A Tale of Two Santas

Infobox Futurama episode
episode_name = A Tale of Two Santas


caption = Bender and Robot Santa.
episode_no = 35
prod_code = 3ACV03
airdate = December 23, 2001
country = USA
writer = Bill Odenkirk
director = Ron Hughart
opening_subtitle = This Episode Performed Entirely By Sock Puppets
opening_cartoon = Box Car Blues
guest_star = Coolio as Kwanzaabot
season = three

"A Tale of Two Santas" is the third episode in season three of "Futurama". It originally aired in North America on December 23, 2001.

Plot

It is Xmas again and everyone is locking down for the arrival of Robot Santa. The Professor sends the crew to deliver children's letters directly to Santa at his fortress on Neptune. They land at Jolly Junction, Neptune and enlist the aid of a pair of Neptunians in sneaking into the fortress.

The crew confronts Santa, and Leela presents him with what she (falsely) believes to be a logical paradox (it is in fact a syllogism the conclusion of which is that the Santa robot should self destruct — since it leads to this single conclusion, not two contradictory conclusions it is not a paradox) intended to destroy him. Unfortunately, Santa proves immune to paradoxes; and he takes off after them with a missile launcher. The crew escapes the fortress, and are about to leave in the ship; but Santa grabs the engine and prevents the ship from taking off. The heat from the engine melts the ice under Santa's feet, and he sinks in; it refreezes around him.

With Santa frozen in ice, Bender takes over and toy-making resumes in Jolly Junction. Bender heads to New New York where he gets a less than welcome reception from citizens expecting a blood-thirsty killer. While taking a beer break, Bender is arrested and put on trial for Santa's crimes. Bender is found guilty and sentenced to execution by magnetic dismemberment.

Fry and Leela rush back to Neptune to bring in the real Santa to prove Bender's innocence. They carve Santa out in a large block of ice; but the ice melts due to pollution from the toy factory, and Santa is freed. Fry and Leela escape in the ship, but Santa has hitched a ride back to Earth. The Planet Express crew tries one last attempt to save Bender, with all of them pretending to be Santa and Zoidberg pretending to be "his friend, Jesus". Their effort fails, and the execution device is activated.

Moments later, the real Robot Santa bursts through the wall. He rescues Bender and the two go on a proper Xmas rampage. At the end of the spree of destruction, Santa tells Bender that if he tries a stunt like that again, he will kill him, and pushes Bender off the sleigh amid the burning buildings.

Production

John Goodman, who voiced Robot Santa in the previous episode "Xmas Story" was unavailable to reprise his voice role for this episode; the voice was provided by John DiMaggio.cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/interviews/sfw6203.html|title="Meet the X-man who keeps Futurama's future secure" |publisher=Sci Fi Weekly|date=October 30, 2000|accessdate=2007-06-18 |format= |work= ] Dan Castellaneta, who voiced the Robot Devil in "Hell is Other Robots" and again in the series finale, was busy with "The Simpsons"; his voice was provided by Maurice LaMarche.

Broadcast and reception

"Futurama" executive producer David X. Cohen referred to this episode as "Futurama"'s lost episode due to the delays in its initial broadcast. Fox Network decided the episode was not appropriate for its 7 p.m. time slot (due to the scenes of violence, though, according to the DVD commentary, the only extreme violence in this episode are the scenes of destruction when Bender and Robot Santa are terrorizing New New York) and the episode was delayed for a year before being scheduled to air in a later time slot on December 23, 2001.cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/interviews/sfw7897.html |title="David X. Cohen boards the Planet Express to find meaning in Futurama" |publisher=Sci Fi Weekly|date=December 17, 2001|accessdate=2007-06-18 |format= |work= ]

Cultural references

* The title for this episode comes from the book "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens.
* This episode references more than a few pieces of Christmas literature and song, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and "The Night Before Christmas".
* The dogs guarding Santa's ice fortress bark "Jingle Bells" referencing the parody song attributed to the "Singing Dogs"
* Leela's logical paradox echoes the logical paradox that "Captain James T. Kirk" submits to the mirror "Mr. Spock" in "Mirror, Mirror (Star Trek)".
* In the factory the speed control has "Lucy" as the fastest speed, a reference to the "I Love Lucy" episode where Lucy works in the candy factory.
* The scene where Bender is taken to his execution is a reference to the Stephen King book "The Green Mile" as well as the book and film "Dead Man Walking".
* Santa's ice fortress and the lightning flashing around it are references to the 1970 children's movie "The Phantom Tollbooth".
* The ice castle where Santa resides including the interior scene is strikingly similar to Dr. Claw's castle in the Inspector Gadget series.
* When the Planet Express crew all declare that they are Santa, it spoofs the famous "I'm Spartacus!" scene from "Spartacus".
* A box labeled "Toys for Tots" is visible when Bender dumps the toys into the sewer.
* During Bender's execution, after the magnets are turned on, Bender sings the first two lines of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".
* The Planet Express crew trap Robot Santa by using the exhaust of the Planet Express Ship to melt the planet's ice, then letting it freeze. This is perhaps a reference to the Larry Niven story "The Soft Weapon", where the Kzinti use the same technique to catch a runaway captive.

Characters

Characters appearing for the first time in this episode:
* Kwanzaabot—voiced by guest star Coolio.

References