# Tonight's Simpsons episode was so surreal (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028 "2005-05-02T05:25:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/21 "2005-05-02T17:49:59Z")
> [@RumMunkey](#): > > Did anyone else think the fat camp drill instructor guy was an awful lot like Hank Scorpio?? He reminded me more of Marge’s bowling instructor. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/22 "2005-05-02T17:53:25Z")
> [@RumMunkey](#): > > Did anyone else think the fat camp drill instructor guy was an awful lot like Hank Scorpio?? …well… both being voiced by Albert Brooks… I’d say ‘yes’. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/23 "2005-05-02T18:46:49Z")
To tel the truth, I thought the Romano episode was a nod to **Fight Club** ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/24 "2005-05-02T18:49:44Z")
I thought both episodes were decent, and I’ve only said that about one other episode this season. The first one was probably the weaker of the the two, but was saved by some great Dr. Hibbert moments at the end. “Check and mate” indeed. In the second episode, my favorite line was the one with Wolfcastle scooping ice cream, though oddly enough I can’t remember what that line was any more. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/25 "2005-05-02T18:58:55Z")
Both episodes were much like the Simpsons in their prime. They were both on track. Did anyone else notice Bart’s Krusty poster in the second episode (covering the stash of goodies in his room) was a parody of the famous [Rita Hayworth pin-up photo](http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/hayworth/) from WWII? That’s the type of thing that made the Simpsons great, and I was delighted to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/26 "2005-05-02T19:20:26Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Both episodes were much like the Simpsons in their prime. They were both on track. > > Did anyone else notice Bart’s Krusty poster in the second episode (covering the stash of goodies in his room) was a parody of the famous [Rita Hayworth pin-up photo](http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/hayworth/) from WWII? That’s the type of thing that made the Simpsons great, and I was delighted to see it. I think that was a nod to The Shawshank Redemption. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/27 "2005-05-02T19:26:24Z")
Good point, since that was the poster in Shawshank. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/28 "2005-05-02T19:56:48Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > I was a little annoyed, as it was a DIRECT rip from a previous routine that Homer did with the Movementarians about their free seminar. Which, in turn, was lifted from the classic Bob & Ray [“Komodo Dragon” sketch](http://www.mindspring.com/~biohaz/komodo.txt). ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/29 "2005-05-02T20:27:05Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > Or from “Mr. Lisa Goes To Washington” Or the boudoir photography dictionary scene from “They Saved Lisa’s Brain.” It’s a staple, really. I thought it was a parody of A Beautiful Mind because they gave Homer electroshock; it had a lot in common with Harvey too, or really, any movie about an imaginary character. I really go in for those plots. And of course, Stephen Hawking was in it, which was just icing on the barstool-shaped cake. (Incidentally, he does make fun of his disability a lot; in “They Saved Lisa’s Brain” Homer called him a robot and Larry Flynt, and imitated his “voice.” I think someone as smart as him has no problem letting this kind of stuff roll down his back.) I was less taken with the second episode, but I’m not a big fan of Bart episodes. Though I did get a laugh out of Ralph saying “yes, let’s obey the machine.” ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/30 "2005-05-02T22:47:35Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I thought the “pizza pizza” line was tasteless… until I realized that [really was](http://imdb.com/name/nm0370071/) Stephen Hawking. Apparently he has quite a sense of humor for a paralyzed physicist. If that really **was** Stephen Hawking, then he would’ve known that if there really **was** a black hole a few feet from the surface of the Earth, a gravitational lens would be the least of our problems. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/31 "2005-05-02T23:26:08Z")
> [@Fiver](#): > > He reminded me more of Marge’s bowling instructor. You’re all wrong. I just couldn’t get the image of the RV salesman out of my head. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/32 "2005-05-03T00:13:18Z")
It’s blasphemy, I know, but if there’s anyone who could replace Phil Hartman as the permanent “guest voice”, it’d be Albert Brooks. I mean, there’s a better than average chance a ton of his dialogue last night was improvised. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/33 "2005-05-03T00:56:16Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > You’re all wrong. I just couldn’t get the image of the RV salesman out of my head. Brad Goodman, people! Another self-help guru type. WE LIKE ROY! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/34 "2005-05-04T16:30:38Z")
In the promo for the fat farm ep, there was different dialog than what aired in the show. In both instances Homer is yammering about how little kids aren’t supposed to have heart attacks, they’re supposed to get different things wrong with them. Anyone remember the promo version and the show version? I know I’ve noticed this before, specifically in the Simpsons Go To England ep (the dialog changes in the scene where Homer is being taken to the Tower) but at the time everyone pooh-poohed me. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/35 "2005-05-04T18:35:58Z")
In the promo he said “eaten by witches” i forget what he said in the ep. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/36 "2005-05-04T19:29:17Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > (Incidentally, he does make fun of his disability a lot; in “They Saved Lisa’s Brain” Homer called him a robot and Larry Flynt, and imitated his “voice.” I think someone as smart as him has no problem letting this kind of stuff roll down his back.) And in _Futurama_, they made fun of the fact that he has physical effects (Hawking Radiation. Are there others?) named after him: “I call it a Hawking Hole.” “I call it a Hawking Tube.” It seems he’s okay with a little humor at his expense. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/37 "2005-05-04T21:39:15Z")
> [@continuity eror](#): > > I thought it was a parody of A Beautiful Mind because they gave Homer electroshock; it had a lot in common with Harvey too, or really, any movie about an imaginary character. But in the movie, they gave him insulin shock therapy. I didn’t remember ECT. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028/38 "2005-05-06T08:12:10Z")
I’m not sure Don’t Fear the Roofer was a spoof of any one movie. They did kinda spoof the rampant twist endings in movies these days. I liked that, plus Stephen Hawking and Hibbert’s line about Robin Hood. Parts of the second episode (The Heartbroke Kid) were absolutely inspired. Tab Spangler was the best guest character since… I don’t know when. Rex Banner? I like it much better when guest stars don’t play themselves, and he had a number of incredibly funny lines. “Tough Luck? That never made any sense. The sign maker lied!” And at the end, “You have P.S.I. Poor Self Esteem. That’s not P.S.I. All signs are wrong!” Best of all was “Let’s find your dad. And if we have time, maybe we’ll find mine.” ! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons-episode-was-so-surreal-spoilers/302028.md?page=1)