The Simpsons - General Discussion

[DoctorAtomic]

I didn't think I'd hear a Fiona Apple song on the Simpsons. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

I actually watched this last week, and was unimpressed.  To quote Lisa: "M'eh".

[Frisky Wig]

Loved hearing my girl Fiona show up! 

[853fisher]

I miss Marcia Wallace. It’s hard to believe she passed away over seven years ago now.

[BetterButter]

 

[xander874]

I actually thought this was a sweet episode. I like the ones where Bart and Lisa get along even if she did shatter his dreams. Were Marcia Wallace's lines from old episodes or did they do some magic and cobble together the lines she spoke?

And I smirked at the priest gag. Random Bart was in a Catholic Church.

[nuraman00]

On 2/21/2021 at 5:30 PM, Galileo908 said:

Title: Eagle carrying a sign reading "IS IT SAFE YET?"

Couch Gag: The family goes to Mars! And Homer doesn't have a helmet.

Flanders has a garage sale! And the animation was great for the song. I loved the literal swear jar with all the naughty words Flanders cut out of all his books. 

I was wondering how they'd handle the plotline of Mrs. Krabappel's diary, and they only used her voice for two lines (which I thought was pretty sweet). Liked the reveal that Edna wrote about her cat and not Bart, and Bart was too dim to realize it. Lisa just HAD to ruin Bart's self improvement because she felt anxiety that he misread the diary. Aside from that, the episode was legitimately sweet. 

Liked that Edna was watching the Bob Newhart Show, a nice shout out to Marcia Wallace.

What were the two lines?  I tried to see if they would use lines, but it seemed like they only showed writing, from what I remember.

 

I guess I missed the actual lines.

[nuraman00]

I don't mind if the episode is postponed for a week.

 

Better than having them partially air it, then go back to Daytona if the track was dry.

 

Or better having it next week, at the right time, than at the current week, but delayed.

 

As someone who watches sports, I'd rather see the full sporting event, and have a TV show postponed.  I don't like it when the TV show is delayed, because it messes up my scheduled DVR recording.

 

What I don't like is when sports causes an episode of a TV show to be SKIPPED.

 

There was a TV show I recorded on syndication, in the 90s.  Whenever a MLB game interfered, the network actually skipped that episode.  That pissed me off, because then I'd lose major plot lines, and have a hard time following, if they referenced the previous episode.

[KWalkerInc]

Edna spoke toward the end in the flashback shown by Ned where Ned, Rod and Todd wanted to leave Springfield but she explained that she wanted to stay to help kids like Bart.  I think her voice was also heard when the diary was first introduced as hers, something about reaching even one child being important.  I always liked Edna as a character.

I am glad the episode hadn't aired on the East Coast during the rain delay and then not on the West Coast after it resumed, because I don't know if they would have decided to air it again nationally so soon.  I'm also glad it didn't air at some weird time, as I was recording to watch later (though I'm sure it would have then been on demand).

I remember in 1997, FOX was showing the American League Championship Series, and I ended up nervously rooting for one team (which I might have supported anyway because they had a former Giant I liked) because whether or not an episode of my favorite show aired that week depended on the series ending in 5 games, and the ratings were so low by that point I was convinced I'd never see it otherwise.  They probably still would have worked it in, and the show has been in syndication going on 23 years now anyway, but I was panicked.

[ottoDbusdriver]

17 hours ago, KWalkerInc said:

Edna spoke toward the end in the flashback shown by Ned where Ned, Rod and Todd wanted to leave Springfield but she explained that she wanted to stay to help kids like Bart.  I think her voice was also heard when the diary was first introduced as hers, something about reaching even one child being important.  I always liked Edna as a character.

I am glad the episode hadn't aired on the East Coast during the rain delay and then not on the West Coast after it resumed, because I don't know if they would have decided to air it again nationally so soon.  I'm also glad it didn't air at some weird time, as I was recording to watch later (though I'm sure it would have then been on demand).

I remember in 1997, FOX was showing the American League Championship Series, and I ended up nervously rooting for one team (which I might have supported anyway because they had a former Giant I liked) because whether or not an episode of my favorite show aired that week depended on the series ending in 5 games, and the ratings were so low by that point I was convinced I'd never see it otherwise.  They probably still would have worked it in, and the show has been in syndication going on 23 years now anyway, but I was panicked.

The first line heard when Bart first opened Edna's diary:

"Remember: if you can teach one kid one thing, then today will be a success ..."

[Galileo908]

Season 32, ep 13: Wad Goals

Quote

Bart becomes a successful caddy, but Marge worries it is ruining his character.

Airs 2/28/21. NASCAR went a little long, so the episode will be delayed by about 20 minutes.

[Galileo908]

So the country club from Scenes From The Class Struggle in Springfield was in the middle of town this whole time? Makes sense. 

Yep, New Hibbert Voice is weird. It was just as jarring to hear Lewis talk for the first time in what feels like decades. We also got a reference to the hedge meme. I don't know which was weirder: this, or the time Homer texted the gif of it. I'd say the latter, this new version already has a cool gif.

The suck up plot was fun, but I thought it was weird that Marge saw through it. Maybe thirty+ years of experiencing it with Homer led her to have a low tolerance of it? Loved how Marge's "Stop Coddling the SJWs" actually worked because right wing trolls didn't read the fine print.

Yeah, golf clubs suck, and turning one into a house of worship to get around taxes was a good turn to a point I hope that actual country clubs don't get any ideas. I enjoyed that the gospel choir was singing "I'm All Right" from Caddyshack. Makes perfect sense. And then it turned into a sex cult...WAY sooner than usual. Loved that. 

I also liked Stephen Root's character. He's just perfect as smarmy rich guys.

[DoctorAtomic]

I would have called foul if we didn't get a CREAM montage. 

I mean, come on, Marge. Bart has a legit job. Dial it down. 

Edited March 1, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[ottoDbusdriver]

3 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I mean, come on, Marge. Bart has a legit job. Dial it down. 

Yeah, it's not like it was Fat Tony's golf club.  :)

Caddying is a legitimate job -- I'm not sure why Marge got so bent out of shape about it. 
Plus, this plot seemed recycled from when Bart did actually did work for Fat Tony and also made lots of his own money.

It did feel weird that we had an episode about Bart getting a summer job -- in February.

I thought it was funny that Skinner was also a caddy at the golf club -- and his mother would rather not play golf at all than let him caddy for her.

[KWalkerInc]

4 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

It did feel weird that we had an episode about Bart getting a summer job -- in February.

It's almost as weird as last season when the finale was a Christmas episode for no apparent reason.  (In that episode, it looked like Santa's Little Helper's mom was going to live with the Simpsons, but there hasn't been any reference since then.  I don't know if a lot of episodes made after that one have aired or not.)

[Spartan Girl]

6 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Caddying is a legitimate job -- I'm not sure why Marge got so bent out of shape about it. 

Because Marge has to get bent out of shape over everything, hasn’t that been obvious in the last decade?!

[Tachi Rocinante]

8 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

It did feel weird that we had an episode about Bart getting a summer job -- in February.

I think that's why they made a point about it being the last day of school. (Not that the Simpsons ever cared about when shows actually air.)

[DoctorAtomic]

9 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Plus, this plot seemed recycled from when Bart did actually did work for Fat Tony and also made lots of his own money.

That makes some sense at least. I take the point about the class issues, but you can basically have the same gist without Marge going nuts about it. You could even have the club members being condescending to Bart the entire time, and Marge being the only one who understands what's going on. Just having her get mad that he's a 'suck up' is largely frivolous in a job where customer service is basically the only skill. 

I did like Marge stomping up and down the hallway and Lisa trying to close the door on her. They kind of left the SJW gag hanging. That would have been a more fun plot. 

I think I like the SMS hedge gag better because it was so meta.

 

[Lazlo]

I don't really understand why we were meant to be cheering Marge and Lisa on when they wanted to get the whole club shut down because Marge had an issue with Bart 'sucking up'. Sure the golfers were pretty condescending but they still paid their caddies pretty well, did not otherwise seem to mistreat them and didn't seem to be causing problems generally. If it was a brand new golf course being built over a public park or if they were excluding someone out of pure intolerance then sure, but as it was they seemed to be minding their own business. Even the religion scam was only something they started because Marge was already trying to take them down.

 

What a weird episode. 

[qtpye]

On 3/1/2021 at 7:25 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Because Marge has to get bent out of shape over everything, hasn’t that been obvious in the last decade?!

 

22 minutes ago, Lazlo said:

I don't really understand why we were meant to be cheering Marge and Lisa on when they wanted to get the whole club shut down because Marge had an issue with Bart 'sucking up'. Sure the golfers were pretty condescending but they still paid their caddies pretty well, did not otherwise seem to mistreat them and didn't seem to be causing problems generally. If it was a brand new golf course being built over a public park or if they were excluding someone out of pure intolerance then sure, but as it was they seemed to be minding their own business. Even the religion scam was only something they started because Marge was already trying to take them down.

 

What a weird episode. 

Marge condones horrible things that Homer does with nothing more than an "Oh Homie" but Bart has a legitimate job that pays him well and gives him some much needed self esteem and she won't stand for it?😩😒

It was like the episode were we found out that Bart thinks his life was ruined by Lisa...do the writers want us to hate the female Simpsons characters?

What next...maybe Maggie can shoot someone...oh wait...

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, qtpye said:

Marge condones horrible things that Homer does with nothing more than an "Oh Homie" but Bart has a legitimate job that pays him well and gives him some much needed self esteem and she won't stand for it?😩😒

Uh Marge gets bent out of shape about plenty of things Homer does too. Need I remind you all of the time Homer got busted for showing pirated movies because Princess Pearl Clutcher felt obligated to send the movie studio ticket money? 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[qtpye]

58 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Uh Marge gets bent out of shape about plenty of things Homer does too. Need I remind you all of the time Homer got busted for showing pirated movies because Princess Pearl Clutcher felt obligated to send the movie studio ticket money? 

There was a time Marge would not get TiVo because it cheated the advertisers out of their hard earned money.

This was a woman who had no problem with her husband choking her son in the first seasons

[Spartan Girl]

11 hours ago, qtpye said:

There was a time Marge would not get TiVo because it cheated the advertisers out of their hard earned money.

She has completely devolved as a character. In “Homer vs the 14th Amendment” (back when the show was still good), when she found out Homer was the Beer Baron, instead of being pissy she was actually impressed that he thought up of smuggling alcohol through bowling balls and flat-out said that prohibition was a stupid law that took away people’s freedom to drink even responsibly. I liked THAT  Marge. Now she has to have capital-I issues with even the smallest transgressions. It’s pathetic.

[qtpye]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

She has completely devolved as a character. In “Homer vs the 14th Amendment” (back when the show was still good), when she found out Homer was the Beer Baron, instead of being pissy she was actually impressed that he thought up of smuggling alcohol through bowling balls and flat-out said that prohibition was a stupid law that took away people’s freedom to drink even responsibly. I liked THAT  Marge. Now she has to have capital-I issues with even the smallest transgressions. It’s pathetic.

Maybe in the next episode The Simpsons can win the lottery and Marge gives the money back because "people should work hard" for their money or some such stupidity.

I agree with the Investorettes:

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by qtpye

[Harvey]

This was renewed for 2 more seasons today ❤️

So happy.

[opus]

2 hours ago, Harvey said:

This was renewed for 2 more seasons today ❤️

So happy.

They'll never stop The Simpsons,
Have no fears, they've got stories for years

[Harvey]

9 hours ago, opus said:

They'll never stop The Simpsons,
Have no fears, they've got stories for years

I hope you're right. It's the ultimate comfort show, it needs to go on as long as possible.

[Galileo908]

Season 32 episode 14: Yokel Hero

Quote

Cletus becomes a singing sensation; Homer becomes a new man; Cletus turns against his fans.

Airs 3/7/21

[Galileo908]

Barney as his own Uber Driver was great. And sad because, well, Barney. Only Homer would trust that. Also liked that Bart wears curlers in his hair.

That fake ending? That was the hardest this show made me laugh in a while.

So Cletus is a singing sensation. And about a decade after he made his kids stars. He was also far from the first country star Homer managed (I liked the brief shout out to Lurleen). It explains why the songs were catchy: the episode was written by Jeff Martin and his daughter Samantha (who has her own baby on board. Sobering since I'm actually older than her.) Hell, they even got Albert Brooks back for this, and he didn't disappoint. And they just let him go off at the end, and I am not complaining. I would've let him go on for hours. This was a nice, fun episode.

Among other things, Moe has a key to Krabappel's Diary. That's some quick continuity right there.

[opus]

“Screw the cat”

[DoctorAtomic]

33 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Moe has a key to Krabappel's Diary.

Excellent callback. 

Why did Homer get arrested? Was it peeing in the drain? 

[Galileo908]

55 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Why did Homer get arrested? Was it peeing in the drain? 

Public drunkeness?

[Galileo908]

Watching it again, here's the keys Moe has:

-Burns' Vault

-Lenny's House

-Carl's House

-Barney's Panic Room

-Krabappel's Diary

-Hibbert's Drug Cabinet

-Mystery Key

[ottoDbusdriver]

Homer: "But what about Brandine ?"
Cletus: "She'll always be my first love and second cousin."

DuffMan's T-Shirt during Cletus' commercial: "Can't Spell Brewed with Love without 'DWI' "

Cletus' family tree included:
-- Brandine (3 times)
-- a donkey
-- a catfish
-- Yosemite Sam
-- Georgia Bulldogs mascot
-- the banjo playing kid from the movie 'Deliverance'
-- Minnie Pearl
-- the state of Florida

Albert Brooks was great as the UPM agent.  His Wall of Fame included:
-- Gritty (the Philadelphia Flyers mascot)
-- Barack Obama
-- Bert and Ernie
-- the Pope
-- Rainier Wolfcastle
-- Vladimir Putin
-- Krusty the Klown
-- Drederick Tatum
-- Llewellyn Sinclair
-- Hank Scorpio (pictured in a MMA cage)
-- a former Miss Springfield

Cletus' kids name included:
-- Gummie Sue
-- Gitney
-- Uber Black
-- Normal Head Joe
-- Disney Plus
-- HBO Max
-- CBS All Access

Cletus' magazine covers
-- Washboard Magazine (Three Thumbs Up!)
-- The Backwoods Reporter (Cletus Sweeps the Gummies)
-- Entremanure magazine (Look Who Can Afford New Shoes !)

[DoctorAtomic]

Homer's been way more drunk in public before, so I figured it was for peeing. 

[nilyank]

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Homer's been way more drunk in public before, so I figured it was for peeing. 

He was also arrested by a cop that we have never seen before so that cop probably had no idea how drunk and disorderly Homer could get.

[Tachi Rocinante]

Albert Brooks is one of the most insufferable comedians working today.  The whole bit at the end was atrociously painful.  His brother (the late Super Dave Osborne) was funnier, but that's not saying much.

When/how did Cletus "turn on his fans"? By embracing the good life?

 

[DoctorAtomic]

I took as him 'selling out'. The moonshine was made in Finland, and he was living in Springfield Towers. 

[Galileo908]

Season 32, episode 15: Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars

Quote

Homer tries to reunite his favorite band from his youth, but film and TV creator JJ Abrams beats him to it.

Airs 3/14/21, with a five minute delay thanks to NASCAR running a little long.

[Galileo908]

So we have our first flashback episode in 13 seasons. It's uncomfortable knowing that Homer is roughly the same age as me. 

I liked how awful the animatronic band was, but I was wondering how much of a missed opportunity it was to not use the Wall-E Weasel Band instead. (Michael Price assured me they were the competition, but I took that as "didn't think of this."). I did like that Homer was so traumatized from losing his animatronic band made him act NORMAL.

Was not expecting backstory on Disco Stu's parents. Got a laugh out of Doo-Wop Steve and Public Domain Debbie. And I enjoyed Moe's brief turn as Columbo exposing Sideshow Mel using one of the animatronics as a sex robot.

"No! The same thing happened again, only slightly different, years later!"
"It's what I do."

Burn, JJ Abrams. It was only fitting that his entire shtick was to buy/steal childlike IP then exploit it for rebooted movie franchises. And of course it was so bastardized that Homer turned into a Comic Book Guy-like internet troll to get the internet to boycott it. Which, of course, didn't work. So remember: New Simpsons episodes didn't ruin your childhood. Your parents being awful ruined your childhood.

Of course one of the trolls was carrying a "UN-RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT" sign. Just one of many times the internet ruined movies.

That Troll Force Five tag at the end was probably my favorite part of the episode. That's fandom to a T.

[DoctorAtomic]

'Jive turkey' is just not used enough. 

[DoctorAtomic]

'Jive turkey' is just not used enough. 

I did like Bart and Lisa working together and her vapid voice to the executive. 

Nice detail of Homer dunking the fries in the shake. 

Edited March 15, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[Galileo908]

35 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

'Jive turkey' is just not used enough. 

A turkey is a bad person.

[DoctorAtomic]

I was saying I wanted the phrase to make a comeback. 

[M. Darcy]

Tonight is the 700th episode! 

[ottoDbusdriver]

I know that the Simpsons never age, yet time moves on through the seasons but this flashback makes no sense -- maybe the latest batch of writers just didn't so their homework.

Tone Loc's 'Wild Thing' didn't come out until 1989, the Reebok Pump shoe didn't come out until 1989, Naughty by Nature's 'O.P.P.' didn't come out until 1991, Digital Underground's 'The Humpty Dance didn't come out until 1989, Crystal Pepsi wasn't sold in North America until 1992, Vanilla Ice's 'Ice Ice Baby didn't come out until 1990, and Tag Team's 'Whoomp, There It Is' was released in 1993.  But The Simpsons debuted on Fox in 1989 where we saw that Homer was married and a father of 3, and Abe Simpson was already living in the Springfeld Retirement Castle.  So there's no way Homer was a rebellious 14-year-old teen who listened to hip-hop.

Abe putting vodka in his cereal and in his Denty Moore beef stew -- that seems about right.

Did anyone else notice that the name plates in front of the 4 robots disappeared after they were first shown ?

Bart: "I'm used to seeing Mom upset about Dad, but Moe ? That really shook me."

I really liked Moe as Columbo.

Lisa: "J.J. Abrams -- what's a big Hollywood director doing in Springfield ?"
Abram's assistant: "Making the next Mission Impossible -- downtown Springfield's standing in for Somalia"

Pictures seen in J.J. Abrams office building -- Star Wars, Cloverfield, Star Trek, the Bad Robot logo, and Marble Studios Vindicators: Crystal Wars.  I like that they rolled Whakkety Yak through the office on top of 3 BB-8s.

Spotted in J.J. Abrams' office -- Garbage Pail Kids pinball machine, Krusty the Klown lunchbox, Colt Luger lunchbox, a water bottle with a Dharma Initiative logo on it, Felicity's Hair, Regarding Henry The Game, and a robot (probably from WestWorld).

Homer: "What are you thinking trying to steal from a Hollywood bigshot ?  That's like murdering a dozen normos."

Loved the lens flare when J.J. made his first appearance.

J.J. Abrams: "Homer.  Your emotional connection to these characters has shown me that your journey can be a universal experience. Or at least Dreamworks."

So, Homer trolled the Pizza Movie on Reddit (I'm surprised Reddit allowed their name to be used) for at least 6 months -- Maggie had her 1st birthday and they passed through beach season, Halloween and Christmas.

Homer: "No, this re-imagining is worse than I could have ever imagined."

Signs in the Designated Troll Protest Zone:
-- Hollywood Ruins Movies
-- 80 Retweets Can't Be Wrong
-- Un-Release the Snyder Cut
-- Release the Sonic's Teeth Cut
-- Stop Making Things
-- Some of Us are Women

J.J. Abrams: "Welcome to this preview of Agents of P.I.Z.Z.A.  Featuring the voice talents of whoever was famous 8 months ago."

List of Digital Effects companies on the screen at the preview:
-- Cleveland Psychiatric Hospital - Animation Division
-- Mr. No-Health-Care's Wonder Emporium
-- Neon Peon
-- Drudgery St.
-- Dream Prison
-- Fantasy Alcatraz
-- The Divorce Factory
-- Fun Slaughterhouse
-- Captive Imaginations
-- Digital Sweatshop
-- We Are Being Held Against Our Will VFX
-- Hanna-Barbaric Working Conditions
-- For Kidz, By Kidz !
-- The Thrall House (nice 'The Gamesters of Triskelion' reference from the original Star Trek series)
-- Indentured Server-Dudes
-- Serf Shop
-- Dr. 3AM
-- Kingdom of Eternal Woe
-- Toon Gulag

Homer: "This man took simple beautiful animal robots designed to sell pizza, and turned them into something crass and commercial."

Homer:" Of course, it's not the movie that sucks, it was you sucking. It was always you sucking.  I hate you Dad."

Troll Force Five -- Mary Sue, The Furry, The Shipper, Stan, and CBG -- Earth's Spite-iest Heroes !!


Timeline shenanigans aside, this was actually a pretty good episode.  Loved all the inside Hollywood bits.

Edited March 21, 2021 by ottoDbusdriver

[Galileo908]

700th episode time!

Season 32, ep 16: Manger Things

Quote

A secret from Flanders' past is revealed; a never-before-seen room in the Simpsons' home.

Airs 3/21/21

Edited March 21, 2021 by Galileo908

[opus]

Not on yet. How long did the race run over this week?

[opus]

Turned out to be 7 minutes late. One minute for every 100 episodes.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Two flashback episodes in a row  ?