The capsule for "The Great Money Caper (CABF03)" is now available at The Simpsons Archive, at "http://www.snpp.com/episodes.html". You may access it by following the link for episode CABF03.
We plan to have "Skinner's Sense of Snow (CABF06)" up next. (This is subject to change due to schedule and resource demands, however.)
Not among the world's web-enabled? That's okay -- a copy the CABF06 capsule follows immediately. Enjoy!
The Great Money Caper Written by Carolyn Omine
Directed by Michael Polcino
==============================================================================
Production code: CABF03 Original Airdate on FOX: 10-Dec-2000
Capsule revision A (19-Aug-02)
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[TVGuide.com] With Homer-logical justification, Bart and Homer go on the
grift, and do fairly well before joining a more experienced con man for a
big score. Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner. {sb}==============================================================================
============================================================================== Blackboard: THE NURSE IS NOT DEALING
THE NURSE IS NOT D at cutoff
Couch: The couch is underwater. The Simpsons, wearing scuba
wetsuits, swim to their usual spots. After they're settled
in, the camera pulls back to reveal the couch is in a giant
fishbowl.==============================================================================
==============================================================================
A Bijanki:
... Homer's shirt has buttons and a pocket?
... Hyderabad (as in, "approved by the royal magic college of Hyderabad")
is a city in central India, and Bart pronounced its name incorrectly?Don Del Grande:
... in the opening, Maggie is wearing a star instead of a bow in her hair?
... the sturgeon didn't burn up -- or even get hot, for that matter -
falling through Earth's atmosphere? (And to think NASA was spending
all that money on heat tiles all these years ...)Joe Green: ... Homer's octopus keychain? ... the fat, bespectacled juror?
Joe Klemm: ... the magic kit front box has a genie with a saw?
Mike Reed:
... the octopus thingy squeaks when Homer puts it in his pocket?
... this episode was rated TV-PG despite the goriness of Skinner getting
shot?Benjamin Robinson:
... the valet actually seems a little disappointed that he can't go
joyriding in Homer's car?
... as he's driving home from the Squidport, Homer's right front tire
wobbles?
... the "FBI man" can drive with the "EVIDENCE" sticker blocking his
vision?
... Louie the crook is on the jury?==============================================================================
==============================================================================
- Starring
- Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Questo, Cosmonaut 1, Mel, Abe, Crazy Old Man,
Lawyer)
- Julie Kavner (Marge, Patty)
- Nancy Cartwright (Bart, Todd, Ralph)
- Yeardley Smith (Lisa)
- Hank Azaria (Valet, Mechanic, Chief Wiggum)
- Harry Shearer (Diablo [?], Cosmonaut 2, Ned, Principal Skinner, Kent,
Hibbert, Jasper, Judge, Otto)- Special Guest Voice
- Ed Norton (FBI Agent)
- Also Starring - Tress MacNeille (Mrs. Hibbert, Lawyer 2) - Karl Wiedergott (Puppets Man)
==============================================================================
==============================================================================
- "The Great Muppet Caper" (movie) {jk}
- title a spoof ~ "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy (book) {jg2}
- the Magic Palace serves "The Great Linguini" + "Paper Moon" (movie)
- general plot is similar {al}
- Ryan and Tatum O'Neal try to sell Bibles to widows as a scam (cf.
Homer, Bart, and Flanders) {nf} + John Wayne (actor) {gs}
- once drunkenly addressed a group of college students, saying "I'm not
tryin' to talk for ... for clapping" - "Pulp Fiction" (movie) {bjr}
- the ball-gag used on Marge looks similar to the ones in the film - "Magnolia" (movie) {bs}
- Officer Jim Kurring is scared poopless when a frog lands on his car
out of nowhere, exactly like the sturgeon landed on poor Homer's car + "A Child's Garden of Verses" (book) {al}
- "A Child's Garden of Cons" is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's
classic book of rhymes + "The Lone Ranger" (TV series) {jk}
- Homer calling Bart "Kemo Sabe" - "Saturday Night Live (TV series) {kmc}
- while on the phone Kent Brockman says "goodnight, and have a pleasant
tomorrow" which is how Chevy Chase signed off on the Weekend Update
sketch + Publisher's Clearing House (sweepstakes) {jk}
- the boys' Prize Patrol Scam - Anna Nicole Smith (actress, sort of) {bjr}
- she is probably the "crazy stripper girl" to whom Abe refers + "Scared Straight" (TV special) {jg2}
- Homer: "I want to scare my kid straight!" + "Superfreak" by Rick James (song) {jg2}
- Wiggum: "I'll show you the Rick James cell. It's superfreaky!" + "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (musical) {jg2}
- Marge: "He's doing 'Dreamcoat' at the dinner theater!"==============================================================================
==============================================================================
- [7G04] Marge gets drunk {mr2}
- [3F06], [CABF01] A Simpson fakes their death {jg2}
- [4F13] Springfield Squidport seen
- [4F22] Mountain Dew is mentioned
- [BABF03], [BABF20] Homer with chloroform {mr2}
- [BABF04] Bart uses melodramatic "mystery" voice to say, "It's an illusion."
(cf. "Or so it would seem.") Perhaps not coincidentally, both of
these are Carolyn Omine episodes {bjr}
- [BABF10] Homer references to Maude's death {mr2}
- [BABF14] The Squidport seen {mr2}
- [BABF20] Homer rather quick to use chloroform {bjr}==============================================================================
==============================================================================
- Sign at the Magic Palace {bjr} MAGIC
PALACE THE
GREAT LINGUINI
$5.99- Poster at the gift shop {bjr}
HOUDINI
[picture]
KING
OF CARDS [It's funny because Houdini was renowned for being a master
escape artist]- Magic box {bjr}
MAGIC KIT
+-------+
[genie sawing] | props |
[lady in half] +-------+AGES 8 TO 80 APPROVED BY THE ROYAL MAGIC COLLEGE OF HYDERABAD
- Sign at body shop {bjr}
_______
/ DENTZ \
/\/\/\/\/ \---------\
|BLACKEST FINGERNAILS IN TOWN |
+--- --------------- ---+
\__/ \__/- Bart's con book {bjr}
A
CHILD'S
GARDEN
of
CONS- Homer's new vanity plate
I GRIFT
- "FBI man's" badge
COLGATE CAVITY PATROL
[seal] CCP [tooth]
OFFICIAL AGENT [signature][part of the word "official" is obscured by the man's thumb]
==============================================================================
==============================================================================
* If the magician didn't know Marge before the show, then why were the
monkeys wearing those green dresses? {jg2}= Marge's lipstick disappears when she asks the kids to be quiet. {bjr}
- The "Russians" in the episode weren't cursing or even speaking Russian. {ob}
- How did Homer get the gold print for Flanders' name? {mr2}
- I don't think Abe was of employment age during the depression. {mr2}
- Bart, who's not old enough to grow facial hair yet, wears a fake mustache, and yet no one notices how awkward this is? {al}
c When the "FBI" agent says, "Yes, fraud," the closed-captioning reads, "That's right." {bjr}
c When Homer says he still has his job "at the sweepstakes place," the CC reads, "with the prize patrol." {bjr}
+ Willie can't fire a handgun, thanks to the crippling arthritis in his index fingers.
==============================================================================
============================================================================== A Bijanki: This was a good episode! The plot was pretty good until the ... er ... craptacular ending, but the surfing bit made up for it. In particular, these parts were particularly hilarious: (1) The Albany ham scam, LOL!! (2) Call me mint jelly, 'cause I'm on the lamb -- that was funny in and of itself and then Grandpa riding away in the wheelchair was uproariously good. (3) The chloroform/mountain dew bit. (4) Skinner standing straight and proper on the surfboard, LOL. Because of its good gags, as well as a decent plot, this rates an (A-)
Stephen Burks: There are a few good things to say about this episode. It did make me laugh out loud more than any other episode this season (that probably does not say much, I know), but there is just something missing from these episodes as the show goes into the third act (the final stretch, so to speak). The beginning of the last few episodes has been sharp and the jokes are well timed, but by the end of the episode it feels like the writers, after not being able to think of any nice closing, said "let's throw a random surf scene in the end to piss off the a.t.s. people." Until the middle of the third act I would say that this was an A episode by the curve of the post-season 9 episodes. But the ending makes this a C at best. (C)
Carl Johnson: This was the first episode in a long time where nothing seemed superfluous; all characters present were integral to this well-made parody of "The Sting" (isn't it the first such parody to NOT include ragtime music anywhere?). The ending was hilarious, making up for some character problems in the first two acts, and that plot-destructing final scene on the beach. All-in-all a very entertaining episode. A high (B)
Joe Klemm: The most ironic thing about this show was that the ending was
actually _less_ contrived than that of your typical Scully-era OFF episode.
There were also some genuinely funny moments, including a typically
thigh-slapping Ralph line ("I look like cable TV!") I think Season 12 is
finally starting to gain momentum. (B)Adam Long: This has probably been the only episode of the season so far in which I know exactly where I stand on it. I say this because it is probably the only episode of the season (with the possible exception of "Lisa the Treehugger") that was consistent in quality throughout. [...] "The Great Money Caper" was pretty straightforward, and if I had to describe it in one word, it would be "average." Nothing completely outrageous happened, but nothing very worthwhile happened either. The plot dragged on, but the [way they resolved the plot] was good. The episode focused on "Jerk-ass Homer" and also "Jerk-ass Bart", but they learned a lesson in the end. There was humor, sure, and plenty of it worked, but there were about as many failed gags as successful ones. IMO, this was the perfectly average episode. (C)
Michael Nusair: Bah. What happened to this season? It started out so good, then turned around 180 degrees and took a nosedive into the oh-so-shallow pool of mediocrity. This episode -- like last weeks -- wasn't bad, really. But it certainly wasn't good, either. Most of the jokes didn't work for me. I spent almost all of the first two acts completely stone-faced, never even cracking a smile. The third act had a couple of chuckles -- which were invalidated by the horrible, horrible ending. The fact that they acknowledged the fact that it was a horrible ending doesn't make it any better, either. It just means that they were too lazy/stupid to change it. (C)
Mike Reed: Definitely one of the oddest episodes in a while, but, oddly it didn't stop me from enjoying it. Marge getting drunk was very unnecessary, and a cheap joke, IMHO, but the grifting plot picked up nicely from the magic intro. From there, it was a bunch of good laughs, particularly in the second act. On the negative side, there were a lot of loose ends, but I guess that was the joke, so I'll give it a (B+)
Robin Steinmann: Bewildering episode to me, as I regarded it as one big meta-joke about, yeah, about what? About lame sitcom plot revolving around the out-of-the-blue (out-of-the-MIR) need for quick-money-schemes ending with a bit far-fetched moral hammer? Or about high fan expectations? I go for the latter. Still, it all fell a bit flat, and was not very memorable as a whole. Not very funny, not awfully horrible. A neutral (C)
Fox Wolf: Just okay. Nothing at all to drop the grade, but the jokes weren't too spectacular. The levitating tiger and Homer telling Hibbert that the dog wasn't for sale really caught me, and Ralph's line, and just the sight of Marge's hair being shot was funny. (B-)
Yours Truly: Yet another episode that starts to go someplace interesting, but doesn't end up there. Homer and Bart (and later, Grandpa) pull off a series of entertaining and clever con games, and provide an unflattering look at their ethical bearings. Marge's tipsy nightclub act at the beginning and Willie's trial near the end are also good scenes. It's too bad "The Great Money Caper's" general cleverness fled it when it came time for the ending, which was one of those off-the-wall, "we couldn't think of a way to end this" endings. In spite of its flaws, "Caper" is a pleasant episode. Or was I just fooled into thinking so? Ah, well, either way I enjoyed it just the same. (B-)
AVERAGE GRADE: B- (2.67) Std Dev.: 0.7587 (16 reviews computed)
==============================================================================
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Joe Klemm: "Pipeline" [is the] music at the end of the episode. [{al} says it's originally by the Chantays -- Ed.]
Mike Reed: Lisa's comment on the ending being "far-fetched and insulting to your intelligence" is more than likely a reference to all of us who, of course, are going to say the same thing about the episode.
Andrew Levine gives us the recipe for this drink: A Long Island iced tea is a drink which doesn't actually have any tea in it at all. Instead, it's made by pouring equal parts vodka, gin, rum, triple sec, and tequila into a glass with ice in it. You add a little lemon juice and fill the rest of the glass with cola.
Tom Restivo adds: Hmmm ... there ain't no one way to make it ...
From drinkboy.com:
Long Island Ice Tea 1/2 ounce Vodka 1/2 ounce Gin 1/2 ounce White Rum 1/2 ounce Cointreau 1 ounce Lemon Juice Top with Cola
Build all ingredients in an ice tea glass, then top with cola and garnish with a lemon wedge.
From netcooks.com:
1 oz. Rum 1 oz. vodka 1 oz. gin 1 oz. orange juice 1 oz. lime juice 1 oz. lemon juice Coke or Pepsi soda or 7-Up Triple Sec
Mix the rum, vodka, and gin together. Add the orange juice, lime juice, and lemon juice. Fill with Coke or Pepsi AND soda or 7-Up. Top off with Triple Sec. Enjoy in moderation!
And from drink101.com:
Ingredients
1/2 oz. vodka 1/2 oz. gin 1/2 oz. light rum 1/2 tequila splash of triple sec splash of lime juice splash of Coke or Pepsi Lemon slice for garnish
Glass: Highball <-- What Marge drank from
Directions: Combine everything but the Coke into a highball glass with ice, stir gently, add the Coke, squeeze and drop the lemon slice into the drink and serve.
One key element is that it tastes fine, but kicks a wallop afterwards, especially by the time you down a few like Marge. Definitely drink in moderation, and give Homer the keys if you drink.
... awarded by Benjamin Robinson ...: ... "My son's not turning tricks for free!" The phrase "turning tricks" is used to describe what a prostitute does when she's, um, providing services to a client.
Joe Klemm: One of the latest trends that is hitting the US is the singing rubber fish. These devices have rubber fish being attached to a plaque as if it was caught. However, by pushing a button or walking pass it, the fish will person and start singing. This craze is such a hit right now that there's even one singing fish based on Jaws.
Mike Reed adds: Homer's comment on buying a singing rubber fish was a reference to a line of novelties called "Billy Bass." [...] They sing "Take Me To The River" and "Don't Worry, be Happy." I've seen the things given as gifts twice this year, and they are the most annoying things ever made. They hypnotize children and annoy everyone else.
Matt Gasaway explains what this delicacy is: It's a name-brand loose meat sandwich thing. Came in a can. I think you mixed it with hamburger, like Hamburger Helper. Come to think of it, I haven't really seen any "Manwich" ads since like the 80's ... which makes it EXACTLY the kind of thing that Patty and Selma would serve at their place.
Plus, that Manwich was freaking HUGE!
"For a Man-Sized Appetite, Make it a Manwich Meal". (The ad went something like that.)
Benjamin Robinson: Publishers' Clearing House is the most famous of several organizations running multi-million dollar sweepstakes. When the spectacle of giving away large piles of cash wore thin, their marketing people came upon the idea of dispatching "prize patrol" vans. Instead of just telephoning the winners, they'd send a small armada of spokespeople, models, and a TV crew to bring the good news and record it for TV commercials. The commercials became well-known, and are still being spoofed today, in spite of the fact that they haven't run for a while.
Someone called "indigolem" sounds off about the latest non-sequitir "ending": Not only have the writers gotten lazy and forgotten just about every rule of story writing, but they now make fun of the fact that they've gotten lazy. That can be done easily enough by coming here and to other forums to witness fans' gripes (which are, by the way, perfectly legitimate) and throwing them into the episode. In addition to that, they seem to make their episodes lazily for the very purpose of making fun of that fact.
Just who do they make their shows for these days?
Gene Poole answers: The very sad part is the fact that they made tonight's ending as a direct joke to those of you who tear each episode apart bit by bit and find nothing redeeming about the show, and yet you miss the point and see it as another flaw in the show. Y'know what? Obviously they can make good endings, they choose simply not to. They like the episodes and the endings the way they are doing them; they're making them this way because it works for them; not because they can't come up with anything better. Again I say: If you are unhappy with the episodes that are coming out these days, stop watching.
In conclusion, who are they making their shows for these days? Not you.
Alex J. ThreeThreeOneZeroSix writes: Huh? They're making it for the people that ignore the bad and only focus on the good of each episode? That must be a strong audience to cater to.
I thought a show like The Simpsons encouraged us to turn away from formulaic sitcoms that had no worthy characters and hardly any original story ideas.
That was just a stupid ending. A lazy, stupid ending that some people might find funny because it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. And yeah, it would have been funny if The Simpsons didn't get away with using the idiotic, "can't make a good conclusion so let's insult the intelligence of the viewing audience" scene so often.
Why should a series be commended for not even being able to connect a damn conclusion with its original story line? Why should we commend it for getting away with outrageous story lines? Didn't Roseanne get canceled for this?