Skinner's Sense of Snow
Encyclopedia
"Skinner's Sense of Snow" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons
' twelfth season
. It first aired on the Fox network
in the United States
on December 17, 2000. In the episode, a snowstorm traps the students with principal Seymour Skinner
and Groundskeeper Willie
in Springfield Elementary. When Skinner uses his army skills to control the students, they overthrow him and take over the school. Meanwhile, Homer
and his neighbor Ned Flanders
set out to rescue the children using Flanders' car.
"Skinner's Sense of Snow" was written by Tim Long
and directed by Lance Kramer
. While the episode's premise is based on an occurrence in Long's childhood, the setpiece came from staff writer Matt Selman
. Because the episode takes place in winter, Kramer found it difficult to animate. It features references to Smilla's Sense of Snow
, The Deer Hunter
and Kristi Yamaguchi
, among other things. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 8.8 million viewers, finishing in 33rd place in the ratings the week it aired. Following the home video release, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.
circus called "Cirque de Purée
", a freak blizzard
hits Springfield, turning it into a winter wonderland overnight. However, Springfield Elementary School stays open regardless of the storm, even though every other local school closes. Only some students, including the classmates of Bart
and Lisa
, show up while Skinner
and Willie
are the only faculty members at the school that day. To pass the time, Skinner plays his professed favorite film, a very low-budget, long-running holiday movie called "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was". When the kids try to leave school, however, snow has piled up, trapping the kids inside with Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie.
Skinner tries to keep the children under control, forcing them to stay together in the cafeteria and eat apples, relish and (only if they behave well enough) mayonnaise and will not let them go home until the snow melts. After Nelson tries to escape, Skinner unearths his U.S. Army memorabilia and is reminded of the days when he commanded respect from his troops. Skinner tries to command respect from the students, and briefly succeeds after threatening to hang them in their clothes on hooks on the wall if they rebel. Bart tries to tunnel his way out, but Skinner stops him, and after Willie refuses to destroy the tunnel, Skinner tries to, but is stuck in the resulting cave-in. The students rebel and eventually tie Skinner up in a dodge ball bag.
Meanwhile, Homer
, with the help of Ned Flanders
, sets out to rescue the children but crashes Flanders' car into a fire hydrant, which sprays water that freezes the car in place. Homer's repeated gunning of the accelerator causes carbon monoxide
to flood the front of the car. Flanders and Homer get high from the fumes and wildly hallucinate. While the trapped children go wild with power, Skinner uses the school hamster Nibbles to get a message to the outside world. Nibbles makes it to Ned and Homer, breaking the window and reviving them: they crash into a salt silo, melting the snow around the school and badly rusting the car but freeing the kids in the process.
and directed by Lance Kramer
. It was first broadcast on the Fox network
in the United States
on December 17, 2000. The idea for the episode came from Long. One winter during his childhood, Exeter
, where Long lived, was hit by a blizzard. Much to his dismay, Long found out that all schools except Exeter Public School, which he went to, got closed. Eventually, Long and his classmates were snowed in with the school's staff. "It was hellish, but then became a sweet thing", he said. "A couple of the dads braved the cold and brought us food on snowmobiles. So it was sweet." Two years after Long pitched the premise, staff writer Matt Selman
pitched the episodes setpiece
, which revolves around the Simpsons' visit to Cirque du Purée. "I pitched [the setpiece] to Tim [Long] when we were pitching around ideas", Selman said in the episode's DVD commentary. "And I said, 'What about a Cirque du Soleil parody?'" The staff then decided to combine the two stories, and production on "Skinner's Sense of Snow" ensued.
In order to make a faithful rendition of the circus, director Kramer asked the animators to watch a showing of Cirque du Soleil in Santa Monica
, but they declined the offer. Regardless, executive producer and former showrunner Mike Scully
found that the animators did an "amazing" job animating the setpiece. Because the episode takes place in winter, the animators faced some challenges that they would not have with any other episode. "It just adds another element", Kramer said about episodes taking place in winter, "People's clothes have to get tugged in the wind if it's windy. And you have to make sure the snow is consistent because [...] It's like a character. If it's a big snowflake in one scene and then tiny ones where it's snowing too hard in the next scene... It's not gonna work." The scratches and bad quality of "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was" were added in by the Post-Production Department, led by Alex Duke. "Our Post-Production Department never gets enough credit," Scully said, "But they'll take a film like ['The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was'] and make it all scratchy and make it look really old. They always do a great job." The woman in "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was" was portrayed by Tress MacNeille
, while the clown in the Cirque du Purée was voiced by Hank Azaria
. The song that plays when Homer and Ned are driving to the school is "Feel Like Makin' Love
" by English rock band Bad Company
. Originally, the series' staff wanted to use "Rock and Roll All Nite
" by American rock band Kiss
, but they failed to obtain the rights to use it.
, there are no other allusions to the book in the episode. In the episode's setpiece, the Simpsons visit a circus called Cirque du Puree. The circus is a reference to the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil
. In the film "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was", one of the hobgoblins has a similar singing voice as American singer Nelson Eddy
. Having just found out that they are trapped in the school, Skinner says "I don't care if you're Kristi Yamaguchi
- no one leaves the building". According to Long, the line was written by either Dana Gould
or George Meyer
, both of whom are former staff writers. While wreaking havoc in the school, Milhouse can be seen doodling a mustache on a picture of Warren G. Harding
, the 29th President of the United States
. While ordering Skinner to humiliate himself, Bart says "Di, di, mau". This is a reference to the 1978 drama film The Deer Hunter
, in which the Vietcong says the line to their captives. One of the books that the children burn in the school's library is the 1944 children's novel Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
.
, translating to approximately 8.8 million viewers. The episode finished in 33rd place in the ratings for the week of December 11-17, 2000, tying with an episode of the ABC
sitcom The Drew Carey Show
. Since its broadcast, the episode has been released twice on home video. On November 2, 2004, it was released along with "Homer vs. Dignity
" and the season 15
episodes "Dude, Where's My Ranch?
" and "'Tis the 15th Season" as part of a DVD
set entitled The Simpsons - Christmas 2. On August 18, 2009, the episode was again released as part of a DVD set called The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, David Mirkin, Max Pross and Lance Kramer participated in the audio commentary for the episode.
Following its home video release, "Skinner's Sense of Snow" received mostly positive reviews from critics. In his review of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season, DVD Verdict
's Mac McEntire wrote that, while he prefers "down-to-Earth" episodes, the more "outrageous" episodes like "Skinner's Sense of Snow" are the ones that are "standouts". He added that the episode "provides a lot of solid 'cool kids versus dorky adults' comedy", and that the setpiece was the best part of the episode. Matt Haigh of Den of Geek described the episode as "gold", and considers it to be one of the season's best episodes. The staff of The Journal
, while reviewing The Simpsons - Christmas 2 DVD set, described the episode as "memorable", and John McMurtrie of the San Francisco Chronicle
cited it as "great". Elizabeth Skipper, another reviewer for DVD Verdict, wrote that most episodes that center around Skinner are "a sure thing", and that "Skinner's Sense of Snow" is no exception. Both Aaron Beierle and Jason Bailey of DVD Talk
argued that "Skinner's Sense of Snow" is one of the best episodes of the season. On the other hand, giving the episode a mixed review, Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide described the episode as "mediocre". Although he found the children's revolt against Skinner amusing, he argued that the premise was not used to its full potential. He concluded his review by calling it "a fairly average program".
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
. It first aired on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on December 17, 2000. In the episode, a snowstorm traps the students with principal Seymour Skinner
Seymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...
and Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
in Springfield Elementary. When Skinner uses his army skills to control the students, they overthrow him and take over the school. Meanwhile, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and his neighbor Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
set out to rescue the children using Flanders' car.
"Skinner's Sense of Snow" was written by Tim Long
Tim Long
Tim Long is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Tim calls Exeter, Ontario, Canada his home town and has written for The Simpsons, Politically Incorrect, Spy Magazine and The Late Show with David Letterman. Currently credited as a consulting producer on The Simpsons, Long was - until...
and directed by Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer is an animation director on The Simpsons. He also worked as an assistant animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie.-History:Kramer graduated from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, ND...
. While the episode's premise is based on an occurrence in Long's childhood, the setpiece came from staff writer Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
. Because the episode takes place in winter, Kramer found it difficult to animate. It features references to Smilla's Sense of Snow
Smilla's Sense of Snow
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow or Smilla's Sense of Snow is a 1992 novel by Danish author Peter Høeg. It was translated into English by Tiina Nunnally...
, The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza...
and Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
, among other things. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 8.8 million viewers, finishing in 33rd place in the ratings the week it aired. Following the home video release, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Plot
While the Simpsons attend a French CanadianFrench Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
circus called "Cirque de Purée
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
", a freak blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
hits Springfield, turning it into a winter wonderland overnight. However, Springfield Elementary School stays open regardless of the storm, even though every other local school closes. Only some students, including the classmates of Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
, show up while Skinner
Seymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...
and Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
are the only faculty members at the school that day. To pass the time, Skinner plays his professed favorite film, a very low-budget, long-running holiday movie called "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was". When the kids try to leave school, however, snow has piled up, trapping the kids inside with Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie.
Skinner tries to keep the children under control, forcing them to stay together in the cafeteria and eat apples, relish and (only if they behave well enough) mayonnaise and will not let them go home until the snow melts. After Nelson tries to escape, Skinner unearths his U.S. Army memorabilia and is reminded of the days when he commanded respect from his troops. Skinner tries to command respect from the students, and briefly succeeds after threatening to hang them in their clothes on hooks on the wall if they rebel. Bart tries to tunnel his way out, but Skinner stops him, and after Willie refuses to destroy the tunnel, Skinner tries to, but is stuck in the resulting cave-in. The students rebel and eventually tie Skinner up in a dodge ball bag.
Meanwhile, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, with the help of Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
, sets out to rescue the children but crashes Flanders' car into a fire hydrant, which sprays water that freezes the car in place. Homer's repeated gunning of the accelerator causes carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
to flood the front of the car. Flanders and Homer get high from the fumes and wildly hallucinate. While the trapped children go wild with power, Skinner uses the school hamster Nibbles to get a message to the outside world. Nibbles makes it to Ned and Homer, breaking the window and reviving them: they crash into a salt silo, melting the snow around the school and badly rusting the car but freeing the kids in the process.
Production
"Skinner's Sense of Snow" was written by Tim LongTim Long
Tim Long is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Tim calls Exeter, Ontario, Canada his home town and has written for The Simpsons, Politically Incorrect, Spy Magazine and The Late Show with David Letterman. Currently credited as a consulting producer on The Simpsons, Long was - until...
and directed by Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer is an animation director on The Simpsons. He also worked as an assistant animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie.-History:Kramer graduated from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, ND...
. It was first broadcast on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on December 17, 2000. The idea for the episode came from Long. One winter during his childhood, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, where Long lived, was hit by a blizzard. Much to his dismay, Long found out that all schools except Exeter Public School, which he went to, got closed. Eventually, Long and his classmates were snowed in with the school's staff. "It was hellish, but then became a sweet thing", he said. "A couple of the dads braved the cold and brought us food on snowmobiles. So it was sweet." Two years after Long pitched the premise, staff writer Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
pitched the episodes setpiece
Setpiece
In film production, a setpiece is a scene or sequence of scenes the execution of which requires serious logistical planning and considerable expenditure of money. The term setpiece is often used more broadly to describe any important dramatic or comedic highpoint in a film or story, particularly...
, which revolves around the Simpsons' visit to Cirque du Purée. "I pitched [the setpiece] to Tim [Long] when we were pitching around ideas", Selman said in the episode's DVD commentary. "And I said, 'What about a Cirque du Soleil parody?'" The staff then decided to combine the two stories, and production on "Skinner's Sense of Snow" ensued.
In order to make a faithful rendition of the circus, director Kramer asked the animators to watch a showing of Cirque du Soleil in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, but they declined the offer. Regardless, executive producer and former showrunner Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
found that the animators did an "amazing" job animating the setpiece. Because the episode takes place in winter, the animators faced some challenges that they would not have with any other episode. "It just adds another element", Kramer said about episodes taking place in winter, "People's clothes have to get tugged in the wind if it's windy. And you have to make sure the snow is consistent because [...] It's like a character. If it's a big snowflake in one scene and then tiny ones where it's snowing too hard in the next scene... It's not gonna work." The scratches and bad quality of "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was" were added in by the Post-Production Department, led by Alex Duke. "Our Post-Production Department never gets enough credit," Scully said, "But they'll take a film like ['The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was'] and make it all scratchy and make it look really old. They always do a great job." The woman in "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was" was portrayed by Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
, while the clown in the Cirque du Purée was voiced by Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
. The song that plays when Homer and Ned are driving to the school is "Feel Like Makin' Love
Feel Like Makin' Love (Bad Company song)
"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song by British supergroup Bad Company. The song originally appeared on the LP Straight Shooter in April 1975 and was released as a single in August of the same year...
" by English rock band Bad Company
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
. Originally, the series' staff wanted to use "Rock and Roll All Nite
Rock and Roll All Nite
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album Dressed to Kill. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway." The studio version of the song peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard singles chart, besting the band's previous...
" by American rock band Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, but they failed to obtain the rights to use it.
Cultural references
Although the episode's title is a reference to the Danish mystery novel Smilla's Sense of SnowSmilla's Sense of Snow
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow or Smilla's Sense of Snow is a 1992 novel by Danish author Peter Høeg. It was translated into English by Tiina Nunnally...
, there are no other allusions to the book in the episode. In the episode's setpiece, the Simpsons visit a circus called Cirque du Puree. The circus is a reference to the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
. In the film "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was", one of the hobgoblins has a similar singing voice as American singer Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
. Having just found out that they are trapped in the school, Skinner says "I don't care if you're Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
- no one leaves the building". According to Long, the line was written by either Dana Gould
Dana Gould
Dana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
or George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, both of whom are former staff writers. While wreaking havoc in the school, Milhouse can be seen doodling a mustache on a picture of Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
, the 29th President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. While ordering Skinner to humiliate himself, Bart says "Di, di, mau". This is a reference to the 1978 drama film The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza...
, in which the Vietcong says the line to their captives. One of the books that the children burn in the school's library is the 1944 children's novel Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain is a 1944 children's novel by Esther Forbes set in Boston prior to and during the outbreak of the American Revolution. The novel's themes include apprenticeship, courtship, sacrifice, human rights, and the growing tension between Whigs and Tories as conflict nears...
by Esther Forbes
Esther Forbes
Esther Louise Forbes was an American novelist, historian andchildren's writer who received the Pulitzer Prize and the Newbery Medal.-Life:...
.
Release and reception
In its original American broadcast on December 17, 2000, "Skinner's Sense of Snow" received an 8.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, translating to approximately 8.8 million viewers. The episode finished in 33rd place in the ratings for the week of December 11-17, 2000, tying with an episode of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
. Since its broadcast, the episode has been released twice on home video. On November 2, 2004, it was released along with "Homer vs. Dignity
Homer vs. Dignity
"Homer vs. Dignity" is the fifth episode of the The Simpsons’ twelfth season, first broadcast by Fox on November 26, 2000. In the episode, Mr...
" and the season 15
The Simpsons (season 15)
The Simpsons 15th season began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with "Treehouse of Horror XIV".The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 production line...
episodes "Dude, Where's My Ranch?
Dude, Where's My Ranch?
"Dude, Where's My Ranch?" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode aired on April 27, 2003. It was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and was the first episode directed by Chris Clements.-Plot:...
" and "'Tis the 15th Season" as part of a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set entitled The Simpsons - Christmas 2. On August 18, 2009, the episode was again released as part of a DVD set called The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, David Mirkin, Max Pross and Lance Kramer participated in the audio commentary for the episode.
Following its home video release, "Skinner's Sense of Snow" received mostly positive reviews from critics. In his review of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season, DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...
's Mac McEntire wrote that, while he prefers "down-to-Earth" episodes, the more "outrageous" episodes like "Skinner's Sense of Snow" are the ones that are "standouts". He added that the episode "provides a lot of solid 'cool kids versus dorky adults' comedy", and that the setpiece was the best part of the episode. Matt Haigh of Den of Geek described the episode as "gold", and considers it to be one of the season's best episodes. The staff of The Journal
The Journal (newspaper)
The Journal is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne. Published by ncjMedia, , The Journal is produced every weekday and Saturday morning and is complemented by its sister publications the Evening Chronicle and the Sunday Sun.The newspaper mainly has a middle-class and professional...
, while reviewing The Simpsons - Christmas 2 DVD set, described the episode as "memorable", and John McMurtrie of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
cited it as "great". Elizabeth Skipper, another reviewer for DVD Verdict, wrote that most episodes that center around Skinner are "a sure thing", and that "Skinner's Sense of Snow" is no exception. Both Aaron Beierle and Jason Bailey of DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
argued that "Skinner's Sense of Snow" is one of the best episodes of the season. On the other hand, giving the episode a mixed review, Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide described the episode as "mediocre". Although he found the children's revolt against Skinner amusing, he argued that the premise was not used to its full potential. He concluded his review by calling it "a fairly average program".
External links
- "Skinner's Sense of Snow" at TheSimpsons.com