Plot: Two million years in the future, a robot snowman tells a group of children the story of the most horrible X-mas ever, starring our very own Zim and Dib. Zim, having just discovered Christmas and Santa Claus, decides to use Santa’s influence to enslave the humans of earth. It’s up to Dib to stop him and save Christmas.
Breakdown: How have I gone this long without ever talking about Invader Zim?
Being an old school Nickelodeon fangirl, of course I loved Zim. Some of the gross stuff was a bit much for me, but I was just starting to get into darker shows, and Zim was the perfect blend of darkness and humor with plenty of personality and wit. It truly was an incredible show….that got canceled midway through production of season two…..and the episodes they did complete of season two never even aired on TV until four years after its cancellation.
All except one.
Yup, The Most Horrible X-mas Ever, despite being last on the production list of completed episodes, is the only episode of season two that Nickelodeon decided to air before axing the show for good. Because holiday specials rake in ratings.
Now, despite loving this episode…..dammit all if I don’t remember them ever showing this when I was a kid. If they did, they didn’t air it often because I honestly don’t remember much of it.
That being said, this is a great episode and a great holiday special. I had several moments where I was legitimately laughing out loud, and both Zim and Dib had some fantastic moments and lines. This was just the right blend of dark humor and holiday goodness, much like the first Futurama Christmas special only this one was more tight on the writing.
Everything from the jokes to the dark aspects to the timing and editing was just amazing in this episode, which just makes me all the sadder that Invader Zim was cut down in its prime (I really need to read the comics)
The good news is that they’re releasing an Invader Zim movie in 2019, and watching this special just jazzed me up all the more to see it.
If there were some weak aspects of the episode it would be that I didn’t care for the song, and the plotline with Gaz was really lazy and predictable. She was more of a plot device if anything. Other than that, it was a fantastic episode that I’d gladly add to my ‘Must watch every year’ list.
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The Anime Madhouse 
I love Zim too! it was really dark. I recently re-watched some random episodes, and I can only describe them as “psychotic” the good kind. I also don’t remember this episode, but it looks good.
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