Jokes We Don't Get

**Roger Myers III** · 09-29-2003, 06:31 PM

No more so than any other researcher/scientist that achieves wealth and notoriety. That's why I believe that its just a general joke about intellectual plagiarism, and that Hawking has a healthy sense of humor about those types of charges. Besides, iirc, his published theories of a donut-shaped universe clearly preceded the show by a few years.

**kane** · 09-30-2003, 11:40 AM

consider it a coinsidence that it has occured twice, then?

**Roger Myers III** · 10-01-2003, 02:59 AM

Once on each show? Yes. As common an accusation as it is among all researchers, that's hardly shocking.

**Miss Springfield** · 10-01-2003, 04:01 AM

Its the world championship sandcastle building preview and everyone is abuzz at the absence of _________ oh wait there he is. please explain.

**mathias1979** · 10-01-2003, 05:42 AM

In Krusty Gets Kancelled...is the Worker & Parasite cartoon a parody of anything in particular? Also...does the ending caption translate to anything?

**kane** · 10-01-2003, 07:08 AM

Worker & Parasite are the Easter European's favourite Cat & Mouse. Although they turned out to be very veeeery poor. Krusty even thinks they are so rubbish. Are they parodied. Only as much as Itchy & Scratchy are said to be. Some may say both Cat & Mouse duos are modelled after the famous "Tom & Jerry" but who knows?

**Roger Myers III** · 10-01-2003, 08:21 AM

1) In the broadcasting of sporting events, the phrase "Everyone is abuzz/talking about/whispering about the absence of..." is a cliched way to make an event seem more exciting despite the non-participation of the reigning champ or favorite. (It happens a lot here when Tiger Woods sits out a golf tournament.) The joke is that, when this happens, the non-participation is 99% of the time known of well in advance - for instance, the champ doesn't register for it, or, usually, hold a press conference or interview well before the event. In the case of an injury causing the non-appearance, then its big news. In either case, its not a surprise - and the joke is that Kent uses the cliche only because he hasn't seen the sand-castle champ yet - obviously no one was really "abuzz" over his "absence".

2) Worker & Parasite are blatantly obvious parodies of Itchy & Scratchy themselves, rendered in the style of an early 1950's pro-communism propaganda animated film (note the breadlines pictured, and the music track). There were many such films funded by the then-new communist governments (those that still cared for "the arts", as far as they could be used to sway the masses.) Many came from Czechoslovakia - not coincidentally, where Gabor Csupo got his start. I've been told that the vaguely Cyrillic text seen and the German-to-Eastern-European-esque dialogue ("Endut! Hocht hecht!") is really complete nonsense. So is the very vague cartoon itself - but its made to make fun both of our cultural divide, and to comment that these cartoones indeed sucked.

And, yes, we all know that I&S are in the long traditions of "Tom & Jerry", "Pixie & Dixie," etc., etc.

[I welcome any knowledgable corrections about the communist propaganda toon effort - for instance, I don't recall the "date" stamp seen at the end of the 'toon.]

**Miss Springfield** · 10-01-2003, 04:28 PM

Pixie and Dixie? Well who was the guy? and is he a real person is what I meant.

**MacGyver 666** · 10-01-2003, 05:19 PM

Originally posted by brooke2003
Pixie and Dixie?

Pixie and Dixie was a Hanna-Barbara cartoon from the late 1950's/ early 1960's. Pixie and Dixie were two mice or "meices" as the Cat in the cartoon Mister Jinks would say.

**Roger Myers III** · 10-01-2003, 07:45 PM

Exactly - "Sylvester & Tweety" is in the same vein, but Warner Bros. didn't want to copy the exact cat-and-mouse "dramaturgical diad" as Tom & Jerry. (Mr. Jinks' catch-phrase was "I hates them meices to pieces!")

I don't believe that the name was that of a real "Sandcastle champion", but suggest you run a simple google search on his name, and report back.

**Miss Springfield** · 10-02-2003, 02:40 AM

I don't know the name is the problem, and I thought TC said I hate those meices to peices.

**George Cauldron** · 10-02-2003, 12:15 PM

Who would TC be? Tom the cat was silent, except for the occasional scream and a rare piece of dialog. Top Cat certainly didn't say this. It was definitely Mr. Jinks.

**kane** · 10-02-2003, 01:40 PM

certainly, Mr. Cauldron. 'Twas nay Tom the Cat or for that matter Top cat either (who I thought was the only TC). Maybe it's his accent that gives you(brooke) the idea that he would say something like that. Brooklyn accent am I right?

**Miss Springfield** · 10-02-2003, 05:28 PM

Yeah by TC I meant Top Cat, who is the guy they mention in the sandcastle bit I was asking about what is his name? I must have had the two cats confused.

**SideshowTim** · 10-02-2003, 06:26 PM

Who is Jim Neighbours? He has been referenced to a couple of times on the show but who is he or what did he do?

**joe** · 10-02-2003, 07:37 PM

In "Homer at the Bat", what is the signifigance of the team name on Burns' jersey..? Zephyres?

**kelly** · 10-02-2003, 07:57 PM

My only suggestion is that The Zephyrs is some kind of reference to the Nuclear Plant..... such as the more professional Springfield Baseball team, the Isotopes. However, I dont know too much about nuclear power plants, so I could be wrong

**MacGyver 666** · 10-02-2003, 08:56 PM

Originally posted by SideshowTim
Who is Jim Neighbours? He has been referenced to a couple of times on the show but who is he or what did he do?

Jim Nabors is an actor(he has also released a few albums if I'm not mistaken); He is most famous for playing the character of Goomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show and it’s spinoff Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

**Roger Myers III** · 10-02-2003, 09:39 PM

1) Jim Nabors may be familiar as well to fans of the Kroft Superstars - he was a lead android on "The Lost Saucer". He is very fully discussed in a post on approx. page 3 of this thread already.

2) According to the DVD audio commentary, "Zephyrs" was chosen from among a few different turn-of-the-century actual team names - it was the one that "worked" best, and is a reference to Burns' age (as was his "Negro League" comment.)

**Roger Myers III** · 10-03-2003, 05:40 AM

No, "Yes Guy", Top Cat didn't have a "Brooklyn accent". He was voiced by Daws Butler in a parody of Phil Silvers. (We learn as much from "The Day the Violence Died."

Which also makes this the official third reference to Phil Silvers this week! ("Homer the Vigilante" question above, and the BBC Sitcom poll on another thread.

Long live Phil - a man of many influences!

**kane** · 10-03-2003, 05:43 AM

Please. Don;t double post. and when referring to somebody said about 4 or 5 posts previous, quote them.

Yeh. Like I said, "Am I Right?". It;s just usually cartoons based in them years and/or about animals usually contained New York/Brooklyn accents.

**Roger Myers III** · 10-03-2003, 07:52 AM

Please use actual English spelling and grammar. Syntax would help as well - it is your native tougue, correct?.

Your line was not worth quoting - and apparrently you remembered your own post just fine, my friend.

Yeh, like I answered, 'no,' you are not right.

If I interpret your last "sentence" correctly, you are incorrect in your assessment. If I may venture a guess, perhaps many U.S. accents sound "alike" to you, in the manner that I have far more trouble distinguishing the regional accents among UK'ers.

Oh, and I deeply, deeply apologize to the board for the double-post - my "edit" key was non-responsive.

*However, it's working just fine now.

**eddie** · 10-04-2003, 12:47 PM

In "I Married Marge", Marge says to Homer, "Well, you may not look like Tedd Bessell, but you're just as nice." Who was/is Tedd Bessell?

**kane** · 10-04-2003, 12:54 PM

that guy there. From the results I see in google image search, he is a very handsome guy.

**Miss Springfield** · 10-04-2003, 04:28 PM

Who did they mention during the Sandcastle building championship preview? Is it a real person?

**Andy** · 10-04-2003, 04:38 PM

Probably not. Just a joke on how some people are big names in their own fields, but aren't too well known anywhere else.

**Charmy** · 10-04-2003, 06:01 PM

Okay, in 'You Only Move Twice' Homer jumps Bond. Scorpio says 'When you get home, there will be another story on your house'. Is he taking about stories as in height of a building? Or is he talking about a newspaper article, in which case I don't get it?

**DaSimpsons** · 10-04-2003, 07:04 PM

yes he means stories as in the height of the building. Considering Homer has done what so many evil masterminds had failed to do, i think another story on top of his house is warranted

**Roger Myers III** · 10-05-2003, 12:57 AM

Re: Ted Bessell -

Its irrelevant to the joke whether he's "handsome" or not, which is a subjective opinion anyway.

Its a triple reference - he played "Donald", star Marlo Thomas' boyfriend on the '60's tv show "That Girl", which Marge presumedly would have grown up watching (and emulating, too,); Bessell was also a director on the Tracy Ullman show; and he's also, not coincidentally, a longtime friend of Kavner, Brooks & Simon.

**kane** · 10-05-2003, 02:58 AM

OMG I apologise!!!!
why would Homer say - "Well, you may not look like Tedd Bessell, but you're just as nice."

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