Upcoming Episodes plus STUFF for "Mona Leaves-A" (KABF12)

5/18 - DOUBLE FEATURE --------------------- 7:30 - I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (JABF19) Marge is taken hostage in a bank robbery, but agrees to visit the robber in prison if he gives himself up; however, when she can't go through with it, he can - by escaping

8:00 - ** SEASON FINALE ** All About Lisa (KABF13) Lisa goes from being Krusty's assistant to star of her own show to Springfield Entertainer of the Year; Homer and Bart get involved in coin collecting

5/25 - PRE-EMPTED for the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 race (stations in the west will get local programming after the race in the show's regular time slot)

6/ 1 - The Debarted (KABF06) Principal Skinner always seems to be one step ahead of Bart's pranks, so Bart suspects that one of his friends is a mole; when Homer gets a loaner car while his is in the shop, he refuses to give it up when his old car is ready

STUFF for "Mona Leaves-a" (KABF12) ---------------------------------- Written by Joel H. Cohen Directed by Mike B. Anderson & Ralph Sosa ("Okay, kids, what does it mean when they use an ampersand instead of the word 'and'?" Answer below) Blackbaord: THIS PUNISHMENT IS NOT MEDIEVAL.(written Medievel-style) Couch: A single-cell Homer evolves through history into the modern version (repeat of JABF06 and JABF18) Special Guest Voice: Lance Armstrong, Glenn Close Also Starring: Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Karl Wiedergott Overseas Animation: Rough Draft TV Rating: TV-PG-LV Dedicated to the memory of: Elsie Castellaneta, Dora K. Warren

REFERENCES Kentucky Fried Chicken (little Homer hugs a bucket of it) James Bond (Homer has a British parachute as he lands after the silo is destroyed) Build-A-Bear Workshop (Stuff-N-Hug) ESPY Awards (Homer is watching them) ...oh, and all of those earlier episodes with Homer's mother

SELF-REFERENCE Homer makes a 4-finger turkey, similar to the one on the refrigerator door.

DYN
...this is the third chalkboard punishment in the opening to have a
   period at the end of each line (and the first where the last word
   is not abbreviated)?  (The first two were, "I will not use abbrev."
   and, "I am not the reincarnation of Sammy Davis Jr."; Lisa once
   wrote, "I will not be a snickerpuss." during the show)
...either Burns does one of these launches every day (I wouldn't put
   it past him), or Homer's mother knew she would die just in time to
   stop the launch?
...Ned believes in the Catholic creed that the Eucharist actually
   turns into Jesus's body?
...the sweaters at the Itchy & Scratchy store were so itchy and
   scratchy, even the parts of Bart's and Lisa's bodies covered by
   their other clothes itched?

GOOFS / FREEZE FRAME / WHATNOT Homer did not tie either chain through the middle of the cinderblock, so the chain should have slid off when Homer started twirling it.

When Homer sees he only has 15 minutes to reach the top, his watch face is sideways.

The second chain was attached to the wall, so Homer should not have been able to use it along with a cinderblock as a weapon.

The guidance system should not be exposed inside the silo; otherwise, the exhaust from the blast would destroy it when the missile was launched.

How did Homer from the bottom of the silo out through the top, and found a parachute in the meantime, in seven seconds?

Marge's mother's bag was made from hemp, not marijuana. Burning hemp should not make people high.

-- Don S1.1 MAG+++ LIS++ BAR+ SKI+ MrsK+ MissH+ P&S# FLA- (heresy!) f+++ n+++ Ilps(w) $+++ M46 An ampersand means the two directors (it also applies to writers) worked together on the show; "and" means they worked separately

On Sun, 11 May 2008, Don Del Grande wrote:

That's the big issue? I would have thought how he found a parachute in an extinct volcano/missile silo would be a far bigger issue. I can't see why there'd be a parachute there.

Hemp is marijuana. In the old days, it was grown to make rope, particularly in WWII. So apparently one could find it by the side of the road.

There is now a wave to legitimize it as a source for clothing and such, and thus now the stuff being grown for such purposes is modified so there is little thc component to it. THC is the part that gives the buzz.

But there are all those jokes about smoking hemp clothing.

I get the impression it's a slippery slope, some of the big proponents of hemp products seem interested the use of marijuana as a drug.

Michael

That's the problem, those advocating hemp are usually those advocating legalizing "it". Besides, hemp has been replaced with other man-made materials, there's no need for it.

On Mon, 12 May 2008, Chris ® wrote:

Like when the local store specializing in hemp clothing and other items (do we really need hemp massage oil?), also has pipes for smoking things.

I honestly can't figure out whether they really believe in hemp as a cotton subsitute (and the case has been made that it has its advantages for that), or they figure if hemp becomes big time, than it will be easier to make marijuana legal.

Michael

Another ratings post by BOTR on Jump the Shark:

"Last week's episode was the lowest rated episode in Simpsons history... until last night. Yesterday's episode had only 6.02 million viewers with only one episode left to go before the 19th season comes to a close. If that episode gets even less viewers, then I think that the 20th season might very well be the last."

Then they have to consider cancelling the entire Sunday lineup (well, except for Family Guy, as last night was a repeat), as the Simpsons episode was the highest-rated Fox program last night - and there's little if any possible way that viewer count can be correct if it is counting everybody.

(It didn't help the show any that it was up against the Survivor finale.)

-- Don

On May 12, 4:56 pm, Don Del Grande wrote:

Ah, do people still watch that garbage? How sad. There are some fads I'll never understand. Titanic, the Macarena, J- Lo, and so-called "reality" shows.

Apparently, that 6.02 million viewers number is legitimate. The strange thing about it is, the rating itself is a 3.7, which means that slightly more than 4 million households had the show on - so an average of about 1 1/2 people watch the show in each home where at least one person is watching it. (Even "American Idol" has trouble getting 2 people per household watching it.)

-- Don

"Don Del Grande" wrote

In the dialysis ward where I spend 15 hours a week attached to an artificial kidney there are up to 8 people plus 3 nurses watching whatever's on - we have little choice, the damn thing is just there. Never had to sit through Australian Idol or (gulp) Big Brother however, because I'm on day shift. If I had to watch 'Biggest Loser' I'd probable pull my needles out and bleed to death, much preferable...

Paul