OTH: The Simpsons- "Beyond Blunderdome" / "Brother's Little Helper"
Welcome back to Spring... er, L.A.
Season 11, Episode 1
Aired September 26, 1999
Directed Steven Dean Moore
Written by Mike Scully
Synopsis: Homer fakes interest in an electric car to receive a free gift- two tickets to a test screening of Mel Gibson’s newest feature, a remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. While the film is going well with most of the audience, Mel has his doubts, worrying that this isn’t the kind of action shlock that he’s used to, and at least one person agrees- a jealous, bored Homer, who gleefully writes a negative review to Marge’s biggest celebrity crush. Impressed by his review’s honesty, Mel tracks down the supposedly-anonymous reviewer’s house and invites Homer to Hollywood so he can help fix the film. Homer offers terrible suggestions, including changing the iconic filibuster ending into a brutal shootout. This is a step too far, as the studio executives object to the sudden turn for such a beloved film. Despite his better judgment, Mel stands by his and Homer’s ending, and save the print from being destroyed as they’re chased around Hollywood. Homer and Mel run into the rest of the Simpsons at a Hollywood memorabilia museum, where they kidnap Mel’s car from The Road Warrior (or Mad Max 2, if you’re not American) to keep the race going, until Homer decides to stop and have him and Mel recreate the memorable mooning sequence from Braveheart’s climax. Unfortunately, Homer never actually saw Braveheart and doesn’t know that this did nothing to stop the English, and it does nothing here, as the studio execs run straight into Homer’s ass.
The stupid ending of Mr. Smith is screened, which becomes a laughing stock. Even though Mel’s career may be over, Homer doesn’t stop pitching his terrible ideas to deaf ears.
It’s not fun to bring up serious matters in real life when I do these. I’m just here to talk about funny yellow people, I don’t want to bring up problematic behavior from real-life guest stars, especially when it’s very well-documented.
But I can’t ignore this, even if Hollywood can’t seem to make up its mind on if it wants to or not. In 2006, Mel Gibson was arrested for driving under the influence, not the first time the iconic Australian actor had been caught doing so. While being arrested, Gibson started an antisemitic tirade, reaffirming years of his strong Christian beliefs and recalling similar comments made to the Jewish community, as well as deeply offensive remarks he made to the LGBT community back in 1991. This was later followed in 2010, when a voice recording of Gibson leaked where he stated to girlfriend and mother of his daughter, Oksana Grigorieva, that if she was raped by a “pack of n******”, she “would be to blame”, as well as confirming claims of domestic abuse.
Actions like these, violent in every possible way, made Gibson persona non grata in Hollywood for a few years, before receiving a well-received turn in Jodie Foster’s The Beaver in 2011, although the controversial call made Gibson still a tough sell until he returned behind the camera to direct Hacksaw Ridge in 2016, becoming a box-office and award-winning hit. While his resume hasn’t been loaded since, Gibson hasn’t totally left the scene, even if the response to his occasional successes are mixed. One celebrity referenced in this week’s episode with his own demons, Robert Downey Jr, has gone to bat for Gibson before, suggesting that, like him, the actor deserves another chance.
Does Gibson deserve one, though? And is it fair to bring up someone’s controversial history when analyzing their work? Maybe it’s hypocritical for me to bring up Gibson’s crimes, when I spent a good two years covering Buffy the Vampire Slayer despite Joss Whedon’s well-documented abusive history. Many are able to separate the art from the artist and likely don’t think much about, or are even aware of Gibson’s harmful thoughts or activity. Personally, I’m still fond of his Mad Max films- The Road Warrior may be the best action film ever made- and appreciate the Lethal Weapon franchise, particularly the first two. Hell, I still like Braveheart.
But many can’t, and Gibson’s hateful nature to the LGBT, Jewish and Black communities, as well as his documented domestic abuse, still personally offend them. I can think of at least one person, a Jewish woman, who intentionally skipped “Beyond Blunderdome” because of Gibson’s presence, and I don’t blame her. I wasn’t looking forward to returning to this episode, either.
That said, I do have good memories of “Beyond Blunderdome”, as it aired a good while before most of these controversies, and I, personally, was a little too young to understand the gravity of his previous homophobic comments. It’s funny, we see people brutally murdered at the end and Homer’s big butt gets stuck on the hood of a car.
And you know what, this is all still funny. Random graphic violence and butts are funny. The Simpsons has returned to material like this many times for that reason, and those bits are still memorable. But one element that I don’t think totally works about “Beyond Blunderdome” is another well the show often returns to- Hollywood satire.
It’s been said that talking about the industry tends to come off as a last, desperate resort for entertainment, removing virtually all barriers of relatability by calling out the shallow nature of a work force so few have experience with, something that further proves the Hollywood elite to be detached from reality. Great art has been made about the film industry- Sunset Boulevard, Singin’ in the Rain, 8 1/2, Night and Day come to mind; for a more recent example, I recommend The Other Two on Max- but jokes about out of touch executives and The Godfather Part III were already old hat in 1999, including for The Simpsons.
Still, this is The Simpsons, and the crew, including Scully, who delivered his first solo writing credit since taking on the showrunner position, are capable of finding room for brilliant gags throughout, and “Beyond Blunderdome” does deliver. Scully’s gift for understanding the show’s world is still in effect, even if he mostly leaves the rest of the family to the wayside to focus on more Homer shenanigans. Not that there’s anything wrong with Homer shenanigans, but it does feel like everyone else is pushed aside for more time with Homer and Gibson, who is fine but unremarkable in his guest slot- same as his previous voice work in Pocahontas.
There’s no point in beating around the bush- the eleventh season of The Simpsons is a highly controversial one. Scully was the first showrunner to keep the position for more than two seasons, and while his previous years already had their detractors, to many, this is when the show’s classic era ends and its sense of humor goes broader in the worst way. There is something a little off about “Beyond Blunderdome”, which aside from a handful of strong bits, doesn’t feel as sharply contained as material from earlier eras, or even the beginning of Scully’s tenure. It’s still a funny time- who doesn’t love the idea of Mr. Smith, Jimmy Stewart’s ultimate portrayal of American idealism, pull out a machine gun and shoot down Congress?- but the heart that made The Simpsons more than just your average comedy series is… still there, but it’s beat is off.
I do want to bring up one last thing, albeit briefly. “This is a symbol that as per our marriage, she’s my property and I own her.” Yuck. I’ll put a pin on this, but I don’t intend to forget about this line as we continue talking about season 11.
Season 11, Episode 2
Aired October 3, 1999
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Written by George Meyer
Synopsis: Another school day, another incident caused by Bart. This time, he uses the hose from the volunteer fire department’s truck, at school for a demonstration today, to flood the gymnasium. After causing irreparable damage to the gym, Principal Skinner is incensed enough to expel Bart… but instead offers his family the opportunity to have him experiment with a new drug for people with ADD like Bart, Focusyn. While he isn’t initially happy with the idea, Marge guilts Bart into giving it a shot. At first, it doesn’t seem like the medication is working, but that slowly, but surely changes when he becomes better focused in school and more attentive at home. Bart’s behavior improves so much that Marge and Homer decide to take a night off without calling a babysitter, taking in a dirty movie. All is well, until they head home and find Lisa and Maggie outside. It turns out that Bart is having a meltdown, putting wire hangers on the wall and filling himself with tinfoil, which he suggests is to protect himself and the house from a satellite, one he insists is controlled by Major League Baseball. Bart and his parents go back to the Focusyn lab to find a solution, where they suggest swapping the drug with comparable alternatives. Bart rejects this and runs away to the town’s military base, where he steals a tank and drives it over to the school. Marge stops in front of the tank and convinces Bart to leave it, which he agrees to… after shooting one missile. He reaches to the sky and shoots down a satellite which turns out to be exactly what Bart described- a monitor controlled by the MLB. Before they can get to the bottom of this, Mark McGwire shows up, hits a couple of dingers, and collects the data that’s printed out of the residents of Springfield. The episode ends with the family deciding to keep Bart drug free… aside from Ritalin!
“Brother’s Little Helper” is the first episode solely credited to George Meyer since the fifth season; although Meyer had been active in the writer’s room since, he felt burnt out from writing full teleplays by himself and only did so to see if he still could. While his first draft was well-received, Meyer was reportedly so dissatisfied with it that he sent it in under a pseudonym- Vance Jericho.
While there are a couple of things that haven’t aged well, I do think that “Brother’s Little Helper” is an enjoyable episode, one that feels relevant then and now.
The concept behind the episode was an increasing trend in diagnosing children with ADHD, which is a concept that OTH is familiar with- The Sopranos explored the same thing with AJ back in its first season- nor is this the first time Bart has been suggested to have the disability, recalling the second season’s legendary “Bart Gets an ‘F’”. That said, it’s worth noting that Bart is never officially diagnosed, but is merely suggested to have ADHD by Principal Skinner, nor do I think the show ever confirms this.
The diagnosis makes sense, but I think it’s wise, at least at this point in time, for the show to not confirm or deny Bart’s place on the spectrum. Maybe he is, maybe he’s just dumb and kind of lazy. Either can be true.
Is “Brother’s Little Helper” pro or anti-medication? I dunno, nor does George Meyer, who expresses that he had no frame of reference in the episode commentary- it’s worth noting that Meyer wouldn’t have a child until 2003, a few years after the episode aired, and like many Simpsons episodes, tries to go out of its way to play Switzerland. Focusyn has a clear influence on Bart, one that switches from positive to negative, although his theory is proven correct in the end. Despite that, Focusyn is still discouraged for Bart at the end… only for him to switch to Ritalin as the closing gag, all of which ultimately means… nothing! In a case like this, I’d say that the ending is just an ending, neither positive or negative for Bart’s medication usage.
And hey, that’s fine, because “Brother’s Little Helper” is a fun time, a slightly sharper episode than the season premiere. Granted, I understand why you’d start with “Beyond Blunderdome” given Gibson’s celebrity- Mark McGwire was a big name in baseball, but he’s only in “Brother’s Little Helper” for a much briefer period of time- but this, Meyer’s return to his credits, is a more confident outing, one that should signal to fans that The Simpsons is still The Simpsons, still sharp, still biting.
For now, anyway.
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Homer’s Bar Tab:
Yes, I’m back on The Simpsons front! Kind of. I missed the family, but I wasn’t sure about being pigeonholed into covering the show’s much derided second decade back to back, when there’s plenty more to cover for Our Television Heritage- I mean, M*A*S*H and Cheers await, after all. So I’m thinking of going back to the show after finishing up a season of the other shows I’m currently covering, still two episodes at a time. Which means that there’ll usually be a bit of a gap between Simpsons reviews… but not too big of one this time, since West Wing’s third season is wrapping up.
Chalkboard Gag Wars- “Fridays are not pants optional” vs. “Pork is not a verb”. Hmm… maybe Fridays should be pants optional.
Couch Gag Wars- the family today runs into the family from their Tracey Ullman days vs. the Korean animators coloring in the family. Man, I really like both of these. It’s a draw.
The bit about Mel Gibson taking a leak outside? Apparently that is a thing he’s known to do during public events like this. I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t want to be recognized in the bathroom, either.
You can’t get more 1999 than a Robert Downey Jr. crime joke. This was at the height of his drug and law issues, a good decade removed from his sobriety and legend-making turn as Tony Stark, not to mention his Oscar win from this year.
This bit with Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche has stood out to me over the past 25 years, partly because of the non-punchline- just saying the word lesbian was enough of a laugh riot that you didn’t need one. It takes us back to a deeply homophobic time.
Back in “Bart Gets an ‘F’”, it’s implied that if Bart has ADD or ADHD, he’s inherited it from Homer, although Focusyn is not effective for him. I can’t help but find that very interesting in the “Bart and/or Homer having ADD/ADHD” camp.
I’m with Lisa, I don’t want those oranges, either.
Comic Book Guy’s suggestion to stop Bart’s tank rampage is to call either Green Lantern, Thundra or possibly Ghost Rider… but not Superman.
“The frame store? You monster!”
Next Time: Homer becomes the town’s restaurant critic, followed by everyone’s favorite Halloween tradition.