I re-watched this one recently when working on another project, so I decided to give it a review. It's one of those classic episodes I don't hear people talk about that much (heck, I would regularly skip it) but it does do some interesting things and has some great jokes in it. So I think it's worth looking at this odd duck of an episode
Everytime you mentioned stuff like 'this season doesn't have time for hugging and learning' or screw the audience jokes in a season retrospective, first thing that always came to mind was how this episode's ending plays the 'aaaaaw" factor completely straight. It's an episode that could have only existed in a very specific time of The Simpsons.
This episode has one of my favourite moments of The Simpsons - "here you go, fellas" as Tom puts the starfish back in the tank, only for them to be eaten. Fantastic.
Replace the starfish with a frog I rescued from a swimming pool, and the shark tank with a garden pond with a large fish hiding at the bottom, and you have a real experience I had as a kid.
The "His father? The drunken gambler?" joke is one of my all-time favorite Simpsons jokes. Just the absurdity of Homer's overtly friendly and almost prideful response. It's so good.
One of my favourite eps, another line I love is when Tom says “Bart, I could kiss you, if the Bigger Brothers hadn't made me sign a form promising I wouldn't.”
One of my favorite scenes was when Homer said he was Bart's father and Tom asked if he was the drunken gambler. Homer looked so proud and surprised someone knew him, like it was an accomplishment and compliment. Then Tom punched him like he said he would. Best scene was Homer falling on top of a fire hydrant and calmly explained the pain he was suffering.
One of my favorite gags in the whole series is... "Don't say 'revenge', don't say 'revenge'..." "Uh...revenge?" "That's it, I'm outta here." (walking away, door slams) Homer's brain so unimpressed with his response that it just leaves. XD
Then her accepting the response, as it reveals that basically the only reasons to sign up as a big brother are awful. So many jokes on top of each other.
I love so many of the Homer vs brain gags in the series. This one is probably my favorite, but the cider mill scene from "Burns, Baby Burns" is a real close second, especially since it also teaches how to differentiate between apple cider and apple juice in a way that I will absolutely never forget.
@@TLSoulDude "and of course in Canada, the whole thing's flip-flopped-" [Homer collapses] "Oh my, I better get you some cider!" That entire gag is almost completely carried by Ned, it's one of my favorite moments of his ever
The fight finding its way to Springfield Gorge always got me. Nobody has sucessfully jumped the gorge yet 2 guys throwing punches can fall in and fight their way back to the top unharmed.
If Pepe was treated better when Homer isn't around, I could see an ending without Tom & Pepe getting together, but Pepe had it really rough, so just glad he gets a happy ending
A childhood memory of mine is me watching this episode on TV and after Bart's skeleton and Homer's melting face my dad saying to me "If this is disturbing to you we can turn off the TV"
Thing is that through the entire episode, Tom and Peppi are both innocent and are just trying their best, and as a viewer I find myself somewhat rooting for them and I'm glad they get together in the end, I think if they didn't it would just come across as unnecessarily harsh for no real pay off imo
It may be years of cynical television talking but I like the sincere ending of Pepe and Tom getting together with a nice lampshade to dull the sweet edge a bit
Really, the Simpsons did all those subversive endings all the time later on, even to the point it didn't always work right and being 'subversive' became a cliche in itself. Sometimes the cliche punchline works.
You've captured something that I couldn't never put my finger on with that weird series of almost dream logic jokes. It's almost as though Bart is slowly losing his mind, waiting for Homer.
One of my closest friends sent me a postcard depicting the Corey hotline ad. It made me laugh so much that I framed it, so this episode will always have a special place in my heart. Also, whenever I hear "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy, it feels wrong to not hear it sung by lady-Homer!
This was the episode James L Brooks screened for David Mirkin as the example of an episode he doesn't want to be made anymore for season 5. Would be interesting to hear you touch upon that, the reasons why and how it relates to the season 5 episodes produced by Mirkin!
I recall the commentary had the writers and showrunner questioning if they went too out-there having Homer's inner monologue get up and walk out the door in his mind after the "Don't say revenge" moment. For a season that would really ramp up the wackiness, no less.
I remember watching this morning when it first aired with my friends, and in the scene where Bart is being tormented by seemingly all of creation while waiting for Homer, the “female homer” came driving by, and THAT was the gag that made us all just explode, laughing confusedly, and saying, “what the hell was that?” Over and over. It just killed us. It is my head canon that female homer is Homer’s cousin Frank/Francine/Sister Shabooboo.
Sad fact, while the parody of Ren and Stimpy clip was in the style of that show to the point the Layouts were done by a member of that show, Chris Riccardi, he passed away of a heart attack (age 54 while doing his hobby of surfing) in 2019. RIP Chris Riccardi.
I've always liked the ending and never considered how it could have a different ending, but the idea of Tom and Pepi not getting together is hilarious to me and kind of wish they would've done that now
I kind of know what you mean about this episode feeling “off”, but for me it’s entirely different reasons. For whatever reason, I don’t remember this one getting replayed a lot on syndication in the 90’s and I must have missed it on it’s original airing. When the first Complete guide to the Simpsons book came out, this was the only episode I never saw, and the screenshot of Homer cradling a skeleton Bart was so intriguing. This was also before the dvds and I used to try to record every episode on vhs every day, but for some reason this one just never came on! So for that reason it’s always felt like a “lost” episode for me.
My best friend and I at the time would always reference Simpsons episodes, only for those exact episodes to come on within a day or two. It was always a trip.
I remember it the same way: that this one wasn't shown as much in syndication. Same with "Stark Raving Dad". And with the Ren and Stimpy reference in this one, both episodes have something in common. (R & S creator John K groomed and molested 12 year old girls.) And then Matt Groening was in the Jeffrey Epstein flight logs, but his name is on EVERY Simpsons episode except for "A Star is Burns". (I don't know if Groening did anything illegal, but one the teenage girls that massaged his feet said they were gross and "crusty".)
I loved this one on repeats in the UK, but I never saw the one with the cult until DVDs. Had the exact feelings you described - I had a bunch of tapes with all the unique episodes I could catch too
@@kaitlyn__L That's funny. Also from the UK, and I remember the cult one pretty strongly. "Dunanunanunanuna Leader!" was hilarious to me when I was a kid. They used to air reruns on weekend mornings as well as the regular 6pm weekday slot, maybe I just spent more of my Sunday in front of the TV.
@@theMoporter that’s really interesting! Was this the BBC or the Channel 4 era? For me it was the BBC 90%, I only recorded the early-10s seasons from Channel 4 and wasn’t catching the repeats anymore.
I always loved this one. Not only are the jokes hilarious, I feel like it was edited really well, the music cues and brisk pace especially. I like how despite the often random humour, it doesn't feel like a "wacky" episode to me. Maybe because there is a weird, almost sinister undercurrent with the tension between Bart and Homer, and the constant references to mature films like The Shining, Psycho, The Public Enemy, Barton Fink, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Dan Castellaneta pitches this bizarre, jilted Homer perfectly, needy and resentful at the same time, and oh so petty. Definitely one of my favourites - I don't understand the hate the Simpsons writers seemed to have for it in the commentary track.
8:16 Actually the whole Tom & Pepi tease was copied in an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, where Billy is swallowed by a whale and meets Geppetto and Pinocchio inside of it (who is this show's interpretation *he believes he has to consume the flesh of a real boy in order to become one)* and Pinocchio grows jealous of how Geppetto has adopted Billy as his son since he's a real boy and Pinocchio is only a wooden puppet, etc. etc. Meanwhile Grim and Mandy seek out for Billy on a boat owned by a sailor called Captain Deadwood (he mentions he isn't an actual captain) whose 99% of his body has been replaced with wood after being attacked by the same whale. In the end they eventually find the whale, Billy is rescued, Geppetto is left without a son (he adopts the whale) and then Pinocchio and Captain Deadwood are left alone, mentioning how much they desperately need company and how much they have in common _and just go in separate ways, never to meet again._ And I know it's meant to be subversive but I think it's a rather lame way to end both character arcs even if they weren't to be seen again in the show, especially when one whose daily life must be as miserable as it is, be Pinocchio or Pepi.
This is an episode I’ve always gone back and forth on too, if only for how tense the first act is. I think it carries over to the rest of the episode, with the Ren & Stimpy clip confusing me as a kid having never seen them before, Principal Skinner being a bit creepy, and Homer’s back clicking being one of his first legitimately cringeworthy injuries. Speaking of Homer at the park, that gag and animation of him teasing the dolphins is lifted from the Tracey Ullman short Zoo Story. That’s how far back they were going with this one. It’s a weird episode, but I love how after all the chaos, they went for the heartwarming ending with no irony.
I recall in the audio commentary they mention that James L Brooks would refer new Simpsons writers to this episode as the example of how *not* to make Simpsons episodes.
I honestly feel that Hartman does a great job as Tom. It's because he's playing the type of role he's not known for makes showcase his range as an actor.
According to the phone bill, this episode takes place in February (the phone calls were in Jan). It must have been an unusually warm february, as they were able to go without jackets.
Surprisingly, this is one of my favorite episodes of the whole show! It has a wild wackadoo energy that just builds and builds through the whole episode, I’m so glad to see you covering it!
The B plot of this episode was so memorable that it overshadowed the A plot, to the point where I couldn't even remember they were both in the same episode.
Man, I was literally thinking of the learned/learned joke as I was opening up UA-cam, before I even knew this review was up! Anyway, I think the Bart/Lisa plot lines work really well together because it gives a very good feel of what it was like to be a kid. To be forgotten and neglected, and to want to feel loved and accepted but taken advantage of. I think that a lot of kids know what it felt like to not be picked up after a soccer game, and I think a lot of kids also probably racked up high phone bills by those hotlines. The theme is this kind of underlying desire of what it means to want to feel wanted, and how, even if we know it's wrong we do it anyway because we don't fully understand (or care) about the implications of the abuse we're inflicting. That's probably a pretty "deep" interpretation of some jokes on an animated comedy show, but I do think that there's a lot of overlap with those themes there, and I think that in those heady early years, The Simpsons wasn't afraid of being seen as both funny _and_ serious in its theming at times. It could be both, without slapping you in the face with the sappiness or funny moments of relief. They understood that not every single second needed to be another joke, but managed to pull something off that didn't feel dreary or too heavy handed in its theming. It was really, really good.
I liked the connection between Bart and Lisa both having child-focused problems, but I didn't consider that both of them were trying to buy a kind of relationship. That's pretty neat, considering how thematically disconnected most B-plots are in The Simpsons
Simpsons Histories: Bumblebee Man!!! There is so much there to explore. From how he was created, to how he's used in the earlier seasons, and how he kinda changes, kinda stays the same later. He's one of those characters that seems like a dead-end when you first think about him, but I think a deep-dive will reveal so much more than you expect.
There was an old PC game, Virtual Springfield, which was basically just exploring the city and finding a bunch of little references and character scenes; kind of a point-and-click adventure without an actual story. (TheRealJims might actually get a kick out of it if he can find it.) I only know Bobby Sherman is a musician because one of the things you could do is look through the Simpsons' old record collecion, among which is one by Bobby Sherman. When you reach it, you hear a voice clip confirming that Lisa is indeed still laughing about it.
Every time I see the Psycho house in this episode, all I can think is, "You've got a plot for a Treehouse of Horror segment right here! Why haven't you done one yet?!"
Will always be one of my favourite episodes. Like you said, nothing really happens and yet it's so entertaining. The scene when Homer confronts Bart after seeing Tom always cracks me up. And I never noticed Homer watching the puppet show lol.
The Cory subplot really brings to focus to me how much Lisa has an addictive personality. Well they all do when you think about it. List of all the addictive behaviors the members of the Simpsons family has video in the future?
@@fixedfunshow Oh yeah, that ep about Lisa getting into second hand smoke, even more so in the awkward teens period of the show had no right to be as good as that one was
Encountering the first act of this episode when I was only 5 or 6 years old was one of a series of unfortunate incidents that kept me from watching The Simpsons until I was 10.
i would love to see a Top 10 or 20 best simpsons B plots! some of them are really fun, like the mayo clinic visit and homer selling sugar. a top 20 worst b plots would be cool too, like that weird one when bart and lisa are obsessed w that balloon, it's maybe only 2 scenes
this is an episode that is easy to forget but when reminded of it, I remember it quite well and remember how funny and interesting it was. Skinner looking out the window to his all-seeing mother is easily one of my favorite Skinner moments.
I’m glad that you developed a new appreciation for this episode by rewatching it. I really like Whacking Day from season 5. It would be fantastic if you would take another look at that episode too. I think that it also deserves celebration. Great episode, good review too. Love that Homer and Tom fight sequence!
I remember watching this with my parents when it first aired, and being grateful to have them explain all the references to me. My dad and I used to watch Ren and Stimpy too, so it was fun seeing that at the time.
The cutaways and non sequiturs are what make this episode for me. I remember them more than the actual plot, which is whatever. Milhouse and the gang going to see the 1991 movie Barton Fink always gets a laugh because they're simply going to an R-rated movie without knowing anything about it. Sort of like the sequel joke a few years later when they see another 1991 movie in Naked Lunch.
It’s funny no joke I just watched that season 31 episode last week and was thinking of this episode. Thank you for doing an xtra seconds on this episode so timely for me … I love you Pepsi!
Can we talk about how much of a perfect forgery the Ren and Stimpy segment was? There was no need for them to put that much effort for such a short gag, but they went HARD! And this is well before the stop motion Christmas special parodies and Wallace and Gromit bit. And even then, they were Simpsons stylized. It's like Nickelodeon gave them production art. And yes. They had to give Nickelodeon a full copyright in the credits. Had I never seen this episode or the segment was cut in syndication, if you showed me that clip out of context, I could have sworn it was a real R&S cartoon. Hell, it's better animated than most of the Games episodes.
Bobby Sherman is also referenced in the season 12 episode Lisa the Treehugger. From Simpsons Wiki quotes section: "Homer: (to Jesse) This is your fault, with your non-threatening Bobby Sherman-style good looks! No girl can resist your charm!"
I think one of my favourite moments with Homer and Pepsi is when he's showing off the garage door. There's just something about the escalating anger in the delivery of "Because it's a STUPID PIECE OF *JUNK* !" that always gets me.
Haha, thank you for commenting on the Lisa B-plot. I always randomly remember this B-plot and I can never remember which episode it actually comes from (and I'm a classic-era Simpsons die-hard fan, seen them all a thousand times). It's always such a mental exercise to try to piece it together. I think it's because it gets little to no mention in The Simpsons Complete Guide book.
The sound of Homer's spine bending over that fire hydrant lives rent free in my head. Even if it was likely a couple of stalks of celery being snapped, it's forever painted my idea of how a spinal injury sounds.
Even if the ending was cliche, I think the alternative would would be too much of a bummer to be funny. Like even if we’re not meant to take the sad little orphan boy too seriously, it’s still nice to just let him have a happy ending after Homer and Bart messed around with a charity for petty reasons. I don’t mind dark humour but if it’s just taking the bad ending for the sake of being different, I’d rather leave with a happy ending than a downer.
Does anyone ever question the fact that no one came for Pepe because he’s the little french kid from all the way back in season one. Just a thought I keep having every time I watch this episode.
I re-watched this one recently when working on another project, so I decided to give it a review. It's one of those classic episodes I don't hear people talk about that much (heck, I would regularly skip it) but it does do some interesting things and has some great jokes in it. So I think it's worth looking at this odd duck of an episode
Extra seconds - whacking day
Everytime you mentioned stuff like 'this season doesn't have time for hugging and learning' or screw the audience jokes in a season retrospective, first thing that always came to mind was how this episode's ending plays the 'aaaaaw" factor completely straight. It's an episode that could have only existed in a very specific time of The Simpsons.
This is the opposite for me, this episode has always been one of my favourites from season 4
Bobby Sherman is Bobby Sherman
The fantasy sequences are almost kind of proto-Family Guy cutaway-esque.
Homer calling that kid Pepsi is probably one of my favorite gags in the whole series
I've called my Dad Pepsi for the last 30 years because of it.
My GF had a cat named Pepsi! It always made me think of this episode
Hear, hear! ❤😂
@@kyletitterton partial credit!
This episode has one of my favourite moments of The Simpsons - "here you go, fellas" as Tom puts the starfish back in the tank, only for them to be eaten. Fantastic.
D'oh!
Everything about that scene is so brilliant, those writers are so gifted
Replace the starfish with a frog I rescued from a swimming pool, and the shark tank with a garden pond with a large fish hiding at the bottom, and you have a real experience I had as a kid.
@@Dalekzilla54 damn! Nature sure is like that
It's a charming bit, especially with him going "d'oh". It's cute, he's like an alt universe Homer. Himbo Homer.
The delivery on Homer saying "Do you have him in blonde?" always gets me.
That’s exactly what I’ll say when *I* adopt a kid.
"You have him in blonde at home"
Pepi in blonde at home: Bart
The "His father? The drunken gambler?" joke is one of my all-time favorite Simpsons jokes. Just the absurdity of Homer's overtly friendly and almost prideful response. It's so good.
19. Hit me. 20. Hit me. 21. Hit me. 22. Hit me.
One of my favourite eps, another line I love is when Tom says “Bart, I could kiss you, if the Bigger Brothers hadn't made me sign a form promising I wouldn't.”
Lol yes!! I’ve always loved this line!
My mom once told me her childhood crushes was Bobby Sherman and I immediately thought off this episode. I reflexively laughed at her just like Lisa.
The theme to Here Come the Brides is pretty good though.
One of my favorite scenes was when Homer said he was Bart's father and Tom asked if he was the drunken gambler. Homer looked so proud and surprised someone knew him, like it was an accomplishment and compliment. Then Tom punched him like he said he would.
Best scene was Homer falling on top of a fire hydrant and calmly explained the pain he was suffering.
"This is even more painful than it looks. :( "
It's even funnier because this episode didn't feature Homer's gambling and Homer admitting an unrelated thing.
i can hear his back reading that
@@justjohnny420 Right!? That's what I remember! That and the "I'm a hemophiliac" line.
One of my favorite gags in the whole series is...
"Don't say 'revenge', don't say 'revenge'..."
"Uh...revenge?"
"That's it, I'm outta here." (walking away, door slams)
Homer's brain so unimpressed with his response that it just leaves. XD
Then her accepting the response, as it reveals that basically the only reasons to sign up as a big brother are awful. So many jokes on top of each other.
I love so many of the Homer vs brain gags in the series. This one is probably my favorite, but the cider mill scene from "Burns, Baby Burns" is a real close second, especially since it also teaches how to differentiate between apple cider and apple juice in a way that I will absolutely never forget.
@@thunder____ If it's clear and yella, ya got juice there, fella. If it's tangy and brown, you're in cider town!
@@TLSoulDude "and of course in Canada, the whole thing's flip-flopped-"
[Homer collapses]
"Oh my, I better get you some cider!"
That entire gag is almost completely carried by Ned, it's one of my favorite moments of his ever
@@thunder____ Much agreement from me, that bit was hilarious.
The fight finding its way to Springfield Gorge always got me. Nobody has sucessfully jumped the gorge yet 2 guys throwing punches can fall in and fight their way back to the top unharmed.
If Pepe was treated better when Homer isn't around, I could see an ending without Tom & Pepe getting together, but Pepe had it really rough, so just glad he gets a happy ending
"I'm on my way!" delivered in a carefree laid back sort of way is my all out favourite below the radar Simpsons quote to use in real life
What did you say Marge?
A childhood memory of mine is me watching this episode on TV and after Bart's skeleton and Homer's melting face my dad saying to me "If this is disturbing to you we can turn off the TV"
Nice dad
One of my favorite homer lines:
"This is more painful than it looks"
Just Homer's delivery *chef's kiss*
And let's say the kids were rescued by... Oh let's say, Bobby Sherman
You're sleeping on Act 1. I love it. Ned's cheerful 'Homie I can see your doodle" kills me.
Love this line!!
Melting Hellish Homer was more terrifying than most actual horror.
The Infamous *_Hellmer_*
And is used for the very infamous image as "Dead Bart"
@@overlookers*Dying Beer Bottle Opener sounds*
Thing is that through the entire episode, Tom and Peppi are both innocent and are just trying their best, and as a viewer I find myself somewhat rooting for them and I'm glad they get together in the end, I think if they didn't it would just come across as unnecessarily harsh for no real pay off imo
It may be years of cynical television talking but I like the sincere ending of Pepe and Tom getting together with a nice lampshade to dull the sweet edge a bit
Yeah, I think the preemptive swerve earns the follow through. :D
Really, the Simpsons did all those subversive endings all the time later on, even to the point it didn't always work right and being 'subversive' became a cliche in itself. Sometimes the cliche punchline works.
Man, every time I look back on this era of episodes, I'm always blown away just how stacked the jokes are.
You've captured something that I couldn't never put my finger on with that weird series of almost dream logic jokes. It's almost as though Bart is slowly losing his mind, waiting for Homer.
I quote that scene of Homer questioning Bart all the time..."Haven't you? HAVEN'T YOU? Look at me!"
I love how he says it like "haven'chu" lol
One of my closest friends sent me a postcard depicting the Corey hotline ad. It made me laugh so much that I framed it, so this episode will always have a special place in my heart.
Also, whenever I hear "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy, it feels wrong to not hear it sung by lady-Homer!
This was the episode James L Brooks screened for David Mirkin as the example of an episode he doesn't want to be made anymore for season 5. Would be interesting to hear you touch upon that, the reasons why and how it relates to the season 5 episodes produced by Mirkin!
Capital idea
I recall the commentary had the writers and showrunner questioning if they went too out-there having Homer's inner monologue get up and walk out the door in his mind after the "Don't say revenge" moment. For a season that would really ramp up the wackiness, no less.
I think that part's hilarious, and it wouldn't be as memorable without it.
I remember watching this morning when it first aired with my friends, and in the scene where Bart is being tormented by seemingly all of creation while waiting for Homer, the “female homer” came driving by, and THAT was the gag that made us all just explode, laughing confusedly, and saying, “what the hell was that?” Over and over. It just killed us.
It is my head canon that female homer is Homer’s cousin Frank/Francine/Sister Shabooboo.
Sad fact, while the parody of Ren and Stimpy clip was in the style of that show to the point the Layouts were done by a member of that show, Chris Riccardi, he passed away of a heart attack (age 54 while doing his hobby of surfing) in 2019. RIP Chris Riccardi.
I've always liked the ending and never considered how it could have a different ending, but the idea of Tom and Pepi not getting together is hilarious to me and kind of wish they would've done that now
I remember laughing riotously as a child when Homer called him "Pepsi"
Pepsi
I kind of know what you mean about this episode feeling “off”, but for me it’s entirely different reasons. For whatever reason, I don’t remember this one getting replayed a lot on syndication in the 90’s and I must have missed it on it’s original airing. When the first Complete guide to the Simpsons book came out, this was the only episode I never saw, and the screenshot of Homer cradling a skeleton Bart was so intriguing. This was also before the dvds and I used to try to record every episode on vhs every day, but for some reason this one just never came on! So for that reason it’s always felt like a “lost” episode for me.
My best friend and I at the time would always reference Simpsons episodes, only for those exact episodes to come on within a day or two. It was always a trip.
I remember it the same way: that this one wasn't shown as much in syndication. Same with "Stark Raving Dad". And with the Ren and Stimpy reference in this one, both episodes have something in common. (R & S creator John K groomed and molested 12 year old girls.) And then Matt Groening was in the Jeffrey Epstein flight logs, but his name is on EVERY Simpsons episode except for "A Star is Burns". (I don't know if Groening did anything illegal, but one the teenage girls that massaged his feet said they were gross and "crusty".)
I loved this one on repeats in the UK, but I never saw the one with the cult until DVDs. Had the exact feelings you described - I had a bunch of tapes with all the unique episodes I could catch too
@@kaitlyn__L That's funny. Also from the UK, and I remember the cult one pretty strongly. "Dunanunanunanuna Leader!" was hilarious to me when I was a kid. They used to air reruns on weekend mornings as well as the regular 6pm weekday slot, maybe I just spent more of my Sunday in front of the TV.
@@theMoporter that’s really interesting! Was this the BBC or the Channel 4 era? For me it was the BBC 90%, I only recorded the early-10s seasons from Channel 4 and wasn’t catching the repeats anymore.
"We could sit here arguing about who forgot to pick up who till the cows come home..."
One of my all-time favorite jokes.
Jims, I gotta tell you that I always get a chuckle every time you say "But my God!" in one of your videos.
I always loved this one. Not only are the jokes hilarious, I feel like it was edited really well, the music cues and brisk pace especially. I like how despite the often random humour, it doesn't feel like a "wacky" episode to me. Maybe because there is a weird, almost sinister undercurrent with the tension between Bart and Homer, and the constant references to mature films like The Shining, Psycho, The Public Enemy, Barton Fink, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Dan Castellaneta pitches this bizarre, jilted Homer perfectly, needy and resentful at the same time, and oh so petty. Definitely one of my favourites - I don't understand the hate the Simpsons writers seemed to have for it in the commentary track.
Homer playing blackjack kills me every single time.
8:16 Actually the whole Tom & Pepi tease was copied in an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, where Billy is swallowed by a whale and meets Geppetto and Pinocchio inside of it (who is this show's interpretation *he believes he has to consume the flesh of a real boy in order to become one)* and Pinocchio grows jealous of how Geppetto has adopted Billy as his son since he's a real boy and Pinocchio is only a wooden puppet, etc. etc.
Meanwhile Grim and Mandy seek out for Billy on a boat owned by a sailor called Captain Deadwood (he mentions he isn't an actual captain) whose 99% of his body has been replaced with wood after being attacked by the same whale.
In the end they eventually find the whale, Billy is rescued, Geppetto is left without a son (he adopts the whale) and then Pinocchio and Captain Deadwood are left alone, mentioning how much they desperately need company and how much they have in common _and just go in separate ways, never to meet again._ And I know it's meant to be subversive but I think it's a rather lame way to end both character arcs even if they weren't to be seen again in the show, especially when one whose daily life must be as miserable as it is, be Pinocchio or Pepi.
Fun Fact: My first ever exposure to Ren & Stimpy was that very Simpsons episode.
This review is more painful than it looks.
This is an episode I’ve always gone back and forth on too, if only for how tense the first act is. I think it carries over to the rest of the episode, with the Ren & Stimpy clip confusing me as a kid having never seen them before, Principal Skinner being a bit creepy, and Homer’s back clicking being one of his first legitimately cringeworthy injuries. Speaking of Homer at the park, that gag and animation of him teasing the dolphins is lifted from the Tracey Ullman short Zoo Story. That’s how far back they were going with this one. It’s a weird episode, but I love how after all the chaos, they went for the heartwarming ending with no irony.
love ur channel!
I recall in the audio commentary they mention that James L Brooks would refer new Simpsons writers to this episode as the example of how *not* to make Simpsons episodes.
This one of those rare episodes where the audience seems to like it a lot but the writers can't stand it
"Hey Homie, I can see your doodle."
And that little boy nobody liked grew up to be....
Bobby Sherman.
And now you know the REST of the story!
This is one of the most brain-wormy episodes of the show for me. I cannot hear the word "Wings" without thinking "Ah, who cares".
my headcanon is that the female Homer doppleganger in this episode is Homer's cousin Francine
That reminds me, the new issue of "Bewildered Laugh Monthly" is out!
I honestly feel that Hartman does a great job as Tom. It's because he's playing the type of role he's not known for makes showcase his range as an actor.
According to the phone bill, this episode takes place in February (the phone calls were in Jan). It must have been an unusually warm february, as they were able to go without jackets.
"Say the line, Bart!"
"I sure hope someone got fired for that blunder."
"Yay!"
February is always warm in cartoons. Look at all Valentine's Day episodes!
I love Homer's reaction to the fire hydrant: "This is even more painful than it looks."
I have severe heamophilla, so as a kid the joke at the end of this episode always makes me laugh more than anything
"please dont talk about food am too hungry" one of the more obscure jokes that i still use. i love how that line is delivered
The "HIGH DAD HIGHER WHEEE" sequence is imho among the filthiest jokes ever told on The Simpsons
Surprisingly, this is one of my favorite episodes of the whole show! It has a wild wackadoo energy that just builds and builds through the whole episode, I’m so glad to see you covering it!
The B plot of this episode was so memorable that it overshadowed the A plot, to the point where I couldn't even remember they were both in the same episode.
Thanks for helping me find a new appreciation for this episode, going to rewatch it now 😎
Man, I was literally thinking of the learned/learned joke as I was opening up UA-cam, before I even knew this review was up!
Anyway, I think the Bart/Lisa plot lines work really well together because it gives a very good feel of what it was like to be a kid. To be forgotten and neglected, and to want to feel loved and accepted but taken advantage of. I think that a lot of kids know what it felt like to not be picked up after a soccer game, and I think a lot of kids also probably racked up high phone bills by those hotlines.
The theme is this kind of underlying desire of what it means to want to feel wanted, and how, even if we know it's wrong we do it anyway because we don't fully understand (or care) about the implications of the abuse we're inflicting.
That's probably a pretty "deep" interpretation of some jokes on an animated comedy show, but I do think that there's a lot of overlap with those themes there, and I think that in those heady early years, The Simpsons wasn't afraid of being seen as both funny _and_ serious in its theming at times. It could be both, without slapping you in the face with the sappiness or funny moments of relief. They understood that not every single second needed to be another joke, but managed to pull something off that didn't feel dreary or too heavy handed in its theming.
It was really, really good.
I liked the connection between Bart and Lisa both having child-focused problems, but I didn't consider that both of them were trying to buy a kind of relationship. That's pretty neat, considering how thematically disconnected most B-plots are in The Simpsons
Simpsons Histories: Bumblebee Man!!!
There is so much there to explore. From how he was created, to how he's used in the earlier seasons, and how he kinda changes, kinda stays the same later. He's one of those characters that seems like a dead-end when you first think about him, but I think a deep-dive will reveal so much more than you expect.
This episode is the reason why whenever someone tries to insult me my first impulse is to respond with "Yes, and who might you be?"
There was an old PC game, Virtual Springfield, which was basically just exploring the city and finding a bunch of little references and character scenes; kind of a point-and-click adventure without an actual story. (TheRealJims might actually get a kick out of it if he can find it.)
I only know Bobby Sherman is a musician because one of the things you could do is look through the Simpsons' old record collecion, among which is one by Bobby Sherman. When you reach it, you hear a voice clip confirming that Lisa is indeed still laughing about it.
That sounds cool and uncanny enough that I had to google it and check it was real.
Every time I see the Psycho house in this episode, all I can think is, "You've got a plot for a Treehouse of Horror segment right here! Why haven't you done one yet?!"
*I’ve gotta admit, I grew up with “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Jims,” but The Real Jims is slowly winning me over!*
Will always be one of my favourite episodes. Like you said, nothing really happens and yet it's so entertaining. The scene when Homer confronts Bart after seeing Tom always cracks me up. And I never noticed Homer watching the puppet show lol.
The Cory subplot really brings to focus to me how much Lisa has an addictive personality. Well they all do when you think about it.
List of all the addictive behaviors the members of the Simpsons family has video in the future?
Hmm bigger ones would be Homer=Booze+Food, Marge=Gambling, Bart=Food again, Lisa=Phone Hotlines, and Maggie=Shooting people
Lisa is prone to get addicted to stuff; cigarettes, good grades, wine, etc.
@@fixedfunshow Oh yeah, that ep about Lisa getting into second hand smoke, even more so in the awkward teens period of the show had no right to be as good as that one was
“NOW HOW ‘BOUT A HUG?”
i love binging ur channel, u put so much thought and effort into ur video essays
Encountering the first act of this episode when I was only 5 or 6 years old was one of a series of unfortunate incidents that kept me from watching The Simpsons until I was 10.
Extra seconds - whacking day
i would love to see a Top 10 or 20 best simpsons B plots! some of them are really fun, like the mayo clinic visit and homer selling sugar. a top 20 worst b plots would be cool too, like that weird one when bart and lisa are obsessed w that balloon, it's maybe only 2 scenes
Dan did a great job voicing Ren in this episode
this is an episode that is easy to forget but when reminded of it, I remember it quite well and remember how funny and interesting it was. Skinner looking out the window to his all-seeing mother is easily one of my favorite Skinner moments.
I’m glad that you developed a new appreciation for this episode by rewatching it. I really like Whacking Day from season 5. It would be fantastic if you would take another look at that episode too. I think that it also deserves celebration. Great episode, good review too. Love that Homer and Tom fight sequence!
Almost spilled my coffee when I saw that you had a new video up! Plus about one of my fave episodes! :)
I remember watching this with my parents when it first aired, and being grateful to have them explain all the references to me. My dad and I used to watch Ren and Stimpy too, so it was fun seeing that at the time.
Here are some things that rhyme with Jims: limbs, whims, Sims, jungle gyms...
"I love you too, Pepsi"
The cutaways and non sequiturs are what make this episode for me. I remember them more than the actual plot, which is whatever. Milhouse and the gang going to see the 1991 movie Barton Fink always gets a laugh because they're simply going to an R-rated movie without knowing anything about it. Sort of like the sequel joke a few years later when they see another 1991 movie in Naked Lunch.
It’s funny no joke I just watched that season 31 episode last week and was thinking of this episode. Thank you for doing an xtra seconds on this episode so timely for me … I love you Pepsi!
This is one of my favorite episodes that I can't believe I forgot about it until now and you should give it a rewatch.
Can we talk about how much of a perfect forgery the Ren and Stimpy segment was? There was no need for them to put that much effort for such a short gag, but they went HARD! And this is well before the stop motion Christmas special parodies and Wallace and Gromit bit. And even then, they were Simpsons stylized. It's like Nickelodeon gave them production art. And yes. They had to give Nickelodeon a full copyright in the credits. Had I never seen this episode or the segment was cut in syndication, if you showed me that clip out of context, I could have sworn it was a real R&S cartoon. Hell, it's better animated than most of the Games episodes.
It is one of my favorites, so I always wondered why people don't talk about it
Definitely one of the best and most memorable episodes
It will forever annoy me when Homer doesn't win every fight by doing nothing. The man is a world-class punching bag
Bobby Sherman is also referenced in the season 12 episode Lisa the Treehugger.
From Simpsons Wiki quotes section: "Homer: (to Jesse) This is your fault, with your non-threatening Bobby Sherman-style good looks! No girl can resist your charm!"
Homer knows what he's talking about, having dated and married a girl with a Bobby Sherman crush.
I always appreciate your tendency to upload these videos on my lunch hour.
Always a pleasure to open up UA-cam and see a new TheRealJims video. With you, every day is Guy Fawkes Day!
Really gotta give the intro credit for helping the Dead Bart creepypasta all those years ago
The drunken gambler line is one of the best deliveries in the show
I think one of my favourite moments with Homer and Pepsi is when he's showing off the garage door. There's just something about the escalating anger in the delivery of "Because it's a STUPID PIECE OF *JUNK* !" that always gets me.
Haha, thank you for commenting on the Lisa B-plot. I always randomly remember this B-plot and I can never remember which episode it actually comes from (and I'm a classic-era Simpsons die-hard fan, seen them all a thousand times). It's always such a mental exercise to try to piece it together. I think it's because it gets little to no mention in The Simpsons Complete Guide book.
omg yes the 'i was faking it' scene is so weird
This episode was always strange to me. It’s one that I’m never in the mood to watch but whenever I do I always end up liking it more than I remembered
Foy-er? Foy-er? It's foy-AYE, say it right!
your channel is soo good, keep up the amazing work.
The sound of Homer's spine bending over that fire hydrant lives rent free in my head. Even if it was likely a couple of stalks of celery being snapped, it's forever painted my idea of how a spinal injury sounds.
I've been on UA-cam since 2007 and Jims is the only channels for which I have notifications on.
Even if the ending was cliche, I think the alternative would would be too much of a bummer to be funny. Like even if we’re not meant to take the sad little orphan boy too seriously, it’s still nice to just let him have a happy ending after Homer and Bart messed around with a charity for petty reasons. I don’t mind dark humour but if it’s just taking the bad ending for the sake of being different, I’d rather leave with a happy ending than a downer.
It's always a merry day when we get a new RealJims vid
"I'm on my way" joke has me in stitches every time.
I just googled Bobby Sherman, seems he was pretty good looking back in the day, with a clean and friendly image.
Does anyone ever question the fact that no one came for Pepe because he’s the little french kid from all the way back in season one. Just a thought I keep having every time I watch this episode.
The very un-French accent kinda kills that one
Maybe it’s nostalgia but this has always been one of my favourite episodes
I looked up Bobby Sherman and I'll just say that yeah, I can easily see Marge having a crush on him. He's very...Marge crush-y.