Futurama
A Tale of Two Santas
TV Flash files “A Tale of Two Santas” as hour 46 of 164 in the TV Flash guide — Futurama (1999–2003) on Fox, season 4, episode 2, aired 2001-12-23, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E02: listed hour 46 of 164 in the Futurama guide, hour 2 of 12 in season 4. It aired 2001-12-23 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Roswell That Ends Well” (S04E01). Next is “Anthology of Interest II” (S04E03).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Bender takes over as Santa Claus to bring back Xmas spirit.
Viewer FAQ
Where does A Tale of Two Santas sit in the Futurama guide?
S04E02 is listed hour 46 of 164 — hour 2 of 12 in season 4, season 4 episode 2.
When did Futurama S04E02 air?
A Tale of Two Santas aired 2001-12-23 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Fox run or later revivals?
Start with the 1999–2003 Fox seasons. Comedy Central and streaming revivals continued the crew; the original is the pathos-and-math text.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A frozen delivery boy wakes a thousand years later, and Groening still finds the sad note under the gag. Nerd-precision sci-fi sitcom: math jokes, robot unions, and hours that wreck you between punchlines. Fox animation with real pathos — revived, never replaced, still the smartest pizza-delivery epic on television.
Visual first: a frozen delivery boy in a thousand-year thaw, a ship silhouette that can wreck you between punchlines, nerd-precision sci-fi with a sad note under the gag. Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's Fox series premiered in 1999. Billy West, Katey Sagal's Leela, John DiMaggio's Bender, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr. *Math jokes as sparkle, robot unions as the gown, pathos as the second look.* **This was not Simpsons in space; this was a different instrument.**
Filed against
- Billy West as Philip J. Fry / Professor Farnsworth
Billy West’s Stimpy — and later Ren — made The Ren & Stimpy Show a gums-and-gravy religion — 1990s catalog gross-out as high art, then Futurama asking the same throat for a thousand-year sad joke. TV Flash files him as the voice that can…
- Katey Sagal as Leela
Katey Sagal’s Peggy Bundy made Married… with Children a leopard-print weather system — 1980s catalog anti-wholesome, Fox’s first family of gleeful dysfunction. Futurama and Sons of Anarchy proved the same instrument could sing pathos and…
- John DiMaggio as Bender
John DiMaggio’s Bender made Futurama a robot with a drinking problem and a soul — a frozen delivery boy waking a thousand years later, Groening still finding the sad note under the gag. Nerd-precision sci-fi sitcom: math jokes, robot…
- Lauren Tom as Amy Wong
Lauren Tom's Amy Wong kept Futurama's sad note under the gag — a frozen delivery boy a thousand years later, Groening nerd-precision sci-fi, math jokes and robot unions, Fox animation with real pathos. Revived, never replaced. The desk…
- Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad
Phil LaMarr voices Hermes Conrad on Futurama, Groening’s 1990s nerd-precision sci-fi sitcom — a frozen delivery boy waking a thousand years later, math jokes, robot unions, hours that wreck you between punchlines. Fox animation with real…