As this episode begins Homer is upset by the very high electricity bill. He proceeds to unplug all of the electronics in order to save money. Lisa supports reducing consumption, so she suggests the family attend an alternative energy expo to find another source of energy. At the expo Homer finds his alternative energy source, wind power. The family then has a windmill installed in their back yard. The family discovers the wind is providing so much energy that it is giving energy back to the electric company. This upsets Homer so he as all of the Simpson's electricity turned off, and they are taken off the grid. Homer doesn't see the problem in this until the wind stops. Every time the wind stops the Simpson's loose power. They are forced to live with limited power because they only have the unreliable wind for energy. Eventually the Simpson's keep their power by having Bart spin the windmill. In trying to get more wind Bart prays for wind. Bart gets what he wants and a giant windstorm comes to Springfield.
After the storm Bart and Lisa go to check out the damage. They go to the beach, and find a beached whale. Lisa immediately falls in love with the whale, and begins the search for help for "Bluella." Lisa goes home to get Homer, and he gets his tool belt, but before he leaves, Marge expresses her worry that Lisa will get her hopes up. Marge read that most beached whales don't make it, and doesn't want Lisa to see something she loves die. Homer leaves anyway, determined to get the whale back in the water. After a few failed attempts, Bluella is still stuck on the beach. This makes Lisa very sad, and when Marge tells her to come home Lisa says she rather stay with the whale.
Lisa falls asleep on the beach and thinks Bart has woken her up to Bluella being saved. She believes a helicopter has come to save her, and put he back in the water. Reality sets in when Bluella swims up to the sky. This is when Lisa wakes up and finds the whale died during the night. Lisa so distraught that when Homer tries to cheer her up it is an utter failure. Bart and Millhouse go back to the beach to poke Bluella with a stick. When they get there they discover the town is going to blow Bluella up. She is blown up, and the town makes use of every part of her. A sad Lisa wanders the town, and ends up back at the beach. She hears whale sounds and discovers there are two baby whales, Bluella's children. The baby whales are then surrounded by sharks. Lisa becomes sad once again, fearing for the lives of the baby whales. Homer then shows up in a stolen boat and tells Lisa they are going to save the whales. Homer is about to harpoon the sharks when shark enthusiasts tell him to stop because every animal's life is worth saving. Lisa takes this to heart and agrees that the sharks deserve to live too. An upset Homer falls out of the boat after a shark hits it. The sharks then surround him, and Homer looks like he is going to be eaten until a whale comes out of the water. It is the father of the baby whales. Homer is saved, and Lisa doesn't loose her hope.
This entire episode had a green theme to it. Lisa was the main focus as the family environmentalist. She is the member that cares the most about the environment and every creature in it. In taking on the green theme, this episode had a semi-serious tone to it. Instead of everything being about the humor, it conveyed an important message. That message being that the environment and every creature that lives in it are important. They are both worthy of being saved, and preserved.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Chief of Hearts 21.18
After watching this episode, I found my favorite part to be the couch gag. Every week I look forward to a different gag. I often fund them to be the most interesting part of the episode. This week the Simpson family's faces were all different foods. It was interesting to see how the creators made the faces, and ended the family being seen on the couch through a napkin. I give a lot off credit to the creator and illustrators for coming up with a new gag for most of the episodes.
The episode began with Marge taking the kids to a birthday party for a Dillon they didn't remember. I liked how writers made fun of the names that can be for either a girl or a boy. It does make things very confusing sometimes. It reminded me of a time I was teaching a class where there was Cori and a Cory. The girl was with the i and the boy was with the y. It made things very confusing during class. As the episode continues Bart finds the boys playing the latest game, and becomes enthralled by it. Bart begins to buy the cards and pieces that go along with the game, and even plays Ralph Wiggum for a better card. While the boys begin to play the game one of the other students sees something going on, and reports it to principal Skinner. Skinner believes it is a nonnarcotics transaction, and brings Marge in to tell her he believes Bart is dealing drugs. Marge is shocked, and when she gets home decides spy on Bart and Millhouse in the basement. She overhears what she thinks is a drug deal, which further shocks her. Marge then decides to ransack Bart's room looking for drugs. Bart walks in on Marge going through his stuff, and after she hasn't found any drugs, Marge asks Bart what if he is a "drugo." He tells her he's not, and then shows her the game, battleball. Marge finds it adorable, which in turn makes Bart not like it any more.
Meanwhile, Homer is at the bank, where he is arrested because people thought he had a gun, but it was just a candy apple. He is sentenced to 100 hours of community service, which he is distraught about. He begins his community service with police chief Wiggum overseeing. After showing the chief some kindness and sharing his sandwiches, Homer is told he doesn't have to do work, but instead sit and grab a bite with the chief. Throughout the day, the two men have interesting talks, and eventually become friends. Chief Wiggum is very excited to have a new friend. They begin to hang out a lot. Wiggum tells Homer that cops don't have a lot of friends because civilians are afraid of them, and other officers remind them of things they want to forget, and that is why their friendship is so special to him. After, Wiggum takes Homer to his special spot on the mountains. While at his special spot, Wiggum gets a call that there is an armed robbery going on. He takes Homer to the robbery where Homer asks if he can cuff the robbers. Amidst arguing whether Homer can cuff the robber, the robber pulls out a gun points it at Homer. In an attempt to save his friend Wiggum is shot, and end up in a coma. He is brought to the hospital where Homer tells Wiggum's wife he will be there for Wiggum just as Wiggum was for him. After a week Wiggum wakes up. Homer asks if he can go home now, but Wiggum guilts Homer into staying longer. For weeks Wiggum is needy and demanding, and eventually Homer gets tired off it. He lies to Wiggum, and goes to Moe's where Wiggum finds him. The chief is upset, deems Homer world's worst friend by giving him a pin that says that. Soon after Homer begins to miss Wiggum, and when he is told the chief has gone missing he goes to find him at his special spot. He finds Wiggum there, and as Homer is trying to apologize, he sees the robbers that he tried to arrest before. Unfortunately he points a drumstick at them, and he and Homer are taken hostage. While in the trunk of the car, the chief and Homer apologize to each other, and become friends again. Homer tells Wigum he will find a way out of this, and Homer's words inspire Wiggum. He finds a way out of it by changing the cd in the music, and eventually Homer and him are safe and the robbers are arrested. The two remain friends, but in a healthier way.
I found that this episode said a lot about friendship in the storyline between Homer and Wiggum. Friendships often seem one sided. One person demands a lot, and the other person gets tired of the demands, and forgets why they were friends in the first place. It is important to remember that friendship is a two way street. Both people in the friendship have to give and take, and they can't forget to give each other space at times as well.
The episode began with Marge taking the kids to a birthday party for a Dillon they didn't remember. I liked how writers made fun of the names that can be for either a girl or a boy. It does make things very confusing sometimes. It reminded me of a time I was teaching a class where there was Cori and a Cory. The girl was with the i and the boy was with the y. It made things very confusing during class. As the episode continues Bart finds the boys playing the latest game, and becomes enthralled by it. Bart begins to buy the cards and pieces that go along with the game, and even plays Ralph Wiggum for a better card. While the boys begin to play the game one of the other students sees something going on, and reports it to principal Skinner. Skinner believes it is a nonnarcotics transaction, and brings Marge in to tell her he believes Bart is dealing drugs. Marge is shocked, and when she gets home decides spy on Bart and Millhouse in the basement. She overhears what she thinks is a drug deal, which further shocks her. Marge then decides to ransack Bart's room looking for drugs. Bart walks in on Marge going through his stuff, and after she hasn't found any drugs, Marge asks Bart what if he is a "drugo." He tells her he's not, and then shows her the game, battleball. Marge finds it adorable, which in turn makes Bart not like it any more.
Meanwhile, Homer is at the bank, where he is arrested because people thought he had a gun, but it was just a candy apple. He is sentenced to 100 hours of community service, which he is distraught about. He begins his community service with police chief Wiggum overseeing. After showing the chief some kindness and sharing his sandwiches, Homer is told he doesn't have to do work, but instead sit and grab a bite with the chief. Throughout the day, the two men have interesting talks, and eventually become friends. Chief Wiggum is very excited to have a new friend. They begin to hang out a lot. Wiggum tells Homer that cops don't have a lot of friends because civilians are afraid of them, and other officers remind them of things they want to forget, and that is why their friendship is so special to him. After, Wiggum takes Homer to his special spot on the mountains. While at his special spot, Wiggum gets a call that there is an armed robbery going on. He takes Homer to the robbery where Homer asks if he can cuff the robbers. Amidst arguing whether Homer can cuff the robber, the robber pulls out a gun points it at Homer. In an attempt to save his friend Wiggum is shot, and end up in a coma. He is brought to the hospital where Homer tells Wiggum's wife he will be there for Wiggum just as Wiggum was for him. After a week Wiggum wakes up. Homer asks if he can go home now, but Wiggum guilts Homer into staying longer. For weeks Wiggum is needy and demanding, and eventually Homer gets tired off it. He lies to Wiggum, and goes to Moe's where Wiggum finds him. The chief is upset, deems Homer world's worst friend by giving him a pin that says that. Soon after Homer begins to miss Wiggum, and when he is told the chief has gone missing he goes to find him at his special spot. He finds Wiggum there, and as Homer is trying to apologize, he sees the robbers that he tried to arrest before. Unfortunately he points a drumstick at them, and he and Homer are taken hostage. While in the trunk of the car, the chief and Homer apologize to each other, and become friends again. Homer tells Wigum he will find a way out of this, and Homer's words inspire Wiggum. He finds a way out of it by changing the cd in the music, and eventually Homer and him are safe and the robbers are arrested. The two remain friends, but in a healthier way.
I found that this episode said a lot about friendship in the storyline between Homer and Wiggum. Friendships often seem one sided. One person demands a lot, and the other person gets tired of the demands, and forgets why they were friends in the first place. It is important to remember that friendship is a two way street. Both people in the friendship have to give and take, and they can't forget to give each other space at times as well.
American History X-Cellent 21.17
art room. The police come and instead of arresting Homer, they arrest Burns because of the stolen painting they find in the room. After being brought to jail, Burns puts a saddened Smithers in charge of the nuclear plant. Once Burns is in jail the storyline splits into Burns's time in jail, and Smither's time in charge of the power plant. At the start of his time in jail Burns has a hard time. He fails to bribe the guards, blackmail the warden, and his roommate graduated from Dartmouth. Eventually Burns is taken in by a big black man who tells Burns he must turn to the Lord. he then performs an exorcism on Burns, sucking out all is evil. After Burns begins to feel the love, and prison is not so bad for him.
While Burns is in prison, Smithers moves into Burns's office, and even though he never wanted the job embraces it. He decides to be a little bit more employee friendly. He introduces a new health plan, and puts a real suggestion box in, with the only catch being happy workers are productive workers. The employees do become happy, and thanks to Smithers are content at work. Smithers even goes to Moe's with Homer and his friends. Homer and his friends try to get out of work, and Smithers believes their excuses and give them the time off. After leaving the table for a moment, Smithers hears Homer and his friends making fun of him for being nice. Because they made fun of his very decency Smithers begins to hate humanity and becomes worse than Mr. Burns. Homer and his friends see this and wish they could get Burns back. At Moe's unintentional suggestion they decided to break into the prison and bust him out. it is then revealed that the three guards taking Burns at the beginning of the episode were Homer and his friends. At first, Burns is hesitant to go, but eventually he leaves with his employees. He is as evil as ever, and when he returns to his office Smithers is overjoyed to see him
The B story of this episode follows Lisa and Bart. After seeing Bart has nothing else to do, she asks if Bart wants to help her with her ant farm. Bart finds it kind of dumb at first, so says no. Eventually, Bart decides to help with the ant farm, and to Lisa's dismay gives the ants a Poptart. The siblings end up fighting over the ants, and breaking the farm, and their dog eats all of the ants except one. Bart shows remorse a little bit later, but Lisa refuses to let him see Annie, the little orphaned ant. Bart and Lisa do end up taking care of Annie together, and eventually realize she doesn't have much time left. They release her into the wild, as Lisa comments that the ant was string enough to bring her and her brother together. Immediately after the siblings free Annie, the dog eats her.
It was hard to find an overlaying theme or message in this episode. The structure of the episode was very different from what I am used to. The main story line split in two, while there was a B storyline as well. Overall I found the message to be not to take advantage of the people in your life. Everyone is in our lives for a reason, and it is when we take advantage of them, or loose them that we realize their purpose.
While Burns is in prison, Smithers moves into Burns's office, and even though he never wanted the job embraces it. He decides to be a little bit more employee friendly. He introduces a new health plan, and puts a real suggestion box in, with the only catch being happy workers are productive workers. The employees do become happy, and thanks to Smithers are content at work. Smithers even goes to Moe's with Homer and his friends. Homer and his friends try to get out of work, and Smithers believes their excuses and give them the time off. After leaving the table for a moment, Smithers hears Homer and his friends making fun of him for being nice. Because they made fun of his very decency Smithers begins to hate humanity and becomes worse than Mr. Burns. Homer and his friends see this and wish they could get Burns back. At Moe's unintentional suggestion they decided to break into the prison and bust him out. it is then revealed that the three guards taking Burns at the beginning of the episode were Homer and his friends. At first, Burns is hesitant to go, but eventually he leaves with his employees. He is as evil as ever, and when he returns to his office Smithers is overjoyed to see him
The B story of this episode follows Lisa and Bart. After seeing Bart has nothing else to do, she asks if Bart wants to help her with her ant farm. Bart finds it kind of dumb at first, so says no. Eventually, Bart decides to help with the ant farm, and to Lisa's dismay gives the ants a Poptart. The siblings end up fighting over the ants, and breaking the farm, and their dog eats all of the ants except one. Bart shows remorse a little bit later, but Lisa refuses to let him see Annie, the little orphaned ant. Bart and Lisa do end up taking care of Annie together, and eventually realize she doesn't have much time left. They release her into the wild, as Lisa comments that the ant was string enough to bring her and her brother together. Immediately after the siblings free Annie, the dog eats her.
It was hard to find an overlaying theme or message in this episode. The structure of the episode was very different from what I am used to. The main story line split in two, while there was a B storyline as well. Overall I found the message to be not to take advantage of the people in your life. Everyone is in our lives for a reason, and it is when we take advantage of them, or loose them that we realize their purpose.
The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed 21.16
In this episode of The Simpsons Flanders sets out to reform Homer by bringing the Simpsons family to Israel, the homeland. At first Flanders is reluctant to try to save Homer because he has tried in the past with no success. But, after encouragement from the reverend Flanders agrees to try. Once in Israel the group goes on a tour of the most holy places, after the omelet bar of course. While on the tour Flanders prays that Homer will "experience the redemptive power of this land," but at the moment that seems very unlikely. Flanders continues to believe and pray that Homer can be saved until he finds him asleep in Jesus' tomb. He then throws and fit on Homer, and comes to the conclusion that Homer cannot is not worth saving. In his rage, Flanders destroys his camera against the church wall and is banned from ever entering the church again. Flanders walks away, and Homer believes he went into the desert, so he goes after him. While in the desert searching for Flanders, who is actually at a movie, Homer gets caught in a sand storm. He gets lost and ends up walking the desert thirsty and hungry. Eventually he collapses and has a hallucination of the Veggie Tales coming to him and telling him he has been chosen for a great destiny. When he comes to Homer believes that he is the Messiah. The Simpson family finds out that Homer is suffering from Jerusalem Syndrome, which is when people suffer from delusions that they are the Messiah after being in Jerusalem. Homer goes out to spread the word about uniting all the religions and bringing peace, and Flanders believes he has finally reached him. That is until everyone becomes a victim of Jerusalem Syndrome and believes they are the Messiah. In the end Homer does learn a little bit from Flanders, and Flanders believes that Homer was the best fake Messiah.
As usual I found the funniest moments of this episode to come from the small things. I found it funny in the beginning when the Simpson family is going down the slip and slide doing crazy things while Flanders and the reverend talk. It shows such a contrast between the two types of people. Flanders would never engage in such behavior, but for the Simpsons family it is just another fun activity. I also liked the bit when the plane to Israel landed on the glass and broke it like what is done at Jewish weddings. It made it seem like the Simpsons family going to such a holy place was a celebration. The glass was just the beginning of the Jewish references that added humor to the episode. There was also a fiddler on the roof of the Wailing Waldorf (which poked fun at the famous hotel in New York). When the tour guide mentioned that Israel is the safest place in the world that was a nice jab at how this holy place is supposed to be safe, but in reality because of the constant .war and fighting is not.
I liked when Marge said "Shalom is the Aloha of this place" American tourists are also made the butt of a joke when Homer, decked out in USA clothes tells Flanders he doesn't have to show reverence because he is an American tourist. That is often how Americans in foreign lands act, with no reverence for the place they are. Often the Americans only want to take pictures and joke around. These little jokes and gags are what make the Simpsons episodes great. The biggest theme in this episode had to do with religion. Flanders in the symbol of religion on The Simpsons, while Homer Simpson is the notoriously nonreligious person. The A storyline tells a great story of the nonreligious finding a little bit of something good in religion while the gags add to much if the humor.
As usual I found the funniest moments of this episode to come from the small things. I found it funny in the beginning when the Simpson family is going down the slip and slide doing crazy things while Flanders and the reverend talk. It shows such a contrast between the two types of people. Flanders would never engage in such behavior, but for the Simpsons family it is just another fun activity. I also liked the bit when the plane to Israel landed on the glass and broke it like what is done at Jewish weddings. It made it seem like the Simpsons family going to such a holy place was a celebration. The glass was just the beginning of the Jewish references that added humor to the episode. There was also a fiddler on the roof of the Wailing Waldorf (which poked fun at the famous hotel in New York). When the tour guide mentioned that Israel is the safest place in the world that was a nice jab at how this holy place is supposed to be safe, but in reality because of the constant .war and fighting is not.
I liked when Marge said "Shalom is the Aloha of this place" American tourists are also made the butt of a joke when Homer, decked out in USA clothes tells Flanders he doesn't have to show reverence because he is an American tourist. That is often how Americans in foreign lands act, with no reverence for the place they are. Often the Americans only want to take pictures and joke around. These little jokes and gags are what make the Simpsons episodes great. The biggest theme in this episode had to do with religion. Flanders in the symbol of religion on The Simpsons, while Homer Simpson is the notoriously nonreligious person. The A storyline tells a great story of the nonreligious finding a little bit of something good in religion while the gags add to much if the humor.
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