Hi and welcome to another Simpsons Sunday post. So, did you watch A Serious Flanders last Sunday? If you did, oh my fucking god and if you didn’t, Holy fucking shit. To me, The Simpsons has become a drama… at least temporarily for last week and The second part and its subsequent conclusion. Frankly, this is just plane dangerous. It wasn’t funny and wasn’t meant to be a Big yuk-yuk-fest of an episode either and hopefully, tonight there will be some sort of punchline, about either the evil debt collector, or other characters (whether they are regular or for this episode). At least, I hope so, because this debt collector is some kind of sinister and ruthless character. If you don’t believe me, just listen to the very first words in the first part of the episode and you’ll see why I use the adjectives “sinister” and “ruthless” to describe this man, who is voiced by Scottish actor Brian Cox. This also begs the question, how will everything be alright again at the end of this evenings episode? Will this guy be run out of town by an angry mob, complete with guns going off, at him? Or, will the debt be collected and the orphanage be shut down? Will this man end up dead, instead of him killing somebody in order to collect debt? Either way, I have a feeling this will not end well for everybody involved and it could be a bloodbath… or maybe not by the time tonight’s episode is concluded. That’s not to say the first part was not bloody, with various characters being killed including: Fat Tony and his minions, Comic Book Guy, Disco Stu and Mr. Burns. No, they are not killed off, just killed in this episode and for this two-part episode only, continuity is suspended.
I hate to continue with the theme of death, but we do have a passing of a guest star. Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge had died on November 11th and he and the rest of the band guest starred, in the Season 10 episode Viva Ned Flanders. You know? The episode where Homer and Ned get married to Amber Simpson and Ginger Flanders respectively in Las Vegas? This isn’t the only flirtation with the band and they’ve been referenced in episode titles such asHolidays of Future Passed and Days of Future Future, all in reference to their 1967 album Days Of Future Passed. This album features the hit single Nights In White Satin, which has poetry at the end, which sounds much like their dialog in the episode. Music from the same album has also been heard in the episode Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles, in reference to Bart working with his new teacher Mrs. Berrera. on Tuesday afternoons. If you haven’t watched this episode, check it out and sadly, it has one of the many characters, who were only used once in the series so far. Hopefully, she makes a return like Maya has done, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Anyway, RIP Graham and thanks for playing the drums and giving us great poetry.
In other Simpsons news, we have a possible date for the Season 33 finale. The current plan is that the episode Marge the Meanie will close out this season and the title sounds interesting enough. Could this be amping up Marge’s character as a mother a lot more? Could she really be the wet blanket in this episode, as Homer has refer to her as sometimes? It sounds like a call back, but with more piss and vinegar for Marge, but I’ll wait until it gets closer to the official air date and then, look at the plot as we know it at this point to be. By the way, according to Al Jean, the plan is to have the season finale air on May 15th, when it will be spring and hopefully, this pandemic will be behind us.
On the birthday front, Joe Mantegna turned another year older yesterday and Maggie Roswell turns another year older today. By now, I think we know which characters the two actors voice so, there is no need to go through all the voices again. Am I right?
This week it’s another post with its 30th anniversary and it’s another favourite of mine, from the third season. It’s the one where Bart competes in a soapbox derby race with Nelson and his weasels. Saturdays of Thunder had aired 30 years ago tonight and the plot goes something like this.
Homer fails a quiz designed to test how well he knows his son. Wait!!! let’s not get ahead of the plot and let’s start with Homer attempting to Buy a product off the TV, with a few things holding him back such as Bart working in the garage and Marge and her husbands favourite sisters coming over. Homer fails to purchase anything as a result and soon after, Marge is convinced by Patty and Selma (Otherwise known as the gruesome twosome) to test Homer out on that quiz, to see how much he knows about his son. It turns out that Homer gets a 0 and gets taken Buy waggon to the Fatherhood Institute. This convinces Homer to help Bart build a soapbox derby racer, but Homer’s assistance only makes things worse. Realizing this, Bart decides to give up the racer he and his father had designed and instead, ride a sleek racer designed by Martin, after Martin had been injured and was put in a cast for six weeks after racing Nelson. When Homer finds out, he is not at all happy about Bart’s decision and he moaps. Eventually, with some convincing by his wife and his twin-sisters-in-law, (aka the gruesome twosome)Homer decides to come and see his son and Bart is thrilled to see his father come out to root him on. Bart wins over Nelson and all is right again, after Bart meets Ronnie Beck and is presented with a Championship trophy.
First of all, this episode has an appearance by two side characters: Dr. Nick and Troy McClure. The product in question was Spiffy, the 21st century dust remover and Homer almost got away with buying it when Marge made him answer the door, for The gruesome twosome. I’m sorry about refering to Patty and Selma as such, but they really are not the nicest people in the world.
Speaking of such, this episode had aired 23 years before Bill Cosby was finally brought down and found out, as a sexual offender and no longer America’s dad. However, back in 1991 he was still going strong and nobody had reported anything suspicious about him and his character and we all knew him as that father, much like Cliff Huxtable, that’s saintly saint of The Cosby Show. I wonder if this episode was just another jab at Bill, in order to try and take The Cosby Show off its perch, as a top raided program. After all, both The Cosby Show and The Simpsons had aired on Thursdays until 1994 and The Simpsons had moved back to Sundays, from Season 6 to the present day, where it obviously belongs.
So, what about the quiz? Without going into the whole thing, Homer basically knows nothing about what Bart does currently, including any hobbies. For example: Bart does not and hasn’t been chewing on a phone cord since he was two. How could a father go through life without knowing Who his sons hero is? Well, Homer did and of course he was sent away to improve his fathering, even if it is thanks to someone who has been found to be a really bad person. At least homer realizes that he is a bad father and is reminded that he is also fat too.
I don’t talk about McBain all that much, not because I don’t like the character. I just haven’t had much of a chance to discuss him or his movies. After all, Rainier Wolfcastle is a close parody of actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you watched The Simpsons Movie, it’s quite obvious, as Harry Shearer uses the exact same voice and accent for both characters. I like the movie which Homer is sampling at the video store, for its ridiculously brutal shooting of McBain’s partner, complete with Machine guns. It’s short, but I think it’s really funny for Hal over the top it is. Just listen to the sound effects and you’ll understand why I love this scene so much.
Finally, when it comes to school projects I never liked my parents getting involved because I have always tried to keep school life and home life separate, much to my teachers collective chagrin. Because I went to a boarding school, I have always believed that evenings are supposed to be fun and no school work, until school hours. What I’m saying is that Bart should have never allowed Homer to get involved with The soapbox derby in the first place, because the man is so inept. Homer can’t build anything and of course, he’s a lousy father anyway. However, I will give Homer credit for at least coming to watch Bart defeat Nelson and be a sore winner to boot. Sorry Marge, but there are times when you have to mock your enemies and this time, Bart was in the right.
Obviously, I love this episode and can watch it again and again, without being sick of it. However, I don’t because there are many other episodes, from other seasons which I enjoy. Next week, we will go back to Moes and watch a big classic rock band from Boston, in Springfield. In the meantime, I hope that we watch the second part of A Serious Flanders and hopefully, there won’t be as much blood shed as there could potentially be. After all, maybe Marge will try to convince the debt collector not to kill anybody else. She might even talk him down into giving himself up, for the murders he has committed in the last episode. Anything is possible and what ever happens, everything will be all right again as it was next week, when we get back to the laughter and there will be no people with guns running around.
Simpsons on Sundays 