The Simpsons 226-230

Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo

This episode premiered on May 16th, 1999. The lead in show was The Worlds Funniest! and it was followed by Family Guy. It ran opposite The W.W.O. Disney (Father Of The Bride, the 1991 remake), Touched By An Angel and NBA basketball.

The title of the episode comes from the 1944 movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

The chalkboard gag is "I'm so very tired" and the couch gag is a repeat of the shredder. 

Lisa finds out that a cyber cafe is opening in Springfield and bugs Homer to go, he's not interested until Bart says there is a video of "monkeys doing it". Lisa complains of course. Bart catfishes Carl before catfishing became an MTV thing. Snake robs the cyber cafe with a floppy disk. Homer tries to rob Ned to pay his bills and he finds out that the Flanders are living thrifty by buying stuff from police auctions and getting internet deals. The Simpsons attend a seminar hosted by Chuck Garabedian on how to get bargains, when he tells the audience to squeeze every penny Homer takes him literally but accidentally squeezes a penny into his hand. Lisa complains that they are going to the 99¢ store but they drive past it and the 66¢ store while on their way to the 33¢ store. Homer eats a can of expired plankton and gets red tide poisoning, turning purple. To save money on a vacation the Simpsons go to the airport and wait for last minute tickets, they are arguing over going to Japan when they spot the Flanders and Homer rushes onto the plane. At the hotel Bart turns on the TV and there is a camera in the toilet, just as Homer uses it. Bart watches a Japanese cartoon and the family have a seizure. Homer walks in and sees them thrashing around on the floor so he joins in. The family decides to go to Americatown for dinner, Lisa complains. Homer is upset that their table is Massachusetts which he calls Tax-A-Chusetts. He says he knew a guy from Nantucket and the stories were exaggerated. (adult joke there). Homer buys a $150 watermelon but it pops back into an oval shape and he drops it. Homer insults a sumo wrestler who knocks him down, Bart bashes him with a chair. When the emperor comes to congratulate Homer on winning he airplane spins the emperor and tosses him into the sumo thongs, Homer and Bart get arrested and while in jail they do a painting and partake in a Japanese tea ceremony, be in a kabuki play and learn origami. Homer folds their last million yen into a swan and it blows away, he shouts "D'oh" in Japanese. The US embassy tells the Simpsons they can't help them so they get a job gutting fish at the Osaka Seafood Concern. While there they see the Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show and make plans to go on to get plane tickets. Homer is put into a piñata and the family is blindfolded and hit him with a stick. The lighting round is Homer tied to the top of the building and struck by lighting. The Simpsons win the airline tickets but they have to get them from the center of a rickety bridge over a volcano. Lisa has to go since she's the lightest, when she gets the tickets the host pushes a button that splits the bridge in half, the family rushes out to save her. When they plunge into the volcano they spill out into the studio because the lava was really an orange drink full of wasabi. Homer lectures them on what games shows should be about, the audience hangs their heads until the Canadian couple covered in scorpions is brought on. As they family heads home they are attacked by Godzilla. The Japanese seizure cartoon runs over the credits. 

George Taki does the voice of the gameshow host. Gedde Watanabe does the voice of the Americatown waiter. Keone Young does the voice of the Sumo wrestler. Karen Maruyama does the voice of the stewardess.

Wired magazine, CyberShorts: Virtually Wedgieproof! Homer thinks it's Weird magazine.

The Java Server Grand Opening - wel.com 

Dated reference, everyone at the cyber cafe is working on the 90's iMac. Remember how big and clunky computers were? At the time home computers were still expensive and required dial up which were slow and tied up your home line so cyber cafes were a cheap alternative, today you can "surf the net" from your phone. The savings guru mentions the Solid Gold Dancers, Solid Gold was a pre MTV, pre In Living Color show featuring music videos and scantly clad dancers, yes I watched every week. Hello Kitty was created in 1974 and became a worldwide sensation in 1994 when it was associated with UNICEF. In 1997 an episode of Pokemon used a strobe effect that caused seizures in children watching the program. In the 90's the trend in Japan was shirts with random English words on them. Square watermelons were first grown in Japan in the 1970's but became popular in the media in the 90's. Japanese game shows became popular in America in the 90's due to their high risk factor, America tried to duplicate them but most failed, Fear Factor was the only successful one. The craze died out when reality shows like Survivor became popular. 

Willie is checking out Up-Kilt camera until he realizes it's a picture of himself.

Self Aware joke, Homer uses the computer to invest in News Corp until Lisa reminds him it's Fox and he quickly sells. The 33¢ store is selling That 70's Show souvenir mugs. (the show had run after The Simpsons multiple times)

Mega Savings Seminar B.Y.O. Chair.

Uncle Moneybags from Monopoly goes to the money savings seminar and calls the crowd Baltic Ave. yokels but has to leave in his miniature car because he's late for the Short Line railroad. 

Products at the 33¢ store: Onions? / Cool Ranch Soda / Skittlebrau (in the episode Bart Star, Homer asks Apu for Skittlebrau, the beer with candy in it but is told it doesn't exist so he buys a 6-pack and a bag of Skittles) / canned plankton.

The inflight movie to Japan is Jim Belushi in Kanga-Roommate! During the flight he's making Toga 2000 and Homer is pissed that it was his idea first.

Royal Tokyo hotel: Now With 20% More Bowing!

Tokyo sites: The Imperial Gardens / The Meiji Shrine / The Hello Kitty factory (sounds of cats in distress)

While watching TV the Mr. Sparkle commercial comes on. It was first seen in the episode In Marge We Trust.

The Americatown restaurant have the Kool Aid Man, Uncle Sam and Elvis as the fife and drum players from the painting Spirit Of 76 by Archibald Willard. Uncle Sam is using a bucket of chicken for a drum. The tables are all shaped like the states. The animatronic figures are Marlyn Monroe (from Some Like It Hot) / E.T. / Lincoln dancing with the Statue of Liberty / Muhammad Ali boxing with Neil Armstrong in his moon suit. The waiter is wearing a cowboy hat and a shirt that says UCLA Yankee Cola. 

Woody Allen is doing a commercial for rice crackers. He first appeared in the episode The City Of New York Vs. Homer

K (Japanese symbol) TV Home Of The Digital Puppet News Team.

Game show catagories: Ow That Hurts / Why Are You Doing This To Me? / Please Let Me Die.

At Moe's they are watching the game show and see Homer, but wonder who has been putting beer on his tab? It's Barney in a Homer disguise, as he's running out he says several of Homer's catchphrases but also adds "That boy ain't right" which is a Hank Hill phrase from King Of The Hill. 

When Godzilla looks through the plane window at Lisa it's a spoof on the T-Rex scene from Jurassic Park.  The other Japanese monsters are Rodan, Mothra and Gamera.

This episode isn't shown in Japan, for obvious reasons. 

This was the last episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons. 25 more to go, unless they keep adding new ones. I still can't figure out why I started this. And now, on to season 11.

Beyond Blunderdome

This episode premiered on September 26th, 1999. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by Futurama. It ran opposite Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Touched By An Angel and Third Watch. 

The title of the episode came from the 1985 movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

The chalkboard gag is "Fridays are not Pants Optional" and the couch gag is the family comes in to the living room to find their alternate reality Tracy Ullman shorts counterparts sitting on the couch, they all scream and scatter.

Homer sees a commercial for the Elec-Taurus car and he doesn't care, until they offer a free gift for a test drive. Lisa compliments Homer on buying an electric car until she realizes he's just after the gift, then she's disappointed in him again. Homer confuses Electric with Amphibious and drives into the harbor. The salt water destroys the car so Homer grabs his prize and drives off quickly. The gift is free tickets to a screening of a new Mel Gibson movie, a remake of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. Mel Gibson is hiding in the back but gets spotted by the crowd. Everyone loves the film except for Homer, when Mel reads Homer's card he insists on going to the Simpsons, he asks Homer for help fixing the film. The family goes to Hollywood, landing at the George Kennedy Airport. Homer gives Mel suggestions like adding a montage, a dog villain and a shooting scene at the end. In the new ending Homer gives Mel a gun and he shoots everyone and blows up the Capitol, he even beheads the President. When the producers see the film they want to destroy it but Homer and Mel steal it and take off to the premier with the producers hot on their trail. After crashing his golf cart Homer steals a Road Warrior car from the Hollywood Auto Museum. Mel jumps on the producers car and gets run over, but it's the dummy from the museum. Mel and Homer moons the producers, Homer gets rammed by the producers car. At the premier everyone hates the movie. In the end there is a shifty eyed dog, which Homer says lets the audience know he's the villain. 

Mel Gibson does his own voice and Jack Burns (best known for playing Warren Ferguson on the Andy Griffith Show) voiced Edward Christian including his famous "know what I mean?" routine.

The couch gag is a reference to the episode The Day The Violence Died when Eliza and Lester save Itchy and Scratchy and Apu.

Things Homer kills with the electric car, dolphins, mermaids, divers. 

Self Aware Joke: Homer and Marge are laying in bed and realize they never checked out gift envelope they got from the car dealer. They say how odd it is they didn't do it right away, while sitcom type of music plays in the background. 

Dated Reference: Comic Book Guy gets kicked out of the theater for trying to give spoiler information on the internet. They know because he as a full size computer with monitor, tower, keyboard and a mouse. Today he'd have his phone. 

In the theater the host points out the people who green lit the Shaquille O'Neal movies including the 1996 Kazaam. They mention the director's cut for the 1997 movie Booty Call they claim it's fabulous.

Movie posters in the lobby: Space Mutants XII / McBain VI. At the studio Homer and Mel crash through a billboard for She's Having A Baby, Again (This is a reference to the 1988 film She's Having A Baby)

John Travolta is flying the plane for Mel Gibson in exchange for help moving. He first appeared in Itchy And Scratchyland. They land at the George Kennedy Airport, a reference to the actor and the Airport disaster series of the 1970's. 

Ironic joke: Mels says he speeds all the time but never gets a ticket, in 2006 he was arrested for drunk driving and made his infamous anti semitic remarks and called the cop "sugar tits".

Homer tells Mel "you had me at hello", this line is from the 1996 movie Jerry Magurie staring Tom Cruise. 

Polystar Pictures "No artistic integrity beyond this point."

Homer compliments Mel on his Dodge Caravan. This is a take on the 1995 movie Get Shorty, which stared John Travolta. It's also a spoof on in-program commercials where one of the characters compliments another's on their choice of vehicle.

Sign at studio: 2nd Floor T.V. Writers / 3rd Floor Studio Bar (this is a running gag about TV writers being alcoholics)

At the studio Marge points out that they're making a movie with Robert Downey Jr. shooting it out with the police, Bart says he doesn't see any cameras. This is a joke on the actor's troubled past that eventually led to him being in court ordered rehab. This was also referenced in the episode The City Of New York vs. Homer 

Hollywood Glamor Bus. The tour guide asks if people want to see the famous Brown Derby Restaurant and points out the empty lot full of homeless where it use to be. The restaurant was closed in 1980 and is currently part of a shopping center. He also points out where Hugh Grant made a movie, Marge says "Ewww" (this is a reference to the infamous Divine Brown incident). The family visits the house owned by the Frasier dog and then they see Ann Heche and Ellen DeGeneres who shout "We're lesbians!" (in 1997 Ellen became the first US show with a Lesbian lead character, her and Heche became a couple the same year.)

Homer says "and now, whatever year this is..." so the show can run in syndication. 

The movie producer calls Mel's new ending worst than Godfather III (the 1990 movie), and that's pretty bad.

Rainer Wolfcastle is filming Saving Irene Ryan, a spoof on Saving Private Ryan and the actress who played Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies. 

When Homer crashes the golf cart Mel says "I'm getting too old for this crap", this is a spoof on Danny Glover's catchphrase from the Lethal Weapon series. 

Cars at the Hollywood Auto Museum: The Munsters / The Monkees / The Batmobile / Flintstone Mobile / Herbie The Love Bug (with Don Knotts behind the wheel, he appeared in Herbie Goes To Monty Carlo) / Dukes Of Hazzard General Lee / Road Warrior. 

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington / A Gibson/Simpson Joint. This is a spoof on Spike Lee films, or should I say Joints.

Mel Gibson references his two Oscars, both were for Braveheart, Best Picture and Best Director.

Mel blames the shift away from violent films on the internet and swing music. Swing Music became a popular trend in the late 80's and early 90's.

Brother's Little Helper

This episode premiered on October 3rd, 1999. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite The W.W.O. Disney (H-E-Double Hockey Sticks), 60 Minutes and Third Watch.

The tile is a reference to the 1966 Rolling Stones song Mother's Little Helper.

The chalkboard gag is "Pork is not a verb" and the couch gag is the family are a paint by numbers outline and a group of Asian artist rush in to fill in the color.

During fire safety day Ned Flanders sets himself on fire but Bart has taken the fire hose and flooded the gym. Skinner tells Marge and Homer that Bart has ADD and they need to put him on Focusyn or he'll be expelled. Marge guilts Bart into taking the the pill, the next day he says his testicles have swollen but it's just oranges, Marge packs them in the kid's lunches. In class the kids all rush to see a couple of dogs "doing it", fighting over a fan belt, however Bart stays at his desk, reading a poem. Krusty is almost killed by a spinning bowtie but Bart is more interested in reading. He convinces Homer to turn his pants into cutoffs and organizes all his lawsuits into one class action lawsuit. Marge and Homer go out for the night but when they get home Lisa and Maggie are on the front step. Bart has hung hangers all over his room, he's wearing a trash can lid and wrapping himself in aluminum foil. They take Bart back to the drug lab, the scientists decide to shift Bart over to a different drug, he steals a handful of Focusyn and takes off. Instead of looking for Bart Homer went to Moe's and set up a trap with Focusyn. Bart steals a tank and starts destroying the town. Everyone thinks Bart is going to blow up the school, the church or the discount frame store. Instead he shoots down the MLB satellite. Mark McGwire shows up, he distracts the crowd while grabbing the data from the satellite. He gives Bart a bat with a camera built in. The episode ends with Bart singing a version of the Popeye song praising Ritalin.

The chalkboard gag "Pork is not a verb" is a dirty joke that got past the censors. The couch gag is a reference to the show being animated in South Korea.

Mark McGwire does his own voice in this episode. The computer voice of the satellite is based on Vin Skully and is a reference to Hal 9000 in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

Fire Safety Day banner: Learn, Baby, Learn. This is a reference to the chant Burn Baby Burn from the 60's Watts riot. 

Ralph thinks Hosey The Bear (Smokey The Bear) is Santa, he says fires at his house are called "uh-ohs"

Marvin Monroe Memorial Gymnasium. This is the second building named after Marvin Monroe (the first was the good hospital in Who Shot Mr. Burn Part 2) and the third reference to him being dead, The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular also said he was dead. 

The drug lab is called The Pharm Team, this joke is foreshadowing for the episode since "farm teams" is baseball jargon and it turns out MLB is spying on America. 

When trying to convince Bart to take the ADD drug Homer mentions celebrities who take drugs, Brett Butler / Tim Allen / Tommy Lee / Andy Dick

The kids compare their drugs, Bart is on Focusyn, Milhouse is on Claritin, Martin takes steroids and Nelson has to wear a shock collar.

Sherri reads Daffodils by Wordsworth. 

Bart reads The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Pre-Teens. He gives Homer a copy of Chicken Soup For The Losers. 

Sodas in the vending machine: Buzz Cola / ??? Buzz / Diet Buzz / Cherry Buzz / Buzz Classic / Caffeine Buzz Free / High Test Buzz

The Aztec theaters is having a Classic Movie Fest and showing the 1995 movie Showgirls. It was 4 years old at this time. 

When Marge calls the police Lou does a sketch of Bart but it looks like Dennis The Menace. Wiggum says  it looks like the guy who roughed up the Wilson widow. 

Bart goes to Fort Fragg. This is a spoof on Fort Bragg and "fragging" which was a term for killing a superior officer during Vietnam.

T shirt at the army base: I went to the Persian Gulf and all I got was this lousy syndrome. Gulf War Syndrome is a real thing.

Bart stealing the tank is based on an incident in San Diego in 1995. It didn't end well. Marge standing in front of the tank is based on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, this too didn't end well. 

While on the tank rampage Bart sings Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac.

Spy bat info: 2 Male / 3 Female / Snack Preference: All / Squalor Index 97

In the episode The Secret War Of Lisa Simpsons Wiggum suggested putting Bart on mood controlling drugs but Marge refused.

In the 1990's it became popular to treat "trouble youth" with drugs. 

People consider this another episode where The Simpsons predicted the future. However instead of the MLB gathering information on average citizens it was the NSA as exposed by Edward Snowden in 2013.

Guess Who's Going To Criticize Dinner?

This episode premiered on October 24th 1999. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite The W.W.O Disney (Father Of The Bride), Touched By An Angel and the World Series Game 2 (Yankees 7-Braves 2)

The title of this episode is based on the 1967 movie Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

The chalkboard gag is "I am not the last Don" and the couch gag is the floor is signed by Matt Groening, Marge wipes it up. Matt rushes in and resigns it. 

The school is having a field trip to the Springfield Shopper. Homer volunteers to take the kids but winds up at the zoo. While at the paper Homer can smell the retirement cake for the paper food critic. The paper hires Homer to be their new critic. The E doesn't work on Homer's typewriter so he has to write the whole thing without it. Homer recruits Lisa to write his review for him. While at dinner Ned overhears Homer mentioning that he's a critic and the gossip gets around, Sea Captain brings him a special meal. The entire town is getting fat on Homer's recommendations. The other newspaper critics tell Homer that sometimes he has to be negative. Homer goes to the dinner theater, Krusty is in a production of King Lear but finds out, while on stage, that it's a tragedy so he does a series of jokes. Homer criticizes Marge's cooking but still scarfs it down. Homer's new position goes to his head and he starts writing negative reviews. Homer has to go to the Taste of Springfield Festival. All the restaurant owners get together and plot to kill Homer with La bombe, the richest dessert ever made, and poison. Bart overhears the plan, and tries to warn Homer. Just as Homer is about to eat the eclair Lias shouts "it's low fat!" and Homer throws it into Moleman's booth, where it explodes. The police arrest the French chef but he gets away while they're laughing at Lou's love of frittatas. The entire crowd then chases Homer out of the festival.

Ed Asner does the voice of the newspaper editor, a salute to his character Lou Grant from the series of the same name.

The chalkboard gag is based on the 1997 TV miniseries The Last Don.

Bart mentions not seeing Uter since the last field trip. This is a reference to the episode The PTA Disbands when Uter was left behind and attacked by a group of Civil War reenactors. Later Skinner has dinner with his parents but keeps trying to change the subject. 

To get out of work Homer builds a dummy out of a bucket, some old clothes and a tape recorder with him singing She Works Hard For The Money by Donna Summers. Burns promotes the dummy to a corner office. The cassette player sets the office on fire. 

The Springfield Shopper was founded in 1883 by Johnny Newspaperseed. A 14 year old boy who roamed the country founding newspapers. This is a spoof on Johnny Appleseed. The Shopper merged with the Springfield Time (Man Walks On Moon), Post (It's V-E Day, Nazis Sign Full Surrender),  Globe (Titanic Sinks 1500 die) Herald (Zip Crash Kills 35) Jewish News (State of Israel Is Born) and Hot Sex Weekly. Gil makes an appearance trying to sell subscriptions over the phone. The comic artist is drawing Mary Worth, nobody raises their hands when they ask who reads it. Ann Landers and Dear Abby are kept in hyperbolic chambers. 

See the headlines from the day you were born: Homer's is Unusually Large, Ugly Baby Born. The issue cost 5¢

Homer sings about how much he likes food to the tune of I Feel Pretty from West Side Story.

Best line from the show Editor "We're looking for a new food critic, someone who doesn't immediately pooh-pooh everything he eats" Homer "No, it usually takes a few hours".

Restaurants Pate Labelle ( a spoof on Patti LeBelle) Planet Springfield / Springfield Revolving Restaurant (first seen in the episode Principal Charming) / Zesty's Pizza / Springfield Dinner Theater (showing Krusty the Clown in King Lear) / The Legless Frog / Izzy's Deli / The Gilded Truffle / The Yogurt Nook /  Ugli / The Frying Duchman / The Pimento Grove / Moleman's Gruel / All About Muffins / Krusty Burger / Luigi's / The Happy Sumo / The Texas Cheesecake Depository (a reference to The Texas Roadhouse, The Cheesecake Factory and the place Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK from) / The French Confection (a reference to the 1971 movie The French Connection) / Phineas Q. Butterfat's / The Hungry Hun / Ah Fudge

Homer's Headline: Cod Is Great Scrod Is Good / Nuts To Soup / Krusty: Worst King Lear in 400 Years / Thar, She Blows

Planet Springfield posters: Star Wars / The Sound Of Music / It's Pat! / Ernest Goes Straight To Video. The coffee mug from Heartbeeps and the cane form Citizen Kane. The script form The Cable Guy (Homer tear it up)

The Sea Captain's restaurant has a picture of a whale about to swallow a boat.

A Taste Of Springfield Fine Dining In A Bee-Filled Atmosphere.

When talking about his deadly eclair the French chef says "that's a spicy meatball" This is a reference to an Alka Seltzer commercial from the 1970's 

This was another Drop The Cow episode. They created a story about Homer becoming a critic, angering all the restauranteurs and then end it with him being chased but then cut to the credits with the sound of him being attacked. Homer isn't fired or quits, the episode just comes to an end. 

Treehouse Of Horror X

This episode premiered on October 31st 1999. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by a repeat of Treehouse Of Horror IX. It ran opposite the ABC Big Picture Show (Casper), Touched By An Angel and Third Watch.

This is the second Treehouse Of Horror episode to air on Halloween.

The show opens in a studio, Live from Fabulous Centauri City. The hosts are Kang and Kodos. The Simpsons are watching on the couch and are characters from various past Horror episode, Homer is the Jack In The Box (The Bart Zone), Marge is a witch (Easy Bake Coven), Maggie the half alien baby (Starship Poopers), Bart is the fly (Fly Vs. Fly) and Lisa has a fake axe through her head since nothing has happened to her in any of the previous Treehouse Of Horror episodes. When she complains the Kang and Kodos show doesn't have anything to do with Halloween she is disintegrated by Maggie. 

The Kang and Kodos opening of the episode is a spoof on 1970's comedy variety shows. 

I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did

The title of this episode is based on the 1997 movie I Know What You Did Last Summer

The family is coming back just after escaping from vampires, to get their Super Sugar Crisp back. Due to the heavy fog Marge can't see very well and accidentally runs over Ned Flanders. Homer does a Weekend At Bernies and plans to throw dead Ned off the roof where Maude can see him but she doesn't see the fall, so Homer throws him in the front door. Homer gives the eulogy and almost exposes Marge. On the way home Homer decides they got away with murder and wants to run over Milhouse but Marge stops him. When they get home "I Know What You Did" is written in blood on their door. In the street Wiggum, Krusty, Moe, Sherri and Terri are staring at them, Homer is pointing at Marge. Homer gets a creepy call from someone saying "I know you're alone" but they want Maude, it turn out to be Moe. Meanwhile "I know what you did" is written all over their house and car. They try to flee but run out of gas. Homer suggest Marge hide in the abandon amusement park, Lisa in the pet cemetery, Bart in the spooky Roller Disco, and Homer is going to the lake where the sexy teens were killed exactly 100 years earlier on the very night. It turns out the one chasing them is Ned, he was attacked by a werewolf on the night the Simpsons ran him over and is now one of the undead. Ned kills and eats Homer.

First Church Of Springfield sign: Ned Flanders - Husband, Father, Wacky Neighbor.

Super Sugar Crisps were changed to Golden Crisps in 1985 during the healthy food craze (the overall nutrition content of the cereal wasn't changed). They are still sold a Sugar Crisps in Canada.

Desperately Xeeking Xena

The title of this episode is a combination of the 1985 movie Desperately Seeking Susan and the 1995 tv series Xena Warrior Princess.

The school is holding a halloween candy inspection. Nelson jams his bag of candy into the x-ray machine and when it overloads it gives Lisa and Bart super powers. Lisa is super strong and Bart can stretch. They become Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl. They defeat Hussein and Nazis in a blimp trying to attack NYC. Tonight's Episode: Enter... The Collector. Comic Book Guy is the Collector. Springfield Books is having a Meet Lucy Lawless event. The Collector kidnaps Lucy Lawless by using an electro magnet on her metal breastplate, she's going to take it off but there are too many Nerds watching. Bart and Lisa burst in to the Collectors lair, he pulls a phaser on Lisa, she calls Bart for help but he's stretched around to the Adult Section of the comic book store. The Collector shoots Lisa but Bart keeps stretching out of the way until he uses up all the power in the phaser, but he hits Bart in the head knocking him out. The Collector plans on dipping the kids in lucite to preserve them forever. Lucy Lawless starts seducing The Collector and when he gets close enough she beats him up. The Collector has a double edged Star Wars light saber but he removes it from the packaging, he freaks out at what he did and falls in his own lucite, frozen in a power pose forever. Lucy Lawless grabs the kids and flies them home. When Lisa Simpson says Xena can't fly Lawless replies "I'm not Xena, I'm Lucy Lawless". Lisa say "oh". 

Lucy Lawless does her own voice in this episode.

Other TV characters captured by The Collector. Spock / Gilligan / The Lost In space Robot / 7 Of 9 / Matt Groening / Doctor Who (Tom Baker version) / Yasmine Bleeth (In a Baywatch swimsuit)

In 1999 Saddam Hussein was still the ruler of Iraq.

Life's A Glitch, Then You Die

The title of this episode is based on popular bumper stickers of the day, I think you get the reference. 

It's New Years Eve, 1999 in Springfield and they're holding their Rockin' Eve. Dick Clark is hosting the show. The band can't figure out if it's White Snake, Poison, Quiet Riot or Ratt. Rick James shows up and gets arrested after singing Super Freak. Homer was suppose to take care of the Y2K problem at the power plant but didn't so when it hits midnight the bug hits, Dick Clark turns to dust, McDonalds goes back to Zero Served and the Revolving Restaurant goes out of control, spinning people against the windows and then flying off.  While copying his butt Nelson gets pulled into the copier. All the electronic appliances go crazy and planes are falling out of the sky. At church Lovejoy calls upon everyone to repent their sins until Wiggum shows up to tell everyone that the mall is being looted. The family finds Krusty dead due to his pacemaker but find a note about Operation Exodus to save people by launching them to Mars. Lisa's name is on the list and she has to choose one parent, without hesitation she choses Marge. Homer and Bart find another spaceship and run on board. However they find that the ship is full of not so great people like Tom Arnold and Pauly Shore, and they are heading to the Sun. Homer can't stand having to listen to Rosie O'Donnell sing so he ejects into space and explodes.

Banner at The Simpsons party Happy 2000! Resolve To Use A Coaster. 

The statue of Jebediah Springfield has been decapitated. This is a reference to the episode The Telltale Head.

Tom Arnold does his own voice in this episode. 

Rosie sings The Trolly Song from Meet Me In St. Louis.

The plot of this episode is based on the Y2K disaster and the 1951 movie When Worlds Collide. The second ship full of Earth's rejects bound for the Sun is based on the 1980 book The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe by Douglas Adams. 

We've come to episode 230. I'm really putting a dent in the shows. I'm only 540 episodes away from being done, until they add more. At this point I'm over a quarter of the way through. I think I can keep going.