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S4E16&17 feat. Sam - Duffless & Last Exit to Springfield
2 Playsin 7 hours
Jon, Michael, Matt and special guest Sam (activist and recovered alcoholic) watch The Simpsons episodes 'Duffless' & 'Last Exit to Springfield', and discuss what they say about society.
Follow us on the Socials: @Molemanpod
Jon: @Meroka.bsky.social
Matt: @mattperspective.bsky.social
Michael: @buttonmashhorse.bsky.social
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, this is Moleman in the morning. Good Moleman to you. Well, welcome to Moleman in the morning. Good Moleman, GG. Oh, did he die? I was drunk, Moleman, and that really hurt my head. Did you actually headbutt the table for that one? um I didn't mean to headbutt it that hard. The commitment to the bits. I am a profession ole. We can tell. We can tell.
00:00:29
Speaker
My head hurts. We are more man in the morning. But you got to live with that now. Yeah. We are more man in the morning. Can I do an intro now? Yeah, go for it. We are more man in the morning. We are podcasts about how the Simpsons has a lot to say about society.
00:00:46
Speaker
I am your host, John, and I am joined as ever by my two charming and slightly concussed co-hosts, Matt. Hello! And Michael. At the Ho, podcastarino. I need a catchphrase. Joining us today, we got as a special guest joining
Podcast Focus and Humorous Misreads
00:01:04
Speaker
us. We have Sam, who is a community organizer and a and works with, sorry, give me the phrasing again. Yeah, with neurodivergent people and researching.
00:01:15
Speaker
narrative edits. And my rollercoaster full of tigers. Does that help? Absolutely. he it Yeah. Nailed it. Cool. Thanks. Yeah, and no problem. Yeah. and ah We are looking at two episodes of The Simpsons today. We have got season four, episode 16, Duffless and season four, episode 17, Last Exit to Springfield.
00:01:40
Speaker
I misread this title and thought it was duffels at first. Duffels? This isn't just an episode about coats. I was thinking it's like a duffel bag reference or something. I don't know. What does duffel mean? Like, you got a duffel coat and a duffel. Is it a type of fabric? Is it a duffel? Duffel fabric? Oh, it's a brand. Okay. Interesting. Not sponsored. Never knew. But we could be. Duffel, sponsor the pod. That's the first sponsor. Duffel the brand.
00:02:10
Speaker
A brand that I didn't know was a brand, please give us money. Uh,
Drink Choices and Sobriety Discussion
00:02:17
Speaker
yeah. So, uh, as ever before we jump into either of the episodes, we've got some business to take care of and it's to discuss what are we drinking today? Oh no, is that appropriate? Um, dairy depend depends what you're drinking.
00:02:35
Speaker
Well, some ah generous twat got me rum. So I am drinking Dunderhead rum with a little bit of lemonade because I'm not drinking it straight because I'm a big baby. I wanted to. I would have gotten Dr. Pepper, but I have been swamp-oed today because I have a confession to make. Oh, God.
00:02:56
Speaker
Ooh, that's fucking delicious. a So good does that I always set myself the challenge of making sure that All 4 Arnold is edited in time of when I say it will be, and last episode you'll recall I said that it would be out by now, and you can very clearly tell. It's not out though, I'm so sorry, I was so close, it's almost done. I'm so sorry. I did wonder about that one, I gotta to be honest. Yeah, it'll be out soon.
00:03:24
Speaker
We bought you three extra days of editing time. I know.
00:03:32
Speaker
My call. Passionism. Okay, so due to an unavoidable schedule conflict, your co-host of this podcast may or may not have drunk seven pints of alcohol before we started recording. so Seven?
00:03:47
Speaker
So he's desperately trying to sober up as we speak, so he's drinking a cup of tea at the moment. I've seen you after to five, i'm I'm worried now. Hamia, are you talking? Good Lord. Well, cool. I'm here to provide balance and
The Simpsons Episode Date and Cultural Insights
00:04:06
Speaker
nuance in this. Sam, what are you drinking? I'm just drinking water, actually. Which isn't to say that being sober isn't fun, because it can be. ah Yeah, right now I'm just drinking water.
00:04:17
Speaker
and Okay, fair enough. I am also um behaving today. I've made myself a... I've made myself a fancy tea. I've made a black forest chai latte. What on earth is that? That sounds a bit like an abomination. Black forest? What? I got a black forest tea from the fancy tea shop in town and I made it into a latte. Okay. How? Latte is coffee? No, a latte is just milky. You get a chai latte.
00:04:49
Speaker
Does it taste of what first get them? Yeah, modern hot drinks. Can I say i I'm saying I hate modern Hot drinks with a burning pun intended passion. Holy shit. There there are a lot of cup of tea It's all one
Duff Beer Ads and Science Project Chaos
00:05:05
Speaker
cup of tea. You know what that means. Give me a fucking cup of tea There are a lot of people bastardizing tea in the same way that the beer industry has bastardized beer, but i'm that's not to say I'm not here for it, because I really do like a lot of silly teas. Oh, I love silly teas. Nah, give me a silly tea, it's going in your head.
00:05:27
Speaker
Yorkshire tea, all bust. Oh, I absolutely love a Yorkshire tea. We'll never decline a Yorkshire tea, but I also do like a a Black Forest chai occasionally. I am currently drinking a Yorkshire tea. noise Nice. Nice. Alright, Simpsons. Anyway, Simpsons. Dufflers, our first episode, aired on February 18th, 1993. What on earth happened on this day?
00:05:50
Speaker
Um, nothing according to the various websites. I've just got the most eclectic death, a death list that I've ever seen. There are a lot of deaths on this day, huh? Yeah. yeah on All sorts of varieties and ages by the looks of it. Seven famous deaths on this day.
00:06:07
Speaker
Was it from alcoholism? um ah one One of them was. There you go then. Themed. Well, probably alcoholism. Michael David Morrison died of acute intoxication of a combination of alcohol and drugs at the age of 33. What a silly man. Yep, um Kerry Von Eric shot himself. I know that much. American professional wrestler.
00:06:31
Speaker
All right Let's let's really bring the mood down. Yeah phone Patrick wait British reggae rock bassist Pasta Dushi dies of a heart defect at 24 pressing Let's have some music instead. That's a bit more cheery So Whitney Houston is still number one in the US, where I will always love you. What a fucking bunch of idiots. She will always, always love you. Yep, and no limit. Too unlimited is the UK number one. I think that was... Yeah, we had that last time, didn't we? I think, spoiler alert, we'll have some new number ones for the next episode. Excitement! I'm just spoiling myself, and we have one new number one next episode.
00:07:14
Speaker
Right, so get into the episode. Oh yeah, Duffless, let's go. Okay, so the blackboard gag is goldfish don't bounce. True. Dark. He's very true and also very dark, yeah. The couch gag, the family overshoot the mark and run into the film of the episode being recorded before going back into the frame. Gotta be honest, fucking love to this one. You're a fan of this one?
00:07:37
Speaker
Yeah, I thought it was hilarious. so um but very As always, I'm very easily pleased. ah Yeah, this one was great. We have seen this before though, right? No, this is this is this is new. i think both I think both of our couch tags are new.
00:07:51
Speaker
I'm checking. At one point I got into a ah ah ah period of checking these things, and this was first seen in Lisa the Beauty Queen. What? Yeah. All right, fair enough. I guess I just didn't pay attention that week. I normally don't, to be fair. We've observed in season three, like, they don't seem to make enough couch gags to do every single episode of a season, so you sort of double up a lot of them. They've just given up feathers. Unless it's the circus one, then they step-topple up on it.
00:08:22
Speaker
Yep, that's the one. Well, that one was established, cost a lot of money. So get that one out there. How? It's so shit. There are elephants doing backflips. Yeah, that's it. They needed the reference. They didn't know what an elephant doing a backflip looked like. So they had to buy elephants and train them to do backflips just so they could animate that.
00:08:47
Speaker
ah no Alright, so the episode begins with ah the school science fair taking place, and Principal Skinner is very happy with what's happening, considering there are no Asian kids around.
00:08:57
Speaker
oh i was immediately i was like no this isn't funny this is bad uh 90s humor everybody and uh we forgot with a new guest we need to establish the rules we talk a lot feel free to interrupt us yeah those are the rules yeah if you have something to say shout out and people will hopefully pipe down now that's uh the general rule of the podcast and uh skynyr comes the across bot science project which is the go-go ray and uh essentially it's a ray that just shoots uh
00:09:29
Speaker
ways that its participants and dance moves happen.
Homer's Brewery Tour and Legal Woes
00:09:32
Speaker
Make some dance. It took me an alarming amount of time to realize this was a dream. You did this last time Bart was dreaming as well. I know. What did you think Bart actually developed a dance break? As soon as the rear came on screen, I was like, hang on. Some are a bit odd here. Yeah, but being smart enough to invent a gadget was, I think, the giveaway for me. I just kind of accepted it. I was just like, okay, fair enough. This is a bit weird, but why not?
00:10:02
Speaker
So Skinner starts doing the mashed potato, and Mrs. Capoppa ends up doing the monkey, which he cannot stop. And stop doing the monkey. are these Are these dances? I've never heard mashed potato. I know the monkey, because Johnny Bravo does it. Okay. fromda these These are dances of the 1960s, I believe.
00:10:19
Speaker
Yeah usual Simpsons stuff I guess yeah but obviously going to 1960s dances for reasons. You know loves doing the mashed potato and gives bought first prize as the words first price continue to repeat themselves. dont realizing I'm interrupting the flow of education and I like it or something like that. lot We don't cut to see that it was actually a dream, and it's just Lisa saying first prize into Bot Thea. Bot inquired why she's saying that, and Lisa's response is, I'm just going to screw with you. Does this work? What a piece of shit. Is this the thing? Can you just say things to people in their dreams and like make stuff happen? Can you do that? Yeah, all the time I wake up to like noises that were in my dream that would have like themed my dream. In terms of like had my alarm in my dream. Like that's a cliche, but it's real.
00:11:06
Speaker
We then see that Homer's being encouraged to give Lisa encouragement for a science project and we see that Lisa has a big ass tomato and Lisa's approach is that she's trying to solve old hunger which leads to Lisa's own imagination dreaming of bit of weird white saviour fantasies from Lisa there. This is pretty much the best way to phrase this. In Lisa's fantasy, this poor man is slicing a tomato vertically, which I don't think is physically possible. If you cut over Bart's topical reference thing again.
00:11:38
Speaker
where he just says something that I can't remember what he says, but he just says something that's like, hey, this is a thing that's going on. No, no, no, you're
Substance Use and Satirical Commentary
00:11:45
Speaker
right. Lisa says she made the um tomato food steroids and bob that's yes. How was our Olympic athletes? Lisa says the very same.
00:11:54
Speaker
Does anyone find these funny? ah see Anyone here? Do any of you find these funny? I find them incredibly, like, eye rolling. When he's just like, yeah i thought hey, it the real world. Yeah, I think it's interesting how, like, obviously it's an episode about alcohol, but they start off by talking about steroids and cigarettes.
00:12:16
Speaker
whicher Yeah, so they're sort of like talking about different, like I guess different drugs really, um and what role they play in society. I don't know if that's deepening it. Yeah, like what's acceptable? Yeah. No, I totally get that. Like, it's acceptable to use steroids when you're an athlete, you know, because we all, it's like, what is it? A best kept secret kind of thing. We all know they do it. We just don't say they do it. I mean, is it even a secret? No, of course not. Well, that's my point is I can't remember the specific phrase for it, but we all know they do it.
00:12:48
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we've we've we've had Simpsons episodes that have very much talked about doping in the Olympics as well. I mean, human beings don't tend to look like um bodybuilders, generally. You take that back. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the peak of humanity. Absolutely. oh no i have complete I have complete competencies.
00:13:10
Speaker
yeah Are you saying that the intro to Commando wasn't how all men live in the woods? Just chainsaw, log, muscles. that not Is that not real? That's everybody builders routine in the next time in the early 90s. And there's this theme of like when it is and isn't acceptable to like do different drugs.
00:13:35
Speaker
So like later when the cop is doing the demonstration, well obviously you we'll get to that, but he like shows a video of him drinking beer and like chilling out. And it shows like, if you have enough power and influence, you have the right to do different drugs. Like athletes have the right to use steroids or whatever. But like if the if an average person did it,
00:14:02
Speaker
it might have more dogs are allowed to smoke yeah yeah yeah he was all ah but okay so um we cut to uh part showing off his science project which is uh making the dog smoke cigarettes okay this was another one that i was just like nah don't like that i don't know if it's just because of recent personal events or just general harm to dogs don't like it was just like nah not into this now don't give your dog cigarettes folks it's it's fine it is shown it is shown to be bad it is compliant with the haze code yeah oma declares he's off to work and then we see the monologue in his mind that says which reveals that he's planning to duck out of work to go to the duff brewery and then his brain has a little back and forth until homa accidentally reveals that he is off to the duff brewery when says this out loud homa's brain starts to panic and uh can't work out a way out of it until march just point blank asks him if he's going to the duff brewery and just treats him with that
00:14:56
Speaker
i was not expecting like because of the way it's cut you know like it cuts off his mouth when he's thinking i thought the bit was going to be that he's just said all of this out loud but instead it takes a really long time and then he does like say out that it was just a very odd it was odd editing i guess more than anything i like the bit obviously but just just just a bit of weird weird i do kind of relate to the did i did i say that or just think it thing though the amount of times like i kind of like i talk to myself way too much and it mostly comes from youtubing and podcasting i'm just so used to like saying
00:15:32
Speaker
my inner monologue that I talk to myself endlessly and I'm probably insane for it, but you know, whatever. It is what it is. You guys have known me long enough now. I don't have an inner monologue. I just say what I think. But yeah, there's plenty of times that I have thought stuff and then be like, wait, did I say that out loud? I might have said that out loud. And I mean, I mean, a social situation which does not allow me to be saying every thought out loud. Shit. Did I do that?
00:15:57
Speaker
as I was gonna say, you usually the reaction that nobody's given me any strange looks yet suggests like it it worked out okay, so far. That's why you can base the item. If no one looks at you like you're a weirdo, then you've succeeded, I think. Shit, then I've failed. Then go back to the plant and everyone is being lined up like cattle, employees are being kicked in the arse for drying their shoes, and Homa pours out an ancient map which gives... If the plant is this strict on their workers, how does Homa get away with someone?
00:16:26
Speaker
because he's got a map yeah but it's i guess it's for it's for the bit ultimately every time i question these things in simpsons it's for the bit it is and it's for the bit to stop this is solely for but this this is just just to make the joke that the nuclear power plant is run like a prison yes yeah homo's got his map which tells him he's got to retreat to 7b which i'm pretty sure homo works if
Chalkboard Gags and McBain Film Discussion
00:16:47
Speaker
the plant he wished to flee go to sector 7b we don't see homo trying to flee and uh here's the past several skeletons on the way and um homo eventually think encounters a giant spider which fucking know but which to get past he's got a quote of bible verse and homo's got absolutely nothing so he just throws a rocket here knocks it he got thou shalt not and that was about it he was halfway there
00:17:11
Speaker
Homer then leaps out of the window and Barney is waiting for him with a curve of a mattress. Barney- Is that Princess Di? Barney, thinking he's seen Princess Di, drives away and Homer hits the concrete. Aw, space. That back-breaking noise, though. Fortunately, Barney didn't actually see Princess Di, he just saw a pile of rags. Is that a bit? Is that a thing? I think that was intended to be a bit, yeah. Is anyone smart enough to know what the bit is? I think it's just the Simpsons having a go at Princess Di.
00:17:38
Speaker
Yeah, but i'm yeah how so? Is it because she's skinny or she had bad taste in clothes? I don't know the bit. I assumed it was, I don't know, presumably a crack at her fashion taste. I will note that Simpson's archive did wonder if it was somehow even deeper than that, and it was more a reference to the fact that she was a popular subject of the tabloids, the rags.
00:18:01
Speaker
the rag that's clever if that's true that's clever and simpsons do like making absurdly deep cut jokes yeah i mean i feel like that's a bit over the top for and overthinking it but who knows like we love to overthink things maybe the simpsons were just saying that uh princess daddy's poor maybe it was foreshadowing we don't know anyway simpsons and We go back to the school and Lisa asks Bart to look after the giant tomato and Bart becomes all three stooges and the impersonates Curly. Why did she bring it into school if the science festival wasn't today? Solely for this bit of the episode. and a bit But for the bit? of ice yeah Shut up Matt for the bit. Yep, so it's gonna at this moment conveniently inside he needs to tie his shoelace and we get a glorious view of his horse. It's like wiggling his booty and singing the shoelace song.
00:18:54
Speaker
To be fair, I don't think anyone can blame Bart for what happens next as Bart decides to lob the tomato at Skinner's outstretched arse. I was fully expecting a NAMM flashback. I think we kind we kind of got that because we get the shadow going over Skinner and Skinner turns around and we get the slow motion. Nooooooo. Just ah an aside, you said the Shoelace song as though that's a thing. Is this a thing that I'm not aware of?
00:19:21
Speaker
Yeah, there's shoelace tying songs. I mean, the ones that aren't as rent-free in my head is. Yeah. But there's others, like the one in Spongebob, which lives rent-free in my head. Don't know that one.
00:19:40
Speaker
ah you go as my shiing to the day Anyway, the tomato splatters all over Skinner's arse and we get dramatic music as this happens. The kids laugh at the clearly shell-shot Skinner. That's your non-flashback way. And Lisa yells out, but she's not happy. And we come back to the brewery and we see that we get the cuckoo clock thing of the man on the couch being drunk.
00:20:05
Speaker
Yeah, yeah like just the weird fusion of that was very clear. They very clearly started drawing that like, we're going to just draw Homer. And then we thought, no, that's weird. And then he gave him a different head. The tall guy greets him and talks about the recent controversy and nobody has any clue what he's talking about, even though he points out that this was another really long bit. We don't point out it was on CNN and nobody knows what the hell he's talking about, though. He just kind of brushes over it.
00:20:31
Speaker
I don't know what they've got against CNN. We don't see several signs, including one that says, ah I know he's not a commie because he doesn't drink stuff. Yeah, I think thats there's quite a lot in the episode about how so the alcohol industry and capitalism of showing the consumption of alcohol to be sexy and glamorous and all of that sort of thing. ALICE Oh yeah, there's so many jabs at the marketing of alcohol. I mean, going to these posters, the first one they show is a prohibition-era one, which is always Dr. Duff's health tonic, and I was like,
00:21:15
Speaker
Legitimately, that's how a number of alcohol companies did get around prohibition. They just marketed it as medicinal. There are a handful of American whiskey distilleries that predate prohibition because they were just like, oh, we're making medicinal whiskey. It's fine. it's The doctor can prescribe it.
00:21:33
Speaker
Well the first commercial that we see kind of sees that with a doctor saying that only Duff feels your cue zone would pure be a good mess. I love that jab at making up bullshit medical terms that you that aren't liable.
00:21:49
Speaker
but yeah yeah yeah But could be enough to like make it sound vaguely medical. I always love that. Because if you go watch old adverts for Coca-Cola, they are insane with that kind of bullshit. Well, cigarette companies need to do this. It's also in the 1950s, 60s, where they'd have a doctor go on and go, if you want to have a nice, smooth, clear cigarette blowing down your throat, this is the one for you. Yes. yeah all the ones that were straight up like admitted that they were gonna get you addicted because there's that um it's not Marlboro that's just the only brand I remember but they were like um it literally says we're gonna get you like isn't there literally admitting yeah they're literally admitting you will you will want these that's crazy
00:22:37
Speaker
and presumably they they yeah they fully knew that as well that's evil yeah yeah i mean this ad ends with the guy flying off and like to me that reaction was like wait red bull it was like yeah but no wings no that that that predates I think I looked this up and I think Red Bull didn't come till like 97, so it's like, it's a few years, I don't know how I need to, I feel like I'm gonna double check that now. Googling of the day. Googling of the day. So speaking of evil, we see Richard Nixon.
00:23:10
Speaker
and oh yeah and we then see that Duff is sponsoring the presidential both debate and John F Kennedy hardly dorses Duff and Richard Nixon tries to do the same without actually saying the name of the beer and gets booed. How many comments are that man has not never drunken Duff in his life?
00:23:29
Speaker
This is supposedly based on an actual ah debate of the day, um and I spent way more time than was reasonable trying to find a source on that one, and came up, like, fairly empty-handed, short of spending four hours watching presidential debates from 1960. And I'm not that dedicated. I watched a whole Kennedy speech once.
00:23:57
Speaker
That's my sharing. No, unfortunately not. I was trying to find a specific quote for something and I genuinely can't remember what. Yeah. The reference on Simpson's archive before that debate is JFK versus Nixon debate in the 1960s brackets. You know the one. No, no we don't. so We don't go off fault that far. I don't know that one! No, I don't. The Tower Group continues, and they introduce to you several of beers equal in a new flavor of the The, uh... And then, I mean, did you notice that they're all coming from the same, uh, funnel? that That got me ah so as a fan of, uh, beer, but not as much of a fan of beer as John. I thought very funny.
00:24:40
Speaker
I mean, as an industry inside secret, there are a lot more bears that are the same thing than you would probably appreciate. Absolutely. As the tour guide says that Duff has several believe tricks up their sleeve, and Homer begins to agree with what these are, and the the guy tries to pull them off for for finally admitting that Duff has absolutely nothing and no new ideas, and Homer immediately goes like that. Yeah, he's like, are you happy? No.
00:25:05
Speaker
Like, of course he's not. he he won He was excited about the new beer. It's very cute. Barney later reveals they do have a lot of flavor. that They're getting into silly stuff like raspberry beers, but, you know, like, they're doing weird spin-offs. Subtle dig at specifically John. That's what that was. They actually knew, like, we talk about the Simpsons predicting the future. They predicted that John would be that wanker of pie that's like, nah, you've got to try this, man. It's infused with coffee and oranges.
00:25:34
Speaker
I think it kind of predates the craft beer movement a bit. I don't think there were many raspberry beers during the rounds in 1993. So it predicted the craft beer movement. Yeah, kind of. Damn. We're going back to the Simpson household and Lisa is inconsolable about the demise of a giant tomato. Admittedly, I would be as well. That sounds like it was a lot of fucking work. Yeah, it looked like a lot of work.
00:25:57
Speaker
Marge suggests that ah Lisa should have a new science project of a hamster really grown maize, and Lisa imagines ham the hamster stuck in the maize but with Bart's head, which ah tickles Lisa as the margin is what she's laughing about.
00:26:09
Speaker
Yeah, this would I think they they started writing that joke and then didn't know how to end it. So they just had Lisa like awkwardly say, I thought of a joke that in a show, I don't even know what the show was. Herman's Head, which again, reference that's a little lost on me. Oh, oh, right. No, I've just found the reference. I've just literally spot it on Simpsons Archive. And it's it's a show that's ah that Yardley Smith starred in, ah the voice actress who played Lisa.
00:26:37
Speaker
Oh, that's, that's cute. and And I believe that show had a nod to The Simpsons as well as some joke where Yardley Smith's character was like, Hey, do I sound like that character, Lisa Simpson? Oh, that's quite a little on the nose, but okay.
00:26:52
Speaker
We go back to the Duff brewery tour and we're in the quality control section where we see the man ah looking through Duff, which is what I imagine John's job it actually is. yeah yeah Do this all day every day. We see yeah picking out several mice and syringes and severed hands, but only unfortunately distracts the man, so he misses Hitler's head going back. First off, a surprising number of Hitler references in The Simpsons. He's doing all right for men. How very topical. Let's not mention any more. We then cut back to the beer tasting group and Homer is trying his a gummy duffs and we see that one. Gummy Gummy beer, yeah. I'm pretty sure these actually exist.
00:27:40
Speaker
Oh yeah, no, i I used to have them all the time. um My granddad used to buy them for me when I was a child, ah since we're talking about inappropriate ah drinking. They are gummy pint glasses that genuinely have ah rum in them, I think, and used to be able to buy them at markets there was a market in the town I grew up in and my granddad would we'd go there and he'd get me sweets but he'd get me those specifically because he liked them so me and my granddad would just get slightly trashed are they pint pots is that what you're thinking of I think so yeah yeah and they did actually have booze in them and I fucking love them I haven't had them in Seoul I'm gonna order some holy shit do I love those I've just looked up a supplier of them they yeah do you insist it contains no alcohol oh
00:28:27
Speaker
ah no Oh my fucks, Barney he has had it up as Barney's got his head underneath one of their tacks, and Barney starts listing all the stuff they get to try, which include Raspberry Duff, and Lady Duff, and Thawter-controlled Duff. I missed that one. Thawter-controlled Duff was my favourite.
00:28:43
Speaker
they'd say home and body leaving the brewery and we get the anti yeah drinking and driving sign before it goes into two guys having a toasting on a car saying it's always time for enough. Yeah, again, it's thes the really incongruous nature of alcohol and even smoking advertising, you know, um there's genuinely a I'll try and find it. But there is genuinely a cigarette or beer advert that did say good for the whole family.
00:29:09
Speaker
right i say very reminiscent of uh quite a lot of current gambling advertising as well holy fuck yeah like gambling adverts are just so bad now it's because like i guess they're like at least to some degree legally obligated or at least i don't know in some sort of maybe sort of like a self governing industry body kind of thing like they have to put out at least some adverts they're like oh by the way don't gamble too much Yeah, well they all have the beat gamble aware. Yeah, you might want to stop after you've lost that one grand. Yeah, exactly. Don't stop gambling. Just gamble responsibly. Yeah.
00:29:50
Speaker
with the size that Bonnie has done too much to drive home and home is solutions this is to try to knock Bonnie out who's He's very resilient that man. Yes, so Bonnie gets hit, Bonnie gets punched in the face, hit over the head with a tire iron and almost starts slamming his head into the door before Bonnie finally gives up and gives up over the keys. Yeah, he doesn't get knocked out, he just relents, just gives him the keys. I do like as well that it is is Also, slightly realistic, is people are just more resilient when they're drunk because they're just limp. You know, you're not tense, so you don't hurt yourself. It's like why drunk people don't injure themselves when they fall over as much. Yeah, um, side story, but got a friend who, on returning home friend yeah so we're not seen a while but on returning from a beer festival, he did get hit by a car that ran a red light. Ah, yes, I remember this. He did more damage to the car than the car did to him.
00:30:47
Speaker
I think what was more impressive is, um earlier on in the night, his cousin tripped over and somehow landed in a perfect tumble and managed to catch his pint and his sandwich without spilling a drop of either. That was a night.
00:31:03
Speaker
like that As the ah car drives past, we see that they pass a mascot of a giant sign, which turns out to be Chief Wiggum as he's got the sting operation going.
00:31:14
Speaker
this it what is it This isn't a sting. I think this is just a reference to the fact that police don't do any actual work. They just wait around and... It's it's the deliberate like, we need an easy bust. So hang out by the Duff Brewery where they give tours. Don't actually do any police work. Just fucking wait.
00:31:33
Speaker
Homer is unfortunately stopped and we see that in the next scene he's doing the alphabet and he does it flawlessly and we see that they would have accepted uh we would said uh won't you come and play with me yeah i like how they were like we would have accepted a different ending to the song but just so you know we were paying attention to that part we also see that Homer can close his eyes and touch his nose even though later on in a much further away episode he cannot do that Yes, that's right. Home is about to be like Gobind, Bonnie, helpfully shout out. Oh, fuck you, Bonnie.
00:32:09
Speaker
Oh, immediately fails this and is arrested and uh... Why did they not just go straight to the breathalyzer anyway? They've got that. Why did they do the song thing? American police. Okay. Chief Wiggum, Chief Wiggum ambitiously asks Barney if he can drive the car home and Barney's response is sure thing giant talking beer. Yep. Which probably should have been his first giveaway that that was probably not the case. As Barney is driving away he hits sir Chief Wiggum and Chief Wiggum ends up rolling down the hill.
00:32:34
Speaker
Do you think I'm at first horrified, but begins to enjoy his trip down the downhill? It's kind of fun. It's kind of fun. Until, unfortunately, he hits a tree and explodes. Comedy explosion. Apparently, there's absolutely nothing to him. Yeah, some notes were R.I.P. Wiggum. He's back in the next instant. Being absolutely fine.
00:32:56
Speaker
We see in the next scene that he calls Marge at home and tells her that her husband was found DOA. Marge is horrified to think that Homer is dead and Chief Wiggum realises he's got the things mixed up and he actually meant DWI. As comedy moment ends when a woman comes into the, Mrs Phillips comes into the station to say that her husband's been reported DWI and we see Chief Wiggum run away. I was good that Americans call it DWI instead of DUI.
00:33:21
Speaker
Yeah, that took me a moment to to pass that. Fun fact, one of my favourite random facts, the guy that voices the or originally voiced the Churchill dog, if you remember those adverts in England, oh yeah remember the reason he is no longer the voice actor for the Churchill dog is because he got a DUI. Oh, really? It would be really awkward trying to sell car insurance when you're a fucking DUI. Did he recite his alphabet perfectly?
00:33:47
Speaker
uh no he i think he essentially mounted a roundabout oh dear yep also there's a second episode in a row that has the audacity to say a cap what doesn't worry all cops are bastards because wiggum's a piece of shit here oh yeah absolutely we then cut to homer in the jail and lima huts is giving him legal advice which is just surprise witnesses This whole bit was great though, it's just surprise witnesses, each more surprising than the last. I love Lionel Hutz, man, he's great. Unfortunately Lionel Hutz's legal advice is broken up by the cop telling him to be quiet while he's in his own cell. Yeah, because he's also in a fucking cell.
00:34:28
Speaker
Then, immediately flash forward to Homer in court and we see that Homer's license is revoked and he's got to attend Halconon meetings and Homer asks for the stricken from the record and the judge is not going for it. That last statement, stricken from the record. Go on Homer, at least you tried.
00:34:45
Speaker
Is Alcoholics Anonymous, like a specific, I presume it must be like a specific trademark, but they called it Alconon, which I read somewhere that was a take on Al-Anon and I was like, I haven't even heard of Alcoholics Anonymous or AA. So. Yeah, Al-Anon is something different. I thought they said Al-Anon in the show. Did they not say Al-Anon? They said Al-Conon. So what's Al-Anon? How's that different?
00:35:14
Speaker
So wait, let me just double check this a second. Go for it. Oh yeah, so Al-Anon is for people who've been affected by other people's alcoholism Oh, whereas AA or like Alcoholics Anonymous is for your own. That's that's interesting interesting. Because I knew there was groups for that. I didn't know they had like a name. I thought it was obviously traumatized by bony's algorithm. We all weren't we all
00:35:45
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I guess odd then that they would be riffing on Al-Anon specifically over Alcoholics Anonymous when that's that's not what Homer would need here. I have no idea. I think we're overthinking it.
00:36:00
Speaker
We go to the next scene and the Lisa is trying to buy the most intelligent hamster she can. And the clerk tries to sell her a hamster, but he claims Wright's mysteries. As Lisa points out why this is unlikely, the clerk eventually gives up and just tells Lisa to buy him before his mother eats him. I did like his, it like he didn't, he just kept on with the grift for that little bit extra long as like he starts with the ending and then works the backwards.
00:36:29
Speaker
I appreciated it. I appreciate it. It was good. Fuck you guys. What else you wanted us to add to that? We got a vaccine and the home is going to work, but of course he doesn't have his license. So he's on the presumably Lisa's bike. I do. Yeah. The fake out was great. Just him already in this car, because it gives you just enough time to be like, wait a second. And then little, little tiny bike.
00:36:57
Speaker
Now some laughs at Homer as he's riding the bike and Homer is begrudging his look, though he rings the bell and decides it's not that bad. Homer is so easily pleased. We go back to Lisa and Lisa's new science project to see if the hamster is smarter than Bart. Bart at this moment walks in and puts his entire fist in his mouth and can't seem to get it out.
00:37:18
Speaker
I knew someone that had to actually have their jaw dislocated because they put their fist in their mouth. Oh my god. Jesus. Yeah. This was him for like primary school. Really cut to the first scientific experiment and Lisa puts a piece of food on the miniature bookcase and the hamster moves the sofa to collect it. Hamster had just climbed it. Now this one's smart. We then put the bar who sees a cupcake on top of the bookcase and just climbs it himself. The bookcase eventually falls on board and Maggie steals the cupcake.
00:37:48
Speaker
Who the fuck would notice a cupcake on a bookshelf? but apparently but yeah Well, What? All right. Yeah, fuck me. And the hamster. And the hamster. You don't see that the ah Lisa connects the hamster treats to a electric charge and the hamster draws it once before realizing ah not to as the Lisa goes very dramatic of a scientific reading of the hamster has learned not to trust the hand of man. Not in any way how electricity works. It only has one electrode on it.
00:38:16
Speaker
Meanwhile we go to Bart with the cupcake, and Bart, despite the fact he keeps getting shocked, will not give up on his pursuit. Another thingy reference, because he's like, oh wise guy, eh? Three Stooges, another three Stooges reference. Yeah, there's a couple of references in there, yeah. Yeah, and I wonder also if there's like some parallel between this sort of going for the treat, but then getting um like electrocuted and drinking because obviously like when people are drinking and they're getting loads of negative consequences but they keep going back to it anyway well yeah i guess if you want to get sort slightly dark about it you know it's the only good thing in their lives it's the cupcake on the bookshelf it's the cupcake on the bookshelf yeah it's the electrified cupcake we all have one yeah mine is competitive video games
00:39:12
Speaker
So we go to a driving school and Chief Wigam warns everybody that's ah in the class that ah they're about to have a pants scared of them, and we just see that there's Chief Wigam in his paddling bowl, which causes women to shriek in horror. Chief Wigam the closest to the wrong movie before assuring us that a hilarious moment is coming and it's Chief Wigam just hosing down his wife. Is this the first sighting of Mrs Wigam?
00:39:34
Speaker
might be actual oh I think yeah, this was specifically where I wrote down the a cab reference because he just hoses down his wife and she's just completely unimpressed and just like yeah dickhead You mean having done this to my father when I was eight I can assure you it's never hilarious The recipient is never happy Oh yeah, I got blasted in the face with water while carrying something. Awesome. So we go to the actual movie and it's a Troy McClure in front of a dreadful accident as he declares it's a terrible waste. He then ah goes into his full spiel, which is saying he's been in charge of such a driver's aid to film such as Alice's adventures with a wind windshield glass. Oh, that was grim. And the decapitation of Larry Ledfoot.
00:40:15
Speaker
And he promised us that we're going to have 60 minutes of watching actual Crash footage and we get some, uh, chewy, like, Benny Hill sounds. It was basically Yakety Sacks, isn't it? So we just hear the sounds of crashes happening and equally horrified people watching it, and including one man who throws up in his mouth.
00:40:32
Speaker
Oh god, that's always grim. And then we get to Homer, who's got a big smile on his face. Troy McClure says he is an appealing fellow. In fact, they're appealing him off the sidewalk and oh god he's always in hysterics because they don't know him. That perfectly encapsulates the whole like thing of this episode, though. alcohol Alcoholism is funny when it's not happening to you.
00:40:55
Speaker
I think it encapsulates an astonishing amount of society, really, is that we're happy to be entertained by other people's misery. As long as you as long you don't know them, it's fine. Yep. 100%. We don't see Homer going to his Alconol meeting, and we also see that Jasper's gone for his ah microwave cookery thing, but actually he's here for coping with senility.
00:41:17
Speaker
yep We don't get the meeting happening and we see that to Ned Flanders is surprisingly in this meeting because it's been 4,000 days since his Blackberry schnapps. And we see the plus we can get the ah flashback of Ned Flanders in Bedder's mod asking him if he clipped Ann Landers and Ned Flanders calls Ann Landers a boring old bitty and which horrifies mod.
00:41:37
Speaker
i and I always love drunk Ned. It happens every now and then, but he always just looks so pleased. And I'm just always like, do you know what Ned?
00:41:48
Speaker
I'm happy for you. im Just glad you're relaxing. As he says is himself, he was more animal than man. I mean, can I ah do my insufferable Simpson's font of knowledge pedantry? Yeah, go for it. Go on, man. Ned is a man who we have seen in recent history have his own bar in these basements. Yeah. And also like play bartender at a dinner party where he made the most alcoholic drink I've ever heard of in my life and served it to Homer.
00:42:18
Speaker
Yeah, but he wasn't drinking. This is true. This is true. It's funny because it's not him. See, it all comes full circle. So actually, Homer's right. Ned is a monster. Oh shit. I have to change my, I have to change some ratings.
00:42:34
Speaker
So, we cut to some of the other attendees of the meeting, which include the Otto, who declares he likes to get blotto. I like to get blotto! Hans Moreman stands up and says that drinking ruined his life because he's only 31 years old. yeah Which means his driving licence was accurate when it said he was born in 1960-something. Maybe that's why they did it. They were just like, wait, Hans, hang on a second.
00:42:56
Speaker
isn yeah also a cute little camera guy whereas as like keeps panning around the group and it pans across to hands like it has to pan down as well to see but we delar that he's only here because the court made him and everyone um majority if your but the help he'll never touch of beer again heme leaps out the windows screaming don't see Homer in bed with Marge saying that they think that he has a problem and Marge is giving him a quiz and we see that his your spouse the so these this is So starts asking him several questions including ah does he ever drink a load and Homer asks if the Lord counts as I'm almost assured that's not the case so he says yes.
00:43:38
Speaker
that If Homer just needs beer to fall asleep and Homer says that would be nice. And does Homer hide beer around the house and see that he's hiding it in the toilet? Literally up to in the system. Do you think Homer hides beer because he thinks Marge will like throw it away or just for the convenience? It's got to be for the convenience. It has to be. I think so. Like nobody in that house will be throwing it away. It's just going to be like, well, I'm in the bathroom and I need a beer. Yeah, exactly. I'm not going downstairs. I need one here. Because I'm hoping I've got a fridge. Yeah.
00:44:06
Speaker
Marge asks also asks the next question which is does Homer drink to escape reality and Homer looks in the mirror and it's like he's been doing the Arnold Schwarzenegger diet of bodybuilding and he's a very muscular man. Well Homer's great.
00:44:21
Speaker
i i hope that that that they day there Marge asks Homer to do something for her and Homer says anything. Marge says that she wants him to give up beer for a month and Homer says he'll give up beer for a month. Marge inquires exactly what he said there and Homer eventually admits that he said dew.
00:44:37
Speaker
And, uh, I'd pretty much peer pressure someone to agree that to he will give up peer for a month, starting from tomorrow. like I like how you're saying peer pressure as if she's in the wrong. and She didn't give her much choice in the matter. Good, that's what an intervention is. Peer pressuring people to go sober. My job's completely unreasonable here. You can tell who's had seven pints today.
00:45:05
Speaker
The lights go off and we hear the piss of a can, and Margie cries the way it was, but Tomer reassures that that he was just... I was saying, piss! I love you!
00:45:16
Speaker
oh home We go to an exit, and it's at the Simpsons dinner table, and Margie asks Bart to go get the cupcakes, and Bart is having a bit of a crisis as he goes over to get the cupcakes, and we just see men twitching on the floor.
00:45:29
Speaker
Yeah, that didn't really go anywhere. The B-plot of this episode really doesn't go anywhere. It just happens. Well, Bart is scared because he's going to get electrocuted by those cupcakes. Yes, I know, but that doesn't that that that is the last time that is addressed.
00:45:43
Speaker
really don't see hobo collect the the beers and stop pouring them down the sink as he starts to reminisce about his ah beer drinking things you could just save the beer for a month you just leave it in the fridge you yeah i think that's what shows he has a problem because if he was able to stop drinking easily he could just leave them in the house yeah he's like no if i see these beers i'll drink them That's true. Yeah, that's his it. is that He would be tempted by them being there so he can't have them around. He's like me and Jeff the cakes. You don't get Homer's reminiscence about ah drinking for the first time with Frank Sinatra. I think also it's interesting how the first time he was drinking when he was 17, he was drinking alone. Like that's quite odd. Yeah.
00:46:33
Speaker
Like, when you're a teenager, you'd think, oh, you'd get booze in order to enjoy it with your friends. I think there's a lot of references, though, in in media, especially of the time that talks about sneaking one of your dad's beers.
00:46:49
Speaker
so i think there is also that those are the two ways you get introduced to alcohol either you well three i suppose you're either just giving it by your parents because they don't care you either sneak one of your you know parents beers or you drink with friends um or you get a fake idea that says your name is brian mcgee yeah first I mean, did did it to to play devil's advocate, I suppose, is like it's not necessary not necessarily his first time drinking beer, this is just a time drinking beer. True, true. He's just reminiscing on the good times he's had with beer. I drank some very good beer. I mean, who hasn't stayed up listening to Queen while getting absolutely smashed?
00:47:27
Speaker
Me I don't like I don't think I've ever done that Queens cry. I do like Queen, but I've never stayed up getting drunk listening to Queen and the I Know I know I'm in the wrong. I know I don't care Speaking of being in the wrong, we see Bart going to Lisa's bedroom, and he finally finds the journal. Bart declares that he's going to crush Lisa like the pellet, which turns out to be electrocuted, so Bart continues to shut himself. He keeps doing fucking idiot. We then see that Lisa goes into the room, and Bart is hidden in the journal, and he's doing a full James Bond thing where he's stroking the house. Hello, Feld, yeah. And he says that he's hidden in the journal, and Lisa's got several clues before Lisa immediately finds her. She already knows where it is. Whoops.
00:48:10
Speaker
So we go to the next scene and we see that the science fair is taking place. We're really rushing through this B plot because the writers obviously have decided to fuck this. Yeah, I feel like this B plot could have been an episode.
00:48:21
Speaker
yeah yeah yeah for sure we see that uh milhouse declares that he's going to show us the glory of gravity and uh it's a slinky going slinky going down the thing and it immediately stops you'll gravity we've all had that experience though i bought a slinky was very excited to roll it down the stairs at my house and then it didn't work and i was like well pitts pitts skits and that's what i said as a seven-year-old I don't think I've ever known a Slinky work exactly like advertised. They're always a bit, yeah. Well, I think because they're designed for American stairs. Oh, really? They're designed for much thinner stairs. Stairs are way longer in England. But also, if you think about it, they were discovered by a naval engineer because he saw a spring for a ship go downstairs. And if you think of the stairs on boats and ships, they're super thin.
00:49:14
Speaker
So a slinky would work perfectly on one of those. Uh-huh. As ah Mrs. Kraboppel says, it's pretty lame. Pretty lame, Millhouse. Mrs. Kraboppel does not give a shit. I said it, I think it was last episode though, that Mrs. Hoover is a better example of a teacher that doesn't give a shit, whereas Mrs. Kraboppel is like a parody. Because a teacher wouldn't say that to a kid. It's still funny, but she you wouldn't say that. You'd think it. You'd fucking think it.
00:49:41
Speaker
Have we seen anything else of Krabopl in this episode? because No, that's it. As observed before, she she is a guest voice actor, so to get her in just as a pretty lame millhouse. She was doing the monkey at the start of the episode. Oh, no, yeah, true. But Mrs. Krabopl does become more and more common for a while, so she becomes less of a guest actress and more of a mainstay for a while.
00:50:04
Speaker
We then see the kid as fighting with dad who's built the volcano and he's eventually sent to go stand in the corner. Even further. Martin's got a full-on cosplay thing going on where he declares he's going to travel the world in 80 days. This eventually annoys Nelson, whose science project is shooting squirrels with a BB gun. It is kind of amazing, though, that The Simpsons writers managed to make us actual adults, well, adults, well, people over 30 want to punch a 10-year-old.
00:50:37
Speaker
but but talent isn't it it's It's impressive, isn't it? Cause like I really, every time Martin gets fucked up, I'm like, yep. Good. he I'm happy about this. like well last project No, but but essentially making a higher blue don't. he just so ah can you confident about it and then it just got shot down literally. Just because the kid likes a bit of theatrics. Who's to mongers? We know that Nelson was actually aiming for his head, which we did even worse.
00:51:13
Speaker
How was he shooting squirrels if he couldn't hit Martin's head? I don't think he ever said that he was doing it successfully. This is true. This is true. We don't see that Homer is trying not to think about beer, and then he sees Ralph Williams' exhibit, which is an alcohol-fueled car. This gets Homer's imagination going of being at a gas a hole pump and one for the car. One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me. Does Ralph even say anything, or does he just fucking stare at Homer?
00:51:41
Speaker
He just stares at home. It's slightly psychotic. We don't see the leastases that Lisa's exhibition is being set up. Marge is a bit concerned about it, but Lisa says it's purely in the interest of science, while secretly thinking this'll teach Bart to bust a tomato. Tomato? My tomato! She goes very southern there. with it My tomato. Then we see that Bart's revenge is actually that he's got his own science project, which is can hamsters fly planes? And it's just the hamster and toy plane with some cute goggles on. He even has tiny goggles.
00:52:11
Speaker
There's no scientific merit on this, but she's immediately- There absolutely is, though. If an animal could fly a plane, that's incredibly valuable information. Yeah, but the hamster isn't flying the plane, he's just put a hamster in a remote control plane. Yes, but the project does have scientific value, even if Bart hasn't done it right. Let me be pedantic! Fortunately for us, Skinner also accepts Matt's logic and immediately awards Bart first prize.
00:52:40
Speaker
Why would you need like a ah ah random animal to fly a plane? When there are literally animals that can't fly. But no, it's not because we'd want, we'd want hamsters to start piloting bowings. It's because if an animal was intelligent enough to pilot a remote control vehicle, that's valuable biological and anthropological information. Can you just use like a pigeon for for your flying purpose, out flying animal purposes?
00:53:13
Speaker
Because it's not about needing an animal to fly. It's about studying animals and the level of intelligence they have. If a hamster is intelligent enough to fly a plane, that's very interesting. I think a hamster would do a better job of running Boeing than some of the people at Boeing these days. hey away peep you pe pe pew That's a joke for the Well There's Your Problem followers that stuck around. Nice. All two of them.
00:53:41
Speaker
So we don't see that Thelma has managed to get one day out of the way, and then we start the Odyssey of Thelma's journey through the month. We begin with him watching a Duff beer commercial, which is as 90s as a commercial can get, I think. Look at these feminists. They immediately get sprayed with beer, and we've got bikini models, and the outfits. And let's have beer, because downward feminism, I suppose. Yeah, but I really appreciate Simpsons occasionally putting in actual facts.
00:54:07
Speaker
into their shows though, that if you spray down feminists, they'd be called bikini models. I'm really glad that we could occasionally get a bit of reality in this silly cartoon show. You know, I really appreciate that. But then cut to Homer at the ah baseball game and Homer at these games delivers absolutely nothing, which he includes the four boys are having an argument about who gets rid of the beach ball and you realize how boring this game was.
00:54:34
Speaker
As somebody who has got into baseball as a result of the softball episode, like I will say I don't watch the whole thing, I only watch the highlight reels. i it took me so long to get the bis i was like why is why is there no camera movement why are we not seeing the action what is supposed to be happening and it's because we're supposed to be bored as well Yeah, that's what they were going for. Yeah, you can, for what it's worth, you can summarize an entire baseball game fairly effectively and like in an entertaining fashion in 10 minutes. Swap out baseball from literally any sport.
00:55:08
Speaker
That's probably true, yeah. We don't see that Homer at halfway point has realized he's lost some weight and we get that in for the fact that his pants fall down. Why am I so easily amused by someone's pants falling down, though? That's so... Like, does that ever go away? Do you ever grow out of that, of seeing someone's pants fall down and go, look? Then cut to Homer at a Tupperware party hosted by Patty and Sarah. No, no, no. A Supperware party party. A product so good, the company went bankrupt.
00:55:36
Speaker
uh yeah like i i hadn't even i like i hadn't realized until now looking into this episode that it was actually a ah trademark i yeah yeah yeah it makes sense in rare retrospect but why why in god's name would you call it tupperware that's such a weird name for food containers of course it's a brand but it's also one is one of those things that i'm actually a little surprised it hasn't been made generic because everybody uses it exactly the same way i just did of like That's what you call food containers. that Food containers are Tupperware. They're all Tupperware. I think it has been made generic to some extent. Like I said, the company went bankrupt. I did look into it because, like, again, obviously rabbit holes and Wikipedia and things. And no, they still I think it's still kicking around in some form. It's changed hands a lot. Right. But, you know, it's still a trademark technically, like it's used generically, but it is still a trademark somehow. or where
00:56:29
Speaker
It demonstrates its a effectiveness by sticking a whole tub over her face. This horrifies Jupjup the iguana. Jupjup! He's back! MVP! Meanwhile Homer is saying that he would kill everyone in the room for a beer.
00:56:45
Speaker
but yeah I think it's interesting how it shows like how boring life is when you're used to being drunk and then you're suddenly sober and you're like, oh, sports are just they kick the ball, they kick the ball back or whatever. And then parties are just like, you know, people talking about stuff that you're not interested in or whatever. Yeah, it's quite good how do they do that.
00:57:09
Speaker
That's probably true of parties certainly, but also like, a Tupperware party sounds like, I can't believe that's a thing that ever ever existed, and or maybe continues to exist, question mark. Like, that sounds deeply boring. Let's go visit somebody so they can sell us some plastic containers.
00:57:24
Speaker
Multi-level marketing scheme. Yeah, it is. That's my plan for the Christmas party. We then cut back to the AA meeting and, uh, we're having a little joy. He shows home that there's no judgment. Oh, but he was so desperate for a beer. He snuck into the football stadium and ate the dirt under the bleachers, at which point he's pissed out. This was such a, like, low effort joke. I don't know why. I didn't like this joke. I don't know. There was something so lazy about it.
00:57:53
Speaker
We don't see a homo on his bike trying not to think about beer and the world kind of conspires against him as we see that he's confronted by several ads. The train going past saying chug chug chug. No no no no no. yeah The train is saying chuggler and that annoyed the shit out of me. Why is it not just saying chug?
00:58:11
Speaker
Why is it saying chuggler? It's going chuggler, chuggler, chuggler. But just say it chug. You have the perfect word. Chug. Because that's what you do with beer. Just say chug. Ha! It annoyed the shit out of me. I can tell. We were annoyed by the giant blimp that surrender to dust. That sent miniature bottles of duff beer with individual parachutes at home. No, but that's perfectly logical.
00:58:33
Speaker
I couldn't tell at this point whether this was like intended to be Duff's actual marketing campaign or whether Homer was just hallucinating the bombardment of advert. yeah it's losing his mind yeah We don't see that Homer has actually made the 30 days and Marge is proud of him and Homer immediately claims that he's off the mows and that he's going to come back loaded so pack the kids away.
00:58:53
Speaker
ah I don't like, yeah, the the sort of dark overtone of hide the kids or whatever. It's like, what the fuck does Homer do when he's drunk? so Yeah, didn't consider that. Wow. Yep. Cause obviously we know he's violent towards Bart, so it's like, oh my God, how much worse does it get? Marge tries to encourage Homer to go on a bike ride instead, but Homer wants to see Barney Moe and that guy that calls him Phil. Can we all just agree that Marge is like one of the most wholesome people in media?
00:59:23
Speaker
She's trying. She just thinks potatoes are neat, guys. I don't want to point out that Homer looks better. He doesn't sweat while he eats anymore. She's found a hundred dollars in his pants and Homer immediately yonks that. I didn't see that Homer has cycled all the way to Mo's and Mo declares that everybody hates Homer now until Homer orders a beer. There's two of the same person at the bar as well. I just want to point that out. There are two Larrys. Rest in peace, Larry.
00:59:50
Speaker
There's a guy that looks a hell of a lot like him in the background. Yeah, that's true. Same car, same everything. um gets his beer and then Homer has a good look around the bar and sees that everybody is depressed and miserable. They have taken a very specific like artistic intention with Moe in this moment as well. Moe is very very smiley in peer pressure. It's all front angle which is obviously very rare for Simpson so it's all front angle Moe so he looks heinous and that is obviously very deliberate.
01:00:23
Speaker
Mo asks Homer to do it for his old friend, and Barney's about finding out that the Mo calls Homer worth a sack of and then Mo hits him. Smack? How? What does he call him, shut up? Is it Glug Glug? Back down, Ruba Dub. Rubber Dub, that's it. oh yeah Eventually, Homer decides that he doesn't want the beer and asks Mo to stick it in the bedroom because he's got to go do a bike ride.
01:00:44
Speaker
Mo declares that Homer will be back and so will you and you and you. At which point Bonnie points out that if Homer, of course he will because if Mo never actually closed he would never leave. And we go to Marge and Homer on their bike ride singing raindrops will keep falling on my head and that's how the episode goes out. And then Homer never ever drinks again. I think this is one of the only times they haven't reset to zero.
01:01:09
Speaker
I mean, yeah yeah, possibly, although it does imply that Homer intends to be back for that bit because he says put it in the fridge. ah true yeah yes sir He might not go back for it.
01:01:23
Speaker
a bit of the pointing and you like yeah that's another bit where they really I guess like the camera anything oh god um but yeah in the bit if you didn't close I'd never leave it's so tragic isn't it because also it's not even that nice like what is there to do that they literally sat in silence next to each other just drinking themselves unconscious like it's yeah that scene is quite dark but then it's juxtaposed with like the singing and the sunset and stuff like that which is yeah it's interesting but then you know as soon as he's finished the bike ride he's gonna go back and have that bit yeah at least he got the bike ride at least he got the bike ride yeah
01:02:11
Speaker
that's an episode that did da did I'm gonna leave now ah yeah before you leave us do we want to go through thoughts on the episode and what it says about society did hope to bring you in for a little insight so yeah um as I guess certainly yeah what did you think of it and what are your thoughts and what it says about society Yeah, I think some of them I managed to get in, but yeah, I think it really shows how like alcoholism and capitalism go hand in hand and how all the way through it's like, it's very much alcohol as a business. Um, and, and it, it even sort of destroys the, like the community aspect, like you've got all these people together in the pub.
01:03:02
Speaker
but they're not really talking and not not engaging or like working on projects together because they're just like drinking themselves into like, I don't know, just flittering themselves, I guess. So yeah, and and the craving as well. Like you see, when he's thinking about alcohol, he's like salivating because he's thinking, oh God, I need this so much.
01:03:28
Speaker
And even, you know, the the beer company, when they're asked, oh, what effect have you got up their sleeve? You're sleeved. They don't really need to have any because they know they've got that audience anyway. um They know they've got those people who will keep coming back because they've developed that dependency on booze. And then you've got it in with like the misogyny of the sexism.
01:03:53
Speaker
um from a yeah yeah yeah so yeah i i guess like i guess the main thing is in terms of like a societal critique is how like alcoholism probably wouldn't be such a problem if we didn't live under capitalism and we didn't live and under these systems who that are like making a lot of money off of you know, people being depressed in their lives. Obviously at the beginning you've got the him like at work and he's like being like beaten or like beaten into submission and having to just work this mundane boring job. So the only way out is the booze ah because like what else? Yeah, exactly. So it's yes, very much that sort of like, I don't know, the dark forces of capitalism and addiction and sexism, misogyny, stuff like that.
01:04:48
Speaker
But that's the vehicle of capitalism, isn't it? is is like Is to provide the escape. The capitalism branded licensed escape. Because it's cheap enough, because obviously Homer buys like extremely cheap beer.
01:05:03
Speaker
Beer was a lot cheaper in 1993 as well. Oh, so that, yeah. So yeah yeah he doesn't think about the saving himself from these systems because the system is what also provides beer. So clearly the system is good. And it yeah, it's like this endless cyclical thing. Yeah. Cause what does it matter how badly your boss treats you or how miserable you are? If you can go to the pub and you can have a nice beer at the end of the day. Yeah, absolutely. Lovely. So do you think this is a anti ah-alcoholism episode or is it just a let's laugh at alcoholism episode? Do you think it's actively trying to say something? I think it does say something but maybe not sufficiently like in order to actually look at
01:05:53
Speaker
like alcohol or addiction, you'd need more than like 20 minutes, I guess. And also there's obviously the other plot which doesn't really engage with like alcoholism at all so that kind of detracts from maybe the main plot which which is yeah his journey with booze and yeah that did feel all skimmed over at times like his 30 days like his journey we see at the start of it 15 days and then he's done it was like oh and actually get a lot of Homer's journey through that particular process
01:06:24
Speaker
no absolutely and also the how it feels to have relied on booze and then suddenly be sober and have to sit with your emotions have to process your job and you know if if you've got you're probably you're probably somewhat depressed if you're an alcoholic right because you know even like alcohol is a depression and also why are you drinking in the first place you know stuff like that but you never really get any anything in depth about his inner world or his like emotions or his journey with it. We never look at why he drinks, just that he drinks kind of thing. Yeah, yeah exactly. yeah or what's What's it like being sober? like We know he craves the booze, but we don't know like how is he emotionally interacting with but being sober. so i think if the Obviously, if they'd wanted to do something that was actually looking at
01:07:22
Speaker
at what it is like to be an alcoholic, they probably would have looked more ah at like the how how it feels to to come off of booze and like and battle your demons and and stuff like that when you're sober and sit with it was the feelings that you've been drinking to distract them. We've had episodes like this before, though, that if they just removed the B-plot, the A-plot could have been a lot better. Like, this is a perfectly good episode. I liked this episode. But if they'd removed the B-plot, it would have been more interesting. But we are now in the era of Simpsons where
01:08:00
Speaker
It is very much a lot less about plot, capital P plot, it's just about the story that facilitates the gags. I think i think sometimes there's some story, sometimes it is just all the gags, they kind of go back and forth on that. But but we like again, we're still in that point where they're far Simpsons is finding its footing to getting to be actually Simpsons.
01:08:24
Speaker
and i mean ah but I mean, certainly when we get to the next episode, I think I will very much make the case that we are at very much peak Simpsons. So I don't i don't know don't know that there's an argument to make anymore that they're still finding their footing. They're four years into this and they're making what a lot of people are considering their best content. so
01:08:44
Speaker
controversial maybe i just don't like simpsons that much maybe maybe the simpsons isn't as good as everyone thinks maybe well maybe a lot of it's just aged worse than anyone realizes yeah i think that's it you know we we do that a lot of like looking back at um 90s media uh and obviously with the ani podcast we look at uh eighties media and beyond and stuff just doesn't age you know you you you look back at the things that you were nostalgic for and then rewatch them and go oh wow this was incredibly like offensive racist misogynistic all these things and it's okay to still enjoy those things like it's okay to enjoy old simpsons even though they do have very specific political leanings but it's it's important to acknowledge that you know
01:09:34
Speaker
And I guess also when people are putting the symptoms on when they get home from work, they're not really looking for like an in-depth analysis of like, absolute you know, the human experience. They're just looking for some laughs. Like they just want to like switch off, relax, whatever. And I think these days, you know, we've we've got really good media about addiction and alcoholism. So we're probably used to watching other shows like Feel Good is a really good um TV show by Mae Martin which exposed addiction and then uh recently there was that film The Outrun that's come out which is really interesting um so yeah sort of comparing that with what would basically be 10 minutes of like you know the april about what it is to drink or whatever is yeah it's never gonna sort of stand up in in the same way absolutely
01:10:32
Speaker
Do we want to do ratings then? Because we've already done what it says about society, so we might as well. I'm quite happy to go first. I did think this was a fun episode, very simple, kind of dark obviously. I feel like even in the 90s this would have been considered a dark episode.
01:10:52
Speaker
you know a I did enjoy it, but it gets a Duff beer out of Homer because you know it's definitely good for you. Go on, drink up. Don't you want to be cool? Duff is cool, guys. All your friends are drinking. Bottoms up, guys. Anyway, that's my rank. Does anyone want to explain out of Homer's to Sam? I just realized before I just said all that shit.
01:11:17
Speaker
It's fairly abstract. It can mean whatever you want it to mean, but it it is whatever you want out of Homer. Homer out of Homer is obviously a perfect episode. ah That's about the only real frame of reference we've got for anything. Blame me if it's confusing. I gave it a Duff Raspberry out of Homer because it has a weird flavour.
01:11:40
Speaker
That's quite good. um Okay, I'm gonna go with electric shock out of Homer.
01:11:49
Speaker
I'm not entirely sure why but that's what I'm thankful for. i appreciate i I appreciate that. I think that's good. I'm giving it a when I was 17 out of home. when i was in that it' just good that it's ah It's a very good song, but there's a very dark undertone to it. It's just true. And that's very fair. I like that. I like that. I like that. Cool. Sam, you were not going to stick around for the second episode. So before you go. Thank you for having me. No, thank you for joining us. Thank you for your insights. ah Do you have anything you would like to promote to our listeners before you go?
01:12:22
Speaker
oh Oh my god. That's so, that's such a hard question. Um, I guess. And I say resist fascism wherever you can. You can definitely say that. Hell yeah. That's what I'm going to go with then. Fuck shitty Nazi cosplayers. Go fuck themselves. Yeah. A hundred percent that. Yeah.
01:12:47
Speaker
Cool. All right. I'll see you later. Bye. All righty. Onto elastic to exit to Springfield, which is season four episode 17. Uh, if Michael sounds a little bit more sober than he did, uh, we have broken this into two separate recordings cause we had some time constraints. So, uh, let's hope it sounds seamless to you. I'm an unprofessional disgrace.
01:13:16
Speaker
Well, so is Homer so it all ties neatly together Yes, I'm in day two of my 30 days of no, dear No, dear. Are you actually? No, okay No, you might be giving up venison. You might really like venison. I don't think I've ever had it. I would love to try it.
01:13:36
Speaker
I appreciate the fact you think I can afford venison. Well, it's that cushy union job you've got. Yeah. oh Look at you bringing it round. ah seggue you This episode aired on March 11th, 1993. What happened on that day?
01:13:55
Speaker
Oh, again, not a whole lot. I've got this historical event of Kurt Browning won the Men's Figure Skating Championship in Prague. Good for him.
01:14:07
Speaker
um Yeah, that's it. When I searched for it, I got 1993 Storm of the Century, but like on further investigation, that was March 12th. That didn't happen on this day, so like we don't don't need to dwell on the storm. We are one day off. Oh no!
01:14:27
Speaker
So, look out anybody watching this on in 1993 who's listening to this through some form of time travel. ah Big storm coming in tomorrow. Yeah, you've got 24 hours. The famous death of God, Dino Bravo, Canadian professional wrestler, shot to death. and what more More extensive lists of deaths. Yep. People keep dying. Edgar Nelson, Nelson-Barkliff dies after a lengthy illness. Manuel de Fosca, Portuguese writer, dies at 81.
01:14:57
Speaker
Cool. What was in the charts? Random question. ah has any you has Has anyone here actually read many foreign books? This isn't like a me getting a segue to go, ooh, well, I have. I haven't. I'm just nerdily curious now. Have any of you read a book that was originally in a different language? Ooh. That's a very good question. um I don't immediately know the answer. No, I mean, either i I'm fairly certain I've only read Western writers.
01:15:27
Speaker
The only thing that is immediately spring to mind is not foreign. Okay, I thought he was foreign. I thought Isaac Asimov was Russian for some reason. Asimov sounds Russian. I thought he was German.
01:15:42
Speaker
Oh, he was born in Russia, but like his his Wikipedia page immediately says he was an American writer. is okay i didn't know if he I didn't know if his work had been translated from Russian. No, is the answer. I've read some translations of the Magna Carta, does that count? Yes. Maybe. Yes, from my history degree. I definitely read some bits of the Aeneid in school. Yeah, that was written in Greeks. I've done the same. I did the Iliad.
01:16:06
Speaker
you guys fucking nerds yeah you brought it up yeah so i can call you nerds uh yeah i can't think of much else that's probably like originally in another language i mean obviously other than like manga but that i meant i meant like a book you know like a novel oh dear you Mango's a book. I read battle royale battle royale was originally in japanese. There you go. There we go. I don't know if one had a apology. A momentous event did happen in his history on this day. In the US number one song charts, Whitney Houston has finally fallen. oh no They said it would never happen. It's been replaced by the song Informer by Snow. Never heard of it. Don't know who that is. no Whitney come back, always forgiven.
01:16:54
Speaker
No limits, too unlimited is still the UK number one. It's had a fair good three weeks, considering I don't know what the hell it is. Mmm. Dunno, must've been popular. We'll have to do some research on it. Anyway, what's our chalkboard gag? Let's get into this. Right, so our chalkboard gag is, mud is not one of the four food groups. Hilarious. a And our couch gag is,
01:17:19
Speaker
The couch turns into a monster and eats the family. in felt quite like this I have seen before and I'm once again frantically checking to figure out which one had it first. and nice again so quickly I was so confident this was a ah new one. Streetcar named Marge. God damn man I am shit at this. I appreciate the fact that term what the stage of Simpsons were there for start repeating these. Oh they did it last season as well. Yeah they're repeating pretty frequently.
01:17:50
Speaker
So the episode starts with our favourite thing, McBean! That is so clipped on my mic! I want to move my mic back a bit. up but So we've had the start and we've had the exit, so this is presumably somewhere in the middle of this film. Are you saying it's you think it's all the same film?
01:18:12
Speaker
Yes, so I think it is the same film. Is it? Like, you could piece together the entire MacBain film? That's awesome. People have met someone has yeah done this That's awesome. We have to do a bonus episode where we watch that and review it as a film. That's awesome. I'll tell you what, 1000 YouTube subscribers will do it. Actually, yeah, 1000 is doable. I don't think that's too unrealistic.
01:18:38
Speaker
No, I don't think so. Yeah, get that happening, guys. If you want us to review the MacBain film. And I will be as, like, serious as possible. I will i will be, like, Mr. Serious Review Man.
01:18:50
Speaker
and hundred thousand for lesbian big No, I'll do that for free. Yeah, fair enough. So, we're at to the villain's main mansion, and we see that there's a Venus-day mile of sculpture, and Mendoza, who is apparently the bad guy, starts to reveal that he's got swank, his newest creation, which is ten times more addictive than marijuana. This one is is shocking! My inability to know when it's actually Simpson.
01:19:18
Speaker
Because this again, I was like, where the fuck is this episode going? So, as a toast to human misery, we don't see the big bulky arms burst out of the Venus de Milo, and the ice cracks, and the greatest ice pun of all time comes from McBain's mouth. Ice to meet you. To see you. Ice to see you. Which, I swear to God, i i my mind immediately went, wait, Mr Freeze, but yeah this predates it by four years! now This is where Batman and Robin stole it, I think. It's a deal. No, I feel like this is something people have been saying for years.
01:19:54
Speaker
but Maybe, but like it being the Arnie analogue as well. Yeah, it's great. It's hilarious. Perfect. So McBain begins shooting his machine gun. and Can we also point out though actually, ah vi actual technically real visible nipple in The Simpsons with the Venus de demand? Like actual bumps and everything. I was just like, i'm I'm curious if they had to like get that checked or if they just saw if they could get away with it, you know?
01:20:19
Speaker
or Interesting, maybe. um To give you a modicum of credit, like it took me a hot second to pick up on the fact that this was McBain, because at first I just assumed big fancy mansion with rich people. I figured this was going ah in Mr. Burns directions. Yeah. That worked, we're getting there. Well, yes. So McBain begins firing his machine gun very indiscriminately as we see that he kills all the bad guys and the orchestra, and some two plugs fighting over some cake. to get a big cake, I was like, that's dedication, but it does look like good cake.
01:20:49
Speaker
After McBain has killed everyone except Mendoza, Mendoza offers him a salmon puff and this is enough to throw McBain. Very well. It's got a gas in it. We love a knockout gas. Yeah. So we see Mendoza laughing evenly and we see that actually this is a McBain movie and Bart and Hope are watching this on their television. Bart comments that- And I was shocked. Yeah, this has finally worked it out.
01:21:13
Speaker
Well, it declares that Mendoza's an evil man, and Helmer reassures that it's just a movie and no one's that evil. We immediately cut to Mr. Burns, watching the poor, helpless window clean cut to Burns. Burns laughing maniacally at the poor window cleaner, just ah hanging from the broken cart. Burns closes the window and we just hear the ahhhhh in the background.
01:21:30
Speaker
know i've I'm gonna make a I don't think it's even a weird confession. I'd kind of love to be a window cleaner. It sounds very just chill Yeah, the only the only thing I
Braces Subplot and Dental Plan Negotiations
01:21:40
Speaker
having lived with with many barky dogs That's the only thing I could imagine being a worry for me is a dog Suddenly barking at the window and me falling and dying. I mean when you're like on the 30th floor of an office block, I imagine dog risk is lower. This is true. I don't i I don't think that guy plummeted. I don't think the guy plummeted to his devil's wing. Oh, I hope there's no dog down there. Release the hounds. Release the hounds. Burns is a bit more distracted by the fact the union representative hasn't shown up yet. And Smivers clarifies that it's because he's been missing since he took promise to clean up the union. We didn't go to a football game and one of the football players balls over it a suspicious mound of dirt.
01:22:23
Speaker
yeah uh jimmy hopper references yeah for the mafia clearly getting a work in there but burns decides to look at the contract himself and uh we see that burns his breaking point is a green cookie on saint patrick's day i mean it's ridiculous why you know why do the workers deserve that it's disgusting really really it's the billionaires that are uh struggling in these times i just want to you know take my moment to have a soapbox here that really it's the It's the hard-working, bootstrap-loving, rich people that need the help right now. Well, absolutely. He built it right up from the days when you had to smash atoms on an anvil. Yes. We we get so but Burns' his flashback to with him with his grandfather, and we see that ah the nuclear killlo power plant is atom-smashing. And one of the workers is pulled out, and he's revealed that he's got six atoms in his... ah yeah
01:23:17
Speaker
pocket atoms six of them to be fair he deserved what he got absolutely it's only fair how dare you stealing atoms how do you steal atoms the boy is taken away and he declares that a union will form then he goes on to a tirade about how the unions will become corrupt and the japanese will swallow them all burns his grandpa does not believe this and uh i can't remember exactly what he said in response he calls them sand he calls them sandal wearing goldfish tenders I thought it was, it was hilarious that even in a pseudo pro union blue collar episode that is supposedly on the side of those people, they still have to make a the anti-union American sentiment known. You know what I mean? Like even, even in a the ah left wing episode of of the Simpsons, they're still like, oh, but unions are, you know, are still shitty. And it's like,
01:24:13
Speaker
a I mean, like, ah it would be disingenuous to pretend there haven't been corrupt unions. There's plenty of suspect things going on in the union. Yeah, and you yeah. Like, nodding to that is yeah not unreasonable. I mean, I prefer the overall message, which yes, is unions good. And unions have been stripped of so much power in this day and age that like, it's hard to do as much corruption anymore. But you know,
01:24:41
Speaker
Burns says, Burns laments the fact that they listened didn't listen to the boy instead of walling up in the abandoned coke oven. She's just a fantastic poor woman. Burns decides that he's going to avenge his grandfather and take on the Greedy Union and take back the dental plan. Dental plan!
01:24:58
Speaker
And we lead into a B-plot that actually ties into the A-plot. Yeah, this actually ties together quite nicely, doesn't it? We see that so we're at the painless dentistry surgery, which was formerly called the Painful Dentistry. Yeah, dentistry. Yeah, that's the B-plot. Yeah, yeah, I remember now I was like thinking, I was like, why? No, it doesn't tie in at all, but I guess it kind of does.
01:25:19
Speaker
I mean, if this had been like a random doctor's office, yeah, I'd agree with you. but Yeah, I mean, the the fact that he's fighting for the dental plan so that Lisa needs braces, yeah, I guess it ties in, but i I don't know. I would say they're related. I wouldn't say they tie into each other. Fine.
01:25:33
Speaker
We see that Ralph is getting his teeth checked and Ralph is asked by the very sinister looking dentist how many times he pushes his teeth. He says three times a day. The dentist asks why must he turn this office into a house of lies. This like incredibly intense dentist is my favorite. He's so good. Why must you turn my office into a den of lies?
01:25:55
Speaker
Yeah, like i he's intense enough that you think he they would have got a guest voice actor to do it. ah It is just hankers area. and Yeah, but hankers area is just the king of voices, though. To be fair, they asked both Anthony Hopkins and Clint Eastwood to do that voice. Very clearly based on what Hopkins. is What an odd like pair like any Hopkins said, no, who do we get who do we get Clint Eastwood?
01:26:24
Speaker
Yeah, why not? Sure. Now Tiefly admits that he doesn't brush and this leads to the breaking out of the Great Book of British Smiles. Yeah. And we're all personally attacked as they point out where we have horrible teeth, including our current monarch. Yeah, we've all seen the Big Book of British Smiles. Yeah, that's done the rounds of the meme before. but We don't see parts in the doctor's office scaring the kids by saying that the the doctor pulls out the teeth and uses it in the as a rattle in a spray can.
01:26:54
Speaker
It's just Bart being Bart. We don't see Maggie's getting her teeth checked, and he's concerned they're coming in crooked and asks Marge if ah she uses a pacifier. Marge tries to lie, but he's not having this at all. That doesn't go anywhere. like You kind of expect something to come of that, but it's like, no no, Maggie's teeth are coming in crooked. Don't worry about it. Just goes to rely on them and cut to the next scene of Maggie sucking on the giant toad, too. But then this reveals that Lisa needs races, and Lisa complains that she'll be a social outcast even more so.
01:27:26
Speaker
More so. Just an observation about the giant toy tooth on the table. what why i I mean, I get the dentists are about teeth, but like have you ever noticed how like branding and everything around a dentist office is just unnervingly focused on like incorporating teeth into all of the imagery, like just disproportionately so compared to any comparable business? I assume that they just don't want you to get confused where you are. like Am I in an ice cream shop? It's never bothered me, though. Like, I totally agree with you that, yeah, like, dentist offices tend to be crazy into teeth. But ah Ed Byrne actually did us a good, like, series of jokes, and I won't go through the whole thing, obviously, but he said, like, the way dentists study, they seem to think that the
01:28:14
Speaker
that the teeth are the most important part of the body, you know, because see eat the amount of times you hear that that, you know, bad gum health is related to this, it's related to this, blah, blah, blah, and it's like, all right, but I could just buy more. And that is how I feel. to i've I genuinely haven't been to the dentist since I was 18. I just, I just brush my teeth and take care of them. That's it.
01:28:35
Speaker
I only just recently got signed up with a dentist since moving, and I didn't actually get signed up with a dentist the last time I moved, so I haven't but i hadn't been to the dentist since pre-pandemic. And the new dentist I'm signed up with is immediately logo is like, ah, we've somehow contorted this tooth imagery into the letters that make the initials of the dentistry. as ah
01:28:57
Speaker
Branding, Broski. Yeah, her branding. Marge asks if Lisa does indeed need the braces and the dentist bores out the computer simulation of Lisa, which progressively gets more and more horrific until the tooth is literally going through her face. I genuinely forgot because of how much I avoid it, how much I absolutely hate teeth-based body horror.
01:29:18
Speaker
Genuinely, if if a i I almost looked away. I hated this. It's pretty grim. There's something about, you know, teeth in any kind of like abnormal setting. I'm like, nah, nah, nah, I'm out. I'm out. so really So you won't be on board with Bart's plan to take Lisa to the South and charge two bits of gander.
01:29:38
Speaker
Well no, Bart can do that, I'm just not gonna be there. wouldn't pay to I'm not gonna go pay to see it, yeah. We're going to home on the couch watching wrestling and we see that the iron yuppie is ta taking on the Dr. Hillbilly. New location mentioned, the Springfield Grapplerium. Which is amazing. we We need to bring back.
01:29:59
Speaker
making up words for places. We need to do that. We need to bring that back. The grapple area, like so in ah in in something like wrestling, you know, wwe WWE and that kind of thing or whatever it is now, because I think it's not E anymore. I think it's F. Whatever. No, it's still under you you were right. Was it or was it F and now it's E?
01:30:18
Speaker
It was F because the World Wildlife Fund sued them eventually because they were going to the trademark. Okay, right. Anyway, yeah, things that are so ostentatious and bombastic as as things like the WWE, they should definitely name their stadiums the Grapplerium.
01:30:38
Speaker
I agree. The football stadium should be called the soccerino or something like that. The The The 15 pounds for a burger?
01:30:50
Speaker
That is true though. At least they're honest. Lisa comes back sad as they reveal that she needs braces and Homa reassures them they won the dental plan in the 89 strike. We then get a flashback of the strike and we see that as the- That's how I got this scar. We see that Homa got said scar but I'm trying to get a burrito from Joe's K-20. Where's my burrito? Where's my burrito? You also got another star sneaking under a pay toilet.
01:31:19
Speaker
Well, I mean, who's going to pay for a toilet? Come on. If it means paying for a toilet or crawling on piss ground, I'm going to pay for the toilet. Well, they were fighting for equitable treatment at the hands of management, so they wanted it soon. Soon. Yeah, it's not the catchiest chance I've ever heard. It's not quite as catchy as Where's My Burrito. But I
Union Meeting and Strike Dynamics
01:31:40
Speaker
mean, like maybe they shouldn't have killed the union leader.
01:31:43
Speaker
Well, speaking of which, we're at the union meeting now, which is for the International Brotherhood of Jazz Dancers, Pastry Ships and Nuclear Technicians. Those three things go hand in hand. Yeah, with tremendous logo as well, the dancer in the spotlight holding an atom and a cupcake. Well, that's how you know what it is. It's branding. You like teeth?
01:32:04
Speaker
see like teeth i want that on our mayonnaise see like teeth that's it just right on the ass oh that could be a horrible encouragement ah the implications of having see like teeth on your ass exactly this back door is firmly locked sir
01:32:26
Speaker
Go host the meeting and he says that, as this is happening over. Sorry, I really tickled myself with that. By inventing new forms of tooth-based body. Yeah, I'm the problem. I'm the problem. Well, imagine a tooth going through your arse. Oh god! Well, you'd be like Chucky Fitzhugh, who hasn't been seen like Liam. We're all praying for his safe return, which draws a right big laugh. So were that so it is it implying that they're the ones that killed the Union rep?
01:32:55
Speaker
No, it's just implied that they know what happened to him. Oh, right, okay. This is what you get for Colleen at Black Union. We don't see that the plan is essentially the same, except they get a free cake of beer. I bet that they have to give the dental plan. Of course, no one cares because they got a free cake of beer, including Lenny to say goodbye to the dental planmas he toast it that plan Dental plan!
01:33:14
Speaker
We then get a good 20 seconds of Homer standing there going, dental plan, and Lisa needs braces. So long! It's a lot longer than I remember it. It's only broken up by Cole's teeth going into Homer's arse. Sorry, a pencil. You're right, am I I'm just in a fantasy world like Homer was.
01:33:35
Speaker
After Homer gets the pencil out of his arse, we get another five to six seconds. Yeah, I love how he's like, I lost my train of th thought. It's immediately back into a dental plan. At least he needs braces. Homer finally has his epiphany that a if they give up the dental plan, he'll have to pay for Lisa's braces. Oh no, Homer hasn't got any money. Clearly he doesn't for braces. 83k, guys. 83k. Just keep that in mind for every joke about them being Paul.
01:34:01
Speaker
Elmer appeals to the workers not to give up the dental plan, including evidencing Lenny's dime days too, which is immediately stolen. And ah Gummy Joe the hillbilly, who I guess is in charge of all the computer systems. Well I guess I wouldn't have old chambray. Which he uses to open a can of soda. Have you ever watched people open like bottles with their teeth?
01:34:22
Speaker
Yes, it's... Speaking it's speaking of teeth-based body horror, have you seen the people that have failed to do it? Oh, it's awful. I have seen it and I tend to turn the video off at that point. Well, I saw someone do it in person, was why. It was it was unpleasant. Ah, but who needs a tongue?
01:34:41
Speaker
after controlling the people to his side begins tearing up the contract and we see that uh there's a hidden camera on the cake that no one noticed and we see that it's mr burns asking who that is so let's point out who homer is and then give several examples of how burns actually knows him i love this i never knew they made a joke about burns forgetting Homer, like that that they acknowledge that it's a running gag. I thought that was really funny. He thwarted your campaign for governor, you ran over his son, he saved the plant from meltdown, his wife painted you in the nude. That doesn't ring a bell. We don't see that a Homer is nominated to be the new head of the union and only one person opposes. No.
01:35:23
Speaker
And Homer is delighted and asks what the job pays. He's told it nothing unless he's crooked. Unless you're crooked. We then see that ah the next scene begins and Homer is ah delighted with the family that he is now the head of the union. Because now he can make links to organized crime. with would they get an organized crime We don't get a godfather of a fantasy of Homer being given many donuts. Molto bene.
01:35:45
Speaker
but and that does That is the height of corruption for Homer, is just free donuts. He doesn't solve a single problem, they're just giving donuts. Well yeah, because he's not going to solve them then and there, he's promising to solve them later, as long as they give him donuts. You don't know that, the fancy one. This guy didn't even have a problem, he was just like, yeah, have a donut, he's just sucking up. yeah so the The woman was like, my son has trouble, and he's like, no, donuts. Donuts first.
01:36:15
Speaker
I like how after they come out of the fancy, Homer's still talking in Italian and accent. That's a nice adornment.
01:36:24
Speaker
I love Homer's fantasy landsman. Lisa asks if Homer thinks he can get the dental plant back and Homer admits that it depends on who's the better negotiator, him or Mr Burns. At that moment Bart changes his pastry for a doorstop. I'll trade you this delicious doorstop for that old crusty Danish.
01:36:42
Speaker
ah Homo, of course, takes this deal and stares at the doorstop for a second before saying don't. We don't go back to the dentist and Lisa is shown a very elaborate set of braces, which even includes spraying out some Calvin Klein fatigue.
01:36:58
Speaker
calvin klein's obsession for teeth yes so that was a thing but other The thing that really bugged me about this, again, with the whole returning to zero thing, is them saying these are these are nearly invisible. And I'm like, no, i they're really fucking clear.
01:37:15
Speaker
They're really there. It was just a weird gag. It was like, these are nearly invisible. I'm like... He didn't say nearly... Well, I mean, I've got the Prinkiac transcript here. He just says invisible. He doesn't say nearly invisible. Oh, to see the worst, they're invisible. Well, no, they're there. I can see them. If they're invisible, they'll be fucking invisible. Yeah, but when you wear them, yeah, they're invisible. No, that's not our fucking braces work. They're invisible for plot reasons. No, they're invisible for returning to zero at the end of the episode. That's all. Well, yes, that. That's what it meant. It's a plot device. Leave it beep.
01:37:45
Speaker
It's not a plot device. It's not a plot device. It's just... It's a plot resetting device. it's a if We need to mention Lisa needs braces in a future episode and why you can't see them. It's because they're invisible. ah Remarkably, her the the the bad braces that she will get in a second ah disappear in a significant part through much of the episode and they're not like that visible. Like they play it up at the start and then the second time you see it, like most of the contraption is just gone.
01:38:13
Speaker
and Well she might have had an upgrade between those two scenes. Maybe. Marge confirms that they don't have the money for them and they need something more affordable at which point he brings out the Hannibal wetter style braces which predates stainless steel so you can't get them wet. You can't get them wet. This is another thing that like bugged me because but it's that sitcom logic kind of thing of just like why can't you just wait a few days to see if you get a dental plan? No go get him now. The effect of not having like as someone who had braces the effect of waiting three days is not a big way. Because it's it's more it's more dangerous for her teeth to add shit braces, take them out and add new braces. See, what you don't know is if you'd waited four days, that too would have gone for your face. the same Time is of the urgency, my friend.
01:39:05
Speaker
We don't see Mr. Varens looking at Homer through the monster thinking he's exercising, when in truth he's got to sugar daddy stuck to his back and when he's got to help get it off. but's ah That is an interesting name for a sweet. Yeah, it's ah take a cake of lollipop, I think. Something useful. yeah there I foolishly just googled sugar daddy and obviously did not get sweets. Speaking of a sugar daddy situation, with Mr Burns has called Homer into his office and wants to talk about ah the union and Homer misunderstands why Mr Burns is being so nice to him. and
01:39:41
Speaker
Mr. Burns starts using language that whom I unfortunately miss starts to misunderstand. And Mr. Burns is actually coming onto him. That is just caramel on a stick, by the way. Yeah.
01:39:53
Speaker
Well, speaker of caramel on a sticker, we never quite established what Mr Burns wants to slip into Homer's back pocket. check And we see Mr Burns giving his cheeky little wink, which eventually sets the screaming off in Homer's skull. But Homer quite diplomatically turns Mr Burns down saying he doesn't want any of those backdoor shenanigans, even though he is splattered and a bit curious.
01:40:14
Speaker
but i love I love the fact that they they there they took that opportunity to to make that joke. Because obviously, backdoor shenanigans does mean, um like, backdoor dealing, you know, as in being corrupt. yeah yeah So Homer is saying the right thing in that situation. But obviously, what Homer means and what the words he's using mean, it's like two different things, which I just... It's a clever double entendre. Exactly. It was just clever. I liked it. It was funny.
01:40:41
Speaker
I did like Mr. Burns actually saying that he was quite disappointed that Elmo wasn't into the back door shenanigans.
01:40:48
Speaker
We then go back to the dentist and Lisa has shown some of the tools to reassure her, which include the scraper and the gouger. And the poker. And the poker. As someone who has had teeth removed... Well, teeth removed that don't need to be removed, but they're being removed for like braces, you know, so like perfectly healthy teeth.
01:41:08
Speaker
it is the worst fucking experience it was the most painful ever because they put the numbing cream on and then just went straight in with the needle and it's like are you supposed to wait 15 minutes or whatever so they didn't you guessed I know i but I used I know you're trying to do a segue I'm telling a fucking story um I genuinely left marks in the, uh, the dentist's chair from my- from squeezing the, like, leather because of the needle. It was awful. So incredibly painful. Dentists are evil is what I'm saying.
01:41:45
Speaker
Yeah, the teeth tooth extractions always like they they have always seemed I've never had one done I've but they have always seemed horrific enough to scare me into taking pretty good care of my teeth. Yeah oh got get over your fear at the gouguch at ah No, thank you. I just I simply choose not to engage with the gouger But just don if I ignore its existence Oh, if you ever do need to encounter it, I'm sure you we can be guessed. I would opt for guessing if that is an option. Would I see Lisa have an entire trip out of what seems to be 1970s drip pop culture? It's a yellow submarine reference, you child! No, I know, because the Beatles literally show up at the end in a purple
Strike Resolution and Episode Conclusion
01:42:30
Speaker
submarine. Yeah, but I'm saying, as in the movie Yellow Submarine, not just the album, have you not seen Yellow Submarine?
01:42:38
Speaker
I have, yes. It's so good. I love that movie. I've watched it so many times. Lisa's fantasy ends with the Beatles crashing into the Queen Victoria and you just get the Liverpool team. Help us. Help us. They did not get the Beatles to voice that line. You'd be surprised to learn. That's crazy. that made Three of them could have done it, but they were just being lazy.
01:42:56
Speaker
Well from what it sounds like from last time, Bloody What's His Fate Ringo would have done it. Ringo would have ah he' a been up for it yeah of ah done John London's voice. I don't see Lisa has woken up and the dentist looks horrified by what he's done as Lisa demands the mirror. Lisa does get the mirror and we just see the sinister evil cackling as the dentist is now cowering in fear and the mirror smashes.
01:43:20
Speaker
Yeah, it didn't like that silhouette, hated it, bit like this. Yeah, it's, I think it was supposed to be a reference to the 1989 Batman film, the Joker turning into face the Joker. We then see that Lisa comes home with her new braces, which go all the way round her head to Jones Point earlier. Marge tries to reassure Lisa that she doesn't look like a freak. and Did these braces like that that kind of brace ever actually exist? Because I've only seen them in pop culture.
01:43:48
Speaker
I have no idea. I think some form of headgear that looks like that may they may not have specifically been for... It's just crazy. It's just so much. I've seen that form of contraption before, but I couldn't tell you what it was in. i Well, yeah, the only ones I've seen like actually seen on real people is the ones that are for you know like neck injuries, but to keep your head still. I think it's supposed to resemble sort of like an Iron Maiden, which sure would tear your mouth apart. I think that's what they were going for. Fuck.
01:44:15
Speaker
But anyway, the dog sees ah Lisa's new braces and stops in its tracks and immediately flees. At that point, Homer gets a knock on the door from hired goons. And hired goons. I'm pretty sure the fact they announced themselves before they took off. That's very professional goons.
01:44:32
Speaker
and Homer can't quite grasp the concept of hired goons. Yeah. Legal pro tip from More Man in the Morning podcast, if someone knocks on your door and announces themselves as hired goons, do not answer. Oh, do answer, because you might be taken to a very exotic fancy mansion like Homer is. Yeah, it's just a nice trip to meet a very nice, polite businessman who just wanted to have the meeting in person on his private grounds.
01:44:59
Speaker
See that Mr Burns is tending to his birds which includes a vulture that looks exactly like him. And also sounds like him. Homer tells Burns he could have just called and uh, Burns says he's happy that Crusher and Lobo didn't hurt him. You don't get the personal touch of not using hired goons and Homer again says hired goons. Hired goons. I then see that Homer goes on a bit of a tour of Burns's house which includes seeing the largest television in the world. Of course Bumblebee Man is on with a skunk in his bed and uh, Burns is not happy about this.
01:45:28
Speaker
largest TV in the free world. It does imply there may be others in this. I don't know. I was going to say Soviet Union, but like, I guess that's collapsed at this point. I don't know where he's implying there might be bigger ones. China, China skegness.
01:45:43
Speaker
I guess that notaryist communist hello skegness. We then see that ah Mr Burns has employed several monkeys to write the greatest and novel of all time, which sounds suspiciously like Charles Dickens' Great Expectations so forth. Except with the words, it the Blust of Times. Which was the best of times it was the Blust of Times. Sounds like an improvement to me.
01:46:07
Speaker
It is one of those random bits of The Simpsons that has like, I guess, taken on a bit of a life of its own outside of content. Because like, if you'd asked me which episode that was from, I would not have guessed this one. Definitely not. But I think Dental Plan's the same. And that's like a core part of the episode. No, I didn't know the Dental Plan was about to strike. No, no, no, no, no. I goo ranty. More people know.
01:46:30
Speaker
just the Lenny saying, dental plan, then know what the episode is about. Guarantee it. Put money on that. Okay, yeah yeah. Okay, now I can understand the problem that you're making, you're sorry I misunderstood. I refrained my straightment. You fucking shit. so You refrained your straightment? What? It was the blust of times, Jon. I mean, it was the blust of times. oh I thought I'm not as sober as I thought.
01:46:57
Speaker
Sorry about that. The tour ends in Mr Burns' basement, which Oma points out and- Oh, this got me. Burns continues that, yes, maybe you should stop ending the tours here. Cos I thought it was gonna be that, you know, like, oh, and now we're in this, you know, it's like, oh, I've shown you all these lovely things to lull you into a false sense of security. Now we're gonna go into the basement and I'm gonna threaten you. No, he just ends the tour with his basement and there's shit. There's no, like, threat. Burns is just an idiot. And I don't know why that really fucking got me.
01:47:26
Speaker
I didn't even pick up on that. I'm an idiot. I didn't even realize that the ah the the gag was, oh, this is the threatening interrogation room. It's like, no, it's just a shit basement. It's just a shit basement with a ping pong table. Yo, fact, I would love to one day have a house with a room large enough to have a fucking ping pong table. I love table tennis, man.
01:47:47
Speaker
ben begins to negotiate with homema but homema realizes he needs to use the bathroom unfortunately for him ah burn starts making several double en tore again this time using coffee include they're making a splash and almost a bit of a whiz I didn't even pick up on that!
01:48:04
Speaker
Oh yeah, it's all stuff that makes you want to pee. There's a drip in the background. Oh, because it's negotiation tactics, isn't it? They've said, yeah, make the person need to pee. Is that, oh, no, I didn't get the impression Burns was wanting to make him need to pee, but the recurring gag was all those things were making Homer want to pee. Yeah, of course, but that's what I'm saying, is it is an actual negotiation tactic.
01:48:28
Speaker
is a tip To ply the person with water and I mean it's it's more I think an interrogation tactic, but that seems pretty fitting for mr. Burns I mean like I've heard that at least at least as far as public speaking go that you should need to pee Yes, I also watch that episode of QI Yeah oh right i went fair enough yeah hes like show that He also talks about the fact that when you need to pee you should keep as still as possible and
01:49:13
Speaker
Yeah. And we'll see Homo come back and Burns has to be found in the bathroom, okay? And Homo very swiftly says yes. Yeah. Burns is being very nice to this episode. He takes Homo home with his own personal helicopter, which unfortunately cuts Marj's hair off. That guy properly giggled at that. Just the noise just meh out really quickly. Just a complete throwaway gag.
01:49:35
Speaker
Burns concedes defeat, but says he will crush Omar like a bug as the helicopter takes off. Then we don't hear Burns screaming as he falls out of the helicopter and there's a nice little snap of his s spine as he hits the ground.
01:49:49
Speaker
Burns then asks Omar to rub his legs until the feeling comes back. Oh, also, sorry, just a random thing that I was thinking about. Cause, you know, he showed like the largest TV in the free world. Do you remember when TVs were like the size of modern TVs, but the resolution was still shit? Not particularly, no. Cause I remember my parents had like friends that bought like a massive TV. You know, they one of those ones that was like, it took up the room kind of thing. And yeah, the resolution was still shit. It was just huge.
01:50:20
Speaker
I mean, at a certain point, CRT, yeah, just becomes impractical as a technology to make big. So, like, I don't ever recall many people having massive CRTs. I don't know if it was a CRT. When you said, oh like, big... te royal on wait for night When we're talking about TVs from 1993, I was assuming we're talking CRT TVs. It was in the 2000s.
01:50:42
Speaker
Okay, I mean we were just speaking of old CRT TVs there just to go on my own tangent I recall the gaming events Michael and I used to run years ago we did at one point get offered a TV which the the guy who owned it described it as being the size of a coffin I remember this. What a specific phrase. Yeah, it really is, isn't it? And we politely turned it down because we thought, what the hell are we going to do with this? And where are you going to put a TV the size of a coffin? I was going to live in someone's house and I already had seven CRT TVs.
01:51:19
Speaker
We then see that Burns is being airlifted away and has his being laughing maniacally by his several chimneys on the way. As Homer says he's going to resign as the head of the union and says he doesn't understand why he was elected in the first place. Marge says it's because they like you at the plant and Homer fondly remembers how everyone loves him including patting his bald head and poking him in the stomach with his girlish squeal.
01:51:38
Speaker
My girlish giggle. March 10 points out this sounds like they don't actually like him, and Homer realises that is indeed the case, and he vows that the next day he's gonna punch Lonnie in the back of the head. We cut to the next scene. Smash cut to him doing exactly that, yeah. I'm gonna laugh the noise Lonnie makes after he gets punched in the back of the head. It's still one of the funniest things. It's like a quarter second of a gag, but it's it lands perfectly. It's so good. Bam! Done. Next scene. We're done with this.
01:52:07
Speaker
That's story all it needs to be. then cut back to a picture day at the school and see that Skinner's giving the kids several things for the way their hair looks, which includes getting their cow licks down and sorting out their part. He then yells at one kid to uncross his eyes, but it turns out he has crossed eyes anyway. What was he called? Quiggly. Quiggly. They give him like ah one of the Flanders kids voices though. i didnt i want I don't think many of the kids get many multitude of different voice actors.
01:52:37
Speaker
yeah i don't think this with this was a recurring character this was a throw away gag again it's like to toothy joe or whatever it was you know and what man can tame her yeah quickly apparently quickly always quickly justice for quickly I don't see Lisa's getting a picture taken and Lisa's obviously been to the dentist since because the the Iron Maiden is now off. And the the photographer is trying to encourage Lisa to smile and show off a beautiful smile. And Lisa does eventually smile with it. Just smile without teeth. Just smile without teeth. This is a known issue. Just smile without teeth. That's what I did as a kid. Just smile without teeth.
01:53:10
Speaker
There's enough for the photographer to give up his belief in God and- There is no God! We then come back to Homer, and he says that he's been meeting with Mr Burns and he's had enough, and this prompts everyone to immediately vote for a strike. Except the one guy, who knows. Homer finally asks who the hell this is, and we cut to two gentlemen at the back, and all I can say is thank God they got the right guy, because that yeah muscular guy deserved it.
01:53:33
Speaker
I thought that bit, I recalled that bit being more of a two-time character. I was expecting at least like a rule of threes in comedy where this would come up on the third time, but like nah, this guy only pairs twice. The character. Hey, he laughed. Yeah, I thought it was hilarious.
01:53:51
Speaker
Oh yeah, just I just thought there were more instances of meh. We then cut back and the strike is in full force and the Lisa's playing the guitar outside and... Yo, this song's dope. This has got a very nice protest song going on here. Yeah, this song weps, yeah. Chief Williams and his car being walked back and forth. He's absolutely the loving one. Ben decides he's going to do something about this and calls for some strike breakers, exactly the ones that they had in the 30s. Unfortunately, some of his takes is a bit too much when he actually gets the strike breakers from the 30s. I fucking love this bit so much. Oh god, another bit that I did not know was this episode. Which is the style at the time.
01:54:33
Speaker
so the skybreakers are ah headed up by grandpa who says they can't brush heads like they used to but they have their own ways which is to tell stories that go nowhere and this leads grandpa to go into his story of the ferry to Shebweebill which goes absolutely fucking nowhere what was it for is like the ferry to where which they called which was Morganville which they called Shelbyville in those days I mean, the main thing you've got to remember is that he had an onion on his belt, which was the style of time. ah it sorry we got two burnsers bit sorry I can't remember what it was. something there was um i My favourite one I saw of the which which which was the style at the time bit was someone saying, and then I typed in my text,
01:55:18
Speaker
by pressing the numbers multiple times, which was the stylist that was like, I'm so old! I hate that I get that joke! I'm so old! ah like winex got to mr burnrs with the hos about the two down like because unfortunate these the hose is too powerful for him and he takes out smells and
01:55:39
Speaker
Lisa finishes her song which yeah there's the they but says they have the power. Lenny comes over and says he wants some classical gas and we just get to some really good classical gas and we just see that ah Lenny is absolutely buying it. Lenny loves it man.
01:55:56
Speaker
Yeah. Side note, have we seen Lisa play guitar before? No. Like, we've always known her to be, like, you know, saxophone, but, like... She... I think they slowly build her up to be, like, just musically proficient in general. Like, I'm fairly certain she plays the piano at one point. Mm-hmm. I didn't know, apparently, that if you can play the piano, it's easier to learn other instruments. Yeah. I didn't know that. I suppose it means you can read music easier or something. Yeah, but I think it's just something to do with the, like, finger proficiency. Click, click.
01:56:25
Speaker
But yeah, I don't know, I found that fact out and was like, that's neat. That ne ah is indeed neat. and but dan dan dan da da da dan and So we see Burns is now looking at Homer for the binoculars and almost back outside Joe's catering, presumably to get his next score. Burns declares that Homer thinks he's the cock of the work, but he's cock of nothing.
01:56:47
Speaker
There's a Smithers mix of interesting noise. Burnstead declares he and Smithers can run the plan themselves and we get a montage of this happening. Burnstead's tap dancing on the console. They've created a two headed dog that they're throwing frisbees to.
01:57:03
Speaker
I like how- And the music is not exactly but I think very similar to land of chocolate. I was thinking the same thing, yeah. I like how halfway through the montage Burns gives up on the planet entirely and just gets a remote because it's immediately turned on him.
01:57:19
Speaker
i have two questions about this this scene in the one prior first off doesn't lisa have school also if the workers are striking and burns and smithers have to run the plant solo where is the city's power coming from this gets answered in a moment but it doesn't really We'll carry on. Dog? The dog and the dog's right in the mouth. I ain't got too smart line as the Union Strike is now taking over the airways of Argo Bargo or Fufaw. I think I said that right. Argo Bargo or Fufaw?
01:57:51
Speaker
weird nonsense words, yes. We don't see that the guests are Monty Burns, Homer Simpson, and Talk Home. The talk show Mainstay, Dr. Joyce Brothers, brought her own mic. So I guess Joyce Brothers was catching some strays. Weirdest cameo because she is playing herself. She was a TV personality and they got her on to play herself and they had her say, I brought my own mic. That's it. That's the bit.
01:58:16
Speaker
Yeah, Botwin tries to ah start talking to Homer, and Homer immediately starts screaming. Screams. My producer's telling me not to talk to you anymore. He then allows Mr. Burns to go into his opening tirade, which Burns is very polite. ah Yeah, I love the fact that he said you requested an opening tirade. That's so good. and but It's then goes and threatens in 15 minutes he's going to bring Doom onto the town. and know And this leads to Ken Brockman doing a nice little chuckle and saying a terrifying garbage of things to do. We go back to the power plant and we see Mr. Burns and Smith is going through several security measures including sticking his head into a facial recognition scanner, Batman style poles and a hidden book thing. There's a bunch of references in there, one of them is at least Batman as well. Batman James Bond, everything.
01:59:04
Speaker
That's a bunch of Batman in this episode. yeah Only to come to the that slightly abandoned room where Chidog has already broken into. Batman doesn't dance anymore. Sorry, he's random in the movie. Think of that. Batman doesn't dance anymore. That was a Mr. Plow, which I think is...
01:59:24
Speaker
our first YouTube video, so go check that out. Yeah, that's what I was doing. Yeah. Mm hmm. Yes, I'm I'm clever. Mm hmm. One day I will go back and turn the first three and a half seasons into videos, but that day is not today.
01:59:41
Speaker
Burns does his dramatic finger store and eventually turns off the power to the town, which immediately leads to looting. I love, yeah, instantaneous instantaneous. I don't think you can power down a nuclear power plant that fast. I gotta be honest with you. i suppose you don't have to so i'm go to be really nerdy You don't have to power down the plant. You just have to turn off the transformer essentially, which turns the high voltage power that the plant is producing.
02:00:08
Speaker
into low voltage power, which is what goes through power lines. So yeah. If you're not powering stuff, that energy has to go somewhere, right? Otherwise that's extremely dangerous. Just get stores. Where? Most power plants have batteries. i Not to the extent of that you could just divert the entire power of a nuclear power plant into a battery for however long Burns has got in mind, right? I'm not saying it's scientific. I'm just saying that's pretty much what they're doing. They're in that coffin with the dog.
02:00:36
Speaker
I don't think the Simpsons writers know how a nuclear power plant works, is all I'm saying. I don't think the Simpsons writers know anything, so it doesn't really matter. I mean, I appreciate the fact that the blackout is announced in light. The lights go off around the Union Strikers, and instead of being disheartened, they start singing in a big circle. Mr. Burns meanwhile goes all- They had no idea how to end this episode. They had no fucking clue.
02:01:08
Speaker
But um that's what makes it even better. It's just Burns leaning over in his grinch best Grinch impression, and he realizes that his plan has not worked, and he starts rhyming, and he rhymes blenders with schmendlers, which is phenomenal. And eventually, Burns decides to make the feat and strikes a deal with Homer. The deal is that he'll give him the dental plan back, but Homer must resign as head of the union. This delights Homer, and he begins whooping on the floor i do not yeah gay and Again, yeah, this is another like iconic Simpsons thing that just... but this episode Yeah, about times I've seen the gif of Homer just spinning in circles on the floor. The burn's just staring like, what the fuck. I don't think Homer was the brilliant tactician I thought he was or something. Yeah.
02:01:53
Speaker
So after this, Homer comes outside and declares they're going back to work, but the power comes back onto the town, including into the porno district and the fake- This was weird. This was weird. The pillars of society. Yeah, these are the crucial industries that are keeping society together. I guess so, yeah. Integral to civilization. Yeah, because I'm fairly certain- This is what we need electricity for. I'm fairly certain there's been a similar bit. I think they are referencing something.
02:02:19
Speaker
Yeah. So, we're back in the dentist's office and Lisa's now got her invisible braces. The third second about... How is this working? How are they invisible? How? Explain it. In detail, please. Science. Yeah, science. Fair enough, yeah.
02:02:34
Speaker
I mean, I don't know how they work. I have seen adverts for Invisible Braces in this day and age. I don't think Invisible Braces existed in 1993, though, as far as I'm aware. I think human teeth are incredibly inefficient, and we should just start removing them and replacing them.
02:02:49
Speaker
That should just be grim. Free. Again, you keep coming up with a lot of tooth-based horror for somebody who doesn't like tooth-based horror. That's dentures, you psychopath. My dad has those. I think you... I think you secretly collect teeth. You very much sounded like your modest proposal there was we should just yank out everybody's teeth, all of them, every single tooth. And we should eat the Irish. And put them back into Matt's special drawer. Drop singular? How dare you? They're organized.
02:03:19
Speaker
So Marge points out that they can't see Lisa's braces and Lisa says the gnats, the tooth, making it too funny. Everybody starts laughing hysterically and then it's actually revealed, oops, I forgot to turn off the gas and everybody just continues to laugh because they were... Why did they faint? I was so expecting the fainting bit.
02:03:36
Speaker
Is that too obvious to me? I was fully expecting at least one of them to just go thump. I mean, something that I only observed as we've been going through it, ah talking through it now, is like, hes yeah he hit his is nitrous. That's not a knockout gas to the best of my knowledge, unless it worked unless you need a very high dose of it. It's life and gas, isn't it?
02:03:57
Speaker
yeah Yes, it that's why they laugh. yeah But like I have undergone medical treatment before with nitrous, and it it's it's also a painkiller as well. like You don't feel shit while you're high as fuck on it, but it doesn't knock you out, to the best of my knowledge. I think they have different types of gas, particularly in America, so they do have life and gas, but I think they also have knockout gases for yeah ones that are more problematic. Well, anesthetic can be administered through gas.
02:04:23
Speaker
but like i mean i was just assuming he's only got one cylinder of gas i was also expecting a reference to seinfeld this is going to be a random fucking tangent but you know um shit what's he called i love this guy the guy that plays walter white I know who you mean. I don't know who goes next. Well, anyway, he was in Seinfeld ah when he like early on in his career, and he played a like crazy dentist. And right before he does like this really important medical procedure, he takes a huge huff of nitrous, and I thought they were going to make a reference to that. I don't know why. I just thought that was where the reference was going. Right. yeah That's Matt's randomest tangent of the day.
02:04:59
Speaker
That's the episode. That is an episode. a Great episode. What did you think? It was a great episode. Oh, this episode is fantastic. Are we unanimous? Yeah, I think so. Maybe. Greed for once. Been a while. Yeah, it's been a while. i've i've been I've been fairly met on a lot of the episodes recently. and But, yeah, I think it's a Homer. Oh wow. straight Jumping straight to it. Yeah. Okay. It's been a while since Michael's given a Homer as well.
02:05:26
Speaker
the the burns bits are hysterical yeah it is a really good the whole the whole and i know that the b-plot has its moments with the um other not uh lisa's braces should be invisible or not and often but the good outweighs the bad as you know it's like any any bad is nitpicking yeah and lenny being punched in the back of the store yeah i think that's the yeah i think most of my homers have been episodes without b-plots is the thing for me yeah the b plot ties in well enough or yeah whatever phrasing you used if you don't want to use the phrase ties and
02:05:58
Speaker
um it it they work together well enough that it doesn't feel like a b plot no that's fair I mean, I think the last episode definitely could have stood to have not had a B-plot or or a better tied-in B-plot, certainly. It just felt like two stories that they didn't give enough time to either of them. Absolutely, but but that the last episode, I think that's what disappointed me about it to some extent was that, yeah, either of those plots could have been in a full episode on their own. Mm-hmm. And been very, like, way better because of it. I mean, I think we're already very much ah established. This is great. So, Matt, what was your score?
02:06:34
Speaker
ah This gets a Homer running on the floor out of Homer classic Oh, oh, so with, oh. So it's no, it's it's not a Homer. It's not quite Homer for me. I just thought it was funny. I just, I wanted to do the bit. It gets a Homer running on the floor out of Homer. Cause that's a classic. It is a classic episode. um And that is one of the things that I remember remember the most from Simpsons is is Homer running in a little circle. I know this season I've been dishing them out like candy, but it is also a Homer out of Homer for me.
02:07:06
Speaker
damn nice nice um i mean i think i'm in good company on that uh to dig through whatever sort of ah critical reception people have of this episode i think it's widely considered by many people one of if not the best episode of the simpsons ever wow yeah i mean there's a lot of classic bits came from it it's fair oh so many i don't just bits i didn't even realize i did not know the story that goes nowhere just nice ah it's did this have anything to say about society
02:07:43
Speaker
I mean, there's it's obviously there's it's doing the social issue kind of thing for a vehicle for jokes. I don't think it really put much effort into ticket making any deep commentary. you know Burns was an evil capitalist, Homer was the uneducated worker. It says more about the opinions of blue collar workers than it does about power dynamics and union busting. i think there's you I think you could very easily overthink this episode and think it's saying a lot. I don't think it is kind of thing.
02:08:13
Speaker
I mean, yeah, you can you can argue the toss over whether it is saying anything, but like I feel like the ending, to me, I feel like it says that solidarity works. Like, yeah people in power think they hold all the cards, but together, united, we can do more.
02:08:32
Speaker
Yeah, beyond union good, I think, is it it it doesn't say much, is what I'm trying to say, sorry. I think it also makes a little bit of a comment about how ignorant people in power can be, because throughout the whole episode, Burns thinks he's dealing with a mastermind tactician. Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And he gets to the absolute end that he realizes that Homer had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He is, ah yeah, as as cunning and quick-witted as Elon Musk in this episode. Which is, say, not very.
02:09:01
Speaker
this is why he's now head of dodge I suppose as regards the no no no he's he is the co-head of the government ah government efficiency he two people for the for government efficiency to two people no they didn't they they fired Vivek Ramaswami didn't they I have no idea, I don't follow that shit, it's so depressing. It's very funny because he really really wanted power and then he got power and then lost it immediately. It's just, it's it's a chaotic clusterfuck over there. And it's, it is... What a shit hole. To quote another bit of Matt Grenning works, um it's like watching a monkey with a hand grenade. It's horrifying but you can't look away.
02:09:45
Speaker
It's true. Yeah, I mean, like, I suppose the one bit I found remarkable or interesting, maybe not remarkable, about the end, it was showing the public reaction to, like, being plunged into darkness, like, knowing the world and the power dynamics and the forces at play, you'd sort of expect and maybe an element of, like, the people turning against the people striking, or being turned by other powerful forces, like the media against the people striking. How many strikes have we had in the UK in the past few years where the media have painted them as, oh, the boogeyman, oh, the train's out running in time, that's that's because those work-shy strikers i just can't be asked to do their jobs, and it's like, oh, fuck off. So the fact that everyone's just like, yeah, okay, cool.
02:10:38
Speaker
yeah So, yeah, that's the solidarity we want in the world. Learn from it. They may not be saying anything, but you should learn from it. That solidarity is how shit gets done. If you want a better world, unity, solidarity, comm community. Be French about it. Fraternitรฉ. Yeah. Cool. Anyway, outros. Outros. Promote some stuff. Matt, what you got?
02:10:59
Speaker
ah Hey, new episode of All 4 Annals is coming out soon, I promise, I swear. And then we've got two more, ah some cool episodes coming. Fucking Predator, and I love Predator. Noice. I'm so used to promoting More Man in the Morning, I almost just went straight into saying, hey, go listen to More Man in the Morning on Spotify. You can promote that too. ah Hey, go listen to More Man in the Morning on Spotify. Right now, it's also on YouTube now. It's a podcast where we listen to, we watch all of The Simpsons in order. It's a gas.
02:11:28
Speaker
A laughing gas. A laughing gas. And a classical gas, yes. And a classical gas. Michael! You can follow me on bluescale, it's a fun and mashhorse. Same thing if you really want to follow my profile on X, not a lot happening now. I've officially deleted my account now.
02:11:50
Speaker
I've still got mine because of my union work. How did we get through the union episode without talking about our own union experiences? I kind of made to do that and that has completely fallen by the wayside. I have none.
02:12:03
Speaker
Michael, tell tell us about your union and why people should join it. If you if you think they should, I don't know. Well, if you're not in our teaching profession, it's probably going to be someone useless to you, but yes, it does its work. ah Yet to see any evidence of any mafia related business or cool no one's turned so it's turned up dead yet. so Oh, don't bang me. It's a nice That's a nice education. But no, but no green cookie.
02:12:30
Speaker
What's even the point if you don't get a green cookie on St Patrick's Day? You need to get onto your union rep and tell them, like, your workplace needs to get you green cookies on St Patrick's Day. Like, you're paying your dues for nothing otherwise. I think free people get fired for that green cookie.
02:12:48
Speaker
HR the porn goes. John, since you clearly wanted to tell us about your union experiences, please tell us about your union experience. Uh, mine is not a trade union. I'm a member of Acorn, which is a community union. They do good work. They are, they they were massive in the United States up until Obama got elected. They, by the way, they were the ones who got Obama elected. Thank you very much. Uh, and then. Yeah. Walk right into D. Yeah. Then the Democrat. Well, I mean, it was either that or more Republicans. So which one do you want?
02:13:20
Speaker
That's fair. So yeah, um then the Democrats threw them under the bus and they're not a big thing in the US anymore but they're still big russia around the rest of the world including the UK and they do good things in communities in your area probably. We have one around my neck of the woods in Cardiff, biggest ones in Bristol, Brighton have been doing good work, they got them in like pretty much most cities I think at this point.
02:13:46
Speaker
Uh, yeah, we are currently campaigning to force the council to reinstate the winter fuel allowance. Yeah. Just check out acorn the union, find out what your local branch is doing and get involved in your community and do some solidarity and unity and make them turn the power back on, you know, or, you know, get things you want in your community. That's my union chilling. I'm not part of the union. I am just a union in and of myself.
02:14:14
Speaker
matter matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, matters, sky at Morocco. Uh, follow my other YouTube channel, which doesn't get you as much anymore, which is button mash. Go listen to all four Arnold's. Yo, I know that's already been promoted, but I'm going to promote it as well. Cause it's great. And we'll see you next time. Bye. Bye everybody.
02:15:01
Speaker
um da but da um but but but but and