The Simpsons 76-80

Last Exit To Springfield 

This episode premiered on March 11th 1993. It ran in its usual time slot followed by Martin and opposite Matlock, Top Cops and Cheers.

The title of the episode is taken from the novel Last Exit To Brooklyn, the union plot comes from the book's story about a strike.

The chalkboard gag is "Mud is not one of the 4 food groups" and the couch gag is a repeat of the couch monster.

Mr. Burns is waiting for a labor negotiation meeting however the president (Chucky Fitzhugh) disappeared after promising to clean up the union. Mr Burns remembers back to 1909 when workers cracked atoms by hand. One guy talks about the coming of the unions, then become corrupt and manufacturing will get taken over by the Japanese. Burn's grandfather had the guy walled up in an abandon coke oven. To prove he still has power over the union Burns plans to take back the dental plan. Meanwhile at the dentist Lisa finds out she needs braces. Burns offers to give the union meeting a free keg of beer in exchange for a the dental plan. As Homer is trying to put the two together another employee drops a pencil into his butt crack, he blames Carl. Homer stops the contract and gets elected President of the Union. During the negotiation Homer thinks Burns is coming on to him so he refuses to deal. Hired goons show up and drag Homer to Mr Burns house. Homer drank too much coffee and Burns keeps making pee comments s0 they don't make a deal. Burns drops Homer off at home by helicopter but then falls out. Homer plans to quit as Union President but ends up starting a strike instead. Burns hires strike breakers but it turns out to be the old guys from the retirement home including Grandpa Simpson, their plan is to tell long rambling stories with no point or end. Burns and Mr. Smithers try to run the plant and then get robot workers, who revolt against them. Mr. Burns shuts off the power to Springfield, riots break out, the news ticker still works. Mr. Burns gives in and returns the dental plan in exchange for Homer resigning as Union President, just what Homer wanted. Lisa gets new braces and makes a stupid joke, everyone starts laughing, the dentist realizes he left the nitros oxide on and they laugh even harder. 

McBain movie. Mendoza creates Swank, 10X more addictive than marijuana, McBain pops out of an ice sculpture and shoots everyone in the room except Mendoza. McBain bites into a gassed salmon puff and passes out. 

A player in a football game trips over a buried body, presumably the union negotiator. This is a reference to the rumor that Jimmy Hoffa was buried in Giant's Stadium during its construction.

The dentist has The Big Book Of British Smiles, the last photo is Prince Charles, Now King Charles III.

The dentist uses an 8bit program to show how Lisa will look without braces, Bart wants to use her as a freak show.

The Springfield Grapplearium. Wrestling match between Doctor Hillbilly and the Iron Yuppie. 

Homer has a scar from the strike of '88 when the awning on the Joe's Catering burrito truck fell on him. The truck is back for the new strike.

International Brotherhood of Jazz Dancers, Pastry Chefs and Nuclear Technicians. Local 643

As union president Homer pictures himself as Don Homer, a parody of Don Fanucci from the Godfather II. 

We meet Gummy Joe.

Dental tools: Scraper, Poker, Gouger. 

When Lisa is on the dental gas she sees a Yellow Submarine world, The Beatles sail into Queen Victoria. After the operation Lisa looks at herself in a hand mirror, this is a parody of the Joker scene in Tim Burton's Batman.

Mr Burns's hired goons are Crusher and Low Blow

A tour of Mr Burns house, largest TV in the free world but the only thing on is Bumblebee Man and a skunk, A thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters writing the greatest novel, "It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times". The basement, a cinderblock room with a ping pong table. 

Smartline power plant debate. Dr. Joyce Brothers shows up because she's on every talk show in the day. 

Burns heading towards the power plant shutdown room, parody of the Get Smart opening credits. (The show will run opposite an attempted reboot of the series). When they finally get to the room the exit is a rusty old screen door that is hanging open and a stray dog wanders in, Mr. Burns kicks it. "From Hell's heart I stab at thee", most people in the modern world think that line comes from Star Trek but it's really from Moby Dick.

Burns shuts off the power and listens for the people of Springfield crying in a parody of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

Neon signs when the city is relit: The Horny Toad, Nudes At Eleven, Adam And Adam. 

The Fake Vomit Inc. machine starts working again. 

So It's Come To This: A Simpsons Clip Show

This episode aired on April 1st, 1993 (April Fools Day) It ran in its usual time slot and opposite the regular programming except for Wings instead of Cheers.

The chalkboard gag is "No one is interested in my underpants" and the couch gag is a repeat of the switched out heads. 

Bart wakes up with tape across his eyes, he thinks he's blind until Homer rushes in and pull off the tape shouting April Fools. Next Bart drinks from a spoiled carton of milk Homer had hidden behind the furnace. Lisa explains the origins of April Fools, telling the story about how it was the pagan new year. Cut to the year 1022 where a group, who look just like the Simpsons, are dancing around their god Baal. A group of Christians, who look like the Flanders shows up with a jar of sacrificial blood, but it's really full of spring snakes. The pagans sacrifice the Christians to their god. At the Frying Dutchman (first seen in the episode New Kid On The Block) the cooks put boot polish on the Sea Captain's eye piece, he makes them all wear hair nets for revenge. Bart takes a can of Duff to the hardware store and shakes it up on the paint can shaker. He then turns up the heat in the house, it isn't until a PSA warns about the harm of drinking beer that Homer goes to the fridge. When opened the beer can blows the roof off the house. Homer winds up in the hospital and they start the flashbacks to previous episodes. Moe brings Homer a beer but he's afraid of it so Barney tries to smother him with a pillow. Homer tries to walk to the candy machine but pulls it over on top of himself and winds up in a coma. Mr Burns shows up and tries to pull the plug on Homer, Dr. Nick shows up and claims Homer shows no signs of life. Professor Frink proposes a Fantastic Journey solution. When Bart confesses to shaking up the beer can Homer wakes up and tries to strangle him. He then says "We're all going to Hawaii!" and then April Fools, they tell him it's May 15th and he's been in a coma. They say he lost 5% of his brain. "Me lose brain? Uh Oh. Why I laugh?"

Leo Sayer Endless Flight album is in Simpsons record collection

The Springfield police Code 8 is the need for pretzels. 

The vet from The Dog Of Death episode shows up to discuss Homer's x-ray with Marge. 

Barney smothers Homer and then throws a water fountain through a window and runs off like in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Self aware joke, Abe says when you're in a coma you remember your past life, like one of those clip shows from TV.

The Front

This episode premiered on April 15th (tax day). The episode ran in it's usual time slot and opposite the regular programs. 

The chalkboard gag is "I will not sell miracle cures" and the couch gag is a repeat of the big dance number. 

The show starts off with Cooking With Krusy's but he won't do Matzo balls because he's trying to stay away from the Jewish stuff. Bart and Lisa comment on how sad it is that Krusty hides from his heritage until Homer walks in with a plunger stuck to his head. Lisa says she is going to change her name to Lois Sanborn and Bart is going with Steve Bennett (I knew a Steve Bennett once). Bart says they could write a better cartoon than the current Itchy and Scratchy. When Lisa asks if Bart is thinking what she is thinking we see Bart robbing Santa. Marge gets an overdue bill that says "Some guys are coming" and an invitation to the high school reunion, Homer didn't get one, he then confesses that he never graduated from high school. When Bart and Lisa send their Itchy And Scratchy script it gets rejected because they aren't old enough. They put Grandpa's name on the script and it's accepted. At the reunion Marge and Homer are greeted by Principal Dondalinger. Artie Ziff shows up to brag about how rich he is. (Both characters were first seen in episode The Way We Was)  Dondalinger announces that Homer never passed remedial science and never graduated, they take back his alumni awards. Roger Meyers Jr. hires Abe to be a staff writer at $800 a week. (I'd take that job right now) Grandpa tells the writers he spent 40 years as a night watchman at a cranberry silo. When their cartoon comes on the TV Lisa goes to turn up the volume but accidentally changes the channel to a program about erosion. They turn back in time to see the Elvis bit. When Abe shows up to tell the Simpsons about his new job Homer envisions rolling him to the Nut House in a wheelbarrow. The kids confess that they wrote the cartoon, Grandpa figured he was getting the money because the Democrats were in power. At the GED test Homer makes a deal with his brain, if he passes the test he'll go back to killing it with beer. The cartoon gets nominated for an award so Abe practices his speech "If the man who took a shot at Teddy Roosevelt can win back your trust..." Krusty and Brooke Shields give out an award (the real Brook Shields does her own voice). At the award show Abe sees the cartoon for the first time and hates it, he tells off the audience. Homer passes his class and says at the next reunion he'll have nothing to be ashamed of, but shows up with a plunger stuck to his head (the joke went full circle). 

At the end of the show, in a post credit scene (15 years before the Marvel Universe) they show The Adventures Of Ned Flanders. Love That God: Rod and Todd are in their room praying and Ned tells them to get ready for church but they say they aren't going. When Ned demands to know why they tell him it's Saturday. Okaly Doakely. (This was added to the show because the episode ran short and they couldn't come up with any filler material)

Itchy and Scratchy Show: Dazed and Contused "Written by Milt Fineburg and Hy Levine" (the title is taken from the movie Dazed and Confused) Itchy hits Scratchy with a hammer over and over and then say "Kids, say no to drugs" 

Lisa and Bart's cartoon, Little Barber Shop Of Horrors (title based on the movie Little Shop Of Horrors) Scratchy is getting a haircut when Itchy cuts his head off and does a Mexican hat dance on his bleeding neck. Bart changes the story to Itchy covering Scratchy in BBQ sauce and dumping flesh eating ants on him. Itchy raises the chair and it crashes into a TV on the next floor. Elvis is watching and shoots the TV. (based on a real event, Elvis shooting the TV that is). Closing credits Assistant to Mr. Itchy Dee Cappelli, Assistant to Mr. Scratchy Jacqueline Atkins (both real Simpsons staff members), Scratchy's Wardrobe Provided by Botany 500 (a company known for providing suits to game show hosts and tv programs), For a transcript of this episode send $25 to this station. (a popular scam back in the day) Stephen J. Cannell Productions ending with Itchy and Scratchy at the typewriter. The next cartoon is Screams From A Mall (The title comes from the movie Scenes From A Mall) Itchy nails Scratchy's feet to the escalator, at the top his skin is pulled off, Itchy sells it to the fir store. A rich woman buys it but a skinless Scratchy shows up and takes it back. When he gets outside he's attacked by animal right activists. (this was still the era of throwing paint on fir coats)

Lisa mentions the Itchy and Sambo of the 1930's cartoons. Sambo was a racist story of the era 

Lisa reads How to get rich writing cartoons by John Swartzwelder (one of the Simpson writers)

Homer's high school quote is "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" (a tag line from an AlkaSeltzer commercial) The yearbook is from 1974.

Banner at the reunion: Class of 1974 "Heyyy....sit on it"

Homer wins the award for gaining the most weight, most improved odor and traveling the least amount of distance. 

Krusty is on Channel 6 in this episode.

Krusty wears a nicotine patch to quit smoking. They had just been released to the public the year before.

Grandpa dreams about being the Queen of the Old West. (Let's hope the Republicans don't find out about this or The Simpsons will be banned in Florida and Texas) Grandpa's dream ends with the Love American Style music and fade in heart. 

Self aware joke, the kids take a tour of the animation studio and keep walking by the same background as Meyers is explaining on how they save money by using the same background. 

Springfield Civic Center: Friday Annual Cartoon Awards, Saturday Closed for Roach Spraying

Cartoon Award nominees: Strongdar, Master of Acom "The Wedding Episode" (He Man character), Action Figure Man "The how to buy Action Figure Man Episode", Ren and Stimpy "Season Premier" (Clip not done yet) Itchy and Scratchy "The Little Barbershop Of Horrors" The Ren And Stimpy Clip Not Done yet bit was a dig at the show for always being behind in their production.

At the end of the award show Bart says "I'll never watch another award show again, unless that delightful Billy Crystal is involved." (at that point he had hosted 4 Oscars ceremonies)

Marge and Homer's 50th high school reunion is in 2024, next year btw.

Whacking Day

This episode premiered on April 29th, 1993. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite the regular programs.

The chalkboard gag is "I will return the seeing eye dog" and the couch gag is a repeat of the tiny chair.

Superintendent Chalmers is coming for a surprise inspection so Skinner tricks the bullies and Bart and locks them in utility basement B, an old fallout shelter. Bart escapes through a vent, Nelson still throws a rock at him. When he gets out he finds Willie's unattended tractor and hops on, and runs into Chalmers. Chalmers tells Skinner he was about to be promoted to assistant superintendent but now it's going to Hollaway, so Skinner expels Bart. After a dirty limerick Bart is immediately kicked out of the Christian school. Marge decides to teach Bart herself. She turns the garage into a classroom, Bart acts up and pretends he didn't do it. Grandpa comes to talk about the war and tells the story about how he survived being behind enemy lines by disguising himself as a woman. (I wonder if this episode is banned in Florida) Homer almost runs over Bart when he comes driving into the garage. Marge has Bart read Johnny Tremain, he only agrees to do it because the main character has a deformed hand. Meanwhile Homer is practicing for Whacking Day, the day the people of Springfield attack all the snakes. Marge takes Bart  Old Springfield which includes "Fort Sensible", named that because they surrendered their commander to the enemy forces rather than be killed. Bart uses his new found knowledge to discover the Jedediah Springfield claimed to be at the first Whacking Day and The Battle Of Ticonderoga on the same day (The battle took place on July 26th and 27th and Eye On Springfield says Whacking Day is on May 10th) Apu hides a snake in the Kwik-E-Mart and offers a free Squishee to the first person who finds it, the customers trash the place. Homer charges $10 per axle to park in his yard. A guy with a multi-axle car pulls in. Barney sees snakes everywhere but it's just his delirium. Barry White is the Grand Marshal of Whacking Day until he finds out what they are doing and walks off. Later he lures the snakes into the Simpsons house by singing deep base. The truth about Whacking Day was that originally it was a holiday in 1924 to attack the Irish. Everybody agrees to end Whacking Day just as Mayor Quimby shows up with his prewhacked snakes. Skinner allows Bart to come back to school, and then remembers he has the bullies locked up in a bomb shelter. 

This is the first appearance of Superintendent Chalmers.

When Chalmers is hit by the tractor the word "POW" appears like in Batman 66

Eye On Springfield: The Munchkins from Wizard of Oz, where are they now? (cut to image of a cemetery with small headstones that have lollypops carved into them), A nudist camp for animals (black bars over the animals junk), And Whacking Day (video of Nixon hitting a guy holding a snake) The video mentions Alger Hiss, a Soviet spy of the 1930's.

Whacking Day is May 10th.

Lisa learns how many drams in a pennyweight. 0.877712 btw.

Springfield Christian School: We put the fun in fundamentalist dogma. 

Bart imagines himself as a product tester, the soda turns him into a Mr. Hyde style monster. 

The Itchy And Scratchy Show: Guest Director Oliver Stone. JFK scene coming out of the police station with Scratchy as Lee Harvey Oswald and Itchy as Jack Ruby. 

Bart reads The Truth About Whacking Day by Bob Woodward. (Best known for exposing the Watergate scandal)

Oprah on a baked ham joke. During her yo yo weight period.

Marge In Chains

This episode premiered on May 6th, 1993. It ran opposite Matlock, The Women Of Country special and Seinfeld.

The chalkboard gag is "I do not have diplomatic immunity" and the couch gag is a repeat of the really small characters.

Homer buys a "Juice Loosener" from an infomercial, while packing it at a factory in Japan one of the workers sneezes in it. (this is one of the episodes that is suppose to have predicted the future, Covid 19). While talking the Japanese workers lips move one way but the words come out in English, would this joke fly in the modern world?  The Osaka Flu hits Springfield, the news has an image of Godzilla with a thermometer in his mouth. Artie Pie pukes out of the helicopter onto Otto, really, they put that on TV. The only one who doesn't get sick is Bart until he wills the germs to win. Mayor Quimby makes an emergency announcement about the virus, he claims he cancelled his trip to the Bahamas just as a guy walks by with a steel drum and we see the city hall backdrop on a beach. Burns builds a germ proof bunker but Homer is in there eating a sandwich. Ned thinks the family has been cursed because he laughed at an episode of Married With Children. (The show once followed The Simpsons and was still airing at the time of the broadcast). Marge is on the point of exhaustion because she is taking care of the whole family, while shopping she accidentally sticks a bottle of Colonel Kwik-E-Mart's Kentucky Bourbon in her pocket and gets caught by Apu, she is arrested for shoplifting. Marge goes to Lionel Hutz who offers to take her case and gives her a novelty smoking monkey. The prosecuting attorney rates the super hunks rather than offer a case since he's so confident that he's going to win. As a witness Professor Frink shows the Zapruder Film and claims a bush in the background could be Marge on the grassy knoll. Hutz asks Apu to describes his tie while pulling it off. Marge is found guilty and sentenced to 30 days in jail, Hutz is the defendant in the next case against the National Council of Churches. Bart imagines breaking Marge out by dressing as a woman (the Republicans would go wild over that scene). Apu says with Marge behind bars his store is secure, just as Snake drives off with it on the back of a flatbed truck. Homer runs out of clean clothes so he wears a devils costume to the prison. The bake sale comes up $15 short due to the absence of Marge's marshmallow squares so instead of Lincoln they have to buy a Jimmy Carter statue "Malaise Forever". Someone in the crowd shouts "He's history's greatest monster" (Considering the crowd that came after him he was a saint). the Carter statue causes a riot. Everyone is happy to see Marge come back and they give her the Carter statue with a hairdo added to the top. 

I Can't Believe They Invented That: The SS Microwave, a microwave for the pool. The Doggie Doorman, greets your dog when it goes through the dog door. The Mobilier, a chandelier for your car, causes the guy to crash. Tonight's product is the Juice Loosener, it takes an entire bag of oranges and turns them into a few drops of orange juice. Troy McClure tries the Sun and Run, suntan lotion that's also a laxative. 

Troy McClure, star of such films as P is for Psycho and The President's Neck Is Missing. 

Itchy And Scratchy Show: Germs of Endearment (title a spin on Terms of Endearment) Sign outside of the  Acme Medical School: Special Today Tonsillectomy. Scratchy comes in for the procedure, Itchy ties a brick to them and tosses it out the window. It pulls out all his guts. He jumps out after it and swallows them back but lands on a cactus and is impaled. 

Mayor Seal: Mayor Of Springfield-Corruptus In Extremis. 

Flanders says the network slogan is "Watch Fox and be damned for all of eternity"

Homer worries about missing Sheriff Lobo, the show had been off the air for 12 years when this episode of The Simpsons ran. 

The flavors of the Squishees at the Kwik-E-Mart are Red and Green, however the green is yellow and two of the letters have been partially erased leaving behind EEN.

The parent company of the Kwik-E-Mart is Nordyne Defense Dynamics. (A real company btw)

Wiggums tells Quimby to not tell anyone he arrested Marge for Shoplifting, Quimby gives a speech before a crowd and spills the beans, and then does the big reveal for The Crying Game. (the film had been out for a year and everyone knew by that point)

Maude Flanders spies on Marge while she's in the guest bathroom, the scene is a spin on Norman Bates spying on Marion Crane in Psycho.

Lionel Hutz calls his AA sponsor, David Crosby, who later shows up at the trial.

In this episode Shelbyville is 47 miles, North Haverbrook is 63 and Mexico City is 678. (That would put Springfield somewhere between Corpus Christi and Harlinger Texas, the closest border city to Mexico) 

Springfield Women's Prison: A Prison For Women

Tattoo Annie has a Mad Magazine fold in joke, What kind of slime would I marry? "What me worry?" with image of Alfred E. Newman. 

Self Aware joke, When the family runs out of clean clothes Lisa comments "It seems like I've been wearing this same red dress forever"

Congical visit trailers. "Don't come a-knocking of this vans a-rockin" A popular bumper sticker of the day.

That's 80 episodes down. Getting closer to the end, which is still very very far off.

On a side note, with Musk putting a tweet limit on Twitter I couldn't do live tweets of shows like this anymore, I'm glad I left.