There's No Disgrace Like Home - Donuts on the Couch: Growing Up on Evergreen Terrace S1E4

In “There’s No Disgrace Like Home,” Homer becomes convinced that the Simpsons are Springfield’s most dysfunctional family—and decides that a little professional help might be the answer. Andrew and Thom discuss the episode’s satire of family normalcy, Homer’s shifting role within the household, and Dr. Marvin Monroe’s unconventional approach to family therapy. Along the way, they explore screen time, picky eaters, workplace culture, Itchy & Scratchy, suspiciously perfect families, and the lengths Homer will go to protect the Simpson family’s reputation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Grab a donut and have a seat on the couch. Welcome to Donuts on the Couch. Growing up on Evergreen Terrace. Yet another Simpsons Rewatch Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Andrew, how are you? Tom, good afternoon. I'm doing well. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Good, good, good. Excited to uh dive into this episode um and give our views on what you know what's going on with the Simpson family this week.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Yeah, sharing our perspectives as uh dads of kids of different sized families and sort of in different worlds that we live in. Uh as Dr. Andrew Murray, I'm a psychiatrist out of Wisconsin.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

And I am Tom Partridge, a Simpsons fan and podcast host, uh primarily around sports, but uh little league coach, you know, I have a full-time job too, but that's boring.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Um, you know, just irrelevant to the moment, yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Just one of those people in the world doing their thing. Um so yeah, today, this this week we've got season one, episode four, There's no disgrace like home.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

No disgrace like home. Uh, so from the common phrase, there's no place like home.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Yes, uh yeah, Wizard of Oz, right? Wizard of Oz, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

I assume that's where they pulled that from, but who knows? I haven't met with any of the writers yet, as of the fourth episode we're recording here, but we'll see if that's yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

None of these have been released yet, so we'll see if they get to that point.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

I think I think we will, but um I think if they give anything, we'll hear from Disney's lawyers first. Um, but if we hear from the writers too, great.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Right. I mean it's all love. We've we you know we love the show, we love talking about it and uh sharing our perspective on our life and what's happening with us too.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

So it's kind of what we would be doing anyways if we were if we were talking now. We're just recording it. We were recording it, and we sort of weaved an episode within it.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

So yeah, so I I want to jump right into the um the beginning of this episode with the you know, like the uh when the oof. Well, so with the I did a call, I did a pause very quickly, um, right at the start where it's like the sense. Um and I like that um I I feel like I find something new in the opening credits every time. Every time, yeah. And right at the beginning, there's a sign on the wall that you barely see, but it says um semi-painless dentistry.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Yes, with dentist office, of course.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

Which is great. Um, I like the honesty there. Just semi-painless. This is not painless dentistry. This might hurt a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

I don't know if there's really such a thing as completely painless dentistry.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

Right, right. But uh I thought that was funny. Um and then we go right into the chalk gag where uh again, we've seen uh uh now this is only the what the fourth episode of season one. Everything is pretty basic so far, nothing crazy. Yeah, but now getting a little bawdy, maybe, you know. Right, right. So the chalk, you know, what what Bart is writing on the chalkboard after school says, I will not burp in class. Um which we can all see Bart sitting there burping and not stopping and having a great time with his friends. Yes, yes, belching.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

I mean, burping happens. Like it's impossible to come back from lunch and not burp at all, but clearly there's more to the story. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

Um and then we go through the rest of the opening and then we get to the couch um gag, where again, it's kind of kind of the same theme. We've seen we've seen Bart pop off the couch, we've seen the couch break and everyone fall down. This time, Homer pops off the couch. Which I think is actually which which I think is actually great because we've seen Bart pop off. We've now we've seen Homer pop off. And right now, in this the first four episodes, these are our two main characters.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

It's a father-son show, it's the that's what we're seeing most of the Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

I mean, it seems like they're very purposeful in how they were organizing the stories in these early years around the dynamic. And they're trying to build the world and build the family, but the central tenant to this whole thing is the relationship with Barton Homer. Um to see Homer get squeezed out in this beginning of this episode. Very funny.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

Well, and as a as a parent, as a dad in a family, you know, getting squeezed out happens.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

I I end up on the floor a lot of the time. Yes. The couch is not big enough. And in my home, it's because the dogs are taking up part of the couch too.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

So the first first line here, Tom, oh man, the bickering between uh Lisa and Bart.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

The yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

And Homer cut barge in and says, Hey, what's the problem here? Oh so they're fighting over which one of them loves you more. And he takes it like very sweetly.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

Oh, go ahead, continue, keep fighting.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

And then Bart gets into it like, no, you love it more. No, you do, and oh, so uh, so painful. You know, you're the the to see it all play out for Homer of like, oh, this is such a lovely moment to then have it just snatched away. Uh, I could feel that.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

Um God, yeah, yeah. It's kind of that classic reverse move there where you know you think you've you think you're seeing something, and it's like, nope, it's the complete opposite. It's a beautiful, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Yeah, for sure, for sure. Simple, easy enough to do, but good place to start. And and this brings us into sort of the the next like big phase of this episode is they're sort of getting ready for the company picnic at the power plant.

SPEAKER_02 5:49

Yes, and what better way to get ready for the company picnic than cello molds? Cello molds, yes. And also, you see, um, the everyone's dressed a little differently as well. You know, Homer's wearing his like weekend polo shirt, the red and white striped polo shirt. Marge is wearing different attire. It you can tell yeah, they're casual, but they're you can tell they're getting dressed up to go to an event here.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

An event they have to have a certain uh appearance for, and that sort of becomes the theme as they are transitioning from their home with all of their jello molds, and you know Homer really even starting off with like, I really don't want to embarrass myself.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

He's very concerned about how his family looks and how he appears to his boss and to his co-workers, and I think we've all been there, you know, go to holiday parties or go to whatever, and it's who do you bring? Like Yeah, you have to have a certain appearance on uh show up to these things.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

You can't drink too much, as we found out. Uh you know, later we'll get into that. But uh Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

I get I get asked all the time. Like we have a big holiday party at work too, and I I have coworkers say, Are you bringing a date? And I'm like, Nope. Nope, I'm not bringing anyone. It'll be me, and that's that. Um because it's just easier that way. You know, the you know, you've got to have the optics, everything's gotta look good. And um nope, I'm not bringing anybody.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Gotta cater it a certain way, yes. So clearly, this is on Homer's mind. They make all of these jello molds, they show up to stately burns manor, heaven on earth, Homer calls it.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

But with a big sign out front that says poachers will be shot. Poachers. Poachers.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

I know. I paused that because I wasn't really sure what that meant.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

It's like, oh, okay, what are we poaching here? Well, what's going on?

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Um good sort of setting up that there's like a warning system, there's a gate. I think that was probably more the thing they were trying to emphasize. That's yes, it's very much keep out unless you're invited in. That's right. Um so there's this parade then of people going in, and you know, the setup is that Burns ends up firing the first family that walks through because the little boy is saying, like, I don't want to be here because I've got Little League today.

SPEAKER_02 8:09

Right, right, which which I thought was great because I was thinking at the same time, I'd rather be at Little League too. This forced forced families outing, you know, and but to miss a little league game is a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

It absolutely can be, depending on the time of year, and oh yeah. So uh, but that you know, to have them get characterized as this like unpleasant family, and then Homer's trying to usher his family in behind them and like, oh no, we gotta sort of look, we gotta look good. And uh Burns has the card for each employee, and and Homer has to whisper who they are to Smithers to let them know. Because at this phase, they clearly don't know who he is. He's sort of a an anonymous character at the plant to them.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Which is oddly strange because they did just have the big uh you know safety inspector um hiring.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

He's got a new job there, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

But I think it goes to show how high up Burns is and how he really doesn't care. That's true. He just doesn't everyone is some is no nobody cares about anything, anyone, any one of these people. So that's an interesting dynamic for the uh for the power plant structure.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Yeah, it is. I mean, I don't know if you've worked at like big companies that like the like that, like a power plant. Um I worked in uh biotech for a little bit in like one of these private companies, and it had this like very big hierarchy to it. And uh it was always so like upsetting for my co-workers that I would talk to the boss. Like if I would see him in the hallway, I'd just stop and start talking to him because in my mind he's just a person. And like I was in biotech is sort of a transitory phase as I was getting ready to go into medical school, and so like I never had any intention of staying there, so I never thought I had to impress anybody, so I would just talk to the boss as if he was a person. And that was like no, don't do that. People would get very upset about that.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

I've had that as well. Um, at my most recent employer, um, you know, it's a law firm with you know many different locations and hundreds of hundreds of lawyers. And on my first week, I just walked into the office of the managing uh partner's office and just introduced myself. And then we started talking about youth sports and whatever. And and other people were like, You what how did you I'm like, what do you mean? I just like you know, Mike, he's just he's just like us. Like I'm here working for him. Like, what are you talking about? Um, so I've never really had that, and of course, maybe it maybe it helps because you know we're in our 40s now, but um I didn't work for any huge, huge companies when I was in my 20s, so it never seemed to be a a thing that I had to deal with.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Sure. But again, there's these dynamics in the workplace, and we're sort of seeing uh how it plays out at the Springfield Power Plant. So you gotta look a certain way. Everybody has to attend the picnic. There's parts of the picnic that uh you know are mandatory, and the mandate from uh from Homer to his family is just be normal. Just be normal, just be normal.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Yeah, I I believe he says too, you will show your father some love andor respect. And Bart immediately chooses respect, yes, which is interesting. Uh, but it also plays off earlier who loves the father more. He Bart wants to make sure it's Lisa and not respect them. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Aw. So um, yeah, so they they start to to go in. Um, there's the dynamic of even um Lisa as a little bit of a troublemaker of like, yeah, let's go kind of get into some trouble here, and they run off. And then another mom approaches Marge and and sort of suggests, like, hey, maybe we could just drop off the babies and have a fun time. And they bring them to this like little room that just has a bunch of kids in it. I think the the idea I thought was that there was like maybe a daycare setup or something like that, but there's clearly no adults in the room. They just turn on the TV to the happy little elves, and all of a sudden the kids' attention just goes straight to that.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

Yes, the happy little elves, all of them to look right up, which is so perfect. I mean, we've all seen now we kids that have their screens even at restaurants and everything. It's just to distract and to uh keep them busy so the adults can do the adult thing.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

I know, I know. It's a horrible thing that we've sort of adopted and we've sort of figured it out. Um we try to avoid screens and stuff when we go out for dinner. Um, but man, the kids will find a screen in the room. And if it's on the other side of the room and it's playing golf, they're still glued to it. And they they hate golf, they want nothing to do with it, but it's a a glowing screen, so they man, they can't look away.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

Right. Yeah, I found with my son um that when we go out to when we go out to dinner, he's better now. Um, because typically it's just me and him. Yeah and so you know, we'll converse and talk, and I end up ordering him whatever he wants, all you know, like whatever appetizer he wants or chocolate cake at the end that he wants to do. He's not restricted to the kids' menu. Well, no, now he's 11 and he's just shooting up. We measured him the other day. He's so he's about five feet tall now. Um which is so you know, it's no more no more McDonald's kids menu or happy meals. He wants the he wants the double quarter pounder, yeah. Big Mac, yeah. Right, yeah. Um, so he and you know, he's he's as skinny as a stick, you know, he's like um he's not an overly large kid, but yeah, we're tall, yeah. We're past the kids menu for sure. Um but yeah, but we'll we'll we'll chat and you know we'll it'll be sports on if we were sitting in you know a place with sports. But yeah, uh gotten away from the screens a little bit, which is nice. But yeah, again, it's school vacation week coming up, and he'll be he'll be playing Fortnite the whole time.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Charge all the screens, all the make sure everything's ready. Yes. So uh so yeah, the moms drop them off and uh get the idea that uh there's a punch bowl.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

Well, and and going back to the TV, I believe this is I believe they've mentioned the happy little elves, or we've seen on screen them in every episode so far.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Yeah, yeah. They they've got a heavy presence in the which is interesting so far.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

Um, but sorry, continue. Yes, the the punch. Marge states that she's not a big drinker, not a big drinker.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

She says that a couple times in this episode, and then she you know has this acknowledgement that you know there might be some alcohol in this as she's sort of slurring her speech and sort of falling over. And the alternating scene going on here is that they have the father-son sack races going on.

SPEAKER_02 14:52

And everyone knows the rules for the father-son sack race.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Well, first of all, it's mandatory, everybody has to do it. It's very funny. Um, and you know, the the premise is that they have to let Burns win. Uh Burns is not there with his son, it does not appear for many seasons long later. Um, but uh he he gets the head start, and Smithers sort of whispers to him, like, okay, you go. And then he's then he sets the rest of the stuff.

SPEAKER_02 15:19

And he does one hop, and then the line of people after he does his second or third, they do one. Like, and it's very just like in unison. Everyone's like, okay, now we can go forward a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

And and and doesn't take long before what Bart gets tired of it. I'm not doing this. And goes.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

Yep, and he's he's in the sack race, he blows right by Monty Burns, and Homer reacts almost immediately. Um, and is just like, no. And and I and I give cred I give Homer credit. How old do we think Homer is at this point?

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Uh I think he's supposed to be like 34, if I'm somewhere in there.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

Yeah, that I mean that makes sense. Um, but again, owns a home, right? Three kids, marriage. He's got it going on right now for 34 years old. Um, and he very athletically, despite his build and physical look, he goes after Bart in the like walls. He was going pretty quick himself, yeah. Right. And catches him and tackles him, tackles him to the ground. Yes. And then I I'm sure it was just the way they filmed it, but Monty Burns is not too far behind. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that was like we talked about his age uh a couple episodes ago, and we think he's we think he's at least 90.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Yeah, isn't probably in his 90s is the initial uh caricature that they're developing. He gets I think at one point they say he's 118 or something like that, but uh for this phase. Clearly he's old, but you know, he's able to make it to the end. Nobody else is pushing, and he also gives a sigh of relief of like, oh, it was a close one this year.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Which I think he probably enjoyed a little. Um, you know.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Well, I think that's also like a running joke of like he doesn't actually know that people are cheating for him. Um, like when uh Smithers helps him on the golf course later on and and things like that. He doesn't know that it's happening. Oh, although he's he's all for cheating. Um, but they also try to uh maintain his ego, which you know, I I hear things happen for billionaires that way, uh especially around these competitions like golf and whatnot.

SPEAKER_02 17:37

Almost almost like the stories you hear from like North Korea where they're you know in ones, getting us hole in ones every time, and you know, and like, oh, I'm just good. What are you talking about? Kind of kind of that like from him, yeah. Top of the top of the pecking order, and he just thinks he's great.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

While this is going on, uh there's also the musical number of because Marge. Marge is drinking. Uh the the the thing, um, one of the other mothers is sort of making fun of Marge's kids and like their behaviors, and and so she starts drinking more, but then they break into this musical number and they're they're singing uh Hey Brother Pour the Wine, which is a Dean Martin song from the 1964. Well, you know, drinking and friendship and romance, and it's it's got this like very fun and casual tone to it, uh, but it fit in there perfectly, and it's really funny again how they use these like very specific songs. There's also a really like specific era that they're using, 50s, 60s with a lot of the music in these first uh the first season, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Right, yeah, and you think so obviously this you know this episode, I don't know the exact date, but it came out in 1990. Um the season started at the very end of 89, and when and we had uh Simpson Shorts on the Tracy Ullman show prior to that. But you can tell that, you know, usually the way these things work, if you write a novel or you write a screenplay or produce something, usually you don't produce it and create it very, very quickly. There's a long time ahead. So, you know, they could have been writing about these sixties, they could have been writing Simpsons episodes or talking about it, you know, in the early 80s.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

Um whereas, you know, referencing the 60s isn't that far. Um exactly. Yeah. Right. And you know, keeping it with you, you know, if you're I always think because I've you know I've I've written a couple novels, um, not not published them, but I've got them out there. And a lot of times I bought one once. You did, you did, thank you. Yes. Um, I think you were one of the 12 that sold. Um but um I you know I would write that if I wrote that at 35, it might have been you might have been writing like as a 27-year-old, remembering a time where things were this way, but then referencing things in the past, and then by the time the book gets out, it's like it feels so much further away than it actually is.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

It does. And and again, we're watching it now 30 years after all that.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

Right, right, yeah. So yeah, we're talking long, you know, long ago.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

Yeah, it feels dated, but again, for like a young braining or whatever, he you know, he's still connected to his youth from the 50s, 60s, and that that's why that stuff is important. So but I like that. I like being able to sort of see that and and piece that together a little bit. But so so they have this musical number. Marge is now kind of ups, or sorry, Homer's now kind of upset with Marge that she got drunk at this company picnic.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Right, right, yeah, which you know is valid. It is work.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

It is, but it's like one of the few times where she's not really in control, um, and she sort of lets herself go. So good for her. Um, right. We all need those times. We all need that, exactly. Nobody likes to pretend they're in a a family that's perfect, right? And and so that's where the chinks can sort of uh come out of the armor there when uh a couple couple drinks of uh alcohol, as she calls it.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Right, right. And I think that goes back to the the name of the episode, too. There's no disgrace like home. Yeah, yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

So um uh so they they wrap up the picnic.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

Burns announces that the hounds will be released in 10 minutes, which is I think is our first reference of releasing the hounds, which is great, you know. Kind of a classic Simpsons trope there, you know, get off my property. Yeah, kind of that Clint Eastwood, like get off, get out of here.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Make my day. Uh so they're they're kind of shuffling out, um, and the family in front of the Simpsons family is you know, sort of kissing on the way out and like, you know, we had such a good time. Thanks, Daddy. And um, and Homer pays Bart five bucks to kiss him.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:58

Yeah. And that

SPEAKER_01 22:00

There it is. How'll you bring that down? Um that I mean, you know, well, it's first Bart's reaction of like, I don't know if I can do this because you're my dad. Like so there's sort of like the acknowledgement of like something sexualized in all of that versus just like affection. Like you're you're, you know, whether you kiss your parents on the cheek or the lips is I think different families sort of hold that in different ways and different cultures and different things, yes, right. Right. Um, but but to them, this is clearly a foreign thing, they're not a physically affectionate family, they show their affection and uh physical violence towards each other, really.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

Right, exactly. There's you know, there's the love language of physical touch, and for Homer, that's choking his son. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

So, you know, and uh Burns catches this. He he sees it, even though like Homer's whole whole hope here is that like, okay, I can pay off the kid, they'll act good, I'll look good in front of my boss. Instead, he actually observed the whole payment, the argument, and then like the kiss that happens, and like really can't believe there's such an obvious attempt to carry my favor. And right Smithers replies, yes, sir, fabulous observation, sir. Very, very funny thinking about their dynamics and um you know, just starting to understand a little bit about who Smithers is um in his relationship to Mr. Burns.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

Certainly a certainly a yes man, and also one who's it's funny because Smithers is trying to make sure uh Monty Burns looks good all the time. So so here's here's here's Homer trying to make sure he he looks good for him and his family, and Smithers doing the same thing, yet for for Homer it's pathetic.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

And for Smithers it's just his day-to-day routine. Oh, yeah, I like to be buttered up and made to feel good, so yes. Yes. So um, so then these two families are sort of taking taking different routes, right? The the angelic family, all of a sudden they have angel wings and they're singing bingo together. They drive off into like the light shining.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

And well, and the and the boy opens the door for this for the sister, lets it in nicely, and the and the and the mom in that family saying, Oh, honey, you look tired. Maybe I should drive. And not and Homer's family, the Simpsons are just a nightmare. Yeah. Um, right back to the start of the of the episode. Uh, you know, we've got Bart and Lisa fighting to get in the seat. Uh Marge is like basically passed out the front seat.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Um, you know. Oh my kids are definitely that that like more Simpson-esque in that, where when we're getting in the car, oh man, they sit three across, they're six, six, and eight. Uh, they all have booster seats still, so there's like some competition for like shoulder room and space, and they're all in the same row. And man, they will like knock each other down to get the good seat. Like one of them's got a little bit more room than the other.

SPEAKER_02 24:53

And so do they rotate where they are?

SPEAKER_01 24:55

They don't they they are sort of supposed to, but they end up like sort of duking it out before mom or dad gets out to the car. That's funny.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Um, yeah, because I imagine it is um is the middle seat a great seat or the worst seat?

SPEAKER_01 25:10

It depends. So it depends uh on how we've installed the different booster seats, because there's one booster seat that doesn't have a back, and that's the one that sort of has the most space, and the other ones have backs and sort of uh wrap in a little bit more. And the one without a back is meant for the older kid because she's bigger. Um, so that's sort of the desirable position. Like everybody wants that one. It's easier to buckle the seat belt on that one and everything. And the other ones, especially in these winter months when they have to like have their coats and their snowpants on on the way to school, it's like impossible for them all to get buckled. So it's uh they're jockeying for position.

SPEAKER_02 25:44

And I always I always hated that. And like, because you're supposed to buckle your child in nicely, but then the winter coat is huge and they're not really buckled in with that. I always I always hated that. Luckily, I have a middle schooler now who refuses to even wear a coat, so there's no issue there. It's just other issues.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

Uh-huh. And coastal main doesn't need a coat, huh?

SPEAKER_02 26:06

I do get him to wear a coat, but gloves and a hat, no way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not cool, Dad. Not cool.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Is is he a shorts kid at this point?

SPEAKER_02 26:14

Like will he wear shorts in the winter? Okay, that's no, luckily, he's uh complete the it's funny, the material of clothing is a big deal. Um it has to be like that under armor, sleek, sporty, sporty type feel clothing. Um athlete. Right, yeah. He's you know, so uh, and that's what all of his friends wear too.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

So you know, what are you gonna do? Important part of the identity. I I don't really remember like struggling with that sort of stuff as a kid, but if there were like certain times where like, oh, they gotta get the right shoes, and you know, they they have got to match whatever. Everybody's got Adidas this year, not Puma. Why do you have Puma? Mom, why'd you give me Pumas?

SPEAKER_02 26:51

Right, God, a champion sweatshirt. Oh my god, please don't do that to me.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

You can't make me go to school with this.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

I have a pair of sneakers, I think, in fourth grade that um I think I pulled out of the trash multiple times because my mom was like, Yeah, like these are toasts, get out of there. But I loved them, so I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

These are the things that are important, right? And again, that's that like a separation of like mom's world is like these things stink and and they're falling apart, and she's got her own reputation to uphold of a mother that takes care of her family. It's just funny that parents living in that different world than their kids, as we've recognized a few times, uh seeing in these episodes. But getting back to this car scene, uh again, that this angelic family singing uh bingo, the the Simpsons are all now appearing sort of like devil-ish. They're like um, I don't know, it's almost like they look like they're on fire a little bit. Right. Uh, and they're saying, Room for one more dad, and like trying to get him to come in the car. And then they're chanting, one of us, one of us. Do you do you know that reference? Um it's uh funny, it's an obscure movie uh from 1932. It was a cult film called Freaks, uh, about these like circus sideshow folks. And there's the scene in the movie uh of that where like they're all sort of trying to convince one of the other characters that they're part of that, and they're also a freak, and they're like chanting and like some of the people there's like the bearded woman and like the people with like no arms and things that would just be considered like basic disabilities these days. But in 1932, they could call them freaks and make a movie about it and have them be circus performers, but um, it really is meant to have this like sinister and like cult-like feeling to it. It's like one of us, one of us.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

I definitely use one of us, one of us, um, in like my day-to-day life sometimes. But I'm obviously referencing this, um which goes back to referencing freaks in 1932. Great. That's right, great. So um, but we all like to be one of us, you know. We like to be part of the team, and that's right. But that's that's funny that that's where that comes from.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

I know you should look it up sometime. There's they have uh clips on YouTube of just like that portion of the movie. It's pretty funny. So he gets a they get in the car, uh, and then it sort of pans to them watching a a documentary, eating TV, and you know, they're eating dinner in front of the TV, microwave dinners, essentially.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

Yes, yes. And I've noticed uh um in all these episodes when um when you see the family watching TV, Marge is right there with them. You know, she's never off doing other things, and the kids are watching TV. She just seems to be right there with them. Yeah, yeah, which is which is cool.

SPEAKER_01 29:46

Um which is actually better than just leaving them alone to watch TV. She's able to sort of see what they're watching and that's true, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

Yes, she's parenting. Yeah, I didn't mean it as a as an insult. I just found it interesting that she's there all the time. Um but um but yeah, so Homer brings them in to sit at the table.

SPEAKER_01 30:06

You know, let's be normal.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Yes, let's be normal, let's have some decency, um, which again I think we discussed on an earlier episode. Uh, you know, I sit on the couch and eat dinner with my son all the time. Just the two of us. Like, what do we care? Um we will sit at the table too sometimes, you know, but we're just rotated, whatever we're doing.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Yeah, I'd I'd imagine I would if I uh was with just one kid, I would have probably low frequency of actually sitting at the table. Um right now we like do it during the week and we like try to be purposeful about that, but on the weekends it gets a little looser. They we've got sort of a routine on Saturday nights where like we can watch a movie and have TV and sort of do that all dinner in front of the TV on Saturday nights, and it's like a special thing.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

So I mean, half the time with sports and everything with my son playing baseball, even in the winter, half the time we're eating in the car. Great. Yeah. Sitting down together on the couch and and eating dinner and watching Survivor or watching uh we're watching the Goldbergs right now. Um it's interesting. My son really loves family shows. Yeah, yeah. Um which is interesting. Obviously, he shares a house with me, and then he has a house with his mother and stepfather as well.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

Um a few different worlds that he gets to live in, and right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:22

But he loves I I fully been predicting that my son is gonna be 35 years old with like four or five kids. Yeah, he just I think he wants that big family, and yeah, you know, if that's what he wants, go get it, you know. Yeah, awesome. Support him however you can. He's he's blown through Malcolm in the Middle, uh Fresh Off the Boat, um The Middle. Uh he's watching Goldbergs Now. Um I think he watched Young Sheldon. Um just loves he just loves them. He just loves all these shows.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Um, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

So he's binging TV. What a weirdo. Why can't you be normal like me and create a podcast about watching TV?

SPEAKER_01 31:57

I'm sure it'll come uh in time, right? But yeah, you know, eating on the go is so common. I we were at the uh grocery store yesterday, like between activities, and we just had to buy like chicken strips that were already warm and sitting there, and we just bought them and we're like feeding to the kids as we're walking through the store.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

That's a single dad's dream. I buy this stuff all the time. Like I'm the grocery store three times a week. I yeah, you know, I've got I've got my son half the time, and but my my refrigerator looks like a bachelor's. Like it's very I've got his snacks, I've got but then for dinners with him, which happens either three or four times a week, yeah. I don't I don't do a big grocery order, you know. I just go we'll go out and buy two dinners and we'll have them, you know, or the s just the stuff we need for those dinners. Um luckily my son loves stir fry lately, so we're just doing a lot of a lot of ground beef or ground chicken and then with rice and vegetables, and he just loves that.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

So there's a lot that you can do with that, and there's a lot of the directions that you can take it, and you know, based on what the I don't know if your son's like my kids, but like um there's like a flavor of the moment where like I really like this now. And then like a week later, they're just like, How could you feed me this? This is terrible. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:10

Mine uh mine had braces and recently went through um he's cut them off now. But during that braces time, he became so picky. He only wanted like lunchable pizzas and he only wanted chicken nuggets, and that and I was like, used to eat everything. What is going on? But it was like the braces, so just kind of move on and get over it now. Now he's eating normal food again. It's like, all right, good. Yeah, yeah. Now you can make whatever you want. Yeah, but um oh, so being normal, of course, in 1990, when you're at the dinner table, you say grace, correct?

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Yeah, middle America. That's uh very important to say grace. And and but clearly it implies that that's not what they've been doing.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

But right well, Bart says a great grace, I believe. He says rub-a-dub dub, thanks for the grub.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

That's right. I do remember that uh as a child, like thinking like, okay, I like how great that is. I might try to incorporate that at some point.

SPEAKER_02 34:02

I I never did, but I want to but then Homer goes on this big like starts complaining about his kids. Speech to God. Yes, I think he he refers to God as um omnivorous, yeah, yeah, yeah. Probably true.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 34:23

I mean, just God's gotta um so and then he thinks that um he sometimes feels that they're the worst family in town, um, of which his wife, Marge, very eloquently says, Oh, I'm sure there's people that are worse.

SPEAKER_01 34:41

And then offers, like, maybe we just we need to move to a larger community. Right, right. So optimistic. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 34:48

Yeah, not let's change our ways, not let's better ourselves, let's let's move to somewhere. Yes. But oh goodness gracious.

SPEAKER_01 34:58

Yeah, but you know, he's he's praying. Oh Lord, why did you smite me with this family? And like eventually they're just like, We don't want to hear this. Uh and that this also becomes um the first time we hear Bart say, Don't have a cow, dad. Yes. Uh he might I don't know, did he say that in the shorts?

SPEAKER_02 35:18

Um, he might have. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 35:19

But um that was a popular like t-shirt. Uh don't have a cow, man.

SPEAKER_02 35:24

Yeah, true. Yeah, I don't know. I think I had that shirt. It was just a picture of Bart's head and it said, Don't have a cow, man.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

Uh, which was an idiom that's traced back to the 1950s. Um and the idea of having a cow is like just too much is coming out at this moment in two.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

Well, well, I think we all have a cow at some point. Yeah. Uh many, many people do not have a cow.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

I think we've witnessed each other having cows at different times. Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

Call it groommates here if you uh if you're just tuning in. But my goodness, yes. We've had many a cow. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 36:02

But we're still here, we're still going. And as Lisa points out, all families are like us. So then, so then they start to try to prove that or disprove that by going out inside the homes of other neighbors.

SPEAKER_02 36:15

Yeah, they start creeping around the the town and looking in. Um, the first family they they uh look in on, they're like, oh, look, there's no they all have a common. There's no belching, there's no fighting. The dad has a shirt on. Um and Marge specifically, they're using napkins. Yeah, yeah. It's this wild concept of using a napkin. Um so and then Bart ends it with these people are obviously freaks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which maybe that was a uh what shout out to that movie.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Just mentioned. I think so, actually. Yeah, the same thought. That's funny. But then they get out uh to this one house and there's a reaction in the house of like, I think there's somebody outside. Right. And the the dad or father figure says, You better go get my gun.

SPEAKER_02 37:00

Right. Sends the child off to get the gun. Okay, cool. And then they step outside and just fire into the dark, just shooting at them and the Simpson family's running away, but we're just active, actively shooting at them as they're running away. Um, and then then they get to a third house and they look in and they're like, This house is awful. And Homer says that he's trampled the flowers outside. Um, and I forget who says it, but they're like, Dad, this is our house.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

Yeah, yeah. They point it out to him, and it's sort of a sad moment. And he's and so he says, you know, Marge is asking him if he's okay again. And she she checks in and he says, Well, I I just want to be alone with my my thought. Not his thoughts, his thoughts singularly. So the next scene cuts to Hamet Moe's.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

Yes, not alone, but yes, he finds himself at the bar. Um, and there's a boxing match on TV. I like I kind of like that. Um but uh and you know, fighting has kind of been an ep uh thing of this whole episode, so I thought that was appropriate.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

Some themes in that. Well, we get uh uh I guess our first like real introduction of a new character at this point when uh Eddie the cop comes in.

SPEAKER_02 38:12

Yes, yes, yes, Eddie the cop, and there's there's another cop too. What's the other cop's name? I forget I think it's Lou.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

I think they call him they didn't call him that in this episode, but that I think that's what he's referred to later on.

SPEAKER_03 38:24

Right.

SPEAKER_01 38:24

Um so Mo initially offers them pretzels and they say, No, uh we're on duty, and then he offers them beers, and they're like, Yes, of course.

SPEAKER_02 38:32

Absolutely. Um yeah, so um that was that was an interesting little little thing. Um, but you're right, but it's world building. We're seeing these are the beat cops. We've already met Chief Wigham a little bit, um, so now we're seeing some beat cops. Um but yeah, and then um what is it? Does it go to the does Barney and Homer get into it right away there?

SPEAKER_01 38:59

So um Homer's kind of complaining at the bar and talking about like his mom. So it's sort of world building there, talking about the mother character, but how she she said that he's a big disappointment, and right um, and then uh basically Barney's like starts agreeing with him of like, yeah, you got lousy kids, right? Which is a no-no, as we all know. Absolutely, yeah. You can complain all you want about your kid.

SPEAKER_02 39:25

I'm not gonna say anything bad about yeah, it's uh you know, and then so Homer immediately wants to fight Barney's, you know, you can't say that, and they start fighting. Um, and they're fighting, and the boxing match is on the TV behind them, everybody's cheering, which is great. Um, and then of course Homer ends up on the floor, yes, um Barney knocks him down, and then we get the commercial because the boxing match was sponsored by Dr.

SPEAKER_01 39:55

Marvin Monroe. Dr.

SPEAKER_02 39:56

Marvin Monroe, 1-800-555 hugs. Yes. Give us a call.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

Uh yeah, so family bliss or double your money back. Um and and there's sort of a hard cut there. I think it's probably a commercial break. Um, but it cuts back to another introduction, I believe, in the series of itchy and scratchy.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

Yes. Before you say that though, I I do I think right before the cut, Homer once again mentions um, I think he he mentions that the problems aren't at the bottom of a bottle, which is the second time he said that, I think, in the series, uh, when he says, uh, or the solutions to his problems aren't at the bottom of a bottle. They're on TV. They're on TV, yes. Right, which which is great. But yes, then we cut to itchy and scratchy, um, and they very immediately remind you of Tom and Jerry. Yeah, but a more extreme version. Very violent version of the TV. Right, right. Um, which is which is kind of cool. You know, the cat runs into the mouse hole and gets blown up.

SPEAKER_01 41:00

I didn't remember it being like that immediately violent that early in the series, um, but clearly it was. And like I'm trying to like make sense of like some of the reactions that the world or you know the United States had when this show came out about like how you know these aren't real family values that they're portraying on this, and this is overly violent. And like I know families that thought this show was definitely too violent and kids weren't allowed to watch it. Uh, I uh my parents never really stopped me from watching it, but my mom didn't like the show at all. My dad would watch it with me, and that was sort of the parenting dynamic.

SPEAKER_02 41:38

Right. I remember not being able to watch The Simpsons. Um But that also became the reason why we started to watch it, you know. Um and I think so. I have I have a younger brother who's two or three years younger than me, and then my younger sister is like five or six years younger than me. And I think they were worried with her watching it. Because at that as a time at the time this came out, I was um I was eight, you know what I mean? So my brother would have been five, and my sister two, you know, like um seeing that kind of violence on TV back then was more appalling than I think now. Right. Um I think we're just used to violence on TV.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

And now it's okay. Now it's everywhere, yeah. Um Yeah, I actually my kids don't really watch The Simpsons yet. They like have this vague idea that it's a show dad watches and dad dad likes it, but they haven't really tried to watch it. Um we they've seen episodes of uh Bob's Burgers and they'll they'll watch that and we've sort of given them more or less a blessing on that. It needs some guidance. Occasionally it sort of takes some different uh social gears that you need to be able to explain to six and eight-year-olds. But uh overall it's not particularly violent. Um it's sort of easy to process. And there is so much of that stuff that just goes over their heads, it's not that big of a deal.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

Right. Yeah, my son likes some of the episodes of Simpsons. He watched uh this one with me, I believe. Um he he just kind of is interested in what I'm doing with it. Um he likes a bunch of the sports episodes. Um we've watched a few. Uh but ultimately he likes shows that are not animated. And he made he made that move when he was like four or five. Yeah. I was like, you don't want to watch cartoons? You want to watch like Paw Patrol or something? And he'd be like, no, I'd much rather watch like these Nickelodeon kid shows. I was like, okay, cool. Yeah. But whatever.

SPEAKER_01 43:25

Watch the cartoons. Same, same. That's why we're here. But uh so the Homer calls this family meeting as after they're they're all watching. He interrupts, he turns off the TV, and they're like, what the heck? We don't turn off the TV when when you're watching it. Right. Um and then uh uh he s talks about how he got this epiphany watching TV, you know, uh and and you know, implies that he watched a lot of TV to figure out what to do next for his family. Right. Right. Out of out of all the commercials I saw, this was the best.

SPEAKER_02 43:56

This was the best, yes. And again, they so they need money.

SPEAKER_01 43:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Because it's gonna cost a hundred and fifty dollars to go get this treatment with Dr. Marvin Monroe. Right. Um and they bust into the college fund, which I thought was interesting. Another piggy bank that they break with a hammer. That's uh two episodes in a row, right? So many. Um and they've counted up in their college fund, which they don't really specify what child, I think it's just the college fund for you know, whichever kid will go to college or all three of them, I don't know. Um, but they have eighty eight dollars and fifty cents, which is not enough.

SPEAKER_01 44:30

Uh you know, in the in the late 80s, early 90s, uh some state schools probably these days. No, that's not even gonna get buy you a lunch at a college these days.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

Right. So so off to the pawn shop they go. And I I I really like the the very like when Homer walks in, um, that the pawn shop owner knows him.

SPEAKER_01 44:53

He recognizes he knows him, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:55

Hey Simpson, yeah. Yeah. Um which is great. Um, so he's he decides he's gonna sell the TV, which is interesting because that's where he found out all these issues, whatever. Um and I I enjoyed the uh pawn shop guys, um, which I don't know if he has a name, but his only question about the TV is it cable ready?

SPEAKER_01 45:19

Yes. That was a big deal at that time, you know, whether you can just like plug it in easily or you had to, you know, fiddle with the wires in the back.

SPEAKER_02 45:27

Right, right. Um, and so yes, it was cable ready. Boom, sold. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:33

So they make the they get the money, they go to uh Dr. Marvin Monroe's facility. Um, they're in the waiting room. There's this like very unruly looking family, but then the next family over is the family that was singing angelically leaving the Burns cooking. Yeah, same, same family, right? So and they're all cross-armed and like scowl-faced.

SPEAKER_02 45:58

They probably have issues too, they just hide it a little bit better. Ooh, they hide it differently. You know, as we all have some skeletons in our closet, or you know, we all have our persona out in the world versus what we truly believe at home. That's right. So, um, and then a family comes out, yeah, yeah. And they're this like angelic family that has uh been cured.

SPEAKER_01 46:20

But they're all like slight variations of The Simpsons characters.

SPEAKER_02 46:25

Yes, almost exactly. The hairstyles are nicer, the clothes are nicer, but they all look exactly uh like them. And the father of that family immediately says, Let's go get some frosty chocolate milkshakeshakes, yes, which we mentioned before.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

We've mentioned before, apparently that was like a big thing in the shorts. Um, this was like Homer's drink of choice was frosty chocolate milkshakes, and so there's a lot of appearances of it there, and then you know, a handful of times it ends up showing up, but actually pretty heavy in the first season, uh then subsequently in later seasons as well. But it did have this important origin in the in the shorts.

SPEAKER_02 47:04

Right, which I can't argue with.

SPEAKER_01 47:05

I mean, who doesn't like a frosty chocolate milkshake? That's right. Uh so they get into treatment. Uh the first task is they all have to draw their fears, their anxieties, and the roots of their unhappiness.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

Right. Um have you ever have you ever done this in your line of work, Andrew? Uh dealt with families or uh the specific drawing of like drawing out your fears. Like, is this a real thing?

SPEAKER_01 47:32

Uh not really. Um I think it's it maybe gets into a little bit of the realm of like, you know, free associating and just sort of seeing where your mind goes as you draw a thing. Um but I think that what this is trying to do is sort of point fingers, and and that's never helpful in any sort of family therapy.

SPEAKER_02 47:52

Are you suggesting that the TV doctor might not be the best choice for this family, Andrew?

SPEAKER_01 47:58

Well, uh, I think we're we're finding out a little bit about that. So so I mean, clearly the evidence is that uh they're all pointing their fingers at Homer.

SPEAKER_02 48:06

They all draw Homer. Homer draws a nice Homer draws a nice airplane dropping bombs that he's working very hard at, and then uh is kind of apologizes for not really paying attention. Yes. Which which maybe that's why they're all drawing you, Homer.

SPEAKER_01 48:23

Well, uh what what actually struck me as the most funny in that is that it's like a domestic airplane. Uh it's not a fighter jet, but it's still dropping bombs. And I think there might be something symbolic in that. Um Yeah, so oh okay, you all want to kill each other. So is the next thing I wrote down?

SPEAKER_02 48:48

Yes, yeah. Well, that's what Dr. Marvin Monroe says. Oh, clearly you want to kill each other, and that's good. That's healthy. Yeah, yeah. It's like, is it is it healthy? At what point does it not like I'm sure there is a level of healthiness to it, but at what point is it no longer healthy?

SPEAKER_01 49:03

Right, exactly. There's a degree of like primary aggression that we all carry, and it's it's helped it helps us achieve things and get what we need, get our needs met, basically, in the world that we live in. Uh, but sometimes it does get sort of overly directed into a single channel or a single target. Um, and that's where it can become a little bit more maladaptive. So Right.

SPEAKER_02 49:24

So then they move on to foam mallets. Yes, patents therapy mallets. Start start hitting each other, and Bart obviously learns to remove the foam, saying that they're more effective. Yes. Um, and he hits he hits Dr. Marvin Monroe with them. To show him. To show him. And it makes a the it's a good comedic crunch sound on his knee. Like um and yeah, so after that we move to the electroshock.

SPEAKER_01 49:52

Yes, more unorthodox methods need to be uh enlisted here. So uh they all get wired in to uh what he calls an aversion therapy, uh where everybody's got electrodes on them and they all have access to buttons where they can electrocute each other.

SPEAKER_02 50:09

And uh I right off the bat, you immediately notice Maggie's still involved here. Maggie doctor wants to end and she's just hitting the buttons, boop-boop boop. You know, it starts with the you know, Bart gets Homer, and then Homer gets Bart, and then like Lisa gets involved, and then Marge gets involved. But the baby, Maggie's just sitting there pounding the buttons the whole time.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

And I think it sort of speaks to this like illogical nature of the aggression that they're directing out and now towards each other, and you know, they're giving her the tools to do this, and babies do actually you know show aggression and they bite and claw and do all of that stuff, but they're giving her the tools to be able to direct it right into each person, right? Very fast.

SPEAKER_02 50:53

And she's being shocked as well, too. Which is interesting. It's like who is shocking Meg?

SPEAKER_01 51:00

All seem to be getting the same voltage too, by the way they vibrate. Right, right. And and who does this delight the most? Mr. Burns all of a sudden sees that energy use is going up.

SPEAKER_02 51:12

Yes, yes. Oh, he loves it, you know. And they pan out to the you know, the the maps of like the lights going out, and um it's it's great, it's great. Uh, but we basically get to the point where um, you know, Homer says, Hey, double your m double your money back if you don't fix us. You didn't fix us. Um, and he gets to a point where he's just Dr. Marvin Monroe is so frustrated that he just says, Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

Pays out the money, gets the cash. All the other patients have already fled the building. This is a business move, right?

SPEAKER_02 51:45

So it gets rid of them, and then uh so they get double the money back, which is three hundred dollars.

SPEAKER_01 51:50

Um well, it's five hundred, and that's where I got lost. I thought it was I thought it was 150, and then I I don't know if I needed to re-watch it, if I misheard it. Um, but they gave them 500 back at the end.

SPEAKER_02 52:02

Oh, interesting. Well, hey, we'll take we'll take it, right? I don't think Homer's gonna argue with that.

SPEAKER_01 52:07

Uh well and then this the the whole family bonds over this like new sense of accomplishment. Like, look at all this money we got. Right. What are they gonna then do with their money?

SPEAKER_02 52:17

Well, they all instantly agree to buy a new TV. Um uh or no, to buy the old TV back, but then Homer says, no, I'm gonna get a 21-inch screen, which Andrew, what size TV do you have in your house right now?

SPEAKER_01 52:35

I it's yeah, it's um I don't know, probably 70 or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 52:40

Right. I think, yeah, I think mine in my living room is 60, 65. Uh, but back then a 21-inch screen would have been huge for the monitor.

SPEAKER_01 52:48

I'm just trying to estimate like what this monitor I use is, it's probably well over that. Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 52:54

Um, but that's you know, that's kind of a sign of the times. Yes, of course. And but then when when Homer says that, you know, it's uh, oh Homer, we love you, Marge says, and the family seems happy. So the argument here is did the therapy work? Uh it bought it brought them together. Yes, it brought them together, maybe only momentarily, but it could have worked.

SPEAKER_01 53:16

It worked in a way, yeah. Which is interesting. Yeah. So Dr. Marvin Monroe, not all that bad after all.

SPEAKER_02 53:25

Yes, no, not bad.

SPEAKER_01 53:26

He's he dealt with unorthodox methods, but he dealt with the worst family in town. Yeah. And got them back together, got them reunited.

SPEAKER_03 53:35

Right.

SPEAKER_01 53:36

And they like that they have this idea that along with the TV, they're gonna get one of the carts with wheels so they could bring it into the dining room on holidays. Perfect. Perfect.

SPEAKER_02 53:47

Um so yeah, I have a couple of quick random notes before we before we go into um before we kind of wrap this episode up. Yeah. Um, and just kind of a prelude to our next episode. Um so I was looking on IMDB. Um, great website. Oh, great mug. Let's show that show that bad boy up. Yes, nice. The Homer mug. Homer mug for this. Yes. Um so they do they give ratings for each episode. Yeah. And it was interesting. So the Simpsons Roasting on an open fire got 8.1 out of 10.

SPEAKER_03 54:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 54:22

And I'm not gonna ask you for your rating. I don't I don't think we need to rate things, but I think that's an accurate rating overall. Bart the genius, the second episode was 7.6 out of 10. Okay. So a little bit of a dip. Um, but I think there's nostalgia to the first episode, the Christmas one, you know. Um and then Homer's Odyssey so far is the lowest rated 7.3 out of 10. Okay. So we're so we're so one, two, three, we're consistently dropping in ratings here. Sure. Um, but then this episode, No Disgrace Like Home, is 7.6 out of 10.

SPEAKER_03 54:58

Ah, big swing back.

SPEAKER_02 55:00

So we're moving back up and a preview for next week. Next week, we're gonna talk about Bart the General. And that has a 7.9 rating. Um so something to think about as we move towards the next um episode. We're this this next episode is gonna be great. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Well, it's interesting to think about, like, you know, how those were received at the time was probably a lot about how it was rated. You know, they're not necessarily rating those in retrospect. Um, but they they all stick sort of in different ways, and like what's meaningful about them as we've acknowledged sort of changes over time, uh, and over the different lenses where we were watching them as eight-year-olds and now we're re-watching them as 40 somethings. Um yeah, I don't know, maybe at some point we'll have to maybe rate them ourselves, but they they are like we spoke about last time. There's something very appealing about these early episodes that I had kind of forgot about, that they didn't appeal to me quite the same way uh when they came out as a kid. Um and and I think part of that ends up having to do with like the pacing of things where like the show turns into this like rapid fire joke after joke after joke, where like there's much more like setups and build-ups in these early episodes. So Right.

SPEAKER_02 56:16

Yeah, and I think for me, um like with like a rating system, I think I'm just gonna try to look and see what those ratings are. Because I think the I think the IMDB ratings, I think anyone can watch the episode and then just okay. Like I think you could do it now. Like I think it's just a cumulative influence, yeah, yeah, uh overall thing, which I think is good because it gives kind of the whole picture of people when people discover it when they watch it. Um I'm I wonder what it would have looked like if I looked at these ratings 10 years ago and if cultural and social changes have made people go back. Because you always hear people watching older shows and be like, oh, they can never do that these days and think negatively towards it. And it's like, you know, come on. Um either of the time. Yeah, exactly. Um so I think I'd I'd I'd be interested to see just kind of what episodes I really like and think are underrated versus and then maybe ones that are overrated. Um so something to look for there.

SPEAKER_01 57:08

Maybe as we get to the end of the season, we could do a best and least favorite of each season. Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 57:14

Uh but Andrew, I think that wraps it up for this episode.

SPEAKER_01 57:16

Uh as always, Tom, and uh I look forward to talking about Bart the General with you next time.

SPEAKER_00 57:22

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 57:23

All right.

SPEAKER_00 57:24

Bye. Thanks for listening to Donuts on the Couch, growing up on Evergreen Terrace, yet another Simpsons Rewatch podcast.