The Simpsons - General Discussion

[M. Darcy]

Last night at trivia, the question was who were the two Republicans that ran against Bill Clinton.  I had a total brain freeze on Bob Dole and when I was reminded of the answer, my first response was The Simpsons!  How could I forget that from the Simpsons. 

[BatmanBeatles]

Did you call him Mumbly Joe?

[Jediknight]

Homer: "Stupid horse! It's a deer crossing!"

 

*Lisa checking the answering machine*

Marge: "Homer, I hope you get this: I'm in jail and I need $10,000 bail. Hurry!"

Homer: "Uhh, Marge, me and Bart got in a fight with this really uncool pit boss, and now we're in Nevada State Prison. Also, I don't know where Bart is. If you see him say 'Hey.'"

Lisa: "Well Maggie, I always knew that someday it would boil down to just you and me. I'll look for work in the morning."

[radishcake]

Lonely Professor Fink uses science to turn himself into a man whom women find attractive. Then,  overwhelmed by the attention, he invents an algorithm to perfectly pair the lonely men and women of Springfield, realizing that scientific exploration is his true love. Meanwhile, Marge, Bart, and Lisa visit Grampa for Valentine’s Day and try to rescue the old folks from a drug-induced hallucination that allows them to relive their happiest memories.

[JTMacc99]

So, are we all aware of the Frinkiac?  Meme generator to end all meme generators?

[JTMacc99]

I recently found myself telling yet another story that tied directly back to a coworker who happens to share quite a bit of my attitudes on life and is also awfully easy on the eyes.

 

In my head: "Mindy has a motorcycle!"

[Kel Varnsen]

I'm going to hell for this, but when the news about the flint drinking water came out, I said "If it's brown, drink it down. If it's black, send it back."

I am going right with you because after reading an article about how fucked the town is and how much it would cost to actually fix the water system, I am wondering if they should just consider Plan B, you know moving the whole city 5 miles down the road.

[M. Darcy]

Congrats Homer!  The owner of the Super Bowl Champs!

[TVSpectator]

Making a Simpsons Murderer, and it's actually is a pretty high-quality parody......

 

Edited February 8, 2016 by TVSpectator

[Galileo908]

Billboard: Sea Captain - "Tired of flowers? This year, Send her fish!"

 

Chalkboard: "Hershey Kisses do not come from Cupid's Butt."

 

Couch Gag: Loved this, especially the ending.

 

"Lenny, can you stop talking about Carl?"

"Why don't you ask me to stop breathing?!"

 

I liked Burns thinking a Sweet Hearts dance involves actual hearts, candied baby hearts at that. It seemed like something Homer would think up, but it did resemble something from the "classic" years would've done.

 

Well, it took 20 years since 22 Short Films, but we finally got a plot with Frink (outside of a THOH episode). Good on Frink for having the foresight to make multiple copies of the voice chip. I love that a voice chip designed to give you the smoothest voice possible gives Marge Julie Kavner's real voice (or a really really raspy version of it). I really liked his plot, though, and it had a pretty nice ending. I know they probably cut it out, but I'm surprised there was no scene where Frink gets turned off once women hear his real voice again. He was THAT smooth, I guess. Gotta love Frink someone building an overbearing mother to his Ex Machina android.

 

"I brought me, that was enough." I share Bart's philosophy towards lots of things.

 

"How many times can Batman begin?" Again, I feel the same way.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Galileo908

[Jediknight]

Death cat has to come back at some point.

[Spartan Girl]

LOL at Homer and Marge having sex in Burns' office and sending Burns down the trapdoor.

i got only the tail end of the coach gag, but it was enough. For God's sake, writers, you can't even leave the stupid marital problem storylines out of the COACH GAGS?! Screw you.

[AConspiracy]

Love Death Cat.

 

90 year olds don't just die for no reason!

[radishcake]

After performing CPR on a tased raccoon, Lisa discovers her calling to be veterinarian and becomes an intern at the local office, but learns a tough lesson when her neglected class hamster dies. Meanwhile, Marge moonlights as a crime scene cleaner for a little extra money, and the trauma of the gory scenes make her increasingly dead inside.

[radishcake]

Not feeling unique, Lisa signs up for the Mars One Space Colony – to Marge’s dismay. Then, Marge hires Bart to go through the tryout process with Lisa to make her want to quit.

[Kaboom 2.0]

Was Death Cat in another episode as well or am I misremembering? 

 

I laughed loudest at one of the Retirement Castle's residents dancing lovingly with his old hardware store and not his wife/girlfriend/love of his life. Oh and Cletus shooting Cupid out of the sky, I really should not have laughed as loud as I did when he did it but I did. 

 

About time we spent some time with Professor Frink and that of COURSE he would choose Homer to be his guide in the ways of lurve. LOL

[Lone Wolf]

Was Death Cat in another episode as well or am I misremembering? 

 

 

I assumed he was based on real-life Oscar:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(therapy_cat)

[ottoDbusdriver]

The body of Snowball I was inside one of the couch cushions, along with one of Bart's flunked spelling tests and a can of Duff beer.  Loved Maggie with the dueling rifles during the couch rescue.

 

Cletus: "Oh Brandine, of all the cousins I could have married you was my sister."

 

Mr. Burns: "Wait a minute.  That contractor said this was a bottomless pit. I'll have his license."

 

I liked the Ex-Machina reference in Frink's lab -- "why did I build a mother ?"

 

Squirrel: "Chitter, chitter baby."

[xander874]

I like they got Glenn Close back to voice hallucination ghost Mona. I liked the old folks plot better than Frink, although it was nice to see him get something to do. 

 

Also loved the Ex-Machina reference.

[TVSpectator]

I found this on IO9, but I have no idea if this is going to be a real thing or just some fake buzz:

Fox have announced that three minutes of the May 15th episode of the long running meme generator/animated sitcom will feature an unprecedented “live” section where Homer’s voice actor, Dan Castellaneta, will answer fan questions (and to verify its live nature, comment on current events) in a sequence that utilize motion capture to marry Castellaneta’s live performance to the two-dimensional Homer.

 

It might be the first time something like this has been attempted on an animated show, but using motion capture for 2D assets isn’t itself a new thing. But it’s still weird—given that an episode of The Simpsons usually takes months to animate—to see it happening essentially in real time. Weird and fascinating, especially as it’s part of a growing trend of creating live events for TV to combat the rise of people watching programming recorded or on-demand. Not even animation is sacred from doing a “live” episode, apparently!

 

If you’ve got a burning question for one of animation’s most iconic characters, you can submit it with the “#HomerLive” tag on Twitter between May 1st and May 4th.

 

 

http://io9.gizmodo.com/homer-simpson-will-take-your-questions-on-a-live-animat-1759497663

[Galileo908]

I can't believe that's an actual episode plot.

 

I liked Lisa showing Homer how to use a tablet. "Swipe it like swiping icing off a cake."

 

This wasn't the first time Bart brought a hobo home, and Kate McKinnon and Natalie Maines made Hettie enjoyable. Lisa, however, was kind of insufferable this week. Hettie does drugs, so of course Lisa thinks that makes her a bad person. And that was after trying to exploit her because she was jealous that Bart was keeping her in his closet. Sigh.

 

Loved the NPR studio, and all the background signs. I'd listen to "Left, Left, Left, and Middle."

 

"What time do you do your couch gags?"

"Around 11 in the morning, you'll be fine."

Edited February 22, 2016 by Galileo908

[TVSpectator]

I liked this episode. I thought that the main plot (which to be fair isn't orginial for a Simpson episode) was enjoyable. Plus I did loved hearing more original songs (which I hope the show will put all of them on a new album) and I also liked the B plot of watching Homer freaking out over the cat being in the walls

Edited February 22, 2016 by TVSpectator

[ottoDbusdriver]

Is there something up with the episode numbering in this forum -- as both this episode and last episode are labeled as S27E14 ?

[ottoDbusdriver]

Booths spotted at the Springfield Squidport:

• Let Us take your Selfie -- $5
• Guess your Prejudice
• It's a Wonderful Knife
• Just Rainsticks

 

Krusty-branded or endorsed products:

• No Kidding Condoms
• Dentist in a Box
• Chocolate-covered rat poison
• flamethrower
• Lawn Darts
• AR-15 assault rifle
• My First Cigar -- child-sized cigars for easy handling
• Flammable Pajamas
• Not sure what was in the jar -- cooking something

 

People in rehab:

• Krusty (of course) -- playing ping pong with Disco Stu
• Disco Stu
• The Sea Captain -- doing scrimshaw
• Barney Gumble (reading his own autobiography 'My Name is Barney G.')
• Lenny and Carl doing yoga -- what are Lenny and Carl recovering from ?
   

I liked that Moe apparently works in rehab just to drum up customers.

 

There were a whole bunch of things that made no sense in this episode.

 

If Bart was paid a whopping $7 in advance for renting out his closet, how did he spend WAY MORE than $7 in his various adventures.  He dropped more than $7 just at the 98 cents store.  Especially since later on in the episode Hettie owes Bart 3 weeks back rent.

 

Shouldn't there have been a wooden floor under the tile in the kitchen -- something to support the tile and adhere the tile to ?  Even if there was a hole under that tile, shouldn't it have just lead into the basement.  So there was really no reason for Snowball 2 to be trapped anywhere.  And with all the studs in the walls, how did Snowball 2 travel all over the place behind the walls ?  And if there was always a giant hole in the wall in the basement, how come Snowball 2 didn't just come out on his own.  Why are the crawlspaces along the basement walls big enough to fit Homer ?  This whole sub-plot really makes no sense.

 

How was the refrigerator flat against the kitchen floor after it fell on Homer ?

 

Why did the EMTs also ride unicycles when they were carrying away the juggler who set himself on fire ?  Did the juggler have a spare, let alone how could the EMTs ride a unicycle while carrying a load ?

 

When Hettie starts singing in Lisa's room they show Snowball 2 eating lasagna under the floor boards ?  Which means that Homer has been stuffing lasagna in the walls for about a month -- because this was after Bart was pressing Hettie for her 3 weeks back rent.

[Jediknight]

Good episode, the main plot wasn't bad and it had some good songs, but that b-plot was fantastic.

[Kaboom 2.0]

I like Kate McKinnon and thought she did a great job as Hattie. I had to look up who was Hattie's singing voice tho, I know Kate can sing but that didn't sound like her! :-D

 

Liked seeing all of the Krusty-brand merchandise, I always do. And oh, can't forget the Mr. Sparkle cameo at the very beginning of the credits, loved it!

[xander874]

Yeah I recognized Natalie Maines voice and it was pretty different from Kate's speaking voice. I liked the A-plot because of the voice acting not because of the actual plot. Although the NPR thing was funny.

 

I actually preferred the silly B-plot and loved that Marge knew the whole time what was going on.

[Nokids]

Was sideshow bob in this episode? Kelsey Grammer was listed in the credits

[TVSpectator]

Was sideshow bob in this episode? Kelsey Grammer was listed in the credits

Yeah, he made a cameo wiping off paint as part of a labor gang.

[ganesh]

I was all in when she sang a version of Bonny Portmore. I wish there was more singing. 

[honeywest]

Homer: "Marge, if you were married to Da Vinci, you wouldn't tell him how to Da Vinch."

[SmithW6079]

Homer: "Do not touch Willie. Good advice!"

"Lousy Smarch weather!"

[honeywest]

Marge: "Homer, is this the way you pictured married life?"

Homer: "Pretty much, except we'd go around in a van, solving mysteries."

[Galileo908]

Good to see a water park that has a slide that accommodates someone like Homer. See, because of the Mount Splashmore incident, they had to do that. But man, seeing kids getting injured there was kind of unsettling. Blood splatters and everything.

 

Man, Michael York sounded old here. With injured kids and dying animals and an NHL draft, that was probably the saddest part of the episode for me. Julie Kavner sounded pretty old at times, too.

 

Remember when the cops laughed at Marge when she wanted to apply for a job with them? Man, have times changed. At least Marge was properly warned with how gritty the job was gonna be.

 

Burns: "Smithers, I've been shamed. Prepare a thimble of ice cream." That was my favorite line of the night, up there with Marge mentioning that she was too busy being dead inside to help Lisa.

 

I loved Bart in this episode. Just a smartass, and actually called out Lisa for neglecting Nibbles. I couldn't believe that he was the same Nibbles that Skinner wanted to chew through his ball sack. That reveal hit me hard.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Galileo908

[Spartan Girl]

 

Remember when the cops laughed at Marge when she wanted to apply for a job with them? Man, have times changed.

That's exactly what I was thinking. It's like the writers don't even TRY with Marge anymore. Either she's insipid or bitchy.

Yet as much as her storylines irritate me to no end, I did like how she comforted Lisa at the end.

The waterpark scenes were so disturbing, although I got a cheap laugh of all the guys running naked outside and Wiggum getting Lou to find his dingus. Hee.

[opus]

Loved Homer and the NHL draft.

[Galileo908]

That's exactly what I was thinking. It's like the writers don't even TRY with Marge anymore. Either she's insipid or bitchy.

 

And I actually liked Marge's storyline here.

[Jediknight]

Homer and the NHL Draft was good, as was Wiggum opening the door to the mansion, which resulted in blood pouring out along with a chainsaw.

 

The highlight of the episode was the funeral for Nibbles.  I'm sad to see Nibbles go, but that funeral was great.  I enjoyed the callbacks to Skinner's Sense of Snow, and Nibbles as an astronaut.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Sign at the Vet's office: All Credit Cards Great and Small -- Not Discover

 

Kent Brockman: "For once, a life saved at a Springfield water park."

 

Spiderpig was in one of the cages at the Vet's office.

 

Chief Wiggum (answering the phone):  "Springfield P.D. ... P.D. ... Police Department, hah, I just got that."

 

Sleep-Eazy Motel -- Rooms by the Week, the Hour and the Minute.

 

Lisa is reading MouseBeautiful magazine when the Sea Captain comes in with his goldfish.

 

Sign outside the Vet's office: Lionel Budgie D.V.M -- not the DMV that's across the street.

 

Bart wheels in a barrel of Torso-B-Gone quicklime when Marge mentions that she gets the police discount on cleaning supplies.

 

Who knew goats could be allergic to shrimp ?

 

The bottle of Wild Clown Bourbon that Marge was drinking from had a picture of Krusty as a faun (half-man, half-goat much like Pan) chugging from a bottle.

 

Were we supposed to know who Bill Plympton is (who did the opening bit) ? I'll have to look him up.

 

ETA: Looked him up -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Plympton-- unfortunately, still not ringing any bells.

Edited March 7, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[Kaboom 2.0]

I was gonna type "who knew that Homer would actually watch the NHL Draft!" until I realized that Homer would pretty much watch anything on tv. I already know that I'm going to chant "Lubochuck…Lubochuck…" as I intently watch the draft when the boyfriend and I accidentally land on it (we usually do) while channel surfing. 

 

Poor Nibbles! I liked Lisa's SL (despite resulting in Nibbles' death) but wow, calling out Mr. Burns for being a bad pet owner was surprising. As mean as he is he does seem to care for those guard dogs of his. Now I want a thimble of ice cream, dammit!

[Kaboom 2.0]

Oops triple post!

Edited March 7, 2016 by Kaboom 2.0

[Miss Dee]

*That's* what it was! That was driving me nuts!

[ottoDbusdriver]

That episode description is not entirely accurate -- Marge doesn't hire Bart, the entire family volunteers for the tryout process.

 

I really liked it -- that was one of the better episodes in a long time.

 

ETA: Loved the heavily branded city of the future on Mars -- it's like the entire city was Times Square.  And that the competing Mars Colony project was a subsidiary of Pepperidge Farms.

Edited March 14, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[Spartan Girl]

Marge's smothering idiocy has now reached Norma Bates level.

"Why do you always think about what you don't have?" Fine talk coming from YOU, Marge. If you aren't resenting Homer, you're trying to turn Lisa into a carbon clone of you.

I liked the scene of Homer and Bart bring grateful about their relationship being physically abuse and not psychological. Because I really do think Marge being a control freak about Lisa's future does fall under that category. The woman can't even support Lisa bring a vegetarian, for God's sake!

Edited March 14, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[Galileo908]

Tonight's episode explores what would've happened on that rocket mission in that Y2K Treehouse of Horror episode. Also, a retread of the classic "Deep Space Homer" episode, except not nearly as clever. Well, the two scientists were delightful, but that's about it. It's good to see that the corporate scientists are just as inept as the NASA ones. The fact that they were voiced by Tom Sharpling and Jon Wurster of The Best Show definitely helped them, their chemistry was fantastic.

 

I did like Homer & Bart's dilemma of Marge & Lisa leaving them behind. They know damn well they'd be dead in a week without them (as episodes like "Bart After Dark" showed). I also enjoyed their plot about stealing eggs from Flanders, and that donating their own chickens is what kicked off the plot.

 

ETA: Man does Julie Kavner sound old these days. Not only did Marge sound off, but her mom sounded even older.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Galileo908

[radishcake]

Homer tries to find a boyfriend for Smithers, who is crushed by Burns' lack of affection; Milhouse replaces the lead in the school production of "Casablanca" when Bart takes the boy out.

[radishcake]

When Marge takes Lisa to Capital City for a musical, the star tells Lisa how lucky she is to have a great mom; Bart comes up with a new plan to trick people.

[Galileo908]

Billboard: Easter Peeps: They never go bad because they were never good!

 

Chalkboard: If Villanova loses, we all lose! (NOTE: Villanova was originally Gazonga)

 

Couch Gag: Emoji couch gag. Of course no one liked it.

 

Loved the plane flying by the logo in the clouds.

 

For the first time in ages, Homer, Lenny and Carl are forced to actually do routine work in the power plant. I'm just as surprised as they were.

 

I liked how Marge found Grindr due to trying to find an app about pepper grinders. The gay Homer double was a delightfully bizarre gag. Ralph talking as Peter Lorre was also bizarre.

 

God, I loved seeing George Takei here. But if he's on Grindr, he's cheating on Brad! (there's a plot in and of itself). And they paired Smithers with Julio. Now there's a lazy pairing if I ever saw one. The only regular flamboyantly gay character in the show, and they pair him with Smithers. Either way, it would've ended the same regardless of who Smithers was paired with. And hey, we saw Scott Thompson's character again at the party...then he got married to Mr. Largo. Didn't see that pairing coming. I actually liked how they handled Smithers and Burns' reconciliation. Smithers obviously is Burns-sexual and can't stop thinking about him, while Burns missed his greatest employee and a performance review got Smithers back. Smithers didn't even come out to Burns, but I don't think we needed him to. But I really hoped they would've tied in the main plot with the Casablanca plot better, we only got that random dovetail at the end. I didn't like how the Casablanca plot ended, either.

 

"What happened to Milhouse?"

"It's Milhouse, who cares!"

"Okay!"

 

I also think that the montage of Bogart movies at the end was more interesting than the whole episode, but maybe I would've liked the show to tackle Treasure of The Sierra Madre more than some still shots.

 

"Urgent Yank." Ha.

 

"Our Castro District is different than yours"

 

"Tomorrow: A.M. Kindergarten presents Equus" The people that write the signs were on-point tonight.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Galileo908

[SnideAsides]

"Our Castro District is different than yours"

"It's full of WHAT?!"

[honeywest]

Mr. Burns: "Doughnuts? I told you I don't like ethnic food!"