Where are you Christmas?
Why can’t I find you?
Why have you gone away?
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me?
Why can’t I hear music play?
My world is changing
I’m rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too?
Hey there holiday tappers! Howzit? So I must admit I’ve been watching Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas and have that Cindy Lou Who song stuck in my furry noggin. I was humming the melody and realized the opening lyrics apply to some of our festive tapper issues with glitches during this update. TSTO may be in White Christmas mode but it also included the new question of WHERE’S MY ZUTROY!?! Has Christmas changed? Oh… the whomanity! Of course, this also begs the question of what is a Zutroy and where the heck did THAT come from. Well my dear readers, that’s where the walking carpet comes in. Let’s find out shall we?
Zutroy was our extra bonus for completing all 19 elf tunnels. He’s a playable character with a questline and tasks. To find him, we head to “The Last Temptation of Homer” (S5:E9). Fans/nerds of the show know this episode as the Mindy Simmons temptation episode but it’s chock full of other goodness too. One foot narrower teacher parking spots… super-nerd Bart… Stewart the duck… singing fish at the trout hatchery… painted-on emergency exits…
It’s that last one that brings us to the point. When the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant’s Dangerous Emissions Supervisor alerts Mr. Burns to the need for real emergency exits, he gets tubed to an Indian cabaret.
Burns now needs a replacement and wants one on the cheap. Enter Zutroy who works for one shiny penny a day and is “as American as apple pie” even if he speaks in an Eastern European dialect. Dodontoc? Krabdanic? Nikrabda? Datoc? Tocdatoc? Danikrab? Tockikrabda even.
Burns and his illegal immigrant are caught by the Department of Labor (Burns also had a Brazilian soccer team working in his reactor core), forcing Burns to finally reverse his sexist employment policies and hire at least one woman. Enter Mindy.
Zutroy was also mentioned during Mr. Burns’ corporate retreat for “teamwork” in “Mountain of Madness” (S8:E12). He was paired up with Phong so provided he didn’t come in last, I don’t think he was fired after the bust. Probably just playing football in the core lol.
And that’s it for Zutroy my friends. He was just a quick blip in the episode that now is a fully fleshed out character. I do think he strongly resembles Crazy Vaclav from “Mr. Plow” (S4:E9) though. If Vaclav spoke less English, he’d be a shoe-in. Sure Zutroy is voiced by Dan Castellanetta and Vaclav by Hank Azaria and they have slightly different features but I find them very similar. Maybe they’re related? Maybe they work for the Klav Kalash Empire? Maybe this is what the animators consider a stereotypical Eastern European? Maybe I need a life?
Anywho… Hope everyone’s glitches in game are all sorted and unintelligible billionaire Zutroy is wandering your towns. I’ll finish off this madness with Zutroy’s tasks in TSTO.
| Task | Length | Earns | Required |
| Siesta | 1hr | $105, 26 XP | Requires Bench – Outside Task |
| Take a Break | 4hrs | $260, 70 XP | Control Building |
| Take English Classes | 8hrs | $420, 105 XP | Adult Education Annex |
| Hide From Unsympathetic Springfielders | 12hrs | $600, 150 XP | Requires Large Hedge – Outside Task |
| Earn a Shiny Penny | 24hrs | $1000, 225 XP | Control Building |
Until next time, keep it classy and have a Happy Whatever-You-Celebrate-This-Time-Of-Year!
TTFN… Wookiee out!