Talking Simpsons - Talking Simpsons - Bart The Daredevil

Episode Date: December 2, 2015

Monkey see, monkey do, as Bart decides to become a professional stuntman after a night of Truckasaurus. See Homer’s most painful moment yet and meet Dr. Hibbert all in one show…

a hoi hoi everybody and welcome to talking simpsons and if you missed this podcast you better be dead or in jail and if you're in jail break out anyways this is the latest time podcast network's chronological exploration of the simpsons. I am your host, Bob Mackie. Who else is here? Actually, for the first time, who else is here? Brett. Elston. Elston.

Hey, Brett. Dramatic pause. He's trying to win a world record for the slowest introduction ever. It could have been anybody. No, stop it! Brett, who just recently joined The Laser Time Podcast Network. Yeah, officially, yes. We've been farting around here for four years now. And, I mean, if you didn't know, listening, we go back to probably 2007, 2008 in various

forms. I keep hearing it's 08 from people who are paying attention, who are better with dates. Who live through their lives and recall. And I'm Henry Gilbert. And who else do we got? Oh, me, Christopher Antista. Hi, hi, hi. Well, I feel like we should give a quick Simpsons biography.

Yeah, who are you, Brett? And why do you deserve to be here, number one? I mean, it's the same as everybody else. Watch the Christmas special day one, and then watch that VHS over and over. And then when season one began, tape them, watch them again. And then by the time it hit syndication, or not syndication, well, yeah, syndication for reruns around season three, four, whatever, just them seeing it three times a day and for years at a time i talk a lot about speaking like using simpsons

reference as a language when i first left my hometown and my hometown friends brett was the first one who spoke it who spoke simpsons yeah are you fluent in simpsons it was and it's weird because i left a group of friends uh when i moved out to california like three or four friends who we could just do that thing. Mr. Show and Simpsons references. A random line. Mr. Show and Simpsons references. But Simpsons...

Saying them all day long. We were just talking about the degree to which Simpsons Infiltrated is so beyond any other popular show like Seinfeld or Friends or whatever. But then I went to Radar and then you guys were like, oh, you guys do it too.

And then just from there, I've just always met more and more people who I'm like, oh, yeah oh you guys do it too and then just from there I've just always met more and more people who I'm like oh yeah we can do this it's funny quoting the Simpsons has become the new quoting Monty Python which was made fun of a lot in the 90s on the Simpsons yeah they sabotage themselves

so today's episode is Bart the Daredevil which aired on December 6th 1990 just two days after the release of Simpsons Sing the Blues oh boy So today's episode is Bart the Daredevil, which aired on December 6, 1990. Date that will live in... Just two days after the release of Simpsons Sing the Blues. Oh, boy. So this day in Simpsons history...

Oh, my God. Oh, yeah, buddy. This is the best one. This day in Simpsons history, Coke and Pepsi announced they're getting into the recycling game. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is charged with first degree murder for his role in a woman's assisted suicide and the Do the Bartman video is debuted to the world. At the end of this episode, correct?

Yes, I will say that there's a character in here who I have never seen. In the video or in Bart the Daredevil? In Bart the Daredevil because this had the music video attached to it, they cut out an entire resolution. When I watched watched this there were about four jokes i thought oh i never saw that joke i never saw i have i have a clip of we'll

probably get to them but like i like like wait okay first of all this episode is all about one thing and one thing only that's right uh so when they when the original version like i said i started taping the show's first run this year. They get caught in Truckasaurus's mouth. And with the Do the Bartman video, the commercial came back and they're just sitting in the stands. It cuts from them just being stuck in Truckasaurus's mouth. And like, so when I see this, it's still really weird. No, not exactly. They get wrenched out of it, but the guy writes him a check.

No, I had to, I taped the same thing. They get wrenched out and the guy writes him a check, but then they're in the stand. They're not given the bottle of champagne. The champagne I didn't remember, but the check I remembered. This guy. Mr. Simpson, I'm Leo G. Clark, inventor, owner, and operator of Truckasaurus. Let me just say that Truckasaurus feels very badly about what happened,

and everyone here at Team Truckasaurus would like you to enjoy this half bottle of domestic champagne for being such a good sport. Well, thank you. So if you're like me and you had the tape of the first run episode, you never saw that character ever and he's never come back in anything. No, it feels like Frank's uncle or something. He has a name. His name is Leo.

That line I don't remember, but the check when she's like, we're going to write you a check for $100 or whatever it is. That's just about cover. Leo G. Clark is the name of a gary shandling writer that the writers of this episode worked with and that's why it's so specific okay so what's the plot of this wait do we need to talk about do the bart man first should we start probably yeah like do the bart man i it was it was it was them fulfilling the go calypso thing like before they was it was quite an event. And the creation of it, according to Mac Raining, is that he got a call from one Michael Jackson who said,

I love, this is the quote they say in the commentaries, I love Bart. I want to give him a hit song. And so he writes this song or co-writes this song because he's a credited co-writer. But Michaelson's name isn't even on it because he was under contracts elsewhere so he writes this song he's name checked in the song too michael jackson's name is said in the song and had already been in the do the not the do the right thing though black and white video that'll be a year later okay that was 91 yeah black and white would come in Season 3.

We'll get there. Probably in a couple months. But the video was directed by Brad Bird. Oh, yeah. Actually, listening to his commentary on the making of the video sounded like it was hell. It sounded like hell for him. Yeah, well, the way they describe it is that

they thought it was just going to be a normal episode, but it's much more animated. In terms of The Simpsons, a lavishish musical number it is animated in a way that seems off because it's so fluid like the babysitter bandit stuff like we talked about yeah yeah yeah it's theatrical level animation and yeah that bradford says they laid it out in two days which is so fast for for that reading that ren and stimpy book you gave me let's be like you can lay something out in two days. And then he flew to Budapest,

Hungary, because that was the animation company they sourced it out to. And he said when he told them, no, this is going to be better animated than the TV show, he said that their faces turned white. And then he barely... Let's be glad now.

This is my third CD, and oh man. I think it was my sister's first CD. Got a lot of new stuff. I had a cassette of this. He had to physically get the cassette. In the very last minute, they shifted the thing. It was hell for Brad Bird. He hated it.

This album is hilarious. We did an entire Laser Time listening party. We listened to not only Simpsons Sing the Blaz. Simpsons Sing the Blaz. It's a great episode. After that, there's an album

that was recorded right afterwards but not released for another 13 years. It should have never been released. It's insane. That one feels like

the real joke. This, I guess, they don't know what The Simpsons is, who they are. They're finding their legs and their voice. It's that weird period

where it's like, here's an arcade game and an album and all this stuff is based on one season. All the songs in the album are based off of one or two lines from 20 previous episodes. They tell you how to do the barman, but is it ever demonstrated for you in any way? I know how to do the Urkel.

Let your feet... Yeah, Bob. They tell you, but is it ever demonstrated via the video? Yeah, like the Urkel. They put their arms back like it's... It looks more like the Thriller dance. You remember Homer popping out of the manhole and yelling? I do.

So this is probably post-Do the Urkel then, right? It is, probably like a year later. Because I think, for some reason, I tie that into the night... The Friday that Ninja Turtles, the 1990 the 1990 came out i remember coming home and do the urkel was on tv that'll be the next episode i mean i watched this video over and over and over again off my off my thing especially to pause it for all the quick cuts at the end when everybody's dancing it it was the most it was the best animation the simpsons had ever had to that point and for a 21st century problem do the bartman is the first thing that got me a copyright flag on YouTube.

Yes. Your video is blocked worldwide. What an occasion. And also, I think, oh yeah, the other memory I have of this is, so I taped it off of TV, but the Bartman was getting so big that they played it on the Fox Kids Saturday morning block at the same time, too. And they bleeped out the dirty words like the one that was about to come up there. He's playing her damn saxophone. They bleeped out the damn.

Let me see. Every time you do it, you can't prove anything. Remember how many times Bart said that? Because it was once. Yeah. Because it was once, except on the album. Well, I mean, Deep, Deep Trouble is even more full of just, like, clips that

are never said again. I guess we should get into the regular episode. So we already jumped into it. So Bart, this episode begins with Bart and Homer both watching a monster truck rally commercial at the same time. And there's a sort of darkness to this in that you realize Bart is Homer, and Homer

is Bart. And Bart will grow up to be Homer for as much as he despises him, which I love. Just how parallel these characters are operating on just watching this one commercial. I also like that they're watching wrestling. Yeah. I guess is losing prestige over the years but still had very little at that point.

Father and son watching wrestling. Also just the idea that every time I watch one of the older episodes again, I'm like, man, he really does just hang out at Moe's. Yes. Bart, your children are at home, and presumably the whole family's there, and you're just like, I'm just at a bar. You're drinking with degenerates.

Yeah. Are there like seven, or when is he there? I got a clip of the commercial because I love it so much. This is so good. This Saturday, for one night night only your life will be changed forever saturday saturday saturday at the springfield speedway speedway don crusher woodard john the skunk tremaine and the team come on up short riding duck masters and the year's biggest monster truck rally one night only plus the amazing the astounding the unbelievable

20 tons and four stories of car crunching, fire breathing, prehistoric insanity. One night only. One night only. One night only. That's animation. If you miss this, you'd better be dead or in jail. And if you're in jail, bring out. Be there.

Be there. Be there. That is one of those phrases that stuck with me for years. I love the animation, too. The bard is so full of energy. He's like, Trachysaurus, I have to do something. He just runs outside and looks around for a second like, what do I do? All this excitement about Trachysaurus.

I must see this thing. And Homer's experiencing the same thing at Moe's bar. That's what it is. And I did have as a note, for some reason, their room has an extra wall in the sequence. I have no idea why. In the living room? Yeah. Okay, I didn't notice that.

There's an extra wall there. What I found funny was no matter where you were in America, these commercials were the sequence. I have no idea why. In the living room? Yeah. There's an extra wall there. What I found funny was like no matter where you were in America, these commercials were the same. I don't know if it was the same like promotional company, but like are these commercials still in circulation? Are they still the same kind of tone? No, maybe the last vestige of that is that like car commercials. No, not car commercials. Like local car commercials. Like dealerships.

Yeah, still have the same narrative. Hi, I'm Bill and I have too many. Come on down to blah, still have the same narrative. Those are still good. Hi, I'm Bill, and I have two of these. Come on down to blah, blah, blah. You won't beat our prices. Even these still are basically the same, because I'll see them when I'm home occasionally. Oh, really? Yeah, and it's still like,

it's a drag race from hell, and you better get out here Saturday at the Show Me Center. I want to know if Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, or Sunday, Sunday, Sunday is still the common refrain in all of these. I have not heard that. But it's definitely the agitated man threatening you to go to the... Before I forget, I'm pitching a commercial for the show that just says, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday!

Talking Simpsons. Better be dead or in jail. Did you also notice that the wrestling announcer was the same mini-golf announcer? Yeah, we don't see him. But it's the one guy who was doing commentary during the mini-golf. Why? He's the referee. Permit to this. Really? He's the hyper-articulate, over-excited Brit?

Yeah, he's the... I mean, he has like two lines in this. Wow, so are we at the monster truck rally yet? I have a couple more clips. I love his family announcement. I have an announcement to make. As a family growth thing, Bart and I think we should all go to the monster truck rally this Saturday. Aren't you forgetting something?

Uh, monster truck rally. Growth thing aren't you forgetting something uh monster truck rally growth thing no i don't think so lisa's recital is saturday night i'll be playing my first solo if you miss it on saturday i'd advise you to start looking for a child therapist on sunday that's such a great like as a kid without a line that didn't register i'm like oh because she'll be mad and then as an adult i'm like oh man oh, man. But just the line, as a family growth thing. Family growth thing to do what I want to do. That was kind of the mini-golf

excuse in the last episode we did. This is all kind of unimportant. It's all about getting them a monster truck rally. But one, I admire that somebody orchestrated bad music just for this episode. Oh, no, they mentioned that in the commentary this is so good in the commentary that like but these are the actual instruments playing poorly they had

to tell off they had to do multiple takes because alf clausen uh orchestra did it too well they're like no really you're children you're pretending you're acting as you play and the last thing before the last thing before we get to the monster truck rally is, and we can dispute this, my line of the show. That's the joke. How much longer was Sherbert planning on making this piece of junk? Oh my, Lisa was wonderful. She certainly has come a long way with her fingering.

Jesus, Flanders, come on. I feel like he calls the symphony a piece of junk yeah well then i like his his comeback to that when flanders is crying see this is another like childhood to adult thing where as a kid i'm like flanders what a wiener crying as his kids playing an instrument well and then homer's like he's not that bad i don't know when there's an adult who now as i get older i lose all the testosterone and everything makes me cry i'm like oh yeah i can totally see why your son who you've watched grow up. You were here for the last episode, but that dealie signing with Homer and the putting green is like,

there's no way I wouldn't be flattered. Can we please not call them losers, their children? I loved Homer bursting into tears. It felt like the first time Homer's gone, just like, I can't do it. I want blue. Oh, cruel fate. Why do you mock me? I completely erased the musical from my memories of this episode.

I forgot them going to the concert and Skinner doing the jokes he did back in. Sherbert. Everybody calls him Sherbert. And also, I thought it was really cute, the animation of Homer lifting up Lisa and running back to make her. It was a very cartoony moment. It was very touching. I felt it was touching when Lisa said, I reached him. That's great. Again, because as a

nine-year-old, I didn't quite get what that meant. And I don't even think Homer is humming the song that was being played, just like a random possible song. That was so great. Hong Kong yeah that sequence in general

is like filled with several colors I don't think the Simpsons ever used again there's the driving sequence on the way there and it looks like they're passing a city

that is not in Springfield and then like where it always sounds like his mouth is full like damn no Sprats but they get to the monster truck rally

I have a clip again I captured these a while ago miss monster majestic undercoating is proud to present miss monster wow a woman mud pool driver another barrier broken right on sister that joke that again was not in my vhs version of it the joke wasn't there or again also again, also with Leah G. Clark. So, I mean, the biggest, what an act break it was that they're being attacked by Truckasaurus. Like, they drive in there and Truckasaurus is right there and is about to eat them.

I think it's like, even on the commentary, they point out, like, Truckasaurus is not a living thing. Like, this is an orchestrated event. He would not just pick up a random car and try to eat it. Have you ever seen one of those things? they have one called robosaurus i believe that that tours around the country and he has like 1100 wires sticking out the back attached to three rednecks so it's kind of impossible not to see who would be deployed they mentioned in the commentary that whatever they were inspired by it was called megosaurus yeah they they were threatened to be sued by them.

And then they also, but it came to be nothing. And then they also said that, like, Truckasaurus is the better name anyway. We were so happy they didn't call it Truckasaurus because that's the better name. Who do they think they are? Choose Your Own Adventure? That's way too inside baseball. Bonus time, ladies and gentlemen.

I think I saw this before I saw a real-life Truckasaurus. But then when I did, I was just freaking out. I'm'm like it's the thing from the show will it will it eat a family well never would and i also wrote a note that like the simpsons could have sued for millions like they would have had they them just taking that check of like no you you almost this giant corporation nearly murdered you you could get a lot of money out of them i also feel like this this moment is kind of what this is a show the first few seasons i would actually watch with my dad who didn't watch you know no you parent connection to yeah we didn't like the same things yeah parent would see a cartoon like that's clearly a kid's thing but i'm specifically remember this episode it being about a dad wanting to do something fun and trying to like come on the

whole family should get in immediately your dad is like i know that feeling and i know the feeling of wanting to go watch trucks bang into each other nobody else wants to uh let me ask you this clip uh maybe your dad was also relating to this no kids i don't survive let me just say seatbelts ain't live so buckle up it up see introduction to Captain Lance Murdoch and well have you ever read about Evil

Knievel yes I found it's okay so like these are the Simpsons writers writing about what they experience what they grew up in the 60s and 70s yeah entertainment was so primitive that

carnival shows could be televised as a huge event like a guy jumping over something and that's what Evil Knievel was like an incredibly stupid man who did these insane things but survived.

Yes. But he was so world famous. There are two Evil Knievel movies. I've seen one of them. Yeah. The Rift Tracks. One of them is either starring him and another person is him playing Evil Knievel while they're still alive. And they're making another one.

He was a household name as a daredevil. I mean, we know who he is. I know. He's before our time. But we grew up with Super Dave, who was a parody of was a household name as a daredevil i mean we know who he is i know he's before our time but it was super we grew up with super dave who was a parody of evil but we grew up with no evil knievel analog at best we have johnny knoxville but we that that works because we know they're not superheroes and we delight in them failing in stunts are there modern i mean david blaine i'm guessing what has he done yeah but just to see someone i know fox used to broadcast stuff like that like dennis rodman bungeeing out of a plane,

but it's like, it's still just Dennis Rodman. He's not famous for being a daredevil. We didn't grow up with daredevils. Yeah. Or that, what was that Joe Rogan show? Fear Factor.

Fear Factor. Fear Factor, they do stunts like that. Yeah, it's the idea, it's the jackass factor, the idea that this is supposed to sting. Yeah,

it's weird that now, it wasn't a professional. Somewhere in the last 20 years, 30 years, it became more like we delight in, like the failure. It's Wipeout, it's America's Funniest Home wipe out it's america's funny stuff videos like it's people eating eating it all people wanted to see evil can evil succeed and captain lance murdoch is just a great character did lance murdoch make that change because of his failure you wanted to he you see him hurt

every time like he became a running joke lance murdoch has only appeared a handful of times his most recent i looked this up was in season 18 oh wow murdoch has only appeared a handful of times. His most recent, I looked this up, was in season 18. Oh, wow. Lance Murdoch appeared in that, but he, like, I think the next time you see him is when he goes to Bush Garden. Oh, yeah, Duff Gardens. Duff Gardens. I shouldn't knock Johnny Knoxville. I did just read that he has a catheter full-time from a stunt that

went bad. Wow. Jesus Christ. Well, had any of you guys, I'd been to a monster truck rally before. Had any of you guys been?'d been to a monster truck rally before. Had any of you guys been to one? I think my parents probably shied away. I know I asked. Dude, there was a Care Bears monster truck rally in my hometown. That's a weird mesh of brands.

I really should kick my dad in the dick just for not taking me. I had that memory. No, I swear. Lionheart totally jumped that bus. Well, I went to one before I saw this episode because it was in Arkansas. My family lived in Arkansas, which I lived there till I was eight. Arkansas.

And when we went to it, like it was this was a very well observed. How we use electricity can be smarter, cleaner and greener. At Electric Ireland, we can help guide you there. You see, our new Net Zero Hub has all you need to know about smart meter plans, EV tariffs, solar panels, and much more. Making your usage clearer, your trips greener, your home cozier, and your world brighter. Find our Net Zero Hub at electricireland.ie. Peace about it because you go like, oh, monster trucks.

Like, that's what I want to do. I was like, monster trucks, that's fun. You're waiting for monster trucks all night. Yeah. It's a drag race. So there's a giant lead up to it? Yeah, there's a drag race. There's dirt bikes that go in a circle.

Like, let me know if I'm overstepping my bounds. Tractor pull? I didn't see a tractor pull. That's more of a counter. That's more of a counter. Fair item. I don't actually know what that is. I don't know either.

What are they pulling and why? A car with a ton of engines. If there's a tractor pull, then there's also someone carving things with a chainsaw. This is like the Hillbilly Olympics. I found out later, this was indoors, and I remember as a kid thinking, this is very loud. There's one joke in The Simpsons they didn't make of how what a cacophony it is. My mom later told me that she got tinnitus from that

and she has had it the rest of her life. I always wondered, why does she sleep with a TV on? No, I have it super bad. And I've always wondered, is that... Because I remember even as a 9-year-old, 10-year-old, I'm like, this is too loud. It's all Gravedigger's fault. Yeah, man.

Or Bigfoot. I wish Gravedigger was there. Man, there is a clip of, like, a straight-to-video that you paid, like, $39.99 for, a video documentary of Bigfoot from, like, 1991. No, I read of that. With so much reverence, it is hysterical. Did Hulk Hogan ever ride in Bigfoot? I feel like that's just the 80s incarnate. Hulk Hogan owned his own monster truck. There was a sumo monster

truck battle on an episode of Halloween Havoc 95. I think Bigfoot had its own NES game too, correct? It was on his own NES cartoon show. Power? Yes, with Quark and one of the arch

rivals. Video power. So we're going to meet Captain Lance Murdoch, right? I and one of the arch rivals. Video power, yeah. So we're going to meet Captain Lance Murdoch, right? Yeah. Okay, I want to get back on track here. And he's doing a stunt, and the stunt is jumping a tank full of sharks, eels, piranha, alligators, and a lion. The lion killed me. That's one of the greatest jokes in the CQP system. Just like the claw and the face coming out as they announce it.

And it's the fact that it's the lion that gets it. It's not any of the other items. Well, the lion's just like, well, I guess I'm swimming now. And then also that half of those things would have eaten the other half. They don't coexist. Well, then like the ambient noise of like when all the lights go down and you like the snake goes by and the shark fin goes by and the growl of the lion. Like doggy paddling pets. But seeing the deathly moves of

lance murdoch like inspired bartz to be a daredevil himself dad i want to be a daredevil he'd say such stupid things again homer ignoring the most obvious i guess cry for help did well did any of you do stuff like that as kids because i did did. I really didn't. I stood on a skateboard once and was like, this is not for me. We built a ramp into a soft ditch and would launch ourselves from a neighbor's driveway. I'm surprised that wasn't more hurt as a kid because we did kind of delight in stuff like this.

I never rode things, but we lived in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, so did we. I bet I can jump across that and smash. I bet I can climb this tree and then jump out of the tree and land in this ditch and I won't get hurt. It sounds like I met two of my best friends like, I bet I can hit you in the head with a rock. Bitch, you can't.

And then, boom, take sides. Guerrilla warfare. One concussion later and you're friends. I got him. It felt a very jackass moment when Bart does his skateboard stunt and then hurts himself and then his friends just run away. They're like, let's get out of here. Yeah, he looks pretty hurt.

And that's exactly what happens. And then we meet for the first time Dr. Hibbert who is named after Julia Sweeney, by the way. What? Yes. They talk about that in the commentary, yeah. Her name used to be Julia Hibbert. She was married to a comedy writer named, I think like Steve Hibbert or something like that.

Yeah, he's the gimp in Pulp Fiction. Oh, really? I think so. So, Julius Hibbert was named after Julia Hibbert. Wow, I didn Yeah, he's the Gimp in Pulp Fiction. Oh, really? I think so. So, Julius Hibbert was named after Julia Hibbert. Wow, I didn't know that. So, think of Julia Sweeney when you see Dr. Hibbert. Is there a Groundlings connection? Well, because she originally had been written as a woman. That's right. It was going to be a female

Dr. Hibbert, so it was just going to be Julia Hibbert. Now, we want to make this a Cosby guy. That's right. So, this is now Julius Hibbert. They're like, nah, we want to make this a Cosby guy. That's right. So this is now Julius Hibbert. And that, yeah, I think Kogan and Walidarski were in Knew Her From Ground Link. There are a lot of characters named after comedy writers in this show. But I want to ask you guys this. I feel the joke with Hibbert is that Cosby is like a total goofball, but Hibbert is like

stone cold serious. Is that what the joke is supposed to be? But he still makes a lot of jokes, though, doesn't he? I don't think in this one he does. No, not here for sure. It's not until season three that he becomes the bad doctor. I never saw him as Cosby until a couple episodes later.

When he wears the sweater. That's true, but I think it was a direct here's our black doctor in our show. I think it was an effort to diversify the show by giving Harry Shearer another black character to voice. And now seeing a Cosby reference on the show feels different than it did

a couple years ago. Those things will not make it a syndication, but here's Hibbert's first appearance. Mrs. Simpson, Bart tells me he injured himself training for a career in death defiance? Yes, well, we saw Daredevil last night, and, well, you know, monkey see, monkey do. Hmm.

I think I know something that might discourage him from this sort of behavior. Bart, in this ward are the children who have been hurt by imitating stunts they saw on television, movies, and the legitimate stage. This boy broke his leg trying to fly like Superman.

This boy's brother hit him in the head with a wrench, mimicking a recent TV wrestling match. Nice callback. I won't even subject you to the horrors of our Three Stooges war. Gee, I never realized TV was such a dangerous influence. Well, as tragic as all this is, it's a small price to pay for countless hours of top-notch entertainment. Amen.

That's the joke. I love that joke. I only caught that the second time I watched it recently, that he just makes light of it all after being stone-cold serious about how dangerous. Yes, but this is the price you've got to pay. Well, because this TV show was briefly saying television is very dangerous, so then he has to go like, well, but still, it's a small price to pay for TV, right? Since this is season two, there can't be too many instances of this yet.

But this is definitely one where it's like this town of Springfield has something happening in it that can't possibly be happening. Like this many kids can't be injured. Otherwise. It only exists for a joke. Yeah. Well, like you're in the Springfield salt flats and it's like there's no salt flats. Well, I mean, we're going to see a giant gorge. Exactly.

Like, it has a gorge in the same episode. I love the gorge so much. It's beautiful layouts as far as that goes. Yeah, it's very Wiley-like. Where does Simpsons Landscapes go? This is probably the best it's ever been, but Bart sees the gorge and decides to jump it. Man, this thing's pretty gnarly. I bet you could throw a dead body in there and no one would ever find it.

Otto, I'm going to leap over Springfield Gorge on my skateboard. You know, Bart is the only adult here. I feel I should say something. What? Cool! I made the note that Otto doesn't do much these days. It's again, you see these first couple seasons, you're like, wow, Otto is a real important character. They loved Otto.

I think this kind of stoner character was kind of subversive. Kind of new. Yeah. It wasn't as omnipresent on television. I did watch it

and notice what song Otto was humming for the first time. Frankenstein? It's Foxy Lady. Oh, Foxy Lady. Got it. Hey, Otto,

can I use that microphone? Sorry, Bart, dude. Sorry, Bart, can I use that microphone? Sorry, Bart dude. It's for emergencies only. That accent. Wow, I never knew it was fascinating. I'm sure they had to pay for it. I'm almost positive. It's too specific, right?

He was humming like Frankenstein, I think, in an earlier episode. So, yeah, I'm sure they paid for it. But Bart does all these stunts throughout the town. And we hear him he wants to do the gorge but then he has to visit Lance Murdoch because Lisa finds out and she wants to intervene like Bart you can't do this here's someone you need to meet an adult that will talk

some sense into you but we find out that no adult is sensible in the Simpsons world right Mr. Murdoch my brother is thinking about jumping Springfield Gorge on a skateboard now let me start by saying good for you, son. It's always good to see young people taking an interest in danger. Now, a lot of people are going to be telling you you're crazy, and maybe they're right.

But the fact of the matter is, Bones Hill, Chicks Dig Scars, and the United States of America has the best doctor to daredevil ratio in the world. But Captain Murdoch! Thanks, Lance. You're welcome, little partner. On your way out, tell the nurse I'm ready for my sponge bath. There's another fridge. I do love when he asks for his autograph.

That's great, yeah. The animation of the pencil poking through the paper is so satisfying just to watch. It lasts forever. I feel like it's an early version of the rake joke, but they didn't have the confidence to hold on that shot. They cut to Bart. They cut to an overhead shot of him. I feel like it's like an early version of the rake joke but they didn't have the confidence to hold on that shot. Like they cut to Bart they cut to an overhead

shot of him but I feel like the later Simpsons would just be like no you're going to stare at this man wiggling a pen in his mouth for like 45 seconds

and you'll like it. It bothers to actually show what he's writing and it's just incomprehensible garbage. But I learned the phrase fringe benefit from that. Yeah.

That's probably true. It's the benefit of watching fringe. I learned the word dividend from 60s Batman because riddler's like and my investment's paying but it becomes clear to everybody that bart's gonna do this and i love i because when i want to explain like how how much i was like bart i had the realization that no adult really had any power over me at all like what you're grounded i'm leaving but you're grounded i'm still leaving and you can't stop me and like this makes me cringe watching bart respond to like homer asked trying

to protect him i forbid you to jump over that gorge you can't i can't do go to your own bark there i've done it i'm glad somebody finally stepped in and put an end to this nonsense once and for all hey man you could tell me not to do, but there's no way you can watch me 24 hours a day. And the minute your back is turned, I'm grabbing my skateboard and heading for that gorge. He's gone, it's March. There's nothing we can do. He's as good as dead.

Well, you're his father. You've got to try and reason with him. No, that never works. He's a goner. He just cries immediately. It's weird when Homer cared, too. This is way before the probably-misses-his-old-glasses era.

Even compared to season four, five, six, this is still so sedate and slow and almost a regular family show that occasionally has the rubber band reality that they talk about. Well, this gets the rubber bandies of all. Yeah, definitely. But just the conversations are so like

there's no music. It's just like I'm going to talk, careful considered reaction. Not everything is a joke. Dumb conversation with a Simpsons nerd, but that Homer is allowed to care in Bart-centric episodes. In Homer-centric episodes, he doesn't care about his family.

Yeah. Yeah. It's true. Bart eventually leaves because he was just lying to Homer, saying he'll never do it again. It's a wonderful joke. Yeah, but there's something that, like, it's a joke that I never understood, and I wrote it down because Homer is gonna play catch with Bart, and he goes up to the room and finds him missing. He's like, oh, goddammit.

But then he's like, I was going to play pickle with him. What is pickle, Bob? I looked it up. It's a baseball. I figured that. You throw it back forth. For some reason, like, is it just called pickle? Because I thought it was like pickle in a dish, which is also keep away? I don't know if that... Oh, so you need a third person

for that. I guess. Have they played that with a dog? I don't know what would happen, but I guess I was going to play pickle with him i never got that different connotations yeah so i'm guessing it must be pickle in a dish or pickle in the middle according to wikipedia some somebody please phone in so when bart shows up and for the kids i noticed one fuck up they couldn't reshoot or whatever was when nelson says i thought he said noon millhouse does the same mouth movements like the animators must have thought they like oh both these characters say these words and so they say it at the same time that's something two separate characters would say in unison that must

be like a miscommunication with korea it seems like yeah well normally they that stuff doesn't stay in the broadcast version or they fix it later on? Yeah. Yeah. Retakes. I did notice that at some point, Wendell is on the bus holding his stomach. That's my only super. Yeah. That's like the last Wendell appearance.

Yeah. He'll just be in the corner doing his one character joke. One of the first gag I remember from this that was when Lisa is like trying to, I guess, talk about this gorge jump. And she mentions, by the way, Bart's going to do this. And, you know, despite all the extra attention I would receive, I would probably miss you as a brother but as and

again as a kid i'm just like yeah okay but then as again now looking back it's like for an eight year old girl to like be like well let me consider if you died man i would be the only kid here she does recognize the benefits yeah that's such a again it's one of those like this is ostensibly a kid show i remember when after my sister was born, that was the only thing I wanted, for her to go away and me to get all the attention again. I was the second kid. But in Dead Putting Society, she says she values the fact that Homer does not care about her and her pastime. That could be why she wants to keep Bart alive.

Homer catches up to Bart at the gorge and tries to prevent him from doing it, but how does he do that? He wants to do it himself. He has to do it himself. Boy, I tried ordering you, I tried punishing you, and God help me, I even tried reasoning with you, and the only thing left for me to do is jump the gorge myself. What? Why? Because that way you'll see what it's like to witness a family member stupidly risking

his life for no good reason. But Dad, you'll never make it. Don't you think I know that? Still look at this as like really bold. do you think you really plan to do it my yeah that was my it was homer bluffing in this case i can't tell he sounds pretty desperate yeah he was because like it is certain death like i don't think homer knows he's a cartoon character yet yeah until this this solidifies this is the moment yeah i wrote it here. This is the most replayed moment in The Simpsons, maybe, or one of the top ones, but that this is when Homer became a cartoon.

This was the moment where he has a Wile E. Coyote thing, and I think they justify it by having his damage be so horrific. They're like, see, this isn't Wile E. Coyote because he's not fine, but no, he's fine next week, guys. He should be a quadriplegic or like a head in a jar or something. These are bad sound clips, but I think this is one of the funniest moments in Simpsons history. When you talk about watching with your dad, I remember my dad losing his mind during this whole sequence very vividly. I'm going to make it.

I'm going to make it. This is the greatest thrill of my life. I'm king of the world. Woo the greatest thrill of my life! I'm king of the world! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! I... Ah! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! because it was for reruns yes because it was too crappy you see like Homer hitting every like cliff embankment and you can see like dings will form in his head and he falls the way he falls is like how every

Family Guy character falls now arm behind the back leg twisted the wrong way the most painful position as an 8 year old it kind of scared me too I was like

this is the most violent cartoon I've ever seen more so than Itchy and Scratch it was this moment and I know this isn't going to work

but this moment to me is one of the funniest moments in science history i wonder how they can pick up on audio with that that i i remember i can see everything yeah the ambulance smashing i just wonder how they convinced him like you know it'd be pick up on audio, but I can see everything. Oh, yeah, the ambulance smashing into the tree. I just wonder how they convinced him, like, you know what would be even better? If he'd fell again. Like, in the writer's room, they'd be like, no, that's too much like a cartoon. No, I bet there was an argument that they went too far. Yeah, yeah.

And then someone's like, no. No. No farther. There are several Simpsons episodes, I think, that end with just, like, fuck the ending. Here's what we want to do. And I think this is the first one where it's like, there's no resolution, and they're just a painful gag, and then, like like a one-liner and then like cut to black immediately yeah the line is just like you think you got it bad uh raising my kids yeah

you think you've got guts pal when homer is in a full like his full body cast like years it will take years of physical therapy for him to come back from that and i also will point out in terms of simpsons canon in the simpsons movie they move past the gorge and the ambulance is still there, crashed up against the tree. No, they do the jump correctly on the motorcycle. Oh, that's right. They do it correctly on the motorcycle. Yeah, it's part of their fall. They finish the jump.

They go past the motorcycle. Nice to have a clip of that. It's just been one long and broken cycle of... Somebody throw the goddamn bomb! God, I'm good. That's a classic. Thank God that's on the soundboard and I can't broken cyclist. Somebody throw the goddamn bomb! God, I'm good. That's a classic. Thank God that's on the soundboard and I can't take it off. So, yeah, Bob, you're right.

This episode has kind of hallmarks of what I would call less good since these episodes. That it takes a very long time to get to the plot, which seemingly the plot is Bart wanting to be a daredevil. It really does, yeah. And that it ends with a real F you, like, we wrote ourselves into a corner, it's over, goodbye. But are we seeing that a lot, like with that and Dance and Homer? These are the first times they do these things.

And when they repeat these processes... But it's like, if it was any given sitcom, it would have been like, the dad shows up, and then they have the full house moment, and then they don't jump. And it's like, well, it's a cartoon, so the audience probably wants to see something.

We need payoff. They could have pulled in James Earl Brooks to do an ending like, we'll have it in the next episode, but they didn't and I'm glad. There's no like tearful reunion at the gorge. Don't do it. It's just like, no, screw you.

It's going to happen. It's going to be painful and then the show's just going to end and you're going to laugh about it. And there's at least a sense of like, it's funny, but they try to balance it with, you know, the show's been so grounded up to that point. Well, I can't even say

that. He still seems like a human being who's gone through a huge amount of damage. Not a cartoon character who will be fine in the next scene. You have to at least have a week to recover rather than later in this episode you're fine. Right. Oh, and I didn't mention, I think this is the second episode to air on

the BBC, if I'm not mistaken. Oh, interesting. This is the second episode to air on the BBC if I'm not mistaken oh interesting this is the second one the Brito song they got it in like 95 or something I gotta stop saying it that is not my term

it's my term I know so I guess that's it for Talking Simpsons this week I am your host Bob Mackey as always

you can find me at Bob Servo on Twitter I also do Retronauts a classic gaming podcast and I write for usgamer.net

please check all that stuff out who else wants to talk about what they do? I'm Chris Antiste and I host the LazerTime show which all of these little misfits on microphone have appeared with me before as co-hosts. Yeah, I'm not going to plug what's happening

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the website or check us out on iTunes or Twitter. That's it for us this week. We'll see you next week with a brand new episode. Take it easy, everybody.