Another sort of reference

This one is a stretch, but the inaccurate Civil War recreation, plus the fact that the South decided not to admit defeat, reminds me of the South Park episode "The Red Badge of Gayness" - of course, this one doesn't go quite as far, but even if that wasn't a subplot (actually it wasn't even that...it was more of a miniplot, since it only happened for one act) I can't imagine the Simpsons would go in the direction that South Park episode did.

"Matt Garvey" wrote in message news:[email]...

For the sake of argument, I disagree. Consider this half-baked proposal for "The Sweetest Apu":

The Civil War reenactment was a subtle swipe at the critics of the show, especially those on newsgroups and forums like this one. But how, you ask, is this so? If my confangled premise is correct, the joke is about the show's continuity accuracy and comes at the expense of those who would point out things not unlike that of Episode DFQ07, where Homer's pants are Blue #60, as opposed to episode GMX13, where his pants are Blue #61. (Boy, I hope someone got fired for that!)

First we start with an inaccurate portrayal of the Civil War. Well and good, but then they throw in a the over-vigilant Skinner, who mentions explicitly and repeatedly that the reenactment is not at all accurate. It was almost as if there was some derision afoot, derision at the expense of those who insist upon historical accuracy--continuity, as it were. At that I began to stroke my chin in quandary.

The next clue came when, at a nearby WWII memorial rally, Abe and the rest of his Great Generation took note of the fallacious reenactment and, in as bitter and selfish a way as possible, led a charge to save the day once again.

At that, it all made sense. Skinner was a spoof of those who would insist upon maintaining continuity at the expense of a good time. The Great Generation are those same old-time loyal fans who prefer to see the show as what they think it used to be. Abe's tanks sided with the wrong team and further botched the reenactment, and this was a jab at these old-time fans who fancy themselves superior in status to the writers, else they wouldn't whine so much about the state of things.

Another diabolical move, producers!

Of course, this is really only half-serious. The thing was penned by longtime writer S, so I wouldn't put it past him to throw such a curve...but at the same time, why bother?

~Josh

Your ideas are intriguing to me...I sort of got that feeling when Skinner made his remark right before Frink in the giant spider (does the spider represent Mike Scully?)...maybe they wanted to say that, but they've usually been more explicit about it - this is on a much more allegorical level.

Who did write The Sweetest Apu, anyway? (While it's not like they write the entire thing with all the jokes and stuff, I guess that person was responsible for that plot.)

"Joshua P. Fredman, esquire" wrote:

the

responsible

John Swartzwelder, the fellow "S" I mentioned. He's written quite a few episodes across most of the show's seasons.

~Josh

Ah...I didn't know "S" was shorthand for him. Yeah, he does good stuff.

"Joshua P. Fredman, esquire" wrote:

"Joshua P. Fredman, esquire" wrote in message news:ab6g04$76e$[email]...

point

"Worst...Civil War.... Reenactment....Ever!"