that Marge had "gotten short shrift," and, according to Freiberger, Marge would have had a "really big part motivating the story" had the subplot remained intact. The renovated church in the episode is built like a mall; several stores and merchandising is located inside, and Reverend Lovejoy plugs products and television programs during his sermons. The scene is used to satirize the so-called "megachurches" and the commercialization sometimes associated with these institutions. The episode also argues that, even if Christmas has lost most of its meaning, it is more important to "keep these thoughts to oneself in order to make the family happy." It also comments on what the writers believe to be the "all or nothing, we're right, you're all going to hell mentality" of some Christian movements. Even though "She of Little Faith" is a Christmas episode, the holiday is not mentioned until the episode's third act. Jean stated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode that the writers did not want to make a conventional Christmas episode, and instead wanted to "slide into" the subject. The episode features actor Richard Gere as himself. Gere agreed to guest star under two conditions, the first being that Buddhism should be portrayed accurately, and his second and strongest request being that Lisa should say "Free Tibet" in the episode. Jean agreed, but Gere ended up with the line. However, Lisa did yell out "Free Tibet" in an episode in the following season. Gere's lines were recorded in New York City by Jean who, in the DVD audio commentary for the episode, stated that Gere was "great" and that he "didn't mind being made fun of" in the episode. He also mentioned that Gere was one of the only guest-stars they had that "looked handsome simpsonized." Release In 2002, "She of Little Faith" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour), but it ultimately lost to the Futurama episode "Roswell That Ends Well". Matt Groening, creator of both series, joked that the award "gave [him] a chance to be bitter either way". On August 24, 2010, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-ray set. Following its home video release, "She of Little Faith" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Dominic von Reidermann of Suite101.com considered the episode to be a "comedy gem"