Upcoming Episodes plus STUFF for "In the Name of the Grandfather" (LABF11)

3/29 - DOUBLE FEATURE --------------------- 8:00 - Wedding for Disaster (LABF05) Remember when Homer got divorced from, and then immediately remarried, Marge in "A Milhouse Divided"? It turns out Reverend Lovejoy wasn't licensed to perform marriages at that time, so they schedule another wedding, but on the new wedding day, Homer disappears, and the clues all point to Sideshow Bob

8:30 - Take My Life, Please (LABF01) When Homer discovers that he was elected Senior Class President in high school, only for Principal Dondelinger to change the result, he gets a glimpse of how his life would have been different had he been class president after all

4/5 - DOUBLE FEATURE -------------------- 8:00 - Eeny Meeny Maya Moe (LABF06) There's a new woman in Moe's life - who is three feet tall

8:30 - The Burns and the Bees (KABF21) When Mr. Burns wins a basketball team in a poker game and moves them to Springfield, he plans to build his new stadium on the last bee habitat in Springfield, so Lisa tries to find a way to save them; Homer comes up with an idea - mate them with Africanized "killer" bees

4/12 - Lisa the Drama Queen (KABF22) Lisa and a new friend develop their own fantasy world, but Lisa is worried that her friend is blurring the line between fantasy and reality

Fox looks like it's getting its new Sunday schedule ready; announced episodes of "Hole in the Wall" have been removed, and American Dad and King Of The Hill are airing on a regular basis at 7:00 and 7:30. ("Sit Down Shut Up" premieres on April 19 at 8:30.)

STUFF for "In the Name of the Grandfather" (LABF11) --------------------------------------------------- Written by Matt Marshall Directed by Ralph Sosa Ralph quote: none Billboard: Pay for Septuplets / Get Octuplets Free! (Dr. Nick, holding eight babies) Blackboard: FOUR-LEAF CLOVERS ARE NOT MUTANT FREAKS Couch: Everyone walks on a leash as if they're in a dog show; when Bart is selected as the winner, he and Homer get into a fight Special Guest Voice: Glen Hansard; Marketa Irglova; Colm Meaney; Marcia Wallace Also Starring: Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Karl Wiedergott Overseas Animation: Akom TV Rating: TV-14-DLV

REFERENCES "In the Name of the Father" (title) The "Octo-Mom" (the billboard mentions coming in for seven babies and getting eight) EABF22 ("The Simpsons are going to" somewhere in the British Isles) GABF01 (the Simpsons involved in pub ownership) JABF17 (Tintin is mentioned) Q*Bert (The Giant's Causeway) "The Flintstones" ("Blarney Rubble") "The Piano" (a man says not to keep sending pianos to his wife) U2 (U2 Moving Crew) Victoria's Secret (Colleen's Secret) Saks Fifth Avenue (Mac's Fifth Avenue) Hard Rock Cafe (Sham Rock Cafe) Hewlett-Packard (Hewlett-Fitzpackard) Microsoft (Mick-rosoft) Cisco Systems (Cisc O'Systems) Bed Bath & Beyond (Bog Bath & Beyond) Taco Bell (Taco Belfast) Ellis Island (McEllis Island)

DYN
...the show is rated TV-14 in the USA?
...Grampa's complete list of "Things I Want To Do Before I Die":
   Pitch in the Negro Leagues
   See the Chrysler Building
   Have one more beer at O'Flanagan's Pub
   Get cheated by an Irishman
   Aggravate my son
   See NBC go under
   Find my keys
...The Simpsons fly Derry Air?  (On "Family Guy", it was "Jet Green")
...the pub has a pool (as opposed to snooker) table?
...Tom has tapes of horse races going back to at least 1970?
   (Presumably, some of them weren't recorded live, especially as the
   VCR didn't exist in 1970)
...Guinness is made with equal parts bog water and chocolate syrup?
...the Irish version of the Statue of Liberty has a leprechaun holding
   a shamrock and a pot of gold?
...the deed is signed "Homer and Grampa Simpson"?

GOOFS / FREEZE FRAME / WHATNOT As far as anyone knows, this is the first episode to air outside of North America before airing in the USA or Canada; it aired in Ireland and the UK on March 17, 2009, five days before its North American airdate.

Grampa's rank appears to be "two up, two down", which doesn't correspond to any actual Army rank.

LYRICS to "This is the Life" Music by Alf Clausen; Lyrics by Matt Marshall ---------------------------- We drink all day We're full of guilt We know we're not Scots 'Cause we don't wear a kilt We toss our darts With a beer in our hand We boil our food 'Til it tastes really bland This is the life...in Ireland

-- Don S1.1 MAG+++ LIS++ BAR+ SKI+ MrsK+ MissH+ P&S# FLA- (heresy!) f+++ n+++ Ilps(w) $+++ M47 Strange that most of the older Season 20 episodes have aired three times but "Mypods and Boomsticks" has aired only once

No, that was a reference to the Irish film "Once." The guitarist and woman were voiced by stars Glen Hansard and Mark�ta Irglov�, with Hansard performing a snippet of the film's Academy Award-winning song "Falling Slowly."

David Levy wrote:

I did not know that.

I wondered why they got Special Guest Voice credit.

-- Don

Don Del Grande wrote:

A month ago, I wouldn't have either. It's a freak coincidence that I happen to have just viewed "Once" (as I see very few movies, let alone low-budget foreign films).

On Mar 23, 12:12 am, Don Del Grande wrote:

Presumably also a reference to the Simpsons' own octo-family?

And just like I noted when KABF17 ran, the new full-screen rating thing attached to other TV-14 Fox shows is not there. Maybe because this isn't usually rated so high - maybe the producers exerted some pull.

Is that going to be mentioned in your airdates list?

Strange perhaps, but it might be because of content. (Though the episode was praised for its handling of the subject of fear of Muslims and stuff, when it was scheduled to repeat there were now objections by other groups about the same content in the "upcoming" episode. One of the repeats of KABF19 ran instead.) I wouldn't be surprised if it never aired again on Fox (the first episode since 4F20 to air just once and the first ever for controversy).

I'm still not sure whether it would be prevented from going into syndication (or extremely delayed maybe). There's precedent with Family Guy - three episodes have not been scheduled, four if you count the "100th" episode clip show, and only one of those is easily explained. On the other hand, with The Simpsons at least, things seem to cool down for syndication. Most censorship edits made to Fox repeats are absent... there's no disclaimer before GABF04 about gay weddings like there was on Fox... for the last 5 years or so there haven't even been any visual ratings (though the v-chip version is still included). Maybe it's because of the smaller audience, lower/ nonexistent promotion... in the last decade, of course, the local scheduling... we'll see. If it doesn't turn up with the rest of season 20 in syndication where I am, I can find out if it's included in the package and just not aired or what.

Matt Garvey wrote:

Possibly a combination of both, but the bit about "come for seven, get eight" seems to be more than a coincidence.

The screens are probably only made for the shows where every episode is TV-14 (e.g. Family Guy, American Dad, House, 24). I am a little surprised there was no "Viewer Discretion Advised" warning.

I thought about it, but no - I only list USA airdates. I do mention it on the Season 20 page of the Episode Guide.

I don't remember seeing any objections - is there an online reference?

-- Don

I thought it would make a useful indented-italic note like you toss in at times, not one of the N airings listed in the grid.

OK, here's what I have. (Before that, what I don't seem to have is a note about the change, either on a.t.s or the upcoming episodes page. If you keep a log of your changes to the latter... I was pretty sure the change was known in advance anyway.)

KABF20 aired 11/30/08. Then this blurb I saw on IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0620662/ Islamic Group Praises -- The Simpsons??? 4 December 2008 1:44 AM, PST | From Studio Briefing The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which ordinarily is critical of the representation of Muslims and Arabs in films and on television, has congratulated Fox Television for last Sunday's episode of The Simpsons, in which a Muslim family moving into Springfield faces prejudice. (Homer suspects them of being terrorists while Bart befriends a boy who is bullied by classmates.) The Cair letter, sent Wednesday, said that the episode, titled "Mypods and Boomsticks," one of four entire Simpsons shows posted online at http://tinyurl.com/6jgq4y, "brought to light how Americans can work toward mutual respect and inclusion by getting to know their neighbors." Cair Executive Director Nihad Awad said, "Fox and [Simpsons creator] Matt Groening are to be congratulated for tackling the disturbing phenomenon of Islamophobia."

The episode was scheduled to repeat on 1/18/09 as the first of a double feature, and is noted as such in various upcoming episodes posts, even up to 1/14. Now, this actually seems to be from the UK, though I thought their delay was a little longer. (Either that or a "forthcoming" episode refers to the repeat.)

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0645713/ Simpsons Creator Defends Muslim Plot

10 January 2009 6:12 AM, PST | From wenn.com

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has defended a controversial storyline in the comedy cartoon which sees Homer Simpson accuse his Muslim neighbours of terrorism.

In a forthcoming episode of the long-running show, dad Homer Simpson convinces friends that a Middle Eastern family are plotting to blow up a shopping mall but is proved wrong when it turns out the family's father, Amid, works in demolition.

When the Simpson family have their Muslim neighbours over for dinner, Homer shows his ignorance of the Muslim faith calling Allah "Oliver" and holy book The Koran "The Corona".

A spokesperson for Britain's The Islamic Cultural Centre + The London Central Mosque has commented on the episode, telling U.K. newspaper the Daily Star, "I hope Muslims take no notice of the show."

But Groening has come out in defence of the plot, saying, "Cartoons deal in stereotypes. We try to be sensitive."

It is not the first time the show has been mired in controversy, with Simpsons bosses recently being criticised for a storyline which implied America's Republican party was involved in a vote-rigging scandal at the 2008 presidential election.

Anyway, take note of the date. It was a week or so before the repeat was scheduled to run here, and then it was quietly replaced with KABF21. (I misspoke before - KABF19 repeated that night, but was always scheduled to.) Maybe a coincidence, maybe not, but these days it's about the only reason not to run a second airing.

On Mar 22, 9:12 pm, Don Del Grande wrote:

I hadn't made the connection thie first time I watched, but 3F17: after the boys see Naked Lunch because it is rated R, Nelson says "I can think of at least two things wrong with that title".