Talking Simpsons - Talking Simpsons - I Married Marge

Episode Date: June 8, 2016

We travel back to 1980 for some very dated humor as we see Homer and Marge get married, Homer search for a stable job, and Bart enter the world in this monumental episode…

Ahoy, ahoy everybody and welcome to Talking Simpsons where we're as pretty as Princess Leia and as smart as Yoda. I am your host Bob Mackie and in case you didn't know, this is the Laser Time Podcast Network's chronological exploration of the Simpsons. Who else is here with me today? Christopher Atista. And Henry... 1980 is the best, Gillard. It totally is, even though I wasn't alive. How could it be? But today's episode is I Married Marge, which aired on December 26, 1991, the second flashback episode. Chris, what happened on this mythical day in history, the day after Christmas?

What an amazing gift to the world. Oh my god! So exciting! Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union Tom Warner declares Ted Turner its man of the year and with 35 million dollars in tour revenue the Grateful Dead are the highest grossing live act of 1991 how much longer would Wavy Gravy be with us uh uh I believe Garcia would die three or four years later and put an instant stop to that success yeah all I remember from them as a kid is the video where they were all skeletons, and I was like, oh, it's the skeleton band, they're fun, and then I found out

they kind of aren't fun. I remember them as ice cream, until I was introduced to Cherry Garcia and Wavy Gravy. Also, those dumb bear stickers that were everywhere. Stupid bear stickers on Volkswagen buses. Yeah, yeah. That's what I remember. The grocery store I worked in had a vending machine full of those garbage things. Yeah, so this is the second flashback episode. I really like it. That's what I remember. The grocery store I worked in had a vending machine full of those garbage things. This is the second flashback episode. I really like it.

It's called I Married Marge. It flashes back to 1980 and for me as a kid, born in 82, it was a window into the short period of time before I was born, which is very mystical and magical for me. Even now, I had to look up references. I'm like, how did I ever find any of this funny as a 10-year-old? I'm like, John Anderson, who is that?

Google, Google, Google, and then I looked it up yeah because like uh i was born in 1980 so i was zero throughout the entire decade so i don't remember any any of it so when people say you're 80s nostalgic i'm like i'm actually just as 90s nostalgic as you are because that's when i came of age i think we're all a weird hybrid of 80s and 90s yeah our punit squares are all fucked i am nostalgic now when i watch and i do every other year E.T. I watch E.T. and that's the 80s that is real vague in my head. The long shag

carpeting, wood panel walls. The 70s are just kind of bleeding out. The end of the 70s and I am nostalgic for that because I barely remember it. No, me neither. I think I only became cognizant of pop culture or memory in like 87 when i was five but at that point that's when i had you know my family had the free weekend of hbo i was watching

more tv i watched an appalling amount of tv yes as we all did and so because of that i came to know all that hey you're supposed to be listening to my story. I thought it was over. You had a problem turning blades. You overcame it. The feel-good story of the year. It's not our fault our generation has short attention spans, Dad. We watch an appalling amount of TV. Don't you ever, ever talk that way about television. Lousy, ungrateful, can't keep their, what do you call it, minds on any... I feel like that is Homer's first explicit declaration of his passion for television.

Yeah, I do like that in that, like, television's not the scapegoat anymore. No, exactly. It's the internet. And like smartphones. Like, this was the boogeyman in the Simpsons era. And Homer grew up without television. So stupidity is reigning in from somewhere else in america actually he grew up sitting in front of the radiation king remember yes yeah i had nostalgia

for this era of the 80s even though i didn't live it uh just because it did i don't know it feels warm and homey to me and also i definitely this episode is the most that i know i say this like every other episode but i'm going to compliment Harry Shearer, too. So hold on to your seats. Yeah. But these are the ones that remind me like, oh, yeah, I conflated my parents with Marge and Homer. Like I thought my my mom and dad are Marge and Homer. And this episode has like shocking parallels to my parents like marriage in their life.

But the behind the scenes thing on this one, this is a sequel to The Way We Was, a very direct sequel, but it's the first one of a trilogy of flashback episodes written by Jeff Martin. Oh, they're all Jeff Martin joints. Yeah, they're all Jeff Martin joints. He wrote this one. He will write Lisa's First Word

and the B-Sharps episode. He does all those three flashbacks. I don't like this episode. But not because it just didn't hit me that well. I think I described it earlier as the bland tofurkey in between a sandwich made of flaming moes and radio bart bread. It might be a little too

James Earl Brooksy to fit where it falls into the season. It's very sincere and sweet and doesn't focus very much on comedy and the jokes are much more lame if you're watching them like us in blocks. I do enjoy this look into the Simpsons lore, the Simpsons canon, because I mean, we praise the way we was for

being revolutionary, for being like, oh my god, 70s nostalgia's a thing. This is 80s nostalgia. And not just 80s the decade, 1980 the year. Which is funny because I mean, I think we brought up that episode, That 90s Show, which sort of rewrites the history of the Simpsons and that's not why it's bad. It's bad because it takes the 90s as a decade.

Like, there are jokes about Homer starting grunge music along with jokes about Clinton being impeached in the same episode. This is all specific to 1980 itself. So specifically 1980 and about how they lived then. And also the behind-the-scenes thing I wanted to mention was that Sam Simon, who we talked a ton about on Flaming Moes, he warned them at the time of like, guys, we're being inefficient to have them getting Bart's birth, the wedding, and Homer getting hired at the power plant in one episode. In retrospective, yeah, there are only five real flashback episodes that fit in this 80s timeline, 70s, 80s timeline. And they did spill a lot of what they could have done in more in this episode. And they, I mean, that's why they end up having to do ones that really scratch the bottom of the barrel, like, why did Homer start wearing blue pants?

Yes. Or they have to answer the question we didn't ask, but was interesting to see, when did Lisa get a saxophone? That's where I cut off the flashback episodes, I think. That's the last good one. The introductory clip I have is great. I'll set up the premise for this whole episode. Hey, Homer, how come Mom's going to the doctor?

Is anything wrong? No, everything's fine. Your mother just broke her leg. What? I smell a bun in the oven. Is Mom going to have another baby, Dad? Maybe. Whoa!

Way to go! You're a machine, Homer. Did you hear that, Maggie? Another. Whoa, Brown! Way to go! You're a machine, Homer. Did you hear that, Maggie? Another baby in the house. Oh, cool. We can race him. Yeah, sure. For you, a baby's all fun and games. For me, it's diaper changes and midnight feedings. Doesn't Mom do that stuff? Yeah, but I have to hear about it.

Were you like this when Mom was pregnant with me? Actually, Bart, I threw up more than your mother. It all happened at the beginning of that turbulent decade known as the 80s. Those were idealistic days. The candidacy of John Anderson. The rise of Super Tramp. It was an exciting time to be young. When I was younger, I was so young.

None of those jokes are funny. I guess you kind of have to know who John Anderson was. And I had to look him up, but I never got this joke before. He was the more moderate alternative to Reagan. He ran as an independent in the 1980 election. He's not the singer of Seminole Wind? Somebody out there is going to get them. He was like the Ross Perot of 12 years earlier.

Or the Mitt Romney, perhaps? I had a really dumb idea for an article. I'm going to pitch it right here. Because I remember them a lot being in the car with my parents on NPR. A giant collection of Ross Perot, pro-Ross Perot songs. What?

Just because I still had the lyrics to them in my head, some of them. And my parents were not Ross Perot friends, but NPR would play them every other day. It was funny to laugh at them. What, they were pro-Ross Perot? Pro-Ross Perot songs about, because he was the most cartoonish character running for president. It's true.

So he was very easy to caricature and do impressions of or just sing about him because he would say crazy shit. I remember him more for the SNL sketch in which Phil Hartman played his vice presidential candidate. Who am I? Why am I here? He's running alongside his car. When you were silent for 45 minutes? That was all class. I was kind of grossed out

now seeing that Bart was so celebratory of Homer having sex with Marge. Yeah, I don't know if they realized the process that brought about the baby, but... I guess not. Well, he says, Homer, you're a machine, which implies he knows Homer has to make it happen.

And I also, I liked Barnacle Bill's pregnancy test. Barnacle Bill's home pregnancy test? Homer, shouldn't we have gone with a better known brand? But Marge, this one came with a free corncob pie. Okay, so

national famous, or sorry, national's the wrong word for this. Altogether, Tallahassee famous landmark Barnacle Bills. Oh, really? Yeah, it's on radio commercials on every local news channel, every radio station. So little Tallahassee kids thought The Simpsons just mentioned us. We were really excited. Because if you say that to someone in Tallahassee, they'll just automatically go, Barnacle Bills on North Monroe.

Is it like a tiki bar or something? No, it's just a piece of shit crab shack in the middle of North Monroe, obviously. Of course. Visit it when you're there. I think it's named after an old sea shanty because they sing it in Homer's Night Out during the bachelor party. A Barnacle Bill.

Can I touch on something that we probably shouldn't? Let's not get political. I know what you're going to touch upon. It's the elephant in the room for an episode about a pregnancy. Yes, it's par for the course in 1991 that like, am I pregnant? I can't do anything to stop this. Not even at this very early stage. That's never discussed. I mean, until you said this, I never thought about the word that rhymes with Gagorshin.

Let's call it Pullenamod. Pullenam mod that it's not even broached. They're talking about how we could never afford this. This will ruin us. Let's do it. I guess we're forced to. The social landscape, I guess, was very conservative. You could not even say a character

was gay. Approaching that issue like abortion would be huge. I remember 10 years later on Malcolm in the Middle, a show I also watched, the mom was pregnant and the baby was like we can't have this uh the baby was a disaster like we have no money we can't afford this baby our lives are ruined and she decides to keep it but there was never a debate about whether or not she was going to keep it just like no this is just it just has to happen because we're in a sitcom i think middle america still wouldn't be right for it gilp a hickeykey, a male. Yeah. Only as a sign of that.

Watch the first episode of Lucky Louie. It has a great way of dealing with the exact same concept and has one of the best endings on. I wish that show had more episodes. Well, you talk about the secret conservatism on this episode. This episode also implies. I did not phrase it like that at all. I don't want that tweet.

But how they didn't talk about how they didn't talk about abortion. It's also it's not talked about, but it is absolutely the reality that seemingly Homer and Marge had never had sex until this. And they dated for six years and Marge still lived at home. I was wondering about that. Was he just pulling out at the right time? Because I figured Homer is too stupid to... The rhythm method? Yeah.

Trust that. I have a clip from him at the house. It's Homer. I don't know what you see in that ugly meatball. Uh-huh. If you like being pawed by something fat and lazy, we could get a cat. It would leave less hair on the couch.

You don't know Homer like I do. He's sensitive and sweet. Marge, get your butt out here. That is her catchphrase for the season. Just a grumble. The Bouviers are on fire in this episode. They were all my favorite jokes.

One of three appearances of Marge's mom in the whole show. Is she dead on the show? No, she's not. I thought they just killed her. I could be wrong. They killed Agnes. Sorry, Mona Simpson. They killed her, but I don't believe they killed they killed agnes or sorry mona simpson oh right yeah but i don't believe they killed off marge mrs bouvier but the the father does jack like he's gone yeah yeah but um oh yeah the other thing that this means is like one homer is 24 so think about where we were

wherever we were when we were 24 11 12 years ago, 12 years ago for me. Yeah. And even though 24 doesn't seem that far away. And then also that Homer, like this means Bart is 36. Yes. We have to address that now. Yes. Another elephant in the room. Do I not say that all the time? When I started watching the show, Bart was my age.

And now according to the arcade game, I am Homer's age. So Bart is canonically as old as Homer is in this season now. He's born the same year as me. But sometime after a certain movie comes out. Wow, what an ending. Who'd have thought Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father? Aw, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Blow the Picture for me.

I love that. You're as pretty as Princess Leia and as smart as Yoda. Oh, Homer. Such a hack geek clip that I'm just almost sick of seeing. I love that clip, though. I think that clip typified spoiler culture for a generation of kids who got mad. Like, yeah, you don't ruin the movie for me. And when Force Awakens came out, I remember Mark Hamill, a Simpsons guest and friend of the show, he joked about, like, don't be Homer.

And then he shared this clip where he was like, don't spoil Force Awakens for people. Don't be Homer. And also, as a kid, though, when I heard that voice in the clip there, that's when it clicked for me. He's Megavolt. Dan Castellaneta is Megavolt on Darkwing Duck. Because that spoiled a movie for me. Spoiled a picture for me, he's Megavolt. Dan Castellaneta is Megavolt on Darkwing Duck. Because that spoiled a movie for me. It's kind of like a halfway step to Krusty Megavolt.

Yeah, yeah. Dan Castellaneta doesn't do enough incidental voices. We weren't pissing off conservatives already. I just want to get rid of my line of the show. By mentioning abortion exists. That's the show. By mentioning abortion exists. Yeah. That's the joke.

Our song. I bet the guy she was singing that about was real happy. Actually, she was singing about God. Oh, well, he's always happy. No way, he's always mad. This is really when The Simpsons really starts laying into religion, I've noticed. Not even trying to be gingerly about it. They're just like, no, this is the truth behind things.

And it's such a light joke I definitely didn't pick up on back then. No, me neither. It stands out now, and I just think all the courtship of Homer and Marge is really nice. And I think it's nice and sweet. It's very cute, and I feel like that scene with them in the car singing is just kind of eerily fluid, the way it's animated. it's still really fun to watch because you could tell Dan and Julie are in the booth together and they're singing together. Yeah. Homer felt so like normal when he's like, no, he's always angry. Oh, yeah.

He's always mad. Yeah. Like that was cute. And though talking about continuity, that Light Up My Life is not their song. It is. Oh, right. It is Bird Suddenly Appear. Yeah.

And so, yeah, I think they didn't even stick with this a little bit. I gotta get that. I hope someone got fired for that blunt sound effect. We do need, like, a siren. Like, the continuity police are here. And also, this isn't a continuity gaffe, but it is interesting to think back to, like, Dead Putter Society, which was all about Homer's obsession with putting. That was at his old job like that

whole thing happened where he used to work i guess we didn't mention homer's job was to turn a crank inside of a window that could be a weird frame rate if you look at it now yeah it's kind of strange part cut off his story is like yeah we all learned everything yeah but he could he could easily be replaced by a simple motor yes like one Like one of the most simple motors ever. Yeah, but I also love they have sex in that very same shack. Yes, drunk on champagne, which I thought was Marge slurring the word champagne. I looked it up. Did you look this up? Okay, please.

Totally. It is a real, I think currently owned by Pabst Blue Ribbon and relaunched in the UK as of last year. Wow. But it is a beer brewed like champagne with a champagne taste. If you want to live a depraved life. It sounds so white trashy. I want to give that a shot.

Quintessential 80s, though. Yeah. Like, the perfect 80s beverage to reference. I've never seen it. It's the Zima of its time. By the way, look up Pabst

and see what all the dogshit alcohol they own. Why do you need Schlitz and Colt 45? I feel like it's more like Thunderbird or Ripple. It's just like, what's the cheapest shit alcohol they own. Why do you need Schlitz and Colt 45? I feel like it's more like Thunderbird or Ripple. It's just like, what's the cheapest way to get fucked up tonight? I want to drink the champagne of beers. It's the cheapest, classiest way to get fucked up.

Yeah, it's like, this isn't malt liquor. It is malt liquor, actually. What is the lowest class beer? Is it Red Stripe? Is it Pabst? No, there's one even worse than that. It's literally going to a state where you have to buy a liquor store at the state depots and getting the generic white label black text cans like liquor number 437 yeah but yeah but it doesn't drink beer by the way

speaking of positive continuity they definitely stuck with marge and homer's place being having sex in that windmill or in the castle because that's when, was it called Last of the Red Hot Lovers? It was the one where they're getting off on having sex in different places. Natural Born Kissers, I think it was. And there's so many bare asses that

they could never show again. Homer's bare ass scraping that window in that episode. But anyway, they go back to the castle and have sex in that episode because this was their place. And as a kid, I definitely didn't get the visual of the ball going in the hole to be Marge being pregnant. And well, yes, Marge gets pregnant. Well, Miss Bouillier, I think we found the reason why you've been throwing up in the morning congratulations no no no poor guy i like so you've ruined your life that is your life

yeah great return of the so you blanked yeah the great return of the pamphlet jokes on the show i i think this episode really informed me because i've been responsible enough to never have a pregnancy scare. This is what young Homer went through. I don't want to deal with this and I don't think I could raise a child either. I'm opting out. I paid for multiple abortions and we're in the exact same position.

You did the right thing, Chris. Use your government. By the way, another way we was callback. That is the scene in the way we was when the question, the joke was then, how did dad propose to you? Cut to that scene of this movie. I think we figured out like the exact same scene. Although in this is getting impossibly nerdy. But on in Maggie makes three and Maggie makes three.

We see Homer tear out the first clumps of his hair. That drove me crazy when he found out there was like, that's not how he found out she was pregnant! I sent several angry postcards. His marriage proposal, this is my favorite scene. It's very sweet. It's so sweet. It's so James L. Brooksy. He's all over this episode. But very funny at the end. Marge, there's something

I want to ask you, but I'm afraid because if you say no, it'll destroy me and make me a criminal. Well, I haven't said no to you lately, have I? Jeez. Marge, I... That's the last day of your job. Dammit, where's that card?

What card? Oh, I broke down what I was going to say in a card. Stupid thing must have fallen out of my pocket. Is this it? What's it say? Marge, from the first moment I saw you, I never wanted to be with anyone else. I don't have much to offer you except all my love. Will you marry me?

That's a card. Give it here. I like that Homer proposes vicariously through Marge to herself. It's the steering wheel. If you look at the shot, it's just framed Homer's ass crack. He's proposing with his ass in her face.

It's like just an ass crack in the shot for maybe like ten seconds. I like his chain link steering wheel. Yeah he still

has his old high school beater car. I almost bought one of those. Which I guess he sells at the end of the episode.

Yeah. I think. The Simpsons will be right back. 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. Are you already tired of 2016? Jump into the past with 302010, our weekly pop culture time machine podcast.

Here's something you may remember from 1986. Stallone's Cobra. I am all over Cobra. Oh, good. This is the most 80s movie there is. Stallone is most Stallone-y, I think, where he gets the criticism of making mindless action, because the trailer absolutely presents it as such. No, itone is most Stallone-y, I think, where he gets the criticism of making mindless action, because the trailer absolutely presents it as such. No, it totally is. It's Death Wish and Dirty Harry sort of taken to an extreme.

Is it a canon film? Yes, it is. Yeah, I thought so. He's the toughest cop. He's the guy you send in for the dirtiest work. And the dirtiest work is like, oh, there's a guy who has a minor hostage situation in a supermarket and his solution is of course shoot everything all the time right kill all the dirt bags it's like you could easily like he's like sneaks up behind him you could tackle him no no we better wipe everybody

out this this one has conspiracy parts in it too and it's the it's not just a gang. It's like a cultish sort of gang. I hate Jesus. There's like secret cops are actually members and who can you trust? And like Brigitte Nielsen, I think she's Mrs. Stallone after this.

Fight the Jewish lizard Illuminati. But she witnesses a crime. So he's, oh, well, but thank you. And then, Is he underwater, oh, well, but thank you. And then. Is he underwater?

The secret to doing Stallone is don't move your tongue. Yeah. Yeah, you just got to talk without moving your tongue. That's 302010, a weekly look at what happened in pop culture 30 years ago, 20 years ago, and 10 years ago. Every Thursday right here on the LaserTab Network. Going backwards, I like the brief implication of Homer and Barney were roommates. Like that they were living in what Barney's apartment still is. He's still there. We see Barney has gone nowhere in his life.

And also it taught me a bad lesson at the age of nine, which is you can just buy a tube of cookie dough and eat it. You don't even have to cook it. I guess I never realized it was available in such a large quantity without my mom making it. My mom had to explain that to me like, yeah, you could just eat that. You know how you like eating cookie dough and I make it. You can just buy pre-made tubes of it and eat that. You know how you like eating cookie dough when I make it?

You can just buy pre-made tubes of it and eat it. I prefer it to actual cookies, and I stay away from it because I can't trust myself, and I have no restraint. This is before it was an ice cream, too, so ahead of the game. I love this clip. I love this clip because, I don't know, let's just play it. Well, one, I think this was a funnier SNL sketch around the same time. Homer, I've been thinking, if the baby's a boy, what do you think of the name Larry?

Marge, we can't do that. All the kids will call him Larry Fairy. Well, how about Louie? We'll call him Screwy Louie. Bob? Slob. Luke? Duke.

Marcus? Mucus. What about Bart? Let's see. Bart, Dart, Dart, Yart. Nope. Can't see any problem with that. I think you're thinking of the ass,

Osweepay. Yes. Yeah. But it's Kevin Nealon, like, almost improv-ing how every name could be horrible, and the mailman comes to the end of his sketch, and like,

I have a letter for Mr. Asswipe. He's like, that's Osweepay. Really funny. That's a great sketch. But there's just, like, when the show came out,

like, I thought the name Bart was a fart joke. I'd never met anybody named Bart in my life. Never met a Bartholomew. And now, I just don't flinch at it. But for the first three years, I just thought it was a fart joke. Weird. Okay.

I never thought of it that way. And speaking of names, right before that, when they're arguing about the names, there's all this 80s nostalgia in here. But the really dated bits are ariel versus cool mode oh yeah that really puts it in time i mean i'm not gonna play the dead jingles it's not their voices but um jesus my favorite non-existent band funky see funky do yeah they make two appearances in this mentioned twice but like by both don cornelius and casey casem who are both dead it's funny uh weirdly enough i was in an airport recently and i heard casey casem

introducing songs. And he kept doing it and I was like did he just record an intro for a bunch of songs they would play after his death? It was so creepy. It's like, here's Starland Vocal Band. I'm like, you're dead. You're in the ground. I guess his voice can still work. So here's where the episode really

made me think it was my parents at the time and how I guess it's something I can never really shake was that my parents did get married in the way that the Homer and Marge do. They weren't pregnant. It wasn't a pregnancy. But the long story short was they were moving from California to Arkansas, which I really wish they hadn't done. I wish I had been born in California. But anyway, no offense, fellow Arkansans. So while they're on the way to Arkansas, my dad just says, we should be married when we get there.

Or they'll shoot us at the border. Yeah, I think he probably was thinking of judgmental family members if he had lived in sin in Arkansas. So on the way there, they're just like, well, we're going through Carson City, Nevada. Let's get married. And it was just a very quick, like, boom, did it. The older I got, every five years my mom would tell me a more depressing, sad moment from that thing. I was like, ooh, boy.

But I won't share more of that. How about this? Because I love pointing out this early in the show. The characters are wrong. We have a wrong Cletus. Oh, yeah. Cletus, do you take a lean to be a lawful wedded wife yep done next he's just a big giant fat dude in a trucker hat yeah i think

this is like the go-to hillbilly name though yeah or like buford i think that guy's cletus because is why the other one is cletus because that's just their stock name of like, what kind of dumbass hillbilly do we have here? Cletus? Hey, Gaziri is a priest character. I love him just like clicking his tongue and pointing his fingers like, yep. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God and his casino to join Homer and in holy matrimony. Beautiful. Do you, Marjorie Bouvier, take Homer J. Simpson to be a laugh-a-wet-a-husband?

I do. Homer, same question, names reversed. Then, by the power vested in me by the State Gaming Commission, I pronounce you man and wife. Here's $10 worth of chips. You may kiss the bride. Sex! Woo! I went to my mom's courthouse wedding when she married my stepdad when i was it was

probably around this time actually and it was actually more efficient than this it's like sign the paper goodbye we'll throw it away yeah it's like why pay tens of thousands of dollars let's seal the deal i was just at my mom's newest wedding too which was a much more involved deal than her previous one i also did like i've referenced it tons of times on here but the the simpsons family album that book that physical book release they had in the early years. Oh, that's great. It had this photo in it, and I really appreciated that at the time. I was like, yep, this is their wedding photo.

Back when it was possible to have continuity, at least the promise of continuity. Let me toss out my line. There's three lines that I really like in this show. I have a lot of lines in this show. This is one of my favorite moments. Look what I got, Marge, a baby monitor. Baby to Marge. Baby to Marge. Baby to Marge.

Wah, wah. Over. I don't know why. I love it so much. Baby to Marge. It's very Dragnet reading. By the way, I had to look up when Marge said her ideal husband was Ted Bessel. I had to look that one up.

But it is such a perfect fitting thing for her because it is the love interest from That Girl, the Marlo Thomas show of the 70s. I have to look it up, too. It's funny that both The Simpsons and Family Guy did a shot-for-shot remake of the That Girl opening, but I have not seen a single episode in my life. I've never been privy to a single episode. When The Simpsons redid the That Girl opening, it was when Burns is trying to work with Lisa and she keeps saying no and Burns is ruined. Yeah. I think it was Animal Slurry.

Yeah, that's in the Animal Slurry. Old Man and the Sea Student. Old Man and the Sea Student. Old Man and Lisa, sorry. No, Old Man and the Lisa. It also establishes where Homer begins to aspire to work at the power plant. I don't know how we can afford all these things

on your salary. Hey, why don't I apply at the nuclear power plant? I hear they pay pretty well. I don't know. I heard radiation can make you sterile. Now you tell me. The whole episode, like, the plant is glowing so bright. It sounds so terrible.

I thought it was a Springfield tire fire. But I did, when I wasn't looking closely. I also did... I like that Marge, even at the start of their marriage, is already balancing the checkbook. Yeah, she's the responsible one. They're already like, well, I've been married one day. I guess I'll start doing the checkbook for us.

It looked like they had a monthly income of $800. I'm like, are they podcasting? I mean, $800, 1980 dollars, pretty good money. That's almost 2K today. This episode also has, there's a montage where Homer is going through different jobs, and I believe it has the first of several, person jumping out of a window at the first sign of panic

jokes. The trapezoid scheme. So great. But before that, I love and I have totally identified this as someone who has applied for jobs. When Homer arrives and sees that he knows, he's sitting in there like, I'm not getting this job.

Yes, exactly. I love just the crony-tastic how that clip is. It's not going to be my old frat buddy! I'm from the Alabama chapter! It's weird that the super established as a very gay man Smithers is a raging frat bro. But maybe that says something about frat bros.

Well, that he was kegmeister. Yeah. Kegmeister Smithers. And we learn his first name Waylon in this episode, too. Much later. Really? In this episode? This episode, yeah.

It's at the end of it. Yeah. But him being a kegmeister, my fan headcanon for that is just that he was so deeply in the closet in college that he was overcompensating and probably drinking too much alcohol to bury his love of his frat brother. Choke back the vomit as he has sex with women.

It's like when he tried to go to the brothel. Or that flashback that was just cat on a hot tin roof and then became, I guess he was married. He said that's weird. Should that count as him roof and then yeah that i guess he was married like he said that's weird should that count as him being married because he did say he was i think so i think he has flirted with heterosexuality at that the insistence of his parents yeah i guess most people do it's really easy um but uh they do have a clip of the interview what would each of you

say is your worst quality well i am a workaholic. Well, I push myself too hard. Well, it takes me a long time to learn anything. I'm kind of a goofball. Okay, that'll do. Little stuff starts disappearing from the workplace. That's enough. Next, there's a problem with the reactor. What do you do? There's a problem with the reactor? We're all gonna die! Ah!

Oh, run! I love that fully. Hearing you now, I'm like, oh, that's great. Here's the thing. I thought he was going to jump out the window, but it's the other guy. I was waiting for it. He's sitting by a giant play class window, like, jump out the window, Homer, and it didn't happen. Maybe in the animatic, they're like, we can't have them both jump out windows.

Though then, it has a great callback because later in the episode, Smith reveals, like, he ran into the brew class. Oh, yeah. He didn't even run out the door. But before that happens, Homer basically has to... This is very weird, but also, speaking of conventional sitcom plots in terms of the Gorshin thing,

the man leaving the wife because he can't properly support her. It was baffling in my head then, and it's even more so now. I can't support you. I'm not a man, so I'm out of here. They try their best to make him redeemable, but it is an odd choice. Kind of a shithead choice.

I can't do this right, so I might as well not be here at all. Yeah, I'm going to work at a fast food joint. That'll be the best thing for the kid. A fast food joint, by the way, if you look really closely at it, and we do now, it's the Krusty Burger with an oddly matted gulp and blow thing in it. It's really crude. Perhaps we're to believe that the Krusty Burger bought up oddly matted gulp and blow thing in it. It's really crude.

Perhaps we're to believe that the Krusty Burger bought up the gulp and blow. I think they were just trying, they were reusing assets and like, guys, I have to ask, does the Krusty Burger exist in 1980? I don't know. Well, we gotta figure it out now or we have to make it something else. Fuck it, it's gulp and blow.

This is the only appearance of gulp and blow. A lot of traction out of gulp and blow for what they use it for but it disgusts me yeah the idea of it but gulp and blow i do i do like the uh i do like the montage of his jobs like that kids are actually like what a crappy kid i couldn't tell if the kid was crying or laughing it and i think he was crying okay and then also they they cop to it on the commentary, but they pause on a couple signs really long because we were 20 seconds short. What are they, Modern Simpsons writers?

You must see every one of our jokes. Read them. Homer has to write a letter to Marge. Dear Marge, by the time you read this, I will be gone. You deserve all the finest things in the world, and although I can give them to you, they will be gone. You deserve all the finest things in the world, and although I can give them to you, they will be repossessed and I will be hunted down like a dog.

Also, it has become clear that your family doesn't want me here. Shut up with that pen scratching down there! I will send you every cent I earn for the baby, but you will not see me again until I am a man.

That's right. You couldn't have been there to help in any way. I guess he's promising to return once he is respectable, but it's still not a good choice to make. Well, they make sure before they go to commercial to have current day Homer say, well, obviously I came back. Don't even be that sad. I think Lisa's crying, too. And my mom did let my brother eat frosting for dinner at least once. What kind of frosting?

Well, it was such a – and my brother is much healthier than me, by the way. But it was this weird thing where she would buy cupcakes. We'd be on the grocery store strip, and she'd buy those cupcakes. And then my brother would just lick the frosting off of them and then not eat the rest of the cupcake and so then my mom just said what what are we doing why am i wasting money on these cupcakes i'll buy a jar cut out the middleman it's smart parenting yeah and oh yeah i did love how marge said we break thumbs yeah and the super friendly repo depot guy like it is like and a ring i'm afraid repo man i'm here for the baby stings oh uh crib mobile monitor oh and the lady's ring i'm afraid oh dear repossessing stuff is the hardest part of my job i love that guy the statement is

my job is the hardest part of my job he's the repo man with a heart of of gold. Instead of being a Hank Azaria jaded blue-collar guy. I can't tell if that's my least favorite joke or my favorite. It's awesome. I agree. Except for, I think we all gravitated towards this one, that Burns is playing a very specific game. Oh, yes. And we've compared the first season that maybe that's Punch-Out!! Maybe not.

It looks like the arcade version, kind of. But this is very specifically Ms. Pac-Man. It's a very Simpsonized Ms. Pac-Man. It's a very Simpsonized Ms. Pac-Man. And I know Ms. Pac-Man, I know everybody's familiar with it, but I can't honestly tell you, even before I was playing it,

how ubiquitous Ms. Pac-Man machines were. Like, I'm going, I'm four, I'm going to soccer practice. There is a machine on a field plugged into an extension cord.

That thing is fucking everywhere. Was there a Ms. Pac-Man in 1981? I think it might be in 83. That thing is fucking everywhere. Was there a Miss Pac-Man in 1981? I think it might be an 83 game. An official one, probably. It's an illegal mod. I forget what it's called. That's it. That's it. Come closer.

Ironic, isn't it? The hunter has become the hunted. Oh, God, Smithers, I feel so alive. What a great take. Yes. That is a perfect intro to Burns. It's a nice reintroduction of, this is Mr. Burns. He's the guy who owns this place. I like how they make no effort to make him even look the slightest bit younger, as they do with everyone.

Even Patty and Salma have longer hair. Actually, Patty and Salma, I do want to mention, they go to great lengths to differentiate between the two. Patty is the harsher one. Salma is like... I meant to take note of that to remember which one was a lesbian now. Oh, that's Patty, yeah. But yeah, Salma was the nice one,

or well, the nicer one. She was not completely heartless. She was like, you really do miss your husband, so I'm going to say two and a half words. Gulp and blow. I didn't get that line. The other one they said, my favorite line of the show is they're taking a picture and they're done. And the mom goes, girls, you can smoke now.

That's great. This episode also builds in why Homer lost his hair or how he lost his hair. He's losing his hair on their couch and he's also losing his hair in their tacos. So it's like they're building that in like, he's going bald and he's kind of got a receding hairline in this episode it's definitely clear he's has less hair than he did before and in high school yeah using it but i also did like the little reconnection scene between marge and homer i gotta finish i have the rest of the burn scene because it's so glorious you were the boss yes i'll call security sir well listen to, listen to me, Mr. Big Shot.

If you're looking for the kind of employee who takes abuse and never sticks up for himself, I'm your man. You can treat me like dirt, and I'll still kiss your butt and call it ice cream. And if you don't like it, I can change. Hold the phone, Smithers. I like your attitude. Feisty yet spineless. Sir, this man not only failed the aptitude test, he got trapped in a closet on his way out. I don't care. I haven't been this impressed

since I first laid eyes on a young bootlick named Waylon Smithers. You mean? Welcome aboard, son. I got the job. I got the job! Woo-hoo! Only in America could I get a job Who was that young Hillcat Smithers? Homer Simpson sir Simpson eh? I'll remember that name The joke is on the nose I really need to try Homer's strategy when I'm applying for jobs again because I was unemployed

a few years ago it was terrible applying to a lot of things I felt were kind of beneath me so I would go into the interview like I can do this I can do any of this stuff and And I would never get any of them. So do I need to be supplicated at their feet or something? I don't know. I'm terrified. I haven't had to apply for a job.

Five years? Yeah, well, I went in for a job. One time in my life, I went into a job interview while I had a job that was not in jeopardy. So all the confidence in the universe. That's the only time that's ever happened to me. And then after that, I had the exact same thing you were going through when i moved to san francisco like i have a degree uh i was published in this let me see if i can get a job

like writing for you uh no no no no and then like well until then i'll get a job as a waiter and like the self-important no offense to the service community because i have worked restaurants but like in san francisco there's a 10 top what do you do what's a 10 top 10 top 10 tables motherfucker like guess what now i know i am just as much of an expert as you are that was just lingo you hid from me for a moment yeah can i count to 10 yes can i write down orders yes your job isn't that complicated but you're gonna make it seem like it is that there are people actually incapable of doing it even though there's not yeah everybody, everybody's got jargon. They've got to guard their

position somehow. Guarding the secret. The Waylon thing, I feel like that's a Waylon Flowers and Madame reference. It is. On the commentary they mentioned he's named after Waylon Flowers who was a I would say a very effeminate ventriloquist who had an old woman puppet and they did parry this on Family Guy

which is probably where a lot of people have seen it No idea Talk show appearances in the 70s Not Senior Wences He had a sassy old lady puppet named Madam Wow no idea 70s guy Waylon Flowers

That has to be the gayest name of all time If you wanted to control your kids sexuality That name was not the way to do it I feel like it had to be a stage it had to be a stage yeah you have to pick that name uh but a quick cut back to when they reconnected i really loved their their moment together because like first they're giving him giving her the onion ring and then they're saying like this is sweet but this is burning my finger yeah he eats it and she sucks the juice yeah it was a great little real moment but also

when homer says poor vu i was like that's a call back to way we was yes i wish they would have had the bird suddenly appear as long as you mentioned it it seems like they probably couldn't afford it or something like that they fell in love via learning french so i like when he calls back to that french stuff they didn't even pick up on that and And then again, one of my favorite lines, they reconnect. He's got to get to the hospital. Mark, where's the baby? Right where you left it. Shut up.

Hey, listen, fat boy. No, you listen. This is my wife and this is my kid, and I'm paying for this delivery. So if you want to stay, you better give me some respect. Homer, does this mean? Starting tomorrow, I'm a nuclear technician. Good God. I love that. Good technician. Good God. I love that.

Good God. Good God. That's the right reaction for him to have. He barely knows him and is terrified. It's immediately followed by Homer trying to deliver the baby himself. Homer, that's... Oh! Step aside.

I'll deliver this baby. Why don't you let me handle it, Homer? Oh, college boy, eh? Homer, for God's sakes, let him deliver the baby. Calling a doctor a college boy. I love those three students line readings. He's like, I'll deliver this baby. Yeah, I'll do it here.

I think I do like this episode more than anything. Come on, Chris. It's winning you over. And also, the donut man. I really did love the donut delivery man. All the colors of the rainbow. That's what really made Homer want to get the job. i just love the way that i think of that line all the time all the colors of the rainbow that kind of like new england-ish accent it's beautiful that about wraps it up people you know son the day you were born i received the greatest gift a man could

have as the years went by your mother and I were blessed twice more. And not a day goes by that we don't thank God for all three of you. Homer, I'm not pregnant! Yeah! Whoa! Excellent, Marge! Yes! I like how he knocks one of the kids off the couch

to high-five Marge. Yeah, it's like, oh great, this is Simpsons again. Yeah. I forgot it ended on the high-five landing. Like, high-five and boop! And then it also Yeah, it's like, oh great, this is Simpsons again. Yeah. I forgot it ended on the high five landing, like high five and boom. Freeze frame, yeah. And then it also ended, I'm sorry, I

have to be, why not get granular on this kind of show, this stupid sound effect. I've never heard that before. I've never heard that end of the Simpsons.

Usually when they go out on a cut to black joke, just like, bam, they will play a little sting. I think the Barth of Daredevil does that too. Try raising my kids.

I haven't heard that before. Yeah, I've heard that da-dun-dun-dun-dun, but very rarely that da-dun-dun-dun-dun. Do whatever this is. Yeah, I like it. I don't know what that is.

It's very nice. But yeah, I guess this episode's dated in that they just have the morning after pill. Now Marge would just go It's very nice. But yeah, I guess, you know, this episode's dated in that, like, they just have the morning after pill. Like, now a large would just go via that. But I mean, this is one of, since the way we was, this is one of the most dated episodes ever because it's specifically like, yeah, you know, 10 years ago, 1980, which it wasn't

even 10 years ago then in 1980. It's pretty amazing that they were drilling into 80s nostalgia so quickly. And they even kept it more clear of, like, they are the class of 1974. So Homer is, he says it, 24 in the episode. Yeah. Six, because it's six years later. God, it's hard to imagine Homer being 24 now that I'm much older than that. I want to see flashback episodes to Homer and Barney as roommates.

There is so much of their life we haven't seen from the way we was until that episode that could be like great material to mine. Very few things that establish why they're friends in the first place. Yeah, like how they met. I mean I guess they were friends since they were children according to the Blunder Years. I know they've fucked that episode. But I know they've, I think I've heard Graney talk about

pitching a show just called Homer and they just pick up Homer's life at any time in an episode, like as a spinoff. That could work, I think. But yeah, anyway, this was a good episode. I actually prefer,

I think Lisa's First Word is a better version I agree with you, yeah. It's my least favorite flashback episode of the trilogy. And I still, well, meanwhile, the B-sharps is just goof town, but awesome.

I do love that episode. It's less about the Simpsons growing as a family and more about this fun little side trip through Homer's life. It's more about a lengthy Beatles parody. Yes, exactly. That's what it's really about. That's all it is. Thanks, David Merkin. And it was not a Merkin one.

It was one of the last before Merkin left. Wow. Even on the commentary, they think it was a Merkin one. He is obsessed with the Beatles. Yeah, he's obsessed with the Beatles, but he's not the only boomer obsessed with the Beatles. That's true. There's quite a few of them. Time Life wouldn't have me believe it's everybody.

And I would still love to talk to, like, I've reached out to Jeff Martin on Twitter. I will probably do it again. Like, I want to interview him just about this trilogy of episodes. Yeah, it's amazing he's behind all of these. And what it was like to be the guy to, like, build, what was it like in the writer's room

to build the history of The Simpsons to say, okay to like build what what was it like in the writer's room to build the history of the simpsons to say okay this is how bart was born this is how lisa was born and just to think of those two joe piscopo lines reflecting on one another in those two episodes that is great i love that i admit i was like oh there's gonna be a joe piscopo joke oh no that's the other two that's but i i say good episode really episode, but more for history purposes than the two. You're correct. The two episodes sandwiching this one are better. Yeah, very heartwarming.

Good animation by director Jeffrey Lynch, his first episode as a director. And he would go on to do great things. There's a shot where Maggie gets swung into the camera in the beginning. That was out of nowhere, and I loved it. Yeah, lots of great little touches, great colors. So, yeah, that was Talking Simpsons, everybody. I Married Marge, a great episode. I liked it.

I have been your host Bob Mackey you can find me on Twitter as Bob Servo please subscribe to my other podcast Retronauts it's a classic gaming podcast you can find that on retronauts.com or usgamer.net or search for it in your podcast machine everybody else where can we find you? Lasertime lasertimepodcast.com on the show

that started it all I have no idea what the episode is going to be we've had some the weirdest most fun episode we did in Lasertime we pick a weird pop culture topic I have no idea what the episode's going to be. We've had some weirdest, most fun episode we did in Laser Time. We pick a weird pop culture topic. I don't know. What's been your favorite episode as of late, Bob? I have really liked the Data Technology episode. The Dead Formats? Yeah, that's what I was going to mention. I listened to it a few times,

actually. Yeah, yeah. It's so much fun. And there's also 302010. If you want to think about things that happened 30 years ago or 20 years ago or 10 years ago, that's the podcast for you where we take a given week and talk about what happened in 1986, 1996, and 2006 in pop culture and even some news, Chernobyl, tragedy. And also, you know, I... It is the only show in the universe, and I love the image.

I don't know which one of my 30, 20, 10 images is my favorite. Either the one with Pamela Anderson, Richard Pryor, and Orson Welles. Or the Super Bowl shuffle, a GTA character, and the Challenger explosion. That could be my favorite. How random of a discussion can you have? And also, patreon.com slash laser times the home to where you can directly support us and help pay our bills. And get the first 13 episodes of Talking Simpsons, the first season for you people who are really into the show.

And we did a season two wrap up that was fucking awesome. I love it. And this episode marks the middle point of season three. This is episode 12 of 24. So we're halfway through season three. So yeah, thanks for joining us, everybody. We'll be back next week when Bart falls down a well. We'll see you then.

Wow. Infotainment.