Summary: Lisa wins a trip to D.C. for a patriotic essay contest, but loses faith in her country when discovering the true nature of politicians.
Episode Timeline:
October 10, 1991, Thursday:
- Homer checks the mail and may have won $1 million
- Homer tries to cash the check
- The family reads the free sample of Reader's Digest
October 11, 1991, Friday:
- Homer reads the magazine at work
- Homer turns off the TV so he can read to his family
- Homer gets caught up in the article about a dangerous encounter with a sea lion
- Homer uses the magazine to spice up his sex life
October 12, 1991, Saturday:
- At dinner, Lisa learns of the essay contest to go to D.C.
October 13, 1991, Sunday:
- Lisa tries writing her essay
- Lisa visits the national park and sees a bald eagle
- Homer takes Lisa to the contest where Nelson delivers a rousing essay
- Other children around the world share their essays
- Lisa shares her essay to high marks and wins
October 16, 1991, Wednesday:
- On the plane to D.C., Homer requests all the free items he'll eventually get
- Bart gets to sit in the cockpit and releases the oxygen masks
- The family lands and gets a taxi
- The family stays at the Watergate
- The parents check out the free stuff
- The kids fight over beds
- At 2am, Bart calls Homer for a wake up call
October 17, 1991, Thursday:
- Lisa meets the other finalists
- The family gets V.I.P. badges
- The family visits the White House
- The family sees money being printed
- The family visits the Air and Space Museum
- The family visits the Washington Monument
- The Congressman from the state where Springfield is located plans to tear down the Springfield Forest, then takes pictures with Lisa
October 18, 1991, Friday:
- Moe reads about Lisa in the paper
- Early in the morning, Lisa is too excited to stay asleep for the contest
- Lisa visits the memorial of a woman's rights crusader and witnesses the Congressman being bribed to allow the Forest's destruction
- Lisa visits the Lincoln Memorial seeking guidance
- Lisa visits the Jefferson Memorial instead
- Lisa imagines D.C. as a political cartoon
- Bart splurges on room service and convinces Homer to as well
- At the awards luncheon, Lisa comes late and reads her new essay
- Lisa finishes her speech revealing what she saw
- At 1:12 pm, the Congressman is arrested
- At 2:05pm, F.B.I. watches the evidence
- At 2:44pm, The Congressman is expelled
- At 3:18pm, the President approves of the explusion
- At 3:39pm, the essays finish up
- Lisa explains herself, then learns about the explusion
- Lisa loses, yet her winning opponent praises her
- Bart takes out the singing satirist
References to Time:
- The check is dated October 18, 1991
- George and Barbara Bush are in the White House
SLH Presence:
- SLH is present
- Lisa eats meatloaf
- Marge flies without fear
Minimum Time Spanned: 9 days, with a couple days missing between the contest and the plane ride
Canon: The Simpsons will meet the Bushes later. This presidency may pose issues.
Favorite Moments:
- Father to his son: "'We the purple?' What the hell was that?"
- Everything written on signs (The Springfield State Slogan: "Not Just Another State", the protestors' signs, "Brevity is...wit.")
- "A little girl is losing faith in democracy!"
- The title of Lisa's new essay: "Cesspool on the Potomac"
Review: This episode is pretty solid. There are enough funny jokes that pepper the story, Lisa's tale is dramatic and well-executed, and the family touring D.C. offers another slice of life moment from the series (that will later be overused in "The Simpsons are going to ________" episodes later in the series). The obsession with Reader's Digest is a little strange though. Doesn't have many "memorable" scenes, though. B
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
7F24 - Stark Raving Dad (September 19, 1991)
Summary: After mistakenly getting admitted to a mental hospital, Homer meets a man who thinks he is Michael Jackson and gets everyone excited for his visit to Springfield...on Lisa's birthday.
Episode Timeline:
Monday-Thursday:
- Lisa wakes up Bart
- At breakfast, Bart doesn't watch Maggie and Homer discovers his shirts are now pink
- Burns observes a pink-shirted Homer on the monitor
- Homer wants to eat a donut, but gets taken away by goons
- Homer gets detained and psychoanalyzed for his "independence"
- Homer tries to get Marge to fill out his psychoanalysis test
- Homer tries to get Lisa to fill out the form
- Homer gets Bart to fill it out
Tuesday-Friday:
- Homer turns in his test
- Homer gets sent to the mental hospital and takes an inkblot test
- Homer gets placed in a room with "Michael Jackson"
- Homer learns about who MJ is
- Bart and Lisa watch a birthday themed I&S episode
- Michael introduces Homer to the other patients and calls Bart to tell him that Homer is locked up
- Michael sings "Ben" to Homer
Wednesday-Saturday (Lisa's Birthday):
- Homer listens to the story of another patient
- Marge comes to pick up Homer, Michael says he'll come visit
- Lisa sings "Happy Birthday" to herself
- Homer calls Bart to tell him he's coming home with MJ, Bart calls Milhouse who calls everyone else
- Apu leaves the Kwik-E-Mart for the first time ever
- The crowd awaits Michael and is disappointed, but Lisa is even more disappointed in Bart
- Michael wanders around the house and decides to help Bart with Lisa
- Michael and Bart try to write a song
- They watch Lisa from a tree
- They write a song
Thursday-Sunday:
- Michael and Bart sing their song to Lisa
- Leon leaves
References to Time:
- Lisa wakes up Bart at 6am to tell him that her 8th birthday is in 2 days
- In 1979, Smithers wore bell-bottoms as part of his role in the plant's production of the HMS Pinafore
- Lisa writes a poem about Snowball dying
- Homer once had Bart vote for him via absentee ballot
- MJ is "a little black guy"
- The Chief has been in the ward since 1968
- Michael Jackson admitted himself voluntarily because he got depressed in 1979
- Apu has never abandoned the store before today
- The Dalai Lama visited Springfield in 1952
SLH Presence:
- Bart still has his lucky red hat
- Dr. Monroe is alive
- I don't believe SLH was present. I may have missed him.
Minimum Time Spanned: 4 days
Canon: Yes, although Bart's view of Michael Jackson changes in future episodes
Favorite Moments:
- Homer watching America's Funniest Home Videos is great, especially because you can only here what is happening on the TV and seeing Homer's reactions
- Bart telling Michael that he is not Michael Jackson but a big fat mental patient, to which Michael replies, "You'd be surprised how often I get that."
- Michael and Bart's birthday song, of course
Review: Now this is more like it. After restarting my episode reviews, I was afraid I'd lost interest in the series since "When Flanders Failed" was so mediocre and disappointing. But this episode reminded me of how good the series can be. It aptly balanced funny situations, great one-liners, and even callback jokes to earlier in the episode seamlessly with the emotional plot of Lisa feeling neglected on her birthday. The birthday song is very touching and represents how great this show can be when it is full of heart. Also, working Michael Jackson's voice in as a person who thinks he's Michael Jackson reinforces how to properly use a celebrity cameo in a plot. A
Episode Timeline:
Monday-Thursday:
- Lisa wakes up Bart
- At breakfast, Bart doesn't watch Maggie and Homer discovers his shirts are now pink
- Burns observes a pink-shirted Homer on the monitor
- Homer wants to eat a donut, but gets taken away by goons
- Homer gets detained and psychoanalyzed for his "independence"
- Homer tries to get Marge to fill out his psychoanalysis test
- Homer tries to get Lisa to fill out the form
- Homer gets Bart to fill it out
Tuesday-Friday:
- Homer turns in his test
- Homer gets sent to the mental hospital and takes an inkblot test
- Homer gets placed in a room with "Michael Jackson"
- Homer learns about who MJ is
- Bart and Lisa watch a birthday themed I&S episode
- Michael introduces Homer to the other patients and calls Bart to tell him that Homer is locked up
- Michael sings "Ben" to Homer
Wednesday-Saturday (Lisa's Birthday):
- Homer listens to the story of another patient
- Marge comes to pick up Homer, Michael says he'll come visit
- Lisa sings "Happy Birthday" to herself
- Homer calls Bart to tell him he's coming home with MJ, Bart calls Milhouse who calls everyone else
- Apu leaves the Kwik-E-Mart for the first time ever
- The crowd awaits Michael and is disappointed, but Lisa is even more disappointed in Bart
- Michael wanders around the house and decides to help Bart with Lisa
- Michael and Bart try to write a song
- They watch Lisa from a tree
- They write a song
Thursday-Sunday:
- Michael and Bart sing their song to Lisa
- Leon leaves
References to Time:
- Lisa wakes up Bart at 6am to tell him that her 8th birthday is in 2 days
- In 1979, Smithers wore bell-bottoms as part of his role in the plant's production of the HMS Pinafore
- Lisa writes a poem about Snowball dying
- Homer once had Bart vote for him via absentee ballot
- MJ is "a little black guy"
- The Chief has been in the ward since 1968
- Michael Jackson admitted himself voluntarily because he got depressed in 1979
- Apu has never abandoned the store before today
- The Dalai Lama visited Springfield in 1952
SLH Presence:
- Bart still has his lucky red hat
- Dr. Monroe is alive
- I don't believe SLH was present. I may have missed him.
Minimum Time Spanned: 4 days
Canon: Yes, although Bart's view of Michael Jackson changes in future episodes
Favorite Moments:
- Homer watching America's Funniest Home Videos is great, especially because you can only here what is happening on the TV and seeing Homer's reactions
- Bart telling Michael that he is not Michael Jackson but a big fat mental patient, to which Michael replies, "You'd be surprised how often I get that."
- Michael and Bart's birthday song, of course
Review: Now this is more like it. After restarting my episode reviews, I was afraid I'd lost interest in the series since "When Flanders Failed" was so mediocre and disappointing. But this episode reminded me of how good the series can be. It aptly balanced funny situations, great one-liners, and even callback jokes to earlier in the episode seamlessly with the emotional plot of Lisa feeling neglected on her birthday. The birthday song is very touching and represents how great this show can be when it is full of heart. Also, working Michael Jackson's voice in as a person who thinks he's Michael Jackson reinforces how to properly use a celebrity cameo in a plot. A
Monday, April 5, 2010
7F23 - When Flanders Failed (October 3, 1991)
Summary: Homer wishes for Ned Flanders's new business to fail while Bart doesn't learn karate.
Episode Timeline:
Saturday, February 16, 1991:
- Homer mows his lawn with a weed whacker
- The family discusses Flanders and his BBQ tomorrow.
Sunday, February 17, 1991:
- The family minus Homer attends the BBQ
- The aroma draws Homer over to the BBQ
- Kids play tag
- Flanders announces that he has quit his job at the pharmacy and will open up the Leftorium
- Homer wishes on the wish bone that Flanders's store will fail
- Bart sees a commercial for karate on TV and decides to take lessons
Monday, February 18, 1991 (Washington's Birthday):
- After dropping off Bart at karate, Homer checks out the Leftorium
- Bart leaves the class after learning that they won't be fighting right away
- Bart plays "The Touch of Death" at the arcade
- At dinner, the events at the mall are discussed
Tuesday, February 19, 1991:
- Bart skips class again and Homer visits Flanders again
- At Moe's bar, Homer deliberately doesn't tell left-handed Moe of the store
- Bart makes Lisa change the channel under threat of Touch of Death
Wednesday, February 20, 1991:
- Homer doesn't tell Burns about the store. Burns will keep apples in the vending machine.
- Flanders sells his possessions
- Homer and Bart enjoy the new stuff
- The bill collector accidentally comes to Homer's house looking for Flanders
Thursday, February 21, 1991:
- Flanders goes out of business
Friday, February 22, 1991:
- The bullies steal Lisa's sax and Bart can't defend her
- Bart suffers
- Flanders is kicked out of his house
- Homer calls left-handed people to come to the store
Saturday, February 23, 1991:
- Burns sees a new suggestion
- Flanders comes to the bustling store
References to Time:
- Akira's karate class is holding a Washington's Birthday Sale.
- Last month, Homer paid Jerry a loan
SLH Presence:
- SLH is present
- Flanders starts the Leftorium
- Dr. Monroe is alive
Minimum Time Spanned: 8 days, although it makes more sense to last 15 days.
Canon: February seems like a weird time to have a BBQ.
Favorite Moments:
- Akira breaking a board with his face, claiming it didn't hurt very much
- Dolph stealing Lisa's sax and shouting, "I'm Elvis, man!"
- A random Springfield citizen who hates Homer yet loves Flanders. "Ned Flanders is in trouble?!"
Review: The story is fairly simple and doesn't really aim to be anything big. I like this version of Flanders and his family when he was still just a normal guy who was optimistic and well-off. But it doesn't lend itself well to repeated viewings, due to the lackluster jokes. Once you know the story, there aren't many surprises. C+
Episode Timeline:
Saturday, February 16, 1991:
- Homer mows his lawn with a weed whacker
- The family discusses Flanders and his BBQ tomorrow.
Sunday, February 17, 1991:
- The family minus Homer attends the BBQ
- The aroma draws Homer over to the BBQ
- Kids play tag
- Flanders announces that he has quit his job at the pharmacy and will open up the Leftorium
- Homer wishes on the wish bone that Flanders's store will fail
- Bart sees a commercial for karate on TV and decides to take lessons
Monday, February 18, 1991 (Washington's Birthday):
- After dropping off Bart at karate, Homer checks out the Leftorium
- Bart leaves the class after learning that they won't be fighting right away
- Bart plays "The Touch of Death" at the arcade
- At dinner, the events at the mall are discussed
Tuesday, February 19, 1991:
- Bart skips class again and Homer visits Flanders again
- At Moe's bar, Homer deliberately doesn't tell left-handed Moe of the store
- Bart makes Lisa change the channel under threat of Touch of Death
Wednesday, February 20, 1991:
- Homer doesn't tell Burns about the store. Burns will keep apples in the vending machine.
- Flanders sells his possessions
- Homer and Bart enjoy the new stuff
- The bill collector accidentally comes to Homer's house looking for Flanders
Thursday, February 21, 1991:
- Flanders goes out of business
Friday, February 22, 1991:
- The bullies steal Lisa's sax and Bart can't defend her
- Bart suffers
- Flanders is kicked out of his house
- Homer calls left-handed people to come to the store
Saturday, February 23, 1991:
- Burns sees a new suggestion
- Flanders comes to the bustling store
References to Time:
- Akira's karate class is holding a Washington's Birthday Sale.
- Last month, Homer paid Jerry a loan
SLH Presence:
- SLH is present
- Flanders starts the Leftorium
- Dr. Monroe is alive
Minimum Time Spanned: 8 days, although it makes more sense to last 15 days.
Canon: February seems like a weird time to have a BBQ.
Favorite Moments:
- Akira breaking a board with his face, claiming it didn't hurt very much
- Dolph stealing Lisa's sax and shouting, "I'm Elvis, man!"
- A random Springfield citizen who hates Homer yet loves Flanders. "Ned Flanders is in trouble?!"
Review: The story is fairly simple and doesn't really aim to be anything big. I like this version of Flanders and his family when he was still just a normal guy who was optimistic and well-off. But it doesn't lend itself well to repeated viewings, due to the lackluster jokes. Once you know the story, there aren't many surprises. C+
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