14 Days of Simpsons

Those of you who know me know that I have one television obsession, one show that absolutely must be watched: The Simpsons. My parents used to watch the Tracy Ullman show and, after seeing the crudely drawn animated shorts that later came to be known as The Simpsons, I joined them every week as well. When news came out that The Simpsons would be having their own show, launched with a Christmas special in 1989, I knew that I had to watch it. I watched that episode (Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire) and every episode since, for what is now 18 years. I haven't even known Nancy for 18 years (15 years, if anyone is interested).

As you may be aware, The Simpsons are now moving from the small screen to a multi-plex near you on July 27th, in the aptly named The Simpsons Movie. This excites me to no end. To celebrate the release of the movie, I have declared the next 2 weeks as "14 Days of Simpsons." Each day I am going to count down my favorite Simpson episodes, with my favorite being released on July 27th to coincide with the movie. For many of you, this will be of no interest whatsoever, and I humbly ask your forgiveness. For those of you who love The Simpsons as I do, I also humbly ask your forgiveness for such a shoddy list. In any event, I hope you have fun reliving some of my favorite Simpson moments with me!

Simpsons Movie Trailer


#14: E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)
Season 11
Plot Summary
The Simpson family goes to see a Zorro movie. Snake is rude after the movie, so to protect Marge's honor Homer challenges him to a duel, but Snake runs away at the onset of conflict. Overfilled with confidence, Homer starts challenging everyone to a duel by slapping them with his glove. It gets him his way, until he slaps a Southern Colonel. The Colonel accepts his challenge and shows up at his front door at dawn. Homer chickens out and the family flees town. The man and his wife set up camp on Homer's lawn, while the Simpson family searches for a place to stay. Homer remembers Abe's old farm, so they go there and they become farmers. Homer has the repeated misfortune of tractors tipping onto him and he has no luck growing crops. He decides to use plutonium from the nuclear plant as a fertilizer. Radioactive tomatoes grow overnight, but they taste like ashtrays and are highly addictive. Apparently, they are tomatoes mixed with tobacco, which Homer starts marketing as "Tomacco." Lisa has moral problems with it. The Laramie tobacco company offers Homer $150,000,000 for the plant. Homer is not very good at negotiating, so he fails to cash in. When they return home, animals are addicted to the plant. They revolt, a la "Animal Farm" and a sheep destroys the last plant. The family returns home and Homer finishes the duel with a mere flesh wound and a hilarious "Glove Slap" rounds out the episode. (Plot Summary copied from tv.com)
Why I Like It
This episode is actually a strange one to start with, as it doesn't have a defining moment or defining joke as the rest do. Nonetheless, I am strangely drawn to this episode and its overall quirkiness. I may take up the idea of challenging everyone with whom I have a problem to a duel. I find the notion of an addictive produce item both morally repugnant and utterly hilarious. I found the plutonium fueled glow on the Simpson farm both beautiful and creepy. I love the facial expressions and body language of the ToMacco-addicted farm animals. Many of my favorite moments throughout all 18 years of Simpsons involve Homer simply being Homer, and a perfect example of that is the way he manages to blow the opportunity to make $150 Million dollars by both demanding more and relinquishing the only leverage he has in the negotiation. And who doesn't enjoy a riveting rendition of "Glove Slap?"
Watch it For Yourself