# The Simpsons Tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2001, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544 "2001-12-03T02:09:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@Lego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lego)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/21 "2001-12-03T20:51:38Z")
One slightly confusing thing: When Gloria is introduced, we see that she is a police officer. When we learn that she used to date Snake, her being a police officer is never mentioned… Little joke I noticed: Snake’s mailbox says “Snake aka Jailbird”, because the first episode that he was featured in called him “Jailbird” in the script. ---
**Author:** ![EandCDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e274bd/32.png) [@EandCDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EandCDad)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/22 "2001-12-03T21:36:08Z")
I thought it was great. It holds up well to the “classic” seasons. The “Toys L Us” gag in Chinatown, Tibettown, the animal control darting of the Chinese New Year dragon, the hostage situation where the cop gets shot in the arm, the post-“Event” looks on the kids faces, it was all there. ---
**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 3, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/23 "2001-12-03T21:45:00Z")
But where was Smithers? How can you have a show revolving around Burns’ and his love life and only have Smithers appear briefly at the beginning? You can’t have Homer being Burns’ #1 lackey and just ignore Smithers. That thought tugged at my brain and kept me from enjoying the show as much as I could have. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/24 "2001-12-03T21:45:41Z")
That was a great episode, compared to what we’ve been getting in the past. We can only hope that Al Jean’s return will bring more great episodes. “Mmm…Pistol Whip…” ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/25 "2001-12-03T23:02:48Z")
Smithers was probably at home alone, crying and drinking Pink Squirrels. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Lego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@Lego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lego)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/26 "2001-12-04T01:05:37Z")
Wasn’t the animal control guy also the big Chinese spy in the previous episode? I don’t get the Toys L Us joke. Explain it to me. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/27 "2001-12-04T01:29:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lego \* > \*\*Wasn’t the animal control guy also the big Chinese spy in the previous episode? > > I don’t get the Toys L Us joke. Explain it to me. \*\* Asians who learn English as a second language tend to have problems with the way “R” is pronounced, and make an “L” sound instead. So, they’ll say something like “solly” when apologizing. It has to do with the fact that there’s no equivilant “R” sound in many of their languages. (My name “Brian” really gives them trouble, because the “B-R” combination is _totally_ unknown to them, so they have absolute fits trying to get it right if they’re new to English. I generally make up a nickname for them to call me by. Its easier for them, and as long as they don’t call me late for dinner, I’m okay with it.) Oh, did anyone else notice that almost _all_ the cars in the episode were old Fords? Burns’ squeeze was driving the same model T-Bird that Marge’s friend swiped from her ex in the _ **Thelma and Louise** _ parody episode, and there were lots of '50s Fords in the background. Really strange since most of the cars tend to be non-descript “any car” types that can’t be pinned to a specific real world counterpart. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/28 "2001-12-04T01:51:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flymaster \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Osiris \* > > \*\*And one reason this one rocked so? No celebrity guest. A good sign these past few years. \*\* > > Julia Louis-Dryfus (sp?) isn’t a celebrity? \*\* I think George Takei was also did one of the voices. However, I think they may be talking about on-screen celebrities not just the voice of one. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/29 "2001-12-04T02:03:10Z")
George Takei was the waiter in the Chinese restaurant, which was just a slight variation of his role as the Akira the Karate master and the guy who runs the Japanese restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/30 "2001-12-04T03:33:40Z")
Ahhh, the Simpsons are back! Knowing the writer’s penchant for subtle allusions, my True Blave and I are always on the lookout for references. There is, of course, the obvious danger of reading too much into a scene. Two such possibilities came up, one reference we think we got; the other has that familiar ‘sound’. First – what was the dance Burns was doing? The Lindy? The Charleston? The Electric Slide? My money is that he was doing the Charlie Brown – a spitting image of one of the kids from the Christmas (?) pageant episode. The second is more ambiguous. What was the name of the previous owner of Snake’s house? It went by quickly, but it sounded quite a lot like ‘Gunderson’. The only Gundersonesque name I’m familiar with is from Fargo, but it doesn’t make too much sense. Any takers? A classic case of over-reading? I’m off to enjoy a nice bowl of pistol whip. Rhythmdvl ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/31 "2001-12-04T04:32:50Z")
> [@](#): > > The second is more ambiguous. What was the name of the previous owner of Snake’s house? It went by quickly, but it sounded quite a lot like ‘Gunderson’. Snake said “I think his name was Gustovson.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/32 "2001-12-04T05:00:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \* > \*\*Snake said “I think his name was Gustovson.” \*\* Any significance to the name? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/33 "2001-12-04T08:13:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EandCDad \* > \*\*the hostage situation where the cop gets shot in the arm, \*\* That was mu favorite gag. When he came running out yelling ‘Ow, ow, ow, ow’, I rolled on the floor. But then, I’m weird. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/34 "2001-12-04T08:23:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Lego \* > > \*\*Wasn’t the animal control guy also the big Chinese spy in the previous episode? > > > > I don’t get the Toys L Us joke. Explain it to me. \*\* > > Asians who learn English as a second language tend to have problems with the way “R” is pronounced, and make an “L” sound instead. So, they’ll say something like “solly” when apologizing. It has to do with the fact that there’s no equivilant “R” sound in many of their languages. (My name “Brian” really gives them trouble, because the “B-R” combination is _totally_ unknown to them, so they have absolute fits trying to get it right if they’re new to English. I generally make up a nickname for them to call me by. Its easier for them, and as long as they don’t call me late for dinner, I’m okay with it.) > \\*\* Isn’t that backward? Or does it depend on which Asian country you’re talking about? I give as example “Engrish” “Catarac” and “Rincoln” Oh and the “Maharo” sign on my local tip jar. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/35 "2001-12-04T08:27:17Z")
Since it’s Chinatown though only Chinese matters, and in the ‘L’ instead of ‘R’ is correct. “Flied lice” being the classic instance of substituition. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2001, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544/36 "2001-12-04T15:52:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Osiris \* > **Isn’t that backward?** It’s neither backwards nor forwards – it’s an inability to distinguish between the two phonemes so that they are used interchangeably (even though native speakers know that they shouldn’t be). My own favorite example (which I’ve mentioned before) was when Chairman Kaga (Japanese, not Chinese) announced the secret ingredient in the New York Iron Chef battle – Lock Clab! –Cliffy [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-tonight/96544.md?page=1)