The Simpsons/Hallmarks

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The Simpsons

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Contents 1 Opening sequence 2 Halloween episodes 3 Recurring jokes and catchphrases 4 Most famous catchphrases 5 Other recurring jokes 6 Self references 6.1 Guest stars

[edit] Opening sequence

Main article: The Simpsons/Opening sequence

The Simpsons opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. Almost every episode opens with the camera zooming through the show's title towards the town of Springfield. Then we follow the members of the family on their way home. Upon entering their house, they settle down on their couch to watch television. The series' distinctive theme song was composed by musician Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a "retro" style piece. This piece, which took two days to create, has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career,^[1] and every time the Simpsons theme is broadcast on television he receives a sum of money which has been alleged to be as much as $11.

One of the most unique aspects of the opening is that there are several segments that are changed from episode to episode. Bart writes something different on the chalkboard. Lisa sometimes plays a different solo on her baritone^[2] saxophone and something different happens when the family enters the living room to sit on the couch. The latter is often the only one of the three gags to survive the process of shortening the opening for some syndicated episodes and for later episodes which needed extra time.

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[edit] Halloween episodes

Main article: The Simpsons Halloween episodes

An annual tradition is a special Halloween episode ("Treehouse of Horror") consisting of three separate, self-contained pieces. These pieces usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and often parodies or pays homage to a famous piece of work in those genres; they always take place outside the normal continuity of the show. Although the Treehouse series is meant to be seen on Halloween, in recent years new installments have premiered after Halloween. This is due to Fox's current contract with Major League Baseball's World Series.

[edit] Recurring jokes and catchphrases

There are many running gags on The Simpsons, many of which have been retired during the series. The Simpsons has perhaps most entered the public consciousness in the form of the numerous catch phrases of its characters. Such catch phrases include Homer's famous annoyed grunt "D'oh!", Mr. Burns' "Excellent..." and Nelson Muntz's "Ha-ha!". An interesting phenomenon occurred with Bart's catchphrases. His now trademark "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts!" were featured on t-shirts in the early days of the show's run; however, the latter two phrases were rarely actually spoken on the show itself until after they became popular through merchandise, and the use of many of these catchphrases has declined in recent seasons.

Recurring jokes are also used. In one example, Bart often made prank calls to Moe's Tavern asking for someone with a suggestive name such as "Amanda Huggankiss", "Al Coholic", "Seymour Butts" or "Mike Rotch". Another is the Krusty Brand - a line of often poorly made and potentially dangerous products endorsed by Krusty the Clown, who will apparently endorse almost anything. In one memorable clip, Bart mentions the Krusty Home Pregnancy Test, which warns that it may 'cause birth defects'. Or such as the annual Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween Specials, the names in the credits will be parodies of the actual ones such as, "Bat Groening", "Hell Brooks", etc.

The show has been known for both sign gags and so-called VCR gags. A sign gag is a text sign on the show that has amusing content. The names of commercial establishments, and the message signs in front of the school or church are common forums for sign gags. The show premiered in the prime of the popularity of VCRs, and being animated, the writers made frequent use of what they termed VCR gags or freeze frame gags. These are images that are on the screen too briefly to be identified normally, but would be visible if a viewer recorded the show and paused at the appropriate frame. Freeze frame gags often included sign gags.

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There are many recurring jokes in The Simpsons, many of which have been retired during the series.

[edit] Most famous catchphrases

• "D'oh!" - Homer - has achieved such mainstream usage as to be featured in the Oxford English Dictionary
• "Stupid Flanders"-Homer after seeing, communicating, etc. with Ned Flanders
• "Eat my shorts" - Bart - featured on t-shirts
• "Don't have a cow, man!" - Bart - featured on t-shirts (somewhat parodied in the episode "Bart Gets Famous")
• "Haa ha" - Nelson Muntz
• "Hi everybody!" - Dr. Nick
• "Hi, Dr. Nick!" - The response to the above statement, uttered in unison by everyone present.
• "Excellent..." - Mr. Burns
• "Ay, caramba!" - in early episodes Bart would use this Spanish expression
• Belching - Barney, and to a much lesser extent Homer
• "Yoink!" - many characters, after stealing something from another character
• "The Simpsons are going to..." - Homer - talking to the family about the next trip
• "Hey hey (Krusty laugh)" - Krusty the Clown, when he makes an entrance, including at the beginning of his show
• "Hi, I'm Troy McClure, you may remember me from such (films, programs, etc.) as (insert cheesy-sounding program titles)..." - Troy McClure
• "Mmm... (then food, object, person, or concept)" - Homer
• "Ohhhh yeahhh" - Duff Man
• "Thank you. Come again" - Apu

[edit] Other recurring jokes

• Dr. Julius Hibbert often laughs in inappropriate situations.
• Characters frequently rush out of a room to escape an embarrassing situation, followed by the sound of a car door slamming, an engine turning over, and screeching tires.
• For many seasons, Mr. Smithers' sexuality and feelings for his boss create tension during scenes in which the two are together.
• The anger of the characters toward one another is often highlighted. Homer strangles Bart in an exaggerated fashion for even minor offenses usually saying "Why you little...!", and reiterates orders to his children and others with the "do it..." in a threatening tone (often while wagging his fist). Other members of the family frequently take up "Why you little...!" as well.
• The "Stay-On-the-Line and Cry" routine (more prevalent in earlier seasons of the show), a running gag in which one of the members of the Simpson family (usually Homer and Marge) would wait on hold on the telephone, but then break down and cry when a popular song pertaining to the situation would be played as soft/easy listening music. One example would be the Missing Baby Hotline playing "Baby Come Back" by Player.
• Bart often makes prank calls to Moe's Tavern, asking for someone with a name such as "Amanda Huggankiss," "Mike Rotch," "Jacques Strap," "Oliver Clozoff," "Heywood U. Cuddleme", "I.M. Adope (in the video game Bart vs. the Space Mutants) or "Hugh Jass" (this latter case being one in which Bart's prank call backfires, as there actually is a Hugh Jass in the bar). Moe falls for the trap every time, and when he realizes that the joke is at his expense shouts threats back at Bart. He also never realises that it is Bart. In "The Regina Monologues" he says to Marge, "How much to have Bart prank call me? Oh, that would be hilarious!" This is a reference to the (in)famous Tube Bar prank calls^[3] However, one phone call it is hinted that Moe knows who is calling him: when Bart (with the power to do anything), calls with a long list of offensive remarks, Moe agrees because he knows if he doesn't Bart will do something to him (this is, however in Treehouse of Horror II)
• Mr. Burns is unable to remember Homer Simpson's name, despite the countless times the two have met. He is also extremely weak and often speaks of early 20th century (and even 19th century) subjects as though they were still talked about today.
• Comic Book Guy's real name, which was, for a long time, never stated. The gag, however, eventually ended in 2005.
• Krusty the Clown rarely remembers Bart, a boy who has helped him on numerous occasions.
• The Fox Network, which is also the broadcaster of The Simpsons, is often parodied on the show, usually in a negative light. Some examples:
  • In "The Heartbroke Kid", Bart says "I've learned that even made-up corporate shills can lie to you," to which Homer responds "Did you hear that Foxie, the Fox Network fox?"
  • When Homer invests in the stock market, he uses the telephone to learn the current value of the stock of the company Animotion. He is instructed to speak the company's name into the phone receiver by an automated answering system. When informed that the stock has risen, he responds excitedly, "Yahoo!". This prompts the system on the end of the phone to search for Yahoo, and it informs Homer of its stock's value. His response is then "Huh? What is this crap?" which prompts the computer to search for Fox Broadcasting and says that its stock has lost value.
  • In "'Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky", Lisa points out that you can't see anything in the light sky, except for the Fox satellite (which is portayed as a crummy, broken down satellite held up by several balloons).
  • In the "Behind the Laughter" episode, it is revealed that Marge's hairdresser is the president of Fox.
  • Krusty, when trying to find a network to air his show, goes to Fox appealing to their "reputation to take chances on crap," to which the Fox directors nod and agree.
  • When Homer calls Fox with an idea for a TV show, the automated message states, "Please stay on the line. Your half-assed ideas are all we have."
  • Homer complains that Lisa stopped the family from watching Fox as they own chemical weapons plants in Syria.
  • Homer buys stock in "...something called Newscorp" but frantically tries to press the Undo button on the computer when Lisa reveals Newscorp to be Fox.
  • When Lisa asks ivory dealer Mr Blackheart if he is, in fact, an ivory dealer, he responds by saying he has had lots of jobs, including whale-hunter, seal-clubber, president of the Fox network, and that yes he does deal ivory.
• The Republican Party is sometimes portrayed as evil, with the Springfield group located in a frightening castle.
• Often, Homer says that doing a particular thing has always been his lifelong dream, Marge will follow up by saying that his lifelong dream was something else that he has already accomplished (because he has had so many jobs and participated in so many amazing events in the show's long run).
• A common gesture shared by many characters after doing something embarassing, is pulling their shirt collar back with one finger and gulping, Charles Nelson Reilly-style.
• 'Retirony', in which a character (or object) dies very soon before retirement, is a familiar occurrence.
• Many commercial establishments on The Simpsons have comically farcical names (that are puns) such as:
  • "Try-N'Save," a discount store
  • "Nuts Landing", a pet sterilization clinic
  • "Kentucky Fried Panda", a fast food restaurant that is finger "Ling Ling" good)
  • "BloodBath, and Beyond", a gun shop
• When the Springfield Grocery Store is visited, the camera almost always first cuts to the street, where a shopping cart can be seen rolling onto the road.
• During an establishing shot of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, a buzzard is heard squawking in the distance.
• The Godfather Part III is often parodied in a negative sense on the program.
  • When movie studio executives review Homer and Mel Gibson's joint production, the level of pointless violence prompts one executive to say, "This is worse than The Godfather III!".
  • When Bart and Millhouse discover Comic Book Guy's collection of top secret films, one of which is titled "The Godfather III, good version".
  • When Maggie escapes to Little Italy after always listening to Moe's mafia stories, Fat Tony remarks "I haven't cried this much since I paid to see The Godfather III."
• A close-up of Homer's butt occurs in many episodes. Examples include "The Parent Rap" where Bart repeatedly spanks Homer with the broken tether device and in "Blame it on Lisa" when Bart and Homer walk on the beach in Rio and Homer's crack 'swallows' his speedo.
• Homer reads Playdude, a parody of Playboy.
• Parodying many movies and TV shows, vehicles—cars, trucks, even a baby carriage—often explode in flames after an accident.
• Whenever Nelson talks about his father, he says that his father left them after saying that he was stepping out to get a pack of cigarettes, this is a reference to Stephen King's father leaving his family after stepping out for a pack of cigarettes.
• The ambiguous location of the town of Springfield is often the subject of jokes, for example, Lisa once pointed it out on a map at the exact instant Bart ran in front of the screen, or saying "It's the greatest town in the State of..." before being cut off.
• Unitarians are usually made fun of.
• During public speeches Homer often cries out "boring!" no matter how important the speech may be.

[edit] Self references

Meta-references are also used as running gags. Attention is drawn to the fact that Homer rarely appears at his legitimate day job at the Nuclear Power Plant. Homer has pursued more than 100 different occupations, many on a full-time basis. While early episodes generally showed Homer's voluntary or involuntary departure from his plant job before a new occupation, for many years the norm has been for him to spontaneously pursue the new job before inevitably returning to the plant, all without explanation.

The show continues to carefully avoid explicitly identifying Springfield's US state or providing any evidence that could be used to conclusively deduce the state. This was parodied in the Brazil episode where the boy tells Lisa he couldn't send her a letter since he didn't know which state she lived in, and she responded, smirking, that it's a little vague, but if he worked out the clues, he could find it out.

The Simpsons is based on an episodic format with little continuity between episodes, a fact which is often parodied within the show. For instance, when Mr. Burns does not remember Homer, Smithers often points out numerous life-changing events involving the two ("Simpson, eh? New man?" "Actually, sir, he thwarted your campaign for governor, you ran over his son, he saved the plant from meltdown, his wife painted you in the nude..."). In another incident, Principal Skinner remarks on the peculiarity of Lisa giving her new cat the same name as her old one, and she responds by calling him Principal Tamzarian, which is a reference to his previous identity as Armin Tamzarian which was until that point only dealt with in one episode in the series.

[edit] Guest stars

Main article: List of guest stars on The Simpsons

Many episodes feature celebrity guests contributing their voices to the show, as either themselves or as fictional characters. Guests playing themselves were especially used during seasons 7-13, often as a cameo without a significant plot connection. Guests playing fictional characters were mostly used for other seasons. In the early seasons, some celebrities, such as Michael Jackson and Dustin Hoffman, would guest star using a pseudonym.