Capsule submission for [GABF06]: Goo Goo Gai Pan 3/13/05
DYN... ...Ms. Krabappel and Agnes Skinner are the only women to appear in this episode's couch gag (the women of Springfield have always been grossly outnumbered by the men)? ...you can actually see Homer's heart pop out of his chest a little bit during his heart attack in the couch gag? ...this episode's premise is seems to be directly carried over from Selma's fear of being alone in "There's Something About Marrying" [GABF04], which aired two weeks before? ...according to the stats on his driver's license, Mr. Burns' hair was gray even when he got his antiquated license? ...Mr. Burns has an atom on the front of his car? ...Brandine calls her child her "belly fruit"? ...the Consulate of China is next to the Aztec Theater? ...Bart automatically leaves his plane seat so Selma can sit down? ...Asian characters are not colored in a pale yellow, like Akira or the Japanese mafia? ...Homer helplessly looking at his chest and then side to side as the monk holds his heart? ...the monk who removed Homer's heart still bows in honor after he puts it back? ...Chairman Mao is drawn in a non-Simpsons/realistic style? ...Homer is apparently still employed at SNPP ("I'm a nuclear...")? ...Homer is actually pretty acrobatic in landing after Selma throws him on stage? ...Homer suffers no consequences (other than blinding pain) once it's apparent that lied about being a Chinese acrobat? ...Ling actually speaks in English? ...the flight back to Springfield is #8B and leaves at 11:45? ...even in China, OFF drives a pink car? ...the spray paint OFF and Selma buy in China is labeled in English ("Paint")? ...the poster of a duck next to Homer in the orphanage (perhaps this is a play on the fact that 2005 is the year of the rooster -- making the earlier "hen without cock" joke somewhat appropriate)? ...the Tienanmen Square plaque is written in English, as if to convince westerners that nothing happened there in 1989? ...Homer thinks that the Chinese live on a different planet? ...OFF and Selma seemed to have missed their flight, so they take a boat home? ...for all the time they spend in a foreign country (China), no subtitles are used? (and for that matter, no one speaks Mandarin or Cantonese?)
Goofs - Smithers comes out of nowhere to check on Mr. Burns after he crashes - Shouldn't someone have noticed that Selma and Homer don't have the same last name?
References -"The Neverending Story" (book and movie) Falcor the luck dragon resembles the white Chinese dragon that Homer talks to -Fahrenheit 9/11 (movie) Madam Wu's "Fool me once..." phrase is reminiscent of President George W. Bush's botchery of this saying in the movie -Anger Management (movie) Adam Sandler's character in this movie is attacked my Shaolin monks just like Homer
Previous Episode References [9F09] Homer has a heart attack [AABF17] Mr. Burns has CBG stuck in his grill [3F14] Mr. Burns driving [3F11] Mr. Burns driving antiquated car [9F09] Character has trouble signing a contract [5F08], [CABF13] Character gets frightening chill when they feel something bad happening far away [GABF04] Marge has a fear of one of her sisters stealing Homer away [AABF20] OFF member sees an Asian reptile from the window of a plane [5F04] OFF member pretends to be married to someone else [EABF05] Homer involved in Chinese-style fight [9F09] Homer's heart is shown beating [3G04] Dead Communist leader on display [1F17], [FABF09] Lisa is surpassed academically [CABF18] China-Tibet debacle mentioned [8F23], [8F24], [9F03], [9F08] Character chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!" [CABF18] Character deals with a surprisingly accurate fortune cookie [1F16] Actors can't quite get OFF's catchphrases right / Hans Moleman trying to imitate Bart [DABF02] OFF deals with Buddhism [2F17], [CABF02] Foreigner trying to impersonate a character [1F18] Bart doing a doorbell ditch [AABF06] Character says, "Now it's ___ time to shine!" [2F14] Selma bends the rules to help someone who thinks all hope is gone [BABF14] Character thinks that the Chinese belong on a different planet [EABF18] Homer attacked by bear (okay, so pandas are not technically bears, but close enough) [9F22], [CABF04] Character deals with pandas [DABF16] OFF deals with endangered species [BABF08] Chinese people on a boat are encountered
Review This episode got right to the point. I was expecting a wacky travel episode (and the previews seemed to confirm this, with Homer getting in a fight with monks and strangling a Panda), but after watching, I could tell that the writers wanted to make sure that this plot was character driven. Selma's need for a child was believable, and Homer was actually reasonable and nice. There were a lot of jokes about China that I thought were skipped (Taiwan, for example), but Homer's "rudimentary free markets" and "another job lost to a foreigner" comments had me laughing. A worthy successor to past Selma episodes, but those singing dragons were a little too surreal for my taste. Grade: B+
Where is Springfield? Mr. Burns' driver's license says "Division of Motor Vehicles." Being from California, I always thought that "DMV" stood for "Department...", but a quick google search shows that this is not the case everywhere. Alaska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and, for what it's worth, Guam, all go by "Division of Motor Vehicles."
Comments Selma must be making a pretty penny at the DMV to fly herself and four others to China...
Who was taking care of Maggie while the rest were in China? Maybe Patty was left at home having her own version of Selma's Choice ("Patty's Choice?") with Maggie...
Menopause usually happens to women in their fifties, suggesting that Patty and Selma are anywhere between around thirteen to sixteen years older than Marge (depending on which age of Marge, 34 or 37, you adhere to)?
Now the Simpsons really have been to every continent...well almost every one...Did someone say Patty feels the need to adopt an Antarctic penguin?