One of my favorite, but least seen, characters on The Simpsons is an elderly Irishman, who appears for the first of three times here. When it is pointed out that Whacking Day was created as an excuse to beat up the Irish, there’s a cut to an old man dressed like some sort of leprechaun saying that this is true, he took many a good lump, but it was all in good fun.
That guy cracks me up.
There’s a brief moment in this episode, where Homer is asked by Marge if he drinks to escape reality, and Homer imagines himself really buff and making his pecs dance. I really like those little moments where we see the really weird world that is the inside of Homer’s mind.
Oh yeah, and in this episode, he temporarily gives up drinking.
Ralph Wiggum has, thus far, just been a kid in Lisa’s class. This episode gives him the spotlight and begins the idea Ralph may be the single dumbest person in Springfield.
Of course, the people behind the show would have you know that Homer doesn’t hold that position. Nope, there is one adult in Springfield dumber than Homer. That would be Chief Wiggum.
Milhouse is Bart’s dorky friend, someone who comes across as a loser.
What happens when Milhouse actually scores something ahead of Bart, though?
Continue reading Simpsons Did It!: “Bart’s Friend Falls In Love”
According to the producers of The Simpsons, Fox wanted a spin-off for Otto Mann, the school bus driver for Springfield Elementary. The producers weren’t too keen on the idea.
Otto got a single spotlight episode, and after that he more or less faded into the background. Oh well. Maybe the Fox executives had the same sort of realization Otto himself had when he stopped to think about how his father told him he’d never amount to anything if he just goofed off playing the guitar all through high school.
In the hallowed halls of Springfield Elementary, Bart is a prankster goof-off, and Lisa is a good student who behaves herself.
When the two somewhat switch roles, it is a little surprising that they are each better at the other’s respective roles.
When I first saw this particular episode, I thought the writers were riffing on Jessica McClure, who as a baby fell down a well and became a media sensation until her rescue.
Then years later I learned the real inspiration was a dark Billy Wilder comedy starring Kirk Douglas called Ace in the Hole. That’s actually a pretty good movie, and a lesser-known film from Wilder. But that’s not important right now.
Most every one in Springfield believes Bart Simpson will grow up bad.
But somehow, Bart manages to join the mafia before his eleventh birthday.
OK, maybe this episode has the biggest celebrity thus far. Sort of…
Up until this point, Marge’s sisters Patty and Selma seem to have been fairly interchangeable.
That will change now.
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