The Call of the Simpsons - Donuts on the Couch: Growing Up on Evergreen Terrace S1E7

In “The Call of the Simpsons,” Homer’s jealousy of Ned Flanders leads to an ill-advised RV purchase, a family camping trip, and his eventual identification as a possible missing link. Andrew and Thom discuss high-pressure sales tactics, forced family fun, Maggie’s surprisingly successful life among the bears, and the stark difference between Marge and Lisa’s wilderness competence and Homer and Bart’s complete lack thereof. Along the way, they explore childhood camping memories, traveling with kids, Albert Brooks’ unforgettable Cowboy Bob, and the timeless lesson that keeping up with the Flanderses may end with you naked, covered in mud, and pursued by Bigfoot researchers.

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 0:15

Hey Andrew, we're back with another episode. Finally, yes. Which is great. We are going after a long debate back and forth from a banter. A million ideas going back and forth. I officially welcome you to Donuts on the Couch, Growing Up on Evergreen Terrace. This podcast.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Yeah, a Simpsons rewatch podcast where we have two men of mid-old age who were previously college roommates who grew up watching The Simpsons. And we think about these episodes both from the perspective of how we took them in as eight-year-olds, how we look back at them now that we're in our mid-40s and we're dads ourselves. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

I'm Tom Partridge, a podcast host up here in Maine, working at a sports card shop, doing all sorts of fun things involving sports, Little League Fatherhood uh podcasts. It's just a sports life that I love. And my former college roommate uh Andrew Murray is with me.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Murray. I'm a psychiatrist in private practice in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Uh formerly an academic psychiatrist involved in uh teaching medical students, teaching residents uh how to be psychiatrists. And then I've recently over the last couple of years transitioned into private practice. But I also do um the parenting thing. Uh I'm a dad, I'm a husband, I uh uh coach T-Ball, not quite to Little League yet, uh getting there. Um running around doing kids stuff all of the time. Uh so excited to be here sharing some time with uh my good friend Tom.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Perfect. So enough of enough of the nonsense about us. Let's get into this episode and uh about all the things we're gonna be talking about today. Season one, episode seven.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

That's the one The Call of the Simpsons. Where does that name take you, Tom?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Uh to the Call of the Wild. Um I think I read that as a kid. Um, I think like many books um that were required reading in elementary school, middle school, way over my head at the time. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Exactly. Yeah, the 1903 Jack London classic is the one we're referring to here. Um uh yeah, I remember going through something similar of like uh I I this is just above my head. I was probably I don't know, 10 reading it. Uh I don't think it's that I don't know. I haven't revisited it. Maybe it is, you know, fairly straightforward.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

I've revisited some classics in recent years. Um, some that I liked, some that I didn't like. Um I like Treasure Island. I read that uh recently, and that was um, you know, that's a short story and kind of fun. Um but yeah, at the time, the Call of the Wild was right over my head. Didn't really want to do it, and it was required reading, you know, just brutal.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Anyway, so here we are in the Call of the Simpsons. Um so it's a you know one of these episodes that stands out in my mind as it actually holds uh what I would consider to be one of the hardest moments I laughed in my childhood. Um there's a couple times in my life where I can like point to like that was the hardest I laughed. And you know, when there's something about Mary was one of them. I was 17 when that came out. Hardest I had laughed at that point in my life. Um, but there is a component in this episode that got me at age eight, uh, but we'll get to it in a little bit. But um these episodes start out as uh usual with its full intro.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Yes, yes, indeed. And we have the chalkboard um gag with Bart, and he leads us off by saying, I will not draw naked ladies in class. Um, which, you know, I think we've all done.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

Um uh huh. Um I like how you know there is like the specification of like it's not gonna be in class. Maybe you can draw them outside of class. That's class is just fine. Uh you're exploring, you're trying to understand bodies, all of that.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Doodling on a notepad, you know, all these things.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

But yeah, uh clearly in fourth grade there, that was not something allowed and something that you got detention for. So right, right.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

And a bit of foreshadowing with this episode, because uh we're gonna see some naked simps. Some nudity. There's definitely some nudity in this episode.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

All right. And the couch gag, uh, this was actually probably the most unsettling one for me of the first season.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yes, yes. No, I agree. It was it it left you kind of like, what is going on? What okay. Uh that was it.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

So in this couch gag, nothing happens. They all just sit on the couch, right? And that's it.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

And there's a seat, uh, is this there's a painting above them, right? There's an outdoor theme, which kind of shows you the episode.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

I don't know, but oh rough, rough. There's something unsettling about it. I was waiting for something, you know, there was supposed to be a punchline to come along and it never came, but that's okay. Yeah. So uh as always, this uh episode has an opening, and that's something that we like to look at here. Uh Homer singing, watering the flowers. Bart is pushing a real mower. Have you ever used a real mower, Tom?

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Um, not in a very long time. And I think even if I did, I just tried it. Uh no. I was lucky enough to have a ride-on mower as a kid, and I used that all the time.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

The first house that I had rented uh with my wife, uh, we had a real mower for whatever reason. The the lawn was like about an acre. It was a reasonable size lawn and had like a big hill to it. And we had a real mower for whatever reason. Um it was just like the cheapest one to get. We weren't sure how long we were gonna be there, so we got one and it was like so much work. And you know, you're pushing it, the wheel's spinning, cutting, cutting the grass. The the wheel the real mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Budding. Uh and really before that time, uh the scythe was the primary way of cutting grass. But it's a lot of work. The neighbors used to come over every time I was out there and offer, like, do you want to borrow my lawnmower? And I was like, no, this is this is my exercise. I I don't mind. It takes you know four hours, but whatever.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Gets you out of the house, you know. Exactly. Oh man. Yeah, so Bart's clearly frustrated with doing this. And then speaking of the riding lawnmowers, here comes the first appearance of Rod Flanders on the ride on mower.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

And the first words we hear from Bart is rusty old hunk of junk, as he's talking about his lawnmower, comparing it to Rod's lawnmower. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

And Rod's is great. It's got uh um he's got a drink holder with a nice fruity drink. He's an umbrella? He's got an umbrella for the sun. Everything is the Flanders are living the life over there. Um and we heard in a recent episode that um oh no, I I think in this one, um, yes, Homer says that uh Ned only makes twenty-seven dollars a week more than that. Yes, he does.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

He does. So they're not really living that that differently, but they seem to be able to manage their money somewhat differently. But you know, Bart's complaining about the different lifestyles they have, and this is really the setup for the the episode, right? Right. They're looking at the small-scale lawnmowers, and uh Homer's telling Bart to not try to keep up with the Flanderises.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Yes, the Flanders's. Um but of course, then in comes Ned with the new RV for the family. Giant behemoth RV, right? This thing is awesome.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Uh and and when Homer asks how he's able to get that, it's it's based on credit.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Credit, yeah. No, just just use credit. Um, did you ever have an RV growing up or anything like that?

SPEAKER_02 7:48

I didn't. No, we did um tent camping uh a little bit as a family. My dad and I would go tent camping a couple times a year, maybe. Um never had an RV though. How about you?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Um, I my friend Matt, his dad had an RV for a couple years, and we would use it just to go and hang out. Like um I think we took it to the casino once when we were older. You know, um yeah, and but yeah, I wasn't a I wasn't a camper. I went I slept in a tent in my backyard once when I was like 10 or so and it poured rain and it was brutal. And I just have never gone camping since. I'm just not a camper. I need of all the nights. Yeah. Yeah, like no, I just nope, no need to sleep outside. I pay for this, I pay this mortgage. I don't need to go sleep outside.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

We we camp a couple times a year now. Uh we do like once a year in the yard. Uh we have a music festival here in town that we go to every year that we camp out with the kids. Um, we usually do two or three nights. Uh it's a lot of fun. It's sort of an adventure, but it's not too too rustic. We're able to, you know, if we need to leave and go to the grocery store, we can do that. Right. Um, and it it's uh it's nice. But uh never had an RV. My parents got an RV uh after I moved out uh from Massachusetts to Wisconsin with the thought of like, oh, we're gonna be visiting regularly. They've driven it out here once since then, you know. It was it was the thought that counted. But now my dad keeps it as just like an extra place to go read if uh the house is too loud.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

It's very expensive reading notes.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

Exactly. That's fantastic. Um this where we transition now is you know, Homer's got the bug. He wants to get an RV. So they go to Bob's RV Roundup.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Yes, yes. Uh and Cowboy Bob. Um this is our first time we see Cowboy Bob. I believe he's a recurring character, but very seldomly.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Yeah, very seldomly. I think what I found exciting was that it was the voice of Albert Brooks. Yes, yes. Um and and what comes through in the rewatch for me is that he sounds so much like Hank Scorpio, who Albert Brooks also voices.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Right, right. One of our one of both of our favorite characters, Hank Scorpio.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Yes, one of the amazing, you know, single appearance characters of the whole series. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Um, yeah, no, I and and it's an interesting phenomenon early on. You we'll start to see famous people joining the cast as characters in Springfield, not as themselves.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

Not as themselves.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

And that switches later on. Um kind of kind of neat. Um it is.

SPEAKER_02 10:15

It's it's fun. I mean, they they get to sort of play on these characters. Albert Brooks played a couple of other guys. He played, he played Russ Cargill in the Simpsons movie, who's like the main villain of the movie. Right. Uh he plays Jacques, uh, who comes up in a couple episodes uh as uh Marge's beau, I guess. And and Brad and Brad Goodman, the inspirational speaker. He also plays that. And and when he's on the show, the the my understanding is that he improvises a lot of the lines.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

He does, I read that as well. And they said that they had enough lines that they could have probably created the whole episode just at the RV park and make a movie about it, yeah. Right. Uh which is great. And it speaks to you know, kind of the talent um that Alrup Brooks has and kind of a visionary with that type of um comedy. Absolutely. It's brilliant. Really fun to see. Um naturally Homer goes in and tries to, you know, buy an RV and he wants to see the bigger one, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

The ultimate behemoth is the next that he can offer him, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Um and during this thing, obviously Albert Brooks is you know this snake oil salesman, like, oh, don't worry, this credit will get you'll get you into something good. He's doing every trick in the book. Yeah. Yeah. Um and I think it's hilarious. There's a there's a line in there where, you know, with the credit check to see, okay, Homer gets, you know, this alarm going off, and Homer's like, is that good? And he's like, No, have you ever known an alarm to be good? Um and he basically says, like, he alludes to the fact that he doesn't even own his own RV part.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Yes, even though it's named after him, it's a long story. I'd love to know that story. I would watch a spin-off of that.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

So I'd love to see an episode where they go back and how Cowboy Bob lost his own RV bar.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

It's just funny because like there is a possibility that they did that episode and like maybe we missed it. I don't know. Right, right. Again, 800 episodes. We watch a fair amount of TV. We've seen a lot of episodes, but I think there's still things that we've missed in Simpsons lore.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Yes, 100%. I'm I've I think I've seen probably about 40% of the Simpsons episodes out there. Yeah. Um but if we if this podcast continues, and I I certainly hope it does, maybe we'll get to 100% someday. Um and oof, we'll see how that goes. We'll see how old we are then.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

Um but yeah, so he gets uh he's got the computer set up to set off the uh the siren in case he goes blind in the in the middle of it. Right. Uh which is very funny. You know, obviously this hurts. I don't know if you've ever been trying to buy a car and had a credit check run where it did not go well, but uh I have been there as a younger person where like, oh, okay, this is what I'm dealing with.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Right. Or looking at something that either is completely out of your price range, something that you really want, and you're trying to figure it out, and you're just like, oh god, no, I can't I can't pay $800 a month for this.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Yes, been there, and then you know, on top of that, the down payment they're they were expecting.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Right, right. Yeah, can't can't my car payment be $100 a month, and that's it.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

With no down payment?

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Right, yeah, that's all I want. Um so yeah, and Homer Homer's building himself up to not want to disappoint his family, but his family seems to be like, eh, we don't need this.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

He needs to separate Homer from his family in this decision making. So he does find something that's not out of their price range. Uh Marge is concerned, is that used? And they show this old, dilapidated, the windows taped. There's two different color headlights in there. There's a plant growing out of the front.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

This thing looks like it's been in the back of the lot, like growing, like with just it almost looks like something you'd see in like a Simpsons version of like the apocalypse happening. And you know, that this this car's been sitting here for 30 years with overgrowth growing on everything. And it's a great sight. It's a great sight.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

It is, and it's the best they're gonna get. And Bob is pretty straightforward about that with them, right? Um, and and again, Homer's asking, so alright, if I if I confer with my family, which I thought was very funny to use that word. Um's not really known for his vocabulary. Um, and I I just thought conferred was not a word that I would have expected him to use. This is also, you know, before they really did dumb him down, which they do over subsequent seasons.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Yeah, we've seen him speak kind of clearly and um in a you know professional way in the past. Um but then he does kind of get angry also and kind of loses that. Um and they certainly do dumb him down later. Yeah. The other thing that I like is when he's separated from this family, uh, tellboy Bob like points out some random customer off-screen. He's like, see that guy? He called me early today. He said, Save the little one for me.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

All those tactics, man. It's so it's high pressure. Uh it really is. Uh especially when you're in like a used car market or used RV market, I assume it's the same as used car shopping. Um, you know, blessed at this point to be, you know, in a place where when we go car shopping, it's usually new cars cars that we're looking for. We keep them as long as we can. I'm I'm gonna keep my forerunner. I'm gonna keep my forerunner. You know, I've already had it for almost 10 years. I'm gonna keep it another 10. But uh when it does happen, you know, that's what we're going for. It's it's actually probably a little less pressure when you're in the the new side of the car sales place.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Uh yeah, yeah. Uh and I'm I'm the same way. I keep my cars until I don't need them anymore or they don't run anymore. Once the repairs get to be a point where uh the repairs are about the same cost as a down payment of a new car, then I just traded it. There you go. That's the time you make the swap. Get the new one. So um we'll although we'll see. My uh I have a 2019 right now. Um and you know, we're filming this in 2026, and my my son's eleven, so maybe he'll be getting my car when he turns 16.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Um I I actually hope that my kids are want my forerunner by the time they could take it. We still got another you know eight years before any of them are old enough, but uh I I think it'll make it.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Yeah, yeah, of course. Um but so so he ends up he ends up buying this little tiny thing, and and then of course you buy an RV, what do you need to do with it? You need to go camping, you need to go up Oh yes. Well he goes in and shows shows off the floors. Yeah, the muffler pops. Yes. And there's an interesting response from Flanders here. Flanders seems to just be very happy for Homer.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

He's very happy for him. Yeah, it's very sweet. Uh you know, Homer wants him to be jealous. Right. And even says, like, oh, he's jealous.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Yeah, but he's just like, oh, I hope you have many memories with that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:00

Oh, he's such a kind gentleman as part of the setup of that character.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Yes. So um but yeah, so then they go camping, the family, the system. Ready or not, nature, here we come. Yes. Um they start playing car games in you know, on their first camping trip. Uh I think they said they are playing What's That Odor?

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Aaron Ross Powell, Jr. They are, yes, uh a favorite uh family game, I think.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Not like us playing like the license plate game growing up or you know um or iSpy or any of those types of games.

SPEAKER_02 17:32

We had a car bingo, I recall having, where you could like slide things over if you saw like, I don't know, um Rotale or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Aaron Powell Now you'll see uh in Ubers and Lyfts and stuff. Some pla some cars, when you're in the backseat, will have the like an actual screen up there with like the games on them. Um just kind of like I'm like this.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

I need more screen time.

unknown 17:54

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

Oh man. Uh they're flying through uh the woods, they're weaving between trees. They're not really at some point they get off-road because uh as they're driving towards nature, there there's just a long line of traffic behind them because this army can only go so fast, right? Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Yeah, Homer clearly just wants to get there and enjoy an experience of camping with his family. Um and he's speeding through the woods. Like, and the kids are scared, his mind is scared. Yeah, and he slams on the brakes, and it's uh before that.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

I'm sorry, yeah. Uh one of the things that caught my ear is the the whi the whistling, the music, um, is the song The Happy Wanderer. Anyway, this was written in the mid-1800s. Um and then the tune, so there was a song to it, and then the tune itself actually came out after World War II uh in in Germany.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

Yeah, so it's sort of an interesting little tidbit there. But again, Marge is like trying to convey to the kids like, you know, your dad's got this, he's an experienced guy. There's nothing for you to worry about, but the kids are already alarmed. And as you get, they're flying through the woods.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Oh, he slams on the brakes, and classic cartoon scene gets to a cliff, and and the RV is hanging off the cliff and shaking back and forth, and you know it's gonna go down at some point. And uh and Homer's trying to tell everyone to be quiet, be it's okay, nice and slow, listen to me. And are his kids listening? Is Marge listening? Absolutely not. They've already bailed.

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Poor Homer. They're they leave him alone. They're they're you know, they're panicked, they gotta get out of there. I I I get that.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

You know, so he jumps out as well, and the RV is gone. It goes down, it explodes. And and and then there's a line, very um very nice end of like before the commercial break line, where Lisa pops in and says the Simpsons have entered the forest. That's right. Which is great commercial. Absolutely great. So, yeah, this whole idea that uh Homer has, you know, he wants to go out and have you know a great camping trip with his family, and he's immediately got problems.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Yeah, I wonder what the ideal version of it was to him, of like they were gonna go again, just kind of the middle of the woods. It didn't seem like they had any particular destination. Uh, and then the fact that they would like set up, uh it it implies that there was some degree of preparation that went in.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Yeah, and I feel like that's kind of natural for all of us. I mean, we all kind of want to recreate our own childhood memories and pass them along with our with our kids. Um but when you try to force it, it just doesn't become as genuine or as real.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

It runs into issues, absolutely. Oh, I found myself doing that plenty of times as I tried to take my kids camping and teach teach them things that my dad taught me that I clearly never learned all the way, not to the point where I should actually be teaching them.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Right. Yeah. So I mean, and that's kind of you know, that's it's a dis it's a disappointing thing for Homer, and kind of it's a disappointing thing for all of us when when that happens. Um so yeah, I you know, with my son, I try not to force these experiences, but there are certain things that I do. Like I, you know, we go to the same uh beach house every summer that I've always gone to as a kid, and my son now goes and we go boogie boarding and you know looking for sand dollars and uh and all these things. And I think those things have clicked, but God, you can't like I don't know. We're creating new memories as well, which is great.

SPEAKER_02 21:35

That's right. I and I think that's the important thing to remember is that you know we we sometimes see our kids as like little projections of us, but in reality they are completely their own persons. They they have like little flavors of us, but they are they ain't us. Uh and sometimes they'll they'll let you know. Other times they don't, and you know, maybe they do just sort of adopt some of the things that you do, or maybe some of your mannerisms, behaviors, you Even like your own reactions to things, but uh it's it's important to just keep reminding them, you know, this is my thing that I did. I just wanted to share it with you. I don't expect that you, you know, have to like it the same way I do.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

Right, right. So which uh honestly is now nowadays is kind of like watching The Simpsons. My son likes some of the episodes, but sometimes he's like, What are we doing? Like, why are we watching this?

SPEAKER_02 22:24

Oh uh, but hey, you know, we love it, and hopefully our listeners love it as well. They must, right? Right. Thank you all for being here. Um kids are shivering. Homer tries to reframe it as this uh this grand adventure again. Maggie's upset, she started pouting, and and Homer's like, can somebody quiet her down? Right. Like so Lisa points up at the buzzards that are circling, which the implication there is that the family's going to die soon.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

Um, yeah, look, look, Maggie, there's birds. Um you know, and but it's interesting because you know, then we get this theme that it's said a couple times throughout this part like, don't worry, because Homer is an experienced woodsman.

SPEAKER_02 23:11

Yeah, so this is Marge's perception based on either what Homer has told her. I don't know if they had gone camping before that, maybe in their dating years or something like that. I don't think so, but uh yeah, I I think that's a funny kind of trope about the dad that's convinced he's a good woodsman.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

Yeah. And so naturally, any good woodsman they immediately split up. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

Which there's there's the one joke before that where like Homer actually tries to take himself out of this, where you know they everybody's like so afraid, and he's just gonna step away for a minute. And he walks through the woods, uh, sort of explaining, like, I'm an experienced woodsman, I'm just gonna go get my bearings. And then he shouts out into the canyon, I've murdered us all, which echoes back and over to family.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

And I think we get we get a Marge, hmm, yeah, you know, like and a doe.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

I think that might have been the first doe, actually.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

I think you I think you're right. Yeah, I don't remember it um coming up prior to this.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

Famous, famously written in the script as Annoyed Grunt, and it was just uh Dan Castellanetta's version of that.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Yes. Doe. Yeah. D apostrophe O H? Um Yes. So and it's interesting because at this point in the episode, they we kind of split. We have these groups of people. So Bart and Homer walk off, and uh Marge just says, Oh, Maggie's gonna go with you, and Maggie's like following. So then that leaves Marge and Lisa alone, and you know, and like any father at this point, Homer's trying to reassure Bart, like, don't, you know, don't be scared, don't be scared. Animals smell fear or whatever, and they hear they hear Maggie sucking on her Binky or whatever in that classic Maggie sound, that yeah, yeah, whatever sound, and immediately they think it's a rattlesnake, and they start running and screaming. And now we've got three groups. We've got the boys way off somewhere, we've got Marge and Lisa back at base camp. Oh, yeah, and we've got Maggie kind of just in the woods by herself, wandering through the woods herself, yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

Oh my gosh. Um, they they're they're running, because you know that's the response uh Homer and Bart have, and then they they fall off a cliff into the river, um over the waterfall. Uh it just sort of keeps going like that. Um pans back to the camp, right? And you know, uh this is another sort of funny gag, a visual gag, as they're cleaning up the camp and and Lisa's sweeping. Marge is moving one of the squirrels from one side to the other and just sort of places it next to the other squirrels. And and they're just like content and sitting there. I I love that.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Um, the girls are doing great.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

They are doing just fine, yes. They've actually fixed the rudimentary shelter that Homer tried to make initially, made it even better, so it's sort of safe and warm. Maggie then comes across a growling bear.

SPEAKER_01 26:11

Yes, the growling bear comes up, and Maggie immediately kind of puts the bear in its place, uh sticks a binky in its mouth, shuts it up, and and and she's become like beloved by the bears.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

Um instantly pulled into the pack.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

And it, you know, and I think, you know, not to jump too far ahead, but the whole Maggie storyline is hilarious. And I find because she gets brought into the pack of bears, and you know, the other bears are like, oh, this let's eat this thing, and the and the bear that got the biggie is like, no, no, no. She's like, she's this this one's special. We're not eating this this baby. She's great. Look what she gave me. We need to we need to like reward her and bring her gifts and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 26:51

Like and the artistry of this was that it was all visually based, right? You know, you you're able to extrapolate the story of like what the bears are thinking and what's going on. And I remember really liking it as an eight-year-old. Like this, this part of this storyline at that age uh really resonated with me. It was a lot of fun. Uh, sometimes the dialogue in The Simpsons at that age was sort of a little bit over my head still. Right, but but this was something that was just like so pure, so fun. Uh, I really like the storyline.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

Yeah, it's and it's um it kind of reminded me, and it's not a direct comparison, but it reminded me of in Star Wars when C3PO is like beloved by the Ewoks. Um, like they like bow down to him or whatever, and he's like, Oh my goodness. And that's the I I I find that that is kind of one of the things that we saw here, where like Maggie is just kind of like in charge of the bears now. Like right away. And they love they love her, and uh and it's great. We see it later. She kind of she protects Homer and Bart later by saying, no, no, no, like don't attack them. And then the bears listen to her. They're just like, okay. But again, it's all visual. It's not, you know, she's just holding up a hand, and the bears are like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 28:03

As a uh former sort of biologist, I don't know if that type of bear is actually a pack animal. But it is funny that these weren't Rome in a pack.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Um, it's it's all for it's all fun, right?

SPEAKER_02 28:15

That's right. But yeah, there may be the stretch biology a little bit in some of these episodes. But the next next we get into the scene at the bottom of the waterfall, and you know, Homer discovers Bart's lucky red hat, and that's a recurring sort of character uh in The Simpsons.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Right. And it's funny because he doesn't wear it that often. He doesn't really wear it that much. Constantly like referencing to him. And there's this feeling of dread where Homer thinks that Bart has perished. Uh you know, all that's left of him, yeah. Yes, is the is the red hat. And that is an that is an immediate and recognizable fear, you know. You see your kid crash their bike or whatever, you're like, you know, you try not to overly react because you want them to come up out of it. Um but I can't imagine the feeling of seeing something so devastating after we all just went over a waterfall.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

And yeah, you know, you have those moments where like a kid falls off something, falls off a jungle gym, and you're just like, oh no. Like are they moving? Like, uh, and like I'm in a rush to get over there, but also like never want to get over there and never want to discover is it the worst possible catastrophe here? But kids are so resilient, man. The way that they can bounce back from stuff and like fall and land on their necks and then just like oh I'm fine, and then they just get back up. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

I actually slipped on the stairs last weekend and um I I didn't go down the stairs, I just slipped and kind of landed. Um God, I'm still like heck is still killing me um from like a very small fall. But you're right, these kids they come back immediately. And you don't want to scream, you don't want to like make it worse because you don't want to scare them after the fact, but oh, it's just like devastating.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

These these, yeah, these are the uh the calamities of childhood, these sort of scary things that can happen. Uh but you know, they happen to all of us. I'm sure we had our own falls that our parents, you know, caught caught them off guard.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

I'm sure, I'm sure. I I don't recall any specific, but I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

I'm sure. Um Yeah, I don't I don't know if I remember them happening to me, per se.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

I do remember we had a big snowstorm one time and we were sledding off my garage roof. Um my dad was not happy about that. Um I'm sure he was picturing us falling off the roof. Um, you know.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Oh no, Tom's lucky red hat.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

But yes, so then of course we go back to the chalkboard gag. I will not draw naked ladies in the class. Yes, now they're naked. Homer and Bart are both naked. Um and this is where we see some of Homer's experienced woodsmen um coming out to play because he immediately crafts them out of leaves. Um, these, you know, I I don't know what you call them, belt skirt, belt type of things to, you know, so that we could show the Simpsons naked on TV.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

Cover up enough of their nakedness. Yeah. Right. But uh yeah, uh, you know, this is also another utterance of uh don't have a cow dad, and sort of one of the early uh versions of that. Yes, yes. Did come up a few episodes back. But you know, they use it kind of heavy the early seasons, and uh I don't know when the last time they've actually used it is, but I think they probably sprinkle it in here or there still. Yeah, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

I'm sure we'll discover that in our old age. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Um the uh the closed captioning of the scenes where Maggie's in the the bear's den uh says that they're growling in bear language, uh, which is very funny. Uh I sometimes still watch things with closed captioning, especially on these rewatches as I'm trying to sort of tease apart some of the dialogue and figure out what's important, but that was uh funny thing that sort of stuck out to me.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Aaron Powell Oh, interesting. I don't do that. I should probably do that. I I've I've known many people that will only watch TV with the closed captioning on now, especially with like Netflix and all these things that have it readily available. I just don't do it because I find myself just watching the words and not watching the show.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

And I don't know It depends on which which streaming service. Some are better than others, but like the audio, I don't know. I I'm also you know in my mid-40s now, so I'm losing some hearing. Um and some shows I have to have it, some shows I hate to have it. I don't like to have it for like live things because it's you know so delayed. I think that's obnoxious. But for some movies, I'll actually put it on.

SPEAKER_01 32:40

Oh, interesting. Yeah, no, I um my hearing must be great because I don't I typically don't have any issues hearing. Um but I also I find it when I go to other people's houses to watch TV or whatever, that the TV is always way louder than necessary. Oh very I I have found that. And now, granted, I live here with my son, and you know, half the time he's at his mom's. Uh my house generally is just a very quiet, calm place. Like there's, you know, there's never any yelling and there's never any any extra noise. I live in the woods. Um So uh, you know, my literally my TV volume is at like seven or something. You know, like because I can just hear it. Um there's no cars going by, there's no there's nothing happening. Oh, that's awesome. You know, which it's great.

SPEAKER_02 33:28

My in-laws come and stay with us with some regularity, and uh, they're hard of hearing. And so that's sort of where the closed captioning on the TV sort of first came about, is they would have it on all the time. But they also have to listen to the TV at about 50% higher than we normally have it, which is just so funny. Because it like shakes the house. They just have to have it so loud, but you know, God bless them. That's uh it's just we all have our quirks, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

That's how it is at my parents' house. The TV is always so loud, and you know, um, my dad will go to bed or something, and he's I think he's his hearing is you know, an 18-year-old's hearing instead of a 40-year-old's, and um he'll go to bed and I'll just be like, oh, turn this down. Jesus. So I can hear my thoughts again. Right, right. So I can watch this in peace and not have it, you know, bombastically blaring at me. But oh, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:22

I guess we'll be there eventually, right?

SPEAKER_01 34:23

Uh oh, I hope not, but maybe.

SPEAKER_02 34:27

All right. So they conceal their nakedness with some fern, moss, uh, leaves, whatever. And then, you know, the Bart sort of comments that they're hungry and they they set up the trap with the young sapling tree. Now, now this is what I was referring to earlier as this physical gag where they set up the trap. Bart sort of makes the joke of like, are we gonna hang ourselves? That's that's a little funny. But but then what happens is the rabbit jumps into the trap and then is flung. Uh, you know, I don't know how far they make it flung, a couple hundred yards, I would guess. Right. Uh, but over the tree line, like into the mountains, and then you just hear the thud. And at eight years old, that was the hardest I had ever laughed at that point in my life. That that gag still gets me. That might be my favorite, like, single gag in The Simpsons.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

I don't I I it's I mean, Homer is clearly an experienced woodsman. I can't imagine taking a sapling and rewiring it and catching anything, even if it's temporary and he flings it. So this is you know, just a it is a really, really funny part of the episode. And apparently it was from um one of Matt Groening's comics. Um yeah, um, kind of a throwback to um something that he had done prior, uh, which I thought was pretty interesting. But you're right. It he takes that rabbit, the the sapling grabs it and chucks it, and it's like just gone. Like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 35:56

I love that. Yeah, it's still like every time I watch it. Like I I rewatch this episode a couple of times leading up to this conversation, and like every time that gets me. It's like football in the groin level of humor for me.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

Right, right. It's just you know, just classic, classic gag. Um, so they move on. He finds uh they're gonna flush out an animal now. They're gonna flush out an animal. So obviously he thinks he's gonna scare the animals, and and he's like, I'll go into the woods, I'll go into the bush and flush him out, and you step on him exactly. Just picturing Bart trying to step on a rabbit and step on an animal. It's just like just that visual that you never see is hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

He never gets to it, yeah, unfortunately, because the the animals attack. I mean, Homer comes out and on all four limbs, he's just covered with a raccoon, a rabbit, a snake, and then an angry squirrel. This is just uh again, a beautiful visual gag.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Uh yeah, and this is why I don't go camping. Uh, this these are the visions I have in my head about what camping is all about. And I'm not gonna get uh attacked by an angry squirrel. I'm just not gonna do these things.

SPEAKER_02 37:04

Yeah, you know, you gotta know the nature that you're in, uh what's around you. Um speaking of squirrels, uh moving to Wisconsin, we've got different squirrels out here than we had back east, where I, you know, I I think around where you are, it's all gray squirrels. They all sort of look the same. Uh we've got gray squirrels, we also have like jet black squirrels, and we have albino squirrels in in the yard, uh, which is really funny because they're you know, you could see they sort of live separately and they do separate things. Um that is really fascinating. We didn't know that those existed in the world until I moved out here. That's terrifying.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

I felt big an albino squirrel. Yeah, white, yeah, white, white, white. Jeez. Yeah, I I mean I think I knew that black squirrels existed, and you know, but yeah, I've up here we've just got gray ones, I think. Yeah, yeah. I don't know. And chipmunks. We have chipmunks, you know. That's true. Different beasts, you know.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

But oh God. Uh it cuts to another family in the woods. Uh I believe is also voiced by uh Albert Brooks. It sounds like that.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

I think so, yeah. And this this this was a very short, small scene. Um, and it tie up it ties along with um the bears getting Maggie gifts and everything. But what a depressing scene this is as a newly married couple, you th you assume, with a with a young baby that are trying to go camping.

SPEAKER_02 38:27

To see nature.

SPEAKER_01 38:28

And to see nature, and you know, and they are just arguing and they're just not getting along. And, you know, um just kind of like, I don't know, flashbacks to um you know, vacations that haven't gone well, or you know, with with the now ex-wife or previous girlfriends, and you're just like, oh, that like I just hit it it hit home.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

I was like, oh God, those vacations that weren't fun, um that led to arguing and whatever, and just you know it it's another one of those things where like there's different like perspectives of it because like a vacation that doesn't go well when you're a kid means that like the hotel didn't have a pool or something, right? Um and then like you know, you get to a certain age and and dating or early relationships, and you know for oftentimes these are like the first time you're in like a confined space for an extended period of time. And that's just you know, naturally some tension builds up. And you know, for this young family to decide that they're gonna go off into the woods, yeah, they're gonna be sort of punching at each other a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

Right. Yeah, and that's one of the things with you know dating and you know, finding the person that you're gonna spend a significant portion of your life with is you've got to travel with them. You're gonna see how they travel, you're gonna see how they are when there's no place to retreat to, you know, you know, go back to your corners. You're stuck out in the in and maybe not the wilderness, but out in a different city or a different place or you know, on a vac vacation or anything like that where there's no immediate going back home.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

Yeah, where to hide, yes.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

I think there's a different perspective on how you view that that other person and how they view you and if if it's gonna work.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

Absolutely. Yeah, no, I agree with that wholeheartedly, especially if you you know want to stay with that person and intend to travel again in the future. You sort of want to have some idea how they're able to do it, uh, what it takes to get along. Um and in sort of another lens of that is we've uh very been very purposeful at taking our kids traveling, you know, their whole lives. From the very beginning, we wanted to make sure that they were flying places and bus rides, train rides, things like that, so they could kind of get an idea of like how to how to navigate the world. I didn't want them to just like stay in one spot. And at this point, we've done it enough that like there's nobody I would rather travel with. Like there's no adult that I think could do it better than they can do it. Like they know where they know how to pack their bags, they know what to bring, they know how to get through security, they know how to do all of the different steps, and they do it smoother than any other adult I've ever traveled with at this point. It's great.

SPEAKER_01 41:01

My son, the same way, he's he's very comfortable on an airplane. You know, he'll he'll just get himself checked in, like do all the things, get like he's he does it all as well, and it's and it's great. It's something that I never I think I went on an airplane for the first time when I was 12, maybe 13. I think it was six end of sixth grade. And um, you know, we went down to uh Disney because my dad had a business trip down there or something, and we were able to go. And but I don't think I went on a plane again until I was an adult. Yeah. Um it just we just never really travel. We we travel in the car and be in and around the Northeast, but um but I love traveling now. I you know, I love to go to different, you know, I go to Patriots games across the United States and and and internationally with my friends. Um and I take my my son down to Florida. We're you know, we're planning on a trip. Hopefully this summer, if not maybe next summer, to go to see a couple different ballparks, you know. Oh nice. Um, you know, so I just never did it as a kid, and it's one thing that I want it I have done intentionally with my son, which really enjoy.

SPEAKER_02 42:09

Absolutely same. Like I didn't fly until I was uh eight eighteen, I think was the first time I flew. It was for a school trip. Uh we went to Spain, so I went with friends. Like I don't think my parents even uh ended up flying until a couple of years after that. Um, I you know, so there's all sorts of different reasons that that happened, but it wasn't something that was really uh pushed for me of like the importance of seeing the world and exploring beyond our bubble, and and I've found it to be really, really important.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

So it's good for your personal growth too, just to see other places and see other things and go find albino squirrels and exactly black squirrels.

SPEAKER_02 42:45

Things are different in different parts of the world. We're getting to uh we're going to uh Houston to catch a Red Sox game later this spring. So oh awesome. Yeah. Very nice. My kids have already been to, you know, at six years old, they've already been to like four or five ballparks. And you know, I I have only gone to Fenway until I was what 23 years old.

SPEAKER_01 43:03

Impressive, nice, very nice. Um, yeah, so where does that go? Oh, then so Homer finds uh we're we're at the part where he gets the bees, he finds the bees.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

Um yeah, I mean, I think so. There's like back and forth, they're sort of showing the different scenes between what the boys are up to, what the girls are up to, and what Maggie's up to. Um, you know, Maggie, uh sorry, Marge and Lisa are generally comfortable, they got a fire. Homer and Bart really still struggling, shaking, naked. Um Maggie's cuddled with the bears. Um Yeah, so that that's her you're right. That gets the scene where Homer sees a beehive and thinks like, oh, honey, we're safe.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

We're safe. We've got honey. And you're right. And Maggie and uh well, Maggie's with the bears, but Marge and Lisa are, you know, they built a fire, they're you know, get a nice safe camp. Safe camp and good night's sleep. Um the honey, the honey gag is. Funny where he just sticks his hand and grabs hunt Homer grabs honey, sticks in his mouth, and then of course his mouth is all stuck, you know. Like think of grabbing a whole thing of honey and just putting it in your mouth. Um, but then there's like bees in there in it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:13

As he's like chewing and speaking, there's bees coming out, right?

SPEAKER_01 44:17

And he somehow asks Bart where water is, and Bart apparently picking up on his father being the experienced woodsman, is immediately like that way. Um points him in a direction for where water is, and he finds this like swamp, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 44:31

Yep, jumps into a muddy swamp. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:35

This is where he where the kind of the the gag of the whole episode is is he comes out looking um like Sasquatch. Um does, yes, like Bigfoot.

SPEAKER_02 44:45

Yes, uh a reference to the 1967 Patterson, uh Grim Gimlin? Gremlin Bigfoot video? Uh oh yeah. You know that old one where the old grainy video, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Uh shot on uh 16 millimeter film. So um uh getting back to the bees thing for half a second, one of the things that I do in um meetings if I'm very bored, is I try to imagine how many bees I would rather be holding in my mouth than to be in that meeting. Um, and like the number that it can get up to sort of dictates like how terrible the meeting is. So like if it's really bad, like I would put six bees in my mouth was probably the biggest I ever got up to.

SPEAKER_01 45:29

What a what what a what a bizarre thing to do.

SPEAKER_02 45:32

I don't know why, but it sometimes you just have to learn how to get by. Uh you have a lot of meetings you don't want to be in.

SPEAKER_01 45:38

Oh god, yeah. No, every uh most most meetings in my eyes should be just an email. Um but yeah, no, I I imagine I I looked into beekeeping a couple years ago, it kind of has an extra hobby to do. Um, but I don't know. I kind of, you know, bears are attracted to it. And I was just like, you know what? The last thing I need is bear. I already live in the woods anyway. The last thing I need to do is to invite the bears over.

SPEAKER_02 46:03

Bear bait around New York.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

They wouldn't treat me the way they're treating Maggie in this episode. That's that's that's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

Um man. Yeah, so this is the the beginning of the the Bigfoot story. Um, the the news reel starting. It's a newsman that's not Ken Brockman.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Right, yeah. We don't we're not introduced to Ken Brockman here. Um, you know, he's one of the characters I'm looking forward to seeing his very first appearance. Um and I think as we get into season two, we're gonna see a lot of new characters, which is gonna really expand and really be fun to kind of dive into how they're being presented right at the start um versus who they know who we know them as now.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

Their first lines, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

Yeah. So um, you know, um but so it's the newsman he's talking about Bigfoot and all these things. Um, and a recurring part of this part of the episode is just that the headlines, kind of like the National Enquirer, um this you know, Springfield Weekly is offering five thousand dollars for um Homer Caught Alive, you know.

SPEAKER_02 47:07

It so quickly evolves into this like carnival scene, right? There they've got these like uh an entryway to a carnival almost, they're selling souvenirs already. Um uh they're selling half man, half-ape burgers. Um they got a photo boot going, cardboard cutouts. Um, and then we see that um Marge and Lisa have been sort of discovered right by the park ranger. And then they're like, oh, thank goodness. And he's a recurring character. I don't think they really name him otherwise, but like his his his voice that they use and sort of his image they use a couple times throughout the series.

SPEAKER_01 47:43

Yeah, he looked very familiar. Another person that's familiar in this part of the episode is um when they're when they're going on TV and talking about, you know, the TV reporter looks like um Homer's brother.

SPEAKER_02 47:54

He does, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:55

You know, we don't know Herb yet, but yeah, he's got the same muzzle. He looks looks like he's part of the Simpson family, which again makes it even funnier that they're trying to just figure out if this man is a beast or a or a human. And you know, while the news reporter looks very similar, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. What are we doing here? Not that much different.

SPEAKER_02 48:17

So yeah, they're they're questioning Marge about it, and you know, the headlines are uh the newspapers are sort of spinning in as in response to like each thing she says about no, that's my husband, and then you know, the sort of national inquirer type headline is I married Bigfoot, and uh the Bigfoot Bigfoot's wife pleads, call him Homer. Uh and then they ask, like, what does he eat? And she's just like, Well, his favorite thing is pork chops.

SPEAKER_01 48:41

The Bigfoot diet. Pork chops are plenty. And then later, it later, a little bit later in the episode when he's captured or whatever, and they've got him kind of caged up and they're trying to discuss figure out if he's a man or a or a beast. They hand him a pork chop.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

They do, yeah. To to satiate him, to quiet him down, I suppose.

SPEAKER_01 49:03

Just a raw pork.

SPEAKER_02 49:04

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:05

And he starts like chewing on it and asking for applesauce.

SPEAKER_02 49:10

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 49:12

Uh one of your favorite characters, at least uh from my perspective so far, is involved in here too, because we see Dr. Marvin Monroe. Dr. Marvin Monroe, yes. He's back, you know, saying that the that all the tests of whether this man is a man or a beast of is inconclusive.

SPEAKER_02 49:29

It's inconclusive, and they the scientists sort of argue amongst each other. Uh, but it is funny that like they bring him in because he's just a couple episodes before introduced as a psychiatrist, and clearly he he wears multiple hats in this community.

SPEAKER_01 49:43

Hey, you know what? Doctor's a doctor, right?

SPEAKER_02 49:45

You know, uh I think that's part of the message there, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:49

Right. You can do you can do anything. Um so yes, and and you know, kind of in that we mentioned it earlier, but before that, you know, Maggie kind of the bears kind of descend on Homer and Bart and Maggie brushes them away. Um at some point the bears come back again with Maggie and the TV producer say, hey, out of the shot.

SPEAKER_02 50:10

Get out of here, bears. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:11

And Maggie's just on top of one.

SPEAKER_02 50:13

Still riding them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:15

Um, but yeah, what a what an interesting what an interesting episode. The episode ends. I don't know if you have anything before the very end of the episode.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

Well, you know, it's just that like the transition where you know the Homer comes out of the woods, they immediately shout like get the gun. I found that to be pretty funny. They grab him in the net, they do shoot him eventually with a tranquilizer. He's yelling like avenge my death, and then just starts snoring, right?

SPEAKER_01 50:42

Yeah, and we've seen him we've seen him be shot or shot at a lot. And already, yeah. That's comedy that was in the 90s um that you don't see in cartoons today.

SPEAKER_02 50:53

Like Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:54

At least I don't I don't think, you know, the stuff that I see, my son watching or whatever, you don't see a lot of that. It doesn't yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

I think it uh censors in a different way now. Uh or you know, trying to not make as light of shooting each other these days. For good reason.

SPEAKER_01 51:12

Um but yeah, um and at the end, you know, they're trying to figure out if he's a man, you know, if he's just a very unintelligent man or if he's a brilliant beast. And I love the way that they ended this episode too, because Marge, you know, just you know, consoling him once they're back home is just like, oh, my brilliant beast, you know.

SPEAKER_02 51:32

It's beautiful, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:32

It's a great, great way to end it. Great way to get them back to, you know, they're back home, they're no longer in the forest. Um and they can kind of go on with their lives here.

SPEAKER_02 51:42

That's right. On to the next adventure, so to speak. Um I don't know. They they don't get into the insurance claims or anything that happened. No, no. Try to get your RV back. But yeah, now uh some very classic moments within this, uh, some uh great opportunities to see a little bit more about a few different characters, uh just an episode that really uh did resonate with me as a kid, and uh again uh in probably a completely different way than it does now, but also with some parts that do still uh crack me up every single time.

SPEAKER_01 52:14

Right. And um in 1990, Burger King actually came out with um some toys for their I I I'm gonna call them happy meals, but they're not happy meals, whatever the Burger King version of that is. Yes, um, where they gave out um Simpsons characters and they were all dressed in their camping gear. Um I think you know Lisa has a saxophone, as we talked about last time, um, where she's constantly seen with a saxophone, but it's got like a squirrel coming out of the by nature, yes. Yes, nature and and Homer and Bart are dressed um in their original gear before they um lose their clothing. Uh they're not naked, yes. No, no. Um and yeah, just kind of an interesting toy set um that they came out with. Um I did look at it. You can buy it online for $34.99. Oh, yeah. They don't look that great. So I did I did not purchase them.

SPEAKER_02 53:07

Not for you, but for some collector out there, they might still be uh worthwhile.

SPEAKER_01 53:11

Uh yeah, and they, you know, over the years, obviously they're they do have a lot more higher-end Simpson toys that you can find now, um, which will be fun to you know look at. I'm sure I'll get one from my office at some point.

SPEAKER_02 53:24

Yeah, we'll talk more about that as we go along. Uh actually I have one um here uh which I probably should have brought up last time, but this is uh Oh, bleeding gums Murphy.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

Yeah, nice.

SPEAKER_02 53:35

Where'd you get the package? I got I got that actually as a gift from a patient a number of years ago um uh when I was leaving a job. Um so it was just a very thoughtful um, you know. That's awesome. Yeah, I know. Really, really nice to get stuff like that. Um we generally don't accept gifts in in my line of work and mental health. And oftentimes, you know, it's important to sort of think about like, okay, what's going on with the gift? What does it mean? Um, and for some for some people, it's you know, there's there's enough sort of logic to it that we I would support something like that. And you know, it's this thing that's been sitting on my desk for a decade now. Uh it's really nice to have yeah, that's cool.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

Um yeah, overall, great episode, I think. Um, it was a uh 7.7 out of 10 on IMDb. Um and I did look into a little bit more about the IMDB rankings. Um all the episodes in this season are either, you know, sevens or eights. Um, but there's a um there's been a recent so there's a new show out, it's a new Game of Thrones show, and people are loving it. And apparently they're trying to get it to be, you know, this is where kind of the masses and fan voting kind of skew skews numbers, but they want this show to like there's this huge contingent of people that want the show to get like all tens and whatever, and and whatever. So then you've got naturally you've got people voting at one to just subvert those people. But what they're also doing is they're taking episodes of Breaking Bad, yeah, uh, which got really high reviews, and they're downvoting those to get their show at the top. So, you know, all of these ranking systems are they're not perfect.

SPEAKER_02 55:13

And it's it's silly when it gets into like a comparison like that because they're completely different uh arts, really. Uh, you know, they're telling different types of stories. Um, but yeah, people get so wrapped up into that and like their their identification with a certain show, the show means so much to me. I need to make sure it's represented as the best. So that way I'm the best. It's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:35

It's yeah, it's a bizarre thing. Um, but so take take that as you will. 7.7 out of 10 for this episode. I did try to vote it an eight because you can only vote whole numbers, which I thought was interesting. Um but then it it asked me to create a login, and I said, nope, no, I'm not gonna do that.

SPEAKER_02 55:51

Immediately became too much.

SPEAKER_01 55:53

Yes, yes. So yeah, no, great episode. Um this was the first episode to uh be broadcast on the BBC in the UK um in December of 1996. Um, seasons. Yeah, yeah, about six years later, which is interesting. There was a Sky One satellite television that aired a couple of the early episodes, but generally not considered like a true airing in the UK.

SPEAKER_02 56:19

Um it's uh interesting how everything just like streams now and we don't really think of it the same way, but it was a big deal when something would air like that.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

Right, yeah. And my some of my friends will still joke, uh, you know, saying like, oh, did you watch the show? And I'll be like, oh no, and they're like, oh, it'll get to Maine eventually, you know. But yeah, no, it's uh you know, kind of interesting how things work back then. Um another thing is too, like this was on, you know, for us it was on what, Fox 25? Um and you know, back then we only had a few channels.

SPEAKER_02 56:54

Right. That was one of like the five channels we had back then. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:56

Right, yeah. I mean, you could have cable and you could have more, but the amount of TV that we have nowadays, you know. But you know, my son will watch shows, whatever, and his friends, they don't bond over television the way we did because they, you know, they're they're all watching different things and on different streaming services, and you know, it's it's a it has a different feel.

SPEAKER_02 57:16

Yeah, it loses its commonality. Uh yeah, that's kind of an interesting phenomenon. There's too much out there now, right? You can't possibly take it all in. Sometimes there's a pressure too, like, why haven't you watched the show I love? Um but it but it lit it's really impossible to catch up with even like a morsel of it at this point.

SPEAKER_01 57:36

Right. Uh yeah, I do uh I do respond to people by saying, you know, if they suggest a television show or whatever, I typically give them the oh yeah, I'll put it on my list. Yeah. Andy, there's no list. There's no list. You've been telling me that I've been lying to you for years. There's no list. Oh my god. Uh uh. Well. Well, that's it. I think next week we've got uh season one, episode eight, The Telltale Head. Yes. Um, so we will be here next week to talk about that one.

SPEAKER_02 58:07

Yes, from the perspective uh from Donuts on the Couch of that episode uh will be really interesting. I don't think I've rewatched that one in a few years anyway, so I'm looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_01 58:17

Yeah, same. Um uh I think we're gonna see um the more bullies in town, right? I think we're gonna see Nelson Munts again, and we I think I think we get introduced to other bullies, which is which will be fun.

SPEAKER_02 58:28

Yeah, I love those characters.

SPEAKER_01 58:30

All right, Tom. Pleasure as always. Yes, absolutely. Thanks for everyone watching, and uh yeah, we'll see you next time. We'll talk to you soon.

unknown 58:37

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 58:39

Thanks for listening to Donuts on the couch, growing up on Evergreen Terrace. Yet another Simpsons Rewatch podcast.