Christmas with 'The Simpsons' Trivia Quiz

Answer: Greyhound

After Marge spends the Christmas money getting Bart's tattoo removed (don't ask), and Mr Burns doesn't give the employees at the nuclear plant their usual Christmas bonus, things are looking gloomy. Homer's attempt to regain some money by working as a Santa at the mall only nets him $13, which Bart talks him into using for a bet at the dog track, hoping for a big win. Ignoring Barney's advice, Homer places his bet on Santa's Little Helper, believing the name to be an omen.

Unfortunately, the dog fails to finish the race, and is abandoned by his owner in the carpark.

When he greets Bart and Homer with overwhelming enthusiasm, they decide to take him home - and everyone thinks it is the best Christmas present he could have provided.

Answer: Fire truck

More precisely, it was the Inferno Buster 3000, a remote-controlled marvel, with which Bart actually manages to put out the fire before burying the evidence under the snow in the front yard. His concocted story of catching a burglar in the act ends up on the news, and members of the Springfield community make generous donations to restore the family's Christmas.

When Homer buys them a new car and promptly drives it into the lake, there is no money left to repay everyone after Santa's Little Helper digs up the melted tree, and the truth comes out. Eventually the townsfolk clean out the house to recoup their losses, and the Simpsons are left to struggle over possession of the washcloth which is all they have left. (Fortunately, all is well for the start of the next episode!)

Answer: Valdazzo Brothers Olive Oil

When the ramps, constructed of breadsticks held together by paint, are opened, they collapse. Tony tells Principal Skinner that they owe him $200,000 in damages, and the school is forced into privatization to avoid closure. The purchasers, Kids First industries, use the school for market research in toy development, the result of which is the evil Funzo doll, programmed to destroy all other toys. On Christmas Eve, the Simpsons steal all the Funzos from every house in Springfield (shades of the Grinch!), leading to a confrontation with Gary Coleman, who is an employee of Kids First. Gary ends up having Christmas dinner with the family, and Mr Burns, having been visited by three Christmas spirits ('A Christmas Carol', anyone?), decides to organise the funds the school needs.

Answer: Nibbles, the school hamster

It is not clear why Skinner felt it necessary to send out for help, as the families knew their children were at the school. In fact, Homer and Ned Flanders were on their way, using a piece of Ned's roof attached to the front of his car as a makeshift snowplow, when Homer ran it into a fire hydrant, and they ended up frozen in place.

As carbon monoxide starts to fill the car, they begin to hallucinate. The arrival of Nibbles brings them back to reality long enough for them break free and run the car into a salt silo - which then melts the snow around the school and frees everyone.

Answer: To a Christmas tree farm

Despite Lisa's objections to Christmas trees as ecologically unsound, that is where she last saw her mother, and she goes there for comfort. The owner gives the family a tree that Marge had bought but never collected; when it is trimmed to look like Marge, the family console themselves over her absence.

In Bart's dream, he takes the Polar Express (driven by Otto) on a mission to kill Santa (who bears a remarkable resemblance to Krusty). Marge transforms the house into a North pole-style chalet with the assistance of Martha Stewart, and Maggie dreams of the family getting ready to depart on a Hawaiian holiday when Mr Burns arrives - suitably un-Scrooged for Christmas.

Answer: He has given up drinking beer

This episode was written as a possible final episode to the series, as there were financial issues (resolved, obviously). In the future, we see Bart and Lisa struggling as parents, and Maggie having a baby. Homer takes Bart's two sons to see Abe (their great-grandfather) in cryogenic storage, and the overall theme of the episode seems to be that parents will screw things up, but that doesn't mean they don't love their children. And vice versa.

Answer: Rent out rooms to earn some money

Because of global warming, when snow falls on Springfield just before Christmas the town becomes a major tourist attraction, and there isn't enough accommodation for all the tourists. When a family offers Marge a lot of money for an overnight stay, she reluctantly decides to go into the lodging business. Bart and Homer relish their new roles, but Marge remains uneasy to the end.

There are, of course, numerous subplots, including Lisa's realisation that she chooses the gifts she gives people to make herself feel good, rather than buying them something they would actually appreciate.

Answer: Moe

Having left work on time so he could spend the evening with the family, Homer gets into an accident, and stops in at Moe's Tavern for a drink to settle his nerves. When he tries to leave, Moe talks him into staying (because of his well-established depression and tendency to try and kill himself over Christmas). Homer's late arrival enrages Marge, who kicks him out to start an odyssey reminiscent of the one that followed his ingestion of super-hot chili in the earlier episode 'El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)'.

As happened in that episode, Marge and Homer eventually realise that their relationship is immensely important to each of them, and the argument is settled.

Answer: Gnome in the Home

The gnome is a clear reference to what has always struck me as a spooky concept for children, the Elf on the Shelf that reports to Santa whether you have been naughty or nice. This is actually rather incidental to the main storyline, which focuses on the increase of paganism in Springfield, and Reverend Lovejoy's burning desire to convert people to Christianity.

He almost succeeds with Krusty, whose daughter has been raised as a Christian and who feels that his conversion might help them be closer; however, when Krusty falls through the ice and nearly drowns before being rescued by the Reverend, he realises that his conversion would not be sincere.

Answer: In a lighthouse

This episode originally aired two days short of the 30th anniversary of the episode featured at the start of the quiz, the one that started it all. This time, people's gifts are being stolen all around the town, and apparently the guilty party is SB. The police initially arrest Scott Bakula, Sandra Bullock and Steve Balmer; but should it have been Selma Bouvier (Homer's suggestion), or possibly Sideshow Bob (obviously Bart's candidate). No, as Lisa suspected, it was Waylon Smithers and Mr Burns.