1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Oh boy, sweet! That's where I'm a viking! 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:14,700 What's up everybody? Thanks for tuning in. This is the mmm doughnuts podcast. I am your 3 00:00:14,700 --> 00:00:21,760 host Justin Metcalf. Thanks so much for listening. This is a pretty important episode. When I 4 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:27,880 started doing research on podcasts, I got some information from RSS.com, which is where 5 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:37,000 I begin everything. It says that most podcasts only last seven episodes. So my goal was to 6 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:43,920 get to that and still have a plan for more, which is difficult. There's a lot that goes 7 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,520 into making these episodes. I want to make sure that I do it right, so I do a lot of 8 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:55,480 research. I'm sure I still don't get everything perfectly right, but I'm not perfect, so just 9 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:01,080 back off. But anyway, this is a really important episode for me. I hit the milestone and I've 10 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:09,080 got plans for recording several more in the near future. So thanks again for those of 11 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,640 you that have listened. I see analytics so I can see how many downloads I get every day 12 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:20,800 and where in the world people are. And you're all over the world. You're in Africa, you're 13 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:29,240 in New Zealand, my good buddy there, and I mean Europe, Asia, all over North America. 14 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:35,040 Truly I appreciate you listening and I hope that you enjoy it. As always, please feel 15 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:41,520 free to share your thoughts. Let me know what you think. You can email me at chartandpants.gmail.com 16 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:47,360 or you can hit me up on Twitter, which is easier. You can find me at mdonuts, that's 17 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:56,080 three M's, D-O-N-U-T-S, 742. And yeah, let me know your thoughts. I'm going to keep asking 18 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:02,480 questions because I love the idea of having an open dialogue and an actual discussion 19 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:08,240 because these episodes were amazing for my childhood and I really love the idea 35 years 20 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:14,280 later of dissecting them and analyzing them in a really nerdy way. That's exciting for 21 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:19,720 me. So I hope you enjoy it. So let's go ahead and go into it. You may remember from last 22 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:25,960 week when we watched or when we did There's No Disgrace Like Home that somebody forgot 23 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:35,400 to do the trivia questions. My assistant is... Yeah, it's not going to happen this time though. 24 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:41,680 So today's episode is Bart the General and I will start with the trivia questions and 25 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:49,040 let's get into it. So question number one, what does Homer use to help Bart dry those 26 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:57,760 tears? One of the two episodes that Bart cries, we know of anyway, in the first, at least 27 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:04,880 in the first little while. I think the other one is when he sells his soul and he's praying, 28 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:12,840 if I remember right. Yeah. TBD for confirmation. Question number two, what is the code of the 29 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:20,640 schoolyard or the rules that teach a boy to be a man according to Homer Simpson? And the 30 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:25,400 code of the schoolyard, if you can get any one of the three rules, then you get a point. 31 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:32,880 But if you get all three of the three rules, you get a point. So kind of grading on the 32 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:41,800 curve. Yeah, it's fine. Number three, when Bart is marching his troops, you know, when 33 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:48,880 they're training, how many kids does he have in his squad? All right. Okay, let's get into 34 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:54,640 it and then let's see how you do at the end of the episode. So like I said, this episode 35 00:03:54,640 --> 00:04:00,320 was called Bart the General. It aired on February 4th, 1990 and there were no guest stars. The 36 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:08,440 first celebrity guest star, I think I alluded to it last week, it's Tom Jones. And I looked 37 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,520 it up though, just to verify which episode. So we don't get a celebrity guest star until 38 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:19,480 like the fifth episode of the second season. So, but I'm also as I go through these episodes 39 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:23,880 and preparing for these podcasts, I'm also rewatching all the episodes just in my free 40 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:33,680 time, you know, to have in the background and stuff. And I just got to Homer Palooza, 41 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:39,820 which is at the end of season seven. And it's, it was my favorite episode growing up because 42 00:04:39,820 --> 00:04:46,240 I have always been a huge fan of the Smashing Pumpkins. And it was really cool to watch 43 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:52,120 it again and see the original band. You know, even Darcy was there, she had a line, she 44 00:04:52,120 --> 00:05:00,840 doesn't tour with the band anymore. It's somewhat of a different lineup. Billy Corgan, big influence 45 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:06,560 in my life growing up as a Gen Xer. And then of course, James Eha and Jimmy Chamberlain, 46 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:11,000 they all had lines. It was really cool. And then there's other awesome bands like Cypress 47 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:20,120 Hill. And it was very cool for me to see that growing up because they were pop culture icons 48 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:26,240 for my time. And it really brought me back. So I'm looking forward to reviewing that episode 49 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:35,240 season seven. Let's see one episode a week. So that'll be in like three years. Stay tuned. 50 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:42,240 I am considering a way to maybe do more of these so that I'm putting out more than one 51 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:49,720 a week, because I mean, there's enough episodes to be doing this podcast for more than 13 52 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:56,480 episodes. I don't know if I want to wait that long to get them all out. So just hang in 53 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:03,480 there. We'll see how far these go. If I you know what, if it gets popular enough and enough 54 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:09,280 people ask for it, then then I will commit and I will do two episodes a week. How about 55 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:16,440 that? There. Now I put it on you people. Ha ha. I hope that doesn't backfire. All right. 56 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:21,400 Brief overview of this episode. This this episode marks the first appearance of the 57 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:29,720 recurring bully Nelson months. Now this is where we explore themes of bullying and pacifism 58 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:39,000 and the complexities of conflict resolution. And it's all wrapped in classic Simpson humor. 59 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:45,080 So this is going to be a good episode. There's also the first appearance of Herman, whose 60 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:50,960 last name is Herman with two ends, believe it or not. And the original idea with Herman, 61 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:58,160 he's the guy who owns the like the antique weaponry store in in Springfield. The original 62 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:06,560 idea with Herman was that every time he was in an episode, he would be he would have a 63 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:13,280 different excuse or a different story as to how he lost his arm. Why only has one arm 64 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:19,760 that that was going to be like a running gag. But it in writing, I guess, was abandoned. 65 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:28,360 The first the first nod to it was a couple of episodes ago when Mrs. Krabopel on the 66 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:36,800 on the bus says this is Homer's Odyssey. She says that a kid put his arm out the window 67 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:44,120 and got it knocked off while he was on the bus. And then later in that episode, Herman 68 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,160 says, yeah, I lost it because I put my arm out the window on the bus. So that was the 69 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:55,440 first inkling of it. And then he mentions it a few more times. And there's one episode 70 00:07:55,440 --> 00:08:02,000 way later in the series where you actually see it get decapitated or removed. Decapitated 71 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:11,760 is a head. So de-armatated. And it's it's I wish that they had stuck to that. I know 72 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:18,240 there's a lot of running gags, but I do wish that they had stuck to that more truly. And 73 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:26,080 we would have had that because it was it was a good bit. I thought. And it also says this 74 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:33,280 is also the first episode where where Grandpa Simpson is shown. But because again, they 75 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:44,280 were they were shown out of order. The episode The Simpsons Roasting Whatever Fire, you know, 76 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:50,840 the first episode, the actual first episode that was aired. Abraham Simpson is is singing 77 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:57,600 with the family. So he's he's already in an episode again when when we see the first episode 78 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:02,600 with blah, blah, blah. We have to like really look into it, because does that mean original 79 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:10,240 writing or according to the air date? So. You know, it's a little convoluted, but at 80 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:16,720 the end of the day, it's fine. Let's not get our panties in a twist about it. OK, like 81 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:21,800 if you're already getting a tweet together to tell me that I'm wrong about something, 82 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:30,280 just relax. OK, still send the tweet, though I'm lonely. This episode, though, it does 83 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:38,440 it does have a lot of lines for Abraham Simpson, which is cool. Lots of nods to old wartime 84 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:46,320 movies like Patton. There's even and there's a lot of music and dialogue from Patton. Fox 85 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:50,920 owned the rights to Patton so they could use it all, which was cool. And of course, growing 86 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:56,600 up, I had no idea what that was because I hadn't seen Patton. But now I recognize the 87 00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:06,160 themes and the the some of the lines. So but you could also see there's the marching sequence 88 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:13,960 is a nod to Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. I mean, the marching sequence, it looks like 89 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:20,520 every other, but they do specifically mention that I believe in the DVD commentary. Somebody 90 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:28,200 can double check my math on that one, though. The Longest Day from 1962 is also referenced. 91 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:36,040 And when Bart is talking about the few exceptions to quote, there are no good wars, he he does 92 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:43,720 say that the exceptions to that are the Revolutionary War, War, World War Two and Star Wars. So 93 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:52,440 Star Wars is also referenced, which is super cool. Because I'm a nerd. Oh, there's also 94 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:59,480 a reference to Coolhand Luke, I think in the scene where Bart is looking at Nelson, you 95 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:07,680 can see him in his sunglasses. Pretty sure. Again, any any really old nerds? Please Gen 96 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:15,240 X or younger. I'm not interested in hearing from boomers. No offense. Well, yeah, offense. 97 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,720 I just you know, the class in true classic Gen X form. We just don't want to hear your 98 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:29,080 trash hippie. Now there's always been like this divide between us Gen Xers and and them 99 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:34,880 dirty old boomers. We hated them before you did before you guys came up with that. OK, 100 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:42,560 so, you know, shut up. OK, let's start with the gags. You ready? There are none. So this 101 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:47,080 is this is another episode, just like the very first one that aired where there's not 102 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:55,060 an intro gag. It starts out with a sense and then instead of going to the school, it just 103 00:11:55,060 --> 00:12:00,440 cut straight to the Simpsons house. So there's and then it just starts in on the episode. 104 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:05,440 The music kind of calms down and that's it. So there's no chalkboard gag and there's no 105 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:12,800 couch gag. Whomp, whomp. It's a bummer. So first scene is Homer pulling out the open, 106 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:20,240 pulling open the oven. Lisa is making cupcakes for Miss Hoover's birthday. And it's it's 107 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:27,440 cool because the scene it's from the the point of view inside the oven. And you wonder how 108 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:32,480 did they get the camera in there? Because like there's steam lines from the heat, too. 109 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:42,600 So like, you know, it was real. It's pretty cool. When Lisa gets to school, Nelson's goon 110 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:47,280 destroys the cupcakes, takes one of them, you know, destroys the rest of them. Barkets 111 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:53,200 in a fight with him. And then Nelson picks him up and Bart's flailing around and he he 112 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:58,200 smacks Nelson and Nelson says, nobody makes me bleed my own blood. What movie is that 113 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:06,760 from? Extra points if you can tell me what modern movie it's from. Because that also 114 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:14,080 is a nod. It originally was not from this movie that I'm thinking that you're thinking 115 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:25,400 with Ben Stiller. Anyway, the the initial fight scene was humorous and indefinitely 116 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:31,280 happened because of Bart's overconfidence. But I wonder how you think the portrayal of 117 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:38,160 Nelson ended up being. He's pretty, pretty close to the same character throughout. I 118 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:43,440 mean, in his first one, he's a lot, you know, he's quieter, but he's still just as dull, 119 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:52,520 just as big as menacing. I think the only thing that's really missing is his ha ha. 120 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:58,120 Aside from that, he's still the you know, like the classic bully. And of course, they 121 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:05,720 end up adding the other bullies like Kearney and Mork and Mindy. I don't remember the other 122 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:15,280 names, Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph. Anyway, so they add those eventually. And there's plenty 123 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:21,120 of episodes where all four of them are together. But we'll talk about the idea of bullies more 124 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:25,400 at that point. But right now, it's just the one. Well, the one main bully and then there's 125 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:32,840 two little lackeys. So how do you think the portrayal of this quintessential school bully 126 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:41,520 will be built up? So I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on that. Then Bart gets 127 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:48,240 he gets his butt whooped. He gets a dozen punches in the face and then he rides a garbage 128 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:56,360 can all the way home. And and then, you know, that's when he ends up running into the bathroom 129 00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:03,040 and crying. And Homer, Homer is in there to encourage him. And that's where a couple of 130 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:09,920 attribute questions come up. So we'll skip that initially. But in classic Homer fashion, 131 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:19,360 Homer encourages Bart to fight dirty. And Bart, frustrated, turns to Grandpa Simpson for advice, 132 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:28,280 which which is where it really starts to take off. But we you know, we see this a lot, this 133 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:37,680 this contrasting parenting style between Marge and Homer. And that that as it plays out in 134 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,920 this episode, it pretty much remains the same throughout the series. You know, Homer's got 135 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:53,960 really outlandish and idiotic ideas. And Marge is is far more of like the pacifist and did 136 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:59,320 just definitely opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of parenting styles, which is interesting 137 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:06,300 because I've been married 21 years and I know I mean, you're not going to agree on everything. 138 00:16:06,300 --> 00:16:16,840 But when you have polar opposite views on really key things with your parenting, it's 139 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:23,160 it's not good. Like it's hard. And eventually, the man has to give in. I mean, someone has 140 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:38,440 to give in and, you know, and cooperate. That's not the right word. I'll compromise, compromise. 141 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,960 Because I mean, you've got to be you got to be on the same page, or at least close to 142 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:50,760 it. My opinion. So the way I'm seeing this is how did they stay together for 35 years 143 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:56,800 without aging a day? No, that's not we're not going to talk about that. And still remain 144 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:03,160 so lovingly close makes you think right. Like if they can make it, you know, maybe some 145 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:08,680 of us are looking at the strong way. You know what I mean? Something to think about. All 146 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:15,240 right. How do you feel about Grandpa Simpson's introduction and his initial characterization? 147 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:21,480 His his view is pretty much the same like the animation colors do change of his wardrobe. 148 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:27,040 But the rest of his wardrobe, it's exactly the same. Same slippers, pants and long sleeve 149 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:36,680 shirt with a little bolo tie. Same guy. And the voice is is the same person. It's just 150 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:42,680 a slightly different tone. So looking at Grandpa Simpson in this episode is pretty much what 151 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:49,400 we get for the rest of the series. You know, it's pretty close. So, you know, as you analyze 152 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,960 it, as you think about Grandpa Simpson's introduction and his initial characterization, what do 153 00:17:53,960 --> 00:18:00,000 you think? Do you think this is this was the right way to go? I I've always loved Abe Simpson. 154 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:07,440 I love later in the series when he starts screaming and ranting. And I think he did 155 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:11,760 pretty well in this one, because you get you get the older like, you know, he fought in 156 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:20,760 the old wars and stuff. And you get that kind of mentality and dubious nature. So that's 157 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:27,480 what I think. Let me know what you think. His his recounts of old experiences, though, 158 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:32,400 are mostly fabricated. And you can tell. And that's something that he does throughout his 159 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:41,320 entirety of as a character. But he he doesn't stop sharing. I mean, always is sharing some 160 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:47,720 random story. And then, of course, back in my day was called a sick his stick, you know, 161 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:55,680 which I think is funny. So he takes Bart into Herman and that's where we meet Herman. And 162 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:04,240 yeah, so so there you go. That's that's that bit. And then the training montage starts. 163 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:09,800 There's you know, there's training montages in so many movies. I think one of the most 164 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:17,200 iconic would definitely be Rocky Balboa's training montage. But montage has always been 165 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:23,000 a big thing of film, big, big importance, because you can fast forward the story in 166 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:29,360 a very short time and still tell the whole story. So it's a technique that's been used 167 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:34,800 in film for a long time. I think they use it pretty well here in The Simpsons. There 168 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:41,800 are there are sometimes in some episodes and also in like Family Guy where they use a montage 169 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:49,520 to poke fun at using a montage, which is is clever. I was like those kinds of jokes. So 170 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:54,080 this one, this was pretty good, though. So Bart gathers an army of neighborhood kids 171 00:19:54,080 --> 00:20:01,220 to fight back. And there's this parody of war movies in the training montage. And there's 172 00:20:01,220 --> 00:20:09,000 visual gags and some pretty good comedic timing. And then there's the battle. So the kids launch 173 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:15,680 a water balloon assault on Nelson and his thugs. And Nelson eventually is defeated and 174 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:21,520 forced to surrender. And I wonder if you pick up on this. But it seems to me that Nelson 175 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:31,480 is a good deal larger in in this first depiction than he is in future episodes. I'm pretty 176 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:37,480 sure that his size comes down a little bit moving forward. But in this first one, he's 177 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:44,600 he's quite a bit bigger. So they execute the battle. And it's interesting that they use 178 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:50,320 the the nonviolent weapons of water balloons and then they win the fight. I think that 179 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,760 was a message that was intentional, because, you know, in the first fight earlier in the 180 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:59,760 episode, Nelson just walloped Bart, punch him in the face. That was hard to watch. I 181 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:06,440 don't really love. I don't know. It's ironic, honestly, I can watch itch and scratchy cutting 182 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:11,600 each other's faces off. But I get bugs me when I see a little 10 year old kid get punched 183 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:21,080 in the face. It just kind of goes to my it shows my desensitization of of violence. It's 184 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:27,120 a I think one could argue that my views on it are skewed. So really, it's probably best 185 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:32,840 to leave this up to y'all. What do you think? How did you feel about that? The the use of 186 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:39,480 nonviolent weapons, water balloons and how that won the war. The the aftermath is pretty 187 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:45,620 funny. So they're in, you know, they're in peace talks afterwards. And Herman is drafting 188 00:21:45,620 --> 00:21:52,720 a peace treaty between Bart and Nelson. And then Marge arrives with fresh cupcakes. And 189 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:59,240 it brings a sense of normalcy, which became a very common theme with these episodes, because 190 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:03,760 that's how they would close out because you get closure. And then there's that's the end 191 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:08,360 of the episode. That means the next episode could start, you know, back at the normal, 192 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:14,600 the same place. They sometimes poke fun at that and intentionally leave an episode without 193 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:22,240 closure. But for the most part, this is the standard, the standard spiel of a Simpsons 194 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:31,240 episode. So so that's it. That's the episode. And there's a lot to there's a lot to discuss. 195 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:36,000 There's the the different types of humor, because there's quite a few there's there's 196 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:42,680 slapstick humor. And that's historically been, I think, my favorite growing up, but it was 197 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:48,760 also very, very popular and prominent in the 90s and in the 80s, even more so in the 80s. 198 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:54,440 That slapstick comedy of you know, like somebody getting hit in the growing with a football. 199 00:22:54,440 --> 00:23:01,560 Then there's also satire, satire became a lot more prominent into the through the 90s 200 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:07,880 and into the 2000s. And sometimes it takes takes a different kind of intellect to really 201 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:13,080 get it. Growing up, I know a lot of it was lost on me. But then watching it again later 202 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:18,360 as a teen or as an adult was, you know, I understood it more. But then there's the word 203 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:24,680 play, the word play humor and like, obscure references, that kind of stuff I didn't get 204 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:31,920 until I was much older. I was really dumb growing up. I'm just realizing. Interesting. 205 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:37,200 Well, anyway, so there's Yeah, there's there's at least those three different types of humor. 206 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:43,480 And it makes you think, first of all, I mean, I think it was definitely intentional. But 207 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:49,880 at what stage of our lives did we understand which type of humor? You know what I mean? 208 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:54,080 Like I'm sharing my experience. I'm telling you, when I was a 10 year old kid watching 209 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:59,800 this 10 year old bard, I just I thought it was hilarious when Homer would get hit in 210 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:04,320 the nuts by something. You know, I just die laughing. But if they made an obscure reference 211 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:11,560 to a movie called Patton from 1970, I didn't get it. I just thought, well, this is different. 212 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:18,640 You know, I didn't see Patton. But these nods and these this extra emphasis on that type 213 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:24,600 of humor was was pretty awesome. I think it's what has contributed to the longevity of the 214 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:32,400 show, in my opinion. So there's also character development, quite dramatic character development 215 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:37,400 for a lot of different characters, because there's there's there's contributions to 216 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:43,440 the development of Bart, obviously, he's the main focus of this episode, lots of character 217 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:47,960 development for him. From the beginning of the episode, as he's trying to defend his 218 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:54,560 sister and then getting beat up and feeling despair and then getting encouragement from 219 00:24:54,560 --> 00:25:01,400 from his friends or his family. And then, you know, organizing this this neighborhood 220 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:08,880 anti bully rally or battle. Lots of character development there. We see some with Lisa and 221 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:15,000 Homer and Marge as well, but also definitely Grandpa. Grandpa Simpson sees a great deal 222 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:19,320 of character development. And I feel like a lot of the scenes with him kind of set the 223 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:25,320 stage and help the writers see, yeah, this is where we want to go with with Grandpa Simpson. 224 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:33,160 Again, like everything else, that's my opinion. What's yours? And I'll tell you how it's wrong. 225 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:38,640 The the themes were pretty cool. I didn't really like I said, I didn't fully understand 226 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:45,120 at the time of these themes, the really deep, meaningful ones like the the bullying and 227 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:52,220 the family dynamics and conflict, conflict resolution and pacifism. I didn't really understand 228 00:25:52,220 --> 00:26:00,400 them for what they were at the time. But now I see the the themes more overtly. So it's 229 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:06,160 easier for me to identify. So also lots of cultural references. And it's not just the 230 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:10,720 movies, but sometimes with those movies, they are cultural references because they were 231 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:17,440 cultural phenomenons like Star Wars was a major pop culture phenomenon. So when there's 232 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:24,560 there's references to that, or other major movies like Patton was huge, then you know, 233 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,880 that counts as more of a cultural reference than just like a nod to a movie. And there 234 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:34,480 were several I think I counted seven or eight different references or nods to other movies 235 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:42,240 like war movies. It was pretty cool. And I think it really all added up to the what became 236 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:48,400 the legacy of the Simpsons and the lasting impact of their of their show and particularly 237 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:58,940 this episode and how it how it lasted through the years. So time to engage you listeners. 238 00:26:58,940 --> 00:27:06,440 So let's engage engage with me. What are your favorite moments from Bart the General? Are 239 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:13,180 you like me and you still it's hard to watch because the animation and you know, the portrayal 240 00:27:13,180 --> 00:27:22,720 of the characters is so vastly different or just outdated? Or you know, do you fully enjoy 241 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:29,360 every minute of it? And are you the kind of person who wishes all the Simpsons episode 242 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:34,520 stayed like this? And if you are, you're a psychopath and stop listening to my show. 243 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:41,080 And I'm just kidding. Yeah, kind of. Do you think the the messages in this episode were 244 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:47,720 effective and specifically not not the gathering your friends together as a war party and beating 245 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:54,760 someone up? But the message about pacifism mostly from Marge, do you feel like that was 246 00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:04,680 that was effective? Because one could argue that there's both both ideas are laid out 247 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:09,560 there and then we see the one come to fruition. One could argue that, you know, I don't know 248 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:14,800 if I want to get my buddies together and do some training and and go and take out this 249 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:20,120 bully with violence because he's bigger and scarier than me. So maybe I'll go the route 250 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:25,840 of pacifism. So some to think about that might have been a little more obscure than some 251 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:33,720 of my other questions. So I apologize. But lastly, how do you think this episode compares 252 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:42,880 to other classic Simpsons episodes? In my opinion, I think this episode shows more of 253 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:49,360 the out of order of how they were placed, because I think there's a big difference between 254 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:55,920 this and Homer's Odyssey, these two episodes and like the ones later in the season, some 255 00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,000 we've already watched. But but others that we're going to see here in the future. I think 256 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:05,360 there was a vast difference, both in animation and production between the first couple episodes 257 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:12,480 and the last episodes of the first season. There was a lot of growth and evolution in 258 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:17,800 the first season. I think in my opinion, like I said, this episode was very clearly one 259 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:24,240 of the first drawn up episodes. I think it just shows. So engage with me, share your 260 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:32,360 thoughts, tell me what you think. Find me on social media on X at Donuts 742 and tell 261 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:39,240 me what you think. Yeah. All right. Don't forget to do your homework. Okay. Tired of 262 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:45,240 telling you to do just do your freaking homework. It's not hard. What I'm asking you to do is 263 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:51,880 go open up Disney Plus and watch an episode of The Simpsons. All right. Come on. Next 264 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:57,640 week is it's a good one. It's Moaning Lisa. It's when we meet Bleeding Gums Murphy. It's 265 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:04,580 it's a really good, deep, poignant episode. And it's almost entirely focused on Lisa and 266 00:30:04,580 --> 00:30:12,360 her talents. And it's a good episode. So go watch it. Try to get top scores in the trivia 267 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:19,360 and then tweet about it. Let me know what you what you got. So see ya. Just kidding. 268 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:24,440 Speaking of trivia, thought I was gonna do it again, huh? Here are the answers. Ready? 269 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:31,240 Number one, what does Homer use to help Bart dry those tears? It was a blow dryer. This 270 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:35,560 was the part of slapstick comedy that I was talking about. The scene where he turns on 271 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:41,180 a blow dryer and then Bart's face is like blown off his skull. That humor killed me 272 00:30:41,180 --> 00:30:48,560 as a kid. It was just so so funny. So stupid. But I've I've done it. I loved it. It was 273 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:55,460 hilarious. I was a dull kid. Number two, what is the code of the schoolyard or the rules 274 00:30:55,460 --> 00:31:02,240 that teach a boy to be a man according to Homer Simpson? Number one, don't tattle. Number 275 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:09,020 two, always make fun of those different from you. And number three, never say anything 276 00:31:09,020 --> 00:31:21,000 unless you're sure everyone else feels the exact same way you do. I love these. I never 277 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:27,120 loved the episodes of The Simpsons where Homer is like last week. Where Homer is like this 278 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:33,400 really smart character. I'm so glad they developed him this way. He's a much better dummy than 279 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:39,380 he is an intelligent character. If you got any of those, you get a point. If you got 280 00:31:39,380 --> 00:31:44,800 all three of them, you get still one point. So no cheating. When Bart is marching his 281 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:53,000 troops, how many kids does he have in his squad? All right. If you know this answer, 282 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:59,440 for real, I want to know about it. Okay, no cheating. This was a trick question because 283 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:06,560 in in the first several scenes, there's 12. But towards the end of the montage, as they're 284 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:14,640 marching and they're doing the you know, they're 16. Yeah, one could argue, well, maybe he 285 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:21,440 got four more troops during the shut up. You know that it was just a foible of animation. 286 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:28,040 We both know it. So just just be quiet. So if you got that answer, if you said 12 and 287 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:34,880 16, and that's a trick question, you have to tell me I have to know because I need to 288 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:41,160 be able to tell you that you're a filthy liar. So keep you on your toes. Thanks again for 289 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:47,280 listening. I appreciate it. I'm so glad that you're enjoying these episodes. I love the 290 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:55,280 Simpsons. I love going through this and and analytically discussing these. I just I geek 291 00:32:55,280 --> 00:33:01,240 out so much for it. So I'd love to hear your feedback. You know how to get to me. Thanks 292 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:12,280 for listening. I will see you next week.