[The long of it]
Well, well, well, it turns out that Flanders has a fun side after all. For the first time on network TV, "Bart of War" exposes Ned's secret room full of ... Beatles memorabilia. I was just floored; I never imagined Ned and I would share appreciation for any one musical group. He's even forgiven John for the "bigger than Jesus" remark.
The Beatle room is just one of the treats in "Bart of War," the penultimate episode of the fourteenth season. It's a fun collection of gags that cover gamut of styles you'd expect to find on "The Simpsons": TV parodies, freeze-frame fun, song spoofs, hallucinations, off-the-wall stuff, and even a dollop of political and social commentary. It's a nifty confection to start the summer with.
Bart and Milhouse stumble upon the Beatle museum while roaming unsupervised in Ned Flanders's house. After some clever Beatles refs, and Bart's amusing "trip" on novelty soda, the show settles into its main plot. The boy is in obvious need of adult supervision, so Marge enrolls him in the Pre-Teen Braves, a boys' group that takes on the trappings of Plains Indian life. Homer tries his hand at leading the group for a while, and I got a laugh from his extended drum solo, and the football game narration.
Marge eventually steps in to lead the group in a more constructive direction. There's a nice scene where she enlists a Mohican man to speak about the local environment. There are apparently a lot of Mohicans left, although they don't like to advertise that fact. It adds to your mystique when women think you're the last of something, he explains. At the end of his lecture, the camera pans to find Homer dumping a treadmill in the river. Caught in the act, he meekly says, "I was giving it back to the earth."
There's even some good social commentary about how competition can sometimes get in the way of things. Milhouse joins another group, the Cavalry Kids, and the two organizations are quickly fighting one another to see who can do the most good. I found it inherently funny that two do-gooder groups would fight this way rather than, say, pooling their resources. Instead, the Cavalry Kids declare in a letter they will "crush you [the Braves] and smother your dreams" before signing off, "Yours in Christ." Taking another perspective on its subject matter, the story has Apu ask if the Pre-Teen Braves are one of those groups that imitate the native peoples that earlier settlers crushed. The show's closing line is pretty good, too. The ending was slightly odd, though, although it had a certain goofy charm.
Ardent fans of one type of humor may complain that there was not enough of their favored style (or too much of a style they don't like). People with more wide-ranging appreciation may appreciate the broader range of jokes on display here. For the most part, I liked "Bart of War," it was a fun way to start both the summer, and the season-finale double feature.
So, how come we never see Ned on <rec.music.beatles>?
[The short of it]
Wow -- I just love it that Ned Flanders is a closet devotee of the Beatles. I liked this episode, and for more than the gear Beatle room. It had a nice selection of humor -- pop culture references, song parodies, hallucinatory trips, and even some good social humor in the rival between Bart's do-gooder gang and Milhouse's. "Bart of War" is a fine way to start the summer, and the night's season-finale double feature. (A-)
[DYNs]
... on "South Park," Calista Flockhart is drawn as a stick figure? (Has Ms. Flockhart appeared on "SP" drawn that way?) ... the jug of apple cider in the Flanders' fridge? ... the broken gold record Flanders holds up has a green apple on the label? (This was the Beatles' recording label later in their career) ... the rock in the despoiled landscape had "El Barto" graffiti on it?
[References]
"Art of War" (essay) - title of episode plays on Sun Tzu's treatise on war strategy
"South Park" (TV series) - Bart and Milhouse watch a takeoff of this show before Marge interrupts them [See "Personal Comments & Observations" section for more] (Or *is* it a spoof? I've only seen three episodes of "SP", but what I saw tonight looks like it would fit right in on the show)
"Girls Gone Wild" (video series) - Flanders has video called, "Girls Gone Mild"
"Debbie Does Dallas" (movie) - Flanders has, "Debbie Does Penance" (perhaps for doing Dallas?)
"Fixing a Hole" (song) - carpentry book says John's "fixing a hole" in his drywall
The Beatles (some sort of pop/rock band) - Milhouse doesn't know who they are; a lot of kids his age see them as mainly historical, rather than musical figures - Bart mentions they did a lot of Maggie's baby songs; several children's entertainers have covered Beatles songs - Flanders mentions the band was "bigger than Jesus," recalling John Lennon's verbal faux pas - Flanders says the boys "went Yoko" and broke up his collection; many fans blame John's then-girlfriend Yoko Ono for helping to break up the band - Homer imitates Brian Epstein, the band's manager until the mid- 60s - then Homer imitates Michael Jackson, who really did buy the rights to most of the Beatles' catalog
John Lennon (singer, rhythm guitarist) - one of the sodas called, "John Lemon" - Bart hallucinates and sees Milhouse dressed as John in the early-60s Beatle suit ... - ... and in the "Sgt. Pepper" uniform ... - ... and post-Beatle "mod" 70s fashion ... - ... and naked, kissing Yoko like on the "Rolling Stone" cover (I'm not sure I needed to see that ...)
George Harrison (singer, lead guitarist) - one of the sodas called, "Orange Harrison"
Paul McCartney (singer, bass guitarist) - third soda called, "Paul McIced Tea"
Ken Starr (special prosecutor, "Monicagate" investigator) - fourth soda called, "Mango Starr" - (Kidding! Just Kidding! Obviously, this was really a reference to Richard Starkey)
"I am the Walrus" (song) - while tripping on the soda, Bart mutters the lyric, "yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye"
"She'll be Coming Around the Mountain[?]" (traditional folksong) - Flanders tries to calm his boys by singing new words to this song
"Last Train to Clarksville" - Wiggum tells Bart and Milhouse they'll be taking this (and Lou's right; it's a Monkees song)
"F Troop" (TV series) - Larry Storch, star of this cavalry-and-Indians sitcom, wrote the foreword to the Pre-Teen Braves handbook
Crazy Horse (famous Native American) - Bart calls Homer, "Lazy Horse"
Kansas City Chiefs Dallas Cowboys (U.S.-rules football teams) - Homer narrates their game with a Native American flavor
"Last of the Mohicans" (novel) - the Mohican speaking to the Pre-Teen Braves says there's a mystique in "being the last of something"
M&Ms (chocolate candy)
- Nelson claims the Pre-Teen Braves' candy "melts in your mouth,
not in your pants," echoing the M&M slogan ("... not in your
hands")[Previous Episode References]
[5F02] Scene from fly's point of view (Without the cool compound-
eye effect, alas.)
[4F05] Flanders family are apple cider enthusiasts
[BABF01] Ned wears Beatle boots
[DABF18] Domiciles for the Destitute seen
[5F03] Sportacus now a sponsor at the ballpark[FFF}
Caption on the Flanders' picture of the Simpsons:
Bless Our
Wonderful NeighborsVideos on the cart:
GIRLS GONE MILD
DEBBIE DOES PENANCE
Warning sign on Beatle room:
BEWARE
[portrait]
OF GOD
CHILDREN
KEEP OUTBeatle Room booty:
- After the boys bust down door, from left to right:
Signed Beatles poster (the boys in the circa-64 suits, standing in a doorway), figurines (on a table), dustbin[?], pinball machine (with "Yellow Submarine" graphics), megaphone, purse, "caricature" figurines with big heads.
- Pan across the room (left to right):
Drum set, Junior Guitar poster, lock of hair in a baggie, framed LP albums (looked like a complete set), four Beatle wigs on headstands, "Help!" poster, "Yellow Submarine" cutout of the submarine itself, the caricature figurines, Beatle-theme floor lamp, "A Hard Day's Night" movie poster, "Let it Be" poster, Max the Blue Meanie figurine (at least I think his name is max -- the guy who was second-in-command for the head meanie), suits from the Fab Four's Ed Sullivan appearance.
- Tracking shot as Bart and Milhouse walk to the sodas:
Do-it-yourself carpentry book, drum set, pictures of the Beatles in individual heart-shaped frames, the Jr. Guitar ad, the lock of hair, the four wigs, metal Beatles lunchbox, the "Yellow Submarine" cutout, a Beatles mug with "She Loves You" and "Love Me Do" printed on it, a poster for the "Help!" movie, and a display of novelty sodas.
In addition, there were quite a few pictures and posters on the wall that looked familiar, but which I couldn't identify.
Carpentry book cover:
LEARN CAPRENTRY
WITH THE
BEATLES /----------\
|I'M FIXING| [George?]
[Paul?] |A HOLE ...|
| IN MY | [Ringo]
[John] < DRYWALL |
\----------/Partial poster (presumably advertising shampoo):
KEEPS HAIR
FRESH & CLEANGuitar ad:
THE BEATLES
JR. GUITARSoda display:
MOP TOP
POPSoda labels:
JOHN ORANGE PAUL MANGO
LEMON HARRISON McICED STARR
TEASign above the early Beatle suits:
ED SULLIVAN
SHOW SUITSCans in the panic room:
SURVIVAL
PAKNon-denominational youth group brochures:
FUTURE THE THE
VETERANS 5-H PRE-TEEN
OF CLUB BRAVES
FOREIGN [logo] [bow, arrow]
WARS HIKING
CAMPING
LISTENINGThe Pre-Teen Braves' handbook:
THE PRE-TEEN
BRAVES
HANDBOOK FOREWORD BY
LARRY STORCHCavalry Kids' flag:
+---------
|CAVALRY /
+-------<
| KIDS \
+---------Newspaper headline:
CAVALRY KIDS LEAD
CHARGE IN CLEANUP
[photo]
PRESIDENT SHOOTS WIFESign on the Van Houtens' garage:
BUY YOUR CANDY
FROM THE
CAVALRY KIDSThird youth group at candy announcement:
JUNIOR
DANDIESStitched on the back of the PTBs' vests:
GRACIOUS
IN
DEFEAT ["Gracious" is on a 180-degree curve]Parking signs:
EVENT
PARKING [professional-looking]
$5
<------ FREE
VIP [obviously home-made]
PARKING
------>Suggestive signs:
HAVE ANOTHER DRINK
D u f f D u f f[Personal Comments & Observations]
He sounds like he barely believes it himself, but Milhouse tells Bart that the voices on "South Park" are done by grown-ups. It's true, though, and the same thing is true of "The Simpsons." I think the youngest regular cast member is 38.
Last season, "South Park" aired an episode entitled, "'Simpsons' did it." One of the characters tries to think of some diabolical scheme to terrorize the town, only to learn that the plan had also been a story on "The Simpsons." Same thing with his next plan. And the plan after that, and the one after that ... Finally, he wigs out, and sees the other South Parkians drawn in a hybrid of the "South Park" and "Simpsons" styles. I guess tonight's episode was a form of reverse homage.
* PAX-TV is a "mini-network" in the United States, with a small number of affiliates. It specializes in tame family-oriented programming, like the "angel" series Marge tried to push on the boys. In addition to a few original shows, PAX also broadcasts "Diagnosis: Murder" almost every weeknight.
* Matt Groening said that Snowball II was the ugliest cat he'd ever drawn. The Flanders' feline must be his take on what a cute cat would look like.