There's No Mitzvah Like Snow Mitzvah is the nineteenth episode of the series and sixth episode of season two.
Synopsis[]
During a Wizard of Oz-themed Bat Mitzvah for Jody's sister Rachael, June and the rest of the party are shrunken inside a snow globe by Jean-Claude, an underworld demon and previous elder because he was kicked out for being a traitor. Can June save the day and the party at the same time?
Recap[]
Jody tries to convince her friends to come perform at her older sister's Bat Mitzvah but they are having none of it just from previous' years' experience. When she gets them to agree, they all show up for "Wizard of Oz" rehearsals.
A demon by the name of Jean-Claude makes himself known, constantly flaunting to his assistants about how he'll take the Te Xuan Ze Juniper Lee by surprise with his devious plot. Unbeknown to June, he has somehow transported the entirety of the community center where the Bat Mitzvah is held into a snow globe. It's up to June to keep up the play going on at the same time and to figure out how to escape. When she does, Jean-Claude has sent a monster after her. She fights it and almost loses the snow globe in the process. After besting the rock beast, Jean-Claude wistfully laments his loss and escapes in a puff of smoke. June almost loses the snow globe again as a common kid walking through the park picks it up but bribes it from him with ten bucks. She proceeds to put it into her rucksack but it misses and falls on the ground, causing the entire community center to be un-shrunk and re-established on park grounds instead.
Credits clip[]
Because his performance at the Bat Mitzvah was such a success, Monroe sings Greensleeves at a club, standing on two legs and wearing a hat. Ray Ray collects donations via hat.
Characters[]
- Juniper
- Monroe
- Ray Ray
- Barbara
- Michael
- Jean-Claude
- Jody
- Rachel
- Mr. and Mrs. Irwin
- Ophelia
- Roger
- Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe
Quotes[]
There's No Mitzvah Like Snow Mitzvah/Script
Trivia[]
- Irony: In "Enter Sandman", June remarks that "Ophelia would never be the Tin Man" when being witness to this in a school play nightmare. In this episode, the kids actually do dress as their dream-Oz roles and outfits, but with June switched from Dorothy to Glinda the Good Witch.
- Monroe calls Jean-Claude "Pepe" when summarizing his back-story for the kids. This is most likely a reference to Pepe Le Pew, the skunk from the Looney Toons cartoons who happens to speak with a similar cartoonish french accent.
- The snow-globe where the the Community Center is held in breaks at a completely different place: Orchid Bay Park. June even says that anything happening to the snow-globe before she got it back where it belongs would be a "total nightmare". The after-math of this is never shown except for an elderly couple wondering where their car was parked.
- Music: Hava Nagila at the Bat Mitzvah and in the end credits, Greensleeves sung via barking by Monroe.
- This is the second time Ophelia, Jody and Roger wear The Wizard of Oz costumes since Enter Sandman. Although June said in that episode that Ophelia would never be the Tin Man, we see her play this role despite being un-convinced of it.
- It's still unknown what Roger's religion and/or ethnic background is.
- This marks the first time June fights while wearing a dress.
- Jody's last name was first mentioned in Take My Life, Please.
- Roger's last name is Radcliff.
- Ophelia's last name is Ramirez.
- The Elders are mentioned again. They were first mentioned in Ding Dong, the Witch Ain't Dead when June and Ah-Mah had to summon them to reverse time so no one would remember that June is a Te Xuan Ze.
- Main Villain Bio: Jean-Claude - An exiled former member of the Elders, the enigmatic group who presumably gave June and previous Te Xuan Xe their powers. Presumably, most of Jean-Claude's powers were taken from him, or he'd have been even more powerful than he was in this confrontation.
- We learn that Jody also has a younger brother.
- We find out that Jody is jealous of the attention her parents give to Rachel, Jody's older sister.
- Again, music from the Time-Warner (through Turner) movie classic The Wizard of Oz is used ("The Lollipop Guild" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", previously used in Enter Sandman and Magic Takes A Holiday).
- Roger's parents share the same personality and attitude as their son.
- We learn that Ophelia and her family can speak Spanish.
- Ending Tagline: "Man, why couldn't I have been born a Jewish girl?" - Ray Ray
Allusions[]
- Bat Mitzvah theme: The Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of Oz is a book written by L. Frank Baum. Although there were several versions of this book made into a movie, this episode is most likely referencing the 1939 musical, directed by Victor Fleming, Richard Thorpe and King Vidor, and starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. You can hear the catering staff singing "The Lollipop Guild" like in the dream-play in Sandman in season 1.
- Roger: "Let's rock da Mitzvah!" It may be a reference to the play "Rock the Casbah".
- Episode Title: The title is most likely a pun on the Irving Berlin song "There's No Business Like Show Business", made famous by Ethel Merman.
Gallery[]
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| The image gallery for the episode "There's No Mitzvah Like Snow Mitzvah" may be viewed here. |