So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show
| "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:9f17.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 |
| Directed by | Carlos Baeza |
| Written by | Jon Vitti |
| Original air dates | April 1, 1993 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "No one is interested in my underpants"[1] |
| Couch gag | The family members' heads are on the wrong bodies.[2] |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Jon Vitti Jeffrey Lynch |
"So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" is the 18th episode of the fourth season. This episode was originally broadcast on April Fool's Day, April 1 1993, and is the first clip show of the series.
Plot
The story begins on April Fools' Day as Homer is playing pranks on Bart throughout the day. Bart, angered by the numerous tricks he has fallen for, attempts to get revenge by shaking up a beer in a paint shaker. When Homer opens the beer, it results in a massive explosion that puts Homer in a coma. While everyone waits for Homer to get well, the family remembers surviving similar hardships (shown in the form of clips from past episodes). Mr. Burns then tries to pull the plug on Homer's life support system to keep from having to pay for Homer's health insurance—even though the workers gave up their health insurance in exchange for a pinball machine, as mentioned in "Homer's Triple Bypass". Professor Frink suggests that he personally cure Homer a la Fantastic Voyage.[clarification needed]
As Homer lies in his hospital bed, Bart confesses that he's the one who put him in a coma with his shaken beer can prank. Homer slowly comes out of the coma and strangles Bart. Despite this, Marge and the others are happy that Homer is finally well. The episode ends with Homer, still under the assumption that it's April Fools' Day, tricks the family by saying he's taking them to Hawaii. However, Bart and Lisa tell Homer that the current date is May 16, and that Homer was in a coma for 7 weeks. The family laughs, and Marge told him he lost 5 percent of his brain. Homer replies, "Me lose brain? Uh-oh!" They laugh again, but Homer stops and replies, "Why I laugh?"
Episodes used
This flashback episode uses clips from episodes released during the first three seasons: four are from the first, five from the second, and six from the third season. They presented here in order of their appearance.
| Episode | Clip description |
|---|---|
| "Life on the Fast Lane" (twice) | Bart and Homer playing catch in the backyard & Marge visiting Homer instead of driving to Jacques's apartment |
| "Homer at the Bat" | Homer getting hit in the head with a baseball |
| "Lisa's Pony" (multiple times) | Various head trauma & Homer sleeping in the car |
| "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" | Maggie hitting Homer in the head |
| "There's No Disgrace Like Home" | The Simpsons during their electroshock therapy at Marvin Monroe's family center |
| "Bart the Daredevil" | Homer falling off Springfield gorge[3] |
| "Dog of Death" (twice) | The doctor overseeing Homer is shown to be a veterianarian & Homer asking Mr. Burns for money |
| "The Call of the Simpsons" | Homer setting a trap for a rabbit |
| "Treehouse of Horror" | Kang and Kodos abducting the Simpsons |
| "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" | Homer in the Land of Chocolate |
| "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" (twice) | Homer listening to Lisa play the sax & Homer teaching Bart how to shave |
| "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" | Bart stealing Homer's jar of pennies |
| "Bart the General" | Nelson sending Bart home in a trash can |
| "Three Men and a Comic Book" | Homer sitting while Bart, Milhouse, and Martin are fighting |
Production
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (September 2008) |
- This was The Simpsons' first clip show, created to relieve the long hours put in by all of the show's overworked staff. Despite the nature of the clip show, the episode still contained an act and a half of new animation (including the extra scene from "Bart the Daredevil" where Homer falls down Springfield Gorge again after the ambulance crashes into a tree).
- The idea for the 32 "D'oh!"s in a row footage was from David Silverman's montage that he had created for his traveling college show.[citation needed]
Cultural references
The scene where Barney attempts to smother Homer with a pillow and breaks a hospital window with a water fountain is a parody of the final scene in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.[1] Dr. Frink suggestion of shrinking a crew of men and one beautiful woman to microscopic size and sending them into Homer in a small ship is a reference to Fantastic Voyage.[2]
Legacy
The episode was referenced in the South Park episode "Simpsons Already Did It" when Butters is trying to commit evil only to discover that his plans have already taken place on the Simpsons; one of his plots involves shaking up all the beer in town.
Notes
- ^ a b Richmond 1997, p. 111
- ^ a b Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show". BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ the footage where Homer is actually shown falling after the ambulance crashes into the tree and getting hit with the gurney when he lands was animated for this episode only
References
- Richmond, Ray (November 12, 1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. p. 111. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Martyn, Warren (2000). I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide. BBC. pp. Section: "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show: Will a succession of clips raise Homer from coma?".
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 0-679-31318-4. OCLC 55682258.
External links
