reference to the Danish mystery novel Smilla's Sense of Snow, there are no other allusions to the book in the episode. In the episode's set piece, the Simpsons visit a circus called Cirque du Purée. The circus is a reference to the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil. The film the students watch, "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was" (the title of which is a reference to the 1966 film The Christmas That Almost Wasn't), is a reference to B-Grade 50s and 60s themed Christmas movies such as Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Within the film, one of the hobgoblins has a similar singing voice as American singer Nelson Eddy. Having just found out that they are trapped in the school, Skinner says, "I don't care if you're Kristi Yamaguchi - no one leaves the building". According to Long, the line was written by either Dana Gould or George Meyer, both of whom are former staff writers. While wreaking havoc in the school, Milhouse can be seen doodling mustaches on pictures of Woodrow Wilson and Warren G. Harding, the 28th and 29th Presidents of the United States, respectively. Milhouse was also about to draw a moustache on 27th President William Howard Taft until noticing that he already had a moustache. While ordering Skinner to humiliate himself, Bart says "Di, di, mau". This is a reference to the 1978 drama film The Deer Hunter, in which the Vietcong says the line to their captives. One of the books that the children burn in the school's library is the 1944 children's novel Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. Release and reception In its original American broadcast on December 17, 2000, "Skinner's Sense of Snow" received an 8.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 8.8 million viewers. The episode finished in 33rd place in the ratings for the week of December 11-17, 2000, tying with an episode of the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show. Since its broadcast, the episode has been released twice on home video. On November 2, 2004, it was released along with "Homer vs. Dignity", "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" and 'Tis the 15th Season" as part of a DVD set entitled The Simpsons - Christmas 2. On August 18, 2009, the episode was again released as part of a DVD set called The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim