The Simpsons

Another one of my favorites, taken from SNPP:

Taylor: Hi, Lisa, I'm Alison's father, Professor Taylor. I've heard
great things about you.
Lisa: Oh, really? I --
Taylor: Oh, don't be modest. I'm glad we have someone who can join us
in our anagram game.
Alison: We take proper names and rearrange the letters to form a
description of that person.
Taylor: Like, er...oh, I don't know, uh...Alec Guinness.
Alison: Genuine class.
Taylor: Ho ho, very good. All right, Lisa, um...Jeremy Irons.
Lisa: [looks with consternation] Jeremy's...iron.
Taylor: Mm hmm, well that's...very good...for a first try. You know
what? I have a ball. [pulls one from his pocket] Perhaps you'd
like to bounce it?

yeah that's great. I wonder how long the writers took to find a celebrity name that more or less can't be anagrammed

well I guess there's this one ha

worra jerk that Professor Taylor was.

I think I use the affectionate name 'Stitchface' a little more than I do 'Bitey'.

Yeah, Homer's nicknames for things are great. And then there's this:

http://deadhomersociety.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/picture21.png

Repeated from memory, a couple of pearls from maligned travel eps:

England-

Homer observing things he sees looking over the city: "Jimmy Page, one of the greatest living thieves of black American music."

Africa-

The tourguide detailing dictator Muntu's rise to power: "It was a bloodless coup--all smotherings!"

I've always wanted to name a pet Stompy.

it's STAMPY

which is the one where homer goes, "first, I'll become a cop. Then... over time... (punches fist into hand) a dirty cop." ?

Was it when they emigrated back to America from France?

wasn't time travel involved, too?

x-post Well, I've always wanted to name a pet STOMPY! It's not like I'm keeping an elephant tied up in the backyard or anything.

it's an excellent episode but you can see the beginnings of bad use of celebrities in the nimoy-quimby exchange.
"you don't know who I am, do you?" is the joke! Then he beams out, breaking a long-standing "no cartoon logic" rule.

this was a conan episode and apparently breaking the long-standing no-cartoon-logic rule was his biggest influence on the show

x-postSpeaking of France, one of the only good things from that ep where Homer and Carl went to Paris was when Homer called Sarkozy and he answered, "Hello, you are getting cozy with Sarkozy." Dumb, but I laughed.

The tourguide detailing dictator Muntu's rise to power: "It was a bloodless coup--all smotherings!"

Followed by Marge's "Just like Jimmy Carter!"

Also this:

Attention passengers -- please prepare for our landing in Tanzania.
[someone in the cockpit hands her a note] I'm sorry, it is now called
New Zanzibar. [she is given another note] Excuse me, it is now called
Pepsi presents New Zanzibar.

I remain baffled as to why people like the Aus episode but none of the other overseas ones. Groening didnt even TRY to make it look like australia. Nothing - not one single bit of the episode - had any actual reference point, or even landmark (no, not even the parlament house was right). It just looked like rural america. It was insultingly shitty and he actually said "well admittedly I know nothiing about Autralia" which is just pathetic idk?

I love the Japan epsisode, but it had some great jokes in it! Battling Seizure Robots!

Ugh excuse all the typos. I need to clean my keyboard.

favourite line in the Monorail episode, as the plane lands in Shelbyville

"there he is! seat 3F!"

Australia one is meant to be some absurdist version of Australia...same w/ the France episode

feel like it was probably funnier *because* there were no landmarks

"you don't know who I am, do you?" is the joke! Then he beams out, breaking a long-standing "no cartoon logic" rule.

the real joke was that quimby thought nimoy was one of the little rascals so wasn't even confusing star wars with star trek when he said "may the force be with you".

would start a thread for earlier examples of that kind of bait-switch-switch in comedies but feels like only the simpsons ever did it on that level

I remain baffled as to why people like the Aus episode but none of the other overseas ones. Groening didnt even TRY to make it look like australia. Nothing - not one single bit of the episode - had any actual reference point, or even landmark

THIS IS THE JOKE - it is entirely about Americans' stereotypes of Australia, it has nothing to do with ACTUAL Australia.

I remain baffled as to why people like the Aus episode

"so let your children run wild and free, for as an old man once said...let your children run wild and free"

+ knifey spoony obv

Yeah that and chuzza wuzzas was funny but I dunno, idgi. The overall premise with the boot thing was boring, to me. Though I know it was a riff on a recent (at the time) incident where an Australian had been punished in indonesia by being caned or something.

THIS IS THE JOKE - it is entirely about Americans' stereotypes of Australia, it has nothing to do with ACTUAL Australia.

exactly--the "australia" being mocked in the simpsons ep is essentially the "australia" sold to americans through crocodile dundee movies, fosters beer commercials, outback steakhouse etc.

WELL YOU ALL SUCK THEN

"Well, it's pretty big . . . I guess . . . "

http://deadhomersociety.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/bartvs-australia1.png

also c'mon, Homer tearfully saluting the toilet flushing the proper "american way"

Also the bit with Homer and Bart escaping in the kangaroo pouches, then climbing out covered in slime and amniotic fluid, is amazing.

also Marge doing her little speech, handing the phone back and the diplomat guy's "so we're agreed, she won't be allowed to speak again"

Yeah I thought that was pretty obvious. "Coff-ee!" "Bee-eer?"

I mean

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7066/2f13schleim.jpg

If it makes you feel better, Trayce - I don't remember The SImpsons Go To Toronto particularly resembling Toronto at all (with possible exception of the CN Tower in the background of a shot)

"the real joke was that quimby thought nimoy was one of the little rascals"

that doesn't really save it. what could save it is if they switched to Quimby's POV and for some reason for this particular episode he needs glasses, so everything is fuzzy, and in this fuzzy vision Nimoy actually resembles Alfalfa, and does some signature Alfalfa mugging, but when someone finds his glasses for him, he reverts to stern, unblinking Nimoy. Then, to save the beamout joke, Nimoy could go, "My work here is done" and appear to beam out, but when Quimby puts his glasses back on, it's actually a cloud of dust from the defunct monorail, and Nimoy coughs and goes, "can I get a ride" then the Little Rascals show up in a funnycar and say, "hop in, Luke Skywalker!" and Nimoy gives an exasperated grunt

There's just a lot of joke doctoring needed before they can bring this up to par!
Also, the conan cameo. "only I can dance" that's the joke?

dude that's a pretty convoluted way to 'save' a decent double switch

I would've liked Simpsons go to England a lot more if had been absurdist riffs on ridiculous stereotypes TBH.

i liked the beamout mostly because that is pretty much the greatest sound ever made

Nimoy was better in the "X-Files" episode anyway.

Hello. I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're
entertaining lies. And in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer is: No.

They also squandered Patrick McGoohan's cameos, but Moleman getting faced by Rover was excellent.

my favorite gag in the Aussie episode is the prime minister

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3G6Xre6s4XBZaS9r55d1N3OKC2xDF_lX6bowd2jWCot5KCUJ9

If it makes you feel better, Trayce - I don't remember The SImpsons Go To Toronto particularly resembling Toronto at all (with possible exception of the CN Tower in the background of a shot)

― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Thursday, February 10, 2011 4:24 PM (40 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Ha, this was such a joke (and I don't mena joke in the *it's funny* sense).

I like the made-up Australianisms, too:

"These bloody things are everywhere. They're in the lift, in the lorry, in the bond wizard, and all over the malonga gilderchuck."

(C&P from SNPP. I always heard the third word as one thing, bondwhizzer.)

I woulda called them snazzwozzers

http://www.grumpydodo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/yahoo-150x150.png

Saving grace of the Brazil episode:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6ai5mauc2j4/TCyM9gdClmI/AAAAAAAAE3M/gJ4Zt6LE48M/s200/try%20and%20stop%20US%20-%20simpsons%20screen%20grab%20-%20uncle%20sam%20gorging%20pigeat%20earth.jpg

I liked the Brazil episode fine!

"He's got the Stockholm Syndrome"
"they let me stay up ALL NIGHT! :D"

Minibar hat!

"I'm Chiquita banana and I'm here to/I will take this Toblerone and I will not pay!"

australia, japan, france and brazil episodes - all really spot on and hilarious.

found the UK one inaccurate and offensive, tho.