Our take
A double-length Christmas special made for the show's 35th anniversary, and a surprisingly sincere one. The comic half, with a hypnotised father convinced he is Santa, is broad fun. The heart of it is a crisis of faith handled with care. Derren Brown is a charming presence in one of the largest guest roles the show has had, and the decision to restore Ned Flanders's belief through science and wonder, with Professor Frink as his guide, is a thoughtful touch.
What happens
The British mentalist Derren Brown arrives in a gloomy, bad-tempered Springfield to run a social experiment: can he bring back the town's Christmas spirit? After a trial run that reunites Gil with his family for the holidays, he picks Homer, a hopeless present buyer, and hypnotises him into becoming a better giver. It works too well. Homer becomes convinced he really is Santa Claus, and his zeal wins over the whole town, which falls into what Brown calls a Santa Claus cult. Brown stages a Christmas jubilee at the town hall to break the spell, but in doing so leaves Ned Flanders doubting that God exists. With Ned plunged into despair, Marge, Lisa and Bart all try to lift him, while Homer, spurred on by his enthusiastic elf Ralph Wiggum, goes back to being Santa and lands in jail after trying to deliver presents to Rainier Wolfcastle's guarded mansion. In the end Professor Frink takes Ned on a deep-sea submarine dive, and the wonders of the deep give him a reason to believe again.
Can the kids watch it?
Fine for children from about eight; a crisis of faith is talked through gently.