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The Simpsons Skateboarding is a video game released for the PlayStation 2 in North America on November 13, 2002 and released in Australia and UK in 6 December 6, 2002. It was developed by The Code Monkeys and published by Fox Interactive and Electronic Arts. All of the characters's voices were.

'The Homer They Fall' is the third episode of The Simpsons' eighth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 10, 1996.^[2] After Homer realizes he has a bizarre medical condition that renders him unable to be knocked out, Moe Szyslak convinces him to start a career as a boxer and allow the bartender to manage him. The episode was written by Jonathan Collier and directed by Mark Kirkland.^[2] It guest stars Michael Buffer as himself and Paul Winfield as Lucius Sweet.^[2]

Plot[edit]

During the Simpsons' visit to a high-tech gadget store, Bart buys a gimmicky utility belt. When he shows it off at school the next day, Dolph, Jimbo and Kearney beat him up and take it. To get the belt back, Homer confronts their fathers at Moe's Tavern; they beat him up but find that they cannot knock him down, even after breaking a pool cue over his head.

After seeing Homer's ability to absorb physical punishment, Moe suggests that he take up boxing and allow Moe — himself a former boxer — to manage and train him. Marge insists that Homer have a full medical checkup first. Dr. Hibbert discovers that the layer of fluid around Homer's brain is thicker than normal, allowing him to withstand powerful blows to the head. Discovering that Homer is too weak and out of shape to inflict any damage by punching, Moe suggests that he let his opponents exhaust themselves trying to knock him out, then push them down to the canvas for an easy win.

Homer prevails in his first fights against several homeless men, eventually rising to the top of the Springfield Hobo Boxing Association and attracting the attention of Lucius Sweet, Moe's former boxing manager. Lucius tells Moe that current heavyweight champion Drederick Tatum is about to be released from prison and wants a comeback fight, preferably against Homer. Moe knows that Tatum is far too strong and fit for Homer to tire out, but the lure of fame and fortune makes him agree to the fight. He promises Lucius that Homer will last at least three rounds. Moe quickly wins Homer over by feigning confidence in his fighting skills.

Homer ignores Marge's pleas to withdraw from the fight, which is wildly hyped by the media. On the night of the event, Moe falsely promises Marge that he will throw in the towel if Homer appears to be in any danger. Tatum's first punch is strong enough to leave Homer badly dazed, and Marge urges him to start fighting back. Homer's punch completely misses Tatum, who hammers his head and prepares to deliver a punch that will either knock him out or kill him. Just before he can land the blow, Moe swoops in using a paramotor stolen from the Fan Man and airlifts Homer out of the ring while the audience boos loudly.

Outside the arena, Marge thanks Moe for saving Homer. Tatum expresses his respect for Marge and Homer's love. Lucius berates Moe for failing to deliver even one round of boxing, but pays him $100,000 anyway. Moe flies off with the paramotor to help people around the world.^[1][4][5] Fan Man finally catches up to Moe, demanding his paramotor back.

Production[edit]

The episode was written by Jonathan Collier, who is a huge boxing fan.^[6] Knowing that the people on the internet would 'give them grief', the writers went to a lot of effort to explain how Homer would be able to challenge for the Heavyweight Title.^[7] A lot of the scenes involving Homer fighting hobos were pitched by John Swartzwelder.^[8] Lucius Sweet is a parody of boxing promoter Don King, and is voiced by Paul Winfield, who had previously played King in HBO's 1995 biopic Tyson. In the script, Sweet was described as 'A Don King type who looks and sounds exactly like Don King'.^[9] The similarity is even pointed out by Homer with the line, 'He is exactly as rich and as famous as Don King – and he looks just like him, too!' King was asked to guest star, but turned the part down.^[6] Drederick Tatum is a parody of Mike Tyson. The name came from George Meyer, who went to high school with a boy named Drederick Timmins, which Meyer thought was a cool name.^[7] Tatum having done time in prison is a reference to the fact that, at the time of the episode's production, Tyson had just recently been released from prison after serving three years for rape.^[6] Homer is at one point referred to as 'The Southern Dandy' as a reference to the old-time boxers and wrestlers who had similar nicknames.^[6]

In preparation for this episode, Mark Kirkland watched several boxing films and is satisfied with how it turned out.^[10] Whenever designing rooms, Kirkland tries to show a bare lightbulb because he feels that it makes things more depressing.^[10] In the scene in Moe's office, there is a brief shot of a poster advertising 'Szyslak Vs. Oakley' and 'Kirkland Vs. Silverman', referring to then-executive producer Bill Oakley^[6] and The Simpsons directors Mark Kirkland and David Silverman.^[10] The scene where Tatum is walking to the ring surrounded by shady characters is based on a real life photo of Tyson.^[10]

The Simpsons Skateboarding Episode 2

The fathers of Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney make their first and only appearances in the history of the show.^[6]

Cultural references[edit]

The episode opens with a parody of Bonanza.^[6] The montage of Homer fighting various hobos was based on a similar montage in Raging Bull.^[10] The music is inspired by 'The Flower Duet' from the opera 'Lakmé' by Léo Delibes. During the montage, there is a brief parody of the George Bellows painting 'Dempsey and Firpo'.^[10] The 'Fan Man' is based on James Miller, a man famous for parachuting into arenas during big events.^[7] Homer's walk-out music is 'Why Can't We Be Friends?' by War and Tatum's is 'Time 4 Sum Aksion' by Redman^[9], which was also used by Tyson for his first fight after his release from prison. The song heard over the end credits is a rendition of Barbra Streisand's 'People', sung by Sally Stevens.^[3]

Reception[edit]

In its original broadcast, 'The Homer They Fall' finished 29th in ratings for the week of November 4–10, 1996, with a Nielsen rating of 10.0, equivalent to approximately 9.7 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files.^[11]

In response to the season fourteen episode 'Barting Over', which is about skateboarding, Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star listed what he thought were 'excellent' episodes of The Simpsons and scenes also related to sports. He included 'The Homer They Fall', writing that Drederick Tatum is 'a thinly veiled Mike Tyson parody who's made cameos over the years'.^[12] Similarly, in 2004 ESPN.com released a list of the Top 100 Simpsons sport moments, ranking the entire episode at #2, saying, 'Greatest sports introduction ever: In the Tatum fight, Homer is introduced as the Brick Hithouse (and is also known as the Southern Dandy), and his walk-to-the-ring music is 'Why Can't We Be Friends?'. Drederick Tatum was placed at the eighteenth spot on the list.^[13] Conversely, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it 'the dullest, one-joke episode of the entire series'.^[3]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'The Homer They Fall'. The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
2. ^ ^abcdGroening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p. 213. ISBN978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN98141857. OCLC37796735. OL433519M..
3. ^ ^abcMartyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). 'The Homer They Fall'. BBC. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
4. ^Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. p. 173. ISBN0-06-095252-0.
5. ^Episode CapsuleArchived 2007-03-09 at the Wayback Machine at The Simpsons Archive.
6. ^ ^abcdefgWeinstein, Josh (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode 'The Homer They Fall' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
7. ^ ^abcMeyer, George (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode 'The Homer They Fall' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
8. ^Groening, Matt (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode 'The Homer They Fall' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
9. ^ ^abCohen, David X. (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode 'The Homer They Fall' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
10. ^ ^abcdefKirkland, Mark (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode 'The Homer They Fall' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
11. ^Associated Press (November 14, 1996). 'NBC back on top in ratings race'. Sun-Sentinel. p. 4E.
12. ^Raju Mudhar, 'Simpsons' sports spoofs simply 'excellent'; Stars like Tyson often lampooned Show celebrating 300th episode', Toronto Star, February 16, 2003, p. E.03.
13. ^Collins, Greg (January 23, 2004). 'The Simpsons Got Game'. ESPN.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2007.

External links[edit]

• 'The Homer They Fall' at The Simpsons.com
• 'The Homer They Fall episode capsule'. The Simpsons Archive.
• 'The Homer They Fall' at TV.com
• The Homer They Fall on IMDb

'Barthood' is the ninth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the animated television series The Simpsons, and the 583rd episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on December 13, 2015. The episode parodies the 2014 film Boyhood.

Plot[edit]

The episode begins with Homer and a 6-year-old Bart in early 2012, lying down on the grass, as Bart asks things about nature to his father, only for Homer to ask him why he left his toy cars on the stairs, resulting in a terrible fall. The family decides to take Bart to Grampa's house to spend time away from Homer. As Bart asks Grampa to play with toy cars, he remembers about an old car he had bought brand new in 1954 and had forgotten all about. Bart asks if he can sit in it, but Grampa reveals that Bart can actually drive it.

The episode fast-forwards 2 years into the future in late 2013, with Bart still driving Grampa's car, late for his reading class. Professor Frink tries to teach him without much success, and discovers that Lisa, who is 2 years younger, can read almost perfectly. Later, Lisa paints a boat on the sea, which Marge decides to display over the couch. Bart reveals that he made a painting on the entire kitchen. While Homer is painting the walls and furniture its original color, Bart tries to impress Lisa by driving Homer's car, only to crash it through the kitchen wall, almost hitting his father. Homer and Marge decide to go to a psychologist to see why their son is such a troublemaker. She says that it is because of Homer's lack of attention for him and that they should go camping together. But instead of taking the boy camping, Homer takes him to an inn to watch ice hockey, making Bart sad. Back at home, he discovers that Lisa is the student of the month at Springfield Elementary, even though she has only been there for a month, while Bart has been there for two years and has not achieved anything. Homer tries to reconcile with him by saying he loves both of them the same amount: 40%. Bart makes a bumper sticker for Homer's car, but he ignores it because there is no more room for new bumper stickers.

The episode fast-forwards to Bart's 12th birthday in 2017, where Lisa gets the news that she is student of the month at Springfield Elementary for 48 consecutive months. Bart gets angry because his sister can overshadow him - even at his own birthday party, so he decides to go skateboarding with Milhouse. They decide to break street lamps, but Milhouse gets arrested and is taken to juvenile detention while Bart hides at the retirement home, where Grampa gives him a BMX.

Three years later in 2020, Bart, now 15, is good at doing stunts on his bicycle. Marge and Lisa go to a camp together, leaving Homer and Bart alone. Marge mentions that this could be Homer's last chance to have a close relationship with Bart, only for them to talk a few seconds, with Homer leaving him home alone once again. Bart throws a party at their home only to find Homer high on marijuana, where he reveals that he was exactly like Bart, but when he was born, this meant he was not a child anymore. They hug each other, but their moment is ruined when Homer mentions that he will not go anywhere or do anything.

Bart goes to Grampa's grave, where he gets the idea of going to a BMX competition, where he would never be overshadowed by Lisa. At one of his stunts, however, he gets distracted by Lisa's shadow, hits the ground too hard and blacks out, only to be revived by Lisa, who is then proclaimed as a hero, making him angry. In 2024, Bart makes caricatures at the port, where he is invited to Milhouse's graduation party. He is reluctant to go because his sister is graduating the same year as them, but he decides to go anyway. At the party, Milhouse's parents fight in front of him, so Lisa tries to make him happy by saying he's 'cuter than ever', resulting in Milhouse replying that she's the best thing at that party. Bart gets irate that he is always the second-best Simpson in everything, but Lisa confronts him by saying she's tired of him blaming her for every setback in his life, and that he is a good artist, even though he never does anything with his talent. Bart decides to take his sister's rage as advice.

Two years later in 2026, Bart opens a bicycle modification shop, where he is surprised by Nelson, who wants to give all the lunch money he stole at school back, giving Bart $5,000. He is also surprised to see that Lisa and Nelson are dating (again). He shows them a giant painting on a wall, showing various moments through his life. Lisa realizes that she is not on any part of the painting, so Bart lowers one of the shop's doors to show her a giant painting made in her homage as one of his favorite sisters. Nelson discovers that El Barto is actually Bart.

Back on the lawn sometime later, Homer finally answers adult Bart's questions in detail (among other things, the grass they're lying on is green because it's artificial) and finishes by advising his son to pretend to be on the phone if anyone tries to ask him for something; which he immediately puts into practice as Bart tries to ask another question during the credits.

Reception[edit]

The episode received a 2.4 rating and was watched by 5.97 million viewers, making it Fox's highest rated show of the night.^[1]

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C saying, 'While this Boyhood-inspired episode of The Simpsons apes the storytelling gimmick of Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age film, it misses the point almost completely. Instead of using the time-lapse structure to lend new insight into Bart Simpson’s mind, Dan Greaney’s script just rehashes the show’s same old character beats and jokes with different haircuts. As missed opportunities go, ‘Barthood’ is especially disheartening.'^[2]

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek rated the episode a 4 out of 5, saying that the episode 'was well made and intelligent, poignant and funny, but it was a muted episode overall. Generally, The Simpsons use film parody as a springboard to lunacy, but sometimes they are a little too reverential. They remained faithful to the style and feel of the original and used it to forward the characterizations. But as in most Simpsons-of-the-future episodes, they contradict and will one day be contradicted. This was an inspired episode that stayed on the safe side. Wait, I have to take a call.'^[3]

Screen Rant called it the best episode of the 27th season.^[4]

Dan Greaney was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 69th Writers Guild of America Awards for his script to this episode.^[5]

References[edit]

1. ^Porter, Rick (December 15, 2015). 'Sunday final ratings: 'Blood & Oil' finale adjusts up (not that it matters)'. TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
2. ^Perkins, Dennis (December 13, 2015). 'The Simpsons attempts to borrow a feeling from Boyhood'. The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
3. ^Sokol, Tony (December 13, 2015). 'The Simpsons: Barthood Review'. Den of Geek. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
4. ^Sim, Bernardo (2019-09-22). 'The Simpsons: The Best Episode In Every Season, Ranked'. Screen Rant. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
5. ^Littleton, Cynthia; McNary, Dave (19 February 2017). 'WGA Awards: 'Moonlight,' 'Arrival' Win For Best Screenplay, 'Atlanta' Wins Twice'. Variety. Retrieved 23 February 2019.

External links[edit]

The Simpsons Skateboarding Episode 3

• 'Barthood' on IMDb
• 'Barthood' at TV.com

Bart Simpson Skateboarding