The Telltale Head - Donuts on the Couch: Growing Up on Evergreen Terrace S1E8

In “The Telltale Head,” Bart’s desperate bid to impress Springfield’s resident bad boys ends with one impulsive act, one headless town founder, and a mob that is surprisingly unwilling to hear him out. Andrew and Thom discuss popularity, peer pressure, parental cautionary tales, and the terrible decision-making that can occur around 3:00 in the morning. Along the way, they revisit Homer sneaking football into church, Reverend Lovejoy’s sleep-inducing sermons, the debut of Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph, and the episode’s impressive ability to make stupidity and brilliance coexist in the same characters.

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

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Donuts on the Couch, growing up on Evergreen Terrace. I am one of your hosts, Tom, and I'm with my college roommate Andy over here. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 0:28

Yeah, once again on this Simpsons Rewatch podcast, where two now dads sort of reflect back on um watching The Simpsons as kids and then growing up and watching it again as adults. Watching it again, which is my favorite part. It is, yes, and talking about it. We've been talking about these episodes forever, but now we're doing it in a structured way, uh, with other people maybe listening from time to time.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Yes, absolutely. And if you've listened to it before, welcome back. And if you're new to the pod, um, welcome in. And we're excited to discuss Simpsons episode season one, episode eight today, uh, The Telltale Head. The Telltale Head, of course. Which I had I had fond memories of of this episode going in. Um, it's one that I remember fondly, and um just really great to re rewatch it and re-relive the whole um the whole outcome of everything that happens in this episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:23

Yeah, I I think I remember it differently than it actually plays out, uh, which is sort of uh always an interesting thing with with these rewatches that like there's something about the structure of the story that like I don't remember it playing out that way as a kid, but as a kid, you know, just sort of taking in like the jokes and like the the one-offs and things like that. But there's there's so much more to it in this episode that that we can get into. I mean, clearly starting off with just the title of it, right? It it's sort of an allusion to uh Poe's 1843 short story.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yes, yes, the Telltale Heart. Um kind of kind of the conscious speaking to you about something you've done that's not good, you know.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

Very blandly. Yes, in the form of uh Jebediah Springfield.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

So starting off with this, you know, even we'll get to the chalk gag and we'll get to the couch gag in the intro, but I think just the form of this this episode kind of The Simpsons writers kind of hit their stride here um in creating kind of a full story. And they definitely use, you know, it starts off with a scene and it ends with the same exact scene. Um and they even joke about that as they're going. We know that part, like which was which was hilarious, even as a kid. I remember that. And um, but yeah, I just think this, I think it's a fun, fun episode, and we're starting to really see kind of the the the world of this, you know, growing up on Evergreen Terrace, we talk about, and we're seeing what life on Evergreen Terrace is truly like.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

Oh my god, the characters come out really in this one. And in the mob scenes, the mobs in church are always very funny to me in The Simpsons. Uh anytime that there's like something getting shouted out in the church in that world. Um, but to have this uh this mob going after Bart and Homer at the very beginning, uh, you really get to see a lot of the characters that you don't uh I think at that point a lot of them are not really familiar characters yet.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Right. Yeah, I kind of paused, I kind of paused this the uh I paused it and showed like we see Skinner, we see Krebopo, we see Burns and Smithers, we see Reverend Lovejoy, uh, who I think is kind of prominently portrayed in this episode as a first time. We haven't really seen much of him. Yeah, he's a big character. Otto, we see grandpa, Dr. Marvin Monroe is back in the mo in the mob. He was he was a very big character in season one. Um but Krusty, Patty and Selma and Mo. Um and there's a and oh, and I think it in there as well is the babysitter who we haven't seen yet. She's in she's in the last episode of this season, but it was supposed to be the first. Um kind of the crazy babysitter, unless it's just the maybe it just looks like her.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

It could be, but they you know, they they're creating a world, so they're just throwing some of these characters in there. I think there's also the old couple that uh a few episodes back is observing Homer as he's going to kill himself, basically. Uh and and you had mentioned that that was a couple that was supposed to be sort of part of the series a little bit more. Uh but clearly you see them as background characters, they're still sort of existing there.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Yeah, they're still there, which is great. Um angry mob, yeah. But yeah, let's let's start kind of going through the episode here. We'll start with uh I'll I'll give it to you for the chalk and the couch gag.

SPEAKER_03 4:46

Yeah, the chalk port gag uh was you know, um I think very uh relevant to the time. Um in Bart writing, I did not see Elvis. Um, you know, I think at that period of time, 1990, there were still you know Elvis sightings going on in the world, people thinking that maybe he's still alive. You know, I can I I don't remember exactly when he died. It was 78, 79, something like that. I believe so, yeah. Yeah. Um maybe we'll get corrected on that. And our apologies uh to Elvis enthusiasts.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Go for it, comment.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

Yeah, yeah. I I watched uh pulp fiction over the weekend, which I hadn't seen in a long time. And you know, clearly the there's the uh scene when uh John Travolta and Uma Thurman's characters are meeting and she's asking him, like, are you an Elvis guy or a Beatles guy? Have you ever uh found yourself falling into that dichotomy? And are are you one versus the other?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Um I don't I don't know. I'm not really big on either. I did go through a phase in college and after college where I really liked the Beatles. Um never really kind of got into the Elvis stuff. Um but I yeah, I don't know. I don't think I've really pigeonholed myself in in either camp there.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

Yeah, I've been more of a Beatles guy myself, I'd say, overall. Uh, but I do enjoy, you know, occasional um Elvis Spotify playlist. There you go, nice good, friendly for the whole family.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

So perfect. Yeah, no, it's something I haven't really done. I'll have to look into it at some point.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

Yeah, there's some classics in there. Anyway, so Bart did not see Elvis. Clearly he's getting punished for saying that he did. I don't know if that deserves detention.

unknown 6:22

Right.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Uh and then the couch gag. I think it was the first time they repeat a couch gag because they had done this one already where they all squeeze onto the couch, Bart pops up out of the screen, and then as it turns back to the T the television, he comes back down. And I I believe that was what, from the second episode? I think so.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Yeah. The um it's you know, for the episode itself, the writing is great, and you're they're pushing together a story and building a world, but the couch gags are not there yet. They're just not there yet. It's just, you know, very basic and generic, and oh, this is the couch. What what could what funny things could happen on a couch? Um, and I think we know later on it gets wilder and wilder and wilder. Yeah, right, which is fun, you know.

SPEAKER_03 7:10

The challenge of that. The other observation we make it on each episode is the first line of each episode, right? So uh this might be my favorite first line yet. Uh I don't I don't know about you, but Homer saying, you know, as they're running from the mob, you know, Bart, when I was your age, I pulled a few boners. Um and uh I think that's just a beautiful, uh succinct way to start it out, and you know, looking at the dynamics between these two characters of Homer and Bart, and you know Bart uh Homer trying to father Bart through another one of life's boners.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Yeah, and I mean we've we've all been there. We I I don't remember many times growing up, my my dad telling me about you know mistakes he's made or like crazy situations he's been into, but I I I tell my son them all the time. Yeah and I don't know what I don't know what psychology that says or whatever, but you know, I just want to you know make sure that my son knows, yeah, we screw up sometimes. Like it's okay.

SPEAKER_03 8:15

They're good, they're good cautionary tales. Uh when when I grew up, my dad had a lot of them, actually. He he he was one of seven boys and so had sort of like a wild childhood. I think he was the fifth of seven. And and you know, so sometimes sort of lost and could sort of get away with things and get into trouble. But he always told the stories in in displacement where he'd say, like, this thing happened to my friend, and you know, he got hurt doing this. Right. And it wasn't until I was in my probably late 20s that he was just like, that was actually me.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

It was me every time. Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's funny.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

So he shared these cautionary tales, but they were buffered a little bit, and he wouldn't take complete credit for them yet.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Yeah, which is fair. I mean, you still want your kids to look up to you and uh, you know, and and try to be that moral compass that they that they have, you know. That's a meat, yeah. Um it's important, but I like how I like how Homer's doing that here right off the bat, you know, kind of saying, because what what Bart has done is something terrible, really destructive in the community. Um, you know, but um I I do like in in that is it in that scene where he immediately says, like, we'll die together, just like a father, just like a father and son should. I was like, what on earth is this about?

SPEAKER_03 9:30

Oh, I like the sentiment behind that. There, you know, clearly there's something thoughtful about the togetherness of it, and you know, you made a mistake, we're in it together. Um, but yeah, it's a little bit, a little bit over the top, I would say. Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Yeah, it's uh yeah, it's uh it was I paused and I was like, what? What kind of thing is that? But Homer says things like that sometimes, and you know, just you just kind of gotta go right past it.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

You talked about these characters that come up, but I also think that's with some of these characters that we're seeing for the first time, this might be the first time that we're hearing from them. Uh and I don't know if this is the first time we actually heard Krusty. Um, it might be. It might be, but the first thing we hear Krusty say is kill him.

unknown 10:17

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Which I yeah, you know, I mean, uh an angry mob.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Um by an angry clown.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

One thing that I noticed, and I want to mention, kind of it fits in the conversation now, even though it was towards the end. I guess uh they made some changes to the original version of this episode as to what now Disney Plus is showing. Um and one of the things at the very end of this this episode, Bart uh, you know, Bart Bart's talking to the townspeople about what he's done. Um, and I guess uh Homer says to Bart that mobs usually aren't decent. And Disney Plus has removed that um from there, yeah, which I found very interesting.

SPEAKER_03 11:00

Um so yeah, I mean that brings up I mean something that we've talked about offline before of like, does it make sense to watch the Disney version because it's readily available in streaming, or should we be watching the old DVDs uh or even VHS's if you have them? But um because I I think I still have probably the first like eight seasons on on DVD.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

I thought that I had them as well, but I I haven't been able to find them. I don't know where they are. Even though I found tubs and tubs full of DVDs, which was collectible at the time when we were in college. We we all had way too many DVDs. Bins of them in schools. But uh, but yeah, I just I don't know, I haven't been able to find them. I wonder if they're at home or my my parents' house or my brother took them. Yeah, but I don't know, whatever. But uh I think I I think it's fine to watch either, you know, we're kind of discussing the you know the main theme of the episode.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Um but it is fun in researching, look and finding those little seeing the things that gets changed and what get what gets whitewashed by you know, right. The power the powers that be, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh so they they're in this together. I like that Barney and Skinner sort of identify them as like, you know, this Barney's Homer's best friend, and he's pointing out that it's that it's Homer, and Skinner's uh for the principal supposed to be looking out for the kids, uh pointing out that it's Bart. Um and and Bart basically begs to be able to, you know, explain himself. Let me let me tell you guys what actually happened. And I I I think this is the first like real flashback episode, the first time that they sort of use that as a uh narrative uh Yeah, I think so. I think so.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

But uh but yeah, so we flash back and it all starts like a typical day in Springfield on Evergreen Terrace.

SPEAKER_03 12:47

A Sunday morning.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah, Sunday morning getting ready for church. So um, which is great. And um, you know, the kids are coming downstairs getting ready for church. I remember my parents didn't make us, you know. I would go to church, I think, every week growing up. I don't, I'm not a practicing um religious person nowadays. Church guy, yeah. Right, yeah. My son, my son doesn't really go. Um my mom always sang and sang choir in church, so we would always go and support her with that and everything. Um, but I do like how Marge is kind of the drill instructor here, um, you know, checking to make sure that they're dressed properly. And she immediately tells Bart to assume the position because he wants to like pat him down to see what what he's gonna bring to uh to church. And and the items that she finds on Bart's person are hilarious to me because it's show it just shows us who Bart is as yeah, yeah. She finds some dice, she finds a slingshot, and she finds a radioactive man comic. A comic book, yes, which is great, which is absolutely great. Um I think I think they have radioactive man comics out now. Um we certainly know they have Simpson comics. You we lived with each other for a while. You know that I had several of those. That's right. Um but uh but yeah, it's just uh just a great, great sp spot. Like I don't know, I just really enjoyed um seeing what he had and what Marge is confiscating.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

Yeah, well, there's an expectation. Clearly, he smuggled things into church before. Uh yeah, probably gotten himself in trouble with different things that he's brought in. Um yeah, so you may you may see that the door keeps opening behind me. I've got some kids home with me today. You know, these these things happen. These are sort of the the normal parts of being a dad is that stuff like this pops up.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Absolutely. No worries here. As a curveball every day. We can always pause if we need to. Don't worry about that either. That's right, that's right. Um but yeah, so go ahead. I think the the funny the other notable thing about getting ready for uh you know mass on Sunday mornings is that Homer is watching football. And I never understood this as a kid, but I also didn't truly grasp time zones and everything as a kid because we would always I would always go to church at like eight or nine in the morning, and football started at one, living on the east coast. But on the west coast, you know it starts earlier in the morning. If you're going to church at nine or ten, you it is in the middle of the NFL football season, which is two very conflicting things. You know, people I would I would say that more people are NFL fans and devout church goers these days. I don't know what the numbers are, but yeah, probably.

SPEAKER_03 15:34

I mean, it's got a big following still. Um but yeah, yeah, you know, it really does uh identify them as probably being on the West Coast, which I think is the first time that there's like any geographic giveaway of where Springfield could be. I mean, I don't think they ever officially say where it is. I think they sort of like a few different versions of of where people say Springfield is. Um it's it's on the ocean, right? That's that's clear. Uh we see that multiple times, but um, but besides that, there's not really a lot that gives away. But this is really saying they're probably on the West Coast if they're listening to football first thing in the morning.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Yes, yes, very true. Um yeah, I mean so it's you know, kind of we see the theme, we've been seeing the theme often of mornings in on Evergreen Terrace. We've been seeing like getting ready for the day, getting ready for school. Now we're seeing a weekend, getting ready for church. Um, and it seems like it's always chaotic. It is and um now m myself living with you know just my son um with me half the time, getting ready for school in the morning or whatever, everything's pretty calm. We just get up, we just go. Yeah, every I've never had a chaotic morning, which I really enjoy. And I apologize to tell you that, but that's how I live my life. We're just like get up and have some breakfast and get to school.

SPEAKER_03 16:54

I I wear a Fitbit and I've got a spike in my heart rate that happens from like the moment the kids wake up until they're like out the door. Oh no. Um, and it's pretty consistent, but it's just there's a lot of moving parts and like making sure that they're they're fed and their their teeth are brushed, and they've is everybody wearing underwear today, and like those sorts of things still come up. I mean, my kids are six and eight, so like the things that they might forget to do, uh there's a lot of them. So there's still a lot of instruction that goes on to get out the door.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

Um Yeah, no, we're we got a pretty pretty good routine. I mean, we each have we're at the point where we each pack our own lunches, too, you know. So pack his own lunch, um, which is great. Um a little bit older than your kids, obviously, but um I don't know. I just put them to work immediately.

SPEAKER_03 17:46

Yeah, yeah, no, that that's awesome. I I hope to be able to get there at some point. Uh right now they've got like little things that they can do, but they still require like a lot of instruction and like a lot of you know helping them out. If if we uh make lunch for school, they have to make it the night before. It's uh a little bit more to do uh with that. Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

So then yeah, we eventually get into church, um, and there's some uh there's some great scenes here where introduced to Revel Reverend Lovejoy, you know, speaking to his congregation.

SPEAKER_03 18:17

Um I love the way he speaks to them, just like the the the uh cadence that he uses and how he speaks to them. Um yeah, I think it's just I think it's so perfectly done thinking about like going to church around that time period, and like that's exactly what it sounded like.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

It really is. It it really is that kind of like we're gathered today.

SPEAKER_03 18:37

Yeah, just that the uh you know my kids have a few like Bible story books that they read, uh as you know, they've got hundreds of books, and and sometimes they'll grab one of these, and whenever I'm reading them as like a bedtime story, it's always in Rev Reverend Lowjoy's voice. Like that, it's just I can't help it. That's just exactly how it comes out.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

That's fantastic. And I imagine I would have I would do the same. Uh just because that's the way you that's the way we learned those stories and and remembered them and it's mimicked together. But oh man.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

So before they get into the church, they do have just the little like uh storytelling part about the the walkman Bart's listening to. You know, he's hoping he could just wear that into the church and not have to listen in Sunday school. He's listening to rock and roll music. I couldn't pick up exactly what it was, but uh March sort of catches it, throws it back in the car. Homer's still in the car as they're like parking and getting ready to go, and he gets the idea of like, oh well, I could put this in and now listen to the football game.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Yes, I mean, honestly, Homer, genius. Brilliant. Yes. This is what people do nowadays, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_03 19:45

Smaller earbuds, you can hide it a little bit more. I've got longer hair. I can like put my hair over my ears. Nobody knows.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Perfect. Um so yeah, and the I love the way that they built this scene with you know the reverend talking, but we're hearing the football game. Yeah, the reverend is using his hands and talking about stuff, and it's kind of kind of syncs up with the football game of what's gonna be.

SPEAKER_03 20:09

Even the lip sync is is right on top of what they're saying in the game, which is so funny, and the crowd reacting.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Yeah, and you know, and at some point, um Homer, you know, jumps up because the field goal is good.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

It's good, yes.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

It's and of course, Stevie has that embarrassing moment where he's like, uh, it's good to see everyone at church today or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 20:32

He's trying to trying to somehow make it okay. Um the sermon itself was about gambling, uh, which was part of part of the issue. Um Lovejoy sort of selling it as the eighth deadly sin, um, and and commenting how millions of Americans are are worshiping this false idol and and watching football. Um so it's it's fun how they intertwine all of that.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Which is very prevalent today. I mean, you can't watch any sporting events on t television now without seeing, you know, uh an ad for DraftKings or FanDuel or gambling somehow, and it's becoming more and more legal and across the country. So kind of interesting how it was a thing they were talking about back in 1990, and we're still talking about it today.

SPEAKER_03 21:16

Yeah, are you are you for that or or do you fall in that world?

SPEAKER_01 21:20

I think it's one of those things where I mean I'll I'll I I have a DraftKings account and I'll you know make some bets here and there, but ultimately we probably shouldn't be doing it. Yeah, I think like morally, but at the same time, I do it and I think it's fun.

SPEAKER_03 21:34

So yeah, I don't think I really have like a moral problem with it necessarily. I think it's um the way that it's set up, I think has a lot of like stickiness to it with like you know, player involvement and you know it even even if they're not like involved, there's always this like um I don't know, this concern that people have of like, well, are they throwing the game because you know DraftKings is involved and and somebody's gonna make Make a certain amount of money or whatever. Right. So it's it's kind of hard to be able to enjoy sports when you have people in your life that have that perspective of like, ah, it's all it's all for show anyways.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

Right. Yeah. There's that. And then there's also the parenting perspective. I I typically don't like that we'll be, you know, turn on a Red Sox game or something and and my son will immediately be he'll immediately know who the favorite is. He'll immediately know what the over-under is on the run scored. Yeah. And you know, it's like an 11-year-old doesn't need to know like that, you know, home run odds or or you know, all these things, building a parlay before the game starts and five dollars could lead to 300. And it's like, okay, well, like, why does my eleven my 11-year-old likes baseball for what it is? Right, right he doesn't he doesn't he doesn't need all this in his face. Incentives on top of it. And same for me. Like, you know, I enjoy watching the game no matter what, no matter if I'm betting on it or not.

SPEAKER_03 22:57

Yeah, I mean, I think with like with baseball, with like the the that push into sabermetrics in the early 2000s, early 90s or whatever, I thought it was a really cool thing, you know, sort of a way to like surreptitiously push math onto people. And like, you know, you could teach kids math actually really in interesting ways when it comes to statistics and and odds and things like that. But it it is I'm trying to think if there's like any benefit to like the gambling side of it as you think about like uh maybe they're learning some math. Probably not.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

I I don't know, but it's I mean it's here to stay, it's not going anywhere.

SPEAKER_03 23:30

So yeah, absolutely. Well, it's it's everywhere and it's uh infiltrated everything. Right. Ooh. Uh the other like running story while this part of it is going on is that they're also uh the kids are in Sunday school and they're having this uh this debate with the teacher about like who actually gets into heaven.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

This scene is hilarious because you know I've been a preschool teacher before. I've you know worked in education for a long time. Uh these are the questions that are real, yes, are truly the things that come out, you know. What about pets? No, only humans. What about cavemen? Of course not. It's like what you know. Um But even like even like what about my pet though? I love that. Yeah. So it's uh you know a wild kind of thing, and you can tell the teacher is getting frustrated, you know, like and like why are you asking me these questions? Again, yes. Oh, I think Bart asks, what if what if a guy has gangrene?

SPEAKER_03 24:30

Yes, has his leg amputated? What what what then? Is the leg gonna be waiting for him? And for the last time, Bart, yes. Uh which which I I love those jokes where like the implication is like clearly they've talked about this over and over and over again. Uh, and and they can say so much with just a single line like that. And I that's that's one of the things I love about the early writers of The Simpsons.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Yes, no, and and that definitely definitely is something you'd probably miss as in the eight-year-old, nine-year-old, ten-year-old watching. But for us, we're like, oh my god, this kid is has been asking this question over and over and over again. Um but yeah, so sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 25:10

They wrap up and you know, Sunday school ends, church ends, the congregation's leaving. I like when they're leaving, and uh Love Joy is saying goodbye to everybody, and you see there's also a sign uh by the door for Bingo Night and Monte Carlo night and the Reno retreat and all of the different like church-related gambling things that are going on.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

They're all gambling. All of them. Um, and then one other one other funny thing in the in the Sunday school is the teacher saying the ventriloquist goes to heaven, but the dummy does not. Which is sad. I was like, oh no, what they're like, they work together, they're pals.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

They're a team, yes. I mean, at that age, too, you don't really appreciate that they're separate and uh um and one is not living.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

I did very briefly uh for a couple months last year randomly try to see if I can train myself to do the ventriloquism of voice. It's just a random thing I decided to do. I was terrible at it, um, you know, but I I also and I haven't done it in months now, but it was kind of fun to practice, like trying to talk through your teeth and how this is how it sounds like, and whatever. Um that wasn't bad.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

It's still your voice. You had to change your voice, but well, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

Yeah, you have to figure that out. But I was just trying to like not move my face and do it. But it's just such a such a weird, weird thing, but I love it. I think it's hilarious when you see ventriloquists.

SPEAKER_03 26:40

It's an interesting art form, and it's definitely something that takes practice. Uh not something I've done much myself. Uh but I I think I remember as a kid like wanting to have a dummy that I could do something like that with, and like only wanting like a really good one. A puppet wouldn't do it.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

Um, but I don't know, interesting. I don't just randomly thought of that. Maybe I should get back into it.

SPEAKER_03 27:02

That might be something to take on. I know we're always looking at different hobbies and things that we're doing and sort of sharing those with each other as we get into different things. So uh if you do get into ventriloquism, let me know.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

They certainly will. Um so yeah, so we moved, you know, church is over, um and we're on the ride home. There's a couple different things here. Um yeah, and then you know, there's the kids are talking about Sunday school or whatever. They learned, yeah. They're saying that apes can't go to heaven.

SPEAKER_03 27:33

It's very upsetting for Homer.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Very upsetting, and it, you know, and he's up, he's just absolutely appalled. And he's like, but what about the what about the monkeys that smoke cigarettes?

SPEAKER_03 27:43

Yeah, right, roller skates, of course.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Like, of course they would be able to. Um and then they pull up to you know a stoplight and they're by the movie theater. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 27:53

Or uh Space Mutant 4 is is featured at the movie theater, and Marge is very quick to forbid Bart from seeing this.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

Yes, yes. Did you see what um did you see what the subtitle of Space Mutants 4 is? No. Uh Space Mutants 4, the trilogy continues.

SPEAKER_03 28:13

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

We've got a fourth movie. What do we call it?

SPEAKER_03 28:21

Uh the Space Mutants thing was that was a that was a big theme sort of early in Simpsons. Like, wasn't the first video game Bart versus the Space Mutants?

SPEAKER_01 28:29

Yeah, it's a uh it's a recurring theme we see, and of course, we're gonna actually see aliens later on uh, you know, in the uh in the series. My one of my favorite quotes to say across the board, Simpsons-wise, is don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

SPEAKER_03 28:47

Well, well, that was a Halloween episode, right? And and you know, we've talked a lot about how we're gonna do these Halloween episodes when they come up. I think there's it's gonna be a little bit more to those because I think they're so layered, so complex that uh these might be super episodes. We'll see.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

Yeah, they're gonna be fun. I I can't wait. Um we don't we don't get one this this season, do we?

SPEAKER_03 29:07

I think it's the second season of it. Yeah, so stay tuned. But um so they're back at home. Bart asks Homer for five bucks, and you know, Homer sort of acknowledges, like, Oh, you want to see that movie you're not supposed to see? That's fine. Sort of encouraging the mischief of it, and and that's okay. And and Bart skateboards out the window as as he seems to do.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Second floor window. He's got some moves too. He jumps over like some trash cans on the way to the movie theater. He's he's great. We're seeing he's really adept at skateboarding.

SPEAKER_03 29:38

He is, he's quite the skateboarder, and he even draws the attention of uh the bullies who were sitting outside the movie theater, Jimbo and Kearney. And yeah, this is the first time we really get to uh see these bullies.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Yes, we um I looked up the bullies' full names. Oh, go ahead. Um uh so Kearney is Kearney Zizowitz, okay, which is spelled Z Z Y Z W I C Z, which is I so Zizowitz, I don't know. Um, of course we have Timbo Jones. Of course. Um, and it did it did the website I had also mentioned Nelson Munz, but then we also later in the episode, we don't hear the name, but we were introduced to Dolph. Dolph, yes. And Dolph has a like full, full name. Dolph's name is Dolphin, but he goes by Dolph. His middle name is George, and his last name is Starbeam. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:37

I did not know, I did not know any part of that.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

So I thought that was interesting. Um, but yeah, Jimbo wants to beat this kid up because uh because Bart makes fun of him, and Carney's Carney's like, no, no, I like him. He's cool.

SPEAKER_03 30:52

Yeah, yeah, yeah. After he crashes, and but Bart sort of insults them, um, and then you know, basically says, You don't need to introduce yourselves, you're the worst kids in school. Like I know who you are. Which is quite the compliment. It is, I think, for for these these uh types of bullies, and they're sneaking into the movie theater. Like that's sort of where they're at right now. I I love uh the the transition here is that it shows the big line outside of the movie theater, uh, with one movie playing, which is a Space Mutant movie. Uh, and then once they are actually panning to the inside of the movie theater after the commercial break, um there's it's almost an empty theater. It's like just them and then like another couple and then just like uh maybe three other people in the theater.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Right, right. Yeah, which you know, if you're gonna sneak into a movie, you gotta sneak into one that's pretty crowded.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

Well, that's but but uh I I don't understand. Maybe they got multiple different screens that are playing the same movie, but it it didn't line up in my head about why that would be happening, why it was just so crowded outside, but nobody on the inside.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Right, yeah. I don't know. Maybe there was you know, maybe there's another flick going on. Uh it wasn't on the marquee.

SPEAKER_03 32:00

Right.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

Although the marquee did have Space Mutants for it, so I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 32:05

So it it it after the commercial break, it sort of brings us actually directly into the movie. So we're now watching the the Space Mutant movie. Um and there's sort of this like uh makeout scene going on in the car in the woods.

SPEAKER_01 32:17

Yeah, this this scene was actually on I looked on IMDb, this is on one of the parental warnings uh marks of this episode because it said during a movie cutscene, a a male tries to coerce a female into kissing him. Um and that was a parental um parental note in looking up this episode.

SPEAKER_03 32:38

I wonder when that note got added.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

Right, yeah. It doesn't I don't know the ring of the early 90s? Right, no, not at all, but I'm sure it was added at some point. Yeah. But yeah, I thought that was an interesting thing because it's such such a little footnote um of the episode, even as an adult, I kind of glazed over that part.

SPEAKER_03 32:57

Um but yeah, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 32:59

So yeah, it wasn't actually what was going on in the episode, and yeah, a little detached, but but something that we do immediately see is they're they set up a brilliant fart joke um at this point in this, you know, and she says, I smell something that's not human.

SPEAKER_03 33:13

Yeah, yeah. And uh hold on one second, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

Please excuse our donuts on the couch, technical difficulties.

SPEAKER_03 33:34

Well, I apologize. It's just a little uh head injury among kids playing by themselves unsupervised. And oh well. It's funny because they get like all these different narratives of like, well, this is what happened. I didn't do it, and then like the the alarm, but did a quick neurologic exam and everybody's okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

So perfect, perfect. We'll probably edit all this out anyway. There's a lot of dead, dead air, but that's fine.

SPEAKER_03 33:56

I'll um you weren't you weren't keeping them going?

SPEAKER_01 33:59

No, hey guys, keep listening. Um no, we'll edit it. I'll start, I'll start us back by saying, um set up an epic fart joke, right? Oh yes, okay, go ahead. Um but yeah, they set up an epic fart joke right here, uh, which I thought was hilarious. Um, you know, the the woman on the in the movie says she hears something not human. Yeah, and and what do we get immediately from Bart? The like making the fart sound with his two, you know, doing this.

SPEAKER_03 34:29

Hands put together, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:30

Hands put together, big loud one. Um, and everyone loves it. It's hilarious. Um, including me. I thought it was hilarious. It was great.

SPEAKER_03 34:38

Perfect timing, it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Yes, yes. Um, yeah, Bart certainly fits right in with these with these bullies, the worst kids in school.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

They like him, yeah. He's he's definitely doing what he can to appeal to them. Um, but this is sort of draws the attention of the usher. Um, so so at the same time as the alien is picking up this couple that's making out, uh, the usher picks up the two of the kids, Jimbo and Bart.

unknown 35:05

Right.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

Yeah, it's um you don't see ushers at the movie theaters anymore. Like they just don't exist.

SPEAKER_03 35:11

They don't, yeah. They they cost money to pay them, and uh, you know, the the economy of that has shifted, I think.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Yeah. Uh I will say going to the movies now is much nicer because you have the bigger, nicer seats, at least the movie theater that I have. Um but yeah, but you go in there and you're typically by yourself. So it's such a weird thing.

SPEAKER_03 35:30

It is, yeah. I mean, I I I've been I go to the movies occasionally by myself in the middle of the day. Um, if I don't have anything going on and there's a movie I want to see that I know nobody else wants to see, meaning my wife. Um But yeah, it's it's usually like very empty, and uh it it's kind of a funny scene to just be in there by myself with my popcorn watching watching away.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

Yeah, yeah, no, I I love it too. I I've I've certainly gone to my fair share by myself, and it's great. It's very peaceful.

SPEAKER_03 35:57

It is, yeah. Nothing wrong with it.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Right. So yeah, so you know, they kind of move on, they go to the uh they go to the quickie mart. Yeah. Um and I think is this the first time we're seeing a Pooh or I think the first time we were like really hear him talk. Okay, yeah. So um, you know, but small business owner, owns a quickie mart in town. Um, I think a Pooh's a great character. Um, we'll deal with his dismissal from the show later on um in our series. But um Yeah, if we get that far, yeah. If we push push far enough, I'm sure we will. I'll I'll force it.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

I don't know when he when it sort of fell off. I mean, I I I think it's within the last 15 years.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Yeah, I think so. I you know, um, but whatever. At this point, I'm I'm loving the quickie mart. I think it's a great addition, you know.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

A fun character, a good, a good other environment to to tell stories in. So I I think there's a lot of a lot of benefit to the quickie mart. Barb treats the other kids to squishies, he's gonna go out of his way to buy them. And uh meanwhile, the three bullies are sort of stuffing their pockets with different things.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

Right, and a poo and a poo knows it too. He's like, I'm gonna turn my back, but you may not see my thing. Um, and I I liked how during this thing, uh Jimbo is just stuffing his pockets full of beef jerky. Beef jerky, yes. You know, it just has a beef jerky display. Uh I thought that was humorous. Um, but you know, they they you know, they all go outside and Bart comes out with the squishies and he's like kind of appalled that they have stolen things, you know.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

Where'd you get all this great stuff? Right. The great stuff being a bunch of uh beef jerky, uh a play dude magazine, and uh candy bars, the sort of thing that looks like you know at at eight, that is some great stuff, right? That is great stuff, you're right. But uh well, I thought this this joke was very funny, the five-finger discount. Um which is funny because even in the animation at that phase, they only had four fingers.

SPEAKER_01 37:56

Um yeah, it's an interesting uh thing, and which you know, which I thought was hilarious. It brought me back to my days. I used to ride my bike uptown with my buddy Matt, who you met, um, and we used to get slush puppies, that's what they were called. Um we would go and we'd go drink them at the train station and just you know, sometimes we'd put like pennies on the tracks and everything, and the train goes by. Um but yeah, I don't we you know, we we weren't stuffing our pockets full of beef jerky and and play dude magic. Playdudes, yeah. But you know, we were getting our slush puppies and enjoying the the day.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

Yeah, we had a general store that we used to ride our our bikes to, um, you know, maybe about two miles, I think, away from my house where I grew up in. Um that that general store in in Marshfield, Massachusetts was eventually purchased by Steve Carell from the office.

SPEAKER_02 38:48

Oh, awesome.

SPEAKER_03 38:49

Yeah, who's I think his sister now runs it, and he occasionally like will go there and just be there if you and like running the shop from time to time, which is really funny. Uh hilarious. I wanted to sort of like keep it this like old-timey feel to it, this old-fashioned general store. Um, and you know, we we visit there every summer. Um that's for like our family vacations. I go see my family that's still out that way. But we go into that general store often, and we were there last summer, and in the freezer they had um a bunch of like frozen meals, and he had autographed them. So it was like frozen dinners that he had just autographed to try to incentivize people to buy them, which I thought was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

That's hilarious. So can you imagine having a uh like a steak and potatoes? Steam corral.

SPEAKER_03 39:35

Steam corral, yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:36

And do you eat it or do you just keep it in the freezer forever? Like what do you do?

SPEAKER_03 39:40

I'm not sure. Yeah, I didn't buy it. I you know, I didn't I didn't want to bring it home in my uh luggage or anything like that.

SPEAKER_01 39:46

So that's the that's the food that people will find when the zombie apocalypse takes over and people looking for food. Oh, we've got this old meal that's signed by Steve Corell.

SPEAKER_03 39:55

You can't eat it, it's signed by Steve Carell, yeah. Oh man. Anyway, anyway. So yeah, we've all had those uh general stores and places where we get our squishies as young people. Of course, of course.

SPEAKER_01 40:08

Um, but yeah, so they end up you know moving over to the the statue of Jebedia Springfield, um, and they start throwing rocks and uh discussing, you know, how much they hate this uh statue and everything, which is kind of the exact opposite of what we're hearing in the beginning and end of the episode. Um uh so they basically, you know, and after they throw rocks, they get moved on, and then they are laying down in the field looking at um, you know, looking at clouds, and yeah, they all see different things and like a cherry bomb, a bus crash.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

That's fair yeah, going over a cliff in flames with kids inside screaming. We're afraid. The detail of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

And Bart sees, you know, what he views as the statue of Jim Bediah without the head cut off. Without the head. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And and they, you know, they laugh about the idea of actually cutting his head off. Um but I like when is the last time you sat up and just looked at looked at clouds?

SPEAKER_03 41:07

Uh I mean, I would say not that long ago, just because we got like little kids that sometimes were just trying to have them lay down and you know, sort of trick them into being quiet for a little bit. Uh so we'll do stuff like that. But uh so not that long ago. How about you?

SPEAKER_01 41:21

I don't think I remember doing this, you know, since I was a kid. You know, but it was something that we did, you know, because I mean we all have devices now too, which which that kind of ruins everything.

SPEAKER_03 41:33

Um it does. We we cannot stand being bored for more than a second.

SPEAKER_01 41:37

Right. So yeah, I've never I haven't maybe I'll have to do that at some point. Just go lay down out in the muddy field that we're dealing with this spring and just go and it absorbs the clouds. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:48

So well, I you know, it brings up an important point, I think. Uh, you know, boredom uh is actually like an important thing. I think it's something that we need to experience that it's almost impossible to get to at this point. Um, at least you know, that's my current life experience. Like there's there's always something happening, and if there's not something happening, I'm picking up my phone or looking at a screen. And I think it's really unfortunate. I think it's sort of um I don't think it's really great for our minds to to constantly be like flashed with things going on. Uh so I so taking moments like that and moments to feel bored, I think, is actually really healthy.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Yeah, no, I agree with you there, and it's just not something that we experience anymore. You know, I know you know, my son's got sports and school, and then he's got video games and running around with his friends. You know, I there's there there's not a lot of time for boredom. It's just not, you know. Which we should get back to that. Maybe maybe people listening to us, this is their time to be bored. You know, we'll do our best to bore you.

SPEAKER_03 42:52

Oh man. Um yeah, you know, so they they are watching all of this stuff go on, they're sort of almost egging each other on about like, wouldn't it be cool if somebody actually did this, right? Um but you know, but then uh where's what's the sort of flip where they sort of end up kicking Bart out of the group because he says like maybe we shouldn't do something like that?

SPEAKER_01 43:18

Um oh yeah, he's yeah, because he's like, didn't you remember history class? You know, Jebediah Springfield killed the bear with his bare hands, you know, and they're just like, Oh, please, like Yeah, we forgot you're in love with Jebediah Springfield. And they're kind of like, get out of here, like because they don't want to hear about school, they don't want to hear no to their ideas, you know. Um, he's not cool anymore. Um and he falls out.

SPEAKER_03 43:44

Yep, he's definitely fallen out of favor with the bullies that he wanted to win favor with. But so he goes to who does he always go to when uh he he's trying to figure things out? He goes to dad.

SPEAKER_01 43:55

Yeah, of course. And uh, you know, and and dad gives a Great thoughtful response about the importance of popularity. You know, because and I'm sure we've had it with our own kids, and the message is that being popular is the most important thing in the world. You know, I I I say that to my son every single morning. Um no, obviously not. Oh no. No, we almost had an intervention there, but no. Um, no, and but but you know, but he but Bart says, I mean, Homer says this. He's just like, no, absolutely, just do a little mischief, whatever you need to do, be popular.

SPEAKER_03 44:38

That's right, as long as it's not murder.

SPEAKER_01 44:41

You're not gonna try to murder anyone, are you? That's what you know, and he's like, of course not. He's like, sure.

SPEAKER_03 44:47

I like the the other part that's sort of a recurring thing with Homer is that you know, he's looking at a bowling magazine, uh, and like that's really where his attention is. This like thing that his son brings up gets a little bit of his attention, but you know, as he's like sort of wrapping it up, he's saying a boy without mischief is like a bowling ball without a liquid center, and like not completely tuned in, like clearly still in his own little bowling ball world, thinking about the bull earth catalog that he's reading.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

Yeah, and he's reading it a little bit later in the episode as well.

SPEAKER_03 45:18

Uh he's very sleeping with it on his face later.

SPEAKER_01 45:21

Yeah. He's very in tune to this bowling magazine, which you know, I I haven't had a magazine subscription in decades. No, uh, do you have any magazine subscriptions?

SPEAKER_03 45:32

I do. I get uh Scientific American uh as well as uh Mad magazine. So nice.

SPEAKER_01 45:38

You're still doing mad, that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 45:39

Oh, of course, yeah. I think that's sort of the the recurring theme here of uh why this project is so important for me. Uh, because what what The Simpsons does is it takes this world of like just absolute stupidity and sort of mashes it up with this like absolute brilliance. So you got this like really smart and really stupid kind of coming together at the same time. And I think that's exactly what it does so perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

I mean, that's like this podcast, right? We got me and you, the smart and stupid, and sometimes we flip rolls. Sometimes we change, yes. So um, but yeah, so so naturally to coming off that great advice that Homer has given Bart, what does Bart decide to do? He decides he's gonna go cut the head off this statue.

SPEAKER_03 46:24

That's right, and he sets his alarm for 3 a.m.

SPEAKER_01 46:26

Yes, sets the alarm for 3 a.m. He dresses like a ninja, slides down the stairs, has to quiet the cat really quickly, drops the cat outside, and sneaks into town with a saw to cut the head off.

SPEAKER_03 46:38

A hacksaw to cut off the top of this bronze statue, which oh, but and and he does it, and he does it, you know, it takes a couple of seconds, but really not that long. But he has this instant regret of what have I done? Yes. It breaks to the next commercial.

SPEAKER_01 46:54

Yeah, and uh yeah, it's and it's an interesting way this episode ends because you know he he's very excited to show his peers, he's very excited to be like, look, uh, you know, the bullies, the worst kids at school. I did it, I whatever. But something strange happens in Bart's eyes where uh all everyone in this whole town and his family, the bullies, everyone is absolutely appalled that this has happened and hates this, and now he's like, Oh no. Yeah, what have I done? What do I do? What have I done? I don't know what fixed this. Yeah, like how oh my god, like what do I do? And it's an interesting realization for him because you know, now he's got a he's got this problem that he can't fix. He's got this problem that he can't fix. He can't get himself out of it, you know.

SPEAKER_03 47:44

The the like reaction that that everybody is having, I think, is very funny because they're on the special news bulletin that comes on in the radio, the the host is sobbing. Um and when they cut to um Chief Wiggum, he's also like tearful and just like, oh my god, how could this have happened? And and Vart has no idea the impact that he that he'd be having on all of these people.

SPEAKER_01 48:07

Right. So, and of course, like always, he he goes to Homer with his uh, you know, um, he doesn't go to Homer with it. How does he confess this? I forget.

SPEAKER_03 48:17

Um, well, okay, so so uh he's going through this where he's like recognizing how other people are responding to it. Lisa saying about how important of a symbol this is for the people. They flash this to Moe's bar where uh you know everybody at the bar is upset that this has happened. It shows the old folks home and they're all upset about it in those whippersnappers. And I hope they cut his head off is what grandpa says to it. But um, but he finds the bullies again lying in the grass, and he's got the head in his backpack, and he goes up and he's trying to like tell them about like, oh, I I I've done this thing, but they say, you know, we hope we can find the guy that did this, we'll break every bone in his body. And and the my think probably my favorite line in this in this whole episode is when Bart says, But but you guys were saying that wouldn't it be cool? And and I forget which bully it was, but he says, That was just cloud talk, man. Um as if that's like sort of the safe space where they can say wherever they want, if they're looking at the clouds.

SPEAKER_01 49:17

Which which is great, which is absolutely great. The safe space of their friends, they're allowed to talk, whatever. Um, and it's actually very good that you know kids have that where they can talk to their friends and you know feel safe with whatever is being said. You know, we all need we all need a safe space.

SPEAKER_03 49:34

Yes, exactly. We're recording ourselves in our safe space right now, but welcome in, everyone.

SPEAKER_01 49:40

Jeez.

SPEAKER_03 49:41

But I yeah, I do love that, and I think that's something that would have that went over my head as far as being funny as a kid. Like that part just didn't resonate with the eight-year-old me, but I think that's probably the funniest line in the episode format.

SPEAKER_01 49:52

Yeah, no, I agree with you there. I had I had that line written down as well, and it's just just it's just brilliant. It's that is you're you're right, it's just that one of those brilliant, brilliant spots. And so, you know, this is when the head starts talking to Bart, and he starts. We get the guilt, we have the telltale heart, the telltale head, you know.

SPEAKER_03 50:12

Look what you've done. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:15

Um, and then we kind of we kind of go, uh and then then the parents find out, and you know, Homer's like, I knew all along, you know.

SPEAKER_03 50:24

Yeah, Bart Bart goes to bury it, and the head so basically talks him out of burying it, and then he brings it into uh the living room and says, you know, I look what I've done.

SPEAKER_01 50:34

And and he confessed in front of the whole family, which was right, which you know, they're all disappointed, but they're he's one of them, and um, you know, and Bart kind of stands up for him and says, Look, we can't blame him completely. I I sort of knew I'm partly responsible. Yeah, yeah, you know, um yeah, Homer, sorry. And so he he they decided to take the head back.

SPEAKER_03 50:56

And Homer's taking a little bit of responsibility, which I think is important, you know. He he's even though he wasn't the one that did it, I think it's important as a father to sort of step in and you know help your kids when you can. Sometimes, you know, when they're older, it's a little bit harder and you kind of have to let them have some consequences, but it was uh partially Homer's fault, I'd say.

SPEAKER_01 51:16

Yeah, and and fixing the music, you know, is something that you need to learn to do sometimes. You can't always weasel your way out of everything. You know, you have to apologize, you have to make amends, you have to, you know, push forward knowing you did something wrong and try to fix it.

SPEAKER_03 51:30

Um it's an important developmental thing that I think we we go through our entire lives.

SPEAKER_01 51:36

So yeah, so this is this is kind of a kind of where we bring so it goes back to the start of the episode.

SPEAKER_03 51:44

That's right, back to the mob scene.

SPEAKER_01 51:45

And I did think it was funny how um the mob was saying you know, because he's still recapping the story and how like what has happened, and the mob is like, we heard this part already. Yeah, you know, um, because they've been here. Um, and then did you catch the line but or the the interaction between Burns and Smithers at this time?

SPEAKER_03 52:07

I did, yeah. I mean, this is the first time that they really um, I don't know, start to romanticize, I guess you would say.

SPEAKER_01 52:13

Right. At least um, you know, and they're all just you know, the whole mob is distraught, and um and you know, what was was this before or after the the whole talk from Bart that he's giving?

SPEAKER_03 52:26

So Bart gives this talk about you know, maybe we've all taken our heritage for grant for granted, which he in his eyes that's also a crime, and everybody's like, Oh, he makes a good point, and yeah, and you know, he um climbs back up the statue, puts the head back on. This is where you see Burns say, Oh, I love you, Smithers. And Smithers says the feeling is more than mutual sir. Um and then it just goes to like church bells, and like the head is on there, it's clearly not secured, but it's on there and it's balanced precariously. Um, but that's that's how the episode wraps up. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 52:58

Kind of uh yeah, and it's it's true. I mean, we we've we've seen in life, you know, tragedy does typically bring us together, uh ultimately, yeah. You know, unfortunately, but um maybe not as much these days. It seems to divide us a little bit more these days, but sometimes, yeah. Yeah, but uh, but yeah, I I like I like this episode. I really enjoyed it. Um, sticking with the theme of naming the episode after some literature, which I thought was cool. Um but yeah, it received a where's my IMDV rating here. We've got uh 7.6 out of 10, so right in line with the more recent episodes. Sure. Looking ahead, we've got some episodes that dip a little bit. We've got some 7.3 and 7.4 coming up, and then we've got some that hit the eights, um, which will be fun to see at the end of this first season um of The Simpsons and of our podcasts.

SPEAKER_03 53:50

So rewatch here.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

So the next episode coming up is uh life on the fast lane. Uh yes, yes, I believe so. Yes. And that's uh we're gonna see more, we're gonna see some bowling, which is more you know, which is which is part of Homer Homer's life, and uh we're actually gonna see Marge participate in some bowling.

SPEAKER_03 54:08

Uh yeah, and and and and more so, you know, they pull out a little bit more dimensions to Marge in this next episode.

SPEAKER_01 54:14

So yeah, no, I think that's a great episode, and uh I'll uh we'll catch you guys next week, I think.

SPEAKER_03 54:21

Thanks again for joining us and uh listening to us reflect back on the Simpsons.

SPEAKER_01 54:27

Absolutely. Thanks for thanks for everything, guys, and we'll see you next time. All right, bye.

SPEAKER_00 54:33

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