# tonight's simpsons **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 4, 2000, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884 "2000-12-04T01:31:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AndYrAStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@AndYrAStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndYrAStar)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/1 "2000-12-04T01:31:45Z")
Is it me, or was this the weirdest freakin’ episode ever? Started out very amusing (“there is not an emoticon for what I’m feeling!”) and just developed into… man, I don’t know. That is all. Continue on. ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/2 "2000-12-04T01:33:49Z")
I agree, it started out strong and turned into a cheesy ripoff of a mel gibson movie. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/3 "2000-12-04T01:34:50Z")
[peter lorre voice] I like weird. Weird is my favourite thing! [/peter lorre voice] I can’t wait to see it. About 2 1/2 hours 'til it airs… ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/4 "2000-12-04T02:10:03Z")
I like you youngsters, so I’m gonna help you out here… Tonight’s Simpsons episode was largely a parody of a groundbreaking series from the 60s called “The Prisoner.” It starred Patrick McGoohan (who guested on tonight’s Simpsons) as a spy who quits his job in disgust, is drugged then taken to a secret island because he “knows too much” (as was Homer tonight). It was all highly weird and psychedelic…in other words, a series from the 60s. Tons of information about this show exist on the web so I’ll stop typing now. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/5 "2000-12-04T02:13:01Z")
Well, I feel much better now! Tonight’s show more than made for last weeks’. Love the Prisoner parody. Especially since I just got the first Prisoner DVD set! ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/6 "2000-12-04T02:13:19Z")
Picture, if you will, a lounge full of college freshmen, all with classic “WTF?” faces as two of us tried to explain “The Prisoner” to them all… That’s the second time they’ve made reference to the series. The other time, IIRC, was when the family was in a cult. I didn’t think it was horribly funny, though. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/7 "2000-12-04T02:25:08Z")
Here is [Cecil’s](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_022c.html) description of the Prisoner. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/8 "2000-12-04T02:29:49Z")
Andygirl, I was doing the same explaining. And you’re right, the cult episode had the floating bubble in attacking Marge (who sidestepped it and it got Hans Moleman instead). I liked it, but at the same time felt it was odd that they should base 2/3s of an episode after a show that perhaps one in thirty people ever heard of (if that). ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/9 "2000-12-04T02:31:37Z")
When I was watching it, I said to my SO “I’ll bet this is REALLY weird if you’ve never seen ‘The Prisoner’”. I just wish they’d called Rover by name. Really stump the kids. Who is #1? You are #6. I AM NOT A NUMBER I’M A FREE MAN!! I have them on tape if anyone want to borrow them. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/10 "2000-12-04T02:37:39Z")
I laughed my ass off when they said “why did you think a big balloon would stop him?” because that is what I always thought when watching the Prisoner! hehe… They just weren’t a menacing image. I thought tonight’s episode was great. I especially liked Homer’s first homepage. HA! It’s just like SOOOO many that I’ve seen out there. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2000, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/11 "2000-12-04T03:03:16Z")
Alas, I missed the first half. But the kids asked why I was laughing as soon as I saw the garden party Homer found himself in. McGoohan sounded less insanely intense and heavily self-medicated than usual, so I wasn’t sure it was him until the credits. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/12 "2000-12-04T06:41:33Z")
I have never seen a single episode of “The Prisoner,” although I was aware of the show and some of its basic plot elements. I thought it was a pretty neat episode anyway. The only part that didn’t work for me was the big balloon – had I heard of the rovers, I would have understood what was being parodied. I also know about the Tic-Tacs. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/13 "2000-12-04T07:42:39Z")
McGoohan hasn’t been in the best of health lately. If I contribute to the Celebrity Death Pool, I’ll definitely include him. I’m a tremendous fan of the Prisoner; in fact, I have both the DVD boxed sets! (They’ll all be on DVD eventually, but right now there are only two sets.) I, too, howled when I realized where they were going, but apart from that, the only bit I really thought was clever was Homer popping Rover with a fork. That **was** clever, but apart from that, I thought they just put the Prisoner concept on the table and let it sit there. An uneven episode, as they’ve generally been lately. I liked CSG’s “emoticon” line, and Homer ignoring Bart’s cry for help, but this was just another of the “and then” stories. Put a fork in the Simpsons instead of Rover, 'cause they’re done. Kellibelli: Mel Gibson movie? Where’ja get that? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/14 "2000-12-04T07:46:58Z")
Also, I loved the dog doing the Snoopy dance during the couch gag. That, at least, was spot-on: the way he crumpled and slunk away when they glared at him, just as Snoopy does when Schroeder and Lucy glare at him in the Xmas special. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/15 "2000-12-04T08:54:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Torgo \* > \*\*I like you youngsters, so I’m gonna help you out here… > > Tonight’s Simpsons episode was largely a parody of a groundbreaking series from the 60s called “The Prisoner.” It starred Patrick McGoohan (who guested on tonight’s Simpsons) as a spy who quits his job in disgust, is drugged then taken to a secret island because he “knows too much” (as was Homer tonight). It was all highly weird and psychedelic…in other words, a series from the 60s. Tons of information about this show exist on the web so I’ll stop typing now. > \*\* I bought the 2 DVD sets two weeks ago. I love that show and loved the parody. Be seeing you. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/16 "2000-12-04T13:32:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Put a fork in the Simpsons instead of Rover, 'cause they’re done From Hells heart I stab at thee… [denial] Never! the simpsons will never be done!! [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/17 "2000-12-04T13:42:25Z")
It could’ve been worse. Gateway or Dell could have done a product placement deal… In any case, the references to The Prisoner were hysterical, but I never would have gotten them if I hadn’t been a devout reader of Cecil’s column. I’ve never seen an actual episode of the Prisoner. Bart’s writing on the board was both funny and annoying at the same time: “I will only give a urine sample when requested.” Funny, but I hate it when people misplace “only” within a sentence. I really thought the scene in the computer store was funny. It was a perfect parody of computer salespeople who promise the world to people who don’t know much about computers. Kinda like every CompUSA salesman I’ve ever met. This kind of behavior was what led me to configure my own system through Gateway and avoid the retail stores entirely. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/18 "2000-12-04T13:45:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bio-brat \* > \*\* > > Who is #1? > You are #6. > I AM NOT A NUMBER I’M A FREE MAN!! > \*\* Great! Now I have the iron maiden song “the Prisoner” in my head! ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/19 "2000-12-04T13:49:06Z")
I couldn’t help but think last night that there was going to be a thread about “The Prisoner” elements. “Oh, yeah, they’ll be all over this,” says I. IMHO, they should have split the premise into two shows: Homer as investigative reporter and another show with “The Prisoner” elements. It was almost as if the writers got halfway through the episode and then said, “Hey, let’s just send Homer to ‘The Island’ from ‘The Prisoner.’” All in all, the show is getting much more hit and miss. It may be time to think about hanging it up. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884/20 "2000-12-04T14:37:10Z")
I spent a week in Portmeirion, the town (not an island) on the coast of the Irish Sea in Wales, where “The Prisoner” was filmed. I would LOVE to be kidnapped and held hostage there! Lovely place, and very off-kilter. What gave me the willies last night was when the ailing Todd (or was it Rod?) Flanders looked up and said, “Mommy?” Depressing as all get-out and gave me the shivers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonights-simpsons/43884.md?page=2)