Well, that sure was an appropriate spectacle for a season premiere (AIR SEASON premiere, yes, but for those of us watching episodes as they air, the division into air seasons is still important psychologically). But in between all the NYC jokes, the core Bart story was interesting and (amazingly) new-ish, with the whole can't- keep-a-girlfriend thing. I know Zooey Deschanel's hot right now and a nerd magnet besides, but she *is* a good actress and her character was not a bad choice for this role. Actually, there's a good chance I'm forgetting one, but is this the first real second (non-cameo) appearance for one of these girls?
So, hooray. I liked it. And as Kang and Kodos also point out, next week's TOH sure is going to be early! See you then...
P.S. I bet there's some great freeze framing in that long Shakespeare line and other fast pans in the episode, but I'm not feeling the effort tonight.
DYN: ...Bart's still got a VCR? ...a ZILLION guest stars (5 of them for execs of Bart's, including Zooey, and many more non-impersonated celebrities)?
Previous episode stuff 8F18, MSI:TLD?: Ayn Rand daycare center (in couch gag) 3F15: Among many signs in the grand prix sequence I noticed the "neAT&Tidy piano movers", I think in the original font EABF08: "Jellyfish" (instrumental) played at the post-race ball NABF05: Fairly ballsy WTC/9-11 joke (this time, Bart saying Homer likes NYC now that his two least favorite buildings are gone) 4F22: Various hints at the previous trip, but only one fairly direct reference (Klau Kalash!) 5F10: Canyonero now comes in a hybrid
Bart's exes 2F04: Jessica Lovejoy (the only girl I recognize in the stack of photos - the others seemed kind of generic) The 4 he visits (first two I didn't recognize until I checked cast - may be out of order): LABF07: the goody-goody girl played by Anne Hathaway JABF04: the Natalie Portman girl Bart thought he got pregnant FABF11: Sarah Michelle Gellar's juvenile delinquent MABF07: Sarah Silverman's character and of course, KABF10: Zooey Deschanel's Mary Spuckler
Meta-reference A sidewalk artist is drawing Bart by starting with circles and one cylinder (the cylinder is also mentioned in Mary's song).
Opening I'm pretty behind on my files (not for long I hope) but this one cuts from Homer at the plant to Lisa's solo (skipping the checkout) as well as from the solo to the driveway, which may be another first. Also, Lisa plays the tuba again, but I don't know if that's new.
Also, I didn't see "The Longest Daycare". Was the couch gag specifically a reference? And I can't believe this couch gag contest is for real. I am curious to see how repeats (though mostly the syndication version) handle that announcement, in the same spirit as NABF15 (Ned/Edna voting).
Andy Williams He died on 9/25, and there was a dedication to him tonight (between the credits and the Gracie logo, where they used to put these things anyway). Is this the first celebrity dedication that isn't for a guest star (his notable scene/Nelson fanhood in 3F17 aside, since he didn't do that)? Funny, though, given the title (as in "Moon River" - the song Nelson wanted to hear in fact! - and the credits music). Also, I guess it won't appear any other time.
For Don Del Grande's football watch: The game ended pretty late; I tuned in about 7:55 when the game had apparently just ended but "The OT" was to come up; at about 7:57-58, the guys were talking football when suddenly a typical "thanks for watching Fox Sports" announcement came on mid-sentence, then a few commercials, in time to start the episode at 8. So, now you have that info. (I'm in Cleveland.) Incidentally, I missed the football situation last week, and all I know is that the 7:30 Simpsons ran at least in part; not sure if it or the 7:00 American Dad was joined in progress. Do you know?
PABF07 (At Long Last Leave) airing #3 It was 8/19/12 but I had a busy month! Anyway, the couch gag montage matches the original two airings (missing ones not reinstated/order not fixed). And I noticed something else that I hadn't spotted before, but did indeed change for the second airing as well. The "thanks" card at the end was rejiggered slightly (mostly wording, some spacing/ size). Originally, it said Thanks for 500 Shows. All we ask is that you go out and get some fresh air before logging on the internet and saying how much this sucked. ...The second and third airings say Thanks for 500 shows. All we ask is that you go out and get some fresh air before logging onto the internet and saying how much this sucked. (If you missed the changes, "shows" got de-capitalized, and "logging on" was changed to the more correct "logging onto".) It's minor, but it didn't go unnoticed.
PABF14 (Lisa Goes Gaga) airing #3 That was 9/23/12, and where the first two airings had short promos for the Maggie short (The Longest Daycare) before the Ice Age movie - each one different, consisting of about 10 seconds of promotional material and then the executive producer credits (mostly silent). Airing #3 excised the promo completely (the movie had already come out, after all), and the execs are silent. Unfortunately, my recording didn't catch most of the rest of the episode, so I don't know if the time was made up in any other way.