Tawonga, the Santa Claus of the South Seas

Tawonga, the Santa Claus of the South Seas S01E01 "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special",[1][3] is the series premiere episode of The Simpsons. It was the first episode to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It is the only full-length episode to air during the 1980s, having originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989. In the episode, Homer Simpson discovers that he will not be getting a Christmas bonus and thus his family has no money to buy Christmas presents after they had to waste money on getting his son Bart's tattoo removed. He decides to keep their financial troubles a secret and gets a job as a shopping mall Santa Claus, but later discovers that the job does not pay enough. Desperate for a miracle, Homer and Bart go to the dog-racing track on Christmas Eve in hopes of earning some money but end up adopting an abandoned greyhound, Santa's Little Helper. The episode was written by Mimi Pond, and it was directed by David Silverman. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1990, and has received positive reviews from television critics. It was viewed by approximately 13.4 million viewers in its original airing. 1pp2p30eccmcv3443 After attending the Springfield Elementary School Christmas pageant, the Simpsons prepare for the holiday season. Bart and Lisa prepare their letters to Santa; however, Bart's letter ire Marge, given he wants to get a tattoo for Christmas, to which, Homer responds to his son to pay for it himself. The next day, Marge takes the kids to the mall to go Christmas shopping. Bart slips away to the tattoo parlor and attempts to get a tattoo that reads "Mother", in the belief that Marge would appreciate it. With the tattoo practically completed, Marge bursts in and drags Bart two doors down to the dermatologist to have it removed; counting on Homer's Christmas bonus, Marge spends all of the family's holiday money on the procedure. Meanwhile, at the power plant, Homer's very mean-spirited boss, Mr. Burns, announces that there will be no Christmas bonus this year. While discovering there is no money for Christmas presents and not wanting to worry the family, Homer takes a job as a shopping mall Santa at the suggestion of his friend Barney Gumble. On Christmas Eve, Bart goes to the mall and harasses Santa, exposing Homer's secret. Bart is apologetic for the prank and actually supportive of Homer's moonlighting, remarking, "You must really love us to sink so low." After Homer is paid less than expected for his department store work, he and Bart receive a greyhound racing tip from Barney. At Springfield Downs, Homer, inspired by an announcement about a last-minute entry named Santa's Little Helper, bets all his money on the 99:1 long shot. The greyhound finishes last. As Homer and Bart leave the track, they watch the dog's owner angrily disowning him for losing the race. Bart pleads with Homer to keep the dog as a pet, and he reluctantly agrees. When Bart and Homer return home, Homer finally comes clean to the family that he did not get his bonus; however, the family assumes Santa's Little Helper is their present and are overjoyed by Homer's gesture. The Simpsons family then celebrate by singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. IGN's Robert Canning in a 2008 review of the episode noted, "though not the funniest of episodes, it certainly was groundbreaking. With this episode, The Simpsons had its premise down, and it certainly had its edge." Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, said of the episode: "pretty standard early fare, with the series not quite hitting its stride." They went on to say, "the realism of the first season is much apparent, with only the laser used to remove Bart's tattoo hinting at what the series will become." In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 3½/5 and commented: "Surprisingly, this early episode has a lot of the zest of the later shows, despite fairly odd looking art and a very Walter Matthau voice for Homer, still has some laughs." Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide said in a review that the episode "is good but not great early Simpsons" and further commented: "For many years I thought of “Roasting” as a terrible episode, but it’s not. While I don’t feel it’s anything special, it remains a fairly entertaining show that has a few entertaining moments."