It is a pretty creepy episode. I suppose I feel the same vibe I feel when watching poorly shot horror films. It adds that extra sense of realism since it’s not so obviously Hollywood. Almost feels like a cursed episode.
I know what you guys mean. I’ve always thought of it as being rather strange, but I never actually realized my own personal feelings about an episode were more…widespread.
I also feel that way about the “Springfield Files” (the X-Files parody episode). It just had that suspense/thriller conspiracy theory vibe to it. You just feel like something’s going wrong. I know it’s funny (it’s one of my favorite episodes), but you also get the same kind of hedged in feeling that the characters are experiencing. Namely Homer.
I felt the same way about the angel episode (Lisa the Skeptic). Especially towards the end, when everything’s coming to a close, and even Smithers decides to let go for once.
I feel like in all three of those episodes, you sort of stop thinking about the show as funny. The jokes are still there and they work, but they feel secondary. Like you’re not laughing as hard as you would have. Maybe it’s just me. But yeah, you’re not crazy (at least not about this), Gjorp.
Incidentally, though, it was the angel episode that fully convinced me to go atheist.
Gjorp - I think I understand.
Most episodes, while far from the standard of “total reality” that The Simpsons inexplicably got saddled with (back then; I doubt anyone really beleives this now), at least adhered to generally accepted standards of reality. When you’re cut, you bleed, it hurts to tumble all the way down a cliff, getting shafted by your boyfriend/girlfriend is extremely unpleasant, etc. Here we have an episode containing a concept (the soul) which is definitely not accepted by all, and it’s the centerpiece of the entire episode.
And there’s absolutely no warning. The transaction is complete, Bart goes back to his buisness…and then realizes that a lot of things aren’t right. Up until that point, it’s possible that the sale was a scam and Milhouse got taken. Then all of a sudden, you realize it’s for real.
If you’re a stone-cold atheist, or even someone who denies that a soul can be turned over so simply…yeah, you’d get weird vibes.
The way Milhouse was acting in the episode was rather creepy.
(deep voice)“The one you call Milhouse is gone.” (normal) “They left while we’re spraying the house for potato bugs.”
Bart: “Did you happen to notice if he was carrying a piece of paper?”
Exterminator: “Oh yeah, you don’t forget a thing like that!”
and…
Bart: “There’s no such thing as a soul. It’s just something they made up to scare little kids, like the Boogeyman or Michael Jackson.”
That ep has some of the best lines in the entire series, but yeah, it is a little creepy, especially the way Milhouse acts. OTOh, you can appreciate that the creators are letting the characters branch out a little instead of making them completely one-dimensional.
Gee, I am pleased to hear I am not the only one.
The Bart sells his Soul and the Skeleton in the Construction Site episodes do make me uneasy. I am fairly religious, but I don’t think that is why.
I can’t put my finger on it. A vague sense of unease or deja vu. of unease or deja vu.
What about the Flanders is Supreme Ruler/Time Travel episode. Same thing.
Somehow like a nightmare.
I have this feeling also. I think it’s the juxtaposition of the idea of a small boy struggling with the idea of a soul - he is genuinely suffering over this concept, and the absurdity of the way the situation came about, as well as the genuinely funny moments and lines in the show. It’s different than most of the shows, where the plot lines are more absurd or at least less philosophical, and you can laugh at the situation as well as the jokes. The idea of laughing at a little boy who has no soul is a little disconcerting.
This ep. is one of the reasons I love the show - they can deal with this kind of stuff (a boy questioning what it means to have a soul) without getting that ‘very special episode’ feeling.
The Uncle Moe’s Family Feedbag plot is one of my favorites, too.
“Uncle Moe, here I am, eat your fries, eat 'em…”
Nah. They should have gone to The Texas Cheesecake Depository.
But it comes with a free frogurt!
A caller at this hour? Dial 91, and when I say so, dial 1 again.
The frogurt is also cursed.
But it comes with sprinkles.
A Mounds bar is not a sprinkle. A twizzler is not a sprinkle. A Jolly
Rancher is not a sprinkle, sir. Perhaps in Shangri-La they are, but not in here.
Blind guy - “Here, Sprinkles!”
Thrown in for the sake of completeness.
The “Iron Buttefly” gag is the best ever Simpsons joke. Yes, that is a peculiur episode. I think that is Milhouse also.
Favorite quote: "Aw, Moe! Not the dank! The dank!
A Gay Bishop? Can’t beat that!
Yeah, it’s a very strange and interesting episode. The way the world seems slightly off in every aspect after Bart sells his soul is part of the artistry of it. I love how the show can both make you feel uneasy (due to lack of a soul) and include jokes like “Hey Bart, you didn’t finish your spaghetti and moe balls!” Homer’s Brain Quiet you fool, they can be ours! Homer, mouth full Run Boy, run for your life…boy."
The show knocks organized religion a lot, and deservedly so, but it never falters in its effort to show that there’s a spiritual side to life. This episode in particular, since the difference between having a soul and being complete and not is so subtle
Defintely one of the best episodes.
I’m not religious at all and those episodes still made me uneasy (especially the “Angel” one). I think the reason why people get “weird vibes” from them is because they take some aspect of religion like souls or angels and depict them in a strange and unfamiliar manner. I was really kind of surprised that in the “Lisa the Skeptic” episode, no one pointed out that it would’ve been more problematic if the angel skeleton had been real because angels are supposed to be immortal. For an angel skeleton to exist, an angel would have to die which is something immortal beings are not supposed to do. (Of course, it may have just been sloppy writing.)
I, too, have always felt a little “uneasy” about the Soul Selling and Angel Skeleton episodes…they seemed to have a (Comparatively) heavy handed, “It’s OK to believe whatever you want…as long as you believe in something. You’re deluding yourself otherwise” message. :dubious:
Ranchoth
(Of course, I’m also the guy who accused C-3PO of being a robotic “Uncle Tom”…)
[Homer]“Hey Marge, remember when we used to make out to this hymn?”[/Homer]
The episode that really gave me the creeps was the recent one when it turned out Flanders had that whole room filled with Beatles memorabilia. First of all, has he had that for 10+ years and we just now found out about it? Second, where did he get the money? Third, the BEATLES?!?! That is so non-Flanders. I could see it if it were like the Kingston Trio or something. I think that’s also the episode where they sing “O, Canada” and make some weird anti-war remark at the end. There’s something really “fever-dream”-ish about that whole episode that leaves me confused and a little nervous.
The show is a perfect example of a classic Simpsons plot device. Despite the general impression of the show, the basic plots for the Simpsons are not always that original. What the Simpsons writers were great at, at their peak at least, was taking a very old theme such as this and putting a completely funny and fresh spin on it. An old plot IDEA with a completely original and funny story around it. In fact, this is not the only “soul selling” episode they have done. Homer also sold his soul in a Halloween episode (perhaps the best one ever done, in my opinion). Yet they still have such original ideas and twists that the idea does not become cliched. Old idea, new spin on it.
I think the fact the show makes people uneasy is a testament to both how attached many fans have become to the characters, despite them being "just cartoons", and how powerful the writers make the message of the story. If it doesn't make some people uneasy, the writers have probably failed in conveying how serious the topic is meant to be in this particular show. The juxtaposition of the humor and the levity of the topic is part of its beauty, like any dark comedy.
Further, its amazing how despite the bad reputation The Simpsons seems to have among the Religous Right in this country, it has speant more time dealing with serious religous issues than probably any other show on TV except Seventh Heaven and Touched by an Angel. I am pretty sure they are the only family on TV outside of Seventh Heaven that regularly attends church. They have done episodes on Homer not going to church, the Reverend losing his touch with the church, Homer against various Commandments, the angel episode, etc.
"You remember Alf! He's back....in pog form."