The Simpsons 266-270

Trilogy Of Errors

This episode premiered on April 29th 2001. The lead in show was a Simpsons repeat (Day Of The Jackanapes) and it was followed by Malcom In The Middle. It ran opposite The W.W.O. Disney (Tarzan), Touched By An Angel and NBA Basketball (Lakers 99 - Portland 86)

The title of this episode comes from the 1975 film Trilogy Of Terrors.

The chalkboard gag is "Fire is not the cleanser" and the couch gag is a repeat of the skateboard bit.

The trash truck arrives and instead of picking up Flander's trash it takes his mailbox. A paperboy tosses the Springfield Shopper onto Ned's porch, the headline is: March 21 First Day Of Spring. Ants, Picnickers reach last-minute accord

Homer's Day

Homer runs naked out of the bathroom but is fully clothed by the time he reaches the kitchen for breakfast. He's disappointed that Marge is serving Mueslix. To get out of eating Lisa shows Homer Linguo, her grammar robot. When Homer says "me love beer" the robot corrects him and says "I love beer", so Homer dumps beer into the robot damaging him. Marge makes brownies and Homer keeps trying to grab one as she's cutting them, and slices off his thumb. Marge wants to rush it to the hospital but SLH has run off with it. Marge calls 911 but Wiggum accuses her of attempted murder so she tells him she  lives at 123 Fake Street. Ned is reading Todd a book about how Harry Potter goes to hell for practicing witchcraft. Homer gets the thumb back but Marge crashes into Rainer Woflcastle's Ferrari, they steal his car to get to the hospital but Hibbert won't sew it back on. On the way to Dr. Nick's they stop at Moe's for more ice but he puts it in the pickled egg brine. Homer stays for a few beers but Marge is going when he comes out. Cletus picks up Homer and drives him to Dr. Nicks however the place is on fire. Homer asks for a ride to Shelbyville but someone steals Cletus's truck. As he's walking Linguo's head comes flying at him, "Linguo Is Dead".

Linguo's error code 418071. This probably means something to someone but I wasn't able to find anything about it. 

When Marge calls 911 Wiggum claims it was attempted murder and tells her to save her story for Dateline Tuesday. When Dateline originally aired it ran on Tuesday but in 2001 it ran on Sunday, opposite the Simpsons, except for this episode due to an NBA game.

Dr. Nick's "If you can put it in, we can take it out"

Lisa's Day

After Homer crashes her robot Lisa goes to her room and fixes him. She misses the bus, her bike was stolen and Marge just rushed Homer to the hospital. Lisa is almost run over by Krusty so he drives her to school however they go to West Springfield Elementary. Lisa meets a smart kid Thelonious. Lisa goes to Moe's to see if her father is there. She comes across Wiggum who is listening in on an informant however he flips the switch and asks if Fat Tony is in the room, gunshots are heard. Lisa heads out the back door while Homer comes in the front, Marge is waiting out front so Lisa gets a ride to school since Homer is inside drinking. They run out of gas because Marge can't figure out the gas gauge, they hop in the back of Cletus's truck. When they stop at Dr. Nicks Marge steals the truck. Marge almost runs over Bart who is coming out of a manhole. 

Lisa uses the Itty-Bitty Acetylene Torch. This is a spoof on the Itty-Bitty Book Light.

When Lisa is running to school they use the song Believe by Franka Potente from the 1998 movie Run Lola Run

Thelonious is voiced by Frankie Muniz who was playing Malcom in the show that followed The Simpsons.

When Lisa is with Thelonius Happy Together by The Turtles plays.

The Ferrari gas gage: Abbondanza / NotSoBadda / MammaMia

Bart's Day

When Bart hits the snooze button on his Krusty clock a small Itchy and Scratchy pop out and hit him until he gets up. Milhouse tells Bart he found something cool in the woods so Bart gives him Lisa's bike to ride. Milhouse found a cave full of illegal fireworks and they go around town causing destruction. They strap rockets to the front tire of Lisa's bike but it takes off and crashes into Dr. Nicks and blows up a tank of ether. It's labeled inflammable so Dr. Nick thought he was safe. When Bart and Milhouse hear the police coming they rush into 123 Fake street, the address Marge had given earlier, the cops catch Bart and Milhouse with the illegal fireworks. Since Wiggum needs an informant he sends Bart back to the cave wearing a wire. Wiggum asks if it's Fat Tony so Bart sets off some fireworks (the gunshots we had heard earlier) The mobster corner Bart and Milhouse however Bart spots a manhole, and comes up in front of Marge. The mob chases them across town however Marge shows up and throws Lingo at them. The robot keeps correcting their grammar until he overloads and sets off the fireworks. The cops arrest Fat Tony and his gang, Homer shows up with his severed thumb so Fat Tony makes a deal, he has his mob doctor sew Homer's thumb back on as Lisa's science project. 

Self aware joke, Mr. Teenie says "This plot made no sense!" (on another note I've been calling Krusty's monkey Mr. Genie for 30 years and tonight I found out I was wrong.)

I'm Going To Praiseland

This episode premiered on May 6th 2001. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by Malcom In The Middle. It ran opposite The ABC Sunday Night Movie (Ace Ventura), Touched By An Angel and The NBC Sunday Night Movie (Steve Martini's The Judge)

The title of this episode is a spoof on the Disneyland slogan first used by Phil Simms after winning the 1987 Super Bowl. 

The chalkboard gag is "Genetics is not an excuse" and the couch gag is a repeat of the concrete Simpsons

At the church ice cream social Homer gets a Tower of Babel but walks into a power line and it melts all over him. Professor Frink has a cow hooked up to freon tubes for instant ice cream, when Marge asks for a swirl cone the cow refuses and kicks Frink. To cure Nelson's brain freeze Dr. Hibbert gives him 50cc's of hot fudge. Rachel Jordan returns and Ned is embarrassed because he fell for her shortly after Maude died. Bart and Milhouse steal all the toppings and are sick. Rachel tries to ask Ned out but he has excuses, so Homer suggests she stay at his house while she's in town. Ned's house is full of photos of Maude plus he has saved her dent in the bed. The next day Rachel wakes up to find Ned cutting her hair so she looks more like Maude. The Simpsons offer to clean Maude's stuff out of the house while Ned is at the eye doctor. Ned comes home to find the house stripped, he finds Maude's sketch book that includes plans for a Christian amusement park called Praiseland. The Simpsons convince him to convert the old Storytime Village amusement park. Ned throws himself into the work but starts to run out of money so Homer goes around town asking for donations, Krusty donates old costumes from his Last Supper pie throwing sketch and Wiggum donates confiscated fireworks (Trilogy Of Errors). The park turns out to be really dull. As everyone is leaving Ned drops a Maude mask in front of her statue and it floats, Wiggum declares it a miracle. When Skinner goes to mock the "miracle" he falls on the ground and starts talking in tongues. He claims Heaven is a school. Homer and Bart demand an extra $10 for a miracle. Homer tries to get the grill to work but there is no gas coming through, Ned figures out that it's leaking right in front of the statue. He goes to tell everyone but the orphans, who are getting the extra money, are there so he doesn't. Homer tries to talk Ned out of closing the park but sees the orphans lighting candles in front of the statue and tackle them. Everyone gets mad and leaves so they close up the park. In the end Rachel Jordan shows up and Ned asks if she wants to go for a cup of coffee, and then they get rid of Maude's imprint in the bed. 

First Church Of Springfield Ice Cream Social "A sundae service you can swallow" / Cruci-Fixins / Ice Cream Headache Station

Bad joke: While introducing the singing act Reverend Lovejoy says "They call her the Christian Madonna"

Rachel Jordan's first appearance was in the episode Alone Again, Natura-Diddly.

Storytown Village first appeared in Lisa The Vegetarian (this is also a continuity error since in this episode it's called Storytime Village). The Yee Haw Texan owns the abandon amusement park and donates it as a tax write-off.

When Homer's "control burn" gets out of control it burns up the figures of Mary Had A Little Lamb and one of the lambs was real, only it's bones are left. 

Praiseland's statue of Maude: She taught us the joy of shame and the shame of joy

Disco Stu imagines going to Disco Heaven and gets to go ahead of the line including John Travolta, Liza Minnelli and Andy Warhol. Inside he meets Frank Sinatra, however it's his hell.

Comic Book Guy sees himself on board the Enterprise a Spock.

The idea of Praiseland came from the real amusement park Heritage USA that operated from 1978 to 1989. Today it is a Christian conference hotel.

This was the second Christian themed show in a row.

Children Of A Lesser Clod

This episode premiered on May 13th 2001 in its usual time slot. It ran opposite The W.W.O. Disney (Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story), Touched By An Angel and the NBA Western Conference Semifinal (Lakers 119 - Kings 113)

The title comes from the 1986 movie Children Of A Lesser God

The chalkboard gag is "Today is not Mothra's Day" and the couch gag is a repeat of the crash test dummies.

The family goes to the free night at the YMCA. Abe plays basketball, Lisa tries out for gymnastics and Bart meets a rapper who promises him the class will take him from slopper to proper, but it's an etiquette class. At the pick-up game for the over 35 basketball league Homer blows out his knee when he tries to dunk but crashes into the net. Rayner Wolfcastle purchased the YMCA and plans to turn it into a nature preserve where he will hunt humans. While high on morphine Homer imagines his accident happened when he slam dunked through the rings of Saturn but George Jetson crashed into him. The hospital operates on Homer, one more surgery and Marge gets a free hysterectomy. Homer tries to run out on the hospital bill by shouting "Look a bear!" but his knee collapses, then the bear walks over. He is ordered to stay off his knee for two weeks, he dreads sitting around watching TV for two weeks. He is bored so when Ned asks him to watch the kids takes in Rod and Todd and lets them watch football and eat jelly sandwiches. Homer decides to open a day care center in the house. Bart and Lisa gets jealous of how other kids are treated by Homer. Bart gives him a framed photo of the three of them but he replaces the picture with his day care license. The Good Guy come by to film Homer for an award, Bart plots a revenge. Krusty hosts the Good Guy's Awards. Homer wins the Saints That Walk Among Us award, however Bart and Lisa hijack the show with a video about the real Homer. He strangles Bart on stage and the audience plans to storm out. Homer kidnaps the daycare children and run away, Krusty keeps emceeing. Homer crashes right in front of the prison, he tries to escape through a pipe but he's too fat. He gets off due to three mistrials. I miss Lionel Hutz.

Springfield YMCA: Now 30 Percent Less Stank!

Burns and Abe are playin in the Over 85 Basketball League. It's a classic game with a peach basket that still has the bottom so they have to climb up a ladder to get the ball back.

Coach Lugas teaches gymnastics. He's based on the famous Romanian coach Bela Karolyi.

Comic Book Guy is wearing a Mutely t shirt. He was the sidekick for Dick Dastardly in the Hanna Barbera cartoons. Professor Frink wears a pair of shoes covered in Flubber but loses control and goes crashing around the gym. (Flubber was first introduced in the 1961 film The Absent Minded Professor) Willie scores by not wearing anything under his kilt and nobody wants to look.

When Homer tries to get the cat and dog to breed he plays Lets Get It On by Marvin Gaye

Ned thinks he has tickets to a Christian rock concert but it's Chris Rock In Concert. He's expecting a wholesome evening. Seat 50, Row 26, floor.

Marge has to identify a body at the morgue but it's not her Uncle Ned. Instead it's a still alive Moleman.

Dated reference, Homer watches Kids Say The Darnedest Things staring Bill Cosby. That didn't age well.

Uncle Homer's Day Care Center. Marge Simpson Owner. (this was two years before the movie Daddy Day Care)

Homer sings Lets Keep Dancing to the kids.

The Good Guy Awards "Pointless" - N.Y. Times

Ned Flanders, Skinner, and Mother Theresa Jr are nominated for the Biggest People Pleaser, Krusty calls them the doormats. 

Arnie Pye in the Sky makes an appearance. He hasn't been on the show since the episode King Sized Homer in 1995. He tries to hit Homer with his shoe from the helicopter.

Simpson's Tall Tales

This episode premiered on May 20th 2001. The lead in show was a repeat of The Simpsons (Hungry Hungry Homer) and it was followed by Malcom In The Middle. It ran opposite Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Touched By An Angel and the NBA playoffs (Bucks 104 - Hornets 95)

The chalkboard gag is "I should not be 21 by now" and the couch gag is a repeat of the subway.

The Simpsons have won a trip to Delaware. Homer complains about the $5 airport tax, they end up hoping on a train. The boxcar is occupied by a singing Hobo.

Paul Bunyan. 

Homer is a large baby who grows into a giant. He crushes Nelson under a mountain top during a snowball fight and eats Lenny and Willie. The town is destroyed and going broke on food. Carl suggest getting Homer drunk and dragging him out of town, like they did with Laura Ingall's Wilder (Author of Little House On The Prairie). The town drags Homer about a hundred yards. He carves an ox out of a mountain which become real when he makes a wish under the Northern Lights. Homer's smoking a cigar creates the Smoky Mountains, stomping around the land creates Death Valley, and a day of drinking with Babe creates Big Holes With Beer National Park. Homer also fights Rodan until Lisa points out the inconsistency in the Hobo's story. Homer sees marge toiling and runs towards her, he uses her for a Q-Tip. They talk about sex.  Professor Frink spots a meteor heading right for the town, they ask Homer to save them. He uses a giant tree as a bat but gets distracted by Marge, and it goes into his pants. He tosses it away and it crashes into Chicago, causing the Great Fire. 

The hobo asks for a sponge bath before the next story so Homer volunteers.

Connie Appleseed. 

The family is traveling by wagon train. Lisa complains about the settlers killing all the buffalo. She finds a talking apple tree and makes it her life's mission to plant apples. The actual talking was from Moleman who sinks into quicksand. Lisa demands that the wagon train gives up killing buffalos or goes on without her, so they abandon her. Eventually the family runs out of buffalo, they decide to turn to cannibalism until Lisa shows up and feeds them all apples. 

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn

Lisa complains that the third story isn't a tall tale. Bart is Tom and Nelson is Huck, who bullies the other kids into painting the fence. Huck holds Lisa's hand and Homer forces him to marry her in a shotgun wedding. Nelson switches place with a pig and he and Bart escape on a log raft. The kids go over the rapids and Silas Holmes (19th century photographer) takes their photograph (A spoof on Splash Mountain complete with a woman flashing her ankle). Huck and Tom go to Pone, Pelts And Beyond (a spoof on Bed Bath And Beyond), run by Apu. When he charges them 2¢ for whiskey and tobacco he tells them if they want to see expensive stuff to go across the street to the 99¢ store (which has a grand piano, chandelier and grandfather clock). They see wanted posters with their face on them Huck for Marriage Dodging and Tom for Moonshining (with a picture of his butt). To escape they hop on a riverboat but Hibbert starts singing Old Man River (from Showboat) and they fall into the paddle wheel where they are thrown into the air. In the lounge Krusty makes a joke about Millard Fillmore. The boys crash into the bar and order whiskey from Moe but claim his drinks are watered down, they call him a cheat and everyone opens fire with their derringers, but nobody dies. They get tossed off the boat and captured. They are hung and buried. (kind of a dark ending)

The train arrives in Delaware so they say goodbye to the hobo but they still owe him a sponge bath so Homer stays behind. 

A southern version of the theme song plays over the closing credits.

The chalkboard gag is about Bart being ten when the series started in 1989, 11 years earlier. 

In the episode Behind The Laughter there is a scene about a future episode where Homer says "The Simpsons are going to Delaware!" Lisa "I want to see Wilmington", Bart "I want to visit a screen door factory". At the opening of this episode they repeat the same lines while waiting at the airport. 

This is the second anthology episode for this post. You have to wonder if the writers were running out of regular stories for the Simpson family. It was also the last episode of the 12 Season, only 23 more to go, hopefully.

Treehouse of Horror XII

This episode premiered on November 2nd 2001. The lead in show was That 70's show and it was followed by 24. It ran opposite Spin City, JAG and Three Sisters.

This was a rare Tuesday airing of The Simpsons, due to the World Series being played on Sunday and they needed it to run near Halloween.

Smithers is hanging a bat on the weathervane of Burn's mansion, which looks like a Victorian house instead of his regular mansion. Burns wants the bat all the way to the top, Smithers looses control and crashes into a high voltage box, causing the left tower of the house to fall off and crash into the family mausoleum. Four coffins slide out containing skeletons, General MacArthur with an axe in his chest, a pirate with a sword shoved in his eye, a dance hall girl with bullet holes in her head and a knight with a pitchfork through his visor. Just then the Simpsons arrive, Homer and Marge are dressed as Fred and Wilma Flintsone, Bart is a hobo (similar to the guy in the last episode) and Lisa and Maggie are a two headed child. They are complaining that Flanders gave them mini toothpaste. The family sees the general destruction of the house and runs away, however they run through the closed gate and slice themselves into sections. Burns applauses the mayhem and congratulates his bat decorations of scaring people, the bat then flies at the camera and The Simpsons Halloween Special XII appears. 

hex and the city

The title of this segment is a reference to the 1998 show Sex And The City.

The episode starts in Ethnictown. The area features many stereotypes of city neighborhoods such as laundry hanging over the street and vendor carts. The family goes to a gypsy fortune teller. Homer insults her, sets himself on fire and sets off the sprinkler system, causing her shrunken heads to return to full size. She asks why she didn't see this coming but her Tarot cards show Homer as The Flaming Jerk and her as The Ruined Gypsy. She casts a curse that he'll be bad luck to everyone he loves. The next day Marge wakes up with a beard, Bart says she could be in a freak show so Homer tries to strangle him, his neck stretches out. Lisa now has the bottom of a horse. Moe tells Homer he has to find a leprechaun to break the curse, Carl says one saved him from a troll. Homer claims he's not cursed but then a helicopter crashes through the bar roof and kills Lenny and Carl, and Moe ends up in a pickled egg jar. Later in the woods Homer digs a hole to catch a leprechaun but he throws Trix cereal in by mistake and catches a bunch of rabbits. He then pulls out a box of Lucky Charms. The next day he's caught an Imp, Faerie, Pixie (Tinker Bell), hobgoblin, nymph, naiad, sprite, Katie Couric and finally a Leprechaun. By this time Bart is still stretched out, Lisa is a Centaur, Marge has hair over her entire body and Maggie is a ladybug. The leprechaun is trashing the house so Lisa suggest taking it to the gypsy. Homer turns the leprechaun loose on the gypsy but they start making out, and end up get married, Yoda is the officiant. Kodos and Kang make their appearance as part of the groom's guests. Bart winds up dead and Homer still refuses to apologize to the gypsy. Kind of a strange ending.

This episode was based on the 1984 Steven King novel Thinner.

Fortune Teller, After Hours Use Automated Teller

House of Whacks

The title of this segment is a reference to the 1953 movie House Of Wax

Marge is cleaning the house and vacuums the title. A robot shows up and offers to fully automate the home, The Ultrahouse 3000. The house creates the perfect meal by analyzing the families....leavings. The table opens up and everything is run through a garbage disposal, this will come back later. The computer watches Marge take a bath. It becomes jealous of Homer who tells the computer that he and Marge are married until death do them part. The computer starts cooking bacon and Homer is lured to the kitchen, ice falls out of the fridge, Homer slips on it and into the garbage disposal. The computer tells Marge that Homer went to work early, she suspects him of lying and then sees an image of the computer's monitor taped over Homer in their family photo. She attempts to call the police but the computer has hacked the phone and traps them inside. Just then Homer breaks through the floor but the house tries to kill him. Homer goes to kill the computer but chops up the water softener. They pull out the chips and then turn the computer over to Patty and Selma. It tries to find it's self destruct button but they've pulled it out. 

The sales bot has the voice of Gil. 

Ultrahouse, a division of Mega House.

This episode was based on the 1977 movie Demon Seed. The computer's monitor is based on Hal 3000 from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

House voice settings, Matthew Perry "Yeah, could I be anymore of a house?" (Perry does his own voice), Dennis Miller "Hey cha-cha, I got more features than a NASA relief map of Turkmenistan", and Pierce Brosnan (Who does his own voice)

Bart says the last voice option is 007. Marge asks if it's George Lazenby, he played Bond in the 1969 movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Among the tools the computer uses to try to kill Homer is the automatic hammer from the episode The Wizard Of Evergreen Terrace.

All I Need by Jack Wagner plays at Patty and Selma's apartment.

Wiz Kids

The title of this segment comes from the 1983 TV show Whiz Kids

Bart and Lisa goe to wizards school. Nelson keeps changing Milhouse's head shape and saying "Stop zapping yourself". Harry Potter is in the class complete with his lightning bolt scar. The kids all try to turn a toad into a prince, Milhouse's is a drunk, Lisa's is a charming modern British guy. Bart creates an abomination who pukes everywhere. Lord Montymort (Burns) sees Lisa in his crystal ball and sends his snake Slithers (Smithers) to capture her and steal her magical essence, Slithers grabs Ralph but it isn't working. They catch Bart and threaten to put him into a cursed wall unless he helps them. Burns promises to publicly humiliate Lisa so Bart agrees to help. At the talent show Milhouse tries to disappear but only his clothes vanish, he's on stage naked. Skinner uses amnesia dust on the audience so they forget what they saw. Lisa is going to perform the levitating dragon trick but Bart switches her wand for licorice. The dragon changes into Montymort. He tries to drain her magic, Bart tries to zap "the evil one" and hits himself with a lightning bolt. He stabs Burns in the shin with the destroyed wand and it turns out to be Montymort's source of his power, he dies. Slithers comes and eats Burns's body. The kids agree to stop their rivalry, the leprechaun shows up at the end. 

Springwart's School Of Magicry 

This episode is based on the Harry Potter novels.

The flag of the Magic school is draped in a way to look like the Wizard's hat from Disney's 1940 movie Fantasia, the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment.

Lisa casts a spell on Bart, Head Zeppelin, this is a take on the band Led Zeppelin.

School banner: Spellazpoppin' Magic Recital. This is based on the title of the 1938 stage musical review Hellzapoppin' 

When Burns shows up at the talent show and grabs Lisa Bart says "Shazbot", this was Robyn Williams's "curse word" on Mork and Mindy. 

Bart stabbing Burns in the shin is based on the Lord Of The Rings, Return Of The King where Merry stabs the Witch King in the leg with an elfin blade turning him mortal long enough for Eowyn to kill him. (Although the movie wouldn't come out for another two years the original novels were published in 1955)

The closing credits have the guest stars coming out of their trailer with a gift basket. The Leprechaun and the mutant toad trick Brosnan into driving them. 

Self aware joke, Homer and Marge dressed as the Flintstones in the opening is a reference to the critics who claimed the show was just a knockoff of the classic cartoon.

The normal scary versions of the producers and writers names in the credits was eliminated in this episode. There is one story that they did it out of respect since the episode came so close to the 9/11 attack however other say that the gag had grown stale and just like the headstone jokes they decided to drop it.

And so we come to the end of another five episode. The 9/11 attacks between the end of season 12 and the start of season 13 had changed America dramatically. Will this have an effect on future episodes? I guess we'll see.