[6.7/10] This special is totally watchable, but doesn’t live up to the fun of either the show’s prior holiday outings or its “three stories” episodes. There’s something amusing, in a slanted way, about how each segment ends in everyone’s deaths, but the songs are each pretty forgettable and the laughs are mild, and the show doesn’t get much juice out of the vague environmentalism theme that runs through the episode.
The first segment, about Fry finding a genuine coniferous Xmas tree, isn’t the worst concept. There’s a mild “be careful what you wish for” vibe to it, and the fact that the world’s seed vault is located next to the world’s germ warfare vault is a decent bit. There's just not a lot of yuks here. (Though I’ll say that too many trees resulting in over-oxygenation to the point that the atmosphere ignites is at least inventive.)
The Robonakkah segment was probably my favorite, if only because Bender bluffing his way through a quasi-Jewish holiday is good for a larf. HIs song is probably the best, there’s some better gags, and the punchline of our heroes turning into petroleum oil after 500 million years in time for Bender to contribute to the “miracle” of continued oil wrestling is appropriately, comically out there.
The Kwanzaa/colony collapse segment was pretty mild. They’re slinging the same tired gags about people not knowing about Kwanzaa, and the colony collapse tie-in for beeswax candles was strained. It’s always nice to visit the bees from “The Sting” again, but it felt like the show squandered the opportunity.
Overall, this is all totally watchable and for diehard fans and completionists like me, it’s pleasant and inoffensive enough to enjoy, but it’s also not one of the show’s finest yuletide hours.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-12-27T19:58:11Z
[6.7/10] This special is totally watchable, but doesn’t live up to the fun of either the show’s prior holiday outings or its “three stories” episodes. There’s something amusing, in a slanted way, about how each segment ends in everyone’s deaths, but the songs are each pretty forgettable and the laughs are mild, and the show doesn’t get much juice out of the vague environmentalism theme that runs through the episode.
The first segment, about Fry finding a genuine coniferous Xmas tree, isn’t the worst concept. There’s a mild “be careful what you wish for” vibe to it, and the fact that the world’s seed vault is located next to the world’s germ warfare vault is a decent bit. There's just not a lot of yuks here. (Though I’ll say that too many trees resulting in over-oxygenation to the point that the atmosphere ignites is at least inventive.)
The Robonakkah segment was probably my favorite, if only because Bender bluffing his way through a quasi-Jewish holiday is good for a larf. HIs song is probably the best, there’s some better gags, and the punchline of our heroes turning into petroleum oil after 500 million years in time for Bender to contribute to the “miracle” of continued oil wrestling is appropriately, comically out there.
The Kwanzaa/colony collapse segment was pretty mild. They’re slinging the same tired gags about people not knowing about Kwanzaa, and the colony collapse tie-in for beeswax candles was strained. It’s always nice to visit the bees from “The Sting” again, but it felt like the show squandered the opportunity.
Overall, this is all totally watchable and for diehard fans and completionists like me, it’s pleasant and inoffensive enough to enjoy, but it’s also not one of the show’s finest yuletide hours.