Can you believe it is only two weeks until Christmas Day? Mental. A bit like work at the moment also. But now it is time to get back on track. There’s Christmas entertainment to be had, dammit!
The Simpsons S07 E11 – Marge Be Not Proud
One of the few more subtle Christmas-themed episodes of the world’s longest running animated show, Marge Be Not Proud is a cracker. Christmas is approaching, and the latest video game advertisement leaves Bart with an itch that can’t be scratched by his parents. Unfortunately for both Bart and his parents, it leads the former to make a decision that completely alters his relationship with the latter. That decision being, to obtain said video game using the “four-finger discount” method.
This episode of The Simpsons is true evidence of a show at its creative and comedic best. Christmas may merely be a secondary backdrop, but the tale told and lessons learned here could only come at Christmas time. But lets not forget that season 7 was absolute peak Simpsons – Marge Be Not Proud is an incredibly funny episode.
The advertisement for Bonestorm, the video game that triggers Bart’s criminal actions, is a fantastically hilarious parody of both the Mortal Kombat videogame franchise and the in-your-face commercials of the 1990’s. Its relentless assault on the desires of a ten year old boy are laid bare as his pursuit of Bonestorm becomes more and more desperate. Each step leads Bart down a path where the moral imperative, seemingly, is to take it from the local department store. What really resonates here is that this isn’t just the decision of the character Bart Simpson, but a decision that many a ten year old could make. That was certainly the intentions of episode-writer Mike Scully, who based Marge Be Not Proud on a similar experience he had at twelve years of age.
“Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.” – Bart
Marge Be Not Proud is a prime example of just how good The Simpsons really was in the nineties. And, an excellent Christmas episode too. The end credits are among the best the show has ever produced, with the now-legendary Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge segment still as hilarious as it ever was. It is also a true testament to a gamer’s contempt towards an unwanted title. Christmas may not be the big draw here by any means, but this empathic, meticulously funny and charming tale of a boy-done-bad-but-done-good-again is wonderful entertainment.
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