Grift of the Magi

"Grift of the Magi"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	235
Directed by	Matthew Nastuk
Written by	Tom Martin
Showrunner(s)	Mike Scully
Production code	BABF07
Original air date	December 19, 1999
Chalkboard gag	"I will not sell my kidney on eBay".
Couch gag	Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie slide down a fire pole to the couch. Homer, however, gets stuck in the hole and flails about helplessly.
Commentary	Matt Groening Mike Scully George Meyer Ian Maxtone-Graham Tom Martin Matt Selman Tim Long Lance Kramer
Guest appearance(s)
Tim Robbins as Jim Hope Clarence Clemons as the Narrator Gary Coleman as himself Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony
Season 11 episodes September 26, 1999 – May 21, 2000 "Beyond Blunderdome" "Brother's Little Helper" "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?" "Treehouse of Horror X" "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" "Eight Misbehavin'" "Take My Wife, Sleaze" "Grift of the Magi" "Little Big Mom" "Faith Off" "The Mansion Family" "Saddlesore Galactica" "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" "Missionary: Impossible" "Pygmoelian" "Bart to the Future" "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" "Kill the Alligator and Run" "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" "Behind the Laughter"
Seasons
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Tim Robbins as Jim Hope
Clarence Clemons as the Narrator
Gary Coleman as himself
Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony

"Grift of the Magi" is the ninth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 19, 1999. In the episode, mafia boss Fat Tony successfully extorts a large sum of money from Springfield Elementary School, forcing Principal Skinner to close it down. However, a toy company called Kid First Industries, led by Jim Hope, later buys the school and privatizes it. Classes now start focusing on toys and marketing only, and soon a new toy called Funzo that resembles the children's ideas is released by Kid First Industries in time for the Christmas shopping season. Bart and Lisa decide to destroy all Funzos in Springfield but Gary Coleman, Kid First Industries' security guard, tries to intercept them.

"Grift of the Magi", which satirizes the commercialization of Christmas, was written by Tom Martin and directed by Matthew Nastuk. The episode features several guest appearances; Tim Robbins as Jim Hope, Gary Coleman as himself, Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony, and Clarence Clemons as a narrator that tells the viewers at the end of the episode how the story ends.

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