Does this mean you still want to be friends even though I tried to cover
up my nerdish leanings. Look, we don't care who you were, and
you can't fix the kind of good person that you are. Yeah, you
taught us about cool things like nature and why we shouldn't drink sea water.
This is the most thoughtful thing anybody ever Very merdable, crap my car.
Four finger discount dude, Welcome to fourfingto Discount of the podcast that's like you
know whatever. This week we hit through of You episode three f two two.
It is the finale of season seven. It's Summer of four foot two.
I am Dando and I am Guy and yes we are coming to you
live from Australia's crub Bucket and the Age Along and we are very lucky to
play because we've joined by a man who I've been falling for a very long
time in the wrestling podcast saying it's no sacred I'm a huge wrestling fan and
this man's without a doubt, one of the best. But now he's gonna
be keeping himself very busy as the new administration coordinator of all a Late Wrestling.
It's mister Will Washington. How are you doing so, I'm doing great.
It is so great to be here with you guys. I am so
excited to be We've been trying to plan this for a while and little things
have fallen through here and there. I think people will recall you tweeted about
summer four foot two like six weeks ago or something along those lines, and
we weren't able to make that happen. But we're here now, and yeah,
I don't find myself hosting many podcasts anymore, but I think there's always
going to be a spot in my heart for dusting off the old microphone and
getting to talk. Yes, well, it's lucky, as you're saying,
it's been sort of delayed delay. I think we're gonna do it originally like
early March or something, and then the big announcement a couple of days ago,
and I was like, this is a good timing. Yeah, but
you know, obviously the roles off fresh and new, so we can't talk
about you're all in aw what's going to mean entailing? But um, but
yeah, just congratulations might Well. Everyone in the wrestling world is so excited
for you. You're one of the good ones and you deserve it. Thank
you so much. It has been a whirlwind of emotions, and I will
say I was truly not expecting to receive an all lead graphic that even in
coming in for the job. I think I may have jokingly said it to
a few friends, like, hey, you know, Will Washington gets that
all league graphic and to actually see it and literally all my family's seen it.
I've had friends messaging me that have been like, hey, I just
saw on the front page of Reddit that I saw your face and it said
Will Washington is all even. Um No, it's it's a dream come true,
and I'm really excited to honestly work with my favorite wrestling company. It's
it's yeah, it's a rarity to honestly going into it. I said this
directly to Denise sal Sato of all people, but I said, it is
a one in a billion shot that you get to work on your favorite TV
show. And I mean, like, honestly, would be like, you
know, there's my other favorite TV shows, The Simpsons, right, it
would be like if all of a sudden I found myself in a in a
creative role helping the Simpsons be what I've envisioned it being. And to get
to do that for professional wrestling is just a really cool thing. Well,
Tony aw present, Tony kinds a very savy man, and obviously when you
put that all light graphic out, you know he knows that's going to explode
social media on the day for today, that he knows what he's doing.
Yes, of course, yeah, yeah, there's a there's some science to
that, and I'll leave it at that. Yes, yeah, But obviously
let's touch on for our listeners who may not know who you are, because
obviously, when I find with the wrestling world, when you're a wrestling fan,
you live in the wrestling bubble. But if you're not a wrestling fan,
people might not know who you are. So give us a brief rundown.
What Will Washington's been doing for the last eighteen years when it comes to
the podcasting scene. Yeah, so, you know, wrestling podcasts, I
hate to say it, are kind of a diamond done these days, and
so it feels weird to even say that I was one of the first wrestling
podcasters that you know, when you think about the idea that podcast have only
existed nineteen years and eighteen years ago, I had this crazy idea that these
things people are listening to right now, and most of them were about tech.
At the time, it was like maybe on occasion you'd find like a
news podcaster, but it was mostly, you know, dominated by the tech
sphere. And at the time, it was June of two thousand and five.
My idea was basically just to rip off what Leo Laporte was doing with
This Week in Tech and rip off his entire format and do that for professional
wrestling, and so I did it. That was what I did, and
I launched the show called Rocketbuster Radio at the time, and that show eventually
morphed into what became RBR Wrestling Talk, and I hosted that show for sixteen
years, interviewed pretty much a who's who of professional wrestlers and you know,
anybody from at Chris Jericho. On the show RVD, I had Batista while
he was world champion. That was whom I interviewed, Tyler Black, who
later became seth Rawlins, interviewed a lot of guys. We eventually had a
little joke that we have the we had the RBR rub that if somebody came
on our show, they would eventually get signed by WWE and then we'd end
up having a nice little origin story that we always point back to on the
podcast, so that was always a cool thing. And then eventually I ended
up leaving RBR to start grap City, and I ended up pitching grap City
to Fightful. In the process of doing that, I joined Ful. I
became one of the contributors to their news as well as a host of the
grab City podcast. I did Day after Dynamite with them, and then what
ended up becoming one of my highlights of the week, I ended up doing
a show with then South Sato as well, and we hosted After the Week,
and just wrestling, podcasting came second nature to me. I have been
able to break down and dissect and talk about this stuff for the last eighteen
years, and it's been I said recently that nothing has come easier to me
than that than podcasting. And it's not to say it's the only thing that
podcasted about, because wrestling has definitely been the primary thing. But I used
to host a movie review show about a decade ago called Now Playing Now,
and yeah, I've been around. I've been doing this a really really long
time. Honestly, well, I thought, you know, I've worked with
the hottest workingman and podcasting. But you're we're eating your dust of the mind
man. Yeah, I mean it's the drain, right. Obviously your dream
would have been to earn a living through podcasting about wrestling, but now you
dream. Now you've reached the dream of getting paid to just be a part
of the wrestling world. It's just it's incredible. Yeah, and you know
it's funny. Twelve hours prior to receiving the offer from AW, I'll say,
and I won't say from who, that I turned down. I did
receive an offer to do just that, to make podcasting full time and a
twelve hour And for about twelve hours I thought that that's what I was going
to be doing. And then twelve hours later I got another offer, and
I thought making a full time living off of doing podcasts sounded too good to
be true. And then all of a sudden, something jumps right over that.
You get the offer, and then Aw's like, old my beer,
I've got you. Yeah exactly. Oh woll wait, but here you said
Simpsons is your second favorite show besides wrestling, of course, whose wrestling is
a TV show? But like, what made you choose this episode summer of
four foot two? This one you spoke about specifically when you're thinking about Lasa
at the time, you said, when back in March you were talking a
little about Lisa, watch Summer of four foot two for you, um so
a little story about me. But before even working and wrestling. Covering wrestling,
I did a lot of travel. I traveled to every major pay per
view, and you know, I've been to wrestlemany, I've been to the
World Rumble. I've been to all of these shows. One of my go
to things is before I leave for any event, I will pick five or
six episodes of The Simpsons to watch on a flight. And so right as
we had done this one, right when you had approached me, I had
actually just watched Summer four foot two on a flight. And I don't remember
loving that one when I was younger. It wasn't one that really stuck out
to me. But watching it on a plane, I found myself tearing up
by the end, and I didn't realize how much heart this episode truly had.
And I know that Lisa episodes, for the most part, tend to
rub people the wrong way, and there's reasons for that, and there's valid
reasons for that, but this is one of those Lisa centric episodes that really
tugs at the strings and really makes you feel for somebody who has struggled to
find her place in the world, struggled to find her place in her world,
and and it's a great story of authenticity. And like I said,
just sitting on that plane and I'm sitting here and you know, person next
to me is like, you're literally crying watching the sentences. I'm like,
I know, like you don't understand. It's getting to me though, But
yeah, and so when you ask me, I had no hesitation. I
thought, no. Summer four foot two, this is an episode I really
want to talk about because it's it's got the gags right, Like, we
know the gags that make this episode as good as it is. You know
that everybody's talked about the Dud for years. We've seen we've seen a smiling
home or gift. There's so many different things from this episode that people remember.
But the heart is really what made me want talk about this. Yeah,
definitely. And that's what's great with The Simpsons is particular episodes like this
you enjoy it as a kid, when you grow up and become an adult
and become a father and things like that, and you reflect upon when you
were a kid, it's like, oh wow, it's like this is just
so much more relatable the older I get. It's like this one here,
in particular, Lisa's going through because you said that Lisa episodes, you know,
people tend to not not like them. They think she's annoying. But
in this one, as he says, she's going through something that many of
us go through when we're growing up. And I love the line where she
says being myself didn't work. Being someone else didn't work. Maybe it just
wasn't meant to have friends. And I think many of us have been in
that situation. Oh yeah, for sure. I think a lot of us
go through kind of that impastor syndrome, right where like we think that nobody
likes to realize and we've got to do something else for people. And yeah,
I've been there as a as an individual, I think everybody's been there.
And again, maybe I didn't like this episode of my youth because I
was still going through that and as an adult now getting to reflect on it
and see Lisa struggles with it and her ability to kind of find herself in
the end, it's it's a great story. It's funny. I mean every
particularly when you're a young person or a teenager. Yeah, every new social
situation, you think it sort of provides you with a chance to be a
blank slate, you know, and to reinvent yourself. But you can't really
do that. It's the old saying, no matter where you go, there
you are. But I mean even you know, the start of a new
school year as well, you think, Okay, I've had you know,
this amount of time to you know, I've changed. You know, I'm
coming back as the new guy Davis, all, the new Lisa Simpson or
whatever. But I don't know, You're just the accumulation of all the events
and attitudes and traits and whatever that make you who you are. You can
never really truly reinvent yourself. Yeah, I think this episode two it helps
you reflect on school holidays of the past, like some of a vacation for
you will, you know, making new friends that you probably were never going
to see again. That's what happened when you went on holidays of the family.
Because this is before social media. You know, now you can just
stay in touch. But did you have moments of your in your childhood where
you went on a holiday with family whatever, and you became friends of people
at the time that you felt like they're gonna be friends forever. But when
you left your life, you just lost touch. You never saw them again.
Yeah, you know, Um, I didn't really. We didn't take
vacations too often a kid because we had money. Yeah, we had no
money. My dad hated flying, same and so exactly the same. My
dad wouldn't get on the planet. And so for the most part, like
a vacation for us was like we're going to Grandma's house and we're going to
spend the summer Grandma's Yeah, and so like you know, those for the
most part, um, But I can see that though, because I do
remember times now that I'm thinking about it. In hindsight, We're like I
took like a summer karate class, and I made friends in that class.
You know, I thought it was you know, oh my god, we
vibe on this because we're all power Rangers fans who love martial arts because it's
the nineties. And then all of a sudden, I don't see that person
again, never see that person again, don't even remember their name, and
we moved on with life. But yeah, those summer friendships are definitely a
thing now that I think about it. Speaking to Power Rangers, So you
sold the new film as well. I enjoyed it. I'll watched it with
my son. He enjoyed it as well. Yeah, yeah, I So.
The funny thing is my son we had been counting down to the release
of it, my son and I, and it came out while he was
at school, and I was like, I'm just gonna watch this and then
pretend I've never seen it, and so I watched it by myself. It's
all the whole thing. Then he got home and the first thing he said,
I was dead. Can we watch Power Rangers now? I'm like,
yeah, son, I've never seen this before. And we sat down and
watched the whole thing, and by the end, it's it's one of those
things where like he's asking questions, but he's asking them in a way where
he doesn't think I know, And I'm like, oh, well, maybe
readA took over Alpha's body. I don't know why he's a robot. She
did look at that pot Rangers genius here, Yeah, Pow Rangers genius.
Yeah. When when I first come in the screen in their original suits.
My son, he's four, Tommy. Just guys, that's the old ones.
You're so excited. But I'm getting back to the Simpsons. So what
are you What are your earliest memories of the show, watching the show as
a kid, What are you some of your favorite memories watching it growing up?
I don't know. I know for a long time, um I had.
I can just remember the show being a part of my childhood forever,
right, Like I remember Butterfinger commercials and things along those lines. Like I
just remember bart being like this institution in pop culture and thinking that The Simpsons
was something that was can't miss. I remember those Thursday nights I had to
watch it, and you know, I remember to my brother, I used
to take the lyrics of the Lisa her teeth. They're big and greens.
I make fun of my brother and I go, Curtis, see they're big
and green. And that was like a thing always do. And yeah,
like Simpsons, I think, honestly, all through my childhood, especially shaped
my entire sense of humor. I think I at least five or six times
a day minimum, make a Simpsons reference and get disappointed when various people don't
understand what I'm referencing in my day to day life, but it's completely shaped
my upbringing. It shaped my just who I am. Like just thinking about
earliest memories, like I remember watching those early seasons, the like crudely drawn
first second season stuff and Doctor Marvil mon Row and like all of that stuff.
All of that I remember or seeing when it was new, And yeah,
it's just been an institution my whole life. I love that you said
that. Um, yeah, you know, you're in the presence of someone
cooler or someone who's on your frequency if you can drop a line and they'll
they'll pick down what you they'll pick up what you're putting down. I mean,
it's like a secret handshake in some way, an induction into the into
the cool club. Oh yeah, My My go to is where I will
grab a spoon and go you call that a kno. And then if they
look at me like I'm crazy, then I know, Okay, this isn't
somebody who's on my frequency. But if they turn around and go, that's
not a knife, that's a spoon, and then I go, so you've
played knifey spooney before and like that, that's how I know I have absolutely
gotten on the level of somebody that's that's my go to. I find it's
happening more and more now where people don't get Simpsons references because obviously we grew
up with the show, but the show has been going for so long that
there's an entire generation of people out there who didn't necessarily grow up with the
show. And it's just but that's just mind boggling to me. I know,
the Simpsons is life. Isn't it like what? I haven't ever seen
it? I'm like, what, Yeah, No, it is mind boggling
to me when somebody doesn't know the Simpsons. And I know I have many
people in my life who don't know the Simpsons. So yeah, well my
wife, my wife, she's you know, ten days younger than me.
She's seen less than ten episodes of The Simpsons in her life. Oh how
have you stayed married? She's an incredible lady. Trust me. I kid
my wife. Like the first time I showed her steamed hands and she didn't
laugh. I was so disappointed. I didn't even see a smile crack.
Then I just thought, what is this? Is this gonna work? It's
like I showed my wife because we do a South Park podcast as well,
and one of the latest episodes of South Park and I'm dying of laughter.
It's the Harry and Egan episode when they're taking off the Royals recently, and
obviously my wife's from the UK, so big on the Royals, and I
don't say anything bad about the Royals. I was like, it's just so
funny, you have to watch it. And she's watching it and she's just
not have been cracking a smile, and I'm like, what's going on here?
Like, how are you not on the floor laughing? I keep breaking
up. But the Simpsons, you think it would be kind of a I
can't miss proposition though, if you're showing you know, surely this is going
to appeal why you're not like, yeah, you're right. It's a good
topic to a good topic for a podcast obviously the Simpsons, because in my
world anyway, everyone likes the Simpsons or in some way, so everyone wants
to talk about the Simpsons. But but yeah, you're getting back to when
you first started your podcasting. It's funny how podcasts has become so saturated now.
When we started it out, there's only two other Simpsons podcasts. Now
it feels like there's two thousand. It's like, it's so hard to stand
out in the podcast where now, isn't it? Yeah? It is.
And I always tell people now and they ask me my advice of you know,
how do I stand out in the wrestling world? How do I stand
out with the wrestling podcast? And the thing my biggest piece of advice to
anybody is that I always say, you have to bring you right because at
the end of the day, another wrestling podcasts and have you And in the
same sense, the other Simpsons podcast don't have Dando and guy do they like
they don't have you guys? They and so I feel like at the end
of the day, that's how that's the thing you guys bring to the table
more than anything else. Was the thing I used to when we're first doing
the show to get a guy, and I was like, I'd cut out
the personal stories and then the sinens a guy. Now we want more of
that. We want to know more about you and my business. A Simpsons
showed like, yeah, the Simpsons is good, but we want to listen
to you talk about the Simpsons in your life. You know That's exactly.
Yeah, that's the biggest lesson I learned is that, you know, I
didn't want to be like a news breaking podcast, right because anybody can do
that. Too much negativity in that as well. Yeah, but on the
other side of that, and that's not to say that I'm not want to
believe that there's like anything particular really special about me. But it's just the
fact that it's me. That's what I'm selling here, That's what I'm offering
because that is the one thing I know I have to offer that nobody else
has to offer, is that it's only one me. Although I did recently
tell the story of how I got my new Twitter handle, and that was
via uh basically stalking somebody else named will Washington and getting him to give him
the Twitter handle and it was great and I have it now. Did you
also get his lunch money? Uh? No, he was really he was
kind. Did you hear this story at all? I haven't heard this episode
yet not. Yeah, all right, so yeah, I told it on
my last, the very last podcast it is. But uh, you know,
my Twitter handle at the moment is William rbr Um because I hosted rbr
forever. But like I I've wanted the Twitter account will Washington for years I've
been after that for a very very long time, and I always check in
on it, and whoever registered the account made like two tweets back in twenty
ten and then just walked away from the account. And then yeah, and
it just annoyed me. And I check in on it maybe like once a
month for the last like fourteen years, just like I just want this account.
And so I did some digging and I somehow found the owner of the
account. I found this person's email, and then the process of finding the
email, I also found a phone number. And I had gone and gotten
some advice on you know, how should I approach this person? Should I
send him an email? And so that's what I did. I send no.
So I started to type out an email basically just explaining where I'm at
in my career and how people who have been trying to tag me and stuff
constantly tag this account and I could really use the account that you're not using,
and that I'll even offer your compensation for it. And I started to
type all this out, and I thought, I wonder what this phone number
is, like is it a business? Because it was listed publicly, so
I was like, is it a business? Whatever? So I was like,
let me just call it and see what happens before I send this email.
And I called it and a guy answers, this is Will and I'm
like, oh crap, and I said, no, this is Will.
Yeah. I was like, this guy sound really weird, but my name's
also Will Washington, and uh, you're you have a Twitter account and he
goes, I don't have a Twitter account and I was like, well that's
the thing. You're like registered a Twitter account like fourteen years ago. And
then like, I haven't really touched it, but your user name is Will
Washington and I could really use it. And this was an older guy.
He was probably sounded like he was about in his sixties, and he was
like, oh, yeah, I'm never gonna use that if you want to
take it. And I was like, oh my god, was this that
easy? Yeah? I was like, the got money. I thought I
could have called this guy like fourteen years ago and been fine. And he
goes, yeah, if you want to take it. So I walked him
through transferring the account to me, did not even transfering the account to transfer
me the handle, and it took we were done with that call in less
than five minutes. Wow. And the stars of us all aligning for you,
isn't it right? And so Well's I was like, is there anything
I could offer you? And he goes, I mean, if you want
to, And so I paid him fifty bucks and uh, he goes,
I just made fifty dollars for answering the phone. This has been the easiest
fifty dollars I've ever made in my life for an account I was never going
to use again. And U And on the other side of that, I
got a Twitter handle I've been after for a long long time. So my
account is I'm in possession of both right now, Will Washington is on my
spare account. But by the time anybody hears this, I will probably have
changed to will Washington as my main handle. How do you do that?
Do you have to delete the original one so you can then create I'll make
yours the new one. How does it work? Yeah? I have to
basically change one to change, like change them at the same time. Yeah,
And so I'll have two tabs open changing my Twitter handles and then that's
it. Yeah, it's all just all working out for you. It's amazing.
Everybody wins. Everybody wins, indeed. But let's get back to m
to some of a four foot two. So I thought this episode here,
it's quite sad though, in the sense that Lisa she makes these great friends,
but going forward she just becomes that loser again, you know, like
these these friends never reappear. I think that's a sad part of the story.
Yeah, I guess I never really thought about that. But to be
fair, the lesson we were supposed to get out of this was that Lisa
was comfortable in her own skin going forward. It didn't really matter about the
friends necessarily, as long as she was good just being Lisa. And I
think as long as we came away with that and we eat, you know,
she never really uh can I think of any other episodes where she went
through a personality shift in the first season as moaning Lisa, where she made
splitting gums and she's just she's just sad all the time. Remember that one,
Yeah if you if, We'll be here for you, and she's just
like, oh thanks, sim big Embryce in to kind like that's one of
my favorite Lisa moments ever. Yeah, oh yeah, it's very good.
But yeah, just thinking about how, you know, I think she took
the lesson to heart. As a character that we never really see her again
attempt to be someone she's not because we know that. I mean, that's
not true. I guess she went to college and she um, she pretended
to be a college student. So I take back everything I just said there
now, but post like season ten continuity at the win, yeah, you
know, not going please well oh yeah, because actually it's just funny you
mentioned that, because you know, Principle on the Pauper is like one of
the most hated up pisodes of the show, but it has some of the
best gags. Like, there are so many good gags in that episode that
it is almost worth how much it broke the continuity of the show to have
Principal Skinner be arm in Tanzarian. The fact that we're now reviewing up to
a season seventeen, I've mellowed a lot when it comes to continuity. I
think they've just broken me down by reviewing these episodes. I mean I used
to be I used to hate Principle in the Pauper. Actually, know what,
when I first watched it, I was too young to care. I
remember, I know, when, as you know, social media became a
thing. I was like eighteen nineteen and one's like I asked the worst episode,
but I remember being like ten when it came out, and I was
like, it's fine, It's just it's just as soon as the episode.
Why are you getting so angry about it? Yeah, And I was never
one of those ones that hated either. But I'm probably about the same age
body about thirty five now, yeah, okay, and I'm thirty five,
so that's uh so Yeah, I remember when that episode hit, and again,
there's many good gags in it that that was all I cared about at
the time, was it made me laugh, you know those? Yeah,
that's that has some of my favorite Ralph moments of uh you know Mishoover,
which one is oral out of your mouth, Ralph Mishoover, which one is
one like this? All of those are so good, uh and so yeah,
and then Ralph, like Ralph makes that episode for me. Ralph and
his uh his description of Principal Skinner at the at the assembly the celebration,
Yeah, the celebration, that's what it was, at the celebration of Principal
Skinner. Um. All of it's very very good. So yeah, sure,
it completely shatters the idea of principal skinner being um, you know this
uptight loser. Uh. And but on the other side of that, who
cares? It's funny. Yeah, that's that's my one ant. Did it
make me laugh? Sure? That's all. That's all that is. Now,
that's the thing. I think. There's a very specific personality top the
it's really bunched up, a bad continuity and that kind of thing. I
mean to be fair, and I just took a job in a w and
that's just all that continuity. Yeah. What else liked about this episode was
that has the fantastic emotional core, but there's some great slapstick comedy in there
as well, like we've mentioned obviously, like Homer and the Dude and things
like that, but just Homer with the fireworks in the oven. That was
like Pete comedy for me when I was a kid. I just thought that
was hilarious. Beer. Yeah, Yeah, that's very very good. Dishwasher
checks it in. Yeah, Yeah, that one's good. Um, there's
some good references in it. Yeah, thinking about you know, Bart on
the skateboard and you know, Bart was always seen as this cool product of
the nineties, and there's certain references here where like what was it where she
says, don't have a cow man and Marge just like, Bart, you
haven't said that in years? And that was true, right, yes,
Like that used to be on all the Simpsons merchandise for those early nineties,
and all of a sudden, you know, here we hit the mid nineties
and none of that was a part of Bart's character anymore. And so for
March to actually reference that, hey, you haven't like used your catchphrases in
forever, it's actually great stuff. I mean, it had been actually like
four years since he said it to the episode, and that's why, Yeah,
that's what she said that. But I also love marg is just seemingly
disdained for the Flanders family because she was like are you And then just with
that with what Ned and it obviously Ned's coming in with one of them.
It was in this episode. Yeah, yeah, it was honestly a nice
departure from who we've known March to be for her to suddenly have this annoyance
and that was great stuff. Um. And then honestly, I think this
is probably like peak Millhouse this specific episode. Uh has you know, we
we already touched on the dud. Obviously that's that's overdone. But Millhouse just
being dragged along on this trip, or a Navy dragon being the tag along
on this trip is such a great gag at every single turn, just popping
up. But one of my favorite lines was, no, they must have
seen you so great, so great, But I thought, I thought they
really sort of captured the vibe of just being on a summer vacation as well.
Yeah, particularly because you know, there weren't many non Simpsons characters in
this episode, just at the very start. We obviously had Millhouse there to
sort of keep things sort of grounded a bit, but it was a new
setting and apparently it was based on Kept cod That's where a lot of the
writers for the show had they visited. That's where they based it on,
and the house was the beach house particular, was based on the then Show
Who runner Josh Weinstein's parents house in New Hampshire, which writers would visit all
the time when they're doing like riding camps and things like that. They're going
a trip and all sort of go there and pitch ideas for the next season,
and that's where they's always played board games. That's where they got the
Mystery Date board game idea as well, understandably, So that's a damn us
beach house. It's a very nice beach house. Yeah, indeed, any
more brain busters. Now we look to play a game here, Will,
I thought, will we play it with Will? Will we not? And
then I saw that the air date of this episode, and I thought,
I can't pass this up. So what we do is we say the air
date of this episode and guy here, guys had thirty plus years in in
the film and TV reviewing industry, so he knows everything there is about film.
But I say to him, what were the top three films at the
US box office the week that this episode aired? Right? And I give
him a clue. So you're like this it aired May nineteenth, nineteen ninety
six. As a wrestling fan, you know what May nineteenth was? Right?
We can't see that date. We can't. Yeah, no, you
can't see that date. I mean I was a big Kane found as a
kid growing up, but I was thought so May nineteenth, nineteen ninety six,
ten years exactly before the release of See No Evil on Hunt two thousand
and six. So the top three films. The cluef for number one is
Disaster The Clufe number two is spy and the Klouef number three is mammal.
I'll see if will can guess those first, and if not, the give
guy crack so disaster film Spy and mammal disaster film Twister Twister. Yes,
okay, you said spy. Yeah, it's not Golden Eye, is it.
No, it's not good guess though, uh ninety six? Mission impossible?
Correct? Well done? Yes, okay, And what was the third
clue? Mammal mammal babe? No, no, no, not babe.
More about the water, mammal of the water. Yeah, but ninety six,
yes, in ninety six, I know that you're like the back of
my hand, um, mammal of the water, so that my brain immediately
goes to whale. Nope, no, little smoother, little friendlier. You
think of trios of horror like ten or eleven or whatever, and they tried
to kill all the springfield, these particular lovable things from the ocean. Okay,
so we are talking dolphin, Yes, dolphin, the most famous dolphin
of screen fame. I mean so Flipper, yeah, people was number three
the US box office. Flipper movie. Yeah, yeah, I remember the
Flipper movie. But what yeah, yeah, it's a Twister mission impossible,
and Flipper the people who couldn't get into Twister or mission impossible, I had
to go see Flipper. I don't remember Flipper doing that well, so that
was I remember the movie. And that's why I wasn't thinking that, because
like you were like Mammal of the Water and I'm thinking, well, Free
Willie was ninety three. That came right, Yeah, like Free Willy two
was street to VHS, so that couldn't be right. But I think that
did come out in ninety six. But I don't remember Flipper being that successful,
but I guess it was. Maybe it was the first opening weekend or
something. Yeah, I could see that the world still had Paul Hogan fever
at that stage. The four Fingered Discount Network is brought to you by our
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you two can join the family for just as little as one dollar per month
and help this podcast dream continue to thrive by heading to patreon dot com slash
four finger discount link is in the description of this podcast. All right,
let's get into the room of the episode. So the original air day of
Summer four for two May nineteenth, ninety ninety six, written by Dan Graeney,
directed by Mark Kirkland, and the couch gag is the one where the
couches a fax machine and the family come through on the piece of paper.
Use three times in season seven that couch gag really yeah, yeah, I
mean, and there are some repeats around that point. Yeah. And but
in the same season you thought they would have sort of shaken it up a
bit, right, Oh maybe, I mean, this was the last episode
of the season, so I imagine, yeah, as you're wrapping up the
season is if there was ever a time to repeat one at the very end,
it's probably it. And this was when it comes to finalogy. This
was a great one to go out with, wasn't it. This feels like
a season finale, don't you reckon? Yeah, especially when you think about
where the episode starts, right, it starts as we're ending the school here,
and in this case, we're ending the season. And if you were
ever to do a summer vacation type of EPO, excuse me, a summer
vacation type of episode, I don't think there's a better opportunity to do it
than at the very end of the season. Yay, Bart, Summer's almost
here. Which kind of sprinkler do you like? The one that goes like
this, Oh, the one that goes like this. Oh, hen,
there's this one the last day of school, mill House trying to show some
dignity. This is an iconic gift, this sprinklers icond of I'm gonna say,
I am team Yeah, you gotta be. I wasn't a huge fan
of this moment, but looking back now, I'm just like, it's just
so Millhouse. This moment is I mean, everything about this moment is Millhouse.
Like I said, Millhouse is. This is peak Millhouse in this episode.
I mean, even in this opening scene, when you think about everything
about this, well, yeah, the sprinkler stuff, and then what you're
about to get into which was him running out of the classroom. Up your
eyes, bubble, which is what you wanted to say to all your teach
us when you were a kid. But but yeah, it was weird all
waiting at the start with the ice cream trucks and everything, like what are
they doing at the start of the school day? But it works for the
gag, But Martin's tipped him off. Now we're in the yearbook office and
it says on the door, immortalizing your awkward phase, and they're going through
Retrospectacus, a great title for the book, and then she opens them up.
I love the way and she slashed the top book. Because I used
to work at a toy place well constantly opened up boxes, and those first
few days I wrecked so many action figure boxes by cutting the top of the
box with a Stanley knife, as opposed to just you know, because you're
a big collector, you know, to open up the boxes properly. Oh
yes, definitely that. And I worked retail, so it was one of
those things where we knew not to do that. But and then we get
a few friends here, like Beasy and the girl like the smell of benzine,
so Lisa has friends that we've never met before. Who are these kids?
Yeah, I mean I think they wanted to establish that there is a
presence for Lisa that even in school, she doesn't necessarily find herself vibing with
They do appear once more. They're not speaking role though. It's the episode
The Old Man and the Lisa where she helps him do the recycling plant and
they're part of the Junior Achievers Club. Just sitting down in the group there.
I got to say, I related these kids very much. Look at
a sub editor by trade, so layouts and fonts are I would be all
over. There's like a what is your favorite font, mister Davis. Look,
it's it's very straight up to say, yeah, hell Veedica. But
look I'm a Calibri guy. If i'm if, I'm just writing it on
every day. So yeah, Caulibri is my is my font of choice?
Shall we say? Alrighty? So the school has now ended discussing the assassination
of Lincoln. I just love the stain of teaching from Mishoover. She just
never cares. But you can imagine this is what it would be like having
to teach in Springfield. Oh yeah, Old Ralph, just you know,
hanging on that you got this cliffhanger about the fate of Lincoln. Go home,
Ralph. In the beginning of the school year, EGP received a colored
ticket. I hope everyone still has theirs. You've joined me, you boss,
mister Estes, the publications advisor. I educate the whole thing. If
you end joining some other loser would app so quick milking it. Yeah,
just episizing that nobody appreciates all of her efforts. She thinks she's doing a
good thing, but no one seems to care. And then I thought it
was really sad because when she says, can you sign my yearbook? And
everyone's in a circle and they're passing it around, She's standing there so excited
waiting to receive it. I can imagine how heartbroken you would have been opening
up and getting nothing. But it's a good setup for the payoff at the
end, though, isn't It's really well up? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I think that moment really helps telegraph a little bit of you know,
imprinting that moment in your brain and giving you the feeling of sadness of what
Lisa's feeling in that moment. I think is really important to really play up
how emotional the ending of the episode really is. But this episode is really
really good at that whole setup payoff thing, not just in this overriding one,
but even just in some of the gags. I mean this, You
get to a bit in them in just a second where you know, but
signing yearbooks, he's got the got the queue where he's giving off not personalized
messages but just straight a bordographed but the girls saying, oh, he writes
the way people talk. And then a little later on you've got the Flanders
nowed like he actually wrote did. I thought it was fantastic, but my
favorite of all this And I'm sorry I'm cutting ahead a little bit, but
the whole buying all the traditionally embarrassing stuff at the James, I'm sorry,
not the jam up the little value me yeah, yeah, and yeah,
just a scene or two late with mine saying I don't know where you got
planning for him up, but can me out I that joke missed me as
a kid, and I watched it. I watched it several years ago.
I was like, that is an awesome gay you missed it as a kid,
and it just hits the Ball's eyes are grown up. So it's probably
one of my favorite margin lines ever. It is so great. But but
Lisa, she doesn't get it. Actually, I'm being the super nerd that
I am. She opens up and it lists all of her achievements very very
quick blink and you miss a gag. But I wrote out all the things
that that she's achieved, so it's junior overachievement. Most hand raises in a
semester seven hundred and sixty three, most popular student, sister spelling, beak
spelling by Queen two, part of the camera club Head, shutter Bug,
tidiest, lockup in brackets, unopposed, student you're most like to get,
student you most like to copy off, and then bathroom timer as well as
you mentioned. So yeah, there's so many hidden, hidden jokes in the
Simpsons that when you're kid, obviously this is before you could freeze frame anything.
It's just yeah, I love it. I love that they paid that
much attention as almost like no ahead of their time. They knew at some
point people are gonna be able to freeze frame this ship and enjoy it.
Omer I'm in a rhubarb of a pickle of a jam here i was all
set to go off on vacation when I get called up for jury duty.
Oh, HiT's a carker of a case. Seems a man drove up onto
a traffic allen and hit a decorative robot full of geraniums. Now they're trying
it as a maritime offense. So any who, how'd you like to use
my beach house free of charge? I only get two weeks of vacation a
year, and you want me to spend it in your allergy beach out.
Well, if it'll seal the deal, I'll take a look at your septic
tank, see if I can get her humming again. She Flanders, You
give a little, you get a little. Hello, mister brown Ground,
what's your god for me? But I love that he's offering this like he's
home is doing something for him, and Homer giving him the wind up during
the jury journey story and he says, you know, he'll offer to take
septic tank to seal the deal, and that's just horrific. Yeah, this
is also like it's a very quick gag, but it is again just the
epitome of Homer and ned Flanders and their relationship and Homer taking and taking and
taking and Ned in this case, like but Homer making it an annoyance that
he has to take from Ned in this case, and it's it's so great.
But she much says he's sure the Flanders won't be there, so she
agrees, but he's gonna invite mealhouse. Lisa, she says, invite some
friends as well, but she doesn't have any. She's packing a suitcase.
And this is an another great margin line, so she says, Gov down,
and he's even even he's kissed more boys than I have girls, Lisa,
boys kissing girls, like you can still do that line in twenty twenty
three and still be funny, you know, because it's just so much man,
because it's funny as apparent now apparent I've got a four yearld and a
two year old. Sometimes, Aliott's like, you know, it's about wearing
dressed, like girls wear dresses, not boys, And I'm like, how
am I supposed to approach this? Now? I'm supposed to say it's okay
for boys to wear dress, like like it's it's so new, and I'm
just like, you know, you just wonderwear dude, don't give a ship.
Yeah that's been yeah exactly, Yeah, no, because I haven't a
those I don't know. I have an eleven year old, yeah, she's
gone on twelve. I have my daughter will be twelve this year. My
son will be nine in a month, and so yeah, you know those
Yeah, those those topics come up quite a bit, and you know,
it's obviously a very, very different approaching it would have been in the nineties.
But again I agree with you that Marge's approach here in general, it's
still it works in twenty twenty three because it fits who Marge is, just
somebody who is wistfully unaware. I just love them though at nine it's just
so savvy about the sex life of Gormada. But yes, so she decides
she's not going to pack anything. It's very un Lisa. And then another
payoffs shiho. She says, a microscope at the beach? What was I
thinking? And then one of the lines that one of her friends writes in
her book at the end is next time, bring your microscope, So it's
another playoff there to that. Yeah, so yeah, they're all waiting in
the car or before we actually get that, though, we get the nice
moment between Marge and Lisa where she says you know, I always dreamed that
my daughter would be my best friend, and she know we are best friends
mom, But sometimes it's going to be a kid. And as a father
again, I am dreading the day where I'm no longer cool to my kids.
I mean, your kids are nine and nearly twelve. Have you had
that moment yet where you're no longer like the best PoCA At the moment,
my kid is my son just wants to hang out and play Possible with me
old day every day. Or my son still wants me around and like you
know, he's always asked me, he wants to play, he loves to
wrestle, like that's our thing. My daughter, on the other hand,
has definitely reached the point where she answers her cell phone and goes, yeah,
my dad's around, I'll have to call you back, and so definitely
there. Now they Simpsons, your kids, what did you have you sort
of like falc upon them? Or is it just because I feel like the
nine and a twelve year old they wouldn't have really grown up with the showing
because now we don't we get to pick and choose what we want to watch
when we watch it. Thanks to streaming, have they discovered the Simpsons or
is it just through you? They've basically watched it through me because there's it's
always on in the background. I can pick my My go to if I'm
in a bad mood is if I can pick any episodes between about seasons three
and season eight, I know I'm going to be very happy. I know
that something's going to improve my mood, and I will spend the rest of
the day okay, And so I do. I there will always be Simpsons
on in the background, and so they know a lot of the gags.
I think if I called my daughter in the room right now, and I'm
not going to do that because past their bedtime, but she and I could
probably do steamed hams back and forth because they've seen it that many times.
Like if I said, and um, I'm skinner, we'll see more.
I made it spite your directions, my daughter would know where to go.
Superintendent Chalmers, welcome. I hope you were prepared for an unforgettable lunchon.
It's been so mains now. I think it's impossible not to know every line
of that episode right of that scene. Yeah, it's funny being yeah with
them getting Luf you're discussing earlier with Simpsons quote set this use every day.
I think it's just become a point where sometimes you're quoting something you even realize
it's from the Simpsons. It's just becomes such a part of your life.
But whatever my wife says, like Brendan, you're ready, I'm just gonna
put my shoes on, just comes out. It's just my go to ye
Oh, that's honestly, that's a genuine gag for me. And now that
you mentioned that, that's the thing I actually do all the time where I'll
be in my underwear and I'm like, all right, ready to go.
He's got and whenever you part the car, you get out. All right.
Remember we're in the itchy lot the way we're parked. Um. But
yeah, so they're all waiting in the car. But Titans, Millhouse is
straps. He's just like Bart's Millhouse's best friend. But like is Bart a
good friend for Millhouse? Thoroughly abusive relationship, it really is. But Lisa,
she's in packing light maybe just getting stronger. Well, I have been
eating more. That is just no, that's an absolutely terrifying moment. I
mean that whole the introduction of teen tween sas yes, when it's like,
oh shit, they're on to me. They know I'm not cool, so
they can start talking back to it was like, oh my god, you
know it's all downhill from here. They always say good bye to Springfield and
then everyone barts go out to his toothbrush and says bye bye, Lisa Simpson.
Great set up for the rest of the episode. So we come back
not on the way towag matdas squormwag Matters, squorm Setport or something on those
lots. It's a long name, but it's based on the Cape Peninsula where
Josh Weinstein's our parents' house was. As I said, they arrive at the
house and I just love that Ned is just such a planner. All the
posted notes, like the idea that he has driven down there in the interim
to put these postss notes and driven back just so they so they have all
these they know where everything is in the house. But yes, Homer taking
the put food and me putting on his stomach is great, and fill me
with water. Bart stealing Todd's piggy bank. Of course that's what he would
do. And Lisa says that she forgot to pack and she's much like,
that's not like you at all, she said exactly, And I was like,
I forgot to pack two. But he improvised outside. The kids busted
the very second he leaves the house. I am my favorite Homer for getting
his clothes. Moment I think is when the woman from the Burless House arrives
and she's like, are you wearing a grocery bag? I have misplaced my
parents. Mom. I'm kind of trying to go for a different look this
year. Okay, how about this adorable sun shot. It has a Starfisher
and the Fanny and it comes with its peo, mom, come here,
bring money. So where do you want to show off your new hip Pugs,
the Sherbet Sharp, the Candle District, Big Shoe's tap Water Caffie.
Um, if it's okay with you, mom, I'd rather go find some
kids. Okay, you'll be my friend. I'm never never gonna let you
get away. What do you think of the laser design? The new design?
It's very nineties? Yeah, but of course you know when you think
about like, as a matter of fact, Millhouse says it where says,
wow, she looks like blossom, and you know that was obviously a popular
part of Monday Nights in the nineties of people getting to watch their Blossom and
Fresh prints back to back, and those were kind of fashion icons and so
yeah, at the time, I remember thinking that Lisa did look cool.
Well, Blossom and Fresh Prince back to back, Oh my god, what
a double feature they used to come on back to back in the nineties.
That was the Monday night lineup was you got the Fresh Prince of bel Air.
I don't remember which came on first, but I remember they used to
have commercials where both Blossom and Will Smith were um side by side and they
say, hey, check out Blossom, follow up by the Fresh Prince of
bel Air. That's awesome. So that's what America does, right, is
like putting shows in blocks on TV. We don't do. We've never done
that really in a show? Have we got must see TV? Yeah?
And they both with the cool dance numbers? What were your favorite site comes
up the nineties? Will? I mean, I'm a big Fresh Prince guy.
I've seen every episode multiple times. H and I that's another one of
my kind of go tos um. The saying that always gets shed on social
media now is when his dad walks out again like that is just so powerful.
Yeah, yeah, it's very powerful. I there's one specific episode of
Married with Children I've seen so many times that again, and it is just
I throw it on and it's oldies but young ins and it is the episode
where Al can't remember the name of a song but he knows not even the
melody. He knows about three pieces of it, and it's him and he's
like going around it's being the whole episode asking people. He's like, hey,
tell me if you know this song mm him and everybody's looking at him
like he's crazy. And it turns out the song is Anna by the Beatles,
and it's like go with right. But the thing is nobody knows what
he's talking about this whole episode, and it gets funnier and funnier as the
whole episode progresses, and he thinks he's going mad because he cannot remember him.
That's one show that I want to revisit, his Married with Children,
because obviously when I was in the nineties, I wasn't like to watch it
was like, you know, too raunchy. But I mean, you have
found on any streaming services. If I've got the whole collection on David Ay.
I'm gonna bust it that one day and rewatch it because it's a show
that I guarantee I'm going to enjoy a lot more. Is a growing up
Yeah, probably, Yeah, I get the feeling. Back in the day,
it was kind of like, oh, this is just that that gross
show that sort of deals in an outrageous seam or of the I rewatched some
clips recently. I'm like, Nail was kind of doing a masterclass in comedy
acting here. He's really really good. I mean, Katie Skulls fantastic as
well. On the rest of the cast, a solid that I'm like,
holy, can't wait, was doing some really cool stuff here. He was
so good and yeah, his timing was great, his insults were excellent.
Just honestly, again, it's it's a show that doesn't hold up in a
lot of ways. It is very of the time, but if you can
put yourself in the time when watching it, it's it's it's very good.
And it gave us the let's have sex, no peg and flushing the toilet.
So at Leasta's now looking for friends. She's at the library. She's
like, no, you can't go in there, and she says, these
visions, which I always thought was just a really weird thing, seeing all
these visions in the library with the had had it with a gun and everything
like that, and people long stockings. So she races off and she goes
to the pier. M I don't see any kids at all. It's like
they ditched me in advance. So he goes like, I can totally aar.
I'm going that only kids are that and coherent. So my mom tried
to take me to some candle place, but I'm all like, no way,
like you know whatever, like you you, oh whatever? Hey,
what's that? Okay, okay, okay, not your fault. It's a
bird ding. You don't control the birds. You will Sunday, but not
now. Hi. So who's that? Oh? Some kids? Hey?
I like your hat A compliment scanning for sarcasm. It's clean. Thanks you
guys. Skate try to the cops always confiscate our boards. Yeah, and
you just know they're using them. Like five minutes later, down at the
station, I think I know a place you can skate that spiritually deserted,
like you know whatever, horrible said. She takes into the library and this
is where we get bot trying to be cool and but I was just a
really shit brother in this episode. Wasn't he absolutely heightful this time around?
But I think there's a payoff to that, and so obviously I think in
order to get to the point that they needed to get to, Bart needed
to be turned up just a couple of notches, because it really makes the
payoff worth it, especially when you know Lisa has the honey ready to dump
in his face. Yeah, of course that was just a great visual,
just like she a little bit of squeeze at the end. But they also
set it up well the stop where it's like, no but so popular that
even the principal wants he's seen the chart, so he's used to be in
the popular kid. He doesn't. He doesn't know how to accept the fact
that how can Lisa be the popular one? That's me? But I'm just
poor meal House getting thrown under the bus with the They must have seen you,
neal House carrying down by the way, We would be remiss if we
didn't shout out that. Erin is voiced Bygene's favorite Christina Richie Yes, star
of Casper and various other movies. Nine which film which he did Casper,
come out, let's test you will ninety five ninety five done slipped at me,
like, what are you doing? Dando? Dude? Are you sort
of like a nineties expert or just a film expert in general? I'm a
Deed's expert. That's what I'm like to I based dates around how I remember
anything. I'm like, so, what was I doing, Like the second
week of No. Ninety five? I was doing this. It's funny because
we're doing a trivia recently and wrestling Vanie'll get this, and I was like,
what day of the week was, like January fourth, nineteen ninety nine.
I'm like, hmm, I think I know this because this is the
night that Mick Foley one of absolutely yeah, that's absolutely Monday. Yeah,
in same with like, um My, My most famous story, uh that
most of my podcast listeners know is that when somebody asks me what day did
you lose your virginity? And I go, oh easy, it was January
seventh, two thousand and two. So that was a night Triple H returned
at Madison Court Garden, and I know that no matter what I was doing
that day, I had to get home to watch it was. It was
must say television. That one wasn't it? Yeah it was, But just
what a great build up that head though, with the Beautiful Day and things
like that beautiful day. Yeah, yeah, very very good. It's funny
how like you hear song Nanders from Modulok a wrestling primary, Like if I
hed my Way, it's like, well it's seventeen. That does happen.
There's nothing else that that song belongs to. Yeah, it's even still like
if I hear here without you buy three Doors Down, I'm like, oh
man, Eddie Guerrero like that, that's uh wrestling. Once they get ahold
of a song, you know, you there's two types of people in the
world. If they here bring me to life by Evanescence, they'll either think
of No Way Out two thousand and three, or they'll think of Daredevil.
Um, yeah, dead Devil. That's right. And I did not think
of dead Dad as much as I don't want to think of Dad. Devil
making me think of Dad I am. I was saying to Nicola, it's
funny how like, because I haven't watched w W in a very long time,
but I can remember word for word promos from like the early two Like
I can remember where for word the promo for the match between Cactus Jack and
Triple h at the Royal Rumble two thousand. How can you forget that that
is one of the best build up packages of all time? Yet our demands,
why do we have to play this lazy old game? Because I was
the only one in the house, opened the door for a mystery date,
kept getting a football team. He's a dreambo. Don't wait to merge.
Okay, but your turn, your turn? You got the dune. It
looks just like your point, dexter. How come Lisa doesn't have to play?
Why does she get to hang out with her friends? You got friends?
You got the dud right here? Stand up for yourself, point exter.
This visual heat of Homer the dud moment. It's become a thing.
It's hilarious, but I'm like, I don't quite see the overall. I
get it's funny, but it's like, is it that funny? I think
I think the humor in it is from a ship postings as well. Yeah
yeah, but I think more so like steamed hams, I think is just
a genuinely funny written uh thing, whereas this was more of a why did
they animate Homer like this and uh and entity of it and just running with
it, and you're almost just it's a thing you're not even fully paying attention
to because there's so much else happening. Right. You have you know,
the laughing h ha haa, he got the dud, Like there's so much
else happening, But then you have Homer just giving this really slow smile.
And because people isolated that, it Ben became the thing that you've noticed now
when you go look at it. I didn't notice this all and all the
time I watched it until the internet really got ahold of it, and now
I can't unsee it. I honestly think I was just distracted by just the
absolute glee that the Julie Kepnert brings to that line, if You've got the
Dud, I'm sorry that it's one of the best markets. Just so happy.
But just the whole dynamic between between Harmer and Madge when they're playing that
game is great. I mean, I love the they whole vibe this episode.
I mean, just him, Oh, you got the football player,
He's a dream boat. Don't wait up much. I think that's so sweet.
Uh yeah, but you've got the data as well, and yeah,
it took really until this episode that was like, oh, yeah, that
is weird. Yeah, I just think it's it's funny that Millhouse has been
become a punching bag for Homer as well. Stand up for yourself, pointdexter.
But lease, it's now down the rock pool with all the c junk
and she finds a Hemmet crab and she nearly let's slip here at her true
self, you know, gift from my favorite crustacean. And she says that
she heard that on Baywatch, which, um, I never watched Baywatch obviously
it's too young for it. But look were you were ever a Baywatch fan.
I wasn't a particular Baywatch fan. I was more so a fan of
just in general daytime syndicated television or weekend syndicated television, I should say,
because all of that stuff, Highlander and even Mortal Kombat Conquest, little things
along those lines, like those shows that you watched in the middle of the
afternoon that didn't have like the highest production value, like the reboot of Adam
twelve, like stuff like that. I love those types of shows. I
don't know. I liked Hercules and Zena. I was gonna says, yeah,
yeah, and Baywatch fell along those lines where it was a show that
I wouldn't go out of my way to watch as a kid. That's not
true now that I think about it, because look, I was nine and
it was like, I just want to get any type of glance at boobies
I can, and then that was what bay Watch did for me. So
that but like I I don't know, it wasn't a show that I was
that I found engrossing. It wasn't a show I ever got into visually appealing,
that's all it was. Yeah. So Himmer then arrived at Little Value
Mount Mart, which is sort of like the only sort of Springfield esque reference
we sort of getting the episode where it's just to take off of Quickie Mart.
He wants to buy some fireworks, but yeah, just the pornomag,
large box of condoms, bottle of old Harper, a couple of penis shields,
some of the fireworks, and two disposable animals. Always like, better
make it too Now, apparently this is a take off of American Graffiti.
Gosh if it is, it's been a while since I watched American Graffiti,
but I have to go back and check that out because it's a fantastic movie.
But yeah, if it's a shot at well, it's one that's slipped
me. Bind sort is that? So he takes him at the back and
he orders himself an M three twenty. Obviously fireworks a band here will obviously,
No, they're not banned in the states. You can just buy them
wherever you want, Is that right? All know, there's a lot of
places that they're band. They're banned here in Colorado, Okay, so just
sight to state. Okay, Yeah, it's a state by state issue because
Colorado is um notoriously dry, and so because of that, there's always somebody
who I mean the very next state over. Fireworks are legal. So literally
just drive one state and and it's only a two hour drive, and so
you make that drive, you get the fireworks you want. But the problem
is, at least multiple times a year, especially around the Fourth of July,
somebody will set them off in a field in dry Colorado. The field
catches fire, and then we have a massive issue here. And so just
for the same of knowing that dry grass is more flammable, fireworks will probably
never be illegal. Gee, I don't know what you've got planned for tonight,
Homer, but count me out. That's just iconic. But Bart,
he wants Bart to light his fireworks for him, but he's out of matches,
so he tries to use the stove, and yeah, this is just
this is another classic moment. This is I think he didn't Homer in this
episode purely for the comedy, right, because he brings most of comedy in
this episode, don't you think. But Millhouse and Homer. Yeah, definitely
Milhouse and Homer. Millhouse for being the punching bag, and then Homer just
for this year's stupidity. Yeah, but not stupidity to the point because we're
like season seventeen, they really dumped Homer down by that point. But this
is sort of like believable stupidity, you know. It's like, yeah,
this is Homer thinking he's got the right idea and then something goes terribly wrong
like lighting it on the stove and then accidentally lighting too much of the falling
out of the fuse and then it falls off. Yeah, and then I
love the cut to Marge mopping it up, mopping up the subtle payer and
Aaron. He gives Lisa her first real friend ship bracelet, so she gives
Aaron a cinema dental flush necklace with a shell that she found earlier, and
is now looking through Millhouse's glasses. And we get here at Millhouse. I
always thought this was Mealhouse about to get like screwed over. I thought,
because this thing looks dangerous, but it's just a horseshoe crab, which aren't
dangerous in any way. But when I was a kid, I thought,
Okay, that thing's gonna bite him or something. They looked terrifying. Yeah,
and I think the idea was, at least that it was supposed to,
because yeah, I can't think of any other reason to really make that
gag other than I guess it's just funny. But I think the idea that
Millhouse was in some type of danger I think was supposed to be some of
that visual gag, which is why I thought it was odd that those things
apparently aren't dangerous in the slightest But anyway, but Lisa's now having the time
of her life. They're throwing her up in the air. She's dizzy,
she's nauseous, but she's popular and unfortunately, but then a Rise of the
yearbook and what I liked about this was they never hang shit on her.
That it's more confused or like what you'll teach his pet and she just thinks
that they are instantly going to hate for it, so she runs off crying,
but really she doesn't give him a chance to explain themselves. Also a
great direction in that in that scene as well, just the about you know,
approaching more and more each time she's up, each time she's down.
Yeah. Yeah, it's just really good visuals on the part of the episode
the net eating breakfast, and this is the scene you mentioned earlier will where
you know Bart's being or smug and Lisa's got the maple syrup and she looks
terrifying here. Yeah, I mean you know this is you can see that
this is the point where Lisa's realized she's got nothing and she'll never have anything.
And uh mean, yeah, Bart has this smugness about him because he
feels he's accomplished something. He showed Lisa that she'll never be as cool as
him. And yeah this Lisa absolutely grabbing the honey and in Bart's face,
Yeah, you ruin my life. You're nothing but me, not all of
it, very very good. Yeah, yeah great there and then of course,
the best gag of it all is us completely forgetting them Millhouse. Oh
boy, Carnival again. I think Millhouse added so much to this episode.
Yeah, and I never appreciated that as a kid. But like I'm looking
back in there for the review, I'm like, man, this episode without
Millhouse is nowhere near it is funny. No, not so there. Now
at the Carnival, they're spraying the water at the clouds in the spite of
each other. Don't make me get the Connie. And then they on the
what we called this ride the wrong with the spitting. That's called the gravitron
here, what's it called in the States? Um, I don't know.
I was just spitting so fast when the floor comes out, Yeah, yeah,
because I know I have not been on one and way too sick of
I went on that thing. Yeah, I know somebody died on one and
because they like didn't they were too close to the center I guess when it
started. And then it basically just like I am them back and so I
know the only one we ever had was removed and never saw it again,
and going I don't know where one even is. Now, what are your
thoughts on just Carnival rise in general, because I wouldn't have a few when
I was younger. But I'm like, I don't think I want my kids
going and these things. I don't trust that guy that just put this in
together like two hours ago. Yeah, I don't know. I love carnival
rides, I'll say that much like when they show up like that, that
idea is something I agree with, like in the sense of scrolling social media
and seeing them and I'm like, oh, those things look terrifying. And
then carnival shows up locally and I'm like, let's go. Yeaha of the
carnival in town. He gets here, kids, take whatever you want,
did me Mimi mimiming, Yeah, exactly. I think if we're gonna go
to somewhere like six Flags or whatever, you know, somewhere where it's like
than this is what they do for a living on a day to day basis,
you know, it's like this is going to be very professional, very
safe, or that kind of thing. It's not like you're coloring inside the
lines. You've got to ride an accountable that just pulled in the Town's like
I'm kind of taking my life in my hands here, and that's the point.
That's the thrill. Yeah, and I don't know, I just don't
trust those things. But um but we're now it's about on the dodging cars
and no need to bump. Enjoy the ride. But Bart smashes Lisa too
hard and she falls out, nest falls in her hair, and this is
where Bart realizes that he's gone a little bit too far, and she says,
no, being myself didn't work. Being someone else didn't work. Maybe
I'm just not meant to have friends. And she arrives home and you're meant
to believe that they're pranking her because Lisa's going to freak out when she sees
this, but it turns out they're just riding. Lisa rules in shells in
the car, and um, yeah, I just a beautiful payoff to this
story, isn't it. It's a beautiful payoff, and Lisa's reminded that they
like her for who she is. You really feel for Lisa here, You
really get this feel for it. Just it made me feel so good because
you kind of go back to the moment of the reveal with the yearbook where
they find out who Lisa really is, and you're right, there was a
moment of confused. But to the viewer, we were supposed to be able
to understanding that they didn't like Lisa anymore. So it's almost a payoff for
you, the viewer as well, not just for Lisa, to get this
sense of oh, they these are good kids and they liked Lisa all along
that it's even said you can't fake the kind of person you are exactly right.
And so they're on their way home before we get that, though,
we get the great path sweet merciful crop, which I thought it was just
amazing when I was a kid. That's a line I still used all the
time. It's just so good. Yeah, and I'm the say girls were
picking the shells off the car on the way home. But give the yearbook,
he says, I'll show it to your friends again. And now they've
all signed it, so the lines that they write, you made a hot
summer very cool. I'll miss you, that's what Aaron says. Dean says,
I like I like you. You know this is from Rick. Rick
says without you summers a bummer, and Ben says, next time, bring
your microscope, which I thought was a nice little path off too. She
didn't want to bring the microscope, like what are you thinking? And it's
just next time, bring it again, just reiterate and be yourself. And
Millhouse signed it too. Whenever we used to have when all went in an
office, you know, a farewell cap for someone quitting the job. I
always did this in the corner, see you in the car, best wishes.
It's just the go to for me. But behem and then says,
take one last look at this beautiful scenery, throws the buzz cola can at
the window, and then the crab uses it and that's the end of the
episode. But yeah, what a what a fantastic twenty two minutes of television,
As was fantastic twenty two minutes, And I'm glad I picked this one
again. This was an episode that before this year I hadn't given much thought
to, but just rewatching it on the plane and all of it hit me,
especially having a daughter who's in middle school now and going through maybe what
Lease is going through. Yeah, yeah, and you know, knowing how
how much I watched her from time to time try to emulate kind of other
kids and other things that she thinks other kids want her to be. And
I always have to tell her just be yourself. But you know, I
know it's going to take time for a pre teenager to see. But watching
that now from the perspective of a parent and now knowing who Lisa, I'm
there for you. I see what you're going through. But I promise you
it's not as bad as you think. It's funny, we go back and
revisit some episodes from the Golden era and like the episode where Skinet and could
Bopple hook up for the first time. Another episode when I was a kid,
I didn't really think much of, but as an adult, I'm like,
this is just beautiful. Yeah, oh, it's so good. There's
two adultso thought that had nothing and they find everything in each other. Yeah.
Oh I love that episode so much, and for that very reason.
Yeah, it's you know, when you think about how hopeless Edna's been,
and I mean literally, you know, we just saw a few seasons prior
with her and Woodrow, and then of course Seymour has been awfully pathetic the
entire time. Yeah, these two find each other and it turns out they
like making babies. That's the term also that I realize I've been using since
I've seen that episode. That's very much how I've described sex and that's where
that comes from. Guys. Just favorite line, just a bet of all
time, is the baby looked at you? Yeah, Clancy is one takeaway
from that whole thing baby looked deail here? All right, we've a couple
of mail back questions here from our listeners. Well you have time for a
couple of male bad questions? Sure at double denim, he says, where
does this one rate for you? Guys? In the panteon of Simpsons vacation
episodes and what else makes your list? Because I guess this is a Simpsons
go to episode because you think of Simpsons go to episodes, you think of
particular countries, but versus Australia when they go to England or Tokyo, Japan.
I guess this is a go to one, like Simpsons vacation episode.
Yeah, it's tougher because the vacation itself isn't necessarily a big part of the
appeal of this episode. Like you we talked about Australia, right, Like
that is obviously one of the best ones because of all of the gags that
center around Australia. Yes, and same with like the City of New York
for Summer Simpson, same deal right where it's very much about New York and
that's what makes it so good. It's almost like parodying the location. So
like this one doesn't rank highly as a vacation episode. It's a laser episode.
Yeah, it's a leasa episode. I don't really consider this too much
of a vacation episode. So low on the vacation scale because that's not a
big part of the appeal of it, but high on the on the heart
scale for sure. If someone said to you Lesa's Substitute or Summer four foot
two, what are you going with, I'm going Summer four foot two?
Same, Yeah, I'm not a Lesa's substitute. Yeah yeah, So it's
give one safe. Both great episodes, but this one he comes from.
Before you do that down I having said that, I mean, there is
they really do now this kind of tone any upmarket coastal town kind of deal.
I mean, just just the name of it, first of all,
is very easy. You know, it's just a complete amalgam of all these
these coast coastal places. But I was looking at them, the quaint little
shops that they have, and that one's called term for the worst. There's
the beach combat to the barbershop, but my favorite was the news standards called
Gold Things Considered. I mean where we are if you go down, like
to say, to a bow and heads erosion grove down the down the coast
of Victoria. There are so many little places like that where you know their
gift shops or you know you're just buy a whole lot of beige house accessories
that I've got like a five percent markup. It's insane. Yeah, So
that, yeah, I know it's a nice and aspect of this episode that
it really nails that that part of the world. This Quesion, he comes
from Adam Moorehouse. He says for Will in particular, he says, which
aw wrestler would you love to give the catchphrase? Or who would be able
to execute this correctly and use it efficiently? Sweet mess a full crap?
Who uh okay? Who could which aw wrestler could say that and not make
it come out comedic? No? See, I'd wanted to be comedic,
but I wanted to be in a non comedic setting. So that way it
comes it, the gravity of it is felt a little bit stronger. So
uh, let me think about this for a second, uh because, like,
I know who does comedy the best along those lines, But I wouldn't
want it to be somebody who is commonly delivering comedy. You couldn't have MJFA,
could you. Yeah, two corny for him. I think he's too
much of a slick talker for that. Uhmmm. It's got to be somebody
who you know, because it's got to happen when they've got a little bit
of egg on their face. Maybe that was that was the person I was
thinking when I said, somebody who's good at delivering comedy. Um, mirror
mirrors might go to on that one. Yeah, that actually would be good.
Yeah, hopefully when we see him again. But um, but one
more question for you, This is the one we ask for everybody. We
will let you go have have a nice sleep. I'm sure you're very,
very tired after the last few days, but it's the question we ask everybody.
It's it's nineteen ninety eight, so seasons one through nine I finished.
You've been asked to put together a five episode Friday night Simpces marathon on Fox.
What episodes are you choosing? Oh? Okay, so we're gonna throw
in summer four foot two, we're gonna throw in, um March Being Not
Proud, which I know I watched that one around Christmas every year. That
is like one of my favorite moments. That's one of my favorite Simpsons endings
ever. It's just beautiful. Yeah. But honestly, I mean, Dan
Breker is such an amazing character. Fish. There's so many good gags in
that one. That is the king misdirect character. I think he's so good.
Um So, yeah, we'll say Marge being not Proud. We will
say, uh, the Springfield Files. I love that as a sci fi
fan. He can't post that one. It's so good. Yeah, that
was very good. Uh so what I've said three so far? Yeah,
maybe a Trios of Horror? Which tress of hard would you be putting in
there? Oh? Um? Five? Yes, that's the best one,
the Sitting Yeah, uh huh, yes, you've got the Shinning Uh So
we'll say that Treehouse of Horror. And then one more because I've referenced it
like five times in this episode. We'll say twenty two short films about Springfield.
That's my favorite episode of all time. It's just gonna bit of everything.
Yeah, I love the stories I have that incorporate as much of Springfield
as possible, and that one just does it the first. I mean,
that's the beauty of The Simpsons in general, right, is that I can't
think of another show where there's so many characters that I care about. There's
so many characters as I'm invested in. It is such a living, breathing
universe of just people, and I haven't gotten that out of many other shows
ever. Do you know? The idea for twenty two short films came from
there, originally considering a spinoff show where it would be episodes based on side
characters and like their life but like a spinoffs, like their life away from
Springfield. How fun would that have been? That would have been fun.
Also, by the way, I do go back to the on occasion,
one of my favorite episodes is the one hundred and sixty eight. Yeah,
but part of that is there's one deleted scene that I love so much that
I can't believe didn't make it into that Treehouse of Horror. But specifically it's
where they recruit Lionel huts and oh that's okay, the box is empty.
I love that line so much, and I hate that that's like not actually
in the episode. You know, It's funny is we're seeing that episode so
many times, the one hundred and thirty eight episodes, but tact of that,
like when you watch that Trees of Horror, you just think it's coming,
but it's not. It's like, yeah, it's like it's what that's
so that's not what happens? What what? Yeah, that's exactly how I
feel about it. Seem the same page there, and the same with them
with the Shinning, Like I don't think there's any Simpsons fans out there.
They're called the Shining, the shining. It's the shinning. No, it's
a shinning. It's just part of our life. But anyway, well,
well, thank you so much for Johnny today. It's been absolute pleasure to
art to talk to you, and congratulations with your new role in a W
and all the best with everything going forward. Thank you for having me.
I appreciate it.