Vanity Fair
Simpson Family Values
By John Ortved
July 2007
A cartoon family whacked America's funny bone in 1989, eventually becoming the longest-running TV comedy ever. As The Simpsons jumps to the big screen this month, not everyone involved—including the writers, the voices, and Rupert Murdoch—agrees on what has made it a pop phenomenon.
VF.COM
Springfield Confidential
Q&A: Conan O'Brien
Interview by John Ortved
July 5, 2007
Before replacing David Letterman as the host of Late Night, Conan O'Brien spent two years as a writer and producer for The Simpsons. In this wide-ranging conversation—a companion to John Ortved's August feature, "Simpson Family Values"—O'Brien talks about how he got the Simpsons job, what it was like to work on the show, and why Mr. Burns was his favorite character to write for.
VF.COM
The Simpsons
Springfield's Best
Our unscientific survey of the 10 funniest Simpsons episodes ever
By John Ortved
July 5, 2007
With help from a few Vanity Fair editors, this list was compiled by John Ortved, a contributing editorial associate at V.F. and the author of the August article "Simpson Family Values," a behind-the-scenes oral history of the show. (For a more in-depth and democratic rating system, check out NoHomers.net, the unofficial home of all things Simpsons.)
3. Marge vs. the Monorail (Season 4, 1993)
A tribute to The Music Man, written by Conan O'Brien. A straw-hatted huckster blows into town and, using a catchy song-and-dance routine, manages to sell Springfield an unnecessary monorail of dubious safety. Homer becomes conductor.
An amazing musical number; Leonard Nimoy in a random guest appearance. What else could you want? Besides being replete with excellent jokes, this episode reveals the town's mob mentality and its collective lack of reason. This is the episode that defines Springfield more than any other.
Great moment: Homer is watching television. TV commercial: "Are you squandering the precious gift of life in front of the idiot box? Are you on your third beer of the evening?" Homer: "Does whiskey count as beer?"
yes, top 5 for sure. If I had to pick a favourite episode of all time, it probably has to be Margs/Gambling addiction (Springfield Casino episode). So many one liners.
Did anyone watch last Sundays? The Simpsons take on "World of Warcraft" (as Southpark did last year), it has to be in my top 5 as well. So well done.
$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)P-code: 1F08
Writers: Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein
Director: Wes Archer
Airdate: 16th December, 1993
Guest stars: Robert Goulet as himself, Gerry Cooney as himself.
Rating:
Episode synopsis >> Springfield is suffering an economic slowdown, so the townspeople decide to legalize gambling. Mr. Burns builds a casino on the waterfront, and hires Homer as a blackjack dealer.
When Marge finds a quarter on the floor at the casino, she starts gambling and keeps winning. Soon she is addicted. Lisa worries about her, and makes her promise to help her with a costume for the upcoming Geography Pageant at school.
But when Marge doesn't show up to help her, Homer goes to the casino and confronts her. Marge admits she has a gambling problem and leaves the casino with Homer.
Memorable quotes >>Homer: (wearing glasses) The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side!
Man: (in a cubicle) That's a right triangle, you idiot!
Homer: D'oh!
Lisa: Dad, you shouldn't wear glasses that weren't prescribed for you.
Homer: Lisa, just because you're ten feet tall doesn't mean you can tell me what to do.
Quimby: I propose that I use what's left of the town treasury to move to a more prosperous town and run for mayor. And, er, once elected, I will send for the rest of you.
Homer: Marge, we need to talk. You're spending too much time at the casino and I think you may have a problem.
Marge: I won sixty dollars last night.
Homer: Woohoo! Problem solved!
Lisa: I'm not a state, I'm a monster!
Homer: No, Lisa. The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it's time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!
Burns: Ah, my beloved plant. How I miss her... Bah! To hell with this! Get my razors! Draw a bath! Get these Kleenex boxes off my feet!
Smithers: Certainly, sir. And, uh, the jars of urine?
Burns: Oh, we'll hang onto those.
Homer: You promised Lisa to help her with her costume. You made her cry. Then I cried. Then Maggie laughed... she's such a little trooper!
Homer: Marge, I want you to admit you have a gambling problem.
Marge: You know, you're right, Homer. Maybe I should get some professional help.
Homer: No, no, that's too expensive. Just don't do it any more.
EvilTree
Mr Plow is probably my fav episode.
Any ep with Homer talking to his brain usually has some memorable quotes.
Oh and Stonecutters. Can't forget the Stonecutters
Silky Johnson
My fave is still Halloween episode IV, just because of one of Marge's lines...I crack up so hard every time...
"Oh GOOD, the curtains are on fire!"
LOL
Endlesswave
Jon the best one from that episode is where homer says something like: "A gambling monster has taken over your mother, I call him gamblor and I vow to save your mother from his neon clutches". LOL.
That ep plus the mr plow one, the monorail one for sure, stone cutters, when the Germans take over the power plant!
Homer: Lalalalalalala (dreaming about Germans being from the 'land' of chocolate, are we still talking about chocolate?
German plant manager: ZAT WAS TEN MINUTEZ AGO!
Homer: Oh...
SO many from that era...best show ever.
Spike
probably my favourite episode is when apu gets fired from the quicky mart and james woods comes to replace him.
Homer: Your old meat made me sick!
Apu: Oh, I'm so sorry. [gets a pail of shrimp] Please accept five
pounds of frozen shrimp?
Homer: [holds one up, sniffs it] This shrimp isn't frozen! And it
smells funny.
Apu: OK, ten pounds.
Homer: Woo hoo!
Woods: 75, 85, 90, and a dollar. Thank you, and come again. Hey, wait
a minute! Hey! Uh...could I just ask you a question? Did
you...did you _believe_ that, the way I gave you the change? Did
I sound like a _real_ Kwik-E-Mart, you know, kind of guy?
Jimbo: Actually, I thought it was a little labored.
Woods: Oh.
Jimbo: You've got to lose yourself in the moment, man!
Woods: Yeah, like, yeah, OK, great! OK, let's, let's just try that
again, OK? Come on. Hey, come on -- hey! Get over here. OK,
now you're you, I'm me.
Jimbo: [with trepidation] I'm me?
Woods: [grabs his collar] Hey -- don't..._jerk_ me around, fella.
Spike
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Spike
probably my favourite episode is when apu gets fired from the quicky mart and james woods comes to replace him.
Spike
pmoisse
quote:
Lisa: I'm not a state, I'm a monster!
Homer: No, Lisa. The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it's time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!
This is one of my favorite lines from the show.
The bust of Mr Burns as a mermaid in the lobby of the casino was pretty funny too.
As many times as I swear I've seen each episode, they always make me laugh. Even the ty ones.
Sylent Syd
My fave episode is the one where the George Bush Sr. moves in across the street.
What makes it even funnier is the fact that Groenig and Barbara Bush were having a bit of a press war before this. Yet, they make Barbara look like a total sweetheart in the episode while George gets the boot laid into him as the antagonist ("I'll ruin you like a Japanese banquet!" :haha: ) a la Dennis The Menace.
infinity HiGH
all the eps you guys mentioned are classic. some other fav's:
when they go into witness protection as "the thompsons".
"when i say hello mr. thompson and stomp on your foot, you say hello back"
*stomps on foot*
"i think he's talking to you"
Or the "dental plan" episode.
Or the one where Bart signs his soul away to Milhouse. haha
