# Simpsons 12/10- "The Haw-Hawed Couple" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635 "2006-12-11T01:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/1 "2006-12-11T01:37:09Z")
Pretty good one, in my opinion. I was thinking that Bart and Nelson had become friends before in the episode where Bart shot a bird, but he was just being nice to Nelson in that one. This time, they really did become friends. And the whole “Angelica Button” subplot was a much better Harry Potter parody than the one they did a couple Halloweens ago. (Although there are some cases where you _can’t_ improve on old gags- there was a much better gag about the two meanings of “faggot” a couple years back with Burns and Smithers.) “What happened to the Merlinical Council?” “Uh…they went to _Star Wars_ land…to fight in star wars.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/2 "2006-12-11T03:33:53Z")
Good episode. Especially liked the “Goodfellas” shot recreation. (There was another movie homage at the end too.) It’s those kind of things that light my heart like a faggot on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/3 "2006-12-11T03:35:30Z")
I liked the Brokeback Mountain reference at the very end. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/4 "2006-12-11T04:06:10Z")
“Ha Ha! I touched your heart.” First really solid episode in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/5 "2006-12-11T04:24:34Z")
Good episode. I loved Lisa’s “haw-haw,” and Milhouse’s line about “It’s better to walk in on both of your parents than on just one” was the funniest Simpsons line I’ve heard in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/6 "2006-12-11T09:11:46Z")
What’s this? A Simpsons plot that actually stays the same throughout the entire episode and doesn’t abruptly turn into a different story halfway through? Bart acting like he’s 10 years old instead of 20? Something resembling _character development_!? Who are you and what have you done to The Simpsons!? This is definitely one of the best episodes to come along in a long time, IMHO. It feels much more true to what the show was like back when it was in its prime. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/7 "2006-12-11T14:49:22Z")
A good episode, though it was reminiscent of the one where Bart befriended Ralph Wiggim. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/8 "2006-12-11T15:11:10Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] A good episode, though it was reminiscent of the one where Bart befriended Ralph Wiggim. [/QUOTE] You are right about that. But at this point I think we should be grateful if an episode is funny, if not too original. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/9 "2006-12-11T15:42:10Z")
Caught this one while waiting for TAR to start on CBS. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it, not pining for the half-hour of my life back. But I was very annoyed, and yes I get that it’s a cartoon, that the idea of a middle ground seemed completely beyond everyone. Like there’s no room in a friendship between “spend every moment together and be BFFs” and “you’re dead to me.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/10 "2006-12-11T18:57:56Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Caught this one while waiting for TAR to start on CBS. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it, not pining for the half-hour of my life back. But I was very annoyed, and yes I get that it’s a cartoon, that the idea of a middle ground seemed completely beyond everyone. Like there’s no room in a friendship between “spend every moment together and be BFFs” and “you’re dead to me.” [/QUOTE] That was Nelson’s problem, and it’s a problem for a lot of jealous neurotics. (Again, not to get to deep into a cartoon.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/11 "2006-12-11T20:01:28Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] That was Nelson’s problem, and it’s a problem for a lot of jealous neurotics. [/QUOTE] Not only that, but “everyone” in this case was a pair of ten-year-olds. I was intrigued by the fact that they were both lousy friends. Incidentally, I was really hoping this episode would end with Bart doing a monologue like Henry’s “I’m an average nobody… get to live the rest of my life like a schnook” speech in Goodfellas. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/12 "2006-12-11T20:51:55Z")
A really good episode. There was even a good self-referential Joke. Bart is afraid he is going to be killed by Nelson and Grandpa goes “Bully Problems?” … In the first season there was a truly great episode where Bart, Grandpa and the one armed military surplus nut plan a massive counter attack against the Bullies. It started of course with Grandpa going “bully Problems?”. Jim ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@MonkeyMule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMule)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/13 "2006-12-12T02:12:43Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] A really good episode. There was even a good self-referential Joke. Bart is afraid he is going to be killed by Nelson and Grandpa goes “Bully Problems?” … In the first season there was a truly great episode where Bart, Grandpa and the one armed military surplus nut plan a massive counter attack against the Bullies. It started of course with Grandpa going “bully Problems?”. Jim [/QUOTE] The bully in question was in fact Nelson, so it works on two levels. Funny how that treaty Nelson signed NEVER get refrenced. IT would have been great for bart to pull it out, and nelson states some fancy legal move he used to get around it. Although, since that eppisode ran almost 15 years ago,might not go over to well with the younger crowd. Working with an 18 year old in the office really makes me feel old, and I’m only 27 DAMN IT! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/14 "2006-12-12T02:24:55Z")
[QUOTE=MonkeyMule] The bully in question was in fact Nelson, so it works on two levels. Funny how that treaty Nelson signed NEVER get refrenced. IT would have been great for bart to pull it out, and nelson states some fancy legal move he used to get around it. Although, since that eppisode ran almost 15 years ago,might not go over to well with the younger crowd. Working with an 18 year old in the office really makes me feel old, and I’m only 27 DAMN IT! [/QUOTE] I found it on Wiki: [Bart the General](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_the_General). I love this little piece of trivia on Herman. > [@](#): > > Bart asks Herman whether he lost his arm in the war, to which Herman warns Bart, “Next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!” Two episodes earlier, in “Homer’s Odyssey”, Mrs. Krabappel tells the children to keep their arms in the bus and says, “We all know the tragic story of the young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped off by a big truck coming in the other direction.” ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/15 "2006-12-12T15:01:51Z")
This WAS a throw back episode. I really enjoyed it. However, there seemed to be a bit of material after the credits where Homer is crying about the Wizard to Lenny and Carl at Moe’s. I saw a piece of it at the start of my DVRing of American Dad, but I didn’t catch most of it. Any summary? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/16 "2006-12-12T15:06:08Z")
[QUOTE=middleman] This WAS a throw back episode. I really enjoyed it. However, there seemed to be a bit of material after the credits where Homer is crying about the Wizard to Lenny and Carl at Moe’s. I saw a piece of it at the start of my DVRing of American Dad, but I didn’t catch most of it. Any summary? [/QUOTE] I recall the line “No man should out live his favorite fictional wizard.” as Homer cries in his cups. (or Mug of Beer in this case) Jim ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/17 "2006-12-12T15:58:24Z")
[QUOTE=KJ] It feels much more true to what the show was like back when it was in its prime. [/QUOTE] I felt that way during the episode. I think it’s because the plot was plausible and way less wacky than what we’ve gotten used to in recent years. The A plot was about Nelson and Bart being friends, and the B plot was Homer reading a book to Lisa. They used to do more of that basic, human stuff (not all the time, but still) and it made the show feel more grounded. ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/18 "2006-12-12T16:57:40Z")
Good episode. I liked the exchange about the “b word”. “What’s up, my bully?” ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/19 "2006-12-12T22:52:21Z")
Mustache power!!! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635/20 "2006-12-12T23:28:18Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] Mustache power!!! [/QUOTE] If Dumbledore really _did_ act like Popeye, I’d probably be more willing to finally read the Harry Potter books one of these days. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-12-10-the-haw-hawed-couple/383635.md?page=2)