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Mister Robinson's Neighborhood: Christmas
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.
The setup
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The premise
Here’s the bit.
In this Christmas edition of Eddie Murphy's Mister Rogers parody, Mr. Robinson greets the children in a Santa suit, which he wears to slip past the landlord who has just served him an eviction notice. Adding a collection kettle and bell turns the costume into a money-making operation, and he compares himself to Santa as a fellow late-night visitor to people's homes, except that he prefers to take things. He then unveils his own Cabbage Patch doll, an ordinary baby doll topped with a head of cabbage, which he plans to sell to children for a steep price. His word of the day is X-Mas, and he flips the card to reveal another X word, X-Con. When an angry parent comes knocking about the fake doll, Mr. Robinson offers one last X word, escape, and slips out the window with his sack.
The funny people
Meet the cast. 1
Say it with us
Highly quotable.
It's a time for giving. And look what Mr. Landlord gave me. It's an eviction notice.
Yes, Christmas is a season for giving and for taking.
Are you the guy that sold my kid a head of lettuce with a dress on it?
A little extra
Notes from the archive.
Eddie Murphy had left the SNL cast earlier in 1984. This was his second time hosting, after a December 1982 episode he hosted while still a cast member, and his last until December 2019, when he brought Mister Robinson's Neighborhood back. Fred Rogers reportedly found the parody amusing and affectionate, and during a 1982 visit to Rockefeller Center he stopped by Murphy's dressing room to meet him. Cabbage Patch Kids were the must-have Christmas toy of the period, with parents fighting over scarce dolls in stores.
Script
Automatically generated script; wording may contain errors. Speaker labels are inferred.
- 00:09
Mr. Robinson
It's the beautiful day. the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Won't you be mine? Won't you be my neighbor?
- 00:20
Mr. Robinson
Hello, boys and girls. You know, Christmas is a special time in Mr. Robinson's neighborhood. It's a time for giving. And look what Mr. Landlord gave me. It's an eviction notice.
- 00:33
Mr. Robinson
Well, that's why Mr. Robinson has to wear this Santa Claus suit to sneak in and out of his building.
- 00:38
Mr. Robinson
But it just isn't a disguise, boys and girls. because when I add this little kettle here and when I add this little bell it becomes a small business
- 00:48
Mr. Robinson
yes Christmas is a season for giving and for taking and with this little operation I figure I'll be taking in about three or four hundred dollars a day
- 01:00
Mr. Robinson
oh why oh why must Christmas come but once a year
- 01:04
Mr. Robinson
you
- 01:08
Mr. Robinson
you know another reason why Mr. Robinson likes Christmas so much boys and and girls is because I have so much in common with Santa Claus.
- 01:15
Mr. Robinson
We both like to sneak into your house late at night. Only Mr. Santa Claus likes to leave things. Mr. Robinson prefers to take a few days every now and then.
- 01:26
Mr. Robinson
Let's see what I have for Christmas today. Ooh, look, a little doll baby. Isn't it so cute, boys and girls?
- 01:35
Mr. Robinson
They're not worth a lot of money now, but through the miracle of modern science,
- 01:43
Mr. Robinson
Cabbage Patch Dollars.
- 01:48
Mr. Robinson
Now they're worth a lot of cabbage. I could sell these to little stupid kids for about $50 each.
- 01:55
Mr. Robinson
$50 each! Can you believe that? Well, that's why I love Christmas.
- 02:01
Mr. Robinson
And that's today's word, boys and girls. Christmas. You know any other words that begin with X, boys and girls? How about X?
- 02:19
Mr. Robinson
Who
- 02:25
Mr. Robinson
Who could that be, boys and girls?
- 02:28
Speaker 1
Robinson! Are you the guy that sold my kid a head of lettuce with a dress on it?
- 02:33
Mr. Robinson
That
- 02:35
Mr. Robinson
That reminds me of another word, boys and girls, that begins with X. X-gate.
- 02:42
Mr. Robinson
Well, I'll see you later. And remember,
- 02:45
Mr. Robinson
tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll visit you tomorrow when you sound asleep. Goodbye, boys and girls.
The rabbit hole continues
One more couldn’t hurt.
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