Clarence Clemons as a narrator.

Scully felt Robbins did a great job, as the staff wanted Jim Hope to be fun and upbeat. Clemons narrates scenes at the end, telling viewers how the story ends. After Coleman's death in 2010, the newspaper El Comercio noted that the episode references Coleman's real-life work as a shop security guard.

Release

"Grift of the Magi" originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 19, 1999. It was viewed in approximately 7.76 million households that night, with a Nielsen rating of 7.7, finishing 39th in the ratings for the week of December 13–19, 1999 (tied with an episode of ABC's 20/20). It was the second highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, behind an episode of Ally McBeal.

On October 14, 2003, the episode was released on DVD in the United States as part of the collection Christmas With the Simpsons, alongside four other Christmas-themed episodes. It was also released on DVD on October 7, 2008, as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season. The DVD audio commentary included staff members Martin, Scully, Meyer, Matt Groening, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, and Lance Kramer, and deleted scenes were also included.

Reception

Since airing, "Grift of the Magi" has received generally mixed reviews from critics. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide commented that the episode feels like an amalgamation of elements from prior holiday programs and never elicits much humor, calling it a below average episode. Joel Cunningham of Digitally Obsessed wrote that the episode comes from season 11, well past the point when the series had sacrificed character for absurdist humor, and noted some good gags but a story that does not hang together well.

Adam Tyner of DVD Talk argued the episode has a couple of good gags, particularly Gary Coleman chatting on the phone, but is quickly forgettable. Brian James of PopMatters described Coleman's cameo as hysterical in 2004. Meghan Lewit of the same website listed "Grift of the Magi" at number eight on her 2009 list of the 10 best holiday themed TV episodes.