[The long of it]
They say if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change. Tonight's episode, "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", reminded me of that saying. Don't like the story you're currently watching? No problem -- there will be a new one along soon enough.
To be honest with you, I *didn't* like the first couple of stories. The family's visit to some scenic caverns gets off to a rocky start, so to speak. A gag where Lisa distracts Bart with a nickel in a bottle goes on too long; the super-lame act works better with Milhouse than with Bart. Another story where Lisa is chased by a bighorn sheep is notable primarily for the score, which sounded like the instrumental part of an opera.
Things picked up after that, though. Through one of those unpredictable (yet highly choreographed) incidents that often seem to happen to the Simpsons, Homer is hopelessly wedged in the ceiling of the cavern. While the rest of the family seeks rescue, Lisa stays behind and tries to keep Homer company by telling him a story. This story -- it's the one with the sheep -- wraps around an inner story of Burns losing his fortune and finding work at Moe's bar. And *this* story has another tale inside that, and so on, nesting about five levels deep. (And that's not counting a couple of side-stories.) It's a deliberately contrived way at spoofing the play-within-a-play storytelling device, and the gimmick works pretty well here. As the episode moves between story levels, thought balloon bubbles expand to show that we've arrived at one plot level, and contract when we leave it. At one point, all five bubbles appear at once, like a series of concentric circles. Aside from being an entertaining visual pun, it helps the viewer keep things straight. The plots also connected nicely with one another, as key elements on inner stories help advance events in the outer ones. Everything wraps up nicely in the end, too; even the plots that were unspectacular in the beginning had good finishes.
The are some good bits that would stand on their own even in a conventionally-plotted episode. During a scavenger hunt contest, Mr. Burns and the rich Texan each pluck one hair from Homer's head. (Hey, it was on the list.) Horrified that he's now bald, Homer quickly gets a toupee made -- with two hairs on it. Speaking of the scavenger hunt, the Commander McBragg cameo during the contest was a creative touch. Mini-plots discussing a romance between Moe and Edna, and Edna's first meeting with Bart, stand up better than I thought they would. The show ends on a good note with an armed standoff in the caverns.
Still, this episode, like "Trilogy of Error (CABF14)" and "22 Short Films About Springfield (3F18)" before it, exists mainly to explore a quirky slant on storytelling. "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" does it well, integrating what could otherwise have been a hodge-podge of unrelated stories. I have a soft spot for these little excursions from linear storytelling, and this episode happily is not an exception. Even if it never seemed to end.
[The short of it]
This episode is a fun experiment, trying to see how far it can carry the story-within-a-story device, but there's more to it than that. Each story leads well into the next, and key elements from one plot help advance the story in outer layers. The beginnings of a couple of plots are less than spectacular, but the episode picks up momentum from there and maintains it for the rest of the show. Some of the gags (Homer's "wig," Moe's courtship with Edna, and the standoff at the end of the episode) stand pretty well on their own. I have a soft spot for these little excursions from linear storytelling, and this episode happily is not an exception. (B+)
[DYNs]
... while stuck in the cavern roof, Homer pulls Bart to him by hooking the roof of the boy's mouth? ... Burns gives "Pangea" as his place of birth? [See "Personal Comments & Observations" for more] ... Burns has one of those big-wheel bicycles and a candlestick telephone is his attic? ... stingy ol' Moe spent the money to have an "employee of the month" plaque made? ... Frank "Grimey" Grimes's tombstone in Burns's car? ... in addition to the speech bubbles and drawing of Lisa, Bart added goofy faces to the hunters in the cave painting?
[References]
"The Never-Ending Story" (movie) - episode title a spoof
Carlsbad Caverns (tourist attraction) - similarly-named Carl's Dad Caverns are near Springfield
"Panic Room" (movie) - stately Burns manor comes complete with a panic room
"Tennessee Tuxedo" (TV series) - Commander McBragg, from this cartoon's "The World of Commander McBragg" segments, officiates the scavenger hunt
"Hamlet" (play) - as Lisa points out, Prince Hamlet stages a play-within-a-play to gauge King Claudius' reaction
"The Lone Ranger" (movie and TV series) - after winning the contest, Tex hops on Smithers and shouts, "Hi- yo, Smithers, away!" (cf. "Hi-yo, Silver!")
[Previous Episode References]
[DABF06] Someone says, "He'll sleep tonight" [4F10] Lisa chased by an animal that's not normally aggressive [8F04] Aristotle Amodopoulos appears [AABF20] Uncle Pennybags (the "Monopoly" guy) appears [HABF02] Burns's gray sports car shown
[FFF]
Sign at the caverns:
Carl's Dad
[Carl's] Caverns
[ Dad ] ---------
Discovered in 1956
by Carl's DadBurns's employee plaque:
[Burns's pic]
MOE'S TAVERN
------------
EMPLOYEE OF
THE MONTHScavenger hunt list:
[Part 1, before the two men grab Lenny's suspenders]
To Be
Scavenged
---------
Blue Rose [crossed out]
Suspender[Part 2, before the two men snatch Homer's hair]
king Ticket
Colander
The Letter "I"
Peruvian Cockroach
[first three items crossed out][Part 3, in the home stretch]
Lard Lad
Tombstone
Argyle Socks
Homer Hair
Picture of Yourself
with Smiling Child
[first four items crossed out]Wig store:
TOUPE
CHALETBurns's relatives:
RUTHERFORD STEWART COTTON
BURNS BURNS BURNS AGATHA
MILDRED BURNS BURNSBurns's paycheck:
FEDERAL W/D -$11.00
FICA -$10.63 MOE'S SPECIAL
MEDICARE -$8.00 FICA -$140.00
STATE W/H -$3.50
^
|
written in the marginMoe's story envelope:
TO BE OPENED
UPON MY DEATH
-- MOEBart's awesome cave drawings
I'm Lisa's
boyfriend
I want V
[Lisa] < to have [bison]
your calf I smell = [bison]
Like Lisa = ["I smell like Lisa" is in a cloud, next the rear end of a bison;
the other quotes are in speech bubbles.]Fancy restaurant:
The Cloth
NapkinHotel near the tavern:
MOEVIEW MOTEL
Bart's graffiti:
MUNCH
MY BUTT[Personal Comments & Observations]
Aaron Copeland's "Hoe-Down" plays during some of the scavenger hunt, and over the closing credits.
Bart's caricature of Lisa has three fingers on each hand, one less than in Bart's "reality." In the real world, cartoon characters have four fingers on each hand, also one less than in reality. Maybe this is how cartoon characters draw cartoons?
Moe shuts up the tavern regulars by threatening to out "the one of them that's gay." At one point or another, all of them have been the subject of "so-and-so is gay" speculation by the Internet fanbase.
Modern geologists think that the continents of the Earth were once one supercontinent. Untold millions of years ago, volcanic activity and earthquakes split it up, and the pieces drifted apart to become the continents we know today. I'm mentioning this because the name scientists gave to this proto-continent was "Pangea" (or "Pangaea"; I'm not sure of the spelling), making this a Burns-is-really-old gag for the geology-minded.
The car Burns drives during the scavenger hunt resembles (but apparently isn't) a Stutz Bearcat, one of the earliest sports cars. I think it's the same one that broke down in front of Springfield Elementary in "The Italian Bob (HABF02)."
Meanwhile, the Texan drives what looks like 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood convertible.
When he's courting Edna, Moe drives a 1964 or 1965 Ford Mustang convertible.