Homer gets recruited as a FIFA World Cup referee after Lisa praises youth soccer field in a Springfield Elementary speech contest. The Simpson family goes to Brazil where Homer’s honesty gets put to the test by one of the slickest South American gangsters in the soccer match-bribing business
I have often wondered what would happen if you took a nuclear safety inspector and had him referee world class soccer matches. Good thing these writers are always one step ahead of me.
Dead Homer Society 
40 responses to “Sunday Preview: You Don’t Have To Live Like A Referee”
Ah, just blame it on Lisa, amirite? =)
They already did a “Homer becomes a referee” episode!
http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Marge_Gamer
They’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel if they had to “come up” with that “genious” “plot” twice.
Now now, that Tom Petty reference in the title just popped into their heads and they had to make an episode out of it just so they could expose that lame pun to the world.
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if they came up with the titles to these episodes before the storylines.
I don’t mind the idea of a South American gangster who bribes soccer matches, because that’s an idea that could be fresh if under the right hands. But this ep doesn’t seem too original in general. What’s it with ZS and soccer/South America?
I was just going to say that! Let me guess btw…. It’s the one where Lisa plays soccer, Homer is the ref, a guest star appears and Lisa is watching a soccer tape and the Virgin Mary comes to life beating up the soccer players? Lol.
“Much ado about Lisa” was funnier than this, just because of the “People having a lousy time is funnier” principal.
So this epsiode is a combination of Blame it on Lisa and the subplot of Marge Gamer.
The Simpsons are going to Brazil! Again!
Man, being a Zombie Simpsons writer must not be that difficult of a job. About half of the plots consist of “Homer gets a crazy new job! Hilarity supposedly ensues!”. My dad always said he was jealous of the Scooby Doo writers for being paid to write the same story each time. If he was watching Zombie Simpsons episodes…
I wouldn’t knock Scooby Doo either in comparison. I’m pretty sure more effort went into those than the average ZS episode, and are generally more entertaining to watch with more believable plots. Heck, it probably has some better animation compared to how absolutely sterile ZS art and animation has become, not to mention Scooby Doo has a better excuse for its limitation.
Comparing a ZS plot to Scooby Doo is like having to unmask a villain in the latter who would turn out to be… Scoody Doo himself. Yay, logic, we don’t need you anymore! The episodes just write themselves!
Heh “Scoody Doo” – Sounds like something a Simpsons writer would come up with. Or maybe “Scoody Boo”
I have a friend who called him “Scuba’s Poo” when she was 5 or so.
Reminds me: “And Scooby Doo can Doo Doo” -I remember a quote like this from Homer and also in the same episode “Jimmy Carter Is Smarter” :)
And tumbleweed. Classic.
The excuse they came up with to get Homer to referee the World Cup was just pathetic. “Lisa’s speech went viral” my ass!
And what was up with that guy reforming as a ghost to get out of the staged burial. Wouldn’t having him simply dig himself out been just as effective without resorting to stupid impossible gags like that? Just admit you guys want to be Family Guy already.
The whole Brazil thing was such a conscious effort to “apologize” for the last Brazil episode it was kinda sad. Though I think this episode might be slightly better if that’s a consolation (they’re both pretty bad). No Bart dancing inside of a snake at least. And it does have an Abraham Lincoln enactor brutally beating up small children, which is funny even in a ZS episode.
I just like to say The Simpson should go F- – themselfs! Maria Skłodowska Curie was POLISH, not French!!!! What a lazy research and teaching kids false history! >:( Being Polish – and we consider her a important figure here I find that offencive! :(
Also – Martin pronounce it wrong >:(
Oi Polak, wcyztko wrazumesz?
Martin is “good at school,” but he’s still a naîve kid who went along with the Oscar Mayer periodic table. I think it’s funny and fits with the original tone of The Simpsons if his unquestioning dedication to learning the public school curriculum has actually made him misinformed about a lot of things.
Zombie Simpsons is cannibalizing other Zombie Simpson episodes for content. Won’t be long before they “borrow” story ideas from episodes of Futurama.
True.
That seems another “hey, look at me, I’m still relevant!” ZS episodes. Here in Brazil, this episode got a HUGE repercussion – even thugh it shouldn’t be broadcasted here in another eight months at least.
Why are Brazilians watching Zombie Simpsons? You guys must be tons less addicted to that shit than the US people who practically grew up with that show.
Besides the last time they did a Simpsons-going-to-Brazil theme, they pretty much ridiculed your country (“I’m distracting you so my children can rob you”, “monkeys want my meat, to them I’m like sugar”, “you’re being kidnapped my friend”). I dunno, maybe you guys are more open to being roasted like that, but speaking as a Russian, I frown every time a stupid show does jokes about vodka, balalaika and valenki, because if they do that, it means they can’t do anything better than dishing out stereotypes from the 1970s.
Like, there was that Family Guy episode back in 2009 when Brian and Stewie went to Russia with Adam West. Fuck that satire was awful. They didn’t even get Putin’s voice right. And he doesn’t talk “You wanna see a Russian cutaway gag? Okay, here comes Russian cutaway gag!” And worst of all, they PEED on a speechless 70s classic movie (it was a CULT FILM in USSR!) “The Hedgehog in the Fog”! Like, really, fuck you guys. You have no soul. God will punish you.
No one cares about ZS. But the Brazilian press cares too much (way too much, IMHO) about any US TV show that mentions Brazil – so the show’s having a lot of free publicity around here these days…
Ah, so it’s the selling out again.
Yep.
Well said Stan!
Also on QotD here I was wonder if you could take a look (if you see this, that is!) regarding a, uh, episode reference v
http://deadhomersociety.com/2014/03/30/quote-of-the-day-1835/#comment-58462
BTW, I think I did something to my Firefox, because I just noticed these two are gone on my browser.
Damn.
So this episode featured an apparently older retcon that Lunchlady Doris is now “Lunchlady Dora”
http://www.avclub.com/article/simpsons-lunchlady-doris-lunchlady-dora-now-202862
I don’t think it’s respectful at all to rename a character after the original VA who you named it after died. It sounds nothing more than a legal move in case Grau’s family wanted to claim royalties for the use of the character. Also gotta love Michael Price’s tweet, “It’s possible we could do a story explaining Dora’s provenance at some point.”, yeah because it makes a lot of sense to do a story on a character who virtually had no character development.
Great. The show attempts to give some respect for her, and winds up instead insulting both her memory and the audience! They should’ve just made a new character. But, no. They didn’t care enough to animate a new freaking character and give him/her a different freaking name!
What’s next; Phil Hartman’s characters being brought back? I swear to god, if they do that, I will not only OFFICIALLY stop watching ZS, I will literally throw my DVD’s away. All of them. All 13 seasons that I own, straight to the landfill! (I’ll repurchase the first 10 when the show is cancelled.)
Yeah! That’s the American way of living! That’s what President Doorbell is currently promoting in Europe with his gluten-filled speeches!
I hope ZS writers, Al Jean included, never, ever dishonor Phil Hartman like they did with Doris Grau!
Also: President Doorbell? Lol. You’re Russian Stan btw? that’s awesome.
I am reading, “The Gulag Archipelago” by Russian author A.S. (also author of other books like “A Day in the Life of Ivan Densovich or however it’s spelled) and love Russian authors, including F.D. and a few others. Frined Sam on FB is of Jewish/Russian descent and recently told me why IN is in most Russian surnames (Lenin, Stalin, Putin… And Palin?)
*Note: Brave Red Army men and women stopped the evil Nazi German’s from overtaking Russia and Europe. I say they are…. HEROES! And give them a salute from America.
I mostly wrote it because I watched that Obama’s speech. I don’t live in the US as I repeatedly stated and support neither of your parties, but FUCK ME his speech! Really! He came to EUROPE, and started telling EUROPE how to behave with others, and Russia and Ukraine. This is not cockiness anymore, this is straight off arrogance. So I called him Doorbell (I did, it’s not from the Russian community) because he seems to me like as annoying doorbell, ringing with no purpose on the wind.
I respect Obama in some ways, but how is he any ‘better’ than Putin if he steps in and overtly dictates what democratic states should do?
Good points Stan and on your last point, no Obama is not (I voted for him 3 times btw, once as IL Senator as I live here in IL and twice for President) Putin is ok. Both leaders are only children and many people both hate and like them. Some of Obama’s speeches are, um, rather odd I will say, and some uninspired.
What, trashing the DVDs, or repurchasing them after the series is dead and buried (which, at the rate the show’s ratings are falling, seems to be soon)?
Both.
This one reminded me of the following discussion:
Man 1: Hey, dude, you just stepped in a pile of dog poo.
Man 2: Nah, it’s cool brah, it was intentional.
Man 1: Alright then (leaves)
Man 2: (hastily scrubs the shit off with a stick) Come on, come on!
If you forget shit, don’t invent any fucking stories. Just accept it. If you willingly destroy the show’s reputation, as least have some dignity not to destroy your own.
Lol, hehe.