Upcoming Episodes plus STUFF (including lyrics) for "Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife" (HABF08)

4/2 - Million Dollar Abie (HABF09) When Grampa causes the NFL to change its mind about putting a new team in Springfield, the stadium built for it is changed to a bullring, and a botched suicide attempt gives Grampa a new lease on life, which he decides to live to the fullest - starting with fighting a bull.

4/9 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore (HABF10) Mr. Burns decides to replace Springfield Nuclear Power Plant with a plant in India, and he sends Homer there to train the new employees, but Homer lets his new authority get to his head; Patty and Selma kidnap Richard Dean Anderson (who voices himself), but have to devise a scheme worthy of MacGyver himself in order to get him to leave

4/16 - The Last of the Red Hat Mamas (GABF22) When Marge is snubbed by her friends after an incident at the Mayor's Easter egg hunt (involving Homer and a man in a bunny costume), she makes friends with the Cheery Red Tomatoes, a group of older women who spend their time doing things like skydiving, talking about their husbands...oh, and did I mention stealing from Mr. Burns?; Lisa needs to learn Italian to qualify for a summer program in Italy, so she hires a tutor - unaware that it's Milhouse

STUFF for "Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife" (HABF08) ----------------------------------------------------- Written by Ricky Gervais Directed by Matthew Nastuk Songs "Lady in Blue" and "End Credit Ramble" Music and Lyrics by Ricky Gervais Song "Picture in Picture" Music by Alf Clausen, Lyrics by Ricky Gervais Blackboard: (live-action) I WILL NOT EAT THINGS FOR MONEY Couch: A live-action version of the couch opening, commissioned by Sky TV (and originally made available on the Internet) Special Guest Voice: Ricky Gervais, Marcia Wallace Also Starring: Tress MacNeille, Karl Wiedergott Overseas Animation : Rough Draft TV Rating: TV-PG-D

REVIEW: B - they made a big deal about Ricky Gervais writing and being on the show, but it didn't seem much different from most of the other episodes this season. The storyline with Homer and the "other wife" didn't really go anywhere, and they spent so much time setting up the "Charles loves Marge" bit that by the time he tried to get his wife back, it was "Oops, there's Patty, hey, Homer has a plasma TV in his bedroom, roll the credits".

REFERENCES "This is Your Life" (title) "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy" (Bart and Lisa have to deal with a "substitute mother") "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" (mentioned by the tour guide) "The Office" (Ricky Gervais's character works as an office manager)

NOT REALLY A REFERENCE "Lady Blue" (short-lived ABC TV series is also the name of the song Charles sings to Marge)

DYN
...in the live-action opening, "Marge" does not have blue hair, nor
   is it tall, and Lisa is a redhead?
...Ricky Gervais is the second person (after Dan Castellaneta) to
   have a major role in an episode which he wrote?
...Lenny's apartment is next to Springfield Jai Alai?
...Principal Skinner was sitting next to Mrs. Krabappel on Lenny's
   couch (and he pulled her out of the way when Homer was airborne)?
...Fox is #2 with prisoners 18-49?
...Dan Castellaneta was introduced by the tour guide as being from
   "The Tracey Ullman Show"?  (Then again, other than being Arnold's
   grandfather on Nickelodeon's "Hey Arnold!", what regular roles has
   he done since then, at least in a universe where "The Simpsons" is
   not a TV show?)
...Fox has a statue of Mischa Barton of "The O.C." on its lot?
...Homer won't let Charles touch Marge's hair, shoulders, or feet?
...Charles's joke was similar to one told by Irish comedian Dave Allen
   on his BBC series, but his the punchline was, "Cut my sex drive by
   50 percent"?
...In Charles's song, he calls Diana, Princess of Wales "Lady Di" but
   not "Princess Di" like most Americans do?  (In fact, "Princess
   Diana" is incorrect - only daughters and granddaughters of the
   monarch are called "Princess" followed by their own first name)
...despite Patty being an open lesbian, this is one of very few
   times she does not wear a dress?
...Homer did win the plasma TV - but put it in his bedroom, so they
   can still have the old TV downstairs?
...there was no music over the first few ending credits?

GOOFS / FREEZE FRAME / WHATNOT Did Marcia Wallace have any lines? She did receive a credit, but I didn't notice Mrs. Krabappel say anything. (If her only part was cut, this is the second time she was credited for a cut part; the first was "Homer at the Bat".)

In the Internet version of the live-action opening, in the scene with Marge and Maggie in the car, Marge is on the left (as they are facing the viewers), as it was done in a car with the steering wheel on the right; however, the scene was flipped for the TV version to match where Marge and Maggie sit in the animated opening.

In the live-action opening, Lisa is a short-haired redhead - just as Yeardley Smith was at one time (for example, in her appearance on "Murphy Brown").

When Pope John Paul II died, Fox postponed the airing of an episode about the Catholic church for months; however, the day Indy Racing League driver Paul Dana died in a crash while warming up for a race, Fox did not remove the scene involving a crash during an auto race.

Lisa says that "Mother Flippers" is just like a show she saw "on another network" - but "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy" is a Fox show.

LYRICS "Lady Blue" Lady, when you came to me I was feelin' blue Blue just like your hair, you see Blue just like the moon But only when the moon is blue And not when it is cream And now that you are here with me I am in a dream (Oh yeah, Marge, your dreams can come true) Lady, when you go away I feel like I could die Not like "dye" like your hair is dyed But die like Lady Di And not like "Di" like her name is Di But die like when she died Lady, just like Lady Di Be my princess tonight But don't die...don't die

"Picture in Picture" You make me laugh, you make me cry Without you, I just want to die For the rest of my life, you'll be a fixture Now let me enjoy..your picture in picture

"End Credit Ramble" Oh yeah - can ya feel it? Just over the credits - just riffing now Words, and chords Not the poetry in the real thing, but not bad for an ad-lib Not good, but... And, it's not long enough, so I'll do just a little bit more And it's...nearly done, that's the final credit That was the end

-- Don S1.1 MAG+++ LIS++ BAR+ SKI+ MrsK+ MissH+ P&S# FLA- (heresy!) f+++ n+++ Ilps(w) $+++ M44 I'll DO it...I'LL do it...I'LL do IT...RAKE SCENE!!!

In part, Don Del Grande wrote:

My impression of the original Sky One version is that this is a portrayal not of the actual Simpson family, but of a family whose existence mirrors that of the Simpsons as they race home to watch "The Simpsons."

Incidentally, can a kind Canadian please report what opening (presumably a rerun) was substituted north of the border? (Fox's press release indicated that the live-action sequence would not air in Canada.)

No, he didn't. He used the money that the family was paid for participating in "Mother Flippers."

This was a reference to the fact that "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy" is a knockoff of "Wife Swap" (a phrase that Homer even used). ABC owns the U.S. rights to "Wife Swap" (hence the ABC jacket).

David Levy wrote:

I think they tried to get something close to the Simpson family (hence the bald wig on "Homer").

I was under the impression that the audience vote mentioned when the wives switched places would determine who got the money. There was an earlier scene where the producer said "you make a lot of money you can really use", but this was right after "everybody has fun" and "nobody gets hurt", so who knows how true it was. This is what I meant by "Homer won the plasma TV".

-- Don

Hmm, I saw the live-action opening and I'm definitely in Canada (Vancouver). Actually, when any U.S. show is also being shown on a Canadian network at the same time, cable TV by law has to simulcast the Canadian broadcast in both places. (That's why us Canucks are denied those Super Bowl ads and have to watch 'em on the net.) So I saw the Global TV broadcast, even on the Fox channel, and it was the same opening.

Did a Fox press release really say it wouldn't be shown in Canada? I heard a mention for the live-action opening as an entertainment-news item on a local news radio station, so it clearly was promoted here. Maybe in the U.K. it wasn't shown as it had already been a promo (the most interesting thing I learned here that I didn't know!)

Anyway, that's all for my report from the frozen North. Adam

Adam wrote:

[snip]

Yes, but this information obviously was incorrect.

In the the UK we're not due to get the episode until April 23, but the live action opening is shown before every single episode (sometimes 4 a night) on the sky network (and in many other commercial breaks.) so it has been down to death over here.

Oh and Homers bum isn't pixelated on the showings either.

cheers

andy

In article ,

Well, it was only a couple of times, but how about the robot devil on Futurama?

That's 'cause she's not talking about "Trading Spouses". She's talking about the earlier show on ABC, "Wife Swap", that FOX ripped the idea from.

Don Del Grande wrote:

I was wondering about this scene. What is the point? Do they do take after take of such things on reality shows?

(Aaron: I don't get the "I'll do it" reference.)

In alt.tv.simpsons, on the "Upcoming Episodes plus STUFF (including lyrics) for 'Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife' (HABF08)" thread, Don Del Grande wrote:

It just occured to me ... we can add Charlie to the list of people who know Marge's hair-dyeing secret. (Well, him and all the people who watch "Wife Flippers.")

STARRING
* Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Sideshow Mel, Dancing Cold Sore, Dan
     Castellaneta [well, duh], redhead candidate, Krusty)
* Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson, Patty)
* Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson)
* Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson)
* Hank Azaria (Cletus Spuckler, Carl Carlson, Moe Szyslak, race announcer,
     Raphael, producer, Asian candiate, guard, cameraman Doug)
* Harry Shearer (Rainier Wolfcastle, Lenny Leonard, phone voice,
     cameraman #2)

SPECIAL GUEST VOICE * Ricky Gevais (Charles) * Marcia Wallace

ALSO STARRING * Tress MacNeille (Brandine Spuckler, female candiate, female producer, Verity, Ben, housekeeper) * Karl Wiedergott

Tobias