# The Simpsons in other lands: Ned Flanders. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501 "2007-07-12T14:53:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/21 "2007-07-13T16:56:52Z")
Specifically, it’s a direct riff on [El Chapulin Colorado](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Chapul%C3%ADn_Colorado), who is quite funny in his own right. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/22 "2007-07-13T17:15:43Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] It’s a reference to Mexican television (which you might not ever see in the UK) which apparently specializes in goofy variety shows featuring a lot of slapstick comedy and people in odd costumes shouting dopey catchphrases in Spanish. At least, that’s the way Mexican television gets _parodied_ in the US. [/QUOTE] Nah, the parodies have it pegged. If anything, Bumblebee Man is funnier and more sophisticated. I see that it’s apparently okay to [show Hitler on German TV](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHIRPvU1CAc&mode=related&search=), at least if a dog is biting his ass. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/23 "2007-07-13T17:30:53Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] I…had…no knowledge of “Bud Man” until a couple of seconds ago, and even then only his name. And yet I always got the general idea of “Duff Man”. [/QUOTE] Neither did Ludovic. Feelings of pop culture shame brewing up in Ludovic. Ohhhh yeah! (It can’t help that I misread Bud Man as Duff Man on first read, proving that it seems to be Bud Man that is more of the non-entity. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/24 "2007-07-20T19:39:51Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] I see that it’s apparently okay to [show Hitler on German TV](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHIRPvU1CAc&mode=related&search=), at least if a dog is biting his ass. [/QUOTE] I think this one might have gotten through since there’s no swastika on Hitler’s arm- I believe the “Cape Feare” episode didn’t air in Germany for many years because the first scene depicts Ranier Wolfcastle’s brother in an accurate Nazi uniform. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/25 "2007-07-20T21:12:15Z")
Huh? Oh, I see: The law says you can’t show the swastika, but it says nothing about showing the architect of what it represents. I don’t normally play the “politcal correctness gone mad” card but I’m tempted to now. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/26 "2007-07-20T21:57:39Z")
[QUOTE=Fiver] And that never inhibited your enjoyment of Duff Man, did it? [/QUOTE] [Duff Man] Duff Man is never inhibited and always fits in! [/DM] ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/27 "2007-07-20T22:03:53Z")
[QUOTE=kellner] In German his dialogue is similar but of course the exact words are modified so that they fit into his German sentences. He also often uses German diminutives. Here are two short clips: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4OcORocztUQ/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/4OcORocztUQ?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iG-grQI-iS4/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/iG-grQI-iS4?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque [/QUOTE] Hijack, what episode is the first link from? I remember it vaguely, and now I’d like to see it again. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/28 "2007-07-20T22:51:32Z")
The first clip is from “Midnight Rx,” where Homer and the gang take Grampa to Canada to get his meds for cheap. Ned meets his doppelganger, who seems like the perfect friend, until he offers Ned a “reeferino- it’s legal here.” Ned replies, “They told me Satan would look attractive.” ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc29f/32.png) [@I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_Ron_Burgundy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/29 "2007-07-21T00:07:41Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] It’s a reference to Mexican television (which you might not ever see in the UK) which apparently specializes in goofy variety shows featuring a lot of slapstick comedy and people in odd costumes shouting dopey catchphrases in Spanish. At least, that’s the way Mexican television gets _parodied_ in the US. Bumblebee Man might be more of a riff on the parodies than on the thing itself. [/QUOTE] Not at all. Most of what is parodied as far as mexican television is the melodrama of the telenovelas, and the hedonism/lasciviousness/big tits. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee\_man#Bumblebee\_Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee_man#Bumblebee_Man) This is a video of chespirito as the grasshopper man. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MVjz-brdhTQ/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/MVjz-brdhTQ?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque The only thing that’s stretched is the slapstick, which is natural when you’re translating to a cartoon. The silly manner of dress isn’t as easy to notice, so the jokes get more ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/30 "2007-07-21T00:12:20Z")
What’s Bud Man? I’ve never heard of him. But Duff Man is funny, nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/31 "2007-07-21T00:21:33Z")
There’s a good link [here](http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Simpsons/index.shtml) to \*The Simpsons \* in Thailand, both the show itself as it appears here on the tube and other local Simpsons-related stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/32 "2007-07-21T00:33:18Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] … Again, it seems to be something that doesn’t cross cultural divides - I don’t know anyone here who doesn’t go 😕 at Bumblebee Man. [/QUOTE] If it makes you feel any better as far as I can remember that was my reaction the first time I saw Bumblebee Man too. I just figured it was a pop culture reference that I wasn’t familiar with. It did remind me a little of the “Killer Bees” characters they used to do on Saturday Night Live back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/33 "2007-07-21T03:26:41Z")
Thanks, **mobo85**! [QUOTE=Northern Piper] What’s Bud Man? I’ve never heard of him. But Duff Man is funny, nonetheless. [/QUOTE] Count me in as someone who’s never heard of Bud Man but who’s always adored Duff Man. Duff Man. Can’t breathe! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/34 "2007-07-21T03:49:20Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] What’s Bud Man? I’ve never heard of him. But Duff Man is funny, nonetheless. [/QUOTE] [Bud Man.](http://www.advertisingiconmuseum.com/inside/c9/3519077.html') ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/35 "2007-07-21T03:58:09Z")
I’m not even gonna bother clicking that link because for me, Duff is enuff. OH-yeah! [sub]“Bud Man…?” pfft, sounds like a rip-off[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501/36 "2007-07-21T04:25:25Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] [Bud Man.](http://www.advertisingiconmuseum.com/inside/c9/3519077.html') [/QUOTE] That link is all kinds of messed up. Try [this one.](http://www.advertisingiconmuseum.com/inside/c9/3519077.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-in-other-lands-ned-flanders/411501.md?page=1)