About this episode
🎄 Take a sleigh ride back to 2014 as the fate of Christmas is in the hands of Murray Weiner (rhymes with diner ), from the hidden hometown of every holiday mascot… but mostly the American ones. **** 🎙 Guests: Michael DiGiovanni ( Classic Film Jerks , Pop Culture Retrofit , @theatomicgeeks ). Donnie Storms ( Bronwen’s Ghost , @boxcar45 ). **** 💬 Topics & Tangents: 1. Former Simpsons showrunner Mike Reiss’s original books, How Murray Saved Christmas and Santa Claustrophobia . 2. The trimmed half-hour cut of the special removes some bad jokes, but also Murray’s backstory. 3. Speaking of super offensive things, Marc Mero as Johnny B. Badd . 4. Today’s TV Trope: Santa’s Sweatshop . 5. “Vishnu” takes The Problem with Apu to a new low. 6. Every LBGT Joke on The Simpsons Ever (as of early 2021). 7. There’s an actual National Milkmen Day … on June 26, not August 12. **** 🗓 All the Holidays Represented: 1. Christmas, 2. Hanukkah, 3. Kwanzaa, 4. New Year’s Day, 5. Groundhog Day, 6. Valentine’s Day, 7. Chinese New Year, 8. Mardi Gras, 9. Presidents Day, 10. St. Patrick’s Day, 11. April Fool’s Day, 12. Easter, 13. Arbor Day, 14. Earth Day, 15. Secretary’s Day (maybe), 16. May Day, 17. Cinco de Mayo, 18. Mother’s Day, 19. Graduation Day? 20. Father’s Day (maybe), 21. American Independence Day, 22. Bastille Day, 23. Labor Day, 24. Columbus Day, 25. Halloween, 26. Veterans Day, 27. Thanksgiving, 28. oh, and Jack Frost is there. **** 📼 Retro Commercial Break: McDonald’s McDLT Commercial starring Jason Alexander , 1985. **** 🎤 And Now, These Messages: Tinsel Tunes . “How Murray Saved Christmas” © 2014 Universal Animation Studios. Full show notes with links at adventcalendar.house . Say hi on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost . Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house .