OTH: The Simpsons- "All Singing, All Dancing" / "Bart Carny"
Beaten by the best, boy.
Season 9, Episode 11
Aired January 4, 1998
Directed by Mark Ervin
Written by Steve O’Donnell
Synopsis: It’s Simpson movie night, and tonight, Homer and Bart rent Paint Your Wagon with Clint Eastwood, not realizing that it’s a musical. The boys are disappointed, with Homer damning the concept of singalongs, but Marge reminds him of a few of his numbers, like the Be-Sharps performing “Baby on Board” or when he led a number to save the town’s burlesque house. Homer’s convinced, but Bart isn’t, until he’s reminded of a couple of his own performances, although “Do the Bartman” sadly wasn’t included. As the family becomes more accustomed to embrace the art of singing, Snake jumps through the window in hopes of robbing the family, but their singing scares him away. When he leaves, the Simpsons continue to reflect on various numbers from Apu, Krusty and Mr. Burns until Snake returns, with a song in his head. He plans to shoot the Simpsons in hopes to get the song out of his head, but finds that he’s out of ammo and jumps back out. They shake off their second consecutive brush with death and recall a few more tunes, culminating in one last verse with the family. Snake jumps into the house one more time, but the family has stopped singing, and he agrees to go his way and cause trouble elsewhere. The Simpsons head to dinner as Snake starts shooting around town.
David Mirkin is back to produce this episode… a clip show. To be fair, this is the rare clip show that he gives a thumbs up thanks to the strength of the musical performances that are used.
I’m inclined to agree, although I’d probably still put the first clip show from season 4 above the rest. Still, I do think that the musical numbers are strong enough to justify repeat appearances. Not every song featured to date made its way here- Bart and “Michael Jackson”’s duet for Lisa’s birthday, Lisa’s own protest number against Mr. Burns (plus her rendition of “Classical Gas”), the work of Lurleen Lumpkin, Sherry Bobbins’ numerous Sherman Brothers-inspired-tracks, and any highlights from Troy McClure’s Planet of the Apes musical are noticeably absent, for instance- but we still have a mighty fine selection here, ranging from tunes clearly inspired by classic showtunes to original numbers, and even a couple of covers.
Since it’s kind of moot to analyze a clip show, instead let’s do a ranking of the songs featured.
“Send in the Clowns”. Credit to Dan Castellaneta, who’s doing double duty for Krusty and Sideshow Mel, the former who particularly needs a poor performance, but it’s a little too brief and the joke that Krusty is taking the song way too seriously doesn’t quite land. I do admire the visual nods to Elvis’ comeback special, though.
“In the Garden of Eden”. By I. Ron Butterfly. This is very likely what introduced millennials to what’s probably the longest song to ever crack the top 40, and earns a higher spot than the previous number for using basically everyone’s singing voice. Honestly, Reverend Lovejoy should have caught that this wasn’t a hymn earlier, and definitely shouldn’t have let the organ player do the solo, but bless him for it anyway.
“Springfield, Springfield”. An entertaining parody of the kind of number Frank Sinatra would sing in one of his cheesy MGM musicals- it even copies the title of his last major song- too much of the track is dedicated to instrumental, but there’s at least plenty of funny bits to make the sequence worth it, like Barney’s appearance! Homer really shouldn’t pick gum up from the ground, though.
“Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?” Points off for relying heavily on Hank Azaria’s gross Apu voice, but not too many for still being a catchy track that has good bits from the whole Simpson family- sub Maggie, add a Grampa cameo- and even offers a depressing reprise to make it truly feel like a Broadway tune.
“See My Vest”. I tend to prefer slightly more original numbers rather than straight lifts, but this earns credit for being a full composition by Mike Scully. Is it a little weird to spoof a song from Beauty and the Beast in an episode that lifts its plot from One Hundred and One Dalmatians? Sure it is, especially when “Cruella De Vil” can easily handle a parody. But who cares, when Harry Shearer puts his full thrussy into Mr. Burns’ closet categorization. I would not want to try the grizzly bear underwear, though.
“We Do”. aka the Stonecutter’s Song, a breezy, bouncy number that puts the group’s power in full perspective. I don’t think it’s as immediately catchy as the higher-ranking songs, but it’s chock full of good little bits of corruption, like who makes Steve Guttenberg a star, as well as explaining who defeated the metric system in the states. Bastards.
“Baby on Board”. Just like in the episode, we have to shout out the rooftop performance, George Harrison’s sly commentary be damned. This is a lovely use of the Dapper Dans, a classic barbershop quartet number that can easily put a smile on anyone’s face.
“We Put the Spring in Springfield”. The one song featured to win an Emmy, it’s a fun tune that hits the right balance between sexy, sly, and silly in a best of both worlds scenario.
“The Monorail Song”. Say it with me- monowhat? Conan O’Brien’s cheerful tribute to The Music Man helped to put his middle teleplay on the shortlist of the show’s very best, its clever wordplay and memorable melody being among the first things to come to mind for the episode.
How would you rank the songs featured here? And of all the tracks used in the previous episodes, which do you think was the most egregiously absent?
Season 9, Episode 12
Aired January 11, 1998
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Written by John Swartzwelder
Synopsis: Characteristically, Bart, and uncharacteristically, Lisa are slacking on their chores, and Marge won’t give them a penny until they get up and take care of the back yard. They eventually back out and decide to give up their allowance, and just when it seems like it’s time for the kids to regain their interest when they notice a carnival is in town, Homer gives them money and races to head over. The family has a good time, even when Homer and Bart lose at a coin toss game to a father (Jim Varney) and son team, but Bart soon causes trouble when he gets inside Hitler’s car, the star attraction of the carnival, and crashes it. The rich Texan who owns the carnival demands that Bart works to pay off the damage, and a jealous Homer asks if he can tag along. They arrive in the morning and meet up with the ring toss pair, Cooder and Spud, who welcome the two to the team. At first, Bart cleans up a big mess from the world’s smallest horse, while Homer gets tossed into a tiny pool of water as a target gets hit, but their big break comes when they’re asked to watch over Cooder’s game as he and Spud have to take some time off. That doesn’t last too long, though, as Homer fails to pick up on Chief Wiggum’s demand for a bribe, and the crooked ring toss game is taken away. Now that Cooder’s livelihood has been stripped from him, Homer invites the two to stay at their house while they search for a new job. Marge and Lisa initially aren’t impressed by the Cooder’s, but they eventually win the family over when they’re offered a free boat ride. After enjoying their ride, the Simpsons return home to find that the Cooder’s have commandeered it. Now the Simpsons have to take refuge in Bart’s treehouse as they can hear Cooder and Spud wreck havoc right next door. The family try to come up with a plan to get their house back, and Homer decides the only way to do so is to beat Cooder at one of his carny games- if Homer can throw a hula hoop onto the chimney, then he and the family can reclaim the house. If not, he’ll hand the deed to Cooder. A big risk, and does Homer make it? Even better, he tricks the carnies and has the family race back into the house, kicking the Cooders out for good. Wow, go Homer.
I try my best to be reverent and respectful to all walks of life, with however they identify or their personal preferences. I don’t think any one person is better than another for reasons they were born with, be it the color of their skin, their nationality, who they’re capable of loving, or if they have any sort of physical or mental disability. This is why cheap jokes about such, like Apu’s heritage and some of Smithers’ sexuality, leave me cold.
But how do I feel about carnival folk? You know, I’m not sure. I like a nice fair, but outside of the occasional narrative about carny life, such as Freaks or Nightmare Alley, I don’t give them much thought, even though it’s a longstanding tradition to see numerous body and personality types at a carnival. “Bart Carny” wants us to look at a pair of carny folk, Cooder Sr and Jr, and compare them to Homer and Bart before pulling the rug out from them.
I can see why this would turn off some viewers, but I don’t think that Swartzwelder means to recall anything particularly negative with his teleplay, instead just focusing on two unlikable characters. If anything, what we see of the Rich Texan’s carnival crew aren’t all that bad, and even the Cooders are taking a rare opportunity they found to a better life and taking it, which is understandable. Ultimately wrong, but still understandable.
And like many a Swartzwelder script, it’s a good time comedically, even if it’s not his finest hour. It’s still funny, like many a Swartzwelder script, but its tone does feel slightly off, not his sharpest material. Still a good time, though.
Homer’s Bar Tab:
Couch Gag Wars: Homer gets stuck in the same kind of contraption that George Jetson is lost on vs. Nelson pulling back the couch. I like Hanna-Barbera references, but I also like Nelson. Tough choice.
“They put us on the Waiting to Exhale waiting list, so don’t hold your breath”.
What did Hitler ever do to Bart?
Speaking of Hitler, that little subplot is why Mark Kirkland didn’t encourage his parents to watch this particular episode, as his stepfather fought in WWII.
It’s not surprising that Homer took such a big sip of the “barf” bucket to prove it’s caramel, but it sure is entertaining.
Not just Homer and Bart, but even Lisa has pyromaniac tendencies this week. We need this edgy side of Lisa a little more.
Next Week: The family gets indoctrinated into a cult, and the school bus crashes into a deserted island.