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S6E2&3 - Lisa's Rival & Another Simpsons Clip Show
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Jon, Michael and Matt watch The Simpsons episodes 'Lisa's Rival' & 'Another Simpsons Clip Show', and discuss what they say about society.
Follow us on the Socials:
Jon: @Meroka.bsky.social
Matt: @mattperspective.bsky.social
Michael: @buttonmashhorse.bsky.social
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Theme
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, this is Mole Man in the Morning. Good Mole Man to you. Hello, welcome to Mole Man in the Morning. Good Mole Man to you.
00:00:13
Speaker
I should have said it like 12 times to emphasise the clip show nature.
Discussion on Clip Shows and Podcast Expectations
00:00:17
Speaker
what What were you going for? Clip show nature? Just Moe Man. i couldn't I couldn't think of it in the moment.
00:00:24
Speaker
Completely fair. It's a very average pair of episodes we've got today. Low effort episode, low effort Moe Man. yep Way to sell the world sell the audience to hang around. Hell yeah. Hey, audience, the title of this episode is Another Simpsons Clip Show. That should give you a real good idea where we're at today.
00:00:44
Speaker
Yeah, a little bit. We're contractually obligated to do this in order. For some reason we, at least I, have committed to doing this. You guys are just long for the ride, I guess. I committed to doing this. Yee-haw. Yay.
Host Introductions and Humorous Banter
00:00:58
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Mole Man in the Morning. We are a podcast about how The Simpsons has a lot to say about society when it's not doing a clip show. And it may even have one little teeny message in the clip show as well. Who knows?
00:01:10
Speaker
I am your host, John, and I'm joined as ever by my co-hosts, Matt. I bit my Wookiee. And Michael. Hadley ho, podcasterino. that was that That intro was inserted from episode three of this podcast.
00:01:25
Speaker
if like That took me a second. I could go back and like get the actual clip and put it in if I wanted, but I don't think I've got the... the What are you going to do with that? Just insert about five of them of me saying the same thing.
00:01:42
Speaker
could do it We could do a Heidley Ho podcastrino montage. How about that? Yeah. Take one syllable from each each time they've said it. Oh my god. How much time do you think Jon has to edit these podcasts?
00:01:56
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. I mean, I don't think that would be asking too much of me. It's just completely stupid. as all with this All right, then do it.
Simpsons Episode Discussion: Lisa's Rival and Clip Shows
00:02:06
Speaker
Michael got aggressive. Do it. I just go out of the way to defend my friend and I'm thrown under the bus. so fuck me i know I know you value my time more than my than I value my time, but that's impossible. My time is worthless and all that.
00:02:23
Speaker
We are into season six of The Simpsons. We are on to episodes two and three. We've got Lisa's Rival, which was actually an episode that was supposed to go out in season five, but then an earthquake happened and it got delayed.
00:02:34
Speaker
And then we've got another Simpsons clip show where the phoning in in and dial is cranked up to 11. Yeah, it, ah yeah, fucking all worth that episode is, well, it's an episode.
00:02:48
Speaker
It sure is. We'll get, we will get through today's podcast in a bright and breezy hour 50, I reckon. Yeah, I don't think this one, I have so a few notes. Let's, let's go. Let's, let's talk about what we're drinking and such.
Beverage Choices and Humorous Commentary
00:03:03
Speaker
Let's talk about what we're drinking. What we got? So I said in the pre-show that I splurged, and I did. I spent a whole ยฃ4.60 on one bottle.
00:03:15
Speaker
It's called Delirium. is It is a Belgian strong beer. It has a pink elephant on the on the thing. It's wrapped up like fucking champagne, which blew my mind.
00:03:27
Speaker
It says Family Brewery in The Hague. since 1654 and i didn't check until i got home it's 8.4 yeah belgians tend to do that yeah yeah so you belgian belg still doha let's give it a sip it's a small bottle though so we'll see think that's our podcast coming in at two hours oh that's fucking smooth yeah no delay holy shit i'm gonna i'm gonna have to i'm gonna have to try not to just drink all that in like five minutes holy shit is that nice o
00:03:59
Speaker
Oh, fuck me standing. Yeehaw. Holy bull. Fucking hell. There is a bar in Cardiff that opened up a month or two ago that like specializes entirely in Belgian beer. It is so good. That is nice is really fucking nice.
00:04:14
Speaker
Like all you got. Well, in the same pre-show, I was told I was an alcoholic. So I've abandoned booze and I'm drinking a lemon and ginger tea with some turmeric honey. It is quite refreshing.
00:04:26
Speaker
Lovely. Turmeric honey. It's amazing. Okay. What are you having, John? Uh, last time around I was told that whiskey was for old people, so I'm on the whiskey. Why? Because
Podcast Direction and Random Topic Banter
00:04:40
Speaker
I'm an old person.
00:04:43
Speaker
What whiskey drinking? I've got Pendarin Faraday, which is, uh... Ooh, that's a big whiskey. I like that. Yeah, picked it up at, uh, Duty Free when I was on holiday last year, because it was their... It's their travel retail exclusive.
00:04:55
Speaker
It's a very nice... drinking it straight. Drinking it straight, yeah, yeah, yeah. damn you have it mixed you can't have a bell mean i don't drink whiskey in general whiskey makes me want to die uh it's delicious but i want to die um that's why i'm a rum guy
90s Pop Culture and Nostalgia
00:05:14
Speaker
i'll drink rum straight but yeah now whiskey whiskey's too much for my my my wickle body John and I used to drink rum straight every weekend for a good four years. You guys have problems.
00:05:26
Speaker
There's a really good... don't know if it's still there. There was, at least, a really good rum bar in Bradford. Shout out to the Rum Shack if you're still going. ah There was one in Huddersfield that was decent.
00:05:37
Speaker
Right, now they're all sufficiently lubricated and hydrated and whatever we're doing, let's let's talk about Lisa's rival. In fact, let's talk about what happened on the day it aired first, which was September 11th, 1994.
00:05:52
Speaker
Hey, that's six days before my birthday. Ooh. Hooray. What happened on this day? Kelsey Grammo won an Emmy? He did, yeah.
00:06:03
Speaker
Kelsey Grammo's another one, like, since i've since I've brought this up almost every episode recently, it's just ah it's another actor that I have to be like, I have to watch with some sadness because he's a tosser.
00:06:16
Speaker
Yeah, there is that. There's a lot of that around, unfortunately. If you watched them in your childhood, of just be prepared to accept they're a dick. i will I will die on the hill that Frasier is one of the best shows of all time. so Oh, it's a great show. I love Frasier. Yeah, absolutely fantastic show.
00:06:32
Speaker
But yeah, it's just a shame that Kelsey Grammer hit his wife. Yes. And possibly daughter, but I don't think that one's, like, confirmed. Substance abuse, kids. It does dangerous things. dear Mm, go on.
00:06:46
Speaker
I love bringing the mood down. Anything else happen on this day? I'll bring it up. Andre Agassi wins his first US Men's Tennis Open. Cool. I know so little about tennis, man. I know nothing about tennis. I know my parents love it.
00:06:59
Speaker
That's all I know. Although i do I did like um Andy Murray's first tweet after retiring retiring from tennis, which was, um didn't like tennis anyway, which I thought was really funny. Andy Murray might have the ah the personality of a wet lettuce, but he does occasionally have some fucking rippers.
00:07:22
Speaker
There's got to be personality in there somewhere. Okay, so US number one, I'll Make Love To You by Boyz II Men. I will. And UK number one, Saturday Night by Wickfield.
00:07:35
Speaker
oh it no No, it can't be the one I was thinking of. It's way too late. Because was thinking, Saturday night at the movies. That's not that, is it? That's the drifters. Exactly. i was That's why I was saying it can't be that. eggs I acknowledge that.
00:07:53
Speaker
No, Saturday night's the... Saturday night. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na. Yeah, I know. Okay. Pretty baby. Yeah, it's the club one. God, what a shit song. It's not great.
00:08:05
Speaker
Do I remember? who Who else here had to suffer through their parents singing along to that in a pub? More on holiday in Spain. Oh,
Simpsons Episode Analysis and Pop Culture References
00:08:14
Speaker
God, yeah. Fucking hell. My mum, like, clapping all excited, trying to get me involved, and I'm sat there just fucking trying to fold into myself.
00:08:24
Speaker
I think she was one-hit wonder quick glance on her Wikipedia page. it doesn't seem to have done anything noteworthy since before or since. Tell you what, I am not surprised.
00:08:34
Speaker
I don't remember many other Wigfield hits. I didn't even know the name Wigfield now. Boyz II Men, unfortunately, i I hate to break it to you, we're going to be seeing so fucking much of this season.
00:08:47
Speaker
Like, they do not leave the charts, like, for a year or something stupid. They've got a bunch of hits. I think we've talked about this before, that the further and further we get into Simpsons, the more that's going to be the case, because like people held the charts for just longer in that period.
00:09:07
Speaker
Yeah. Because, you know, back in the 70s and 80s, good music was coming out, whereas now we're in now we're in the 90s, where I'm fairly certain like three good songs came out.
00:09:19
Speaker
Well, it's still got to come to the era of the Macarena. So I can't wait to see how long that's coming. Oh, balls. when When's the Macarena? 96, 97, I want to say. Is it? i I genuinely would have thought that song was older than that. Huh, okay.
00:09:31
Speaker
if we had Mambo No. 5 yet? When's Mambo No. 5? Oh, that's not until the 2000s, I don't think. Yeah, that about right. Do you know he's German? do you know the dude that sings Mambo No. 5 is German? And sings most of his songs in German?
00:09:43
Speaker
I did not know that, no. He's fucking German. What the actual fuck? German people can Mambo. It is the most American song in the world. And it's the only thing that makes it not completely American is the fact that a fucking eagle doesn't crow.
00:10:05
Speaker
Um, I'd say Mambo's more Latin American, so more South America. Maybe musically, but lyrically, it's very I feel like it's very American. But yeah, I was blown the fuck away when it was ah a German too. Which I was like, what the fuck?
00:10:22
Speaker
There were Germans called Tina, so it tracks. Nine, there are no german Germans named Tina. Everyone in the comments, flood him with the your German ancestors named Goldtina,
00:10:43
Speaker
please. Please Please let us know if you have any actual Mambo No. 5 memorabilia, because I remember I used to have an actual CD of it. Memorabilia? Oh, CD, yeah, okay, CD. Yeah, memorabilia is... I would call CD of Mambo No. 5 memorabilia. I think it's about like a collectible plate or something. I've got the collection plates on my wall. I've got the coffin the man was buried in.
00:11:10
Speaker
Do you remember when they minted the limited edition Mambo No. 5 pound coin? Michael, I don't think that's memorabilia anymore. I think that's theft. I have his suit and his hat. Guys, do we even want talk about Simpsons? Should we just spend two hours shooting the shit? Absolute bollocks. Yeah, why not?
00:11:29
Speaker
yeah Look, we have one actual episode to get to. We we can talk about Lisa's rival, right? There's so many people that but that that I imagine like listen to this show that are just like, when will they get to talking about The Simpsons? And they always skip this bit.
00:11:49
Speaker
They're just like, I'm only here for The Simpsons. I don't like it when my podcasters have personality and opinions. I probably should put a timestamp somewhere in like the description to say when we stop talking bollocks and start talking about the Simpsons. The bollocks count now.
00:12:05
Speaker
But like, not to completely derail things, but like, I kind of love it when podcasts do that anyway. That's kind of like my favorite bit. So I don't mind doing it because it's like, I'm making content that I want to hear. So like I listen to a medieval history podcast and they quite frequently just chat shit for 15 minutes at the start. And I'm like, that's the best bit.
00:12:21
Speaker
I think it helps with the parasocial feeling like you know them as people. Absolutely. We are your best friends, listeners. We are your best friends. And if I ask you for money, there should be no reason to question that.
00:12:35
Speaker
Matt needs to buy his Mambo No. 5 memorabilia. I do. I think the first bit of memorabilia I want is Wang. I definitely want i genuinely want some Wang memorabilia that Simpsons talked about that. I thought it'd be so funny to have like a tie pin.
00:12:52
Speaker
Oh my god, let's talk about Simpsons. I feel like we're all sleeping on calling it Mambo-ro-belia. Mambo-ro-belia. that's a business, folks. That's your joke for the podcast. That is my joke for the podcast. Anyway, Simpsons.
00:13:09
Speaker
no right Shall I do the chalkboard gig? Absolutely, please do that yes please No one is interested in my underpants I'm not touching that with a barge pole I'm mostly interested in that in the sense that we had a discussion about whether we were interested in Bart's underpants last time Did we? Because we we talked about how they had all the time to do the attention to detail and they decided yeah to decide to include Bart in his underwear instead of a swimsuit They were interested his underpants Yeah Maybe that's why ah baby that's why the chalkboard gag is that, is because someone said, like, why is he in his underwear? It's like, do you remember last week when we had hour-long meeting about whether to have a draw Bart in his underpants or not?
00:13:54
Speaker
Simpsons writers were freaks. ah And then it's a repeat couch gag, right? No, it's a repeat next episode. No, this one's new. Yeah, they swim up to the sofa this time. We've not seen that before.
00:14:06
Speaker
I realised how all of the couch gags... Couch gags? Couch gags remind me... of childhood. I know that's a weird sentence, but like when you were kid, your living room, your couch or whatever central seating was your pirate ship.
00:14:21
Speaker
It was your fortress. It was, you know, it was the mountain to be climbed. So weirdly, the Simpsons doing these bits actually does kind of remind me of all the imaginative moments you did have.
00:14:33
Speaker
when you were a kid with the couch and I'm very curious I'd love to talk to Matt Grenning about those kind of little things about the Simpsons of like where did the idea of the couch gag come from was it just it's funny because yeah they all rush to sit down at the in front of the telly like an American family kind of gag or is there something deeper to it you never and know Who knows? i mean, it's Matt Groening, so I doubt it. But anyway.
00:14:59
Speaker
You just made it. He's not responsible for literally everything in The Simpsons. This is also true. This is also true. So, the episode begins with Lisa practicing on a saxophone and Bart comes in and tells her to keep it down because he's trying to make a crank call.
00:15:12
Speaker
But then he has Skinner on the phone saying that, actually, his vibrator wasn't running and Bart has just saved him quite a bit of spoilage. And I'll just say, thank you, anonymous young man, which annoys me. I adore the way they write Skinners, how he talks.
00:15:28
Speaker
Because he does it he does he doesn't speak like a normal person. So he's like, save me quite a bit of spoilage, anonymous young man. it's like Who talks like that?
00:15:38
Speaker
Lisa says it's her room and she can do what she wants. And Bart says he can do what he wants in his room. Yeah, she stepped in it there. Bart leaves and we hear the banging on the wall and cuts back to Bart reading his bad boy's life, which has the Laramie's junior cigarettes on the back. Oh, yeah, it sure does.
00:15:52
Speaker
Yeah, my dad was I was watching Simpsons. I genuinely have already forgotten what episode it was a an episode of Simpsons. We'd already watched, but I was watching it while I was visiting my parents and I pointed out that Laramie's is an actual brand. And my dad was like, really? And i was like yeah, it's a real brand.
00:16:07
Speaker
which I learnt from doing this podcast Lisa gives up and goes into the garage and Homer tells her to stop the racket because he's trying to fix Marge's camera we then cut to Homer and Homer has a drill which is hit with a hammer yeah I just love it again it's the sort of like OCD s slow tender Homer about to do something stupid because you know what's going happen but Homer is like easy easy like he's so confident and then the whole the it just shatters it just fucking shatters and Homer's response to this is I'm going to need a bigger drill and fake it real oh a logic man Homer does a lot of heavy lifting to save this episode
00:16:53
Speaker
He does, like, I mean, not not to not not to spoil my hand too much on this, but, like, I genuinely think the B-plot's better than the main plot in this one. ah Yeah, I feel like we do need a the B-plot was better counter for this podcast. We've had it, like, two at least two times now where the B-plot has been the superior plot. It comes up occasionally, yeah.
00:17:14
Speaker
Yeah, we would have rather just had an entire episode of the B-plot kind of thing. Mm-hmm. We then cut to Marge and Marge has been reading a romantic novel and she starts daydreaming. Love in the Time of Scurvy.
00:17:27
Speaker
It's an amazing title. So Marge is on a boat with her handsome pirate lover who is very happy with her bountiful bosom which is like, she's heaving like the seas. Yeah, it's so good.
00:17:38
Speaker
I like how she has the red lipstick on and everything. Pyro starts talking about how it's nice that the seas are quiet and only in the embrace of quiet... in the embrace of quietude can two lovers make a look. But then the he hears the saxophone and goes, well, I'm done the evening. I'm done for the evening. The saxophone just kills his boner. I feel like jazz kills a lot of people's boners.
00:17:59
Speaker
I also like Marge asking, um does that earring mean you're a pirate? And he says, it's kinder. and Which there's so much to unpack about that. It's like the fact that Marge thought to ask in a sexy moment if his earring means he's a pirate. And then his response is, kinder. What the fuck does that mean? I'm kind of a pirate.
00:18:21
Speaker
But also, like, this is all Marge's imagination, so presumably this is Marge's logic as well, like, earring equals pirate. Yeah. Like her um logic with, them what's he called, the the the the guy with the noise, the football player. Lee Majors. Lee Majors.
00:18:40
Speaker
So Marge comes out of a horny fantasy and yells at Lisa to stop blowing a sax before correcting herself. I mean, a sax. Stop blowing your sax. Your sax. Lisa points out that she's auditioning for the school band and she's got to practice and Marge's response to this is, i sacrifice the good camera to get some quiet time. genuine Genuinely one of the best, if not the best gag of of of the episode is is Marge saying that she sacrificed a very expensive camera so she could just fucking goon in the living room.
00:19:09
Speaker
this You'd also see that Maggie puts pacifiers in her ears and this prompts Lisa to finally agree to play outside. Also, the horrifying noise that Maggie then, they like play the sound of Maggie sucking on her Dodie three times over, which then implies that Maggie's ears have suction.
00:19:27
Speaker
well Well, you see her sucking on them, like they pop in and out of her ears. It's kind gross. It's horrific. We then go to Lisa playing outside and we go to the Flanders living room and Flanders it's Davey Oldstrumpet. He asks the boys what it means that the kids get very excited about the pending judgment day. Fucking... They're like, yay, the rapture!
00:19:48
Speaker
who this episode sounds a lot better than I'm giving it credit for. Done it just, man. No, but I will say, i would the intro to this episode is pretty banger. Mm-hmm.
00:19:59
Speaker
But it it then immediately goes downhill. Yeah, so unfortunately. Speaking of going downhill, we come to Miss Hoover's class and Ralph is asking Lisa for the answer number seven on the yeah, this was one of the things that um I noticed, because with one of the episodes we was watching, but my friends Miss Hoover's hair used to be blue.
00:20:15
Speaker
They don't. Are you sure? I think it is blue very early on, isn't it? Yeah, Mrs. Hoover's hair used to be blue, but then it's brown in this episode. Yeah, I yeah, that was weird. At least I won't give Ralph the answer because it defeats the purpose of standardized testing. Ralph's response to this is My Cat is Called Mittens.
00:20:31
Speaker
Great name for a cat. And, uh, Liss Hoover then offers an oral extra question of what Christopher Columbus was looking for when he discovered America. Lisa's eager to answer and Liss Hoover is very begrudging to let Lisa answer.
00:20:41
Speaker
Ralph puts his hand up and then Liss Hoover says, this better not be about your cat, which prompts him to put his hand down. Oh, well. and Miss Hoover is about to let Lisa answer the question, but then Alison answers in and says that Columbus was looking for the passage to India, which Miss Hoover is excited about because it's her first day in class.
00:20:57
Speaker
And then Alison gives up the after fact of Columbus finding the continent which of South America, which gets gets Miss Hoover to go yaoi, which concerns Lisa because she's never had yaoi.
00:21:08
Speaker
I don't want to, like, shit on a fucking nine-year-old, wow, these fucking kids are. But if you discover America, it's then not that hard to find South America.
00:21:20
Speaker
Just going to point that out. yeah That's fair. i don't I don't know if that deserves a yaoi. ah I don't think she was yaoiing the discovery of South America. She wasn't impressed that Columbus found a second concert. she was impressed that the kid knew it, but that's what saying. It's like, it's not... I don't know. Maybe I just hate kids, which I do, but, you know, at the same time... Shut up, Lisa. Well, speaking of shut up, Lisa, Lisa introduces herself to Alison and is pleased to have someone that's the same level as her.
00:21:49
Speaker
Alison then drops the bombshell that she's actually seven and been skipped ahead. And Lisa pat starts panicking and hyperventilating into her lunch, which she tries to pass off as, no, I just like to smell it. Yes.
00:22:00
Speaker
Lisa, Alison asks Lisa why she wasn't moved ahead and Lisa says it's because she didn't want to leave behind her wonderful friends. At that point, Lisa's pushed over by of them that calls her the Brain Queen and Lisa goes, hey, Sarah.
00:22:11
Speaker
Yeah, they never actually, i don't think they establish any, oh no, there's um there's the one that is actually Lisa's friend, the little the the little African-American girl with the curls.
00:22:22
Speaker
Janie, yeah. Janie, yeah. But I don't think, because i was I first thought of the twins, but they're in Bart's class. So are there any other like established female characters in Lisa's class?
00:22:34
Speaker
I don't think Lisa's class class is very well fleshed out in terms of characters generally anyway. No, there's Janie, Ralph, Lisa, and then I'm drawing a blank after that. Janie, Ralph, Lisa.
00:22:45
Speaker
That's kind of about it, I think. I'm struggling to think of any others. Eventually Lisa is about to walk off, but Alison then feels that she too is going for the first chair in the year in the school band, and Lisa eventually becomes, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends.
00:23:00
Speaker
We then cut to the B plot, which is far better, and it begins strong with Bart having to steer for Homer because he's too busy he he too busy eating. we guys you have Great Homer antics there. yeah So Homer gives us advice of steering to the left and to avoid the cat, deer and old man, which we learn is Abe as he has to go out of the way. It's poor Abe, man.
00:23:21
Speaker
Yeah, like, i don't I don't know if I've ever really, like, picked up on, like, the amount of detail on this, but, like, Homer, like, needing both hands-free to eat pizza, so Bart's doing the steering for him is just, like, very visually delightful. Yeah. Homer then tells him to avoid the jackknife sugar truck and then realizes the sugar.
00:23:37
Speaker
which point he stops the car. We see that Hans moment is outside his truck and removes his How Am I Driving sticker. Which, I'll be glad that on him. Do you know, I never processed that. That's great. Yeah. I didn't realize why he was doing that. That's very funny.
00:23:51
Speaker
Homer gives Mole Man a quarter to call for some help while he keeps an eye on everything and Mole Man's response is, if only this sugar was as sweet as you. Bart points out that was downright decent him and Homer tells Bart they've hit the jackpot with white gold, Texas tea, sweetener.
00:24:07
Speaker
This is like one of the few occasions Mole Man doesn't just straight up get killed. Yeah, we never see him get out of them. Or grievously harmed, anyway. Alma starts shoveling the sugar into the car, and Bart asks if this is stealing, and almost says that the town charter says that if food stuff should fall on the ground, it will be turned over to the village idiot.
00:24:24
Speaker
Alma's response then is that he can't see the village idiot anywhere. yeah' Brilliant. yeah We look at Homer his car full of sugar, and Bart is suffocating in it. We cut back to Marge, and Marge is continuing to be grooning in the living room. Marge is insatiable this episode. Insatiable! Speaking of insatiable, Lisa interrupts her. Sorry, I'm just going to ask, because again, we have nothing to say about these episodes, so I'm going to do the traditional Matt thing of wasting time.
00:24:53
Speaker
Do you think that Marge and Marge's... proclivities inspired a same amount of perverts as the Lion King with Nala and the way she looks at Simba when she's laid on the ground.
00:25:10
Speaker
As Lion King spawned a generation of furries. Okay, i I am not familiar with Lion King porn. looks so Bullshit! Bullshit! You are on the internet! Bullshit!
00:25:24
Speaker
You are both fucking lying to sound cool! Bullshit! I ain't saying that you're all looking at it, but the fact that you don't know it exists is bullshit! When have I ever looked cool in my life? Like, why would I lie about this now to try know and look cool? don't know. When I met you in York, you were pretty cool. always thought were pretty cool. But my standards are pretty low. I would submit to you, John, that neither you or me are aware of this, and Matt is speaking very passionate about this, which suggests that someone on this podcast has a very vested interest in this lying king porn.
00:25:56
Speaker
Was someone perhaps responsible for said porn? Yes, I made the Lion King sprites. But yeah, jen genuinely, do you think that... that Because, again, you we all know that Lion King spawned furries.
00:26:11
Speaker
So did Simpsons spawn MILF fetish people? Because did it make people into people who are into MILFs? MILFs? MILFs? I don't know how pluralize MILF. MILFy? I don't know. I believe it pronounced MOF.
00:26:31
Speaker
I think attractive mums were a very big feature of the 90s in kids TV shows. So I suspect it was probably not Marge Simpson leading the charge.
00:26:42
Speaker
This is true. This is a possibility. The Simpsons are generally not not drawn to be like terribly attractive characters. like They always have to like put effort in when they want to be like, here is a hot person. Look, if Marge had had the bountiful bosom in her family for all the time, She's quite flat-chested, sir.
00:27:01
Speaker
Poor Marge. yeah ah I'm sorry, Marge. I didn't mean to put you on blast. You know Nala from The Lion King, apparently, so they good. Fuck off! not what I meant!
00:27:14
Speaker
Moving on! So, Lisa's asking why she hasn't been moved ahead of the second grade and Lisa says that's the school's decision and Lisa's response to this is, well, did you talk to anyone at the school and maybe you could have been nicer to Principal Skinner?
00:27:28
Speaker
Marja's response to this is, Lisa, I am nice, ignoring the question of, you should have banned Principal Skinner. You should have fucked my principal. We cut to the dinner table and Marge has appreciated the Homer for making dinner, but points out the food tastes strange. As Lisa remarks, it's hurting her teeth.
00:27:43
Speaker
Homer then reveals that he just put sugar in everything, which he apparently found in the forest. It is it is a grey slop of a dinner. There's just grey mush. Admittedly, that is what a lot of Simpsons food looks like.
00:27:56
Speaker
It's so, yeah, well, I mean, there's, there is like a mixed bag of, sometimes they draw food and sometimes it is mush, but also like, I guess it's just Homer has cooked and it's mostly sugar is kind of the food as well.
00:28:08
Speaker
Homer reveals his brilliant business plan of charging him a dollar per pound of sugar. Marge points out the grocery store does it for 35 cents. And Lisa also points out it doesn't have nails or broken glass in. Homer's response to the surprises as he finds a blasting cap in his next bite. Blasting cap?
00:28:24
Speaker
Yeah, I've forgotten this. What is a blasting cap for? like i'm sure I don't know. I've heard this before. actually don't know. It's like a detonator, isn't it? Yeah. Is what I thought. Yeah, it is a detonator.
00:28:37
Speaker
It is, doesn't Yeah. Like, why that came off a truck is unclear. I'm guessing it right. I thought it was funny. yeah Yeah, maybe. I guess it's like, ah that is ah that is a lot of Simpsons. is I mean, like he could have like named literally any part of a vehicle and it would have been like, you know, eat an equally entertaining gag and actually you know accurate to like the circumstances. like Why would there be a detonator?
00:29:01
Speaker
Unless Mole Man was hauling some other illicit goods as well. It would make sense why he crashed. Sugar is used in explosives. Maybe, but it doesn't usually they don't usually ship the detonator with the sugar.
00:29:13
Speaker
Well, they're cutting out the middleman. Duh. Just in time manufacturing, everything's delivered in the same tanker. So we cut to this cool band auditions and Uta is playing his mountain horn before it's Jimbo's turn with his tambourine, which he just hits once and Lager goes, oh, he's been practicing. and I noted the first canon appearance of Uta.
00:29:33
Speaker
I don't remember the music teacher being quite so overtly camp. I think he is actually gay. I think they do confirm that. He's not shown very often, so like they probably do whatever they want with him on any given episode. Yeah, he's a convenience.
00:29:49
Speaker
Jimbo's excited to be in the band and knocks Martin's lute onto the floor. Martin lute! Because of course Martin plays a fucking lute. Actually, we have seen him play a lute before. yeah yeahs Continuity.
00:30:01
Speaker
o Lisa comes up for our audition and she plays a nice little ditty and then Alison comes and plays hers and lot can't choose between them and this prompts Alison to... show off a bit and uh lago's about to give her the chair then lisa starts doing her a bit and uh i noticed that 90 of the time when they're playing their um saxophones their fingers never even like touch the pedals in in and in any way there's like one shot in this bit where they do but most of the time they never do i i i never noticed it until now when it makes me laugh
00:30:33
Speaker
I'm guessing it probably costs quite a bit to animate. Yeah, most people probably aren't paying that much attention. Lord knows I didn't notice that. Yeah. We basically get a bit of a jazz off as that all the kids around them are dancing. Yeah, the kids are dancing. I think it's a Charlie Brown the Peanuts joke. Yeah, because there is that yeah yeah there is there is a Peanuts bit where they're all dancing on a stage and they're all doing like unique dances. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do remember that now.
00:30:59
Speaker
Clever. nice Nice spot, Michael. Lisa eventually blows too much and the eventually falls off the stage and passes out. Lisa has woken up and Largo is relieved that it was close, but she's made it. And Lisa goes, I won first chair. And Largo goes, nope, you lost consciousness. Allison won first chair, which prompts Lisa to scream and pass out.
00:31:15
Speaker
Lisa then comes to and realizes it was just a dream. And the we basically get the same exact same conversation with Largo. This is definitely not a dream. This is definitely not a dream, which bombs Lisa to scream.
00:31:27
Speaker
We then cut to Marge in the kitchen, and this time Marge is not gooning, which makes a nice change. And Lisa points out a problem that there's a younger, smarter, and better sax player than her.
00:31:39
Speaker
And Marge says, you'll always be number one to me, at which point Bart walks past the course the first born is within your shot. Then Marge changes tack by saying, my number one girl, which gets Maggie tugging very sadly, which eventually it gets quite frustrated. Yeah, I love how Marge is just I'm just trying to give a fucking pep talk, leave me the fuck alone. Marge then points out that ah you can't be happy if you're competitive and there's always going to be someone better than you, including the tallest hair because Marge went to Graceland and had her dreams ruined.
00:32:05
Speaker
And Lisa says she's upset because Alison is better everything that makes her special. Marge's response to this is, she's more scared of you than she's ever. And Lisa's response is, you're thinking of bears. i do I do like this bit because it's kind of a regular bit where Lisa just keeps correcting Marge's motherly advice and Marge just perseveres because that's what Marge does. That's what she does. yeah She's just like, nah, I just think they're neat.
00:32:31
Speaker
yeah i don' I always find that kind of amusing. We are called to Homer and Homer is trying to sell his sugar, which he introduces himself as the sugar man. As he's eating the sugar while being made to be answered. Skinner answers the door and declares it's a marvelous idea and then Skinner's mother yells him and his response is, I'm just talking to the sugar man. As as this is such a normal thing. That's what you do. Skinner points out he's a big boy and he can do as he wishes and we see his Skinner just took away for a second and then he comes back and... There's a lot of skinner, Simpson, now I'm grounded. Ground.
00:33:02
Speaker
Just a nice little fun scene. Yeah. We then come back to Miss Hoover's class and there's another test and Ralph is asking Alison for the answer and Alison won't give it to him and then Lisa says she can't do it either Ralph tells her to fuck off. Leave me alone. i i mean, he does not use those words. No, he uses those words verbatim. It was very shocking on Disney of all things.
00:33:21
Speaker
He also flipped to the bird. Yeah, absolutely. And spat on her. We also see that ah Alison's now being bullied and is pushed into the mud and Lisa's feeling resentful. That used to be her mud.
00:33:32
Speaker
Yes, it used to be the mud in my face. She's never happy. Like, I'm not getting bullied anymore. Oh, I wish I was getting bullied again. Well, well, well, look who's come to my end of the hating Lisa's spectrum. Welcome to the bottom.
00:33:50
Speaker
I've lined up chairs. Bart comes over and says he can't stand to see Lisa miserable unless there's a rubber spider down her dress, which gives him the idea to put a rubber spider down her dress, which he puts into a tape recorder and has to do twice because he's too busy. Yeah, he has to go back to it so he can laugh at it again.
00:34:05
Speaker
The officer dig up some dirt on Alison as he points out he's managed to get Milhouse's picture on America's Most Wanted. We with cut to two agents spying on Milhouse and then drive their car into the thing to get him. Make sure to take alive. Milhouse's response to this oh no, not again. if this has happened multiple times, mate. It's so good. He's on the Most Wanted list. When they contrast when they contrast the like absurdity of Simpsons with very serious acting is very good. Like just having the agent just go, there he is, make sure to take him alive. And then they try. It's so good.
00:34:42
Speaker
The Milhouse, does this could even constitute a C-plot? It might constitute a C-plot. The Milhouse C-plot is ah a reference to the fugitive. I feel like there's only one more... There is two scenes. There's two scenes, but I will note there is some continuity later on, which I will point out when we get there.
00:35:00
Speaker
Does two scenes make a make a plot? We don't know. scenes and continuity. Oh, okay then. As Milhouse flees in the background, Lisa declines bar office. Yeah, i like how it just keeps, the original scene just keeps going.
00:35:14
Speaker
Milhouse is just like, ah! That's this's just a thing that's happening in school today. It's just what's going on. Just what's going on. Bar office is card to Lisa if she changes her mind and Lisa points out they live in the same house.
00:35:24
Speaker
Barther goes into his tape recorder next year, order fewer cards. We don't cut you, Homer, with Marge in the kitchen telling her that she didn't think he'd make any money, but he found a dollar waiting for the bus. Marge then points out that while he was earning that dollar, he missed out on $40 because he didn't go to work.
00:35:39
Speaker
Homer then points out to Homer that the plant have said that. If he doesn't come in tomorrow, don't bother coming in Monday. Woo! Four day weekend! but Yeah, Homer interprets this as a four day weekend. Okay. the Opportunity for derailment there.
00:35:51
Speaker
Money was mentioned. Yeah, I knew you were going to do some maths. I wondered who was going to bite on this. Of course I had to bite on this. I thought about it, but then I could not be arsed. That works out at 10,400 a year.
00:36:05
Speaker
This is not 80 grand. yeah Burns has cut back. So yeah, Homer did not do very well at the salary negotiation stage of his job, and probably does explain considerably more about their financial circumstances than and're in with that extra context. Also worth noting, median salary in the US in 1994 was, in fact, about 30 grand. and So he he's he' doing real bad, actually, for for what is right now.
00:36:34
Speaker
But by the same by the same argument, feasibly, the Simpsons could not afford to get into the antics that they do unless Homer was making 80 grand a year.
00:36:47
Speaker
the Yeah, I mean, all of this is, don't worry about it, territory. but None of this matters. We can all agree that none of it matters. But, but we still care.
00:37:00
Speaker
Yeah, Homer gets paid exactly as much as is needed for to make the gag work. Yep. yep We go to Lisa looking in her room and Lisa says she's above average and there's no shame in being second best.
00:37:12
Speaker
She doesn't have a fantasy about being in a band of all the second best musicians, which includes Simon Garfunkel, Oates and... You mean Art Garfunkel. Yeah, that's the guy. Sorry. yeah ah ah Art Garfunkel, the second half of Simon and Garfunkel, Jim Messina, second half of Loggins and Messina. I don't even know who that is. And John Oates, second half of Hall and Oates.
00:37:33
Speaker
Is that Kenny Loggins? It is Kenny Loggins. No, it's K-Log. K-Log! You said like, man, that's my boy K-Log. Fucking love that guy's music. They played a song Born to Run Her Up and the audience immediately starts booing.
00:37:47
Speaker
Lisa comes out of her fancy. Why would they come to us, George, just to boo us? Warwalks in and says that he did do some background checking on Lisa. He knows it's against the moral fibres, but Lisa grabs it and is disappointed to let there's nothing there. Bar says she's clean as a bean, but he did step off the fence to where Milhouse is.
00:38:03
Speaker
We then come back to Milhouse and stand in front of a wharf over gunpoint. I'm going, I'm telling you, I didn't do anything. And the agent don't care. I don't care. This pops Milhouse to jump down the cliff and we just hear him at the bottom go, oh, my glasses. My glasses.
00:38:18
Speaker
Stick a pen in that line. The Fugitive the fugitive with um Harrison Ford.
00:38:25
Speaker
think so I think so. Yes, Harrison Ford. yes Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones. yeah yeah i isn tomy Isn't The Fugitive part of like the original Jason Bourne films that they did?
00:38:38
Speaker
Like The Fugitive and The Patriot? Is it? oh on Yeah, they're based on Tom Clancy books. Okay. I know The Patriot is. I don't know if... What I think The Patriot is.
00:38:49
Speaker
Oh, no, it's not The Patriot. But it is a Harrison Ford film. But anyway, it doesn't matter. someone Someone in the comments will lose their fucking mind and correct me. so it's fine. Lisa declares she's got to stop being petty and she should just try to be Alison's friend declares she's a wonderful person. Bart's response to this is, where'd it go, Lisa? Why compete someone that's going kick your butt anyway?
00:39:08
Speaker
Lisa's response to this is, I prefer my phrasing. ha That's fair. Lisa goes over to Alison's house and, uh, Lisa is still trying to be Alison's friend and, uh, it doesn't help when her dad comes and, uh, they begin their anagram game of taking proper names and rearranging the letters to form a description of that person.
00:39:26
Speaker
So, Alison demonstrates it with the celebrity Alec Guinness, which is genuine class, and, Lisa is asked to do with the same with Jeremy Irons and Lisa's response is Jeremy Zion.
00:39:36
Speaker
I would struggle with this if I was given half an hour. It's not something you can do quickly, is it? I have given it a non-zero amount of thought and come up with absolutely nothing. So yeah, it's hard. If it was written down in front of me and I was given like 10 minutes, I could come up with something.
00:39:56
Speaker
If someone said a name to me, because I don't have, I think we've talked about this before, I don't have like a visual imagination. So I could not picture the letters and then rearrange them.
00:40:08
Speaker
It is yeah a difficult skill to do without like having some extra visual aid, yeah, for sure. So if someone just said it to me, eight like, I know my fucking name like the back of my hand. I couldn't do it with my own name, like, on the fly. Like, fucking hell, doing it with someone else's.
00:40:25
Speaker
What i'm saying is fuck these people. Yeah, Mr. Taylor says, that's a nice try for a first time and then just give Lisa a ball. Yeah, you can play with this. Why do you just have ball? Is he prepared for stupid people?
00:40:37
Speaker
Yeah, in case... He seems like he would be prepared for stupid people. He seems like that guy. He's jesuss just got it on deck to condescend to people. Yeah. yeah We then see Lisa go into Alison's room, which is filled with trophies and awards. And Alison demonstrates her school di diorama entry. And Lisa's horrified to learn that it's already finished.
00:40:55
Speaker
And it's ah based on the telltale heart. And as a mo there's an old metronome to simulate the heartbeat. This is weird. Because do you know that thing where once you start thinking about something, it starts appearing in your life all the time because you're like actively looking for it?
00:41:10
Speaker
I watched an Edgar Allan Poe documentary recently. And it was fucking fascinating, for one. But now everything seems to be referencing Edgar Allan Poe. And I'm like, what the fuck?
00:41:24
Speaker
Your brain plays tricks on you, I think. yeah moved Moved on from Stephen King, have we? No, um'm I've started reading The Stand. Okay. I just meant like there was a couple of weeks there where everything seemed to be referencing Stephen King.
00:41:36
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, that's just yeah that's just how my brain works. Lisa it feels discouraged and tries to bounce the ball and it rolls away. Yeah, she can't even bounce the ball. So Mr. Taylor brings back and goes, keep at it. Oh, man. i This is one of the the reasons I couldn't work an office job. is i if If someone, as a grown adult, spoke to me like that, I would fucking punch them.
00:42:03
Speaker
I think it would be more than to be fair. Yeah, I could not contend would punch them so hard that they would see fucking stars. i There's a lot less handing out balls and being condescending in offices than you might imagine. don't know, I've worked enough job- I worked at a bank long enough to get condescended to. Okay.
00:42:26
Speaker
We cut to the next scene and Homer is trying to stay awake with a baseball while he's standing in front of his mountain of sugar. his It does kind of feel like with with him suddenly guarding the sugar, it does feel like they wanted to do a full episode of this, but maybe couldn't, maybe they couldn't do a full episode of it. So they like took the bits that they thought were funny and the best bits and made it into a B plot.
00:42:50
Speaker
Oh yeah, for sure. separate He just starts guarding the sugar out of nowhere, really. Yeah, it did does seem like it's like, oh, we've got a good idea, can we make an episode out of it? Give it a go? ah Not really. Yeah. We'll have we'll play with something else then.
00:43:03
Speaker
Yeah. So almost goes the strong, let's protect the sweet. At which point he falls asleep. I love um ah yeah his next bit of like, in America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women. He goes it goes all Colombian drug lord, which is amazing. Is that Scarface? that's It is indeed. I've never seen Scarface.
00:43:29
Speaker
Yeah, that's another one of those. I haven't watched The Graduate yet, so I need to catch up. You've got a huge catch-up on. I haven't got a few, I've got The Graduate. else I have to watch? And Scarface now. And now Scarface, yeah. Okay, well I'll watch Graduate least. I feel like there was another one that we talked about watching, I remember what it was now, so it's not gonna get watched anymore. Yeah, we did talk about one, but then we just, yeah, we never talked about it after the episode. That's how committed we were. think that's, yeah, we didn't, like, yeah, make a note that one. It was one of those ones where we were like, has anyone watched this? And we all said no, but then none of us made the commitment to actually watch it.
00:44:04
Speaker
Yeah, i think was one where we went, oh, we should watch that, and then moved on with our lives. Yep. Marge wakes Helmer up and tells him he's being paranoid and Helmer says, am I? He then pulls a British man out of the show. Where did you get when did you get that sugar for your tea? And he says, nicked it while you while you let your guard down for just a second and I do it again.
00:44:24
Speaker
Good day. Goodbye. Love that Best, best, best, most accurate depiction of a Brit in media. It is. that it for For all of you Americans that listen to this show and haven't gotten an idea yet, that is exactly what we're all like. That's what we are. Every British man is like that. That's the only accurate depiction of a British person in The Simpsons. Yeah, if you come to England, it's a sea of bowlers.
00:44:46
Speaker
That's just what it is. Everyone's wandering around with a cup of tea in the bone china in hand. Have any, have either of you ever actually worn a bowler hat?
00:44:57
Speaker
I've worn a top hat. I've never worn bowler hat. want to say yes, but I don't know exactly where. I've worn a top hat in jest. Yeah, I've worn a top hat in jest. I don't think I've, like, for I don't think even for, like, a play or anything, i don't think I've ever worn a top hat. But yeah, I've definitely not worn a bowler hat. I've got a silly over-the-top novelty hat. top hat that's from my steampunk days.
00:45:19
Speaker
i want won i wore one as part of a procession for a wedding, but I don't know what happened to it cause it vanished at some point. the The beautiful woman that you caught at the wedding took it off you and kept it as a memento, as memorabilia.
00:45:33
Speaker
Well, I fell asleep for a split second and a but a British man just took it off me. What a bastard! And do day. ah Marge asked Tomer when he's going to give up his sugar thing and this leads Tomer to go on to a rant about the highs and lows and the creamy middles. Is this reference? It must be. This must be a reference. It is not.
00:45:58
Speaker
So this diatribe, ah according to Wikipedia, was pitched by... What's his name? Conan. Was it Conan's fault? Conan O'Brien pitched the concept for this episode.
00:46:11
Speaker
This does not feel like a Conan episode. george meyer the sub the subplot was george meyer's creation george meyer pitched this diatribe off the top of his head and they loved it so just went with it like verbatim just straight off the top of the dome and david silverman really liked it and was like i need to animate this please give me this to animate i guess it's an entire high society fictional scenario where he's got the the city fathers with their tongues and beard are coming up to what they're going to do it's like what the hell is happening this virtually marge gets annoyed and tells him to just get rid of the sugar and homer says no and then a swarm of bees comes and uh tries to get rid of them and they begin singing somehow somehow Oh, the animation on this is, like, horrifying because it very much looks like there's just bee in Homer's eye. Yeah.
00:47:04
Speaker
Don't go to Lisa, and Lisa looks absolutely knackered because she's handcrafted all 75 characters for more twist. Then she tries to create a snowstorm with a confetti and a fan. Unfortunately, the diorama blows out the window and Lisa asks, is it okay? Bards responds, its the important thing is we survived. Also, li in the previous scene of this plot, Lisa says, you finished it already.
00:47:28
Speaker
implying that you that they had lots of time. So why did she then stay up all night doing it? And then why is the next scene her fucking it's presenting the diorama?
00:47:42
Speaker
what Fucking come on, Matt Grenning, creator of Simpsons, who has creative control over all of it. Why is this not perfect? Why is the continuity so bad? Because...
00:47:54
Speaker
For the big is fake Because we're 20 minutes into the episode and we've got to get to the conclusion. We're only 15 and a half minutes in. umma oh we wasted five We wasted like a good 30 seconds on Homer's rant.
00:48:09
Speaker
That's like three weeks.
00:48:14
Speaker
Go on then. Yeah, chop chop.
00:48:18
Speaker
Okay, well, where am I? Okay, so Lisa's response to this is there's no way she's going to be Alison, but Bart says, yeah, we can if you're a bit devious or, as the French say, Bartesque.
00:48:29
Speaker
Is that word? I don't think so. Bartesque, no. Bartesque, as in like Bart, okay, right. I'm a fucking idiot. Lisa agrees to do it and Bart's response is, it's welcome from the never regions of the soul.
00:48:45
Speaker
Bart closes the blind and reveals his master blind, which is just just to spray Alison with a hose. He needs a diagram. He draws a diagram to show him spraying her with hose. Well, you need to be specific.
00:48:56
Speaker
Yes, says it'll leave us relatively dry. And Lisa asks relatively, and Bart goes, oh, there'll be some splashback. Lisa points out this water helper win the competition, and Bart's response is, oh, we'll just sabotage a diorama. And Lisa says, that's perfect.
00:49:08
Speaker
Then Bart goes, yeah, then we'll soak with the hose, and Lisa goes, enough of the hose. It's fair. Which, We then cut to Goldsburg's hurry honey and two beekeepers discussing that it's very quiet. This is very stupid, but love these guys. This is a very strange bit. It's like a beekeeper decides he's going to do it as William Shatner, which is amazing.
00:49:27
Speaker
As he does it very dramatically, as he tells us that it's too quiet. and Because you see, bees usually make a lot noise. No noise. There's just no bees. Yeah, and every now and then he just like yells a word.
00:49:40
Speaker
the um the impression is actually Hank Azaria trying to do Adam West is what that is. ah yeah. could I can see a bit of Adam West in it, yeah. Batman doesn't dance anymore.
00:49:51
Speaker
Yeah. They see a bee leaving and the second beekeeper goes, to the bee-mobile! And the first beekeeper goes, you mean your Chevy? And he goes, yeah.
00:50:04
Speaker
but Then follow them to the sugar pile and the first beekeeper says it was a very clever plan for Homer to lure the bees over then sell them back at an inflated price. Homer's response says, bees on the what now? Homer's offered $2,000 for the swarm back and before Homer can have it, heavens open up and it starts raining. bees are leaving.
00:50:22
Speaker
Homer's response to this is, no, the was sugar is melting. Oh, what a world. He does a bit, yeah, Wicked Witch of the West, yeah. We come back to the FIFA's had to spit out his tea because his sugar melted. Which is so stupid. yeah And Homer's weeping in his sugar and Marge says, he's sorry about it, but Homer says, he's learned his lesson.
00:50:40
Speaker
As a mouth of the sugar is too much for one man. This is why God portions them out in those tiny packets. And why he lives on the plantation? Why? why Where else would God live? He's not going to live in, like, Leeds, is he?
00:50:52
Speaker
Well, that is God's Own County. It is God's Own County, absolutely.
00:50:58
Speaker
We then cut to the diorama and Skinner says this is his favourite school event next to hearing test first. Diorama-rama. Diorama-rama. So we get to see a couple of these which include Nelson's Grapes of Raph, which is just him hitting it in a hammer.
00:51:12
Speaker
Which point Skinner goes, yeah, that's good Raph. Clever job, but not a diorama. yeah We then ski cut to Uta again and he's done Charlie on the top of that bin. Skinner then realizes it's an empty box. I begged you pick me first. I begged you.
00:51:27
Speaker
Uta is, of course, covered in chocolate.
00:51:31
Speaker
And we don't see Bark walk in with the sheet covered, as he says. He's ah got the the fake diorama. and He's still's really into the French today. Yeah. So Bark says he'll create a diversion and Lisa can make the swap. And Bark's diversion is just him going, hey, everybody, look at me. To something else, just a random point, that the the obsession with French for this episode does kind of make sense in the sense that Bark very clearly has ADHD.
00:51:54
Speaker
And hyperfixation is a big part of that. Yeah, no, I don't think they had figured out the bar has saved ADHD. I don't think it's intentional, but... as a good You make a good point, but I don't think they knew that they were doing that.
00:52:07
Speaker
Absolutely, absolutely. Lisa switches the dioramas of Skinner tells Bart to stop making a diversion. Yay! He's like, oh, also we also see that Milhouse is okay with his glasses just taped on. There we go, that's the callback. That's our payoff.
00:52:25
Speaker
And Bart eventually leaves clucking like a chicken. Oh yeah, because Milhouse says it's Bart and he's doing stuff. Just doing stuff. can do so They get to Alison's entry and Skinner tells Miss Hooper to get the ribbon ready.
00:52:40
Speaker
He then opens and we then see that there's an animal heart and Bart starts doing his cockney voices which include, it's a cow's heart and they're trying to make a monkey out of you. Is it? I thought was more so redneck he was going for than cockney. One of them is is definitely redneck. i I don't know if the other one is. he He's doing different voices. Yeah, he does different voices. I don't remember the first one.
00:53:00
Speaker
Skinner begins to start telling off Alison and we then see Lisa's starts to hear a heart beating while this is happening. And the Skinner kind of goes on a little bit of a rant about ah how a heart doesn't belong in a school, then corrects himself by saying, well, it might they might do in an older student's biology class, but that's none of his business.
00:53:17
Speaker
Did either of you ever dissect a heart? No, I did not, actually. I did. Lamb's heart. It was weird. I think there was some dissection of something at some point, but we were definitely given the option to opt out if we, like, didn't have the stomach for it. And I was like, yeah, you know what? I don't need to, like, do this. the high school didn My school didn't trust the kids with scalepours. Yeah, the weirdest the weirdest thing was cutting through muscle fiber, especially something as, like, thick as a heart.
00:53:45
Speaker
Like, it was... it's It's a very odd sensation. It's not like cutting through, like, what, like cheese or something. It's genuine. You feel every sinew as you cut. I'm sorry if anyone's eating that's listening to this podcast, but, yeah, you feel every sinew as you cut it. It doesn't... It, like...
00:54:03
Speaker
It's like bubble wrap almost, like that kind of like, dot-oooooooo you're cutting through every little bit. it's really yeah It's really weird. It's really weird. Now I'm hungry. What, for bubble wrap?
00:54:15
Speaker
Yes. As Arsene continues to be told, and including Skinner, saying that he's starting to regret skipping her ahead, he says, Guild finally gets too much for us to shell out.
00:54:27
Speaker
It's the beating of the hideous heart, which gets everyone to look at her. Lisa then meekly reveals that Allison's diorama was misplaced under the floorboards. Yeah, they're a bit on the nose with the Poe reference this time, because didn't they have a cask of Amontillado the other week? Oh, last time, yeah, yeah, yeah. And they never felt the need to just straight up reference Poe. I don't know what... It just... It felt weird. I don't know. Was it the point that Lisa felt, you know, like, then fell victim to the Telltale Heart
00:54:58
Speaker
I think that's what they were going for, wasn't it? I mean, like, both of these episodes were made around the same time. They were both during this disruption due to the earthquake at the time. So they both made, like, presumably fairly contemporaneously. So, like, then, don't know, was one of the writing team having their own hyperfixation moment where they'd been reading some Edgar Allan Poe and were like, you know what, this needs some Edgar Allan Poe references. There is no way that the entire writing staff of Simpsons didn't have ADHD. They are all, they are eye on They were either all on coke or ADHD.
00:55:33
Speaker
dear. Skinner does see Alison's entry, but he's not very impressed with it. under Bart tells Lisa she'd be assured, and Lisa says, after the way she behaves, she doesn't deserve to win. Skinner looks at her and immediately dismisses her as, well, this doesn't deserve to win.
00:55:44
Speaker
But also, like, fucking... Yo, Alison's diorama was sick. Fuck you, Skinner. comeb Skinner's found something better because we get to Ralph Wiggum's entry, which is pre-packaged Star Wars characters, and Skinner realises that they're limited edition, and Ralph's response to this is, what's a diorama? What's a diorama? Luke gets her eight he gets skinnna gets very excited about Luke and Obi-Wan and his personal favourite Chewie.
00:56:07
Speaker
Then ask Miss Hoover what she thinks, and Miss Hoover says it's lunchtime, so Ralph becomes the winner, and everyone everyone is very delighted about this. If your favourite Star Wars character is Chewie, let me just say one thing. You probably loved Lion King as a kid.
00:56:18
Speaker
but Chewie and Nala porn doing the round. Fuck's sake, my God. Rule 34.
00:56:29
Speaker
Lisa then apologizes to Alison and they agree to be friends, which I think is the last time Alison ever... Yeah, and she was never seen again. i I... Yeah, I know to the end, like, do we ever see Alison again? i can confirm from checking out the Simpsons wiki that the answer is actually yes, but not often, which is weird when you consider that, like, she has just been established as a regular ah a regular part of Lisa's class and also her friend.
00:56:54
Speaker
I think that's one of the it's one of the things that I think ultimately is why The Simpsons has gone downhill is their obsession with the core originals.
00:57:05
Speaker
you know And I'm not just saying, like, as in the family, I'm talking, with you like, Moses, like, ah Barney, um Lenny, Carl. they they They just kept focusing on them. And it's like, no, what about Marge's, the woman from the episode that inspired us to watch?
00:57:22
Speaker
ah ah ro ho yet Ruth Ruth. We could have had more of her. Have Lisa having a rival, even if not a... cantankerous one would be great all of these extra characters that they create that they then just don't use and i think it is genuinely a shame i think it would have allowed the simpsons to become more about the town of springfield than it is just about the simpsons I mean, Alison, don't think we ever observed, and it's probably worth pointing this out at some point in the damn episode, that this is Winona Ryder. So I don't think there was necessarily... Yeah. And I think Ruth Powers was but someone fairly notable. She was a guest star, wasn't she? Yeah, so she would have been a guest star, I don't remember. Expensive people to...
00:58:10
Speaker
and So I can understand why these why they didn't use these characters. Yeah, they probably will never intended to bring Alison back on account of like, oh, this is our guest star. also, it is one of the most successful shows in America. They can afford to get these guest stars.
00:58:24
Speaker
But also, as I say, they do bring her back occasionally and oftentimes as a background, so just in the in the background somewhere. She has speaking roles on a couple of future episodes, but they also do not get Winona Ryder back to do it. They just get one of the the usual voice actors to to to become Alison for an episode.
00:58:44
Speaker
Do you think one of the reasons Simpsons is so successful is because they are so cheap? I think it helps. Yeah, i definitely. Well, they they'll be cutting corners next episode, but let we'll get there in minute.
00:58:57
Speaker
But basically, Lisa and Alison agree to be friends, and Ward comes back saying, I beat the smart kid. Before he falls over and destroys his own action figures, he's upset. He's bent his Wookiee.
00:59:08
Speaker
He's bit his Wookiee. Bent is the word I've got in front of me. Oh, fuck. I said the quote wrong. I thought you said he his Wookiee. What did you say? said bit my Wookiee. No, it is bent, yeah. Fuck.
00:59:20
Speaker
Well, there's egg on my... There's Wookiee on my face. It's because you tried to eat it. Because I love the Lion King, guys. Ralph is invited to come play anagrams with Lisa and Allison, and Ralph's response to this is, My cat's breast smells like cat My cat's breast smells like cat food.
00:59:36
Speaker
ah love oh if That's your episode. That is an episode. Yep. It's an episode. What did we think? So I know I often praise the most like family sitcom episodes of Simpsons, but I definitely do think this time they took it to they took to me a little too far.
00:59:55
Speaker
This one was, because the the fun thing about The Simpsons is that it's a hybrid of the two, whereas this just felt like kind of a regular sitcom. but was held up by the B-plot, you know, which was absurd and, you know.
01:00:11
Speaker
But I would have preferred a whole episode of the B-plot, you know, definitely. I mean, I think the fact that they didn't spin it out into full episodes suggests that perhaps there wasn't the material there to make that whole episode. Yeah, maybe, maybe, yeah. But yeah, this episode was fine. You know, there is some good jokes. I think, again, we managed to talk about it in a way that,
01:00:31
Speaker
was enjoyable but the actual episode itself during the time i was watching it it it was astronomically fine sure yeah no it was all right i i did i didn't dislike it that much i kind of i had a decent time with it but yeah like the main plot was the main plot was very much outshone by the sugar shenanigans with homer get the women
01:00:57
Speaker
michael Yeah, I think both agreeing with you. The B-plot was far better than the A-plot. I mean, I don't think the A-plot was terrible. It's just, I don't think it's the most interesting thing to go along. and i Well, I bet David B. Grokes fucking loved this episode.
01:01:13
Speaker
Who knows? He only wrote about season one. We will never know. God, rest in peace, you twerk. What did he do season two as well? I forget. Yeah, no he did season two as well. Yeah, yeah.
01:01:24
Speaker
Well, what's your out of Homer? Let's give it some scores out of Homer. Yeah, I'll give it a melted pile of sugar out of Homer. Sweet, but not what I'd want. Okay. Michael? I'm giving it a when you get the women out of Homer because got youve you've got to go a long way to get to the payoff.
01:01:44
Speaker
I it. I like it I gave it a second comes right after first out of Homer. Because the B-plot was better. Oh, I thought you were just like, it's the second episode of the... You were just going to be as factual as possible. It is the second episode of the... It is an episode of Simpsons.
01:02:01
Speaker
What did I have to say about society? In terms of society, I didn't feel it had like a great deal to say to me. You know, there's always someone smarter. We value intelligence, but that doesn't necessarily translate to popularity.
01:02:12
Speaker
This was a very ba bare-bones episode in terms of... what it says about society, in my opinion. Yeah, i mean i thought I mean, I think Lisa learning to sort of value her own talent for what it is and not necessarily having to constantly compare herself has something to it. I like think it suggests you maybe don't face your self-worth on whether you're the best at something. Yeah, no, that's fair. mean Yeah, I can get that.
01:02:36
Speaker
think that's more of a moral. Yeah, just well, it says something. It tries to impart a message on the kids watching it and that's what we're trying to tease out here. Mm-hmm. Michael, any thoughts?
01:02:48
Speaker
Sugar is hard to guard. It is. it is very hard to guard because we Brits will fucking nick it. Homer should have invested in a silo. Clearly. Clearly. He does get one in the movie.
01:02:59
Speaker
Does he? Get a cause last episode. in the in the In the movie, he gets a silo and fills it with pig shit. Oh. And maybe don't put the sugar in after that.
01:03:10
Speaker
Well, yeah. Might add some flavor. oh god Stops people stealing it. ah Exactly. No one's gonna steal it if it's covered in shit. That's how I do my home security. that's That's an anti-crime tip for everybody in the audience. Just rub some shit on your windows, no robber will come near you.
01:03:32
Speaker
If you don't want your stuff stolen, cover it in shit. Oh dear. Are we ready? Go on then. For another Senses Club show. six notes.
01:03:47
Speaker
I have... have seven, actually. They're very short notes. My first one is before I even press play, which just says, oh no.
01:04:00
Speaker
It's fair. It's fair, man. It's fair. they will Come on, it's not that bad. Okay, well, just a sort of esprit d'escalier, thinking about it post. The last episode aired on September 11th, and we did say that culture died on September 11th. didn't say which year. September 25th, 1994, we have another Simpsons clip show.
01:04:20
Speaker
That's week after my birthday.
01:04:31
Speaker
You're a year older. Happy birthday. Yeah, what year is this? 1994. I'm one, baby! ah Whilst we're talking birthdays and stuff, the last episode was before my birthday and this one is also after my birthday. Hey, when's your birthday?
01:04:47
Speaker
My birthday is September 12th. Oh, dope. Was it on the 25th of September? This episode, 25th, yeah. Oh, I've got wrong information in front of me. I apologise, audience. What are you looking at?
01:04:59
Speaker
Oh no, the interesting fact that I had is gone. kaer Oh no! I not found it! Adlib, Adlib, Adlib, search Google, Prentix. Friends wasn't created on this day, unfortunately.
01:05:11
Speaker
Sorry, what? Oh, I think you said France, and was like, no, they didn't invent France in 1994. Yes, we invented France in 1994. Have you never read a history book?
01:05:26
Speaker
It's like, France was definitely around before 1994. I'm not sure of this. I don't know. I don't know. but But Friends aired for the first time on September 22nd, 1994, which is not the day The Simpsons aired, so that is completely useless information. Well, useful information to know that Friends exists now. I'm the only, like, major Friends head of this of this podcast, right? Because, John, i imagine you've never even heard of it.
01:05:50
Speaker
Michael, you watch Friends, right? I've watched all of Friends, I know. i yeah I have spent time unemployed. They put a lot of Friends on during daytime TV. they like you watch that You watch Friends on Calm Down. it's that That's the choice. I thought you were going to go with they put a lot of Friends on when I'm unemployed as if they're like waiting.
01:06:09
Speaker
<unk>s like, now we'll get him. He'll buy the box set. They might do. I don't know. I don't know how they program these things. That's enough of the Big Bang. Oh, thank fuck for that. i mean, i I would rather watch Friends than the Big Bang Theory, but I would rather watch Countdown than Friends. Which isn't saying much, because Countdown's a banger.
01:06:31
Speaker
Alright, I guess I'm the only fucking nerd here today. Yeah, sure, yeah. I preferred Richard Whitelight, but, you know. Fucking hell, you fucking nerd. I preferred this particular host than the other host. may He's entertaining, he's a good guy.
01:06:47
Speaker
that's fair, it's true, it's true, it's true. I have absolutely nothing. I'm sorry. There's nothing on this day at all. Just a load of people that you've never heard of died. they're right There is one famous birthday, four famous deaths. You don't know any of them. Yeah.
01:07:00
Speaker
And the uk US s and UK number ones are exactly the same. So I can't even... It's an unexciting day for an unexciting episode. Let's fucking go. Yee-haw! Yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers.
01:07:14
Speaker
Yeah, because the chalkboard... I did like the chalkboard gag, though. I did like the chalkboard gag, I will admit. I will not use Abra. Yeah, I thought that was funny. I think i thought that was genuinely clever. Yeah.
Romance Themes in The Simpsons
01:07:24
Speaker
Is that a legitimate abbreviation for abbreviation? that I've never seen that used outside of that chalkboard cog. Absolutely not. There's no way it There's no way. There's no way.
01:07:33
Speaker
We then also see that the couch gag is the Monty Python. Yep. Which we have seen before. Twice, I think. Yeah, it's a third time now. Yes, third use, yeah.
01:07:44
Speaker
The episode begins with Marge in bed reading the Bridges of Madison County and saying she should really identify with the corn-fed heroine. I like this joke on like multiple levels because it's funny because no, she doesn't.
01:07:55
Speaker
But also that's kind of the gag is that most romance novels are written in a way that the female protagonist is so fucking bland that everyone can relate to them.
01:08:08
Speaker
And I like that gag. I think that's funny. Do you know more about the Bridges of Madison County than I do? I presume the fact that you're like, oh no, she doesn't relate to it tells me you know something about this book, but I don't know enough about it. No, I just know enough about romance novels.
01:08:21
Speaker
Oh, okay. Marge asks Homer if he's awake, which his response is just a burp. Then Marge has to wake him up and Homer asks what's wrong and asks if the house has run away and if the dog is on fire.
01:08:32
Speaker
ah Valid questions. Yeah. Marjorie asks Homer if thinks the romance has gone of their life. Homer's response, this is the burp again. Homer then complains that it's 3am and he's worked all day and Marjorie then points out it's 9.30 and he's been drinking in Maggie's kiddie pool, which gives us the first clip of the episode, which it was Homer drinking in the kiddie pool.
01:08:51
Speaker
It's going to be the theme, folks. Yeah, there's flashbacks and clips to everything. like there There is so little new material in this. It is... I'm really... If it wasn't so boring, I'd be impressed at how little they got away with actually doing in this episode. Yeah, because even some of the new voice acting is used over old so dialogue.
01:09:16
Speaker
It's of them just like badly lip-syncing. yeah Marge complains that they've been selling a poor example for the kids about love and she says that she wants to deal with the once of the deal with it like the issues dealt in the book.
01:09:30
Speaker
Homer then throws into the fire which is clearly not in the living room and has been used from a different clip. and yeah but was That was dog of death. Homer was learning to do surgery on the dog and he threw the book in the fire. oh yeah. Yeah.
01:09:41
Speaker
Well, I just thought his response is I knew we shouldn't a fireplace in the bedroom. So they then promptly removed it because it never features again. Yep. i wouldn't put too much weight on this episode. I mean, I guess technically it's canon, but like fucking hell. Nothing, nothing for Simpsons is canon until it needs to be.
01:09:59
Speaker
We get to our next clip, which is a clip of Inichi's Gachi episode where Gachi gets crushed by the moon. Yeah, they and they shot a whole episode. They got a pad 20 minutes with old clips. Yeah, they shot a whole episode. Yeah, they do. oh i So if we get the same dialogue, which was, ah how can you laugh at that cat being hit by the moon? And Bart's response is, it's a new episode. And then we get the badly dubbed in dialogue beginning of... Lisa pointing out that it may seem like it's old show, but it's interesting.
01:10:27
Speaker
New eyes. it's a It's just rehashed. We then go to automatically improved animation quality as Bart goes early. Yeah, the fact that the the the quality animation varied so much over the first five seasons means that like it's all over the place. What, that means that they put in effort to finding clips to dub over?
01:10:49
Speaker
Yeah, they did. Yeah. Somebody had to, like, fucking sift through five seasons worth of fucking bits of footage to stitch together into ah some sort of Frankenstein of an episode.
01:11:00
Speaker
And that's what this is. But that's really, and Lisa's response is, Ren and Stimpy do this all the time, and Morge gets quite fisting us when we're the last time we talked about Ren and Stimpy. The random-ass jab at Ren and Stimpy. Completely deserved. Fuck you, you corporate raping twat. But random-ass jab at Ren and Stimpy.
01:11:19
Speaker
I mean, Simpsons Archive suggests that's not actually deserved because Ren and Stimpy did not do that all that much. No, I mean, it's deserved because the creator of Ren and Stimpy was rapist. Oh, yeah, no, yeah, no, you're just, you just enjoy a jab at Ren and Stimpy and, yeah, deservedly so, but also, like, it's not an accurate criticism of it. That's weird, then. That's weird that they brought that up. I wonder if...
01:11:41
Speaker
I mean, think because we talked about it when we first started doing the podcast that there probably was a comparison to, for The Simpsons, to cartoons like Ren and Stimpy and other like, quote unquote, adult themed cartoons.
01:11:56
Speaker
So maybe they were just kind of... Bitter about the comparison Because Simpsons is a very different show They're just bor yeah taking and Taking the opportunity to jab at a show That they get compared to occasionally That is also not nearly as successful as they are So there's that as well Marge then tells the kids that it's time to teach them about love.
01:12:17
Speaker
But it's responses and there's no need because they've already learned and we get the clip back to the fuzzy bunny thing. yeah The entirety of the funny buzzy bit. The throbbing biological urges.
01:12:29
Speaker
Yeah, I can't even tell Lisa to real.
01:12:35
Speaker
but ah says you means romance and not love and but at least than so points out that romance is dead as it was acquired in a hostile takeover by hallmark and disney i'd say like your wrote yeah i can't even tell lia a shut up cause it's so fucking real yeah I think Marge's response, though, to tell the story of when she emotionally and almost physically cheated on their father is fucking wild to me.
01:13:01
Speaker
is an interesting choice, yes. Hang on, we'll get there, we'll get there. Marge just agrees by claiming romances all around them, which includes the examples being Ned serenading Maud dresses the heart and spirits dreaming of burns flying through the window. Ned Flanders and Maud Flanders might be weird, but they are couple goals.
01:13:20
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I also just suddenly realizing, and I'm going to spoil this episode, I'm so sorry I'm spoiling the episode, but, like, one of the main conclusions of this is that love does not work out for basically everybody. And, like, the first the first example given here is, like, two people who are happily married and in love.
01:13:38
Speaker
Yep. I really... Marge then tells them to think about their most cherished memories and Barge just thinks back to all the crank calls he made of Moe. Which was an amusing little montage. I swear they used this montage in the last clip show as well.
01:13:53
Speaker
I think they might have. Possibly, entirely possible. But Beau being fooled by I'm a stupid mom with an ugly face and a big butt and my butt smells and I like to kiss my butt will never not be funny. Then Marge goes, out ask your heart whether it's fondest desires and Homer just starts thinking about all the times he lusted after food, which is, hmm.
01:14:12
Speaker
Sacri-licious and something. Sacri-licious. Yeah, sacri-licious and something are like the best Homer thinking about foods at Sacri-licious. do like free goo as well. Free goo. Why don't to be more specific as this? Think about something in your life that was romantic and Homer thinks about kissing flans at the football game. was a beautiful moment of both of two men their true sexuality. It was great.
01:14:40
Speaker
This prompts Marge to go in, as you say, to her oh almost a affair with Jacques and we get the whole thing recapped. I remember this this bothering me so much more when the next episode is Marge having an unreasonable overreaction to Homer dancing with a stripper and that's it.
01:15:02
Speaker
Yep. Marge sums the whole thing up by saying she was glad she went down that ironic street and then Marge says, Marge tries to paint it as if you forget the part where I have already had a husband, that was my idea of romance. We cut to him looking absolutely horrified and he tells Marge that. Also, like, this wasn't romantic. This was Jacques being rapey as fuck, man.
01:15:23
Speaker
Like, here this wasn't romantic at all. Also, just just from sort meta podcasting side here, I love that we just skipped over three minutes of episode and you have missed nothing. Yeah. Look, look folks, when we get to these scenes, we have done this before. If you really want to know what we thought about it. We've got an episode about Jacques.
01:15:46
Speaker
To be honest, go back and listen to it because it is a very funny episode. That was one of my few bits that I did like seeing again was when Jacques pulls on Madge and she has that expression that just again says to me... Oh, the preceding bit.
01:15:59
Speaker
Yeah. She's preceding, guys. Because that face, that face to me just is... And that's funny to me. That's, you know, moving on. Yeah, if you do want to go back to our early Spotify episodes, that's there. its It is a very funny episode. They might appear on YouTube one day, when I can be asked. and There's a lot of very much air Marge's Bunny Years lore in that one I seem to recall.
01:16:22
Speaker
but I mean, when when it's appropriate, I bring it up. We then cut to Homer looking horrified, and Homer then... Yeah, I love the idea that Homer didn't know.
01:16:32
Speaker
like this is This is the one entertaining bit of the episode, is Homer being jealous of the Jack thing. So Homer sternly tells Marge she has to break up with Jack.
01:16:43
Speaker
Bet she can let him down gently in two months. As if Marge goes, okay, Homer. And Homer goes, that was a close. she But then he comes to Homer saying, okay, Marge, as long as we're traumatising the children, he's got a scandalous story of his own.
01:17:00
Speaker
Which was a fair point, Homer. So then we get into Homer's equivalent episode, which is the Mindy episode. I noticed something when watching this clip, though. When they get into the elevator together, right?
01:17:12
Speaker
they go They go down, and yet they end at the top of the what the cooling tower. Presumably work at the top of a cooling tower. I mean, of of course. how how foolish of How foolish of me. Where else would the new safety inspector work if not the top of the cooling tower? He's got to look into it to see if it's cool, man. yeah dirt again it Again, they just basically recap the episode of what happened. ah Seeing the flying monkeys is always going to make me laugh. Continue the research.
01:17:42
Speaker
I'm looking at the timestamps and once again, this is just a solid three minutes of chunks from the Mindy episode. Yeah. Yeah. This eventually ends with Bob being asked what happened to Mindy and Marge jealously asking what happened to Mindy and Homer's response is, she got, she hit the ball and got fired, which is code for Michelle Pfeiffer will return our calls.
01:18:01
Speaker
So yeah, good. I think it's so funny as well that Marge is, Marge isn't, jealous, she's angry. Like, Homer's reaction was was him being a fucking idiot. But Marge's, like, actively angry, and it's like, Marge, you did so much worse.
01:18:15
Speaker
Yeah. We should stress neither of them acted on their biological frothing urges, but... the i mean I mean, the difference is that mark that Homer did kiss Mindy. mar I don't think Marge ever actually like kissed, fit like did anything physical with Jacques, but I will still maintain that what Marge did was significantly worse because Homer the entire time is actively trying to resist and is too stupid not to.
01:18:39
Speaker
Whereas Marge is actively trying to cheat on Homer. This isn't a o women bit from a dude. This is just a fact that Marge was being a bitch.
01:18:50
Speaker
I mean, like, they showed the Homer-Mindy kiss again, and, like, i'm i kind of I'm still of the opinion that, like, that's not, like, cheating. It's innocent. and it's It is pretty innocent, yeah. It's them saying goodbye to each other. It is, yeah. More than a...
01:19:06
Speaker
I mean, I i don't know. i you know they I don't want to like... There's an argument to be made either way. both of Both of them behaved shitty is is the end result. But i just think Marge was being... was Was far worse than what Homer did.
01:19:21
Speaker
Oh, God, yeah. This then prompts Marge to ask Lisa if she's got a love story. And Lisa's is... Like theirs, it's full of tragic and hurt feelings and scars. It's the Lisa and Ralph love story. Scars that will never heal. It's Ralph Wiggum. Well, basically that heart attack where his heart ripped in half is probably, that probably did take a fair amount of healing from. This was something I don't remember if we talked about in the episode at the time. Because a mutual friend of the podcast and resident expert on fighter jets and South African politics, Blaney, pointed out that that episode is essentially 25 minutes of laughing at a special needs kid who's infatuated with a girl.
01:20:01
Speaker
And I don't remember if we ever actually really talked about that. Probably not. It doesn't ring any bells, no. Yeah, and i do yeah when when Blaney pointed out i was like, wait, why didn't I know? That is kind of... It's very of the time. you know Again, we've got remember that Simpsons was done in the 90s, at least, at the start. But yeah i it yeah, now when I look... Because I remember liking that episode, but then now I'm like, ooh, ooh, maybe not, ooh.
01:20:25
Speaker
I wasn't laughing at that. I was laughing at No, of course not. None of us here were laughing because Ralph is special needs. None of us. We can all agree that we're not monsters. But I did find it interesting. and Speaking of monsters, this prompts Bart to give his romantic story, which is, of course, as we mentioned earlier, the babysitter.
01:20:44
Speaker
What was the name? Sophie. Sophie. I don't remember. Oh, it was Laura. Laura Powers. Laura, yeah. We basically get the reenactment of the scene where she revealed she had a boyfriend and ripped his heart out.
01:20:55
Speaker
But fight out that did end in heartbreak and thanks, Marge, for opening up old wounds. This just ends with the entire family looking very sad. We then go to the next scene and Marge quotes Jerry Lee Lewis for saying there's a whole lot of frowning going on. She then laughs and then goes back to frowning.
01:21:09
Speaker
Lisa then asks if any love story has a happy ending and Marge goes, what about the time Anselmo got married? We come back to Anselmo having her foot rubbed and then soon Bob Gray soon will kill you. And Marge has to stop the story immediately.
01:21:20
Speaker
How does Marge know that part of the story? Well, she knows, yeah, she I guess she knows that she knows that he plans to kill her and that's like, what we see as the viewer is not what Marge thinks of, I guess.
01:21:33
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's fair, yeah. Marching an effort to prove that love does have a happy ending tells the story of Grandpa and her mother's ill-fated romance. A clip from an episode that's like a few episodes ago!
01:21:47
Speaker
Technically, it was last season, so for people however watching this, presumably this was, ah you know, at least a few months ago, but also like, yeah holy shit, this was not long ago. For us, this was like, we talked about this like two episodes ago, what the Yeah, yeah.
01:21:59
Speaker
And Lisa points out that did not have a happy ending. That was the detached tale of modern alienation. Thanks for the review of The Graduate. So Marge asks if anybody learns about love and Bart says we've learned it screws everybody up and Marge gives up and asks Lisa to help her out but Lisa says she's saving her love for someone who's going to not regret it.
01:22:19
Speaker
it's It's a Corey from the Non-Threatening Boys. Marge points out she tried but maybe the kids are right and
Critique of Clip Show Format
01:22:26
Speaker
Homer interjects and tells her a love story but it was right and it's of course the story of Marge and Homer and their high school prom and how they got together.
01:22:35
Speaker
yes Yeah, yeah don't don't tell anyone about my busy hands. I forgot how much I loved that line. I fucking love, don't tell anyone about my busy hands. I'm so respected, it would damage the town to Riff. It damage the town, yeah, it's so good. That bit is great.
01:22:50
Speaker
Lisa then ends it by asking, that was their first kiss, and Homer says, not the last, and we get a montage of Homer and Marge kissing. This was genuinely sweet. This was genuinely very cute. no They don't kiss at the table and Marge points out that the this is what she meant by romance. Unfortunately, the kids have buggered off back to go watch it. She's scratchy. Homer and Marge just stay at the kitchen table and keep on kissing. and so That's your episode, folks. It is an episode.
01:23:14
Speaker
i think I got through that in like 10 minutes. I think that's record time. I don't think you'll ever beat that record. That is the pace I wanted from this. I assumed somehow that our last clip show, we did manage to get the full air out of it. was like, why? Yeah, this is what I wanted. Well, I will say, in defense of that first clip show episode, the plot that was going alongside it was all right. Yeah, that was an plot. Oh, yeah. They did original material in the first clip show. This one was so phoned in. It beggars belief. How about blew up the house with a can of beer somehow? April. Pfft.
01:23:49
Speaker
it Seems to be coming from the old Simpsons place. This episode, I should probably observe, is so phoned in that it was written by John Vitti, but you will not see his name in the credits as the writer. He insisted on being credited as Pennywise in the credits because he did not want to be associated with this much of a...
01:24:08
Speaker
Yeah, sure. that's Stephen King's back! Yeah. He did not want to be associated with a clip show. but is fair. um um i mean, we can ask what we thought of it, but i think we're all in the universal agreement that it's a waste of 20 minutes. Yeah, once again, really is that I think I said with my last clip show episode, it is a clip show and therefore does not get a rating.
01:24:30
Speaker
I think I said that last time and I'll say it again. If it's a clip show, it doesn't get an out of Homer for me. Oh, fair play. Okay. Michael. I'll give it a... This seems familiar out of Homer.
01:24:42
Speaker
It all seemed familiar. I gave
Romance Portrayals in Sitcoms and Personal Anecdotes
01:24:45
Speaker
it a 53% new footage out of Homer, except that I don't think it even rated that high. I want to point out as well, though, just that something that amused me just then, was Michael sometimes is very esoteric with his out-of-Homers and won't explain them, but he decided to explain this one.
01:25:02
Speaker
the The least needing of explanation... I mean, I was toying with two because the other one I was potentially going to get was traumatizing the kids out of the home because it's traumatic to relive experience.
01:25:14
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I yeah i remembered the line 53% new footage from Itchy and Scratchy the movie, and I was i basically already foregone conclusion given this episode, it that score, before I even watched it. And then when I it, I was like, shit, this wasn't even 53%. Like, it's not even close. this is like...
01:25:32
Speaker
I think it doesn't even break 10% tops new footage. Yeah. Like the intro bedroom scene and the kissing at the end is about it. And there's almost nothing in between it.
01:25:43
Speaker
There's just so little here. Did it have anything to say about society? that's Weirdly enough, weirdly enough, I think this had more to say about society than last episode. But I always go first. So, Michael, sorry, you were about to say something.
01:25:57
Speaker
Love is complicated is what I'll go with. But exactly, that's genuinely what I had written, is is that despite not getting a rating, it's a reminder that romance shifts and changes as you age. We resist this change, thinking that romance should always be as heart-pounding and soul-encompassing as it was when we were a teenager.
01:26:15
Speaker
While you can still have romance and you should pursue it, do not stay in a relationship that does not have romance. But what romance actually looks like will always be different as you and your relationship age. And I think sitcoms do a great job of showing this sometime.
01:26:32
Speaker
Everybody Loves Raymond with Frank and Marie. You know, the whole joke is, oh, lol, they don't love each other. But then when you see the moments where they do love each other, you think, wow, I hope I have that.
01:26:45
Speaker
when I'm their age. the The only one that I think doesn't was like love and marriage or ah married with children because the whole joke was just my wife, am I my right, guys? And it's kind of hard to have romance in a show about that.
01:26:58
Speaker
But Roxanne, Simpsons, they all show that romance... Yeah, cool. When we were in high school, romance was this, you know, crazy big thing and like, oh my God, my throat's closing up before I talk to them. But that's not what romance is like when you're an adult. And I am astoundingly think this episode did a good job of displaying that.
01:27:20
Speaker
Yeah, fair play. Yeah, I know. so Good take. And that wasn't even me phoning it in. i genuinely, you know, this is genuinely something I've always been passionate about because as I've gotten older, I have, like, obviously you guys know me personally. You know what happened in my recent history. You know, i romance changes, romance shifts, and you shouldn't accept shitty romance, you know? So listen to the moral of this episode.
01:27:44
Speaker
is all I'm saying. Yeah, fair enough. I mean, I think there were two there are two points in the slightly in the original moments in this episode that were like fairly on the nose about it anyway. Lisa's line about romance has been, like, commercialized by Disney and Hallmark and the like, is like, Yep, no, that that's that's fair and accurate, think. don't look movies for what romance should be, I think. Do you not look at movies for romance. Yeah, 100%, yeah.
01:28:10
Speaker
And then also there was, like, ah right towards the end, there is a line from Marge, that says, did anybody learn anything about love? And Bart says, I learned it screws everybody up. Okay. Yeah, that's also true. Yeah, he'll do that. Who you are as a person in your, like, late 20s is definitely shaped by who you dated in your early 20s.
01:28:33
Speaker
o I did not date many people in my early 20s, so i don't know what that makes for me. I was, well, like, yeah, like i said, I was with one person for most of my 20s. Right. Cool. Michael, you got any takeaways?
01:28:47
Speaker
What's love got to do? Got to do with it. What's love but a secondhand emotion? I love that song. yeah Although I don't think I've ever listened to the original. I've only listened to Daniel Ate the Sandwiches cover.
01:29:00
Speaker
I don't know. That band or the version? It's not a band. It's just a lass on YouTube. She's really good. oh She plays a ukulele. Oh. cool She did a song about her dad dying and it was really sad but very, very beautiful.
01:29:15
Speaker
And I cried because when I thought about my dad dying I was very sad, obviously. that's ah That's a natural reaction. Yeah, it's really weird to like end an episode at 1 hour 30 but I guess we should move on to ending it.
01:29:28
Speaker
was going to say, unless you really have 25 minutes of padding to go, let's maybe... yeah I really don't want to be in the Simpsons spirit about it. Ha ha ha ha Okay, Matt, what's going on in your life? what what do What do you want people to look at, see, smell, taste, listen to, watch? Well, you can always taste me. i am delicious. But the, as I said last episode, episode the latest episode of All for Arnold is out.
01:29:54
Speaker
I consider this the first episode of my of my deadline, so I've got two more episodes to do it, but I am going to it Oh, i see. That's how it is, is it? Yeah, it is. um So I'm going to try and get it done ah asap I'm going to work. I'm going message John literally after this podcast to to figure out when we're good to talk about Running Man because I've already fucking watched it.
01:30:16
Speaker
Oh, shit. Yeah. okay And I'm going to watch it again to make notes because I make notes the first time. If you want a taste of my opinions, cheap. I will say nothing more. Oh. Yeah, but off-round all this out, go watch it.
01:30:29
Speaker
Genuinely very fun thing to make and very silly thing that me and John do on the side. Other than
Promotions and Personal Projects
01:30:35
Speaker
that, I'm going to be in a fucking video game, guys. if you go to... i think I think I mentioned this last episode, but if you go to Steam and search Spooky Tales Volume 1, I'm going to be the narrator in that actual video game. You can watch.
01:30:51
Speaker
buy so if you wishlist it right now you will get my dorset tones doing a creepy voice uh for your viewing pleasure so i'm um i'm incredible genuinely incredibly excited about that it's so amazing for me personally but other than that i'm on blue sky at matt perspective uh i don't you know i do i do actually post quite a lot weirdly enough because i just have like dumb thoughts but other than that i don't think i've got anything i need to promote that i mean there's this podcast called more man in the morning that you might have heard of it's pretty good pretty good it's on spotify youtube and all places you can find podcasts so maybe go check that one out as well it's pretty cool
01:31:31
Speaker
yeah, that's me, Michael. Yeah, but you can follow me on Blue Sky at Bun and Mash Force. As alluded if you would like to listen to any of the episodes of which were vaguely referenced in the clip show, we are available on Spotify, Apple Music, and our video versions up to about season four are on YouTube. so How has it been that many? it's different think so.
01:31:53
Speaker
Am I right about that, Jon? Uh, yeah, thereabouts, yeah. But please do feel free to check our back catalogue. Thank you for supporting the podcast. It really does help us. and Absolutely.
01:32:05
Speaker
Any likes and subscriptions, we will greatly appreciate it. h Me? Oh, it's me. yeah wish Follow me on Blue Sky. Maroka.beesky.social.
01:32:19
Speaker
um Still, maybe, possibly follow my other YouTube channel, youtube.com forward slash button mash. I wrote a little bit more of a script for a thing. i'm still gonna, like, caveat that with don't hold your breath, but like i just vaguely, slowly trundling in the direction of possibly making another video at some point this year. Who knows? I hope so. I love your videos.
01:32:43
Speaker
Thanks. I genuinely rewatch them a lot. Really? Yeah, I've said this multiple times. I've rewatched your um your video on our Reckless Disgrab for Gravity like four or five times.
01:32:55
Speaker
That's such a weirdly specific and niche thing. It's a good video. Well, thank you. i just I'm not sure who who it would appeal to. like i made it for people Okay.
01:33:09
Speaker
I made it for me. I was like, who who's played both of these? It's me. I'm it, isn't it? Cool. Have I got anything to promote? um If you're in Gorton and Denton, vote green. I don't think I'm going to get this episode out before the by-election, but vote green.
01:33:25
Speaker
Reform. kind Terrifyingly close to winning that one. sir But it's fine because they keep making new splinter parties. So they're just gonna keep splitting their conservatives, right wing. They keep making splinter parties. I'm happy for them to do that. Yeah, they they can split their vote. That's great. Yeah, let's do that.
Conclusion and Reflection on Social Themes
01:33:43
Speaker
Yeah. Otherwise, yeah, vote green. it it its It's socialism or barbarism, folks. Vote for both socialism. That's green. On a happier note, i will I will, since John seems so upset about my my timer for my All for Arnold, I will say that if I have not watched ah The Graduate by next episode, I will i will submit to a forfeit.
01:34:05
Speaker
i think that's fair I think that's fair. I said I'd watch it and then I didn't watch it, so I will watch The Graduate. cause i do genuinely want to watch it. I'm just very lazy. Okay. and Except for when it comes to The Running Man, which you've watched way ahead of schedule.
01:34:18
Speaker
I was at my parents and it was on Netflix and it was leaving Netflix. So I was like, fuck it. Oh, okay. Right. Fair enough. but Well, let's get that organized soon. But that's not to be done on air. The folks don't need to hear about us coordinating our calendars. going to leave that there, I think.
01:34:36
Speaker
Thank you all for listening. We'll keep keep it brief today at 140. I beat my 150 target. This is great. See you next time. Bye. Bye, everybody.