It’s obvious to me that there are a lot of Simpson’s fans on this message board. I’ve seen a lot of favorite character/quote/episode threads, but some of the funniest moments are signs and other things in the background.
So what are some of the funniest things you’ve seen on this series that rewards those who pay attention.
I Can’t Believe It’s a Law Firm! sign outside Lionel Hutz’ office
I RULE U was license plate of Mayor Quimby
NOT OJ was license plate on Lionel Hutz’ white Ford Bronco
Yes, We Have Desparate Immigrants! Sign outside single’s service
There’s Something About the Virgin Mary Outside church
Hmmm…I remember in the Australia episode, that when Bart is calling random numbers, Hitler “hiding out” in S. America is one of the people he inadvertantly calls. In the background you can see that the lisence plate on his car is Adolf 1.
Whenever the outside of the Springfield church is shown, there is always a funny message outside on the sign. Too bad I can’t remember any of them.
When Bart sends Mrs. Krabapple latters to her personal ad, he goes to see the movie “Ernest Needs Kidney,” and comes out laughing. On a Sideshow Bob-themed episode, they saw “Ernest Goes Someplace Cheap.”
“Look, Vern, a poob-lic liberry!”
In one episode, the guy from the comic book store is taking his car to the car wash. As he explains the spanish-speaking car wash employee to be very careful with the bumper stickers, freeze your VCR so you can have a look at them.
One of them reads: My other car is a Millenium Falcon.
Watch carefully anytime there is a marquee on the Simpsons and you won’t be disappointed. A favourite: Grampa and Jasper on the way to the Social Security Office pass by the movie theatre where “Dr. Stangepants” and “Crocodile Dunn Me” are playing.
I remember the episode when Homer was a manager to the country-western star, Earlene. He went to visit her in her mobile home. The sign for the name of the trailer park (escapes me now) said:
187 days since the last tornado
Later in the episode, he went back to visit her humble abode and the sign read:
3 days since the last tornado
This show reminds me of the movie “AIRPLANE!” with all of the behind-the-scenes jocularity going on.
A lot of the writers on the show have past connections to Harvard (most of them were in the Lampoon- e.g. Conan O’Brien before he got his own show) and they often throw in a few side jokes. They’re almost never complimentary - usually they’re one line jabs or too subtle for anyone to notice until you’ve seen the epsidoe a few times.
In one of the Jebidiah Springfield episodes Lisa gets a job in the Springfield historical museum. The curator’s name is “Hollis Hurlbut”. Hollis and Hurlbut are two freshman dorms in Harvard yard. I lived in Hollis my freshman year.
In another episode (of which my memory is much more vague) Bart gets a job as Mayor Quimby’s assistant, who is then obligated to remove someone from his staff so he picks the Harvard grad. IIRC, he demeans the dork (“Hey you there, sing Fair Harvard you egghead”) and then beats him up with his Harvard coffee cup. I think Mayor Quimby also admits at this point that he went to Yale, but I’m not sure.
In another episode either Lionel Hutz or Apu proudly points to his mail order Harvard degree, but my memory here is even more vague.
Hey Johnny! I lived in Hollis, too. Ah, the gentle sound of ghostly, 300-year-old mice scurrying across the dorm-room floor at night. Okay, maybe they weren’t ghosts, but that’s what I told myself at 3 a.m.
I don’t want to hijack the thread or anything (this is an old, widely debated question I have), but in the opening credits, what does the cash register say when Maggie gets scanned?
