"Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is the tenth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 21, 1997 and centers on Bart, who inadvertently ruins Christmas for him and the other Simpsons following an incident caused by an attempt to open his presents early.
It was written by Ron Hauge, directed by Bob Anderson and guest stars Alex Trebek as himself. The spectators in the stands during Bart's dreams are based on the likenesses of various animators.
Krusty saying "15,000 Missoulians" is a reference to Ron Hauge having lived in Missoula, Montana. The text "I'll Keell you" written on the Simpsons' car is a reference to a phrase written on a Wiffleball bat that the writers had in the office.
Cultural references
The episode has several references to Christmas films. The title is a play on Miracle on 34th Street, while the scene where everyone rallies around to support the Simpsons is reminiscent of the final scene of It's a Wonderful Life. The latter is further spoofed when Homer tells Lisa to stop playing the piano which parodies a similar scene involving George Bailey.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" finished 23rd in ratings for the week of December 15–21, 1997, with a Nielsen rating of 9.8, equivalent to approximately 9.6 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following King of the Hill.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide said "A deliberately mawkish Christmas episode that is low on good jokes (although the Simpsons watching their own fire on television is a good start) and a retread of any number of episodes where Bart does wrong, feels guilty and eventually has to fess up. The only real ray of sunshine is the closing moments when the neighbours get their revenge but the Simpsons find the family spirit after all."
In its review of a 2005 DVD boxed set of Christmas themed episodes of The Simpsons, The Journal described "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "Miracle On Evergreen Terrace", "Skinner's Sense of Snow", and "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" among memorable episodes of the series.
In his review of the same DVD, Digitally Obsessed critic Joel Cunningham wrote that "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is "a good one [...] A nice combo of humor, satire, and heartwarming holiday fuzzies". Andy Dougan wrote in Evening Times that the episode is "one of the darkest, blackest Christmas cartoons ever animated". Kyle Ryan writes of the ending: "It seems like a cynical way to close out an episode, the kind of thing that the show’s critics would have seized on back in 1990. But the final shot, of the family having fun as they chase each other around the house in pursuit of that last washcloth, reiterates Marge’s point without coming out and saying it. When you have nothing else, you always have family—and that’s basically been the point of The Simpsons for 26 years now."