Jokes We Don't Get

**SideshowTim** · 07-25-2003, 02:31 AM

A comic strip is just a comic. For example the one's that are in the Sunday paper's are comic strip's. Comic strips are just short comic's.

**MaxpowerAK79** · 07-25-2003, 04:10 AM

Brooke: I believe it is a comic strip. I remember hearing about it before seeing that joke on the Simpsons. And I think Linda Lavin was the actress who was on a show called Alice...lots of other acting stuff too, but that was the main one.

**Roger Myers III** · 07-25-2003, 10:04 AM

"REX Morgan, M.D." is a syndicated comic strip that's been in the papers since the 1950's. It is a 'soap strip' - a comic strip that is a linear "soap opera"-like drama, drawn "realistically", rather than a funny-joke comic strip with cartoony characters - which makes Homer's comment that much funnier. [some other strips that've been cited are "Mary Worth" (another soap-strip), Marmaduke, Ziggy, Love is..., Andy Capp, Family Circus, Garfield, Hi & Lois, and Beetle Bailey (joke-strips). This is not a comprehensive list.

Linda Lavin had small broadway roles before starring in the title role of "Alice," an early '80s sitcom version of Scorcese's 1976 film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More." She is commonly acknowledged as an over-the-top, melodramatic actress, and still appears in musicals. Just a weird reference, though - she doesn't particularly deserve harrassing phone calls.

**SideshowTim** · 07-25-2003, 04:54 PM

What's the deal with Comic Book Guy's line 'Care for a rolo sweet Xena?' in Desperately Xeeking Xena, Treehouse of Horror 10.

huh? · 07-25-2003, 05:20 PM

Rollos are some sort of chocolates.

**SideshowTim** · 07-25-2003, 05:36 PM

Yeah I know they're chocolates but why does he say that?

**mr. broom** · 07-25-2003, 05:45 PM

CBG was trying to make her like him by offering her something delicious. Because he eats so much junk food, Rolo seemed like a good idea to him, where someone else would've offered her something of higher quality.

**Wezzo** · 07-25-2003, 11:59 PM

It also may have a subtle refernce to the fact that in the UK, giving your last Rolo away is considered very generous.

**MaxpowerAK79** · 07-26-2003, 04:47 AM

Really? that seems kinda wierd...I've had rolos, and they're okay...I guess. I just figured CBG was trying to start a rapport with Xena...I mean Lucy Lawless.

**kuje** · 07-26-2003, 06:45 AM

Well, theyre not really seen like that by choice, thats how they have been marketed over here for ages. Advertising slogans like "Who do you love enough to give your last Rolo?" etc.

**eddie** · 07-26-2003, 07:14 AM

From "Beyond Blunderdome":

Homer: "Listen, Gibson. I'm tired of Hollywood pretty boys like you, and Jack Valenti, thinking you can have any woman you want!"

I know who Jack Valenti is, but I still don't get the joke. Is it just a cheap joke about Valenti's age, or what?

**Larry Burns** · 07-26-2003, 09:49 AM

In Bart Vs Austraila when Conover is telling the simpsons about Americas short infactuation with australia, he shows them a slide and Lisa says " I know those words but that sign makes no sense" What is this refering to?

**Miguel Sanchez** · 07-26-2003, 11:03 AM

The sign said "Yahoo Serious Festival". Yahoo Serious is a film maker/actor, so I guess they were showing a bunch of his films (well, two)

**Roger Myers III** · 07-26-2003, 04:33 PM

The Jack Valenti name-drop was just a weird Homer mistake. Valenti's benn married forever - didn't really ever have a "lothario" reputation - and came from the political world to movie-industry-lobbyist -in-chief. For that matter, Mel doesn't have that rep either - he's a long-time conservative activist and big-familied-observant-Catholic guy. {And his next directorial movie - oout soon - is "The Passion" - a Christ biopic that's got the advance word is that its - yes- super bloody and violent!!

Yahoo Serious was touted out here as "The NEXT BIG THING" from Austrailia here for about a summer...then his idiotic "Young Einstein" film came out over here, and flat-out bombed.

Haven't heard from him since.

**I shot Mr. Burns** · 07-26-2003, 08:16 PM

In the Stonecutters episode, when Homer has become 'The Chosen One', he comes on stage at a meeting giggling like a little kid and playing under a silk fabric.

I believe this is a parady of a movie where a small boy becomes the emperor of Japan, but I can't remember the movie name or if the kid acted like Homer does.

Any thoughts?

**Roger Myers III** · 07-27-2003, 03:47 AM

Its a parody of a scene from Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" (of China).

**eddie** · 07-28-2003, 07:04 PM

From "Hungry, Hungry Homer":

Lisa: "Dad, I'm so proud of you. If you need some inspiration, here's a book of Mike Farrell's core beliefs."
Homer: [reading from My Core Beliefs] "Man, he really hates Wayne Rogers."

Explain!

**Rowdy Roddy Peeper** · 07-30-2003, 12:49 AM

in 'Sideshow Bob Roberts', Bart is kicked out of Sideshow Bob's limo in the 2nd act. Then Homer is kicked out of another car which has a cartoon gang in there, and a blone guy with massive eyebrows says "Stay Out of Riverdale!". Not only was this not funny, it didn't make sense!

**Miss Springfield** · 07-30-2003, 02:04 AM

I think its meant to be from Archie comics, correct me if I am wrong, from the 50's. OK What about in sideshow bob's one where he nearly gets Bart to blow up Krusty. The network execs melt and reform ala terminator 2 but what do they say after this? WE have notes... have you thought about....?

**SideshowTim** · 07-30-2003, 02:52 AM

"We have notes, Have you thought about Dave Chappel" Is what they say, I have no idea who that is though.

**MaxpowerAK79** · 07-30-2003, 04:15 AM

TV executive producer types (like the ones on that ep) are responsible for looking at a tv show and making suggestions on how to make it better/more marketable/more in-synch with what the channel shows regularly. Those terminator style people were doing that. And the suggestions they have for Krusty are referred to as "notes". Also, they talk about using Dave Chapelle in the show. He's a young black comedian in the US...he's excellent. He would help krusty fit into the youth market. Hope that helps.

The whole "Stay out of Riverdale" brook was right. It had to do with Archie Comics. They lived in the town of Riverdale.

**Roger Myers III** · 08-01-2003, 04:59 AM

The Mike Farrell/Wayne Rogers joke was a little absurd reference to the tv show "M*A*S*H"; Rogers played "Trapper John," in the first few seasons of the show. He was Pierce's (Alan Alda) bunkmate and the second-lead role, but he quickly came to see that Alda was getting all the good lines,plot points & attention, and quit the show . Farrell was hired to play the "co-conspiritor" and "Pierce bunkmate" replacement , BJ Hunnicut. (But he never realized, or cared, that he was just the "second banana".

Y'all are right: in Archie's jalopy are, iirc, Archie (red hair), Jughead (crown on head) , Reggie (black hair) and Moose, who says the line, (in a great Moose voice imitation), from the comic which has been around since the 1950's, in comic book, comic strip, and animated tv show formats. Later in the ep, Homer is reading an "Archie" comic book and grumbles "Stupid Riverdale punks..."

Though he has a great Comedy Central show of his own currently, back when the show aired Dave Chapelle had gone through a long time of being in a "holding deal" with ABC (wherein a network pays some $$ to someone to have the right to hire them for he network's projects.) ABC tried a show wih him and 2 other leads, but when it got bad ratings, he was written out of it. It was cancelled anyways soon enough. ABC tried awkwardly inserting him in oher shows for a while, until his deal ran out. These things happen to a lo of up-coming-actors, and Chappelle as made plenty of jokes about the situation, so its not as if an insult to him. The "Network Suits" are unsubtlely "suggesting" his name because they presumedly already have a deal to put him in something on the network, for the very reasons Maxpower AK79 says above.

**squishee lady** · 08-02-2003, 02:27 PM

Is the title "The Sweetest Apu" a parody of something? It sounds like it might be, but I have no idea what.

**Roger Myers III** · 08-02-2003, 02:52 PM

The phrase "The sweetest taboo." You may remember the early '90s top ten hit of that title by Sade.

**joe** · 08-02-2003, 08:22 PM

OK... I was watching $pringfield the other night and is the whole glasses and Kissinger thing a parody? political statement? or the Simpsons just being random?

**Roger Myers III** · 08-03-2003, 07:16 AM

Random. Unless you mean just the "Isoscoles triangle..." scene in which Homer first tries on the glasses, which is a parody of the Wizard of Oz movie scene in which the Scarecrow receives brains from the wizard.

**Shiny Things** · 08-05-2003, 08:17 AM

There are two jokes I never really got:
1) From the ep Pokey Mom, Bart gets an lead apron which he says will protect him downstairs. What does he mean?
2) From the ep PTA Disbands there is a scene where Marge says there is something unsetteling about Bart flying a kite at night after which she pulls back the window curtains and Bart is outside with the kite saying "Hello mother dear." in an odd voice. Is he supposed to be 'High as a kite'?

**IdRathaHavaBeer** · 08-05-2003, 08:33 AM

1) Bart says the apron will protect him "Downstairs" I'm assuming he means his crotch area.

2) I don't know if this is a reference to a specific movie or not, but a lot of scary movies have strange scenes that kinda freak people out.

**joe** · 08-05-2003, 09:34 AM

in the Secret War of Lisa Simpson they are in the crime museum in the first act and the hippie chick has a baby on a sandwich...

is this a statement about abortion or a parody of a movie or prejudice against hippies while demonizing them?

**Roger Myers III** · 08-05-2003, 09:43 AM

No specific reference to a movie or film afaik, but there is a classic Chas Addams New Yorker cartoon featuring the Family kiting at night - at least Wednesday, Pugsley & Fester.

"Flying a kite at night" has a long history of being "symptomatic" of strangeness, whether the explanation is that its "bad luck" or "courting misfortune" (no light to enjoy it bay or keep an eye on the strings, lightning flashes, etc.), or that its an expression of discognitive, anti-social, abberrant, insomniac, or just plain "weird" behavior.

All in all, its probably all just a baseless old prejudice. If you enjoy kiting, on a clear, starry night, with a field all to yourself... why the hell not?

[His "yes, Mother, dear." has overtones of "Psycho."]

Having them almost eat the baby was an exaggerration of common anti-drug (and also, later, anti-hippie,) propaganda of the 1950's and 60's: Drugs make you neglect and (therefore) risk your baby's life!! There were more apt to show a scene like the one in the bathroom of "A Beautiful Mind," where nash overfills the tub w/ the infant in it, buts that's the jist of it. No abortion issue reference.

Love the avatar.

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