That 90's Show
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"That 90's Show" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons' nineteenth season. It was first broadcast on January 27, 2008. Kurt Loder and "Weird Al" Yankovic each guest star as themselves, this being the second time for Yankovic.[1] The episode was written by Matt Selman, and directed by Mark Kirkland. After Bart and Lisa discover Marge's diploma from Springfield University, Homer and Marge recount one of the darkest points of their relationship. The episode significantly retcons some of the Simpson family history, updating the timeframe of Homer and Marge's romance to the 1990s, as opposed to the 1980s setting depicted in past episodes.
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[edit] Plot
The Simpson family is freezing inside their house since Homer had not paid the heating bill. Bart and Lisa, searching through an empty box for items to feed the fire, discover a degree belonging to Marge from Springfield University. Homer and Marge look shocked to find it, and claim it was from their dating years. Lisa does some calculations and realizes that Bart must have been born later in their parents's relationship than they thought. Marge and Homer proceed to describe one of the darker points of their relationship, the 1990s.
In the flashback, Homer and Marge are happily dating, and are currently living in an apartment, Marge is an avid reader, and Homer is part of an R&B group alongside Lenny, Carl, and "Lou the cop". One morning, Marge wakes up to find out she had been accepted into Springfield University, but is shocked to learn of the high cost of tuition. Homer, taking pity on Marge, settles on quitting his dream of becoming a musician and instead decides to work at his dad's popular laser tag warehouse, where he is abused by the children. At Springfield University, Marge is impressed with her surroundings and with the radically leftist and misandric professor Stefane August, despite Homer's disapproval.
In the present, the repair man arrives and fixes the heater, while Marge continues on with the story. Marge soon begins to admire August, and while caressing Homer after his long day at work, realizes she has feelings for her professor. Marge starts talking to Professor August who has also fallen for her. August begins manipulating Marge by telling her Homer is a simple "townie" who would not appreciate her intellect. A shocked Homer arrives and catches the two together. In his anger, he reforms his R&B group with a new sound called "grunge," which Homer explains is an acronym for "Guitar Rock Utilizing Nihilist Grunge Energy." His band is renamed to "Sadgasm", and they sing a song Homer calls "Politically Incorrect", listed in the episode's credits as "Kisses are Dirt". An angry Marge and Homer soon call their relationship quits, and Marge leaves to go with Professor August.
Homer goes to Moe, who at this point owns a cigar bar. Finding no help from Moe, Homer goes on to perform a new song, called "Shave Me", which causes him to become so famous that "Weird Al" Yankovic parodies his song calling it "Brain Freeze". Marge finds Homer's music unnerving. Marge and August share their first kiss. When running onto the beach, August reveals he and Marge share two very different views on marriage. After the two argue, Marge breaks up with him, breaking his heart. A miserable Marge watches television and is surprised to see Homer made a song dedicated to her, called Margerine. A special news report with Kurt Loder interrupts, revealing Sadgasm had broken up and Homer is holed up in his mansion, miserable. Arriving there, Marge thinks Homer had been doing drugs and soon begins caring for him. It turns out the needles were insulin for his diabetes. The two soon re-unite. Marge reveals to Bart and Lisa that she learned "Homey is where my heart is."[1]
[edit] Cultural references
The title is a reference to That '70s Show. The scene where "Marvin Cobain" calls his cousin Kurt to tell him about the new sound he's "been looking for" is a parody of the scene in Back to the Future where "Marvin Berry" makes a similar call to his cousin Chuck.[2] Popular '90s music is referenced through Homer's band, for example, "Weird Al" parodies their song "Shave Me" (titled "Brain Freeze"), a parody of "Rape Me" by Nirvana, which hearkens back to his actual parody of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".[3] Homer's song "Margerine" is a parody of "Glycerine" by Bush,[3], the video is influenced by the song 'Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm' by Crash Test Dummies. The R&B song Homer's band sings at the beginning of the story is similar to "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men. The first song Homer's band Sadgasm performs, Politically Incorrect (credited as Kisses are Dirt) it is a mixture of two songs, "Heart Shaped Box" and "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle" both songs by Nirvana.
The episode also made references to '90s entertainment; Sonic the Hedgehog & Amy Rose (anachronistically depicted in the design she had since Sonic Adventure), Seinfeld, and Melrose Place[4] are all mentioned. Comic Book Guy claims that The Lord of the Rings could never be filmed. Homer mentions that Matt Groening was working hard on launching Futurama, during the 1990s.[4]
[edit] Reception
An estimated 7.6 million viewers tuned in to the episode.[5] Richard Keller of TV Squad enjoyed the many cultural references to the 1990s, but felt disappointed that the episode changed the continuity of The Simpsons.[4] Robert Canning of IGN strongly disliked the episode, also feeling that the continuity change was not a good choice. He said, "What 'That '90s Show' did was neither cool nor interesting. Instead, it insulted lifelong Simpsons fans everywhere. With this episode, the writers chose to change the history of the Simpson family." He gave the episode a 3/10, and suggested that this episode should have been set a decade earlier to fit classic Simpsons continuity.[2] He later added that it was his least favorite episode of the ninetheenth season.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Primetime Listings", FoxFlash, 2008-01-27. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ a b Robert Canning (2008). That 90's Show. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ a b Stereogum: That 90's Show.
- ^ a b c That 90's Show. tvsquad.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ That 90's Show. Simpsons Channel (2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Robert Canning (2008-05-27). The Simpsons: Season 19 Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
