The Call of the Simpsons

The Call of the Simpsons

Episode Details: * Episode Title and Number: "The Call of the Simpsons," Season 1, Episode 7 * Original Air Date: February 18, 1990 * Guest Star: Albert Brooks as Cowboy Bob (his first appearance in The Simpsons!) * https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000983/ [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000983/] Episode Summary: Homer, envious of Ned Flanders' new RV, buys a dilapidated one and takes the family on a disastrous camping trip. The RV is destroyed, they get lost in the woods, Homer is mistaken for Bigfoot, and Maggie is adopted by a family of bears. Highlights & Observations: * Couch Gag: The family all piles onto the couch, and nothing extraordinary happens. (A rare instance of a simple couch gag in the early seasons!) * Chalkboard Gag: "I will not draw naked ladies in class." (Classic Bart!) * Trivia: * Bob's RV Roundup motto _____ * The Ultimate Behemoth RV has __ deep fryers * A _______ was interrupted for the Bigfoot news bulletin! * Jokes & Gags: * Homer to Bart: "Don't try to keep up with the Flanderizes." (Early shade thrown at Ned!) * Homer's envy of Ned's income: "How can you afford something like this, Ned? I get your mail once in a while..." (Nosy Homer!) * The RV lot scene satirizes how easily some salespeople take advantage of customers. * The exploding RV: The first of many times the Simpsons lose everything, only to be back to normal the next week! * Homer's dramatic lament: "Of all the fates on heaven and earth, why does this one befall me?" * Even after capture, they still think Homer is Bigfoot because he's "stupid and smelly." * Hidden Gems: * The episode title is a reference to the novella The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Final Thoughts: * "The Call of the Simpsons" is a classic example of early Simpsons humor, with its over-the-top situations and satirical jabs at consumerism and media sensationalism. * The episode showcases the family dynamic in a unique way, with each member having their own "wild" experience. Listener Question/Comment: * What's your favorite disastrous Simpsons family vacation? Subscribe & Share: Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and share it with your fellow Simpsons fans! Follow me on X! https://x.com/MmmDonuts742 [https://x.com/MmmDonuts742]

Treehouse of Horror III

Homer's silhouette appears next to Alfred Hitchcock's iconic silhouette. He emerges out and warns viewers the following episode may scare certain viewers, especially Christian ones, an announcement mirroring what Marge did in the beginning of "Treehouse of Horror [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror]"s I and II. He requests for the television to be turned off before daring viewers, imitating a chicken. The TV screen eventually switches off, however, Homer and Marge can still be heard if not seen. The episode pans to a cemetery and eventually to the Simpsons' house, with the family doing their couch gag as skeletons. The Simpsons are having a Halloween party, and they tell scary stories. The Halloween costumes include Homer as Julius Caesar, Marge as an ancient Egyptian, most likely Cleopatra, Bart as Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange, Lisa as the Statue of Liberty, Milhouse as Radioactive Man, Martin as Calliope, Nelson as a pirate, Janey as a princess, Wendell as an astronaut, and Lewis as Frankenstein's Monster.

Treehouse of Horror II

In Treehouse of Horror II, the Simpsons face three terrifying tales: The Monkey's Paw: Mr. Burns gifts Homer a monkey's paw that grants wishes. Homer wishes for a turkey sandwich, which appears out of thin air, but quickly rots. Lisa wishes for world peace, leading to an alien invasion. Finally, Bart wishes for a million dollars, which arrives as a tax penalty for "Homicide via Monkey's Paw" after Homer is crushed by a falling piano. The Bart Zone: Bart develops psychic powers, able to control people and objects with his mind. He uses his powers for pranks, turning Homer into a jack-in-the-box and forcing the family to play endless games. Eventually, Bart's powers become uncontrollable, causing chaos in Springfield. He finally wishes for everything to go back to normal. If I Only Had a Brain: Mr. Burns removes Homer's brain and places it in a robot body to create the ultimate obedient worker. Homer-bot initially enjoys his newfound strength and lack of pain, but soon misses his family and the simple pleasures of life. He escapes Burns' control and wreaks havoc, eventually returning to his human body.

Treehouse of Horror I

"The first of the annual Halloween spook-fest. In "Bad Dream House", the family move into an old haunted house [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Evil_House], are possessed by an evil spirit, and attempt to kill each other. In "Hungry are the Damned", the family's abducted by aliens Kang [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Kang] and Kodos [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Kodos] and are fattened up to the extent Lisa [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Lisa] questions their motives. In "The Raven", a poem by Edgar Allan Poe [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe] is recited with the family as characters." This is the first episode of The Simpsons to be composed by Alf Clausen [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Alf_Clausen], who went on to be the main composer until season 29 [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Season_29]. The idea behind the episode was to parody EC Comics [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EC_Comics], James L. Brooks [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/James_L._Brooks] said, "shocking" for a cartoon on network television. He also said this episode's tame compared to later "Treehouse of Horror" episodes. The idea of Kang and Kodos came from Jay Kogen [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Jay_Kogen] and Wallace Wolodarsky [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Wallace_Wolodarsky]. https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror#cite_note-2Kang and Kodos' designs were based off a cover of an EC Comics issue. https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror#cite_note-Reiss-3They were originally designed to be constantly drooling. Initially, creator Matt Groening [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Matt_Groening] decided against this to make the animation process easier. However, the animators didn't mind, so the drooling stayed in. The names of Kang and Kodos come from two Star Trek [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Star_Trek] characters. Kang's named after a Klingon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klingon] captain from the episode "Day of the Dove [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dove]", and Kodos is named after Kodos the Executioner from the episode "The Conscience of the King [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conscience_of_the_King]".

Moaning Lisa

The episode starts with a sad Lisa staring at herself in the mirror in the bathroom while Homer pounds on the door waiting for his turn. Later in the kitchen before work, Homer searches for his keys, while Bart and Lisa eat breakfast before school. Lisa finds the keys still in the front door. During band practice at school, the band plays terrible while Lisa jams away expertly with her saxophone much to the dislike of the band teacher Mr. Largo [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Mr._Largo]. At lunch during a food fight, Lisa does nothing but sit and look sad. During gym class while playing dodgeball [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Dodgeball], Lisa doesn't move and gets pummeled by dodgeballs, all while looking sad. After school in the living room, Bart and Homer play a boxing video game called redacted.The note's a progress report from Principal Skinner [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Principal_Skinner] informing Homer and Marge Lisa was too sad to play dodgeball at school. Homer attempts to discover the cause of Lisa's sadness, and Lisa tells Homer she wonders if the world will be any different if she didn't exist. When Homer clearly can't come up with a good quick answer, Marge tells Lisa to take a hot bath, and Homer tells Bart to vacuum the floor. When Lisa's done with her bath, she walks into the living room where Bart's still vacuuming and isn't happy about it. Maggie [https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie] sits by herself on the couch watching Bart and Lisa. In an effort to see who Maggie likes more, both Bart and Lisa coax her to each other. Instead, Maggie chooses the TV. Later, Homer and Bart are playing Super Slugfest again where Bart easily wins again, and Homer blames the loss on Lisa's loud saxophone playing. Homer goes up to Lisa's room to yell at her. Lisa agrees to just practice on playing the notes without blowing into the saxophone. After Homer leaves the room, Lisa hears a saxophone playing off in the distance outside her window and leaves the house to find the source. Lisa walks through the town at night and discovers a man playing a saxophone alone on a bridge overpass. Back at the Simpson house, everyone's asleep and Marge dreams about her childhood.In the dream, before going out to play her mother tells her to make sure she smiles. Homer also has a dream he's trapped inside the boxing video game with Bart. Bart K.O.'s Homer, and he wakes up screaming from his nightmare. Marge expresses her concern with Lisa's sadness to Homer. MeanwhileLisa's feeling down and it shows. At school she avoids participating in band, lunch, and gym class. Homer and Bart are oblivious, engrossed in their boxing video game, until a note from school alerts them to Lisa's sadness. Lisa confides in Homer that she feels insignificant. While the family tries to deal with Lisa's melancholy (Bart vacuums, Marge suggests a bath), Lisa sneaks out to find the source of a mysterious saxophone melody. She meets Bleeding Gums Murphy, a fellow blues musician, and they jam together. Marge, worried about Lisa's disappearance, eventually finds her. Meanwhile, Homer seeks advice on how to beat Bart at their video game. Marge tries to convince Lisa to suppress her sadness to fit in, but ultimately realizes her mistake and encourages Lisa to be herself. Lisa, feeling accepted, takes her family to The Jazz Hole to hear Bleeding Gums play a song she wrote.