“Well, as you can see, when the burglar trips the alarm, the house raises from its foundations and runs down the street, around the corner to safety. . . . Well, the real humans won’t, uh, won’t burn quite so fast in there.” – Professor Frink
Month: October 2013
Compare & Contrast: Suspense Show Takeoffs
“For the love of God, help me! I’ve been here for four days and a turtle’s got a hold of my teeth. There he is! Come back here, you. Slow down! I’ll get yeh!” – Abe “Grampa” Simpson “This is the worst assignment we’ve ever had.” – Agent Scully “Worse than the time we were attacked by the flesh eating virus?” – Agent Mulder “Ow! He bit me with my own teeth!” – Abe “Grampa” Simpson “No, this is much more irritating.” – Agent Scully Whether it’s shadowy terrorist networks and shady politicians, a government conspiracy to collude with aliens,…
Quote of the Day
“Fraid old Zeke, he rides up here with me. Can’t trust a pig with watermelons, you know.” – Farmer
Animation Alley: Treehouse of Horror III
(this episode was directed by Carlos Baeza) After two years of Marge in front of the curtain with her earnest word of warning, here Homer steps in, childishly goading the audience. But first, a wonderful take on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, with Homer subbing for the master of horror, clearly even fatter than the silhouette. I laugh out loud every damn time during this shot of Marge chastising Homer, with no movement but Homer’s chewing lips. That completely blank expression serving to pay off the simple gag involving Homer the food monster. Also, not animation related, but I do like Marge…
Quote of the Day
“Sure is quiet in here today.” – Bee Robin “Yes, a little too quiet, if you know what I mean.” – Bee Batman “I’m afraid I don’t.” – Bee Robin “You see, bees usually make a lot of noise. No noise suggests no bees.” – Bee Batman “Oh, I understand now. Oh, look, there goes one.” – Bee Robin “Too the Bee Mobile!” – Bee Batman “You mean your Chevy?” – Bee Robin “Yes.” – Bee Batman
Quote of the Day
“Marge, someone squeezed all the life out of these kids. And unless movies and teevee have lied to me, it’s a crusty, bitter old dean.” – Homer Simpson “Hi there, hello, I’m Dean Peterson, but you can call me Bobby. I just want you to know, if you ever feel stressed out from studying or whatever, I’m always up for some hacky sack. Or hey, if you just want to come by and jam, I used to be the bass player for the Pretenders.” – Dean Peterson “Boy, I can’t wait to take some of the starch out of that…
Quote of the Day
“Hello, Jerry, Homer Simpson. Remember last month when I paid back that loan? Well now I need you to do a favor for me.” – Homer Simpson
Quote of the Day
“Are you kids ready to order, yet?” – Izzy’s Waitress “Sorry, no, just get us another bowl of complimentary pickles.” – Bart Simpson “Watch how fast I go.” – Izzy’s Waitress Happy Birthday Doris Grau! (She would’ve been 89 today.)
Reading Digest: Old Time Treehouse of Horror Edition
“Oh, no, Marge! Come on, please!” – Homer Simpson “Homer, I’m not sleeping with the lights on. They’re just children’s stories. They can’t hurt you.” – Marge Simpson Owing almost as much to the Tapped Out game as to the broadcast of last week’s episode, the internet had lots of Treehouse of Horror lists, articles and arguments this week. As per usual, where Zombie Simpsons does make an appearance, it’s mostly because it’s being compared unfavorably to The Simpsons. So there are lots of people who agree with us this week, plus the usual assortment of usage and fan made…
Behind Us Forever: Treehouse of Horror XXIV
“Is it supposed to take this long? What’s a good time for a mass evacuation of the entire plant?” – C.M. Burns “Forty-five seconds.” – Mr. Smithers “And what’s our time so far?” – C.M. Burns “I don’t know, sir, this stopwatch only goes up to fifteen minutes.” – Mr. Smithers Programming Note: Real life has once again very rudely interfered with my bitch-about-Zombie-Simpsons time the last couple of weeks, which is why this post is four days(!) late and I haven’t done a Compare & Contrast for either of the Season 25 episodes so far. Thanks to baseball there…
Quote of the Day
“As you can see, I have created a lemon ball so sour it can only be safely contained in a magnetic field. The candy, known as 77X42 – where the hell is the candy?” – Professor Frink “I don’t know.” – Homer Simpson
Quote of the Day
“Marge, could you get me another beer, please?” – Homer Simpson “In a second, Homer, Lisa has some good news.” – Marge Simpson “He doesn’t care, Mom.” – Lisa Simpson “Sure I do, I just want to have a beer while I’m caring.” – Homer Simpson
Animation Alley: Treehouse of Horror II
I kind of miss the wrap-arounds, mainly because as a “consequence” of these yearly specials, we never really get to see the Simpsons celebrating Halloween in-universe. But for a few years, we got a brief glimmer of it, as wonderfully shown here. The kids’ costumes are perfect: Marge slapped a scary witch mask on Maggie, Bart the hooded executioner, and Lisa honors Native American heritage with her totem pole. We see them enter the room at their level, and when Lisa comes through and gets stuck, we zoom out to show her costume unable to clear the doorway. Excellent framing.…
Quote of the Day
“One way to drive your man wild is to wear tight, revealing clothes.” – Patty Bouvier “Eww.” – Women in “Turn a Man Into Putty In Your Hands” Class “At this point, I’d like to remind you there are no refunds.” – Patty Bouvier
Quote of the Day
“Moe, have you ever felt unattractive?” – Homer Simpson “No.” – Moe “How about you, Barney?” – Homer Simpson “Not for a second.” – Barney Gumble
Quote of the Day
“Hello, Moe? We know you’re the one behind this, so knock it off or we’re going to the cops!” – Lisa Simpson “No, no, I’ll take care of it. Okay it’s over, get ’em out of here! Alright, andele! Andele!” – Moe Happy 20th anniversary to “Cape Feare”! Original airdate 7 October 1993.
Sunday Preview: Tree House of Horror XXIV
Treehouse of Horror XXIV” kicks off with a tip of the cap to Dr. Seuss, with Homer scaring up trouble around Springfield as “The Fat in the Hat.” In “Dead and Shoulders,” Bart is decapitated in a kite mishap and his head is placed on Lisa’s body, necessitating that the two learn to act as one. With “Freaks No Geeks,” it’s the 1930s and Marge is a trapeze artist and Homer’s the strongman in a traveling circus, where sideshow freak Moe puts the moves on Marge. Its time for another Treehouse of Horror everybody. Guillermo del Toro has apparently directed…
Quote of the Day
“Grampa, I need some advice. Did you ever have a crush on an older woman?” – Bart Simpson “I had a crush on the oldest woman! One-hundred-and-twenty-years old she was. Here’s a picture of her delivering Eubie Blake.” – Abe “Grampa” Simpson “What happened?” – Bart Simpson “She fell in with that Guinness Book of Records crowd. Suddenly she didn’t have any time for me. Oh, I wore a fifteen pound beard of bees for that woman, but it just wasn’t enough.” – Abe “Grampa” Simpson
Animation Alley: Treehouse of Horror
From the start, the annual Treehouse of Horror specials were incredibly ambitious, this notion of departing from the “normal” world of the show proper into this fantasy realm where aliens, zombies and other ghoulish creatures could roam free, and anything was possible. The doors were open to do anything, and this was reflected not just in the writing, but in the animation as well. Whether it be attempting a more dramatic, suspenseful feel, or emulating the style of a horror movie parody, the Halloween shows were always a joy to look at. So, in the holiday spirit, Animation Alley has…
Quote of the Day
“If word gets out about this, Crazy Clown Airlines will be a laughingstock. In exchange for your silence, I’m prepared to offer your family free tickets to anywhere in the United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, the freak states.” – Crazy Clown Airlines Executive “Woo-hoo! Good news, everybody, because I endangered lives, we can fly anywhere we want.” – Homer Simpson “Alaska!” – Bart Simpson “Hawaii!” – Lisa Simpson