"Chapter One: Good To Ho" is the premiere episode of the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses and aired on November 16, 2022 on Disney+. It also aired on December 16, 2022 on Freeform and on December 17, 2022 on FX, on December 24, 2022 on ABC and on December 25, 2022 on Disney Channel. It was written by Jack Burditt and directed by Jason Winer.
Synopsis[]
After stopping at one of his favorite houses on Santa's delivery list, Scott Calvin realizes that the twenty eight years he's been on the job has flown by. To make matters worse, his magic begins to falter. Scott trains to get his Santa mojo back, but the following Christmas things only get worse.
Plot[]
Santa Claus, formally Scott Calvin, and his assistant elf Noel are making their annual rounds and briefly stop by the home of Simon Choksi, the CEO of fledgling delivery service EverythingNow, and his daughter Grace. Coming and going undetected, Simon is baffled at how their living room is suddenly well decorated, believing that Grace had done it all herself. While checking the list, Santa decides to stop by the home of Sara, the very first person that he visited when he put on the coat. However, Sara is a young adult and does not remember her visit from Scott as Santa. He manages to convince her again by giving her a Polly Pocket set, but finds that he cannot go back up the chimney and is forced to climb onto the roof by himself.
While flying away, Santa confides in Noel that his magic has been faulty lately, which is proven true when the sleigh and reindeer begin to falter. Back at the North Pole, Mrs. Claus, formally Carol Newman, is checking in on her technology obsessed son Cal and animal-loving daughter Sandra when she is informed by the elves that something is amiss. This turns out to be a prank by Santa who gets the elves to return to their favorite pastime: making toys. Santa tells Mrs. Claus that he has been cranky lately and that his magic is not the same. She suggests retirement, something Santa is against, before pointing out that besides her former name, Mrs. Claus does not have a first name. While trying to escape the conversation, Santa finds he has trouble going back up the chimney.
While speaking with Doc Martin, Santa discovers that he has been losing weight and dedicates the entirety of next year getting out of shape. Despite this, he discovers that he has lost more pounds, but his magic is rendered "good to ho". While in a meeting with the elves, Santa gets into a fuss over the use of the word "naughty" and becomes frustrated. Lead elf Betty is convinced that something is wrong with Santa and becomes suspicious when Noel, her presumed partner, refuses to talk further about it. Santa gets ready for another delivery and gets the support of his family as he and Noel venture off, though he becomes bothered when Noel notes that there are less people to visit on the list this year around.
Simon is in the middle of an interview about his failure to deliver his latest project by Christmas, when his assistant literally cuts it short. While sitting outside, Simon spots Santa's sleigh and becomes convinced that it is the answer to all of his problems. Santa speaks to Noel about the issues he has been having, but is convinced to finish his deliveries for the year. As Santa gets his magic sack, he suddenly loses control of it and begins flying around, resulting in him falling off the roof and landing on an inflatable Christmas display. Noel is convinced that Santa is dead.
Cast[]
- Tim Allen as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus
- Elizabeth Mitchell as Carol Newman-Calvin/Mrs. Claus
- Austin Kane as Buddy Calvin-Claus
- Elizabeth Allen-Dick as Sandra Calvin-Claus
- Matilda Lawler as Betty
- Devin Bright as Noel
- Rupali Redd as Grace Choksi
- Kal Penn as Simon Choksi
Guest starring[]
- Casey Wilson as Adult Sara
- Melissa King as Sara (archive footage)
- Miya Cech as Doc Martin
- Isabella Bennett as Edie
- Sasha Knight as Crouton
- Izaac Wang as Hugo
Co-Starring[]
- Xavier J. Watson as Hassan
- Stephanie Andrea Barron as Ava
- Bella Shaw as Interviewer
Songs[]
- "Elves Just Wanna Have Fun" by Santa's Elves
- "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
- "Pop Muzik" by M
Trivia[]
- The title is a play on the phrase "good to go".
- The elves resent the idea of time off work.
- Casey Wilson revealed in a 2023 podcast interview that Tim Allen was incensed during the filming of his scene with her. A production assistant told Wilson, "You're seeing him on a good day."
Gallery[]
