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"The Christmas Special" is the ninth episode in Season Four (and eighty-eighth episode overall) of Regular Show. This episode is a half-hour Christmas special. It first aired on December 3, 2012.[1]

Synopsis[]

The groundskeepers must destroy a present built by one of Santa's elves that could mark the end of Christmas forever.

Plot[]

Things start off inside Santa's building, which explodes as an elf named Quillgin is shown carrying a present box towards Santa's sleigh. Quillgin then flies off to the outer limits of the North Pole and is about to open the present box, but something crashes against the sleigh. Santa Claus comes flying in with a floating snowboard and takes the present away from Quillgin. They fight in the sled for a while, but Quillgin pushes Santa to the wall and starts to open the box again. Santa yells a command to Rudolph, his lead reindeer. Rudolph shoots Quillgin with a laser coming out from his nose, which knocks the box from Quillgin’ hands. Santa then takes the box and jumps out of the sleigh.

At the park, the park members are holding a Christmas party. Benson tries to flirt with a woman, but she instead laughs at his tacky Christmas sweater. Benson tells Thomas to get some soda, but because his horns are stuck on the railing, has Mordecai and Rigby get it instead at Skips' garage. As the two enter the garage to get more soda, they notice the roof has been smashed and see Santa Claus on top of the smashed golf cart. Santa is surprised/annoyed to see the two of them and proves he is the real Santa Claus by telling them how they used to write letters to him every year asking him for invisibility cloaks. He explains the reason her never delivered them was because even Santa is governed by rules, and gifting anything magical goes against them. Too injured to continue, Santa entrusts them with the wrapped box, telling them that it is incredibly dangerous. He provides a backstory with how his head developer, Quillgin, created a special gift out of an empty box that allowed anything to be conjured from it. Upon using it with a test family, it's dark magic corrupted those who looked in it, bringing out their worst impulses and sending people into violent brawls for it. Because something like this could never end up in the wrong hands, much less be allowed to be delivered on Christmas morning, Santa locked it away and ordered all of the research destroyed, which turned Quillgin against Santa for destroying his life's work. Left with no other choice, Santa entrusts Mordecai and Rigby with disposing of the present box before Quillgin comes for it. He warns them if he gets it back, he'll take his revenge by using it's power to get what he wants most: the destruction of Christmas forever.

Mordecai and Rigby get the other park members to show them the injured Santa but find that he is missing, leaving them without evidence. Benson believes this is just another one of their get-out-of-work-free excuses and takes a look for himself. He looks into the box, and he becomes enthralled by the magical golden glow from within. Muscle Man and Pops look in it and also become enthralled and begin to fight with each other. Mordecai snaps them back to their senses and the gang is ready to trust them upon seeing what this thing is capable of firsthand and why it needs to be destroyed in order to save Christmas. Muscle Man wastes no time and grabs a sledgehammer, but when he uses it on the box, the hammer head explodes inches before impact. Skips sniff the box and realizes that because of the dark magic it's made of, it can't be destroyed by any normal methods. As far as he can tell, the only thing in the world that can destroy it is genuine molten lava. Everyone wonders where they could find it, and Skips tells them that there's a lava pit hidden deep within the bowels of an abandoned mineshaft in East Pines Park.

Quillgin arrives with his henchmen and notices that Santa was here, and they begin to follow whoever may have the box.

Sneaking into East Pines, the group tries to get through the park undetected. However, Rigby messes around with a snowman, which causes an alarm to go off, and they are captured by Gene. Gene believes that the group came because they tried to pull another prank on East Pines. Gene wonders what's in the box and asks an East Pines employee to open it. He becomes enthralled by the box, so Gene and another employee look in and also become enthralled. As they fight, the box gets kicked over to Mordecai, who snaps them back to their senses.

The park’s security cameras show Quillgin, and his henchmen begin to fight through the East Pines employees. The door begins to shake, and Rigby believes that Quillgin and his henchmen arrived, but it's just another East Pines employee who tells them that there's an "elf guy outside screaming about destroying Christmas" and then offers up an eggnog refresher. Realizing the danger, Gene takes their word for it and they're off.

Gene takes the gang to the shaft and he heads back to stall Quillgin and his henchmen, but not before warning them of booby traps on the way to the lava pit. As the group reaches a dead end, a trap door opens right beneath them and they're in the first chamber. However, the only thing in their way is a doorway with a skeleton impaled by spikes. Benson unwittingly reveals this as one of the booby traps when he is almost skewered by a spike that pops out of the wall when he steps on one of the floor tiles in the doorway. Skips translates the glyphs: "Crack the Code, a door will open. One wrong step, forever broken", meaning that one person must follow the directions provided below to step on the floor tiles in the correct sequence to open the door on the other side of the room. One wrong step, and they will be impaled and killed. Mordecai tries using the skeleton but fails to make much progress due to the spikes retracting and the Skeleton crumbling. Muscle Man volunteers and finishes the first trial. As he leaps out and states that it was a joke, all the spikes poke out, which makes him state to the group that he actually literally almost had a way-too-close brush with death.

Going on to the next trial, they reach a ridge with an icy abyss right below them. Skips translates again "Rack the points, a bridge will flow. Lose a ball, watch out below", meaning that playing a pinball machine is the only way of reaching the other side. As they rack more points, the bridge will extend; if a ball gets dropped, the ground below them will collapse. Benson volunteers as no one else has played pinball. As he racks points, one of the balls drops and causes a piece of the bridge to collapse. Muscle Man almost falls to his death but is saved by Skips. Mordecai assures Benson that he can finish the puzzle right as Hi Five Ghost informs them that Quillgin has caught up to them. Benson tells the group to run ahead while he keeps playing, completing the bridge. He then lets the three balls drop, causing the bridge to collapse as Quillgin's henchmen chase him. The henchmen fall into the chasm below, and Quillgin is stranded on the other side.

In the last trial, Skips relays the most self-explanatory translation yet: "Wrestle a bear. Don't lost." Right as he reads it, a polar bear emerges from a cave. Being a skilled wrestler, Pops challenges gladly accepts the challenge, despite protests from the others. Pops is initially overwhelmed by the bear, but he eventually overpowers him and wins. The bear acknowledges the gang's success with the challenges and opens a portal in his stomach to allow the group into the lava pit.

Mordecai prepares to destroy the box, only for Quillgin to suddenly appear armed with a gun. Rigby asks how he got through the trials, and Quillgin states he used the stairs to enter. He demands the box, or he will shoot, so Mordecai prepares to give the box to save his friends. Suddenly, Quillgin loses control of his hand, and the gun gets knocked into the lava pit. Santa reveals himself, to the staff's amazement. Rigby wonders why he has an invisibility cloak when he stated before it was against the rules. Santa clarifies him that he can make them just fine; he just can't give them out as gifts. Quillgin is surprised and angry that he survived, and Santa reveals he wisely wore body armor. Quillgin throws a grenade to scatter them and grabs the box, declaring it is only fitting that he ruin Santa's life work like he did his. He uses the box to grant his wish for the destruction of Christmas. Magic explosives appear on Christmas presents and decorations around the world, and a detonator appears in the box. Santa and the park staff are horrified while Quillgin prepares to activate it.

Refusing to accept defeat, Mordecai rushes up to Quillgin and tackles him into the lava pit and Rigby chases after him. In freefall in the pit, Mordecai, Rigby and Quillgin fight. Quillgin initially repels Mordecai, though Rigby appears and the two stare into the box, causing it to switch between the detonator and an ice cream cone. Mordecai tells Rigby to let go, which he does, and pulls out a two-person hoverboard before dropping the box. Quillgin chases after the box, while Mordecai grabs Rigby. Quillgin is about to have his wish come true when he realizes that he is about to meet his fate. The boys ride back to the surface as Quillgin and the box drown in the lava and Mordecai is happy to report the job and the gang rejoice as Christmas is saved.

Santa brings the Park employees back home. When Benson asks what he thinks of his holiday sweater, Santa tells him that he should've thrown it into the lava pit while they were there, so he takes it off and throws it on the ground. Before heading back inside, Santa commends Mordecai and Rigby for their bravery and enginuity. So, the boys ask Santa if this means they're finally on the Nice list and he simply states "crazier things have happened". With that, he takes flight in his sleigh and bids the park a fine "HO HO HO!" just like in the movies, much to the boys' amazement. With that done, the attendees have since gone home and Thomas has fallen asleep still stuck in the stair rails. Benson wakes up Thomas and instantly yanks himself out. Benson tells Mordecai and Rigby to clean the house from the party and tells them that he'll help them as a gesture of Christmas goodwill. When he leaves to get the supplies, Mordecai notices a present under the tree addressed for him and Rigby with a note on it that says, "Sometimes, you gotta break the rules". When Benson returns with the cleaning supplies, he finds the living room totally empty and is left frustrated that he's been left to clean the house by himself. Upon leaving, Mordecai and Rigby are revealed to be wearing the invisibility cloaks they never got as kids and play video games on the couch. The episode ends the camera shifting out of the living room and into the stratosphere where Santa bids the audience a fine "HO HO HO, Merry Christmas!" before jetting to lightspeed and leaving flaming skidmarks from his sleigh in his wake.

Characters[]

S4E09TheChristmasSpecialCredits

Locations[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • This marks the first Christmas episode in the series.
  • This marks the second episode to use opening titles similar to "Exit 9B."
  • Santa reveals that any myths about him are made up from advertisement companies.
  • Gene is revealed to have a family.
  • Ed Asner and Thomas Haden Church make guest appearances in this episode.
    • Ed provides the voice of Santa whilst Thomas provides the voice of the main antagonist, Quillgin.
  • This episode received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program in 2013 but lost to the South Park episode "Raising The Bar".

Episode Connections[]

  • During a flashback in "The Real Thomas" while the Park workers were trying to save Christmas, Thomas/Nikolai was placing jet engines into The Park for his mission before returning to get his head stuck again.

Pop Culture References[]

  • Two real-life songs play in the special, in Part 1, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee and in Part 2, "Carol of the Bells" by Savatage (then remade with a re-recording with the same arrangement by The Trans-Siberian Orchestra a year later).
  • This episode has many references to the Lord of the Rings franchise.
    • When Mordecai and Rigby tell the others what has happened, Muscle Man says "Well what are we waiting for" and attempts to smash the box. This is a reference to Lord of the Rings when Gimli tries to smash the ring.
    • When Quillgin shows Santa Claus his plans for his magic box, they are written in a language similar to Elvish from Lord of the Rings.
    • The Box's destruction, as well as Quillgin's death, is a reference to Gollum's fiery demise in Lord of the Rings.

Production Notes[]

  • This is the last Regular Show episode to air in 2012.

Goofs[]

  • The guests and the Christmas ornaments in the kitchen disappear when Muscle Man is saying how good the cookies are.
  • At first, when Benson is talking to Audrey, a person is sitting far away from her. However, during a close-up shot, she is sitting next to Audrey.
  • There are no Christmas stockings hanging until Audrey starts talking to Benson.
  • When Benson is talking with Audrey, Thomas is seen walking down the stairs, but in the next shot, he disappears.
  • Mordecai and Rigby are not wearing their sweaters after entering Skips' Garage.
  • The petrol pump is not shown when Santa Claus crashes into Skips' Garage. It reappears when Mordecai and Rigby enter the garage.
  • The man in the test room is shown with a pipe in his mouth despite not having it in any other scene.
  • When Gene tells the Park Gang that he'll try to hold off Quillign, the Christmas Box disappears.
  • In a few scenes during the fight with Pops and the Polar Bear, the symbols in the circle disappear.
  • When Benson gives Pops his shirt and his top hat after Pops beat the bear, his left arm sleeve is blue colored.
  • Whilst Quillign is destroying Christmas, Benson's sweater is colored blue.
  • When Benson offers to clean the house, the stockings disappear.
  • Gene's wife is colored red even though in Chili Cook-Off, she is colored green in a photo.

Alternate Versions[]

UK[]

You can see the episode's censors here.

  • The scene showing Quillgin shooting Santa Claus was cut.
    • Strangely, the second part of the episode did not censor the mentioning's of Santa getting shot by Quillgin, as well as Santa revealing that he had a bullet proof vest.
  • Any scene showing the bullet holes in Santa's chest were digitally removed.
    • However, after spinning the first time, the bullet holes are visible when he is falling.
  • "Well sorry to disappoint you, but I was just shot at! Fell 3500 feet and crashed through a garage! Besides, all that other stuff is just made up by advertising companies!" was removed.

References[]

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