Random lingering Simpsons questions

Cafe Society
#1

There was actually a time when I was passionate about this show (when I read the incredible tongue-bathing My Sister My Sitter got, I was ready to throw things…more on that later). I had barely begun my second stint at college when I completely lost all passion for this show, and I think I may have seen eight episodes (and the movie) since. So suffice to say that I’m fine leaving this incredible long-runner be.

Just a few tiny tidbits before I can leave in peace:

If you have a really long memory, you’ll recall that in Bart Gets Hit By A Car, Bart goes to Hell, whereupon the Devil tells him “You’re not supposed to be here until the Yankees win the World Series again. That’s not going to happen for a hundred years.” Question: After a well-publicized sporting event that happened on October 26, 1996, was there ANY reaction whatsoever? Jokes, a mention in the magazine, a mention on another Fox show, a tribute cartoon, anything? If Homer and Bart could give a little tribute to the end of The Cosby Show, I think this deserved something.

Were there any repercussions to Groundskeeper Willie being deported? The way it went down (a quickie thrown-in closing gag) made it look like they weren’t serious, but I don’t recall him being used again.

Did anything from the movie stick? I already know that Dr. Nick Riviera didn’t stay dead. My guesses are that the bullies were shocked by Martin finally standing up to them but recovered, “Harry Plopper” stuck around for a bit before fading out, the lake eventually got cleaned up, and Mr. Burns regained his wealth because Mr. Burns ALWAYS regains his wealth.

Was there anything on the show (or any other Fox show) about the 2012 Olympics logo? NBC’s rights limited their options, obviously, but I could see them having a little fun with it…say, Nelson walks by a poster, squints, frowns, and says “Eh, not seeing it,” while Bart just sits on the curb and grumbles because he’s still miffed over Springfield losing an Olympic bid.

Lastly…why did My Sister, My Sitter get a free pass? I don’t recall anyone who has it on their list of “Worst Episode Ever”. Look, even if you hate Lisa (and I think Mr. Burns deserves it a lot more and am baffled at the free pass he gets, but that’s another issue), you have to agree that this episode was a horribly written, incoherent mess. If you want an episode where Lisa is put in her place, there are several where she’s not dragged through the mud in the most childish, ham-handed, unwatchable way imaginable. Of all the episodes that no one ever dares criticize, this one irks me the most.

#2

Burns can be fun and interesting to watch, Lisa is just boring and/or annoying most of the time.

#3

DKW:

I don’t have to agree with that at all. I thought it was a riot. It’s been a while since I saw the episode, but I remember laughing at the practical jokes Bart used to aggravate Lisa (“Why would the ambassador lie?”), the crowd of patients at Dr. Nick’s clinic (“The wheelbarrow line is over there…”), Chief Wiggum’s usual stupidity (“Just as I thought - it’s a YARD KING!”)…there are definitely a few episodes I’d put on my “Worst Ever” list, but that one is very far from it.

#4

I also liked “My Sister, My Sitter.” There was the part where Lisa was imagining the worst scenarios possible, with Dr. Hibbert making his diagnosis of bad babysitting. Then, when they encounter Dr. Hibbert for real, he says, “dislocated shoulder, bump on the noggin. My diagnosis…rather nasty fall…caused by bad babysitting!”

#5

My favorite line was from the bit where everyone showed up at the door at once. Amid the party sub, Krusty, the feds covering up a UFO sighting, and a chauffeur looking for the ambassador from Ghana, some paramedics show up: “We got a call to perform an emergency sisterectomy?”

#6

While certain things did stick (the deaths of Maude Flanders, Bleeding Gums Murphy, Mona Simpson, etc.), for the most part anything that happens, as Lisa points out in episode 1F14 “Homer Loves Flanders”:

#7

I don’t recall “My Sister, My Sitter” getting any particularly extreme praise or criticism at the time. It has it moments, to be sure, and as Lisa-centric episodes go, it’s better than most.

Not that I know of.

Well, he was, often, with no mention of his deportation.

Not beyond a few passing references now and then. I suppose the only lasting influence the movie had was the the TV show’s animation took on a more computer-generated look, though I’m not sure if that happened before the movie’s production.

I seriously doubt there are any episodes immune to criticism, your irkiness notwithstanding.

#8

Willie was deported in “Much Apu About Nothing” (great episode) and was back not long afterward. He’s even been the main character in one episode (“My Fair Laddy”). He’s one of my favorite side characters. I was just getting into the show around the time “My Sister, My Sitter” aired and never participated in the really Simpsons-centric websites, so I don’t know what the reaction to that episode was like. I think it’s a good episode, but some fans hate pretty much anything Lisa-centric and I’m not one of them.

#9

I laughed when Bart, learning that Lisa was going to babysit him, called it something like “the worst injustice in history”

#10

Okay…I’m going to back off on My Sister, My Sitter, because now I’m quite frankly starting to get creeped out. Just for the record, I do recall a few voices on snpp.com saying that it was a horrible episode and ridiculously ham-handed, but they were quickly shouted down, and some of the defense I heard were downright insulting (“If you don’t like this, it means that your brother was a perfect angel, but WE know that this is a perfectly accurate depiction of how blah blah blah…”). I always thought of the hardcore Simpsons fandom as a bit, well, unsettling, but no more than any other hardcore fandom. This was the point where I felt a total, drastic disconnect with the fandom and realized I could never call myself a fan again.

Anything about the 1996 World Series or the Olympic logo? That’s what I’m really curious about.

#11

If there was anything about the World Series it went over my head. Nothing about the Lisa giving Bart a blowjob logo.

#12

Huh. Well, that’s…disappointing.

Guess it’s really a complete crapshoot what does and doesn’t become part of legend. “A wizard did it” seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?

#13

I liked “My Sister, My Sitter”. Bart annoyed me more than Lisa in the episode. I thought it was a fine episode that shows the typical Lisa cycle where she gets praised for her brains, tries to use it to do something adult, and then her plans fall apart after realizing she’s still a 7 year old after all