The TV Christmas special tradition is alive and well, with Gavin and Stacey: The Finale getting the most attention (deservedly) this year.
Wallace and Gromit were also back to everyone’s pleasure, although there was a rather disappointing Young Offenders special with Jock (Chris Walley) still missing in action, as were most of the laughs.
One that might have flown under the radar was The Simpsons O C’mon All Ye Faithful on Disney Plus and this column is here to encourage you to watch it.
The Simpsons started as a Christmas special in December 1989 and this year marked its 35th anniversary.
Now, I know that most people stopped watching Homer and Bart years ago, but this double bill is a bit special.
There’s still plenty of gags but this episode gets into serious territory and plays with the idea of faith, God, Santa and the meaning of Christmas.
Obviously, The Simpsons is no longer a cutting-edge social commentary on modern American, but the writing remains sharp and clever.
In O C’mon All Ye Faithful, Derren Brown visits Springfield to bring some Christmas spirit to the weary town.
Trying to give Homer more confidence in his gift choices, Brown accidentally hypnotises Homer into thinking that he’s the real Santa.
This suits Homer perfectly well and leans into his character as the idiot with a good heart. All he wants to do with his Santa superpower is bring people the best ever Christmas presents.
And while Homer is fully convinced of his supernatural powers to deliver toys to the children of the world in one evening and signs up Ralph as his chief little helper, Ned Flanders begins to muse on the ridiculousness of Santa and his own belief in a higher power.
Before long Ned has a crisis of faith and turns away from his church.
Homer has never been happier in his life and Ned has never been as desolate.
It means this Simpsons special is less about the jokes and a story about the meaning of Christmas, whether it’s a celebration of the birth of Jesus or a raucous mid-winter party with gifts for everyone.
Ned’s abandonment of his faith has profound effects on his family as they stop believing in heaven and hell and the consequent decisions about collecting for the poor and giving their gifts to needy children.
Ned continues to follow the traditions of his two deceased wives (leaving a kind post-it note on the bathroom mirror every morning) but he’s struggling.
Before it’s too late, Professor Fink comes to the rescue (as arranged by a worried Brown) and takes Ned in his undersea explorer to wonder at the mysterious life at the very bottom of the ocean.
An awe-struck Flanders comes to the conclusion that there must be a creator behind all of this wonder and regains his faith.
Meanwhile, Brown wakes Homer from his hypnotised belief that he is Santa, leaving him devastated.
The idiot in him, however, is determined to continue and so he battles on with Ralph until the impossibility of their task dawns on him.
The world has righted itself with Homer and Ned back to their original intellectual positions.
The irony is that Fink faked the trip which returned Ned to his faith, as the two were only feet beneath the waves and the amazing scenes were created by lasers.
The only conclusion is that there are no answers, and that Christmas will always mean different things to different people.
