Miss Mapp said:
Are you sure? Cos I remember that at the end of the flashback, Smithers runs out onto the balcony and a Marlon-Brando-esque-Burns is outside yelling “Smithers!!” as in Stella!! Which would be Streetcar, right? Maybe my theatre knowledge betrays me. 
I’m paraphrasing here.
BURNS: Ahh, Friday. Doing anthing gay this weekend, Smithers?
SMITHERS: What?
BURNS: You know, jolly, carefree. Mothers, lock up your daughters!
SMITHERS: Oh, that.
Burns: “I guess there’s nothing left but to kiss my sorry ass good-bye.”
Smithers: “May I, sir?”
Burns: “One jar of garlic pickles. No one will want to kiss me after these, eh Smithers?”
Smithers: “It’s their loss, sir.”
Burns: “‘Memorandum to Mrs. Bouvier, re: Delineation of Romantic Intentions’” – pfft, too sappy. Smithers, come over here and help me write a mash note to my girlfriend."
Smithers: “Fine. ‘Darling one, read my words and hear my heart speak of a love soft and undying: a love that will be with you always. Sincerely,’ yadda, yadda, yadda.”
Burns: “That’s marvelous! How did you think of that so fast?”
Smithers: “I sent it to you on your birthday! Excuse me, I have something in my eye!”
Smithers: “Well, that’s the end of the girls’ floor exercises, now let’s bring on the men!”
Burns: “Bah! Far too much dancing, not nearly enough prancing!”
Smithers: “A little mincing would be nice.”
And don’t forget Smithers’ ABBA tape, Kim Basinger’s shoes, dancing with the Village People, and his exclusion from the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
And it’s definitely Cat on a Hot Tin Roof because Smithers is on a crutch.
People, people, let’s not forget the “Malibu Stacy” collection. I think that speaks for itself.
If Smithers isn’t a gay man, he’s doing a pretty good imitation of one.
ArchiveGuy wrote:
:eek: I’ve got two ABBA CDs!
And, come to think of it, back when I was looking at houses in 1995, I almost bought one with … TRACK LIGHTING in it!
Does this mean I have to start dating men now?
I always thought it was pretty obvious, especially when they started to play it up.
My opinion is that Smithers is Gay and Burnsexual. I think that his infatuation is with Burns, but this is partly because he is gay.
I also think that Burns doesn’t realize this. Perhaps he’s sometimes suspected something, but he has never really figured it out. Most of the lines that Burns has that might indicate that he knows, such as: “We all know about your opinion,” are not conclusive proof that he knows. He could just think Smithers is odd,
You’re both right. The bit used elements from two Tennesee Williams plays, with the crutch smashing the liquor bottles from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the man outside in a torn shirt yelling a name from A Streetcar Named Desire.
The whole thing with Burns not “getting” that Smithers is infatuated with him, could be a take-off on elderly people who claim, “There weren’t any gay people when I was little.” IOW, Burns, who’s been so busy making money these past thousand years or so, hasn’t paid any attention to what goes on in the outside world and cannot grasp the concept that a “man would lie with another man the same as he does a woman.”
And of course in the Simpsons Variety Show, there were the Waylon Smithers dancers. Smithers was dressed as a cowboy singing “whip it.”
What does Jolly Ranchers have to do with being gay?
And then there’s the time he dreams about Burns flying in through the window while he’s in bed, or a naked Burns jumping out of the cake singing, “Happy Birthday, Mr. Smithers…”
There really is no debate about Smithers. The question is, is Homer gay?
:: Stupid sexy Flanders! ::
Is he gay?
Yes!
Burns: We don’t have to be adversaries, Homer. We both want a fair union contract.
Homer: [thinking] Why is Mr. Burns being so nice to me?
Burns: And if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
Homer: [thinking] Wait a minute. Is he coming onto me?
Burns: I mean, if I should slip something into your pocket, what’s the harm?
Homer: [thinking] My God! He <is> coming onto me!
Burns: After all, negotiations make strange bedfellows.
[chuckle] [wink]
Homer: [thinking] Aaaaaagh!
[aloud]
Sorry, Mr. Burns, but I don’t go in for these backdoor shenanigans. Sure, I’m flattered, maybe even a little curious,
but the answer is no!
Think about the term “Jolly Ranchers” more literally.
Isn’t it rather obvious that Homer is genuinely in love with Marge (see the episode with the poisonous fish, if you doubt this.)? So unless Marge is actually a man, or Homer a woman, I’d say that it’s pretty clear that he’s heterosexual.
Plus, after calling a “GBM” on the phone while looking for a sould mate, Homer is heard to say, “No, I don’t like THAT!..Or that…”
But he does like his beer cold, his TV loud, and his homosexuals FLAMING, according to one episode.
One of the local nicknames for gays is ** 'mo **, a shortened form of homo (ho was taken). Puts new meaning into the term “Flaming Mo(e)'s.”
Jolly Ranchers = Gay Farmers"
The Cecil mentioned above is Cecil Terwilliger, from my all-time favorite Simpsons episode. I often use the quote backwards when someone mentions the obvious “Why, I had no idea. You see, I’ve spent the past 10 years with my eyes closed and my fingers in my ears…in a cave…on Mars.”
Bart: (calls Moe’s Bar) Hello, is Homer there?
Moe: Homer who?
Bart: Homer… Sexual.
Moe: Wait one second, let me check. [calls] Uh, Homer Sexual? Hey, come on, come on, one of you guys has got to be Homer Sexual! [guffaws from the gang] You rotten liver pot! If I ever get a hold of you, I’ll sink my teeth into your cheek and rip your face off!
Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry; I was thinking of Smithers with his crutch, and forgot the end of the scene.
I’ve looked it up in the always-helpful episode guide on the Simpsons Archive site. From “Secrets of a Successful Marriage:”
ahem You are aware of the existence of bisexuality?
They like playing up the Homer/Flanders thing. I seem to remember some line about a “hot beef injection” at a Barbecue.
Hell, they even make innuendo about Bart – every once in awhile, he throws out a line about doing drag.
And this:
Of course, Milhouse’s school file lists him as having “flamboyantly homosexual tendencies.”
I figure on the last episode, everyone will come out except Lisa