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S5E20&21 - The Boy Who Knew Too Much & Lady Bouvier's Lover
0 Playsin 6 hours
Jon, Michael, Matt and special guest Dove watch The Simpsons episodes 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much' & 'Lady Bouvier's Lover', and discuss what they say about society.
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Jon: @Meroka.bsky.social
Matt: @mattperspective.bsky.social
Michael: @buttonmashhorse.bsky.social
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, this is Mole Man in the morning. Good Mole Man to you. Hello and welcome to Mole Man in the morning. Mole Man, I guess. I don't fucking know.
00:00:10
Speaker
Bringing the energy on the new year, is he? Oh yes, oh yes. Full of energy, like these episodes. Happy new Mole Man to you.
Opening and Catchphrases
00:00:19
Speaker
Happy new Mole Man. It'll probably be out in February at this point.
00:00:23
Speaker
That's on you. Just because one of us decided to go to Ireland and get alcohol poisoning, that's... like Did you do that? Yeah, I did. Wow. I was going to say, when you say one of us, I'm like, that I mean, that sounds like John, but I um feel like Michael wouldn't bring it up if it was John.
00:00:40
Speaker
No, I got a little bit giddy. ah For now, not half. Guinness is very drinkable. Like actual alcohol poisoning? Or are you just exaggerating a hangover?
00:00:50
Speaker
I didn't go to the doctors, but there was a lot of ah discomfort the next couple couple of days. All right. No. Oh, okay. Well, let me know if you want to leave that in. why not?
00:01:02
Speaker
Shut his brains out. It's great for Irish. It's great for Irish tourism. It's a moment in the morning sponsored by Ireland. And have some Guinness.
00:01:13
Speaker
Hi, we are Mole Man in the Morning. We are a podcast about how The Simpsons has a lot to say about society. I am your host, John, and I'm joined as ever by my two co-hosts, Matt.
00:01:25
Speaker
My tiny heart is breaking. And Michael. Adley ho, podcasterino. I think we've actually found Matt's catchphrase now. is Is that a catchphrase now?
Diving into The Simpsons and Trivia
00:01:36
Speaker
I thought I'd test the idea of just saying a random quote from one of the episodes. Oh, okay. Cool. Because that one really stuck out to me because as much as a... Oh, no, he it is the first episode that this happens in.
00:01:47
Speaker
this This is the one that is the most obvious that McBain is supposed to be Arnold Schwarzenegger because even his wife is called Maria. Yes. And I don't think Arnie's wife was called Maria, but she was called like Maria. Yeah, it was. Yeah. She was called Maria? Yeah, I thought so. It's Maria Shriver.
00:02:04
Speaker
Maria Shriver. Yes. Yeah. So it was like, it really felt like they were, i i just felt really on the nose this time. But yeah, him saying my tiny heart was breaking was just very funny to me.
00:02:14
Speaker
Okay. Fair enough. ah we We delight in other people's misfortune. We do. So to give anybody any context as to what that quote is from, we have two episodes to talk about today. It is Season 5, Episode 20, The Boy Who Knew Too Much, and 21, Lady Bouvier's Lover.
00:02:32
Speaker
We are drawing very close to the end of Season 5. One more episode. Yeah, we'll be finished next time. be into Season 6 next time, yeah. I'm going to ask a question of the Simpsons know-it-alls.
00:02:45
Speaker
Is this... The only Jacqueline Bouvier-centric episode? Oof, that is an incredibly good question. Because do not recall any others.
00:02:57
Speaker
And even this one, she is barely in it. Yeah, um I don't remember any. like I don't. You say know-it-alls, but like you know there's a good 20-something seasons I don't know about. So it may well be that when they were really scraping the barrel in season 28, they were like, we haven't seen Jacqueline Bouvier since season 5, let's bring it back. Yeah. Because it was mostly just another Abe-centric episode with Jacqueline as a side character.
00:03:29
Speaker
I'm just having a very quick, like, look to see if there are... The Wikipedia lists Jacqueline Bouvier episodes, but is i is this episode focused on her? Are they just, like, she appeared in or... Yeah.
00:03:42
Speaker
It does does specifically say episodes focusing on Jacqueline Bouvier, and it lists three of them. Three. Well, as far as I'm aware, like, Marge's dad has never actually had a consistent voice actor, because we Googled that as well.
00:03:55
Speaker
Like, he's I don't think he's ever, like, spoken... Yeah, to be fair, this counts Bart vs. Thanksgiving, which we watched in season two as being a Jacqueline Bouvier episode. And I would say I don't think that is a Jacqueline Bouvier episode. Yeah, that... didn't No, not at all.
00:04:11
Speaker
There's also... i wasn't far off. The first episode of season 29 is considered to be a Jacqueline Bouvier episode, according to The Simpsons Wiki.
00:04:22
Speaker
Is... Abe isn't voiced by Dan Castanella, is he? It's, um... What's-his-face, the guy that voices fucking everyone. like this There are so many characters, i can I cannot remember who does which voices much of the time.
00:04:36
Speaker
played by oh no yeah it is dan castanella i mean that kind of makes sense that they both voice their parents yeah fair enough yeah mean also like any any episode that's just like hey all the bouviers are here is like murder for ah julie kavner because she has to do like the scratchy voice for like half the cast Oh yeah, I forgot we should we should probably mention that.
00:04:56
Speaker
Because I don't know if we mentioned it last time, but rest in peace to the, what is it? that was like The French Canadian voice actress. French Canadian actress, yeah, Beatrice Picard. Yeah, rest in peace, Beatrice Picard, 9th of December. eight she She voiced Marge for, as as far as I'm aware, as long as the English.
00:05:14
Speaker
Oh, really? Okay. She's voiced for a long time. Were they translating Dubbing I don't know whatever Converting it into French Canadian from season one
Beverage Banter
00:05:24
Speaker
Probably not but they probably then did do season one Yeah okay yeah that's fair enough yeah yeah So she's like she's done as much time In the booth as it were a Fair play, yeah. Fair play, too. But yeah, you know it's you know, when I saw it at first, I genuinely thought the voice actress for Marge had passed away. And then I had this very awkward moment where I was like, oh, thank God it's not the real Marge. And then went, it's still a person, Matthew. Yeah. Yeah. dear
00:05:50
Speaker
But anywho. Anyway, before we dig into any more details, why don't we do the usual starting matter, which is what the hell are we drinking this week? I am being very British.
00:06:02
Speaker
I have a cup of tea and then I will finish that with what I saw in my local Tesco, which is Cruz Campo. i have no idea what it is.
00:06:14
Speaker
will drink it though. It looks like a lager. It's Spanish lager. It is entirely decent lager. It is Spanish Carlsberg, I believe. Hey, there you go. Yeah, I think it's Carlsberg answer to fancy imported lager, yeah. I'm okay with that. You'll be all right.
00:06:30
Speaker
I never expect, like, fucking anything from lager, just that it tastes like lager. So as long as it does that, I'm usually quite pleased. Yeah, there's not like, I mean, I would say there's not like a world out there. I think lager enthusiasts would differ in opinion. And even as someone who worked as a brewer for three years, I still don't think there's that much in lagers, really. Like most of them are pretty lager-y. think just lost we've just lost the German audience. Sorry, German audience. But as as we've learned, I like my beers simple in general.
00:07:02
Speaker
So I don't want them to add anything to lager. I want it to taste like lager, so. Yep, that's probably going do the job pretty well then. Hell yeah. Michael, what you got? I am not being very British and I am drinking a peppermint tea.
00:07:16
Speaker
No, I have the same. And after that, I will be consuming strawberry yuzu. A yuzu. The milk drink. Yes, the milkshake.
00:07:28
Speaker
That is a combo, man. don't know, I think it'll go well together. um it been Mint and strawberry. the it's Mint tea and Yazoo, I just think is a very odd combo. It's a choice. i so to understand I'm establishing I'm not drinking them at the same time.
00:07:46
Speaker
Yes, I know. it just It's just weird to be like, I'm having a mint tea with a Yazoo chaser. wo a Proper lads night.
00:07:58
Speaker
Again, Ireland recovery. What you drinking, John, you drinking, John? um I've got another Vault City beer, as I, but um again, got bought a few a little while ago, so I've been saving them because that Vault City does very stupid beers, so they're great for podcasting.
00:08:16
Speaker
This is juice, which... I don't know why that... Just, like, everything you said followed up by... This is juice. It is called juice. The name of the beer is juice. juice Nice. Excellent. Which is really weird because it's a collab with Brew York and I worked at Brew York when we made juice, which was a collab with Vault City.
00:08:38
Speaker
I have drunk this beer, but made by a different brewery before. that's weird. So this is like, I guess, Vault City have taken the recipe we made in 2022, I think, and remade it Damn. It is beer with mango, peach, guava, and orange. For fuck's sake.
00:08:57
Speaker
i'm I have a weird notion the original one had banana in it as well, if I'm honest with Why? i don't I don't remember the banana in it. I might be wrong on the banana. We put banana in something. It was a very fruity beer.
00:09:09
Speaker
Banana should never be near anything alcoholic ever. god, that's not great. Yeah, I'm not surprised. It's got three fucking fruits in it when most beers don't need one.
00:09:23
Speaker
No, it has four fruits in it. I hate you. That's the perfect number. No, it's not!
00:09:33
Speaker
Stop butchering beer. Yeah, that that is some proper beer butchery right there. I know, that's... <unk>ll Enjoy your diabetes. That's too much. god him because Jesus Christ. What have I done? Well, you've got to finish it now.
00:09:48
Speaker
Well, apparently so, yeah. And I will, but like... Chug, chug, chug. It's going to be forced. ah
00:09:56
Speaker
Alright, fucking hell. The Boy Who Knew Too Much. It is episode, what I say, 20? Episode 20 of Season 5 aired on May 5th, 1994. Wow, I am almost half a year old.
00:10:10
Speaker
Woo! woo Happy half birthday to you. Thank all the bastard ah you. you like to know what happened on this day? please. Please tell us. Yeah, absolutely.
00:10:21
Speaker
Well, Labour beat the Conservatives in British local elections. Okay. Hooray. and And nothing bad ever happened in politics ever again.
00:10:33
Speaker
i mean, it is local elections, not even, like, noteworthy particularly, really. Like, i famously, Labour did not take over till 1997. So, like, as, like, you know, national government.
00:10:44
Speaker
So, like, this is just, this is absolutely nothing. Footnote in history. Slow news, dear. Very, very much so. Anything else, Michael? Joan Rivers, an Aaron Sanders stage comedy, Sally Moore and her escort, starring Joan Rivers, opens at the Helen Hayes Theatre, New York City, and runs for 50 performances.
00:11:01
Speaker
Good for Joan Rivers. Also in really small letters at the bottom, North Yemen Air Force's bomb aid in South Yemen, which seems slightly more important. Why is that in small letters? That seems like news.
00:11:13
Speaker
That seems slightly not as important as Joan Rivers' stage comedy. All right, no, that's fair. We do like Joan Rivers.
00:11:20
Speaker
So the UK number one is The Real Thing by Tony DeBart. I have no idea what that is. Never heard of that, nope. And the US number one is The Sign by Ace of Base. That will be some sort of dance number, I'm assuming.
00:11:34
Speaker
I guess so. All I can think of is that other band. I saw the sign. i opened up my eyes. I saw the sign. and Saw the signs. Which is definitely not Ace of Base. Because that doesn't strike me as an ace of bass kind of song. No, but that's that's what... so so If you just say the word sign to me, that's usually the song that springs to mind. Because of fucking Jim Sterling singing it once.
00:11:57
Speaker
Okay. All right, shall we get straight into the episode? Because I've got nothing else. Well, let's head on in for sure. Go on then. Right, so, a blackboard gag. There are plenty of businesses like show business.
00:12:10
Speaker
This... they I like that one. Start as you mean to go on. Start as you mean to go on. I got a genuine, real chuckle out of me. i liked that one. How?
00:12:24
Speaker
How? It did it just, i don't know, it just ah caught me on the funny bone, I guess. like maybe for her yes It made me think of the song. There's no business like... Yeah, that's what it's referencing, Michael. Yeah, that's not a joke, though, but okay. Then it brought back a warm memory.
00:12:40
Speaker
That's all you can ask for, isn't it? I have no warm memories. i live in the cold north. i I think in my head, i just like had envision envisioned like Principal Skinner being like, young man, there are plenty of businesses like show business. that yeah said light's fair Yeah, that's fair. i can i can I can agree that that would be funny.
00:12:59
Speaker
Yeah. The couch gag, the family run in and realise they're on the David Letterman show. This made me laugh. ah that was well Last seen in The Last Temptation of Homer. Wait, this one's for you. Man, this one definitely felt new to me.
00:13:11
Speaker
actually did. Yeah, second time we've seen it. I don't actually remember it previously. Yeah, me neither. So our episode begins with it being a really bright sunny day. The kids are standing in the doorway looking sad and Bart is lamenting the fact that it's like they're going to prison and Lisa says, they're not imprisoning us.
00:13:26
Speaker
At that moment, the Springfield prison bus shows up. I was expecting a shut-up Lisa moment here as well, like her saying they're not in prison. And then, you know, like saying kind of like a Martin line, like it's a privilege to go to school and learn about this great country or some shit.
00:13:40
Speaker
But no, it literally is just a thread line to the bus arriving. Yeah, yeah. So Otto reveals that the prison bus broke down and then he tells the kids to sit down before he'll blow their heads off.
00:13:51
Speaker
As he's called this and called out about this and says, sorry, the bus and him have a shining thing going on. I've been, like, getting a lot of Stephen King in my life recently. it was a very weird coincidence for this day, because I watched Welcome to Derry with my parents.
00:14:07
Speaker
Here's my Swift review. It was all right. And then I started reading... I'm starting to read a Stephen King book. And then, yeah, no it's just, like, lots of little things that have been like, oh, Stephen King. Might be because it's my mum's favourite author, but... I don't know. It was just weird to, like, to sit down to watch Simpsons and then be like, hey, The Shining!
00:14:27
Speaker
Should note on the whole school prison thing, this is another John Schwartzwelder episode, so, like, part me is wondering how much of this is his personal politics bleeding into what he's writing again here. Like, ooh, schools are like prisons kind of thing.
00:14:41
Speaker
Maybe, because I feel like this is a very old joke. I don't think this is. but plenty of people throughout history have observed that schools are run in not dissimilar ways to prisons. Yeah. But, like, it feels like the sort of thing John Schwarzwelder would, like, have opinions about and, you know, find its way into his writing.
00:14:59
Speaker
Well, the kids certainly feel that way because they're playing harmonicas and banging on them on the metal cup. But looks out of the windows and... Things that definitely prisoners did in the ninety s oh yeah Bart looks out the window and begins his fantasy about the the adventures of Tom Sawyer and he's on the raft with Huckleberry Finn.
00:15:16
Speaker
Lincoln's there for some reason and Bart asks Huck why he's there and Huck responds, it's your fantasy. Yeah, that got a chuckle out of me just saying, I don't know, it's your fantasy. ah was That was good. i because it Simpsons is really good sometimes at just weirdly acknowledging the the absurdity. At the right moment. Because obviously, Simpsons needs to be absurdist to work.
00:15:39
Speaker
But when they acknowledge the fact that something weird is happening in a very... I don't know. yeah It's one of those, like, just neat, neat little jokes. I feel like this episode has quite a few absurdist bits in it. At some point I have written, and it may be in relation to this, but, like, who knows? I have written, this is very silly. and I don't know it was about this or about a number of bits in this episode. figure i I think but know I know where the, this is very silly is good.
00:16:07
Speaker
But now Bards and Abe just greet each other. They're both perfectly happy. Then ah the bus skids to a stop and Bards wakes up. We then come to the classroom and the kids are being given ultra-hard posture-reflective chairs.
00:16:20
Speaker
which Presumably sponsored. I remember those kind of chairs from, like, primary school um and secondary school and stuff. They're, like, posture-correcting plastic chairs. but do you get back did you Did you get back spasms?
00:16:33
Speaker
No, but I wasn't very comfortable. But I am ah i also suffered quite heavily from, like, ADHD and stuff. So I was never comfortable at any given point at any time ever when I was asked to sit still.
00:16:44
Speaker
So... You just didn't use it long enough because these will eliminate slouching by the year 3000. My posture is fucking dog shit, man. i'm not so I'm not a schromper, but I definitely, when when I'm thick in a gaming session, I will start to shrimp real bad. And I have to like very consciously like not. Oh, okay.
00:17:02
Speaker
I was going to ask you to define schromping, but okay, i think I think I got the gist of it. Yeah, leaning leaning forward. Like turn into a ten a little shrimp boy. Yeah, not heard those words used in that particular way before.
00:17:16
Speaker
Yeah, because I'm cool and tragically online. I am not down with the kids, this is true. Hello, fellow kids. You and Skinner have got something in common. I genuinely feel like I'd have a great time hanging out with Seymour.
00:17:30
Speaker
We'll get there, we'll get there. Mrs. Krabopple doesn't really care about the kids' the ill effects from these chairs, including Milhouse's stroke. is Yeah, that was that was a bit grim.
00:17:42
Speaker
Also, I felt like Mrs. Kraboppel is a character of convenience sometimes because she fucking hates her job. But then when they need her to be like happy to stay an extra two hours because the clocks were fast, it's like surely they could have had Mrs. Kraboppel deliver this line in a way that felt like Mrs. Kraboppel.
00:18:06
Speaker
I think the point of it was that she was delighting in the fact that the kids were going to have to suffer. I think that's what they were going to say. But so So is she, though. Yeah. And she cares more about her suffering than anyone else's.
00:18:17
Speaker
This is true. This is true. That's not very in character for her. But like, yeah, it's mostly just delighting in the children's misery. The children's misery is just the, like, regardless of Crow Apple in this, it's just the children's misery is the setup to the episode. I don't think anyone acted in character in this episode. song but That might just be I would submit that McGonagall did.
00:18:39
Speaker
So we'll get there. We'll get there. We'll get there. But it turns out that Bard is the cause for these clocks going forward with his little bastard clock making set. I did like little bastard clock fixing set.
00:18:53
Speaker
I had to have a quick look at the freeze frame in Frankyak. He's got a jar with a snake in there as well. Who doesn't? It's quite good. So Bart looks out the window and he sees this glorious sun and then see Freddy Quimby's sports car drive fast and Bart has supersonic hearing because he can hear him stay from quite a distance away. That's really impressive. had to think I got him all of this old, dropping out of the fourth grade.
00:19:15
Speaker
That's enough for Bartos aside that he's had enough of this shit and he forges himself a little note to say that he's got to go to the dentist to just get a caraway seed out of his teeth. Did goes to show and under say under his crown or something?
00:19:27
Speaker
Under his bridge work. Under his bridge work. What does that mean?
00:19:32
Speaker
A bridge is like they would where you fill in, like, multiple teeth filling in a big gap, isn't it, I think? Yeah. Right, okay. But, like, yeah, for for for a ten-year-old have bridge work is also just comical. So Mrs. Kraboffle says that she trusts Bart and won't call his mother, but she takes the note immediately to Skinner, and we see Skinner looking at the note with a magnifying glass going... But he starts reading it and andm going, please excuse my handwriting, I've busted what whichever hand it is I write with, signed Mrs. Simpson.
00:19:58
Speaker
You're right to be suspicious. And they head to the crime lab, because every school crime like every school has a crime lab. This gave me vibes of like old school kids cartoons. You know, like kids next door Kids Next Door and stuff like that. Ed, Ed and Eddie. Where they would just there would just be these convenient rooms to fit the plot that was just absurd.
00:20:20
Speaker
ah don he yeah it It came across less Simpsons and more like, Bort's Wacky Adventures, now on Nickelodeon. That was a good voice. Yeah, okay.
00:20:32
Speaker
then see that they're in the crime lab and the results are inconclusive. and Skinner's upset about the fact that more students didn't volunteer the electronic tracking device and he reveals that they've only got one volunteer. Surprise, surprise, it's Martin. Guess who it is. Yeah, that did not take anyone. like You know, fucking two get three guesses to get it, first two don't count.
00:20:51
Speaker
Kind of thing, Jesus Christ. So Skinner tries a new tactic and tries to interrogate Lisa and Willy's quite aggressive in his approach and Skinner's like, oh, you should tell him. Lisa's having the time of her life giggling because they've been playing good cop, bad cop.
00:21:05
Speaker
This enrages Skinner and he becomes the bad cop and Willy's like, oh, you got to tell him, lassie. Yeah, this is another one that doesn't feel quite right. It just wasn't funny. That was weird. don't know, Lisa giggling like that, just like, that doesn't feel like a Lisa thing to do.
00:21:20
Speaker
No, this all felt like extreme just piece, like matters of convenience kind of thing is like we need to move the plot. I i think they had a couple ideas of the things they had they wanted for this episode and then just had to fill in the gaps and they filled the gaps in poorly.
00:21:40
Speaker
I did like the where Lisa goes, yeah, you're the good cop and Willie's absolutely horrified by the prospectus. Nah, just didn't find any of this bit funny. Like, it just was dumb. I enjoyed Willy and Skinner playing good cop, bad cop and getting it completely wrong. But like, yeah, again, Lisa was just kind of a weird character to be interrogated like this and weirdly written here. don't know. I think throughout this, like, there's a lot of good gags. It is all a very, very silly and strange episode. But like, I don't know. I had some good laughs in this.
00:22:10
Speaker
We then cut to Bart and he's out by the river fishing and he's ah enjoying the good life. And as he says it, the joys of mortgaging his future. I did like that. That was clever. He then sees a raft approaching with what appears to be Abe Lincoln hookaberry fin and a part of his fantasy is coming true.
00:22:27
Speaker
But it's two homeless men who ask him if he wants to see a dead body. but Yeah, at least Bart caught the fish. And also I liked the um Again funnily enough Stephen King reference Because this was um Stand By Me Which yeah i don't they don't both Did he write it as Stephen King Or was this under his pseudonym I genuinely can't remember I think it was under it Sorry what's this a reference to Stand By Me that It's um a film based on a book As far as I'm aware Yeah based on Stephen King's novella The Body
00:23:02
Speaker
So it's two Stephen King references in in one er in one episode. We might be able to see if there's more. Have you not seen Stand By Me? Nope. Oh, Kraken film.
00:23:15
Speaker
Absolute classic. 1986.
00:23:18
Speaker
have to add to the list. It's one of the few films that is, like, centered around kids that I can stand. Okay, okay right. Because one of the main, like, just just as Matt being a curmudgeon, one of the main reasons I could not get into Stranger Things is because I just hated all of them.
00:23:37
Speaker
I just hated all of them. That's a good reason not to like something. what What if this girl doesn't like me? The world is fucking ending. No one gives a shit. I hate it. I kid ah fucking hate that show. Kids have different priorities. Yeah, and that's annoying.
00:23:52
Speaker
kids Kids should act like adults all the time. Is it the kids who are wrong? We'll get there. so So Skinner is now on the hunt for Bart and its first stop of court is the Springfield Natural History Museum and Skinner's quite confident about this as he's saying, you're mine, Simpson. We don't cut to Bart and Bart argues with the movie made to need that if he was under 17 he'd be in school.
00:24:18
Speaker
Sound logic. And that's enough to get him into Boobarama. Boobarama? Got a little bit of Uberama. I think that was the first sort of pitch for Futurama. I mean, it's not far off with what some of the gags in Futurama sometimes. I think that is it out as a Futurama episode, probably. i'd I'd hope so. It'll be the it'll be the Amazon one more.
00:24:42
Speaker
That's exactly what i was thinking, yes. i I would have assumed it it was one where they got infected with some kind of weird space virus where all the women just got just grew absurdly large boobs and the whole gag was just lol big boobs.
00:24:55
Speaker
That's season 10. out I've not watched the recent stuff. You can't tell me that that doesn't sound like a Futurama episode. No, now I'm sure it's... I'm sure it's crossed someone's mind.
00:25:07
Speaker
Quite possibly. Skinner can't find any children at the 4-H Club either, and he now begins to question if he's out of touch. Then he decides, nope, it's the kids that are. I'm sure you have all seen in meme format.
00:25:19
Speaker
I was fucking amazed that this meme, one of the most famous Simpsons memes, I think, of recent years, came from this fucking episode. I was like to get an impression that you're not a fan of this one.
00:25:31
Speaker
I'm amazed anyone remembered this episode existed to find a quote worth quoting. Bart goes to an auction house and he's the winning bid of 2.3 million and then he runs away.
00:25:42
Speaker
the The auctioneer then goes to the second highest bid of 2.1 million, but he also runs away. And the auctioneer just has to ask, did anyone make a serious bid on this? everyone goes, yeah can you do that? Are you allowed just run away from an auction?
00:25:55
Speaker
No. But also, again, just another bid that just kind of peters out. just It just didn't go anywhere. i think there's a leader i think there's pretty legal obligation that once you've done that, you kind of have to pay for it.
00:26:06
Speaker
That's what i thought, yeah. Yeah. no But yeah, no all the all these bits are just like... I guess gags that they wanted to find a place for and in some cases, I guess. Yeah. Bart is now walking down the street and he suddenly sees Homer and they both hide behind convenient walls and Bart says, he can't his dad see him playing Wookiee.
00:26:25
Speaker
Homer's response is, I can't let the voice in me skipping work. So Bart just combs his hand forward. Homer uses a comb as a mustache. A comb as a mustache. And they just so they just put on voices and then they both walk away from each other going, sucker.
00:26:40
Speaker
We cut back to Skinner and Skinner's found Bart's bubble gum on the floor and he picks up and starts licking it. Yeah, it's like his his brand of gum, double mint, trying to double your fun, Bart. Admittedly, all of the Skinner bits of this episode are gold.
00:26:55
Speaker
But that's not hard. ah Skinner says, double your fun, Bart. Well, I'll double your detention. Then he's quite sad that no one was around to hear him say that. And Skinner then declares that we're now entering endgame.
00:27:09
Speaker
And he's right because the music gets a bit s sinister and Skinner finds Bart pretty quickly coming out of the ice cream shop. We don't see Bart running across the country. He's going cross-country, I guess. and There's a but bunch of shots here that I think are reused from various other circumstances where Bart was running through the countryside.
00:27:26
Speaker
think you're right. And Bart cuts the road bridge and says, Skinner will get over that. Then hides behind a tree and Skinner is now in like full Terminator mode. He just walks into the... yeah Is this a Terminator reference? I was gonna ask you both the same question. It must be surely...
00:27:43
Speaker
is but Does it say on Frinkjack who it's referencing? Frinkjack doesn't say the references, but Simpsons Archive is usually the go-to, and they don't mention it. I was hoping you two, knowing more about Terminator movies than I do, might be able to answer that. I but i haven't seen Terminator in a very long time. but By...
00:27:59
Speaker
By the time this came out, none of the Terminators have a scene quite like this where they submerge and then come back out. It's definitely not from the first one. The second one I'm a little hazy on.
00:28:13
Speaker
But it... It felt like the second one to me. yeah It has Terminator vibes. It sure does. But because then Bart is like, he's like some kind of never giving up school person.
00:28:26
Speaker
I was like, that feels like it's tied into the reference. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like trying to find the word, but the word he's trying to find isn't Terminator.
00:28:37
Speaker
So I don't think it's a Terminator reference. So I'm i'm genuinely like feeling stupid in my knowledge of like of what this could possibly be referencing. I mean, my favourite bit about it is that the music is very sinister as he goes into the water. His voice is merged, it just stops. Oh, actually, I'll tell you what. I've just caught on Simpsons Archive. There's a note here that says it's potentially a reference to Westworld.
00:29:01
Speaker
That makes sense. Yeah. No. um I haven't ivan ah watched enough of it. Like the the original movie. m I've never seen the original.
00:29:12
Speaker
Also wrote but written by the guy that wrote Jurassic Park. Both of them. Michael Crichton. But eventually hides behind a rock and the Skinner is now approaching upon him and goes, ooh, I can taste this fear. After climbing up a cliff. Yeah, climbing a cliff in the fucking Springfield desert that we always forget exists. Yep, yep. The Springfield Canyon. Yeah. Yeah, my note was a more fucked Springfield geography. Skinner jumps up the rock, but Bart is not there because he leapt into the Freddie Quimby sports car that just happened to come past. And the blonde says, I think somebody something jumped into the car. Freddie Quimby's response I'm not paying you to talk. Holy shit, man. And then he drives into the Quimby compound.
00:29:56
Speaker
I imagine at the time this was hilarious, but after recent events, this made me feel very uncomfortable. I watched this bit and was just like, this hasn't aged well. No, it has not.
00:30:10
Speaker
Freddy Quimby arrives and immediately takes a football and throws into the punch bowl and declares the punch has been spiked. Everyone's forced to awkwardly clap as Mayor Quimby gives a thin or toe saying that he's displaying the Quimby wit that won the public's heart and tells him that all his disgraces will be private.
00:30:27
Speaker
Oh, yes. Okay. The thing is, is like any of these jokes with the Quimby's might have been funny if the voice wasn't so fucking annoying. It's because it's it's one of those things where when it's a throwaway line from Mayor Quimby, it's kind of OK because it's a throwaway line.
00:30:47
Speaker
it's It's one of those exaggerated impersonations that you're like, haha, I get who you're referencing. And then you just kind of move on because the line was funny. But there are so many lines.
00:30:57
Speaker
And the guy playing the the voice of um fucking the young Quimby is even more annoying. So i I couldn't laugh at the jokes because I was just so fucking irritated.
00:31:12
Speaker
mean, they're both Dan Castellaneta, but... Yes, course. But they're annoying voices. Like, Freddy's not supposed to be a likeable character, though. He which is a dickhead. Which is the point. No, but he's... it's The jokes... He's saying that the moments of the show are still meant to be funny.
00:31:28
Speaker
They're still meant to be, like, amusing in some kind of dry way. Or even in that way of, like, ha-ha, I hate you and people like you. But I couldn't think of those things because I was too busy being like, this is annoying to listen to.
00:31:42
Speaker
Yeah, okay. Yeah, fair enough. So Bart comes out and he starts having a bit of a wumble and he walks into Mayor Quimby and says, who are you? And Bart claims sort of the nephews he doesn't see. Bart Bart.
00:31:52
Speaker
And that just, that that was the end of it. that We just move on. they will They did not know how to end half these jokes. That had the vibe of something that, something got cut there. I don't know if that went further and got cut the time or something. think there might be a follow-up there.
00:32:06
Speaker
But meanwhile, sees McBain and tells him he's a fan that his last movie sucked. McBain admits that it was right. And Wiggum cuts in and goes, yeah, a magic ticket my ass, McBain. What does that mean? Yeah, I don't know what the magic ticket thing is referencing. But I did think it was funny that in the recent episode of Ulf Rani, we talked about the fact that Arnold does and like have problems with over-scripting and stuff and will just reduce his lines on a whim.
00:32:33
Speaker
m And i I just thought that was a fun coincidence. I don't think they're referencing fucking ah Predator because this was, what, 1994? Let's find out what Arnold's... He'd done a few things since then. You know, just ah just a couple.
00:32:46
Speaker
um I'm just trying to think of like what his last, quote-unquote, last movie... This must be around the Batman and Robin era or something, isn't it? Oh, no, that's... No, that's 2000s, yeah.
00:32:58
Speaker
What? No. Batman and Robin is 1997. 1997. Okay, there we go. 94, four so a I doubt it's referring to Last Action Hero, because Last Action Hero is, like, very well regarded.
00:33:12
Speaker
Because that was 93. Then there was Beretta's Island, which does have a 2.7. So it could be that. Whatever the movie was, his mighty heart is breaking, and he's off into the Humvee.
00:33:23
Speaker
Oh, he's uncredited in that, so I doubt it ah doubt it is that. if The other one's True Lies, which has 7.3. I don't know. so i don't know This is where we're also briefly introduced to Maria, his wife, which, like, yeah, Arnie's wife was Maria. And just ah just a weird thing. that i don't if they thought about this that much, but I did because I'm me. Gosh, you did.
00:33:45
Speaker
But... Maria Shriver was part of the Kennedy family, so weird to know that Arnie married into the Kennedy family. But also, like, of course she would be at the Quimby wedding because the Quimbys are like the the Kennedy stand-ins, like, yeah.
00:34:02
Speaker
If that's intentional, that's hilarious. It's a clever bit of detail that probably nobody has ever picked up on. I would not be surprised. That is the kind of weird-ass deep-cut reference that they would that they would make.
00:34:17
Speaker
But also, it's just like, oh, who are all the rich and fancy people in Springfield? Well, the one of the one actor that we have, you know? yeah It could just be a coincidence. Yeah.
00:34:28
Speaker
So we go inside and everyone's having their lunch and Freddy asks what the hell he's being served and in a French accent he's told it's chowder. Chowder. Chowder. Chowder. And Freddy makes him say it again in front of everybody and he just says says it again.
00:34:43
Speaker
Chowder. And Freddy mocks him and he's going chowder. Chowder. It's chowder. So he makes him say chowder and the waiter walks around pretty quick and says come back I'm not through demeaning you.
00:34:55
Speaker
Yeah, it just wasn't, again, just wasn't funny. because Yeah, the the joke is rich people suck. Yeah, but i didn't I didn't have time to laugh at the joke because found his voice so fucking irritating. Yeah, that's totally fine. We go to Bart in the kitchen and Bart sees the world's largest Rice Krispie Square and he takes a bite out of it and goes, hmm, the rich know how to live.
00:35:15
Speaker
This was funny because if you think about it, it's like that is what a child would think is rich people living. It wouldn't be, you know, the idea, you know, because a child wouldn't think of foie gras you know, anything.
00:35:30
Speaker
Chaudiรจre. Or chaudiรจre. He would think of just a really big Rice Krispie Swear. Normal food, but impressively big. Exactly. Just bigger, more, you know, and I think that is actually, that's quite clever. And he falls in the wet floor sign shape.
00:35:50
Speaker
so this leads to off cameramer okay you asper i'm gonna enjoy this and we don't hear loads of ah painful crushes and banging and we didn't see the wait to fall to the floor but go o that's gotta hurt and he falls in the like a wet flaw sign ship which was fun. thats it Everyone comes in and Wiggum declares that someone has taken bite out of their ice crispy square then realizes the waiter's been brutally beaten. And the beat at what? And the beat at waiter.
00:36:16
Speaker
We then go to the Simpsons kitchen and we see the paper that has a picture of Freddie Quimby being arrested. Marge is very aghast about the whole thing and says that she hopes that Freddie Quimby gets what's coming to him. Bart points out that he's actually innocent and Lisa goes, how do you know? How would you that?
00:36:31
Speaker
Bart gets a bit sheepish now and he tries to deflect the thing by reading the funny pages and goes, oh look, Charlie Brown said good grief. I did not see that coming. Yeah, this just Spoiler alert, Charlie Brown has said that a fair bit over the years.
00:36:45
Speaker
Guys, this episode sucks balls.
00:36:49
Speaker
We're going cut back into Bart admitting to... No, it's fine. Just keep going. We we can do this. We can get through Bart reveals to Lisa that he was at the ah compound they saw what happened and Lisa tells him that he needs to go to the police. Bart says he can't.
00:37:06
Speaker
And then, as the bus pulls up, we see the reason why, as Skinner says that he knows Bart got school. Right at the fucking window. says, he knows that he got school and he's going to send him off to the Christian military reform school. And, uh...
00:37:18
Speaker
Which isn't Skinner's decision. No, no, it's not. But also, yeah dad yeah, again, like, there are just, like, little lines that are quite funny, so, like, these are like, oh, why can't you do that? And Blast's like,
00:37:31
Speaker
What he said. That got me. Lisa says that even though can't testify, she's sure that if Freddy Quimby is innocent innocent, he'll be found innocent by a fair and impartial jury. We then cut to Homer, who finds out he's got jury duty and he declares that Freddy Quimby will hang. i I did like the immediate then cut of Lisa saying I knew it was stupid to watch him open the mail, which was just so fucking weird.
00:37:57
Speaker
This is a very silly episode. It's a very silly episode. but We go to the Channel 6 News the outside the courthouse and Ken Brockman is ah saying the third argument over childer has spilled over into the biggest trial in Springfield history.
00:38:12
Speaker
And the federal judge will ladle out steaming bowls of rich, creamy justice. Don't call it rich, creamy justice. Don't do that. He's alluding to Chauder. What do you want? Chauder.
00:38:26
Speaker
The media have dubbed it beat up waiter and uh yeah, Roman actually wanted Waitergate but he was uh... Oh speaking of chowder, sorry I just completely forgot this. had clam chowder for the first time ever in America. was random. Oh yeah?
00:38:37
Speaker
I'd never had it before and I was like holy shit this is awesome. Yeah. It doesn't sound appealing does it? It does not. I have never... I in spite of like most of my time in America being in New England where like it's huge like still haven't tried it because I did not think it sounded appealing. It is rich and creamy.
00:38:55
Speaker
Okay. Like justice. Okay. So it's illegal to go televise court proceedings, so everyone tries to sneak in, but... I did like, yeah, him being like, so we have to be very quiet, and just walks at the door.
00:39:08
Speaker
We then see Bart looking over at the jury, and the Skinner is on the jury, and he said and we then see that Bart can read Skinner's thoughts, and Skinner says, he finds out that he's cut class, his ass is mine, and he goes, yeah, you heard me, I think words I won't say. I think words I will never say.
00:39:24
Speaker
We go up to Homer and Homer says, Homer's thinking too, he says, I know you can read my voice. And he just goes, meow, meow, meow. For a good, like, 15 seconds. because I think that's the, um it's ah he's doing an ad, it's Meow Mix. It's like a cat. Weirdly, weirdly odd thing that I do not know from the advert, because it's obviously a very uniquely American advert, but I know from Austin powertin Powers. Austin Powers.
00:39:47
Speaker
Yeah, I knew it was going to be Austin Powers. The lawyer tries to say that he'll prove that Freddie Quimby is it <unk> innocent and his first opening gambit for this is to prove that the waiter wasn't born in Springfield. He wasn't even born in the country, which shocks all the reporters to go and report this.
00:40:03
Speaker
don't know what time as he tells it Yeah, that sounds like the American justice system. There was also like a very brief kind of like blink and you'll miss it kind of gag there, which like the the court artist was Matt Grenning. Was Matt Grenning. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did like that.
00:40:18
Speaker
We've got to Mo giving a witness testimony that he and Freddie Quimby were together all night ah collecting canned goods for one of those loser countries, which impresses the ah courtroom. He has to be innocent.
00:40:29
Speaker
She friggin' comes and gives him a big bag of the dollar sign. Mo goes, oh, my laundry. He's so daft. Bart then says to Lisa that they don't need his testimony because Lisa points out because Mayor Quimby is buying his nephew's freedom and Bart goes, ah, the system works.
00:40:45
Speaker
We've got to Lionel Hutz, and Lionel Hutz has got his expert testimony of Dr. Hibbert that's argument is that sir only one in two million people has the evil gene.
00:40:55
Speaker
So, pretty quickly he has the evil gene, which includes Hitler and Walt Disney. One in two million people is a surprising amount of people. Random ass dig at Walt Disney. I have heard like very mixed things about Walt Disney. some yeah It always seems to vary, but it just felt very random.
00:41:11
Speaker
From what I've heard about Walt Disney, he was extremely racist. Yeah, but everyone was. Everyone now. That was the style the time. It was the style the time. Like the onion on my belt.
00:41:24
Speaker
A bit of racism. Just bit classy racism, you know? Yeah, this is the entirety of Lionel Hutz's defence, and he rests his case, and the judge goes, wait, you rest your case? Oh, no, thought that was a figure of speech. Yeah, figure of speech. Case closed.
00:41:38
Speaker
he's just He just knows lawyer expressions, that's right. Apu interrupts proceedings to point out that Homer has fallen asleep and he's got to glasses with eyes drawn onto them. The judge wakes Homer up and tells him to hand those over and Homer does while he's laughing and then puts on another pair.
00:41:54
Speaker
And those. What a fucking grass, Apu. What's wrong with you, Apo? Well, he takes jury duty very seriously. Well, he would. Fucking nerd.
00:42:06
Speaker
The lawyer then calls Freddie Quimby up for the stand so everyone can just bask in his innocence and gentle decency. And this goes horribly wrong because after Freddie Quimby declares that he loves everything on God's green earth, and the lawyer says, oh, you wouldn't complain about the mispronunciation of the word chowder. And he goes, that's chowder. And then threatens to kill everybody, including the jury.
00:42:24
Speaker
which is Which is also sort of like a dumb thing about this episode of like, he wasn't annoyed that he was saying it wrong. He was amused.
00:42:34
Speaker
And then it just kind of, they decided, no, now he's now he's annoyed by it. it I don't... Guys. He's a rich dickhead. like He doesn't yeah have to like have coherent motivations. This is true.
00:42:49
Speaker
The lawyer admits that that did not go well. ze Which I did laugh about. So, then here's the jury talking about how the decision won't take very long because he's clearly guilty and Jasper is quite excited because he said that the dog from Frasier is going to ride the dolphin from Sequest, which you what does so like i that sound like a hell of a television event if that's happening.
00:43:11
Speaker
Lisa then points out to Bart that Freddy Quimby's horrible, but he's innocent that he's going to jail, and Bart wonders about coming forward, and over here Skinner saying, you can't wait for the sentencing, because that's where he really shines. I'm not sure Skinner has any involvement in the sentencing, but there you go.
00:43:23
Speaker
No, no, again, isn like i have I have multiple notes, the identical notes on this episode, which are just, that's not how courts work.
00:43:34
Speaker
I think one of them point pertained to that bit, specifically. So, Bars is fancy, where Skinner sentencing to... a hard labour in the cafeteria and we then see Bart has become a lunch lady and he goes, more cream corn, Jimbo Jr. And Jimbo Jr. is not very appreciative. cold golden and taste It tastes like cream crap.
00:43:52
Speaker
Bart's head gets absurdly big as he ages apparently. Also there was some point in the the court scene where Bart makes another one of those weirdest fuck references for a 10 year old to make.
00:44:04
Speaker
Uh, he referred to Klaus von Bulao. I think I've... I don't know if I'm pronouncing that correct, but... Uh, it was... I think it was recent-ish in the public imagination at that time. Like, I had to look it up, because, like, how the fuck would I know what the fuck he was talking about? but it was, like, the eighty s I think, the trial took place. But, yeah, it was a guy who was...
00:44:26
Speaker
Like acquitted of murder by... didn't really dig that much into it, but I guess it's a very similar case to Freddie of like a rich guy getting off by being rich. Yeah, it's just a little it's one of those, like i've I've said it before, those gags with Bart just like random, like the with the the one a while ago where he like made a random ass jab at the Oscars. I'm like, just have anyone else say these things.
00:44:50
Speaker
Because I don't know why it just bothers me when Bart says it, because it's just dumb. I don't know. lisa Lisa brings us your jobva and the and she goes, you've got something to tell me? And Bart says, he just wanted to tell her how great it is to finally see some chicks on the bench. And he says, keep keep up the good work, Tut.
00:45:06
Speaker
He turns and looks at Lisa, and the Lisa is quite she sheepish, going, yeah, chicks on the bench. they could have just All they needed to do to make this gag better was have her look at Lisa and then cut it there.
00:45:17
Speaker
Having it keep going was just dumb. Just to drag us back to Von Bulo again, he was represented in court by Alan Dershowitz, which, like, Jesus Christ history, like, stop this. You can't keep getting away with this. That's Donald Trump's fucking lawyer. yep Yeah, well, history likes repeating itself. Jesus Christ. You know, trend trends come back, John. I just don't know why you don't understand that.
00:45:44
Speaker
Everything's cyclical. Time is a flat circle, yep. We've got to the jury room and everyone is preparing to vote. to Couldn't be guilty, but Elmer then asks what sequestered means, and Skinner has to explain it so if the jury is deadlocked, they're putting a hotel together.
00:45:57
Speaker
Then Elmer asks what does deadlock mean? and then What does if mean? So Skinner has to explain all of this, and... And Patty says, that's not going to happen, Homer. And Jasper goes, let's vote my liver is failing, which is my favorite line of the episode.
00:46:11
Speaker
Then Homer realizes that if they do get sequestered, they're going into the hotel where they'll get free room, free food, and a swimming pool, and free Willy. And Skinner's response to this is, justice is not a frivolous thing. It has little, if anything, to do with a disobedient whale. Yeah, disobedient whale, man.
00:46:29
Speaker
So let's vote. And Homer asks, how is everyone voting? And everyone says, guilty. And then Homer asks, how many S's in sentence?
00:46:36
Speaker
And then Homer says, he's only doing what's right. He says, he thinks Freddie Quimby should walk out of here with a free hotel. As we all should. So we cut to the hotel and Homer has completely destroyed his hotel room. He's gone.
00:46:48
Speaker
So much crap around him as he does. Chatting away to Marge, telling her how important this is. He calls up room service and asks for three more pillows with mints on them. As you do. i like I like how the idea that if they were delivered just as mints, Homer would be upset.
00:47:06
Speaker
It's like, no, no, no. I asked for pillows with mints on them. i Oh, see, I read it as like Homer just thinks that's how the mints come. Like, you they they don't come separate. You have to have the pillow with it. Yeah, but exactly. That's what i'm saying is like, yeah, so when homer Homer asks for them, he thinks he needs to ask for the pillow as well. So if they came without the pillow, he would be confused.
00:47:26
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So we then, so Skinner, who's tidying up after Homer, says, they're like the odd couple. You're the messy one. And Homer then tells him to shut up. Skinner just accepts it, man. He's just like, oh, okay.
00:47:39
Speaker
So we come back to Bart watching TV and Lisa asks him if his insides have been gnawed away by guilt yet and Bart tells her to sell it to Hallmark. and And you're looking at a a cucumber boy as cool as.
00:47:50
Speaker
Lisa walks away and then we see that McGonagall is on. McGonagall. McGonagall. And McGarnagall is being framed for a crime he didn't commit and only one boy can clear his name. But he's a sissy who's too scared to come forward. it's very, just very on the nose. The TV announcer just announces it like that. We then go to McGarnagall McGarnagall's telling Billy he's got to testify and Billy is scared but McGarnagall tells him he's got to do this one for me, Billy. McGarnagall. And Billy says, okay, for you, McGarnagall.
00:48:17
Speaker
We then cut to the next scene and Chief tells him that Billy is dead because he had his throat slit. McGarnagall does not give a fuck because he's trying to eat lunch. I mean, yeah. why is what How rude of him to tell him that while he's trying to eat, man. That's fucking disgusting.
00:48:30
Speaker
That's pretty grim news to be delivering to someone having their lunch. Give him five minutes, come on. Yeah, come on. Let him at least take a couple bites of the sandwich first. To be fair, that did look a fantastic sandwich. It did look like a good sandwich. It was big sandwich. Big We then go to watch Free Willy.
00:48:47
Speaker
Yep. Not the version I'm familiar with. I am love this scene. Homer's just screaming at the TV for Free Willy to jump with all his might. We then go to the film and we see that the whale has jumped. We see the little boy looking up and then we see the shadow whale getting close. It cuts away and you watch to Back to Homer and you just get the commentary Oh no, Willie didn't make it and crushed our boy don't like the director's cut rest good It's just and amazing. It's random, but it's very well executed. Another very silly bit, but yeah, yeah it's it's done well. It's a good bit. Then and see that Homer's checking out the hotel, and Barney is just rinsing the room clean. and yeah We just said to Homer, going, you got it, Barney? And then we got Barney going, got what? Smash.
00:49:37
Speaker
Skinner asks if he's stealing a table, and Barney says, no, he's not really taking it. It's a souvenir. He's gonna accept this defense. The hotel's expected to take a few things. Is that my tie you're wearing? Souvenir.
00:49:50
Speaker
We then come back to Bart and Bart is asked Marge while she's dusting. if there's a really bad crime person that's going to go to jail, but I know he's innocent, what should i do? Well, just think goes on to a story about Uncle Arthur saying, had the saying of shoot them all and let God sort about.
00:50:03
Speaker
And then tells the story about how he put that theory into practice and it took 75 federal marshals to bring him down. And, but never going to speak of him again. was weird. This was such a weird bit.
00:50:14
Speaker
So, but, presses on and Marge tells him, you should listen to his heart and not the voices his head. But Marge ignores him. She, like, refuses to talk because she's just like, nope, not elaborating on this. It's so strange and weirdly uncomfortable. ah think I think that's kind of the idea, though. Like, it's very dark humor. just Yeah, it comes out of fucking nowhere.
00:50:35
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. but Also, avoids them having to deal with the actual situation. don't have to move the plot along, we can just turn it into a gag. so we come back to the courtroom and the judge points out that reopening a trial is illegal and grossly um unconstitutional. But she just can't say no to the kids.
00:50:53
Speaker
Not how Lord's Courts work. Also, Bart's testimony would mean nothing. Unless he could actively prove he was in the room, Bart's testimony would mean absolutely nothing.
00:51:05
Speaker
Absolutely completely. Not how courts work. but This is what you didn't realize. They DNA tested that Rice Krispie spread. Ah, okay. My apologies. See, I've tied it all together. The episode makes sense. Cut to Michael stood in front of ah a cork board with loads of red string on it. I've been conspiracy theory this all day.
00:51:25
Speaker
We then cut to Bart's testimony and we get the flashback to Bart under the table and it turns out that Freddie Quimmy did not touch the waiter. He just nicked a bowl of champagne. We then see that the waiter slipped from the Rice Krispie Square and a series of unfortunate events happened which included banging head off four frying pans, breaking glass, the ham landing in the blender, then the other ham landing in the toaster, then head falling into the oven, a boiling water spilling onto his back, then into the broom closet where all the rat traps were stored, and then crashing into all the glasses.
00:51:56
Speaker
yeah And then he falls down and then finally finally snaps his ah snaps his legs into place. Yeah, you would have thought that in the initial investigations, somebody may have ah noticed some of those wounds were not from fists.
00:52:11
Speaker
Yep. Nope, that didn't that never came up. Trying not to think about it. This was a really, really bad court case. Cannot stress that enough. Quimby's just got very dangerous fists, okay?
00:52:24
Speaker
The waiter is outraged by this and he says he's not going to be a clumsy, close-way style waiter. He then comedically trips over a chair and falls out of the window into the conveniently placed truck of rat traps and we just hear a load of them go off and he goes, well, at least there wasn't a big one.
00:52:38
Speaker
And then we hear the big one go off. Yep. Very unfortunate. Let's finally ask Bart how he could have seen all this if he was supposed to be in school. Bart finally admits he skipped school and Skinner's like, ah, I knew it. knew he'd slip up.
00:52:50
Speaker
Apoor then points out that he didn't actually slip up, he confessed and Skinner's very desperately goes, I need this. Yeah, he was like, let me have this. So Quimby is, of course, found innocent and the whole thing is dismissed. Bart walks out of the courtroom and then Skinner follows him and goes, though Skinner is impressed that he did testify to save Quimby, even though he was pulling his own head in the noose.
00:53:08
Speaker
But he did skip school. Bart ambitiously goes, I think the two things cancel each other out. And then Skinner admits that he's a very small, petty man. Then gives Bart three months attention. Bob's walking away, but then Skinner calls him back, and Bob is to learn that. It's actually four.
00:53:22
Speaker
We've got to the bedroom for the Simpsons, which is now covered with all the stuff that was in the house. I got a good laugh out of that. So, almost talking about these convictions in the jury room, which actually turns out he was just trying to get everybody to order Chinese for lunch.
00:53:36
Speaker
And Marge points out that a lot of things happened here, and he wants her to tell her all about ice. He puts those glasses with the eyes on. We'll then we just get our whole series off camera of, gimme those. Oh. And those. And those.
00:53:48
Speaker
Oh. And those. don't think we mentioned the gag there. I think we just said, I like this. We should probably note that the entire bedroom is completely decorated with all the furniture we saw in the hotel room that Homer's stolen. Yes.
00:54:00
Speaker
like like all the lamps so the like the shell lamps all the paintings that were on the walls are now in the Simpsons bedroom like there's a towel visibly draped over the back of the a chair that says Springfield Royal Hotel like it's the whole room is just Springfield Royal Hotel furniture ni and shit now so Matt I can see we've been able to tell throughout this entire episode your absolute love for the episode should I go first so then you guys can end it on a positive note Might be an idea.
00:54:30
Speaker
Because I genuinely thought this was one of the most boring episodes of Simpsons I've ever watched. Really? i genuinely thought this was the most boring episodes of Simpsons I've ever watched. It was so dull.
00:54:41
Speaker
It had a couple of good laughs. I'm not going to say it it was like a terrible episode. It didn't do the crime of being when Flanders failed. It was just boring. it's i bet The laughs that I got were small...
00:54:54
Speaker
and sort of like, ha ha, I understood that reference, rather than actually finding this episode funny. It was so fucking boring. John, what? I liked it.
00:55:06
Speaker
I don't know what tell you. I liked it. It was a very silly episode. I've said this like five times now, but it it was it was daft. Whether you want to go, oh, it's not the usual Simpsons style or what. I don't know. Like the characters were out of character sometimes. don't mind silly. We've had silly It just was the gags just didn't land for me.
00:55:27
Speaker
Okay, fair enough. they They did for me, I guess. I don't know. I thought this was a good episode. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Michael? Yeah, well, the bits I liked, I really liked.
00:55:38
Speaker
Free Willy, I will always find very funny. And yeah than the McGonagall stuff I do, Mike. McGonagall. Very stupid. And Skinner's stuff that he's doing in the episode always raises smile for Skinner this episode for me in a lot of ways. Because Skinner's always a delight.
00:55:54
Speaker
I don't think it's the best episode of The Simpsons I've ever seen, but I do think it's it's perfectly serviceable and it was a pretty easy 20 minute watch. Yeah, I mean, not to like spoil my hand, tip my hand, spoil the podcast, whatever, mixing metaphors there too much, but like I enjoyed hell lot more than Lady Bouvier's Lover. Ooh, okay. Interesting. Ooh, I'm going to have arguments. Ooh, okay. Well, it's hard then what you're at, homers.
00:56:19
Speaker
So I genuinely, because of how fucking boring this episode was, i was like, I don't think it deserves When Flanders Failed because I do not think it was badass When Flanders Failed that that because that episode actively annoyed me.
00:56:31
Speaker
this film was this This episode was just boring. So I'm going to be equally boring and not rate it. Oh. I'm not giving it an out of homer. Unrated out of Homer. John, why you giving it?
00:56:43
Speaker
Well, I give it a slapstick waiter out of Homer because of how silly it was. I'm giving it a doing it from a garnicle out of Homer because you've done it, but there may be some unintended consequences. Okay.
00:56:55
Speaker
What did I have to say about society? Yeah, in terms of society, this one's pretty obvious. The court system's broken. while a bad person deserves to go a go While a bad person deserves to go to prison, it has to be for the right reasons, but people will exploit that for their own gain and taint the very foundation of our legal system. Like, the actual what they said about society is, like, really fucking obvious.
00:57:15
Speaker
um But I just don't think... it's It's one of those things where it was so obvious that it's, like, it didn't come across as that Simpsons... vibe of talking about society. It was more like... I don't know. it just... It didn't present it in a Simpsons way, I guess. I don't know.
00:57:33
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, there was a very brief discussion between Bart and Lisa about, like, the rich getting different justice because he was just buying his way out. So, like, they did, like, you know, actually point to that as ah as a message. Yeah? Yeah.
00:57:45
Speaker
Like, definitely the early bit definitely was making commentary on, like, how prisons are like... schools are like prisons think generally portraying rich people as being shitty like we all know them to be.
00:57:57
Speaker
yeah yeah, true. Didn't expect Alan Dershowitz to have a weird connection to this episode. Slightly horrified by that. Yeah, fuck rich people. Rich people dumb and stupid and suck.
00:58:08
Speaker
Eat the rich. Eat the fucking rich. That's what this episode had say. Eat the rich. Eat the rich. Anything else said about society in your eyes? No, just a French way that's got me twisted.
00:58:21
Speaker
That's very true. That's very true. little light racism here on Mole Man in the Morning. Never Never trust the French. Well, we've established that that's okay. It's classic.
00:58:32
Speaker
It's the style of the time. We've lost our sponsorship from MeUndies France. ah I think we lost that in the last episode, I think. Yeah, that's pretty fair. Yeah.
00:58:45
Speaker
Alrighty, ready to move on? Let's do it. Go on then. Okay, Lady Bouvier's Lover, episode 21 of season 5 aired on May 12th, 1994. What on earth happened on this day?
00:58:59
Speaker
Well, Pulp Fiction premiered at the Canes Film Festival. And the world cows was definitely was definitely improved by such a great and classic movie.
00:59:11
Speaker
like Pulp Fiction. Ushering in the age of such a talented director who is not at all a rapist apologist at all. No, he's great. Yeah, mean, fuck Quentin Tarantino for being, like, piece of shit. But, like, Pulp Fiction is, like, a fun and interesting bit of storytelling.
00:59:25
Speaker
Eh. Well, I've got some more positive news for view you because the WIBC Bowlings Queen was won by Anne-Marie Duggan. Well, good on her. That's it, folks. Slow news day.
00:59:36
Speaker
The UK number one is Inside by Stiltskin. Sounds familiar, but I don't know. And the US number one is still The Sign by Ace of Base. Ah, they saw the sign. They opened up their eyes and saw the sign.
00:59:49
Speaker
Saw the sign. sure Shut up. I have no idea what you're talking about. So our chalkboard gag, I will not retransmit without the express permission of the Major League Baseball.
01:00:02
Speaker
This took too long to... I didn't finish it. I know i'm a slow I'm a slow reader, but fuck me, did I not have chance to read that. Yeah, it was over three lines. Like, this is a long-ass chalkboard message.
01:00:17
Speaker
And the couch garg, the family ran into each other and shattered, which I'm... 100% sure we've seen again. We have absolutely. It was when they did like the three in one, the take one, take two, take three. yeah yeah It was one of those. Yes, I remember you saying at the time that these would then all be used on their own individually at some point.
01:00:39
Speaker
Yes, this is when that particular take one of it was used again. Yep. So we can't answer the episode in Christie's... ah The clown show is on and Christy is just laughing and we then see Sideshow Mel is in a tuxedo saying that this is demeaning and Christy tells him to conduct.
01:00:55
Speaker
We see that Sideshow Mel is conducting a band of monkeys. Yeah, he's saying demeaning when he's doing something that no one has ever done before. There's probably a reason for that because one the monkeys stops playing and Mel starts tapping him with his stick which is not a great idea because the monkey goes for his throat. Yeah, those are some angry ass monkeys.
01:01:12
Speaker
The rest of the monkeys join in, and Bart and Lisa are laughing hilariously, and home and then asks Maggie, can she point to the monkey? Maggie then points at home, and everyone goes, oh, what babies now? Maggie, Lisa then asks Maggie to point to the credenza, and Maggie immediately points to it. Gotta be honest, didn't know that was a thing called a credenza.
01:01:30
Speaker
I've heard the word credenza. I'm not sure I would have been able to tell you what one was. I think specifically from this episode and this scene is how I know what credenza is. I feel like if I was in like my nan's living room and she and she said, one of the items of furniture in here is called a credenza.
01:01:45
Speaker
Can you guess what it is? i'd be I feel like I'd be able to get it in three guesses. It is a grandma-ass piece of furniture. But yes, exactly. It is some of your nan owns.
01:01:56
Speaker
It definitely is. Or if your back hurts, something you own. Homer has called into the kitchen because he didn't do a very good job at frosting Maggie's birthday cake. And Homer goes, what? It's not Magaggy's birthday.
01:02:08
Speaker
Magaggy! So he realises... I don't know why that's so fucking funny to me. It's not Magaggy's birthday. I think it lands in a similar space to the, like, to Blob Nuerne. To Blob Nuerne! Oh, no.
01:02:36
Speaker
so when you When you finally found that picture of the Blobneron, I fucking died. Oh, fuck, my stomach hurts. Oh, fucking
01:02:56
Speaker
It's with the tweet on top of it as well. Because this person is so, like, I fucked up while I was drunk. Oh, fucking hell. Sorry, carry on. oh that got me.
01:03:12
Speaker
I'll give you a minute. Fucking McGaggy. Breathe, breathe. I might realise this is mistake and starts to correct the This going to end up as one of the fucking clips that says Matt is easily pleased.
01:03:27
Speaker
There's a chance. yeah.
01:03:30
Speaker
Sorry, carry on. car Because the next bit is also really funny. Homer starts correcting his mistake by using the extra A and the G, but then he starts eating the rest of it. Marge points out that she's made up a special cake to ruin. so to but happy to go How happy Homer is about this is so funny. He's just like, um um um um again, like, I was already giggling at Magagi, and then this bit, and i yeah, this was great. This was such a good open.
01:03:56
Speaker
for like It was, yeah. Yeah, exactly. It's like whether or not you like it. This episode's not great. um you know I'll fucking spot it. It's not an amazing episode. But that open is so good.
01:04:07
Speaker
Yeah, I had to be to be fair, I had forgotten how solid that opener was. i like I think it is unfortunately fairly downhill from here, but Leo has got me for sure. Absolutely. Starbell rings and Marge and Patti goes hello everyone except Homer.
01:04:21
Speaker
And Patti have to find out that... Genuinely, I know I say this every time they're on screen. If they were my sisters-in-law, that for one, they would either not come to my house or I would just fucking bottle them.
01:04:32
Speaker
I would not tolerate that level of regular disrespect. I would be get the fuck out of my house, man. Paddy has to point out that the barber law is across the street and we see that grandpa is knocking completely at the wrong door.
01:04:45
Speaker
Happy
01:04:48
Speaker
To a very bemused man. Yeah, huge black man. Just for random. don't see that Maggie is brought into the room in her first very first dress and everyone goes, ah. Very cute. It is very cute.
01:05:03
Speaker
Grandpa ruins it slightly by going, what's that smell? I thought that bit was going to go that it was actually Abe that smelled. But no, it was Maggie shat herself, as babies often do.
01:05:15
Speaker
Mm-hmm. So everyone sat around the presents and Bart asked where the other babies are and he says, explains that the other babies weren't invited because Maggie doesn't get along with them. So we then cut to Maggie glaring at the one eyebrow baby again.
01:05:27
Speaker
but your questions So is Maggie the villain? Is Maggie the villain in this scenario? Because she's saying Maggie doesn't get on with the other babies. Is it Maggie that's the problem? Maybe. Maybe. maybe so Maggie is put to taken away and put at the table for her birthday surprise, which is a cake.
01:05:44
Speaker
And we don't see it from Maggie's perspective that she's absolutely terrified of everyone looming over, taking
Humorous Family Anecdotes
01:05:48
Speaker
photos. Yeah, being a baby must be fucking horrifying half the time. Because they have no idea what's going on. think that's what the crying's about. It's one of the things whenever people are like, oh, you're coming over for so-and-so's first birthday. It's like they're fucking one. They don't care.
01:06:03
Speaker
The thing is, is like if you're having one of those parties, I'm not judging you, but don't talk about it like it's for the baby's benefit. It's like, oh no, they'll be sad if you don't come. No, they won't. You will, you fucking loser.
01:06:17
Speaker
You have no friends, so you had to have a baby so you could have a friend that you forced to live with you and force all of your friends that you don't like come to go over your house and give you shit. Well, i' just a young just suddenly you we've just lost the young parents section of the audience. Fuck young parents.
01:06:36
Speaker
I'm on one today. You really are. the ah Who's the camp for? It's him. The camp for angriess up the blood, apparently. he fucking kicked in quick, I tell you that much.
01:06:47
Speaker
I think it's the jogging that I've i've already got um My blood's already flowing, so that alcohol is zooming through my system. Abe and Jackie begin having a bit of an argument about, what, home remedy treatment? and Yeah, old school home remedy. Did either of your, because again, we are like way ahead of time.
01:07:03
Speaker
Doesn't mean you have to waste Go on. Did any of your grandparents ever, like, use old school, old wives' tale kind of remedies when you were a kid? Not that I remember. No, I don't have any recollection it. I had to, like, put... I remember I had a cold, so they put, like, licorice under my tongue.
01:07:21
Speaker
Okay. like Like a proper, like really dense licorice sweet. And they were just like, put that on your tongue and do not let it move. I was like, what? So yeah, I had to sit there and watch like the news with my granddad. Well, I had this huge glob of licorice under my tongue.
01:07:38
Speaker
Oh, right. huh It wasn't my granddad, but I think was my aunt. When I got stuck in the face by a wasp, she just poured a whole bottle of vinegar over it. Fucking hell.
01:07:49
Speaker
but think there's something to that, right? It's like neutralising the venom or something. Yeah, venom's an alkaline, isn't it? Yes, but it's good sting. I'm not surprised, yeah. i would I would probably rather just have the bee sting, to be honest, than have my my aunt pour fucking vinegar on my face.
01:08:08
Speaker
I smell like a chip shop, it wasn't all bad. I always smell like a chip shop. I have a vague recollection of at some point when I like couldn't sleep, my grandma giving me paracetamol at some point, because like and I think it was intended very much in a placebo kind way. I was like, here, you had some pills.
01:08:25
Speaker
Trust me, you'll sleep now. was like, okay, I guess I'll sleep now. I did go with a friend when he had insomnia, and this was back on when was in uni, and they went to chemist to ask what you should do. They said, just drink a shot of whiskey.
01:08:37
Speaker
before you to sleep. I mean, that will help. That will work. Just like uni, just recommending casual alcoholism. It worked.
01:08:49
Speaker
ah It worked a treat though, didn't it? The whole Remedies are brought to an end by Bart doing his own ah impersonation of him. Don't forget to give us Schmeckler's Powder. ah Don't make fun. We don't see that Maggie is put to bed and we see there's also a recording device underneath her room.
01:09:04
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like we've seen that before. I was like, oh, I missed that detail Yeah, when they pan through the floor There's a recording device in between the Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah In between the floorboards And I feel like we've seen something similar before The recording device gag I don't know if it was at the Simpsons But I feel like we've seen it before I think a lot of things do like gags of stuff in the walls when you're panning between rooms. Yeah. Yeah. now The family reminiscing about Lisa's bird birthday and how she Bart did an adorable dance and Grandpa says, oh, let's see it. The kids are very reluctant and Grandpa gets increasingly more frightened.
01:09:38
Speaker
This was a fucking weird bit. Yep. They really needed to fill they really needed to fill time. and Get that sponsorship money? Question mark. Unclair. So the kids begin very unenthusiastically singing the Armour hot dog song and then Grandpa whacks out a harmonica and says sing it like you need it.
01:09:56
Speaker
Some hellacious enthusiasm goes in as they do the entirety of the commercial including a cameo with Milhouse who has chicken box unfortunately. It actually is a brand. Oh yeah yeah yeah. No it's an actual thing. This is a real advert.
01:10:09
Speaker
What? The actual... but Were they running out of money? i don't know whether they got paid to do this or not, to be honest. Like, they go so in on it that you could genuinely believe that this was a fucking paid placement. literally ends with homer It literally ends with Homer walking off the screen going, please meet Homer. I mean, yeah, the the the gag there is just that that's so over the top. But also, like, it could be could still be paid, age and I don't even know.
01:10:35
Speaker
I like as well how Armour Hot Dogs is spelt correctly when you look up the the company. But I'm fairly certain that when Homer walks by with the Buy Armour Hot Dogs thing, it's spelt wrong.
01:10:47
Speaker
but No, it's spelt American. a now and No, I've got the screenshot here. No, it's got U in it. Right, okay. But I still think it's funny that an American company has the correct spelling of Armour in it, but only because it was his last fucking name.
01:11:01
Speaker
ag I didn't look into the history of the brand I've got to be honest with you just googled it now they're from Milwaukee and it's Philip D. Armour and John Plankington what a shit name change your name Plankington if any of the Plankingtons still live change name and he's probably only got the correct spelling because he's brought it from the UK at some point yeah absolutely 1863 eighty sixty three m This pumps Lisa to, after they've finished, Lisa has prompted us, don't we know any actual songs that aren't commercials?
01:11:30
Speaker
This pumps everyone to start doing the chicken tonight. They just start singing Chicken Tonight! What the actual balls? At least I've heard that song before, but... Were they just fucking stoned in the writer's room, Matt? I will admit, I did get a laugh out of them while doing the chicken dance.
01:11:44
Speaker
It got a chuckle, and that was about At best, that yeah. We then see Jackie saying goodbye to the family, because you won't see them until Thanksgiving, and then Homer slyly goes, well, if not then, Christmas.
01:11:57
Speaker
And Grandpa's sad to go too, but he says he's got Matlock to keep him company, then realizes it's only five minutes, and Jackie orders the sisters to step on it, and the old folks home bus burns up, and the crazy old man goes, hurry, hurry, this Matlock could be our
Bouvier Family Dynamics
01:12:10
Speaker
last.
01:12:10
Speaker
Yeah. was a pick up I was too busy thinking about the fact, why is abe allowed to come over all the fucking time, but Jacqueline Bouvier... isn't i mean it does seem like jacques la bouvier is like we're even older than abe like she seems infirm you know she doesn't seem like she's walking about abe's like ah a Abe is shown to be in a home, though. like oh I'm not unclear on what Jacqueline's living situation is. Is she like in a retirement home? homework She's in a different home because i' they go to pick her up later on and it's also in a home. right
01:12:43
Speaker
But she I don't know. She always just gives the vibe of like she can manage to get from the car to her chair and that's where she re remains for the rest of the day. I don't know. they just They don't use her character.
01:12:54
Speaker
They don't use her character very often. Yeah, I mean, I think it's just that that Bouvier crotchety-ness. She probably just doesn't want to hang out with the family. yeah also probably thinks that their choice of how they voice the character probably hurts the voice actresses. Yeah, it's also probably part of Juma Kazma's decision. i While I think that's possible, I think the the the greater likelihood is like, well, if we're going to have a relative of Mad, we might as well have...
01:13:19
Speaker
selma and patty and selma because they are like unique characters that while are very um low energy they are you know that you know they're unique characters abe simpson is a unique character jacqueline simpson's has has no jacqueline bouvier has no character like she's not like because she's not established she they don't use her for anything So I think that's the main reason why. But it was just interesting to me because Abe is like, they'll just drop Abe into it.
01:13:50
Speaker
Like, even if the episode never has Abe in it again, Abe will show up. They never do that with Marge's mum. She's never just in the background.
01:14:02
Speaker
I think they just like writing Abe lines as well, though, because you can just use him to fill time with just random gags. Abe is used for just be old. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, we've got 30 seconds of runtime to fill. I'll just stick some Abe content in there somewhere. Yeah, absolutely.
01:14:17
Speaker
So we go up to the Marge and Homer in bed and Marge points out, well, my mother and your father seem pretty lonely. Gets Homer to laugh and say, yeah, that is funny. Yeah, but it's weird. I love Homer just casually being a dickhead. Yeah. Marge suggests that maybe they should do something together, which includes going to a matinee or going to that room in the library that's always full of old people. is pure Periodicals. yeah So Homer's response to this almost response this is, ah oh, people don't need companionship. They need to be isolated in the study so we can determine what nutrients they have that we can extract.
01:14:53
Speaker
What the fuck?
Political and Cultural Commentary
01:14:55
Speaker
i did like somewhat Please tell me someone Googled this reference. I have done a lot of Googling about this reference. Like, i i have latched onto this reference and not let go for two days now, I'm going to be honest with you. it is implied that Homer has gotten his opinions from the Ross Perot pamphlet that he's reading in bed. Yeah.
01:15:19
Speaker
I don't get this. Ross Perot was, as we've established, is Homer's specialist subject is independent presidential candidates. Ross Perot was an independent presidential candidate in 1992 and 1996.
01:15:34
Speaker
And he wanted to harvest all people's nutrients. Not as far as I can make out, no. Because I suspect that may not have gone down well in the capital. Yeah, like someone clearly...
01:15:46
Speaker
I guess is, I don't know, dunking on Ross Perot or trying to, like, say something about Ross Perot. But as far as I can make out, like, I haven't really dug into his entire campaign. I've dug into more of his campaign than I should. But, like, by and large,
01:16:00
Speaker
he pretty good opinions like he was he but ran on a bit of a populist platform he did very well for an independent candidate i think he got like just rally you know it's just rallying around the two-party system like america is yeah very proud of their two-party system mean yeah in the next two he got like 20 something percent of the vote which for an independent candidate is incredibly good yeah yeah i know like kind of damn near broke the two-party system into like more of a british sort of multi-party thing
01:16:32
Speaker
People have described him as, like, the father of Donald Trump because of his populist manner of campaigning. Like, his style definitely, like, is reminiscent of the 2016 Trump campaign.
01:16:45
Speaker
But, like his like, he wanted better gun control. He wanted to increase research into AIDS. He supported gay rights. Like, he wanted...
01:16:56
Speaker
more equality he wants to increase the taxes on the rich like as far as i can make out let's hear it for ross perot man i know he sounds pretty good honestly like i'm reading through all his opinions i'm like yeah no this guy seems good yeah no can we help this guy this guy's all right does ross want to come to the uk and have a good hour go it makes me think of that meme of if so-and-so didn't happen and then it shows you know the utopian city it's like if ross perot was elected in america i know it's just shows the utopia Yeah, he was opposed to neoliberalism and Reaganomics, trickle-down economics. Like, he thought that was all, like, a terrible idea and we should get rid of that.
01:17:35
Speaker
He was opposed to the Gulf War. ah Yeah, I know. like What a weird character. What a weird person to then make a a bit about. maybe it was pro choiceing and Maybe it was part of the anti-Ross Perot propaganda.
01:17:49
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. It's a very strange character to do that about. Yeah, very strange. I mean, he'd like we ah he seems like he went far more right-wing later in life. Like, from about 2000, he joined the Republican Party, and like it still seemed like he was outspoken against some stuff, but like you he definitely went more right-wing. Is this where his nutrient plan came in?
01:18:11
Speaker
I don't know. his His son is a massive Trump donor, so, yeah, fuck the pros at this point. What piece of shit. what shame. You've turned me around on him now. Pfft. But like in 1992, like my man's had good ideas and genuinely like also here's the really wild cultural bit about this is that Ross Perot in 1992 was considered a centrist candidate.
01:18:37
Speaker
Like he was middle ground Like do you think any of those opinions Is like generally associated with left wing views These days Which just really shows Yeah it really shows how much the Overton window has shifted To the right in politics these days That like all these things that were just like Yeah this guy is like bang in the middle of politics yeah like all of these things are like Extremely left wing views now Yeah nah it's crazy It's crazy is Is independent presidential candidates Going to become your special subject Can we expect you on Mastermind? It could at this rate. This episode has unfortunately unlocked another special interest in me, apparently. I would love to see you on Mastermind, and then they ask you, why did you choose your special interest subject? And you have to explain why. It's okay. There's this Simpsons episode. It's terrible. But here we go. So I have a Simpsons podcast, all right? And this is why you don't make the edit.
01:19:32
Speaker
We take good to the next day and Marge and Homer and Abe are in the car and Marge has the neat idea of a why doesn't Abe go pick up Marge's mother and Marge go out to dinner. Abe says he'll be back in a jiffy, who runs into the retirement home and comes back with a woman in a wheelchair. Marge then points out that is not my mother. a very like cartoon version of the same woman.
01:19:50
Speaker
Yeah. Oh yeah, it is a different retirement home. It's a Hal Roach Apartments which describes itself as retirement living in the heart of the cemetery district. Oh, Graham.
01:20:00
Speaker
After it's pointed out that it's not Marge's mother, he comes back in and... Can I come to... I would just wise up the window. we Just let her come. Why not? Just let her come along. it always felt so bad for her. So, meanwhile, at P. Piggly's Hogswine Super Schmorg Restaurant. which They really linger on this neon sign as if it's supposed to be really funny.
01:20:22
Speaker
I think this should give you time to read it. There's a lot of text on there. It was, like, mildly amusing, but I was just, like, like yeah again, just padding time. So Marge tries to get her mum and Abe see their interests, which included being swindled by that telemarketing scam.
01:20:38
Speaker
Abe is under the impression it's not a swindle, and one day his credit card numbers will be called up, and one of them is lucky. He'll get a prize. And Jackie points out that she was just happy to talk to someone. That just made me sad, man. Abe notices that she's feeling blooped too, and puts the forks into the potatoes and makes them dance. Does a little Charlie Chaplin rendition, which went on for quite a long time.
01:20:59
Speaker
More paling, yep. Well, actually, the lawyer then comes along and tells him that he's representing the estate of Charles Chaplin and there's a court order to stop this and the bugs then begin to smash up the potatoes. Bending the spoons and then, yes, stomping on the potatoes was really funny.
01:21:14
Speaker
Then go back to Jackie's apartment and Jackie shows a photo of herself being arrested for having her ankles exposed and... Yeah, for indecent exposure. Which I think is an actual reference. I think she is wearing the swimsuit that a woman got arrested for indecent exposure in. Oh, this is this actually a thing? It's meant to be reminiscent of it. Yeah, because I remember there's ah there's an older photo as well. I don't think it's black and white, but...
01:21:38
Speaker
It's that where a woman wore one of the first bikinis to the beach. And you look at it now and you're like, that's just what everyone wears. But they were arrested. she No, she was given a ticket for indecent exposure. A woman who wore what Jacqueline wore was actually arrested.
01:21:55
Speaker
Which is just really interesting. I hadn't realized that was based on something. Yeah, right yeah it's referencing real events. Ooh, that's how learned. Educational. Jacqueline starts lifting off her phones, which included Zelda Fitzgerald, Francis Farmer, and Sylvia Plath.
01:22:08
Speaker
yes Okay. This is one I looked into lightly as well. Like, she says, she says they were all jealous of her good looks and it drove them crazy. And all three of the women that she mentions were people who were institutionalized at some point in their life. What a weird connection. It drove them crazy. They were jealous of Jacqueline's good looks and it drove them crazy. Fair enough. I just thought it was a she old reference. I didn't realize was that. It is also that. Sylvia Platt was born in 1932. I think the other ones are even older. Zelda Fitzgerald born in 1900. Francis Farmer 1913.
01:22:46
Speaker
francis farmer nineteen thirteen Yeah, this is also an old joke as well. So Abe then begins his romanticism, which includes that she reminds him of a poem he can't remember, a song that may not have existed, and a place he's not sure he's ever actually been to. I know this was a gag, but that actually sounds very... I don't know why, it just read very beautifully to me.
01:23:06
Speaker
yeah its like the sort thing There's something so, again again, it's meant to be funny, but I heard it and was just like, wow, that's actually like kind of beautiful and sort of amazingly sums up the idea of love and feeling when you're old.
01:23:23
Speaker
I don't know. mate Maybe I'm just a big old softy, maybe, you know, but I don't know. Something about it was very, it was very beautiful. And go to Abe's in a along mono log and he's feeling funny and he goes, I'm in love. It's a stroke. Oh wait, it's a stroke. We then go to the ambulance going down and we just hear Abe inside going, no way, there's love.
01:23:42
Speaker
And the ambulance attendants just kick him out. They just fucking kick him out, man. And he goes, I'm in love. Down into the freeway. Yeah. Also, sorry, this was a weird thing about America that I know. So like, you know, in most motorways in England, there's like four lanes minimum most of the time on a but on a proper motorway, right?
01:24:01
Speaker
Yeah. Minimum? Four lanes? No, it's three, right? Okay. Yeah. No, yeah. Sometimes there's three lanes. But driving across all of America, 90% of the time, it was two lanes. And i get I get that it's because road maintenance. Imagine having to cover thousands of miles of motorway like that and making sure it's maintained. Because they could barely maintain two lanes.
01:24:22
Speaker
But it was, yeah, it was just really weird. You know, there was two lanes on one side, two lanes on the other. And I was just, the whole time was just like, when when we first started, I was like, when are we going to hit the motorway? And then we never did because that's what the freeway, the freeway is just two lanes. It's very strange, very strange. The only time you'll see like the big multi-lane is it is on highways in the city.
01:24:42
Speaker
Mmm, okay. It's very, very odd. Yeah, because, like, you got the stereotype, the running gag of a just one more lane, bro. Just give me one more lane. Yeah. And you see, you know, pictures of a motorway with, like, 16 lanes or whatever.
01:24:53
Speaker
Oh, dude, driving in Los Angeles, absolute hell. we We genuinely nearly I've heard that about Los Angeles, yes. A dude just fucking, like, right at the turnoff on a fucking highway between two lanes where there's the it's just wall if he'd if he hadn't stopped in time. Just wall.
01:25:15
Speaker
He stopped so quickly that we almost barreled into him and then had a fucking Tesla drive into god It was fucking, I hate, I hate LA.
01:25:27
Speaker
I always thought I'd go to LA and be like, I found my people. No, the food, amazing. The whole time, the whole time I was in l LA, I was like, everyone feels like they're trying to sell me something.
01:25:42
Speaker
even Even just themselves. Everyone in l LA felt so desperate. It was so weird. But the sushi was amazing. So they have that. And actually the tar pits, because I went to the, the reason we went was for the La Brea tar pits and they were awesome.
01:25:58
Speaker
And that translates to the tar, the tar tar pits. Fun fact. Anyway, Simpsons. Yes, anyway, Simpsons. Bart is watching the ah Impulse Buying Network and we see that Troy McClaw is hosting. We have already seen in this episode that Bart has ah an actual TV in his room. We have seen on other occasions that Bart has an actual TV in his room. Why the actual fuck is he holding a tiny TV? What bit is this serving? Bart.
01:26:27
Speaker
Why? why they They took their time to... Why am i so angry about this? they We have also seen previously in other episodes that Bart has one of these little portable TVs as well, though. So the thing he's seen to own. Why did they take the time to draw this?
01:26:42
Speaker
What does it add that he has a teeny tiny TV? I don't know. I don't know. yeah So Troy McClaw is hosting and e says, you may remember me from such films as the boat jacking of Super Ship 79 and Hydro, the man with the hydraulic arms.
01:26:57
Speaker
I'd watch that. I would watch literally any movie Troy McClure appeared in. Also, I was thinking, i thought it's funny earlier, i was when we mentioned Lionel Hutz in the previous episode, i was like, oh, that's weird. We saw Lionel Hutz, but then didn't see Troy McClure. But then I realized we do see him in this episode.
01:27:13
Speaker
Yeah. Because it's it they come in twos. He usually shows up together in the same episode, to be quite honest. Usually, yeah. John McClough then reveals that you can own a piece of Itchy and Scratchy history, and you know, one of 800,000 of these, and...
01:27:28
Speaker
and It'll be everything, even the cynical members of Generation X will like these, and we'll see, we've got to a Generation X going, yeah, groovy. God, that hit me like a fucking truck. like Depicting Generation X as, like, the fucking disaffected teenagers, and like, oh my god, what the fuck. I did have to double check, but yeah, Gen X would have been sort of ages 14 to 29 in 1994. Jesus! Jesus Christ.
01:27:53
Speaker
Yeah, I know. I know. Brunch of Miser's on the show and he that says that these are positively 100% going to increase in value, which goes as the announcer to go, not a guarantee. Not guarantee. to Just a random question. does anyone know do do Do either of you own any kind of like collectibles like this? Because I think the only thing...
01:28:09
Speaker
Off the top of my head that I own like this is a signed copy of of an issue of Nightwing that has a, like, it's in its own special sealed case and has a certificate of authenticity.
01:28:24
Speaker
Does that, do do either of you own, oh, and my dad owns, like, a Star Trek cell, but my dad owns a bunch of shit like that. do Do either of you own any, like, actual, like, collectibles of that nature? ah yeah, i I'm sure where it is now, but somewhere I do. I was bought for Christmas one year, like a little collectible red dwarf thing.
01:28:44
Speaker
i'm not surprised it's red dwarf with you. Yeah, it's signed by Craig Charles and everything. So, yeah, it's is cute. I years ago got a picture with um the potato head guy. I've forgotten his name.
01:28:57
Speaker
Potato head guy? The android. Oh, Crichton. Crichton. Robert Llewellyn. Crichton. Yeah, I got a picture with him years ago. That's cool. Yeah, he was at... Not MCM.
01:29:09
Speaker
there The one in Leeds. Whatever that was called. Wasn't it just called Leeds Comic Con or something? Yeah, he was there. it was nice guy He's a nice guy. He was promoting his book. My dad read his book and said it was great.
01:29:20
Speaker
Michael, any any collectibles? No, don't think so. once du dont after Michael, ah please don't take this insult. You come across as a guy that has a lot of collectibles. I can't think of anything that I've got that... Damn.
01:29:33
Speaker
Rare or... Fair enough. Anyway, Simpsons. mean, they don't have to be rare, they just have to be one of 800,000. Yeah, exactly. Bart decides he wants one of these, and we then see Bart and Helm have another interaction following up on the of some more put-on voices of Pardon Me, Sir. Yeah, they pump into each other and they've both pickpocketed each other get what they... Bart's the winner in this situation because he's got Homer's wallet.
01:30:00
Speaker
i Yeah, I think it's a shame that we don't see what Homer wanted to use the slingshot for. Yeah, yeah, true enough. So we then see hit Bart on the phone to the credit card company, and as he's ordering this thing, and the first cards that he tries to use are the Federal Breast Inspectors and the License to Ogle. Jesus. License to Ogle, man.
01:30:19
Speaker
Who then says Visor and goes, oh no, sorry, Visa. It's these new dentures. Because Homer's old. In Bart's size, anyway. He's 36. He's 36.
01:30:30
Speaker
So we go to the family dinner and Marge thinks it's wonderful that Homer's dad and the home of her mother have fallen in love. Homer says he's opposed to the thing and Bart goes, damn opposed. Well, Homer says damn opposed, but Bart copies him. Bart says, damn, damn, damn opposed.
01:30:43
Speaker
Marge questions what possible of a reason he could have against it and Homer says, if they marry, we'll be brother and sister. Then our kids will be horrible freaks with pink skin, no other bites than five fingers on each hand. oh This thing got me. This is really funny.
01:30:55
Speaker
So we go to the kids and the kids gave just go into the ah normal. They would look normal. Do you think Simpsons would have been popular if they looked like that? I think the unique look of The Simpsons helps. Absolutely. probably I think so. Are they trying to ape a specific cartoon style with that? Is that supposed to be a a known quantity here?
01:31:15
Speaker
I don't know. it gives me sort of later Hanna-Barbera, but that might just be my bias towards Hanna-Barbera. I do know that a lot of people that worked on Hanna-Barbera, like animation-wise, worked on Simpsons.
01:31:29
Speaker
Not in like ah that capacity. like They just moved jobs. But... Maybe, maybe, because again, if you think like sort of, they have a slightly more detailed Scooby-Doo vibe, in my opinion.
01:31:43
Speaker
But i I don't think it was trying to ape anything, if you know I was to guess. Yeah, I think that design I've actually seen of Hannah Barrett at some point back. com Yeah, exactly. was But then cuts to Marge on the phone trying to call up on to try to set Abe up and we just hear Abe in the background going, tell her I love her and So Marge tells him to go away because he'll come on to strong scenario.
01:32:03
Speaker
Then we just hear Abe get onto the phone going, I love you. And Marge has to go into comforting over going, I love you, I love you, I love you. Yeah, this was weird. Yeah. Anyone remember that when when you could do that with a phone, just pick up another phone in the house and just join in the call? Also, yeah, when Marge then hangs up, Abe would still be on the phone.
01:32:22
Speaker
That is true, yeah. No, that would still be connected, huh? Yeah. So he could then just rattle off whatever the fuck he wants down the phone line. Yep, yeah, he could do that. oh well that's not Don't think about it too much. Don't think about it. now think about it So we cut two parts waiting for his delivery and we see that the first special delivery home is since in here. Stop sending letters to Mr. Sinatra. What letters is Homer sending that gets him a fucking dude to punch him in the face?
01:32:55
Speaker
Not flattery, I'm guessing. Yeah, sorry, do isn't there a bit where they, the like one of the earlier episodes where we find out that Homer has like negative opinions about Frank Sinatra, isn't that, I swear that's a thing. It sounds very familiar, i am so, and I'm immediately searching for Sinatra in Frankie, I can see what the hell comes up, but. But he has like some opinions about Sinatra.
01:33:20
Speaker
No, there are a few Sinatra bits, but none of them I think we've even seen yet, so I'm not sure. All right, fair enough. Nah, could be wrong. ah Well, it sounds like i am wrong. The doorbell rings again, and now there's a teenager that says he's got a special toy for home, and the bar answers a bit more cautiously, gets punched in the face, and he's told to stop stealing golf balls on stealing golf balls, man. No golf course cares that much.
01:33:41
Speaker
Yeah, no, golf balls are free. Yeah, no, you you can just go you can just get those things. I mean, ultimately, fuck golf courses in general. Oh, 100%. Sorry, granddad, but fuck golf. Stealing golf balls is praxis. You should steal all the golf balls you can get. Vandalizing golf courses is is a... That's even better praxis to vandalize golf courses.
01:34:02
Speaker
um This is not legal advice. This is not legal advice, but you should vandalize golf courses. Fuck golf courses. They are worse for the environment than half the shit that we do. oh that's so bad so we go to the doorbell again and uh we just hear uh
01:34:20
Speaker
I've got a special delivery for you, and Barty's thought told him to go away. I love the way he keeps saying special delivery. Just keeps saying it in that really weird, effective way. emphasizes special. It's so I cannot give you your special delivery. If you don't open the door, I can't give you your special delivery. Is this Funsville guy? this Next Up Funsville? Yeah, it's the same voice They don't draw him as the same character, think this is the voice. No, of course not. It's the same voice, yeah.
01:34:46
Speaker
So Bart looks through the thing, male slot, and then sees that it is the animation cell, and he opens the door, and the guy hands over his special delivery, and punches him in the face, and goes, that's for keeping me waiting.
Abe's Date with Jackie
01:34:57
Speaker
So Bart brings over his animation cell for Lisa to see, and Lisa is very excited over about it, saying, that's so cool, that's so exciting, and when Bart finally pulls out, goes, that's so crappy.
01:35:05
Speaker
Yeah, i've seen um I've seen a couple people that have, like, animation cells that are, like, of this calibre, and they've shown me it as if I'm supposed to care. And I'm like, look, I'm glad you're happy, but it is shit.
01:35:19
Speaker
So we then see that Barca revealed that the cell cost $350, and... Oh, so much money. And then we see a ghostly apparition of Nelson appear at Barge Hall, and then go back to the real Nelson on the floor of the cookie market. Who thought of this bit? thought of this that is very strange bit so he's having some form of seizures that pooh goes he's having an out-of-body experience this is very bad for business that's business which happened to hell that he's having an out-of-body experience as well yeah who just knows so we cut back to the simpsons living room and uh abe is in his suit with his hair slicked back and uh abe is very excited for his date which is speaking of weird bits
01:36:00
Speaker
yeahp So Abe is going to, this is an exact quote, smooch her like a mule-ing an apple. And then he makes some noises and licking and stuff happens after that. so He then feels he's got some naughty dentures which he turns off the lights as they say, and they yeah say, kiss me, sweetie. yep But then when Homer puts the lights back on, it still says it.
01:36:21
Speaker
So he didn't need to turn the lights off. but It needs the light to absorb it. like i guess I guess he was already lit, wasn't it? Shit. No, that doesn't work. No, you're right. Homer declares that will not work, and the jazz band kicks in, and Homer says that he's got to play it. Cool.
01:36:37
Speaker
So what happens next is Homer comes on to his father. I am, again, fairly certain this is a reference. I don't know what it is, but it was weird. It's a very strange bit. So Homer to jazz music teaches Abe that the secret to getting a kiss is just putting your arm around and doing a yawn, which works on Abe.
01:36:57
Speaker
ape I did like Abe's line of... So if I take your advice and make your partner move, then my chances for love will slightly improve. Wait, is Homer a boomer? Um... Because he's 36. So he'd be he'd be a very young boomer if he was.
01:37:14
Speaker
he's 30, it probably depends on which which year the episode you're watching is set in, I suppose. yeah Yeah. I don't know why it just came to me about the whole, like, the Gen X being something to whatever
Generational Humor and Animation Antics
01:37:31
Speaker
age they were. Because my parents are Gen X, and they were my dad was 30 when I was born, so he was 31 when this episode aired, and the and Gen X was being referred to as it was.
01:37:43
Speaker
Yeah, so Homer, I mean, I imagine over the course of The Simpsons has probably been three different generations, which is just a horrifying concept, really. Realistically now, yeah, Homer's a millennial. Homer is a millennial now. Homer is, like, I think an elder millennial, but, like, he is. yeah I think you and think he's canonically 40 now, but that would still plonk him straight in, yeah, millennial. But at the time of this episode, a 36-year-old would have been born in 1958, which is smack bang in baby boomer territory. Yep.
01:38:13
Speaker
Wow. Okay. Damn. So we know that Homer's going to have another baby because Grandpa's seduction works on him as he does his little giggle. can Yeah. Yeah. Homer asks him, what's the rule? And Grandpa says, play it cool. The music stops. They both sit down.
01:38:28
Speaker
We then see that Jackie rings the doorbell and he jumps back. He does not play it cool. they read They animated that, man. They animated that really well. like you did They put more time than they needed to into his like flailing feet.
01:38:41
Speaker
ah Simpsons Archive does not list many references, comparatively compared to most episodes, for this particular one. So, like, if this was a thing, I don't know what it were or what it was. No, I don't know if it's a reference. I just decided they put a lot of effort in. Oh, sorry, the the play it cool thing.
01:38:59
Speaker
The play it cool thing? Nah, definitely a reference. I just don't think anyone got it yet. But it's not debt there is no way that's not a reference. They would not just start doing that. 32 years later, nobody has figured out what the reference is.
01:39:12
Speaker
Probably. all they just Again, no one cares about this episode. It could be that. There'll be careful to Bark in the comic book store and he's trying to sell Scratchy's arm and the comic book guy points out that the picture of Snagglepuss is worth something but the arm is not.
01:39:26
Speaker
Bark is offered something for it which is a phone that is shaped like Merryworth and Bark is then also told not a buy said told not to groan in the shop. It seems like the Merryworth phone is worth something.
01:39:37
Speaker
Although probably not three hundred and fifty dollars that bart paid for the but... Probably not. We then cut to Abe and Jackie dancing and we established that this particular song is her favourite song.
01:39:48
Speaker
Abe declares that he can't remember when he felt this young and he says, no, I really can't. So, we're about to kiss and we have Abe Simpson looming over us his licks but lips puffed. But at that moment, Mr. Burns shows up and decides he's going to cut in. Abe does his a classic old man what, but don't sneak up on me. and I was really confused why it was Mr. Burns until the episode continues.
01:40:11
Speaker
Burns then ah gets the music picked up and he's doing some funky dancing. that's ah Yeah, and all of a sudden Jackie can fucking move. Grandpa is annoyed and says that he's going to get his revenge by giving him the frowning of a
Burns' Romantic Pursuit
01:40:24
Speaker
lifetime. and I like that. To be fair, this is a hell of a frown. Oh, dude, if I was on the receiving end of that frown, I'd fucking join a coven.
01:40:32
Speaker
That was fucking... It was an intense frown. Holy shit. It does nothing to Mr. Furtons, though. It doesn't, and Grandpa Ventures just gives up. We don't see him on a park bench outside while... um Burns and Jackie leave and Jackie says he's the devil himself. Burns gets quite annoyed because he's like, who told you? Oh, I see. He then uses the old, I'd say you're an angel, but the angels don't dance like that. It's quite a smooth line. That's a great line.
01:40:58
Speaker
And then we then see that Smithers is putting him into the limo and he's not very happy. Yeah, he groans at her. I feel like this is one of the first, like, really, like, again, not for not first, sorry, but, like, they they're really starting to, like, hammer home the Burns sexual thing.
01:41:15
Speaker
Oh, yeah, yeah. They're making pretty obvious here. Yeah, we had the creepy, hello, Smithers, you're really good at turning me on. We had that bit. But that's, that's, that's sexy stuff.
01:41:28
Speaker
This was romantic stuff. You know what I mean? Yeah. like he's not just a he's not just a sexual pervert. He's a romantic pervert. Best kind of pervert. The best kind of pervert.
01:41:39
Speaker
I see the tape starts walking up down the street lamps and he says, good night, Mrs. Bouvier, wherever you are. The lawyer comes back as is is' he's representing the estate of Jimmy DiVanti and the goons once again interrupt and stamp on his hat.
01:41:53
Speaker
This pumps Grandpa to say, well, is it all right for you if I just laid in the street and died? And the lawyer actually checks. I love the sound of him like looking through his papers and go, yeah, that'd be fine. That was funny. That was good. This is the episode where they very much learned that repetition is comedy.
01:42:08
Speaker
eat a little bit. There's a few jokes are just like, what if we just did that again? Yeah, but that's the thing. I feel like Simpsons is a good example of of not overdoing it, at least in the early seasons. I'm not going to comment on the later seasons because I haven't watched them.
01:42:22
Speaker
But... in the early seasons i think they did manage to keep it under two or three times and they usually nail it i'm not gonna say always but again they usually nail it in doing because again it's they did the joke again but then paid it off with him being like is it okay if i curl up and die and they're like um yeah yeah I'm not really criticising because like it does work. my Repetition is comedy. like It's a rule of threes for a reason. I know they only do the lawyer thing twice here, but like you know if you do do the same joke three times with you know slight variance, like it does it is funny like to see the same thing done again. You're like, oh, haha, that's the thing that they did. Repetition legitimises.
01:43:00
Speaker
yeah Repetition legitimises. Repetition legitimises. Sure it does. Anyway, Simpsons. I've got to Mr. Burns in his office and he asks me was a if he can guess what happened last night. His response is, you had sex with Adam.
01:43:14
Speaker
And Burns' response is, no, she said no. You know how many women have no 130, but she was the first one since I'm a billionaire. A billionaire in 1990 as well. Yeah, I caught that. like I don't think he's ever been like described as a billionaire with a B specifically prior to this. i think this is the first time I've ever called Mr. Burns an actual billionaire.
01:43:32
Speaker
I don't think they've ever like gone into... I think they might have used the term multi-millionaire, but I feel like they've very they've often avoided giving and a specific... I mean, like the two times I can think of off the top of my head where like particular figures have kind of come into things and they've seemed like a big deal, at least or at least ah a decent deal, is one, the softball episode where they're gambling over a million dollars.
01:43:56
Speaker
And then yeah second, when he sells the power plant, I can't remember how much they sell for, but it's not a billion. it We're still on the order of millions. And he's like jumping for joy at that much money.
01:44:07
Speaker
Burns is the declaring that he's in love and he's telling everyone, including his the florist, his physiotherapist. Whoopty-doo. Not whoopty-doo. What is it? It's not whoopty-doo. It's not whoopty-doo, is it? It's something else. Smithers says something. Is it whoopty-doo?
01:44:21
Speaker
It's whoopty-doo. My apologies. It's whoopty-doo. I did like Burns just running around saying whoopty-doo in his Burns way. I won't do a Burns impression because it offends that one guy the comments.
01:44:34
Speaker
I've just looked it up and he sold the power plant for 100 million. Damn. That seems quite low for a power plant, actually. For a nuclear power plant, actually, is a shithole. I don't think we've got the time or inclination to relitigate that, but I'm sure we looked into how much a power plant costs at the time.
01:44:52
Speaker
Yeah, we probably did. That sounds like us. yeah Burns is telling everyone about his being in love, including his florist, physical trainer, and the President of the United States, who just happens to be there. I'm just happy you found love.
01:45:05
Speaker
Sure. So Burns starts announcing it over to Tanoi and says, if anyone that's found love can leave early, everyone runs off except me. That poor guy. And I just cry. That poor guy.
01:45:17
Speaker
Michael, do you want a hug? At some point. LAUGHTER
01:45:24
Speaker
Burns asks Smirth to help him write a love note to his love, and we then see Smirth as come out with a very beautiful thing, which Burns himself declares that that's marvellous, and says, how did he think of it so fast?
01:45:35
Speaker
Smirth then says, sent it to you on your birthday as he runs crying out of the room. I have something in my eye. We then go to the Simpson house and Marge is feeling bad for Grandpa and Homer says, his dad said that this guy is a repulsive, obnoxious old billionaire, so let's be extra nice to him not quite figuring out that this is Mr. Burns.
01:45:55
Speaker
We then see Mr. Burns at the door and both Homer and Marge scream and Burns, of course, cannot remember their names, he has to go ask Smiris. Smiris spitefully tells him that it's Fred Flintstone and his lovely wife Wilma.
01:46:06
Speaker
And he says, Burns has brought chocolates, which Homer grabs and goes, yabba dabba doo. I like how he as well, when he sees ah Maggie, he's like, this must be Pebbles. So that means in that short sentence, Smithers gave him all of the fucking Flintstones characters. God, yeah. Yeah, yeah, no. he He told them who they all were, yeah. Then cut to Marge being quite upset in the kitchen, but eventually comes the thing of, oh, if he makes my mum happy, that's all right. And Homer's response is, that's right, money. Your money's happiness is all over, Thomas. Out of interest, who did Smithers say Bart and Lisa were?
01:46:38
Speaker
Yeah, because guess Bart would be Bam Bam. But then, yeah, I don't know. Bam is the Rebels. Was Barney's child, yes. No, I agree. agree. I was already thinking this. Don't worry. But Smith has had to cover his bases.
01:46:53
Speaker
So that would be Bam Bam because there is no other child And then I would imagine he said that they have a daughter Named Pebbles And the daughter just happened to come to the door Maybe, possibly Definitely overthinking this Absolutely Well you didn't see the deleted scene I saw Lisa Mr. Slade but ah li Lisa was the bird that's the phone. It's a living!
01:47:20
Speaker
So, Burns is sitting on the sofa and Bart gets an idea and he points out that Grandma really really likes it when people are nice when they give him money. Burns' response to this run along, peewee, baby gets nothing. At which point, Bart pulls out his guns, which are filled with ketchup and mustard.
01:47:34
Speaker
And he says, basically, that Burns will him $350 or he's going to be a mess. Burns then stands up and cowboy music begins and he goes, you don't have idiots. Wow. Bart does have the guts and squirts it with mustard and Burns just happens have 350 bucks on him so throws it.
01:47:50
Speaker
But Bart drops the gun and now Burns and... Why didn't Bart ask for more, man? and He just just wanted to cover his losses. Yeah. Cover the spread. Jackie comes down for the day and we didn't see that Burns and Barb conspired to show us X. At which point ah Burns has to accept defeat.
A Comedic Wedding Chaos
01:48:06
Speaker
And we see that Abe is in the nursing home looking sad and Jasper comes in with some of the old folks and says, ah we've got you a bit of a gift. We've got you a special cake. We then hear some coughing coming from the gate window. Jess has to look and go, oh get the nurse. is the Is it the joke that the stripper suffocated or that it's an old old woman stripper and she's just old?
01:48:28
Speaker
Because he said get the nurse, you'd think maybe it was one of the residents. Yeah, I think so. know Probably a Lilacolome, Lilacolome on that one. but yeah yeah An elderly stripper resident who suffocated. she What a Christmas card. LAUGHTER We cut two Luigis and Burns orders a bottle of wine. and Oh, this got me. This was funny. So Jackie says she's never been to a more romantic restaurant and we just hear Luigi in the background.
01:48:55
Speaker
Salvatore, break out the cheap hooch for Mr. No-Tip and the dried up zombie. Dried up zombie! Man, that's fucking savage! i to be fair, I didn't catch that line through the accent. I didn't yeah no like i didn't i didn't pick up on the fact that he called him Mr. No-Tip and the dried up zombie he's captured. He's captured and all, yeah, it's so brutal.
01:49:21
Speaker
We then go to Bart revealing to Homer that to he charged 450 bucks to his credit card, but here's the cash. Homer doesn't quite work out that the 350 is from his credit card, but he realises he can buy some transcripts on Nightline. Yeah, what a weird thing to buy!
01:49:35
Speaker
so Bart's okay, but he's going to keep the Merry Whirth phone, because it's a stern and sensible face for a minded Moxley when thinks stupid again. He rings and Bart, and Milhouse is on the phone and asks Bart wants to go play with the x-ray machine in the abandoned hospital, and Bart goes, yeah, sure.
01:49:48
Speaker
Apparently, I'm 32. And if I found out there was an abandoned x-ray machine, I'd play with it. Yeah, no kidding. Then see Burns is on a picnic with Jackie. He says, he puts a diamond ring in the champagne says, I think you'll find a little surprise. Jackie just follows the whole thing home, including the ring.
01:50:08
Speaker
And Burns goes, don't worry, I've got another one around here. I just put his hand into a boiling hot fondue set.
01:50:17
Speaker
Dan Steyn gets himself into a kneeling position as his knee makes voice. are beginning to brief. Campbell, be. Steyn gets himself into his makes horrific voice. beginning I be Campbell, kneeling position as his knee a horrific As knees beginning fill with fluid, might it seems that is we Simpsons' kitchen that he's an evil and says, can provide for me and he's a great kisser, which disgusts Homer.
01:50:37
Speaker
It disgusts me too. So Marge then asks about ah Grandpa and Jackie says, he's a deer, but he's too much of a fusspot. But then Marge says, we're aware Grandpa's problems, but compared to Mr. Burns, he's judge-freaking Reinhold.
01:50:50
Speaker
which point Jackie goes, I don't know who that is. Yeah. Yeah, go you like felt the same. Same, Jacqueline. Grandpa is walking down the street and he's got, he says, he's looking on the bright side of life because now he can read things that he finds on the ground.
01:51:05
Speaker
He picks one of these things up and it's a latex condo. He goes, boy, I'd like to live one of those. What fucking weird bit. So we then see, then spots that Jackie is trying on a wedding dress and there's a little tear in his eye as he walks off.
01:51:18
Speaker
It's the day of the wedding and Barney arrives and Homer tells him to sit on the groom's side, which has nobody there. So we then just see it a man in like a Kaiser helmet and Barney tells him to get down in front of the guy just goes, nine.
01:51:30
Speaker
Sure. Surely Mayor Quimby would be on the groom's side. yeah It is fascinating to see how basically all of Springfield winds up on, I guess, like, yeah, the bride's side. So you've got Jasper. Some random old woman that knows fucking no one.
01:51:44
Speaker
Yeah, you've got Apu, you've got Jasper, you've got Hibbert, you've got Mole Man. Yeah, like literally half of Springfield, because like there's just not that many actual identifiable characters and they brought them all here, um are all on Jacqueline's side of the aisle. It's weird.
01:52:03
Speaker
See, everybody's walking down the aisle and Lisa asks if Grandpa was invited and Bart says, nope, his envelope just had to check for the gas company. I liked that bit. That was a good bit. So Marge and Smithers are walking together and they're both scowling about the whole thing.
01:52:16
Speaker
The Rebel Lovejoy begins the ceremony and it's going on about all the people that may or may not have gotten married over the years and Burns, quite rightly in my opinion, tells him he's had enough of hearing about Blizz Blazz and Him-Ham and says, get to the bloody point. That is like the the fucking Burns equivalent of Sky Daddy. I'm not sure what you mean by that. i like You've never heard of God referred to us as as Magic Sky Daddy?
01:52:42
Speaker
Yes, but yeah, I didn't quite follow what you're Burns equivalent of Sky Daddy? Yeah, because Burns... I'm fucking wasted on this show. Just carry on. Sure.
01:52:55
Speaker
I'm sure the audience got it. It's me that's an idiot. No, it's always me. It's always me. We all know this. Just carry on. Burns takes Jackie to be his wife, but Bart drops the ring and Burns tells him that to pick it up, he'll get really upset.
01:53:10
Speaker
Marge is subtly trying to point out that Burns is being a bit of a jerky as he kicks him by the arse. She just goes, I know, I know. Burns rather roughly puts the wedding ring on her finger. And then we see that Lovejoy asks her about and then Moonlight Serenade starts playing and Jackie's like, ooh, this is my favourite song. I specifically requested no romantic music.
01:53:31
Speaker
the wedding. Yep. Then Sven reveals that Abe was playing the music and he starts banging on the glass window going, Mrs. Bouvier, Mrs. Bouvier. then breaks the glass then falls. Which is a reference to a movie, but I've only seen it referenced in Wayne's World.
01:53:46
Speaker
It's a reference to The Graduates, I'm led to understand. Ah, okay. know I'm amazed I've never seen The Graduate. I should watch The Graduate. pro Should we set ourselves the challenge again? Are we doing another let's watch a movie off the back of The Simpsons thing? Should we do that? Should we watch The Graduate? Probably should, yeah. I've heard it's amazing. Alright, we'll watch The Graduate then. Abe falls and lands on the floor, but he gets straight back up, so apparently he's fine. Yeah. Abe then asks Jackie if she's sure she wants to be Mrs. Montgomery Burns and wouldn't she rather be Mrs. Abraham J. Simpson?
01:54:17
Speaker
Jackie firmly says no and Abe is sad and burns drinks but Jackie basically decides I don't want to be either and Abe goes good enough for me as he runs out of the church with her arm in arm as everyone's throwing the confetti and they get on the old people bus and we hear that the Simon and Garfunkel song seems to be playing over the thing And Grandpa tells Otto to turn off that racket And Grandpa goes, nope, not a chance And the bus just goes off into the distance As the custom song begins to play Yeah, this um the The shot of them In the car with the the background Is also a reference to in a movie But it's a black and white flick that i've Apparently it's very classic but Because it's a very like lingering Because I think it's Woody Allen Is the guy in the film I think
01:55:03
Speaker
Simmers Archive also has this bit pegged as being The Graduate specifically as well. So the organ bit and the bit on the bus, I suppose, both apparently The Graduate. Okay, i get I guess it might be, but I could have swat... Alright, good problem. I haven't seen the movie. Yeah, well, we will.
01:55:20
Speaker
And then, yeah, there's this weird sort of Song going on. Yeah, parody version of Sound of Silence. Yeah. And Grandpa and ga also begins to tell a story towards towards the end.
01:55:32
Speaker
yeah Yeah, no, that's good. Yeah. Yeah. As usual, Abe rambling. And then it gets the Gracie films bit and she shushes and ah she shushes him because he's still going. do do do do Yeah.
01:55:47
Speaker
So what did we think? Yeah, I genuinely like this one more. um it's It's still kind of dull overall. Like, it again, it was fun to talk about, but I think that was partly the alcohol kicking in.
01:55:58
Speaker
The B plot goes nowhere. The A plot is just odd. the The thing that came across for me is I felt like this felt more like a season one and two episode. do you Did you guys get that vibe?
01:56:13
Speaker
In what way? In the sense that it was a more traditional sitcom episode of there was a plot. Yeah, yeah. Like, ah yeah you know, it there's a story that's going on within the family, very standard sitcom, thing happens, reset to zero.
01:56:30
Speaker
yeah okay yeah in that sense yeah for sure yeah it's not like getting an elephant or going to space kind of nonsense it's not completely silly slapstick it still had simpsons absurdism absolutely but it felt like a leftover plot from like season one or two that they were just like let's just use this Yeah, yeah. It's definitely, it's more of a, like a, it's one that's got some emotion to it It's got some actual, like, feelings and stuff. And it's not just gag, gag, gag, gag. gag It's like, yeah what if, what if people, like, did stuff and interacted with each other and had emotions? Yeah. I genuinely think the bits in this episode landed way better for me personally.
01:57:10
Speaker
i don't know why. i think they they they just they just were more funny to me. Maybe because, again, they weren't Bart bits. Because, I don't know, sometimes Bart bits just are just weird to me.
01:57:21
Speaker
Oh, since you're wanting to tie things into Stephen King, the original draft of this script was based around misery.
01:57:30
Speaker
no What? How? How? how did Does Jacqueline kidnap Abe? What the fuck? The first draft of the script had Grandpa getting injured on Mr. Burns' property and stuck there, leading him to think that Burns would kill him.
01:57:45
Speaker
The script ran to 85 pages long and they decided to script to scrap it, basically. Were they stoned writing this season? I mean probably don't think had anything to do with what it became I think it was just like where they started as far as writing it goes I think the starting point was don't we just have an episode about elderly characters and that's what came out of it Yeah probably Yeah John, Michael, what do you guys think?
01:58:14
Speaker
Yeah I don't that its mor buts I think John's had his classic had their classic enjoy talking about it more Yeah, there were there were a few gags in there that I think, I guess, i I had forgotten about by virtue of the fact that most of it is just a bit slow and a bit of a drag. Like, you reminded me that, like, there were some good bits. Yeah, there were so there were a few good gags in there that I had, like, absolutely forgotten because most of the episode is just, like... Absolutely. okay Not very funny.
01:58:47
Speaker
No, it's it's not. It's kind of... But I think the thing is, is for for me, this episode wasn't funny because it wasn't always trying to be. Whereas the previous episode was trying to be funny and I found it actively not funny.
01:59:04
Speaker
do Do you see where where my stance is there? Like, I don't think this episode was trying to be super funny. So it succeeded at what it was doing. Whereas the last episode was genuinely trying to make me laugh and I just didn't laugh.
01:59:16
Speaker
so that's yeah yeah That's where my tipping of the scales came from Sure, okay I mean, this led me down to ah down a rabbit hole about Ross Perot and I've gained a new special interest so it's got that going for it We need to do a pub quiz but As long as it's a Ross Perot round, we're in I feel like the three of us would do alright at a pub quiz I have some extremely niche and specific knowledge, but what I do know, I know plenty about. Yeah.
01:59:44
Speaker
Michael, any thoughts? Yeah, no, the episode was perfectly serviceable. There were a few moments that made me laugh, so again, not a great deal to it, but pretty happy.
01:59:57
Speaker
No, I think that's fair. In terms of society, i think you could you could fucking stretch and say this episode shows how older people still have rich, interconnected lives that we just don't usually bother with because they're old.
02:00:12
Speaker
That is so seriously a joint-bustingly, knee-filling-with-fluid stretch. Yeah. I mean, yeah, my takeaway on this is something that, like, I guess a lot of stuff sort of realises at some point and decides to make a point of, which is old people deserve love too.
02:00:29
Speaker
Yeah. Which is, yeah, basically the same thing. Very nice. That's sweet. How was this two two hours? How do we talk for two hours? We were ahead of time. I know. Somebody decided we were ahead of time and decided to kill someone. It's always my fault. No, I know. Just like it's always for the bit, it's always my fault we're delayed. It always is. I'm not denying that. I talk 70% more than anyone else on this show. Hang on a second. Hang on, hang on, hang on.
02:00:59
Speaker
We've not done our out-of-homas. We have not done any scores on this one, though. I give it a why reset to zero out of Homer because I genuinely think if they just kept this, it would have kind of been interesting.
02:01:11
Speaker
If they'd kept that Abe and Jacqueline were in a relationship. I think the only reason they didn't is because it it is kind of uncomfortable that Marge and Homer's parents are dating.
02:01:24
Speaker
Yeah, like, the the Simpsons, end of the have to be, like, the average American family with, like, you know, 2.4 children and, you know, like, so having the parents be married is just a bit weird, isn't it? Is that why Maggie is permanently so young? it because that's 2.4 children because Maggie's a baby?
02:01:44
Speaker
i don't know Possibly. but I think that's why they've got the, yeah, um if yeah, have quite possibly actually thinking about it, yeah. Michael, give me your out of Homer, you saucy devil. hi I'm giving it a played cool out of Homer.
02:01:58
Speaker
Was it played cool? It's played too cool. You're having a cool composure watching it, but there's a moment that makes you absolutely panic. Finally.
02:02:09
Speaker
John. A Ross Perot pamphlet out of Homer. You stay away from my nutrients. Okay, fine. You're not old enough for them to want your nutrients yet. don't know, what's in there he's getting there. That's why we keep him around, is when we need the nutrients.
02:02:30
Speaker
I did wonder why when I met John over Christmas, they were holding a straw. you That's why I had so many syringes on me. Oh Alrighty.
02:02:44
Speaker
Is that our thoughts? Any more societal takeaways? Not really. Again, i i i did prefer this episode to the last one, but again, I i enjoy talking about it way more than enjoy. I feel like I need to start drinking while watching The Simpsons instead of talking about it and see what see what that does for an episode. We'll give it a go, see how that works out. Yeah.
02:03:07
Speaker
But we're going to watch The Graduate for it, so I am happy about that. I mean, the last one worked out pretty well. I enjoyed the hell out of Thelma and Louise. Thelma and Louise is a fucking masterpiece. That was banger of a film. I adore that film.
02:03:22
Speaker
Michael, are you going to watch The Graduate with us? Well, not with us, but, you know. Maybe, we'll see. Michael doesn't join in. Michael is old. I also watched Dr. Strangelove off the back of this as well, which is also a pretty solid little film. Oh, that dude in the comments lost his fucking mind. i should watch Dr. Strangelove. I'm sorry, dude, in the comments, but you were, like, so upset that three millennials hadn't watched Dr. fucking Strangelove. Grow the fuck up.
02:03:51
Speaker
Alrighty, do we want to promote some stuff? Because we are running so fucking long. Matt, what's going on? We're not running long. Like, this will edit down. I have kind of stopped streaming at the moment because i'm deaf I'm really focusing on voice acting more than anything. I was in a little horror project called The Dead Smile. Go watch that.
02:04:09
Speaker
i will I will say it is an amateur project, so you know treat it with kindness. i'm I'm proud of the voice acting I did for it. I've audit auditioned for a bunch of indie games, so please keep your fingers and toes crossed because I would love to be in iny in in a in an indie game. That would be so much fun for me.
02:04:27
Speaker
And also, yeah, if you do have any projects that you want voice acting for, I will work for free. I would like to be paid, but I will work free. So please ah help a guy out. I would love to accomplish my dream of being in an actual video game.
02:04:41
Speaker
That would be Oh, and also the episode of All for Arnold is recorded. I'm going to edit it tomorrow. It will be out before this episode is out.
02:04:52
Speaker
Oh, there's a claim. There is a claim. It is Predator. I think we have to a forfeit in mind if this does not happen. To be fair, I am so fucking busy this week. I'm not editing it this week. So you got time. This is the rule. This was the rule. If I do not get it out before this episode airs, I have to do a forfeit. That is very true.
02:05:10
Speaker
ah Yeah, it's Predator, one of Arnie's, you know, absolute classics. I'm very much looking forward to it. And then we've got a Running Man, a film that both me and Jon are weirdly looking forward to only because we haven't seen it kind of thing. It weird. And it was apparently good enough for them to remake. So, like, yes yeah. Which is based on a Stephen King novel of all fucking things. Oh, my God. Can't escape that man. We can't.
02:05:32
Speaker
So, yeah, that's me. ah Yeah, Jon, go ahead. Me? ah What of the hell do I do? I don't know. Listen to All for Arnold and follow me on Blue Sky at Morocco.
02:05:43
Speaker
Michael? You can follow me at Blue Sky at Bun and Mash Horse. sir Just a gentle reminder, as always, that you would like to listen to classical episodes of this podcast, you can obviously find us on YouTube and all all the stuff is on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
02:05:58
Speaker
And, yeah, if you if you just want those little bite-sized things, John has been doing an absolute cracking job with the YouTube Shorts, so... Yeah, I mean, last episode was banger. Like, honestly, like, if you missed it because it came out on Christmas, and I wouldn't blame you for missing it because it came out on Christmas, like, go back, listen to last episode, it was a banger of an episode. I got so many highlight clips because we were just fucking cackling all the way through it.
02:06:21
Speaker
fucking psychotic. If you want a long episode, go watch that episode. Wait until... If you want a long episode, just look for any of the episodes that say they have Alzarath in the fucking episode because we fucking natter.
02:06:35
Speaker
ze Yeah, guests tend to do that sometimes. little bit. Alrighty. Thank you all for joining us as always. Absolutely. We will be back with the end of season five next time. So we'll see how that goes. Very exciting. I cannot believe we're already at season five and six. That's so cool.
02:06:55
Speaker
I love doing this show as much as I like to make jokes about being a curmudgeon. I do actually really enjoy watching the Simpsons and talking about it. I do want to get better about actually getting these episodes out in a semi-timely fashion this year. know I've been saying that for three years now, but like this is the year try worry, you can always compare yourself to me.
02:07:12
Speaker
yeah all for Arnold, the podcast that one episode last year. Yeah! We recorded two, to be fair. Yes, we recorded two, but i lost the audio was just unusable.
02:07:23
Speaker
Goodbye, everybody. everybody. by ay everybody Oh yeah, I stole his catchphrase, whoops.