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A Taste of The Simpsons: 5 Recommendations from The Buffet
Let me start off my asking who doesn’t know The Simpsons? The animated TV family has charmed their way into homes around the world for over a quarter of a century. Each week, we await what zany antics the Simpsons as well as the residents of their hometown, Springfield, would get themselves into. With 27 seasons and counting, it can be a challenge to choose a favorite episode. The Buffet’s owner will provide you with some great recommendations from seasons 1 through 10ーwhich are universally recognized as the fan favorites. A sample of the episode as well as a summary and reasoning behind the recommendations will be presented in an orderly manner so as to get a taste of the beloved series. Please step up and don’t be shy to try new things. You might find a new favorite!
Season 3 Episode 23: Bart’s Friend Falls in Love
“How could this happen? We started out like Romeo and Juliet but it ended up in tragedy!”
Sample: A new classmate comes between best friends Bart and Milhouse, testing their relationship.
Dorky Milhouse steps out of his best friend’s shadow after his grabs the attention of the new kid in town, Samantha Stanky. Bart becomes jealous and devises a plan to break the new couple apart. He calls Samantha’s father who catches his daughter kissing Milhouse in Bart’s treehouse. Devastated, he grabs Samantha and sends her to an all girls school, breaking the couple apart. After seeing Milhouse depressed, Bart feels terrible. While he regularly mistreats his sidekick, Bart generally cares for Milhouse and ultimately values his friendship. He takes Milhouse to Samantha’s school and apologizes to the couple. While this won’t be the last time a girl comes between the boys, what we can take from is that the power friendship is just as strong as romantic love. I personally enjoy this episode because of the similarities between Samantha and myself. The sweet girl who likes the dorky guy but gets sent to an all girls school by their strict father. Yep, art imitating life.
Season 4 Episode 2: A Streetcar Named Marge
“I just don’t see why Blanche should shove a broken bottle in Stanley’s face. Couldn’t she just take his abuse with gentle good humor?”
Sample: Marge joins a local production of A Streetcar Named Desire and finds parallels of the characters in the play to her friends and family.
After feeling neglected and isolated at home, Marge tries out for a local musical production of A Streetcar Named Desire called “Oh, Streetcar!”. While director Llewellyn Kowalski initially rejected her, after he heard a defeated Marge talk to Homer on the phone, Kowalski declares Marge to be his Blanche. Blanche is described by Kowalski as a “delicate flower being trampled by an uncouth lout” and Marge represented the description throughout the episode. She plays opposite to Ned Flander’s Stanley, who unlike Stanley, provides support to a struggling Marge. Originally disinterested, Homer becomes upset at Marge’s newfound interest and wants her to spend more time at home. Homer channels his inner Stanley and parodies the infamous scene calling his love’s name. Marge notices the similarities between the two and chooses to ignore him. The family watches Marge’s performance that received a positive reaction but misinterprets Homer’s sadness as boredom. When she confronts Homer, she learns that he was actually moved by her performance and learned to better appreciate his loved ones.
Season 4 Episode 15: I Love Lisa
“You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half”
Sample: It’s Valentines Day in Springfield and the students at Springfield Elementary are exchanging gifts. Poor Ralph Wiggum didn’t receive any and out of pity, Lisa offers him a card reading, “I choo-choo choose you”. Ralph mistakes Lisa’s gesture as a form of affection.
I enjoy how Ralph is portrayed in this episode. He has an innocent and childlike charm to him that makes sense because he is a child but it’s a nice contrast to the wise beyond her years Lisa. Ralph isn’t made to be a joke like future seasons. He yearns for Lisa and tries to curry her favor through errands and gifts with help from his father, Police Chief Wiggum, who blackmails the residents. Lisa is aware of Ralph’s intentions however worries about breaking his heart. Her breaking point was when Ralph announced on TV that Lisa is his girlfriend and he plans to marry her. She lashes out at him saying that she never liked him and felt bad for him. Ralph learns the power of a crush and is heartbroken. After a school performance in which Ralph and Lisa play George and Martha Washington, he happily accepts his relationship with Lisa to be strictly platonic. Ralph genuinely enjoys being in Lisa’s company even though he can come off as oblivious. The audience can take away a positive as well as important lesson from the transformed Ralph.
Season 6 Episode 18: A Star Is Burns
“Uh oh. I smell another cheap cartoon crossover”
Sample: Marge comes up with a plan for Springfield to host a local film festival and invites film critic Jay Sherman. In an effort to obtain mass appeal, Mr. Burns submits a film in hopes of winning.
As the town of Springfield is seen as a cultural wasteland, Marge creates a film festival highlighting films created by the town’s inhabitants. She invites New York City based film critic Jay Sherman to help judge the festival after seeing his show on television. Jay Sherman is from the hilarious and underrated show, The Critic, created by former The Simpsons writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss and produced by James L. Brooks, who also produces The Simpsons. Seen as a shameless advertisement to some, I find it as an effective way to promote the show and not much different than when celebrities guest star as themselves to piggyback on their popularity. Jay Sherman is a hit at the Simpsons household to everyone except Homer who feels inadequate and gets Marge to put in on the voting committee to prove his worth. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns hires Steven Speilberg’s “non-union, Mexican equivalent” Señor Speilbergo to direct a film painting him in a positive light to little success. His blockbuster film parodies are no match for Barney Gumble’s introspective film about his alcoholism. With the film committee at odds as to who should win best picture, it’s up to Homer to decide. Once again, Homer steps up and puts aside his pride to make a mature decision.
Season 7 Episode 19: A Fish Called Selma
“That’s right, boys. Troy’s back from the gutter and he’s brought someone with him!”
Sample: Washed up actor, Troy McClure, is dating Selma Bouvier, however McClure’s intensions aren’t sincere. Will Selma play along as his leading lady?
“Hi, my name is Troy McClure. You might remember me from such films as XXX and XXX”. This has to be one of my favorite Simpsons episodes because not only it is well written but also we learn about the man behind the media that is often viewed by the residents of Springfield. After a run in with the law, McClure is sent to the DMV and meets Selma who is star struck. He promises her a date if she lets him pass an eye exam. Selma excitedly agrees and the two go on a lackluster dinner that only gets some steam after paparazzi catches the two together. Capitalizing on the attention in hopes of revitalizing his career, McClure tells them that Selma is his love. The plan works and McClure is receiving acting roles again, most famously “playing the human in the Planet of the Apes”. It was the role [he] was meant to play. Unbeknown to Selma, McClure’s agent suggests he marries Selma for even bigger roles and the two get married. The running joke throughout the episode is McClure’s fish fetish, which was the downfall of his once thriving career. The best exchange in my opinion was between mobster Fat Tony and his henchman, Louie:
Louie: Hey, I thought you said Troy McClure was dead
Fat Tony: No, what I said is that he sleeps with the fishes You see…
Louie: Uh, Tony, please, no. I just ate a whole plate of dingamagoo
Homer learns of the sham marriage through a drunken McClure and he tells Marge who quickly alerts Selma. Selma believes Marge is jealous and confronts her new husband who has no problem telling her it's a sham marriage. Having financial stability and fear of being alone, Selma agrees to play along. It’s only when McClure tells Selma that they should have a baby because it’ll improve his chances to be in a Blockbuster movie that Selma has second thoughts. The couple calls it quits and reunites with their original loves, McClure with his acting and Selma with her pet lizard. Depicted as unlucky in love throughout the series, Selma’s determination to find love in addition to her dedication to her loved ones is heartwarming. Let’s hope for Cupid's arrow to land on a good man for Selma in an upcoming season!
There are more genders than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio... This week, Del & Poppy talk gender trouble in magic communities and trade linguist humor with their very first guest! For reference, you will hear fem addressed with multiple names throughout the conversation; these all refer to our singular and singularly fabulous guest, who is blessed with twelve names in all. Content advisory - there will be a few instances of spoken reclaimed slurs that have been leveled at trans, queer, and most other flavors of rainbow folks. Suggested readings from the show: Books and contributions to published works by Crystal Blanton In Our Own Image: towards a transcentric Paganism, a call sounded by foxfetch Aedicula Antinoi, blog of P. Sufenas Virius Lupus for more from this episode's guest, see Mx. Merlin Monroe's multifaceted musings in A muppet's Book of Days say hi to / follow Poppy and Del on Tumblr e-mail us with questions, comments, topic suggestions, or if you'd like to be our next guest, at: [email protected] Music: 『鯖江市日の出』Sabae Sunrise (Fabian Measures) / CC BY 4.0
Broom With A View is delighted to welcome our first guest for an hour of Yelling About Teh Genders, and also making very astute connections and having insights and dissolving into gigglefits. This week is a fun one, comrades!
Reiterating the content warning above: there are a few casual drops of reclaimed slurs that have been used against trans, queer, and other rainbow folx; these pop up infrequently, but please message me if time signatures would help you have a more pleasant listening experience.
I must admit, when I heard I was going to see the Broadway musical, Wicked, I immediately thought about the South Park episode entitled, "Broadway Bro Down". In it, it was revealed that Broadway musicals emit a subliminal message to women to perform oral sex on men.
Wicked, as elegantly put by Randy Marsh, is “Uh, shit, I don’t know, some green chick and a goat or something”. I have heard positive reviews about Wicked and was curious if it was as great as everyone said it was—with or without the ability to give a trouser friendly kiss.
First of all, the theater was packed with middle aged couples (guess they saw the episode too).
Wicked is based on the 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of the 1939 beloved movie, The Wizard of Oz. The musical opened with Glinda floating down after the inhabitants of Oz learned the Wicked Witch of the West is dead and were celebrating. One of the inhabitants questions her relationship with the Wicked Witch of the West to which Glenda nervously replied that they have a history together. Shocked, the inhabitants wanted to know more about this revelation and Glinda begins to tell her story to her audience.
The Wicked Witch's name is Elphaba whose green skin and questionable origins has made her an outcast, even within her own family. By order of her father, the governor of Munchkinland, she is to take care of her wheelchair bound sister, Nessarose, as they attend Shiz University. At the university, the sisters meet the headmistress, Madame Morrible, who is aware of their well-known father. Madame Morrible takes Nessarose under her wing much to the objection of Elphaba who in a fit of rage unleashes her hidden power to an unsuspecting crowd. Intrigued by what had just happened, Madame Morrible decides to teach Elphaba sorcery and offers her a chance to work with the respected Wizard of Oz, much to Elphaba's delight. With her sister whisked away, Elphaba is paired with aforementioned Glinda, formerly known as Galinda (with a "ga", as she proudly reminds others). The initial relationship between the two plays off the often used trope of the pretty popular mean girl (Galinda) bothered by the antics of the homely smart social outcast (Elphaba). The hatred slowly dissipates at a party hosted on the behalf of Fiyero, a handsome young prince, who has captured Galinda's heart. Boq, a student at Shiz, has a crush on Galinda and asks to be her date at the party. Convinced she will be with Fiyero and taking advantage of Boq's loyalty to her, Galinda tells Boq to take Nessarose to the party out of pity. Nessarose is unaware of Boq's intentions and gleefully tells Elphaba that Galinda helped paired the couple. Elphaba's questions her opinion of Galinda, especially after she receives a hat she can wear to the party. At the party, Boq notices Nessarose falling in love with him and cannot bring himself to hurt her feelings. Galinda learns that she is able to join Madame Morrible's exclusive sorcery class at the request of Elphaba. She begins to feel terrible for her treatment of Elphaba especially when Elphaba arrives at the party wearing Galinda's gift, a witch's hat. Elphaba is uncomfortable hearing her classmates’ laughter and starts to awkwardly dance. Riddled with guilt, Galinda joins her and the two girls begin to see each other in a more positive light. They share stories of their upbringing as well as their dreams. In true school role play fashion, Galinda vows to make Elphaba popular.
The following day, Elphaba arrives to class with her new look to which Fiyero replies that she doesn’t need to change. Their focus is quickly shifted to their professor, Dr. Dillamond, the only talking animal in the university who faced discrimination within the workplace. Dr. Dillamond announced he has been asked to leave the university and to be replaced with a new curriculum that teaches how to control animals in cages so that they will be unable to speak. Angry at what had just transpired, Elphaba’s powers reappear and she and Fiyero are able to rescue a lion cub trapped in a cage. Fiyero begins to fall in love with Elphaba for her selflessness but Elphaba refuses to reciprocate her feelings knowing Galinda loves him. Later, Madame Morrible tells Elphaba that the Wizard of Oz would like to see her and Nessarose, Galinda, and Fiyero see her off at the train station. Noticing how distant Fiyero has become, Galinda decides to change her name to Glinda (the “ga” is silent, she says) in solidity to Dr. Dillamond and in hope of grabbing Fiyero’s attention, however, to no prevail. She chooses to join Elphaba in her trip to the Emerald City and are both in awe of the hustle and bustle of the big city. They are joined by Madame Morrible, who announces she is the press secretary for the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba is star struck when she sees the Wizard and willfully helps him read a spell book, however, she has unknowingly become a pawn in his scheme in eradicating the animals. Devastated, Elphaba vows to fix her mistake and make the Wizard’s intentions public. Madame Morrible creates a smear campaign against Elphaba and promises Glinda that if she stays quiet, she will be given a cushy job and the man of her dreams. Blinded by her desires, she agrees to Madame Morrible’s command—much to the dismay of Elphaba.
Wicked is a wonderful re-telling of the Wizard of Oz through the perspective of the witches. It makes you rethink your opinion of these classic characters. I rather not give away any more of the plot for fear of revealing major spoilers but I will say that in this story, the audience also learns the origins of the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Flying Monkeys, and the beloved (silver) slippers the Wicked Witch of the West tried to get her hands on. What is missing in Wicked is the iconic Dorothy. We see only a silhouette of her as she fights off Elphaba. Like the inhabitants of Oz, Dorothy is unaware of the story of the witches and her actions leading up to pouring water on Elphaba will make you have an unfavorable opinion on her as well as Glinda who passed multiple chances to help Elphaba. To quote Dan Brown, “History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?”
I highly recommend people to check out Wicked. It’s thought provoking but also fun to watch. You will not be disappointed with the cast and will make you root for Elphaba—even when watching the classic movie.
