From: garvey@simpsonsarchive.com   
      
   Ugh, who are these characters, and what is this universe? This is all   
   laughably unbelievable and any good satirical point was drowned out by the   
   nonsense. It makes The Great Money Caper (CABF03) look like a classic. And   
   maybe this is a minor point but    
   why is everyone rock skipping overhand? No wonder this got buried on a day no   
   one would be watching (especially for an having nothing to do with the   
   holidays).   
      
   8F18: Bart does the "Great Escape" ball toss while captive in the van   
      
   Although he died in September, and apparently had retired, animator Istvan   
   Majoros with Simpsons credits back to 1990 got a dedication on this airing.   
   Odd timing. Don't expect to see it again!   
      
   Another one for the checklist...   
   This episode did have one thing going for it, and that's its ticking of   
   another box on the calendar of Simpsons episode premiere dates. Until this   
   year, no episode had ever premiered on December 24; this is somewhat in   
   keeping with the pattern of the    
   last few years, with the unlikely January 2 and January 1 episodes, though I'd   
   have expected (and preferred!) December 31. Three episodes had reruns on   
   12/24, including one Christmas episode and the second of two airings of 2F20   
   (Who Shot Mr. Burns?,    
   Part Two), perhaps also hidden away rather than requiring another airing of   
   Part One.   
   And it did air on time, despite warnings of a possible football delay. Well,   
   that is, the non-football material started on time. This episode didn't start   
   till about 8:02 because of a very long Grimsburg promo.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)