Editing White Christmas Blues

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{{Episode
|image= White Christmas Blues promo 1.png
|number= 538
|season=25
|snumber=8
|prodcode= SABF01
|airdate= December 15, [[2013]]
|titlescreen=[[Barney]] and his reindeer fly towards the screen.
|blackboard= I will not call my teacher "Prancer" and "Vixen"
|couchgag= The family, dressed as elves, stand in front of the couch. They then get Victorian clothes and an old time filter with the text "'Twas the Couch Gag Before Christmas" over the top.
|billboard= [[Krusty]]'s Kristmas Karol - With [[Sideshow Bob]] Hatchet
|showrunner1= Al Jean
|writer= [[Don Payne]]
|director= [[Steven Dean Moore]]
}}

'''"White Christmas Blues"''' is the eighth episode of [[season 25]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the five-hundred and thirty-eighth episode overall. It originally aired on December 15, [[2013]]. The episode was written by [[Don Payne]] and directed by [[Steven Dean Moore]].

== Synopsis ==
{{Desc|[[Springfield]] is inundated with holiday revelers after the [[nuclear power plant]] springs a radiation leak, causing snow to fall all over town. When the tourists drive up Christmas shopping prices, [[Marge]] opens up [[742 Evergreen Terrace|the Simpsons' house]] to boarders.}}

== Plot ==
After watching ''[[The Itchy & Scratchy Show]]'' episode "{{ap|It's a Wonderful Knife|White Christmas Blues}}", a news broadcast comes on saying that there will be no snow at [[Christmas]] due to global warming. As the Simpsons get ready for a year without snow, Homer goes outside to his hammock. However, he realizes that it was snowing, which made him and the kids happy. At a town meeting in the [[Town Square]], [[Professor Frink]] points out that the snow is only in [[Springfield]] due to the radiation from the [[Springfield Nuclear Power Plant]] and the particles from the [[Springfield Tire Fire]]. This leads to an influx of tourists coming to Springfield to have Christmas in the snow.

Due to the amount of tourists flooding into town, prices rise and supplies dwindle. This leads to Marge struggling to provide a decent Christmas for her family. As Marge was going into the house after shopping, a family approached her in their car and asked if they could rent a room for $300 a night from her as everywhere in town was booked up. Marge reluctantly agrees because she needs the money and lets them stay in the rec room. When Homer gets back home, he's shocked to find that Marge is having them share the house with strangers. However, he accepts it after he imagines what [[Baby Jesus]] would do in his place.

Whilst Homer and Marge look after the adults, [[Bart]] looks after the kids, letting them play video games and quarantining the girls because they have cooties. At the [[First Church of Springfield]], [[Reverend Lovejoy]] prepares for his big Christmas sermon and manages to write a sermon that he thinks is good. When he goes to read the sermon, he wins over the attendees and they leave with a positive message. Back at the Simpson house, as Homer and Marge struggle to look after their boarders, they become more weary of them all and start to lose their patience.

Lisa goes shopping at [[Towne Centre at Springfielde Glenne]] to find thoughtful presents for her family. Whilst there, Lisa learns that the [[Leftorium]] has shut down and been replaced with the [[Leftorium Express]]. Lisa finds everyone's presents and eventually finds a gift for Bart. Back at home, the boarders sing carols with [[Grampa]] playing the piano. Marge begins to lose her temper with the boarders and starts snapping at them all. Christmas Day arrives and Lisa shares her presents with everyone, but her gifts disappoint everyone. Bart was most disappointed as he got a copy of ''[[Treasure Island]]'', a book which he didn't care about. That night, a page from the book flies through Lisa's window and she finds that Bart is burning it, which upsets her. Bart tells Lisa that she only got everyone those gifts to make herself feel better, not make anyone else happy.

Lisa realizes that Bart was right and gets him a tablet to use instead of the book. As the boarders get ready to leave, Marge feels bad about the way she acted towards them. As Marge apologizes to the boarders, they sing "[[We Wish You a Merry Christmas]]" to her and the family, thanking them for taking them in. They then sing "{{ap|Good King Wenceslas|White Christmas Blues}}", which Marge doesn't like so she leaves and uses the blender to drown it out.

== Production ==
This episode had a Christmas-version of the opening sequence.
<gallery>
File:White Christmas Blues script.png|Script for the Episode
</gallery>

== Reception ==
In its initial airing, the episode received a 3.5 rating and was watched by a total of 8.48 million people. This made it the highest watched show on Animation Domination that night.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131217223916/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/12/17/sunday-final-ratings-60-minutes-adjusted-down-no-adjustment-for-revenge-or-survivor/222961/ TV by the Numbers - "Sunday Final Ratings: '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down, No Adjustment for 'Revenge' or 'Survivor'"] (archived on {{W|Wayback Machine}})</ref>

Dennis Perkins of {{W|The A.V. Club}} gave the episode a C rating. He complained about the episode being padded out with an extended opening sequence and multiple sight gags that made the episode "thinner". He also talked about how the episode took too long to reach its main plot after multiple fake-outs.<ref>[https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-white-christmas-blues-1798179005 The A.V. Club - "The Simpsons: "White Christmas Blues""]</ref>

As of November [[2011]], "White Christmas Blues" has a 6.4 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2930952/ IMDb - "White Christmas Blues"]</ref>

== International premieres ==
{{Airdates
|esLAdate= June 22, [[2014]]; 8:30PM (Argentina Time)
|esLAchannel= {{W|Fox Latin America|Fox Latin America}}
|esLAnote=
}} 

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:White Christmas Blues promo 2.png
File:White Christmas Blues promo 3.png
File:White Christmas Blues promo 4.png
File:White Christmas Blues promo 5.png
File:White Christmas Blues promo 6.png
File:White Christmas Blues promo 7.png
File:White Christmas Blues promo 8.png
File:White Christmas Blues promo 9.png
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Images|ep=yes}}
{{Season 25}}

[[Category:2013]]
[[Category:Simpson family episodes]]
[[Category:Christmas episodes]]
[[Category:Episodes written by Don Payne]]
[[Category:Episodes directed by Steven Dean Moore]]

[[sv:White Christmas Blues]]