[The long of it]
The caption came up on the screen -- "20 Years Ago" -- and my first thought was, "#@$! They're right! The show really is that old!" (Well, if you're counting from when the Ullman shorts began, in 1987.) I was in college when I first saw "The Simpsons." The college freshmen watching the 400th episode *weren't even born* when the Simpsons began. Whether or not you think the show has declined, that's a remarkable achievement.
It's also a milestone that Fox has been remarkably quiet about. Yes, promos for the past month or so have touted the 400th episode, but most of the network's publicity machine has been gearing up for the "Simpsons" movie. There is definitely less buzz for number 400 than there was for, say, the 300th show. In fact, if it weren't for the repeat airing of the Ullman-era "Family Portrait," I would not have noticed anything unusual about this episode.
That might not be a bad thing. Past milestone episodes have been mild letdowns, as the show abandoned the charms that made it last so long, and instead crammed in dozens of guest stars and a wacky "spectacular" plot. "You Kent Always Say What You Want" has a plot that's no weirder than usual for nowadays, and the one guest star, Ludacris, has only a brief appearance. (Interestingly, his best joke is a sight gag seen as he walks past Bart.)
For their 400th outing on Fox, the family heads for an ice cream parlor (after visiting the dentist, no less), where Homer buys the one- millionth cone served. That lands him on Kent Brockman's "Smartline," where he spills hot coffee in Brockman's lap. Kent utters a swear word -- which must have been a doozy, because we in the audience never hear it -- which prompts Ned to file a complaint with the FCC. And (finally) tonight's real story gets underway.
The backlash against Kent for his faux pas is amusing and instructive. Ned, sitting in the dark with a stack of "naughty" videotapes, looking for broadcast indecency, perfectly captures the image of a busybody just looking for something to grouse about. Even his boys think he should lighten up. Another funny moment comes after Channel 6 receives a huge fine for Kent's outburst. To save money, Krusty half- heartedly provides the voices for an "Itchy & Scratchy" short, and the results are funnier (to me) than some properly-voiced "I & S" shows.
Even so, I thought the show was better the first time it looked at the conflict between decency and freedom in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge (7F09)." Part of the reason might have been because the earlier show never quite took sides; both halves of the argument were represented well. Here, the show clearly is of the opinion that Ned, the FCC, and their ilk have overstepped their bounds, so the outcome is more predictable. A conspiracy-fueled ending is handled pretty well, but I get the feeling that this, too, has been done before.
Around the time the 200th episode aired, some of the alt.tv.simpsons regulars wondered what would happen in the unlikely event the show lasted another 200 episodes. Since most of them felt the show was already past its prime, they weren't looking forward to the prospect. Now that it's finally arrived, I'm pleased to say the show isn't nearly as bad as they feared. In fact, it's better than the 200th episode, "Trash of the Titans (5F09)." It's ironic -- for years I've said that milestone episodes try a little too hard to be "special." Now that a relatively normal milestone episode has appeared, it's overshadowed by the spectacular (and thoroughly unconventional for this series) "24 Minutes (JABF14)."
Oh, well, we always have the 600th episode to look forward to.
[The short of it]
"Twenty Years Ago?" Yikes, I feel old all of a sudden. Anyway, I've said for years that past milestone episodes have tried too hard to be "special." Ironically, now that the producers use a relatively normal show, it comes across as not quite special enough. In particular, I felt the decency-versus-freedom premise was funnier when it first aired as "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge (7F09)," perhaps because this show was more predictable than the earlier one. Oh, well, this one has a good plot and a few bright gags, and it's nice to see that series has aged much better than most people thought it would 200 episodes ago. (B)
[DYNs]
... "Family Portrait," the short that opened tonight's show, actually aired only 19 years ago? ... a 3p.m. deadline is a prominent feature of both of tonight's episodes? ... Ludacris is carrying a pistol as he walks past Bart in the dental complex? ... Hummer H1s also figure in both episodes?
[References]
"Menace II Society" (film) - title of dental PSA a spoof
"Baby Got Back" (film) - one of the characters in the film says, "Baby got bacteria"
Ludacris (hip-hop singer) - actor/singer appears in the film as "Luda-Crest"
The following candies Homer requests as mix-ins are all knock-offs of real-life brands: Snickles -- Snickers Gooey Bears -- Gummi Bears Charlottesville Chews -- Charleston Chew Nice'N'Many -- Good'N'Plenty Kat-Kit -- Kit-Kat Herschel Smooches -- Hershey's Kisses Mrs. Badbar -- Mr. Goodbar Milk Dudes -- Milk Duds
Dan Rather (news anchor) - like Kent, his distinguished career ended on a sour note (in Rather's case, it was the airing of a counterfeit letter about President Bush's Air National Guard service)
the Terry Schaivo controversy - Fox News anchor complains that illegal immigrants want to "unplug our dead ladies" [See "Personal Comments & Observations" section for more]
"Good Night and Good Luck" (movie) - Kent, in his webcast, resembles Edward R. Murrow - both the webcast and the movie were in black-and-white - Lisa gives Kent his cue by tapping his knee with a pencil, the way Fred Friendly does for Murrow
[Previous Episode References]
[MG25] "Family Portrait" is the short shown before this episode
[1F10] Someone notes that Apu had a musical number while he stayed
with the SimpsonsSIMPSONS "STAY-A-WHILE" ACQUAINTANCES [FABF08] Artie Ziff stays with the Simpsons [1F10] Apu stays with family after losing job [8F05] Krusty comes to dinner and never seems to leave [FABF19] Marge takes Nelson under her wing [8F20] Sideshow Bob has dinner with OFF one night [8F21] Otto crashes for a while at the Simpson place [JABF01] Gil stays ... and stays ... and stays ... [1F15] Stampy the elephant is Bart's pet
[FFF]
Homer's AAA card:
AMERICAN APPLESAUCE ASSOCIATION
+----------+
429 004 |86153624 6| 4
HOMER J. SIMPSON MEMBER SINCE
1978St. Patrick's Day parade banner:
HOW'S MY MARCHING?
CALL 1 800 KL5 9595Sign outside dentists' offices:
SPRINGFIELD
DENTAL COMPLEX NO MATTER HOW YOU BRUSH,
YOU'RE DOING IT WRONGDental educational film:
MeNACe
tooth
SOCiEtYTapes in Ned's "nice" pile:
700 CLUB
Test Pattern (Non-Indian)
Ned's discussion board sign-off:
God's little bellyacher,
Ned FlandersHomer's acquaintance wall:
WALL OF CASUAL ACQUAINTANCES
WHO CAME TO STAY FOR AWHILE [Ziff] [Apu] [Krusty] [Willie] [Nelson]
[Bob] [Otto] [Alien] [Gil] [Stampy][Personal Comments & Observations]
Fittingly, Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" plays to commemorate the sale of the store's one-millionth ice cream cone.
Kent sarcastically notes that Homer's appearance on "Smartline" has nothing at all to do with the fact the same company owns Channel 6 and Phineas Q. Butterfat's ice cream parlor. In fact, you don't have too look far to find examples self-promotion in real life. Chances are, your local news station does the same thing. The easiest (and most common) tie-in is to do a feature story on a topic that, by remarkable coincidence, also turned up on a network show earlier that day. Or, if the station doesn't care about any pretense of restraint, they can just do a feature on the show itself. (Our local ABC news airs a discussion with a "Lost" expert every Wednesday, right after a new episode of "Lost.") Even national news programs are not immune. When the Disney corporation bought ABC, that network's "Good Morning America" decided it would be a good idea to do live remote broadcasts from Disney's theme parks.
The FCC has almost always had fines for broadcasting whatever it was that passed for "indecency" that day. Originally, the penalty for saying one of the seven words you can't use on TV (or radio) was something in the neighborhood of USD 25,000. A confluence of several trends revealed how inadequate this was at making broadcasters mind their P's and Q's. Inflation, of course, made the fine seem cheaper and cheaper. Meanwhile, broadcast outlets began to consolidate. Compared to the sort of money a multi-million dollar radio or TV network deals in, a five-figure fine probably seems like a rounding error. At the same time the fines were becoming less relevant, broadcasters became more and more willing to flout the decency regulations. As a result, the FCC was handing out a record number fines, but with less result than ever.
Finally, the Feds had enough, and increased the fine tenfold or so. One of the first victims was Bubba the Love Sponge, a radio shock jock then operating in the Tampa Bay metro area. His fate isn't too different from Kent Brockman's. After a raunchy spoof of "Scooby Doo," among other things, the FCC slapped the station's owners with a fine of more than a million dollars. That got someone's attention. Bubba was bounced shortly thereafter, only to find a new career on relatively unregulated satellite radio.
Terry Schaivo was a young Florida woman who one day suffered a heart attack. The attack wasn't fatal, but it might as well have been -- it starved her brain of oxygen. By the time medical help got to her, she was left in what doctors call a "persistent vegetative" state. That meant she could breathe on her own, and receive nutrition via an IV tube, and that was pretty much it.
A horrible personal tragedy, to be sure. But the drama was just beginning. Ms. Schaivo's husband said that she told him that she wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents, on the other hand, were certain that she wouldn't want to be taken off life support. The case bounced back and forth in court for years, becoming a conservative cause celebre. Many conservatives felt it immoral that Schaivo should be "unplugged," and this is what I think the Fox Newscaster the Simpsons saw was referring to.
[In case you've been on Mars for the past couple of years, I'll note that eventually Mr. Schaivo prevailed. The life-support was removed, and Terry Schaivo passed away shortly thereafter.]
The Republican cabal motors up to Kent and Lisa in a stretched Hummer H1 limousine?
For those of you outside of "700 Club's" broadcast area: It's an Evangelical Christian show, featuring hymns and Christian opining from Pat Robertson.
Oh, by the way: Long ago, TV test patterns would sometimes show a portrait of a Native American-type Indian. So far as I know, Ned doesn't have a problem with test patterns that originate from New Delhi or Bangalore.