#TBT -- Classic Simpsons: "Lemon of Troy" (Season 6, Episode 24)

By
Episode 2F22
Original Airdate: May 14th, 1995
Writer: Brent Forrester
Director: Jim Reardon
Commentary by: Matt Groening, David Mirkin, Greg Daniels, Jim Reardon, David Silverman, David S. Cohen

Synopsis

When Marge catches Bart "graffit-o-tagging" some wet cement, she bores him and the family with a lecture about town pride that actually somehow subliminally gets through to him. Then, when he finds out some kids from Shelbyville have stolen Springfield's precious lemon tree, he leads a "violence gang" (as Marge puts it) on a guerrilla infiltration mission into the bizarre--yet oddly familiar--world of Shelbyville to recover the stolen tree.




Summary

This is maybe one of the most brilliantly simplistic show ideas The Simpsons has ever done. It all basically revolves around a sense of conflict between Springfield and Shelbyville that I believe was only ever casually referenced prior to this episode and the conceptualizing of Shelbyville as basically a bizarro version of Springfield (complete with doppelgangers for several major characters), setting it up as, essentially, the ugly stepchild of Springfield. The fact that this feud plays out between warring factions of neighborhood children from each town is great and makes for some very natural comedic moments. There's also some excellent historical background brought to life through the conduit of Grampa Simpson (and his doppelganger).

Grampa has some great moments in this episode but he's far from the only one. Professor Frink has a couple of my very favorite Frink moments; Milhouse and Marge (mostly Milhouse, who is spectacular here) have a couple of the funniest lines of the episode and are really at the peak of their comedic development; Nelson and (especially) Martin are BRILLIANT together; even Database has some funny lines (even though he happens to be Matt Groening's least favorite character but screw Matt Groening, I love Database).

The narrative itself is as expertly woven as ever. The fact that the whole story is set in motion by Bart writing his name in wet cement. The fact that Bart's crusade A. is sparked by something Marge said about town pride "actually [getting] through to [him]" and B. starts because of a lemon tree ("as kids, the backbone of our economy," as Bart puts it) which they go to great lengths to portray as special and sacred to the town of Springfield. All culminating with the wildly entertaining guerrilla invasion of Shelbyville by Bart and his "violence gang."

Favorites/Fun Facts

-"Hey, son. You want to try this flying motorcycle I've just invented?"
"No time."
"O-Nglay..."


-"Say, let's bring him back to life by using technology!"


-"What's normal to him amazes us!"
"He will be our new God!"


-"Bart, you've graffit-o-tagged public property!"
"It was an accident!"


-The lemonade business is CLEARLY booming...



-"[gasps] We've squozen our whole supply! To the lemon tree!"


-"I know you are but what am I?"


-"Hey, everybody! An old man's talking!"
SHUT UP!

-"...YES, AND MARRY OUR COUSINS!"


-This is one of those amazing moments on The Simpsons when like 3-5 great jokes happen rapid fire and combine into one amazing gag. How does one group of guys write SO well SO many times? Unreal.


-I dunno if you can tell but this first image is of Milhouse drifting off into a fantasy about his MAGIC CAMOUFLAGE OUTFIT.


-Why this wasn't one of the 22 Short Stories About Springfield I will never know...


-Check out these awesome shots of all the "Bizarro Springfield" people and places of Shelbyville...


-"You had your chance! WO-HAI-VIN!"


-"All this talk has made me hungry"


-Guys, this is legit one of my favorite jokes in any TV show ever. Only Homer would be so matter-of-fact about being flipped upside down in the shower of a recreational vehicle.


-Lousy Springfielders...


-How to Make Lemonade:


-Turnip juice

(ALL images contained herein are the SOLE property of Twentieth Century Fox. Please don't sue us.)
(ALL animated gifts courtesy of the beautiful people at SimpsonsGIFs)

NEXT WEEK: "Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part 1)" (Season 6, Episode 25)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMICBOOK REVIEW: Garfield's Pet Force 2014 Special

By
Image
Time for a comicbook review of an unusual comic for me. Every once in a while at the comic shop, I may feel particularly random. Something odd may call to me from the shelves. This comic is one such oddity. Garfield's Pet Force 2014 Special jam-packed with two epic Garfield's Pet Force stories. What is Garfield's Pet Force? I had no idea. I'm familiar with the concept of Oddie and Garfield and watched the cartoon a few times as a kid. I wouldn't consider myself a Garfield fan in the slightest. This comic may have changed my mind on the lasagna loving cat, though. Garfield's Petforce is Garfield as a superhero named Garzooka. Garzooka leads the Pet Force which is made up of his cartoon friends who have their own superpowers and dorky names. The stories are written by Scott Nickel. The first one is called "Cat-astrophe in the Cosmos" with pencils by Gary Barker and George Lane the third, inks were done by Mark and Stephanie Heike. The story s
Read more

Week 4

By
-Can we officially shut the fuck up about Jake Locker now? I don't care if he was playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, 4-20 for 71 yards, a TD, and 2 INTs is unacceptable. If you take away a 45 yard TD strike to Jermaine Kearse, he was 3-19 for 26 yards and 2 INTs. He's got lots of talent and I'm sure he's a perfectly decent kid but the idea that Locker is the ultimate prospect in this year's NFL Draft is inexplicable. His Heisman campaign is obviously deader than dead at this point and I see no reason that he won't be the next Tim Couch. -Here's a random one: Kansas is down 31-10 to Southern Miss...they score a touchdown with 5:17 left in the game...and go for two?! Uh...what? Who did the math on that one? What possible scenario are they planning for? Are they planning cut the deficit to 13 instead of 14 in hopes that, in the event that they have to settle for two field goals at some point, they can still tie the game (with the addition of another touch
Read more

Count Down to the New Year By Syncing These Epic Movie Moments at Midnight

By
Image
Because this is 2020, we know most of us will likely be spending our New Year's Eve at home--but that doesn't mean we can't do something special to celebrate the death of this foul year of our Lord. So here's a list of our favorite movies that sync up to ring in the new year with a big, epic moment and what time you should start watching them on New Year's Eve.  For the best results, we suggest starting the movie, pausing it, setting it to 0:00:00 and unpausing at the time suggested. We also suggest watching these movies on DVD or BluRay if possible because even the most insignificant streaming blips can throw off the timing completely. Cabin in the Woods - 10:30:07 PM If you want to ring in the new year with the Old Gods rising again, hit play on Drew Goddard's modern classic Cabin in the Woods at 10:30:07 PM (10:30 and 7 seconds) and at the stroke of midnight, the giant hand will come crashing down. Fight Club - 9:44:19 PM Perhaps you prefer a more anarchist a
Read more