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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 13, 2019 4 By Breanna Henry TV Media C uddle up for a festive, fun-filled night on Fox, when the four funniest animated families on television celebrate the holidays with new Christmas specials, airing Sunday, Dec. 15. The festive ep- isode of "The Simpsons" (titled "Bobby, It's Cold Outside") is the show's 20th Christmas special, while "Bless the Harts" is celebrating its first (titled "Miracle on Culpepper Slims Boulevard"). Add to that a "Bob's Burgers" special ("Have Yourself a Maily Linda Christmas") and one from "Family Guy" ("Christmas is Coming"), and you've got a full night of animated fun. "The Simpsons" is known for its celebrity guest voices (many celebs lend their own voices to a storyline that's making fun of them). A special episode is the perfect time to show off how many celebs still love this show, and "Bobby, It's Cold Outside" goes all out. "NCIS: New Orleans" star Scott Bakula and former Mi- crosoft CEO-turned-LA Clip- pers owner Steve Ballmer both lend their voices to the epi- sode, which also features the return of the most notorious Simpsons villain: "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob. It seems some evil-doer is traipsing around Springfield stealing Christmas packages off of people's doorsteps (a timely subject), and this no- goodnik must be tracked down if there is to be any hope of saving Christmas. In complete- ly unrelated news, this year's Springfield Mall Santa is none other than famed actor, profes- sor, scientist, former mayor and convicted murderer Robert Un- derdunk Terwilliger Jr. PhD — more commonly known as Sideshow Bob. The episode ti- tle riffs on the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside," which was writ- ten by a man named Frank Loesser in 1944 to sing with his wife at parties. Despite never mentioning anything holiday- related, the 75-year-old tune has been intrinsically linked to Christmas. "Bless the Harts" is the baby of Fox's Animation Domination time block. The show's first Christmas special is only its ninth episode overall, and hav- ing to follow a series with 672 episodes (and a movie) under its belt might seem difficult if it weren't for how much heart "Bless the Harts" has shown throughout its freshman sea- son, particularly in the way it has chosen to avoid tropes as- sociated with low-income fam- ilies, a category that the Harts fall into. Rather than having a dead- beat, alcoholic (or worse) boy- friend, Jenny (voiced by Kristen Wiig of "Saturday Night Live" fame) has Wayne (Ike Barin- holtz, "The Mindy Project"), who certainly won't be win- ning any awards for book smarts, but who wants nothing more than to care for her and her family. In "Miracle on Cul- pepper Slims Boulevard," the show's creator, Emily Spivey, voices Louise, Jenny's boss at the restaurant. Louise invites the Hart family to her annual Christmas party, but after see- ing the extravagance of Lou- ise's home, Jenny begins to feel insecure about the kind of holi- day she is able to provide for her own family, and her moth- er, Betty (Maya Rudolph, "The Good Place"), tries to focus on how she can stick to a budget but also "win" at Christmas gift-giving. It's hard to believe "Bob's Burgers" is already in its 10th season (with a movie set to premiere next year), especial- ly since the writers have been able to keep each episode as fresh and funny as the first. In "Have Yourself A Maily Linda Christmas," the Belcher ma- triarch, Linda (hilariously voiced by comedian John Roberts, who based his per- formance on his own mother), wants some extra spending money for the holidays, so she gets a temp job at a post of- fice. However, Linda discovers an undelivered package and ends up going a little off-book to ensure it reaches its in- tended destination. While mom is out saving the day, Bob (H. Jon Benjamin, "Archer") and Tina (Dan Mintz, "Adventure Time") end up stuck at home with her dif- ficult parents. The younger kids, Gene (Eugene Mirman, who also voices a main char- acter in "Archer") and Louise (Kristen Schaal, "The Last Man on Earth"), are scram- bling at the last minute to find the perfect gift for their ec- centric older sister. Megan Mullally ("Will and Grace") returns as Linda's neurotic sister Gayle, and Tim Mead- ows ("Schooled") is back as reluctant mailman Mike Wob- bles. coverstory Jenny, Wayne, Betty and Violet from "Bless the Harts" Fox's Four Funniest Families: 'The Simpsons,' 'Bless the Harts,' 'Bob's Burgers' and 'Family Guy' air Christmas Specials By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Is "You've Got Mail" a Christmas movie? A: The definition of Christmas movie has always been loose, but is pretty hotly contested these days — see the ongoing de- bate (to put it mildly) about "Die Hard" (1988). The discussion seems to revolve around a few questions: Does most of the action take place during Christmas? Is the holiday somehow central to the plot? And more controversial- ly: Is it a feel-good, happy sort of story? (That's where the ac- tion-movie entries lose points.) "You've Got Mail," on the other hand, picks up most of its holiday points on this feel-good element. The 1998 Nora Eph- ron rom-com about two rival bookstore owners who find un- likely love on the internet (albeit a very late-'90s version of the internet that seems pretty quaint today), is a story about love's ability to overcome material or practical obstacles. That's a pretty Christmas-friendly message. The movie is a little weaker on the other two questions. The Christmas holiday is in no way central to the plot. A couple of scenes do feature Christmas festivities, including a pretty charming carol-singing scene in which the characters have a jolly time of murdering "The Instrument Song." If there's a seasonal element that the movie does depend on, it's "New York in fall." There's much talk about the ro- mance of that setting. But, of course, this movie's also about retail, and if you ask retailers, the Christmas season starts on Nov. 1, so maybe that's a point in its favor. Q: Who does the voice of Frosty in "Frosty Returns"? It sounds so familiar. A: It'll make perfect sense when you know: It's John Good- man. Who else should play the magical, hulking nice guy in a feel- good story featuring a cast of comedy luminaries? The 1992 special, a followup to the classic 1969 Rankin and Bass cartoon, also featured "Saturday Night Live" alum Jan Hooks, '80s screwball-comedy great Brian Doyle-Murray, "SCTV" star Andrea Martin, and standup comedy legend Jon- athan Winters. The loaded comedy cast makes more sense when you know that this one actually wasn't produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, but rather by Lorne Michaels, the famous brain be- hind "Saturday Night Live" (with "Peanuts" animator Bill Me- lendez on board to help with the cartooning bits). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Towne Floring 3 x 2 The Powell Company 2 x 2

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