The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty fourth episode of the eighth season of The Simpsons, which originally aired May 11, 1997.[1] It was written by David S. Cohen, Dan Greaney and Steve Tompkins, with Ken Keeler coming up with the story.[1] It was directed by Neil Affleck,[1] and saw Tim Conway, Gailard Sartain and Phil Hartman guest star.[1][2]
It centers around fictional pilot episodes of non-existent television series derived from The Simpsons. The episode is a parody of the tendency of network executives to try to find any reason to spin-off characters from a hit series.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Troy McClure hosts a television special introducing three television shows produced using characters from The Simpsons. The gimmick of the special is that the FOX network, faced with a schedule with only three filled slots (The Simpsons, Melrose Place, and The X-Files),[2] commissions the producers of The Simpsons to produce thirty five different series. The producers end up churning out three.
[edit] Chief Wiggum, P.I.
Clancy Wiggum and his son Ralph move to New Orleans with Seymour Skinner ('Skinny Boy') as Clancy's sidekick, in what is supposedly a dark police drama.
After Clancy proclaims that he will "clean up the city", Ralph is kidnapped by his new nemesis, Big Daddy. Clancy tracks him down and saves Ralph, but ultimately lets the villain escape, feeling that he will meet him again the following week "in a more exciting and sexy way". The Simpson family make a guest appearance while celebrating Mardi Gras.
The title of the Wiggum segment is an obvious spoof of Magnum, P.I..[2]
[edit] The Love-matic Grampa
The next clip is from a sitcom-style television series about Moe's love life. He receives advice from the ghost of Abraham Simpson, who was crushed by a falling shelf in a store and subsequently got lost on his way up to Heaven and now possesses Moe's Love Tester machine. Moe ends up getting a date, but his dependence on the machine is revealed, and he confesses to receiving advice. His date is actually happy when she hears this, flattered that Moe would go to all that trouble for her. Homer makes a guest appearance when he visits the bar. Moe's date, Betty, looks somewhat like Tress MacNeille, the actress who voiced her.[3]
Moe's segment has a Bewitched/I Dream of Jeannie feel to it,[2] as well as similarities to My Mother the Car.[4] The first moments of the segment parody Cheers. The Lovematic-Grandpa machine singing Daisy Daisy in a distorted manner when its electrical circuits are failing, is a reference to HAL from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.[2]
[edit] The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour
Homer, Marge, Bart, and Maggie appear in a comedy show featuring various songs and skits. Lisa refuses to participate, but is replaced by an attractive blonde prom queen. Tim Conway guest stars.
This segment is a parody of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, an infamous short-lived spinoff of the 1970s sitcom, considered one of the worst shows of all time. The replacement of Lisa in the third segment with another girl reflects the recasting of Jan Brady in the Brady Bunch Variety Hour when Eve Plumb refused to participate. Others shows parodied during the variety show, include The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and Laugh In.[4]
The songs parodied during the third segment are:
- "I Want Candy" by The Strangeloves[2]
- "Peppermint Twist" by Joey Dee and the Starlighters[2]
- "Whip It" by Devo[2]
- "Lollipop" by The Chordettes[2]
[edit] The future
Troy ends the special with a look at the upcoming season of The Simpsons, filled with blatantly ridiculous plot twists. Homer turning Lisa into a frog using magic powers, the discovery of Bart's two long lost identical brothers, Selma marrying Lenny, Bumblebee Man, and Itchy, and Homer meeting an alien named Ozmodiar, a reference to The Great Gazoo,[4] that only he can see.
[edit] Production
Ken Keeler came up with the idea for the episode for a one sentence idea: "Let's do spin-offs".[5] After he had pitched the idea it was decided that "it was a idea that ought to work pretty well" and it was produced.[5]
Matt Groening, was uneasy about this episode,[6] feeling that its intentionally bad writing and "crazy" plots would be mistranslated as actual bad sitcom writing.[6] He also didn't like the idea of breaking the fourth wall, by saying that the Simpsons were just actors in a television show.[6] The idea was again used in the season 11 episode "Behind the Laughter". Groening later went on to say that the episode "turned out great".[6]
The character of Ozmodiar was included in the script for an earlier episode but was considered too crazy. When this episode came along he just seemed to fit right in and so was included.[4]
A self-conscious reference was cut for the broadcast of this episode, and is found on the season 8 DVD boxset. The big-nosed man first seen validating his parking ticket in "When Flanders Failed" says to Homer and Marge in "The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour", "How come the sets look 20 years out of date?"[7]
[edit] Reception
The episode was met with a variety of views. Some loved it, such as Entertainment Weekly who placed the episode 19th in their top 25 Simpsons episode list.[8] Others disliked it, with it being placed 47th on the NoHomers.net 50 Worst Episodes list, compiled in 2006.[9] The writers of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood called it, "A very clever spin on the alternates offered by the Treehouse of Horrors run. Each of the spin-offs is very clever in its own way."[2] The episode received a positive rating of "Good", 7.6 out of 86 votes on TV.com,[10] and a score of 6.7/10 out of 51 votes, on the Internet Movie Database.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, p. 228. ISBN 0-00063-8898-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
- ^ Smith, Yeardley. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d Weinstein, Josh; Cohen, David; Greaney, Dan; Keeler, Ken. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Keeler, Ken. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d Groening, Matt. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season deleted scenes for the episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ The Family Dynamic. Entertainment Weekly (2003-02-06). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ The Official NHC 50 Worst Episodes - Results!. NoHomers.net. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
- ^ "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase". TV.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
- ^ "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
[edit] External links
- "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" at The Simpsons.com
- "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
- "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" at TV.com
- "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" at the Internet Movie Database
