Everybody Hates Chris: "Everybody Hates Easter"

Premiered March 23, 2008
"Growing up in Bed-Stuy, one holiday I looked forward to was Easter.  You were dressed up, girls were dressed up and it was a good day to pretend you were on a date." -Chris Rock's opening narration

It's 1986 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.  Easter is approaching and Chris (Tyler James Williams) is bemoaning the fact that Tasha (Paige Hurd), the girl he likes, is dating someone else.

After Tasha has a fight with her boyfriend Robert (Lee Davis), she has no one to escort her at the church Easter pageant.  When she asks Chris if he'll be her escort, he jumps at the chance.

Meanwhile, Chris's mother Rochelle (Tichina Arnold) is shopping for a new Easter hat.

She visits a new hat shop in the area run by a woman named Hattie (Anna Maria Horsford).  Rochelle mentions that she's won her church's annual Easter Hat contest several years in a row and plans to win again this year.  Hattie tells Rochelle that won't happen because SHE intends to win the competition herself!

Chris' plans to escort Tasha are complicated when she tells him the pageant will be held at her grandmother's church in Queens.

Rochelle says she wants him cheering her on at the hat contest at her church, which means Chris needs to be in two places at once.

Plus, Chris's siblings Tonya (Imani Hakim) and Drew (Tequan Richmond) plot to win the church Easter Egg hunt by cheating.  And their father Julius (Terry Crews) pretends he has to work so he can sneak home and watch baseball. 

Will Chris be able to pull of his scheme?   Will Rochelle be able to defeat Hattie in the bonnet contest? 

RigbyMel says: 

"Everybody Hates Easter" is an entertaining holiday-themed episode.  The Everybody Hates Chris series did a pretty good job in general of applying sitcom tropes to 1980-something Brooklyn and it's always nice to find mainstream shows that feature people of color.    

The series featured funny narration by comedian Chris Rock, who also worked as an executive producer and writer for the series, as it was semi-autobiographical.  Rock's narration strikes me a somewhat more sarcastic take on adults looking back on their childhoods in the vein of series like The Wonder Years and helps the series to have its own unique flavor. 

Chris daydreams about terrible things happening to Tasha's boyfriend (note the sneakers sticking out from under the meteor)

There's also a touch of influence from A Christmas Story in this Easter episode not only because of nostalgic voice over narration, but because of the protagonists' imaginative vignettes (like Chris's meteor strike fantasy).  

"Everybody Hates Easter" has a lot of heart and has fun with Easter traditions like egg hunts,  going to church, and showing off your Easter bonnet.  

The Easter bonnet originated in Europe when it was customary for people to wear new clothes and hats on Easter.  This tradition came over to the Americas with various waves of immigrants.  In the late 19th century, seeing and being seen at the New York Easter parade where the became a tradition of its own, as did increasingly elaborate headgear.  This in turn, inspired the popular Irving Berlin song "Easter Parade" from the 1930s, which reinforces the notion.    

The Easter bonnet tradition was enthusiastically embraced by African Americans and provides a great source of conflict and comedy in this episode. 

The "trying to be in two places at once" plot is one of the biggest TV sitcom tropes of all time, but it's well used here. Chris's pursuit of Tasha parallels Julius's pursuit of watching baseball in peace.  

The younger siblings' pursuit of ALL THE EASTER CANDY by any means necessary is also amusing and has predictable stomachache-y results,  but again, the comedy is well deployed.   

"Everybody Hates Easter" is a delightful and festive spring episode from a fun sitcom and definitely holds up to repeated viewings.  It's well worth taking the time to watch (or re-watch) as part of your Easter viewing. 

RigbyMel's rating: 

4 Easter eggs!

J.A. Morris says:

"Everybody Hates Easter" is a fun and entertaining episode that touches on most of the religious and secular traditions that surround Easter.  It's also always nice to find an Easter episode, since there aren't many.  

I was a regular viewer of Everybody Hates Chris (until the network started moving it around the schedule) and this is a good Easter episode. As my co-blogger says, it hits all the major Easter tropes.  

Chris wasn’t perfect, but he was usually a sympathetic protagonist.  Tyler James Williams carries most of the episode and he’s great as Chris.  The scenario Chris find himself in, committing to be in two places at once in order to please everyone, is old as comedy itself.  However, it's executed well in "Everybody Hates Easter."  

Tichina Arnold also does a great job in the “Easter Hat” storyline.  In fact, the whole cast is excellent and all the regulars gets at least one moment to shine.  During the hat contest, the church's choir performs a catchy and hilarious gospel-style song about Easter Hats that adds to the fun of the episode.    

Some notes about the supporting cast:

Two well-known actors play small roles in “Everybody Hates Easter.”  Rochelle’s friend Vanessa is played by Jackee’ Harry, who has dozens of film and TV credits and is best known for her roles on 227 (which Harry an Emmy) and Sister, Sister.  

Chris’ boss Doc is portrayed by Antonio Fargas, who played a very memorable role as Huggy Bear on Starsky & Hutch and also appeared in films that include Putney Swope and Foxy Brown.  

"Everybody Hates Easter" features great storylines and humorous moments.  It's good enough to get my highest rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Easter Eggs!

The West Wing: "Shibboleth"

Premiered November 22, 2000.

It’s almost Turkey Day and in the West Wing of the White House, Communications Director Toby Zeigler (Richard Schiff) and his deputy Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) are working on the President’s annual Thanksgiving address to the nation.  Toby isn’t impressed with Sam’s early drafts.  

White House spokesperson C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) is surprised when she discovers two live turkeys in her office.  They’ve been brought for the President's annual “turkey pardoning” ceremony.

President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet (Martin Sheen) wants a new knife for carving the Thanksgiving turkey, so he sends his personal aide Charlie Young (Dule Hill) out shopping for one.  Charlie struggles to find a carving knife that meets the President's exacting standards. 

On a more serious note, a container ship carrying 100 Chinese refugees has been detained off the California Coast.  The refugees claim to be evangelical Christians who have fled to America seeking religious asylum.  When Pres. Barlet is told of this, he’s reminded of the Pilgrims’ journey to the New World where they sought to worship according to their beliefs.  

Bartlet is sympathetic to the refugees, but the complex nature of U.S.-China relations and immigration laws prevent the President from welcoming them to America.   There are also questions about the veracity of their claims of religious asylum.  Bartlet interviews one of the refugees, a professor named Jhin-Wei (Henry O), in order to determine if they are truly fleeing religious persecution.  

C.J. starts to grow attached to the turkeys, who are named Eric and Troy.  She learns that the President will pardon the turkey that is more photogenic and send it to a petting zoo.  C.J. decides Eric is the more attractive turkey and he will receive the pardon.  

Unfortunately, C.J. soon learns that Troy has been purchased and will be served as Thanksgiving Dinner!  This prompts C.J. to seek a Presidential Pardon for both turkeys.

Will the Chinese refugees be allowed to stay in America?  Will Troy be pardoned?  Will Bartlet finally settle on a carving knife?

J.A. Morris says: 

“Shibboleth” is an enjoyable episode of a now-classic series.  Immigration is still a serious issue and this episode handles it in a respectful and realistic manner.  The parallels between the Chinese refugees and the Pilgrims’ voyage in 1620 are obvious, but never come off as heavy-handed. 

Bartlet's inability to immediately grant asylum to the refugees is a reminder that Presidents are not gods or kings (though some Presidents act like they are) and their powers are limited by Constitutional and international law.

The plot involving the turkeys provides a nice contrast to the serious parts of “Shibboleth.”  Allison Janney is my MVP for this episode, since she has the difficult task of acting beside a duo of turkeys.

One thing that’s refreshing about “Shibboleth” is that it avoids the usual Thanksgiving TV tropes.  We don’t get any scenes of food preparation disasters, annoying relatives or even the traditional shot of a family seated at a table covered with food.  

I don't want to spoil too much of this episode, but Bartlet and Charlie's interactions are touching.  Charlie was dating the President's daughter Zoe and Jed uses Thanksgiving as a time to welcome formally welcome Charlie into his family.  

Like other episodes of The West Wing, “Shibboleth” reminds viewers that White House employees don’t have a lot of free time.  Toby, Sam and Josh (Bradley Whitford)   are spending Thanksgiving together watching football, presumably because their demanding jobs don’t allow them time to visit family. 

Toby chases down C.J. in one of The West Wing's patented "Walk-And-Talk" scenes!

A note about this episode's title:
Webster's dictionary defines the word shibboleth as "a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning."  In the Old Testament Book of Judges, it was used as a password for those who wanted to cross the river Jordan.

“Shibboleth” is a memorable episode of a great series that’s full of drama, comedy and holiday sentiment and it’s highly recommended.

J.A. Morris’ rating:

4 pumpkin pies!

RigbyMel says: 

This episode from season two of The West Wing is a great holiday episode.  

We get to see everyone's preparations for Thanksgiving amid the usual high pressure of working in the White House.  C.J. has to wrestle with the moral conundrum of which turkey to pardon and which to send off for dinner.   

There's some great absurdist comedy here, like when C.J. is very seriously trying to determine which turkey is the most photogenic or arguing the legality of a second turkey pardon.  (I also quite like the solution to the conundrum that makes use of Presidential Powers, but I won't spoil it.)   C.J.'s  utter horror at having to lead the children in song (with lute accompaniment!) at the turkey pardoning ceremony is also pretty funny. 

Poor Charlie is being run ragged in aid of Bartlet's obsessive search for the "perfect" carving knife, which has quite a sweet (but not cloying) payoff.  

I like Sam's riffing on his trouble writing the Thanksgiving proclamation as well: 

"A small band of pilgrims sought out a place in the New World where they could worship according to their own beliefs ... and solve crimes."   To be honest, I think I'd quite like to see that developed! 

Josh, Toby, and Sam plan to watch football together -- and don't want anyone to let Bartlet know they have no big Thanksgiving plans lest the President lecture them on "the history of the yam in Latin." (For the record, the Latin word for yam is "dioscorea" -- Bartlet knows all!) 

There's some great thematic parallelism going on in this episode.   Thanksgiving commemorates the Pilgrims coming to the New World in order to worship as they wish, so the Chinese refugees seeking religious asylum fits right in.   There's an additional subplot where Toby is trying to get Leo's sister a recess appointment to a minor federal education position where we get into the notion of the complexities inherent in the notion of "freedom of religion," which provides an interesting contrast. 

There's a nice balance of the serious and the comedic in "Shibboleth" and as J.A. Morris says, it manages to skip most of the typical turkey-day TV tropes, while still managing to preserve the sense of tradition and family (in this case, a work family) associated with the holiday.  

   

This is a most enjoyable holiday episode of a fantastic series and is well worth seeing. 

RigbyMel's rating: 

4 pumpkin pies.

The Simpsons: "Treehouse Of Horror XIX"

Premiered November 2, 2008.

"I believe in the Grand Pumpkin, almighty gourd, who was crustified over Pontius pie plate and ascended into oven. He will come again to judge the filling and the bread."

-Milhouse Van Houten

This special Halloween episode opens on Election Day of 2008.  Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) goes into a voting booth with a touch-screen and tries to vote for Barack Obama.  However, the machine registers it as a vote for John McCain.  Homer presses Obama's name several more times, but the machine keeps counting votes for McCain.  Suddenly, Homer is sucked into the voting machine...

...it kills him and spits out his mangled corpse.

Like earlier Simpsons Halloween episodes, "Treehouse Of Horror XIX" features three short segments, beginning with:

"Untitled Robot Parody": 

Bart Simpson (Nancy Cartwright) visits a toy store in search of a Christmas gift for his sister Lisa (Yeardley Smith).  When a toy truck flashes its headlights at Bart...

...he tells it that girls don't like trucks.  When his back is turned, the truck transforms into a pink Malibu Stacy Convertible and Bart knows he's found the perfect gift for Lisa. 

On Christmas morning, Lisa is very excited and grateful when she receives the the car.  

However, the Simpsons soon discover that the convertible is actually an alien robot, which transforms all of the Simpsons' electronic household gadgets into killing machines!  Springfield becomes the epicenter of a war between two robot armies! 

"How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising":

Marge and Homer take their youngest daughter Maggie to a new daycare center.  When she's nervous about her new surroundings, her parents encourage Maggie to look at the daycare's mural, which features Maggie's favorite TV personality Krusty The Clown (Castellaneta).  

Unfortunately, Krusty himself shows up and orders the mural to be sandblasted since he never authorized its construction, which makes Maggie cry.  Homer visits Krusty to confront the clown about the mural and accidentally knocks Krusty into a wood chipper, killing him. 

After this, an advertising agency gets Homer to kill other celebrities so they can use their likenesses to promote their products.  Homer does what they want and murders several celebrities.  

In Celebrity Heaven, Homer's victims decide to visit Earth (and Springfield) to take revenge on companies for exploiting their images. 

"It's The Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse":

When every kid in Springfield is preparing to go trick or treating, Milhouse Van Houten (Pamela Hayden) announces that he plans to spend Halloween in a pumpkin patch waiting for the arrival of the Grand Pumpkin.  Milhouse tells Lisa that the Grand Pumpkin is a giant pumpkin that appears in pumpkin patches and brings candy to all children who believe in him.  Bart scoffs at this and says he made up the Grand Pumpkin just to mess with Milhouse.  

When Halloween Night arrives, Milhouse waits in the pumpkin patch while the other kids go trick-or-treating.  Lisa decides to wait for the Grand Pumpkin with Milhouse.  

Eventually, she gives up and departs for the school Halloween dance.  Milhouse cries for the Grand Pumpkin to show himself and his "childlike belief" turns a pumpkin into the Grand Pumpkin (Hank Azaria).  However, when Grand Pumpkin learns that humans carve pumpkins for jack o'lanterns and pumpkin bread, he goes on a killing spree!  It seems that Springfield is doomed!  However, hope arrives in the form of another holiday symbol...Tom Turkey (Azaria)!

J.A. Morris says:

This is a great Halloween episode.  My favorite editions of "Treehouse Of Horror" are the ones that have "literal" connections to Halloween.  I mention that because some "Treehouse" epeisodes are just horror stories that don't mention actually All Hallows' Eve or trick-or-treating.  "It's The Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" is the strongest segment.  

I'm a huge fan of Peanuts and "Grand Pumpkin" pokes fun at both It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Milhouse, like Linus, is often his own worst enemy, so it's appropriate that he's the one spends Halloween waiting in the pumpkin patch.  "Grand Pumpkin" is also more directly connected to Halloween than the other two segments.  Kang and Kodos, who regularly appear in Simpsons Halloween episodes, also make a cameo appearance at the Halloween dance.

"Untitled Robot Parody," which pokes fun at the Transformers franchise, is also good.  It takes place during Christmas, so it's nice to get two holidays featured in one episode, something that rarely happens.  

I thought "How To Get Ahead In Dead-Vertising" was the weakest part, but only because it's not particularly related to Halloween, other than the murders Homer commits for the advertising likenesses.  Its homage/parody of Mad Men's opening montage is great.

Some viewers might watch "Treehouse Of Horror XIX" and think it's dated because it contains references to the 2008 election and Mad Men.  I think these references make this episode a nice snapshot of the pop culture of 2008.  Speaking of which, Homer kills Prince in "Dead-Vertising" and Rip Taylor is part of the "posse" that comes down from Celebrity Heaven.  Prince and Taylor are sadly both now deceased in real life. 

"Treehouse Of Horror XIX" is very funny and should be appreciated by all fans of All Hallows' Eve programming.  The inclusion of Christmas and Thanksgiving elements makes it even more enjoyable.

J.A. Morris's rating: 

4 jack o'lanterns!

RigbyMel says: 

I look forward to The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror anthology episodes every Halloween season.   Anthologies tend to be hit-or-miss, but generally Treehouse of Horror delivers enough spooky seasonal goodness and humor to be satisfying.  Overall "Treehouse of Horror XIX" works pretty well. 

That being said, as J.A. Morris mentions above,  I think the Mad Men parody portion of Treehouse XIX is the weakest link in this episode.   It's just not that funny, and could have made MUCH better use of its source material -  although some of the dead celebrity ads are memorably crass.  

The best bits of it are the homage to the title sequence to Mad Men and the random "dead celebrity" cameos, including an irate John Lennon astride a Yellow Submarine, but overall it just doesn't quite come into focus.  

Simpsonized John Lennon with Bob Denver (aka Gilligan) and Babe Ruth in the background

The satire of the Transformers movies in "Untitled Robot Parody" is much sharper -- skewering holiday commercialism and last minute gift purchases via alien robot battle mayhem.  We also get some amusingly naughty sight gags like Homer and Ned Flanders being trapped in ... interesting positions within their transformed cars.  

"It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" is most definitely the highlight of this installment,  partly because of the loving homages to the original Peanuts specials from 1960s that it riffs on.  There are some particularly clever bits  including a cameo appearance of Santa's Little Helper in Snoopy v. Red Baron mode, Marge keeps making use of a muted trombone a la the speech of adults in the original specials and the dance scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas recreated with Simpsons characters...and an iPod. 

Santa's Little Helper as Snoopy! 

The Simpsons is certainly not the first TV show to play with the notion of what might happen should the Great... errr...Grand Pumpkin actually show up, but the Grand Pumpkin's outrage at learning that his kind are sliced and carved and cooked is both hilarious and also understandable.  

I also appreciated that Thanksgiving gets mashed up into the Grand Pumpkin stew when Tom Turkey is called upon for assistance! 

"Treehouse of Horror XIX" is not my favorite Simpsons Halloween episode,  but "It's The Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse" is a segment that I do enjoy revisiting seasonally. 

RigbyMel's rating:

.5

2 and a half jack o'lanterns.