OTH: The Simpsons- "The Cartridge Family" / "Bart Star"
The Scully era begins in earnest (apologies for the brief write-ups).
Season 9, Episode 5
Aired November 2, 1997
Directed by Pete Michels
Written by John Swartzwelder
Synopsis: A soccer match comes to Springfield, which gathers a crowd and excites the people… until they attend the match and aren’t accustomed to how much slower it is compared to more popular sports in America. Rather than starting a riot due to the result of the match like in Europe, the citizens start a riot just… because. Mayor Quimby declares a state of emergency in town as the riot lasts for days, and it soon leads its way into the Simpson house. Realizing that they need better security, Homer and Marge look about getting a security system implemented, but it’s too pricey for them. Instead, Homer decides to get a gun. After waiting five days due to the Brady Act, Homer finally receives his handgun. While he’s excited to show it off, Marge is terrified and doesn’t want a gun in the same house as her children. Homer asks her to attend an NRA meeting before poo-pooing the pistol, but she remains unconvinced even after seeing how well-controlled everyone else is. She eventually relents when Homer starts to beg, but soon regrets it as he starts bringing it around and using it for trivial purposes. Eventually, she asks him to take it out of the house, which he agrees to… only to put the gun inside the vegetable rack in the fridge, which Bart finds by accident. Marge stops him from playing William Tell with Milhouse and furiously calls Homer out for lying. She has no choice but to take the kids away as they can’t safely be in the same house as Homer. As Marge and the kids settle into a motel recommended by a busy Selma, Homer prepares for an NRA meeting that he plans at the house, where he stuns everyone by how improperly he uses his gun, like shooting the television on or shooting his beer can open. The NRA members agree that Homer is not meant to be a gun holder and revoke his membership. Since they’re continuing their meeting inside his house, Homer realizes the huge mistake he’s made and runs to the motel to ask Marge back. He vows that he got rid of the gun for good, so she agrees to return home with the kids, but as they’re checking out, Snake comes in to rob the place. Homer pulls out his pistol, disappointing Marge until he reveals to her that it’s missing bullets. Unfortunately, Snake grabs a hold of both the gun and its bullets, and just before things end up badly, the NRA members arrive, fully loaded as Snake runs away. Why they arrived instead of the police and why no one bothered to stop Snake, I can’t say. The episode ends with Homer asking Marge to throw away the gun for him, but before she disposes of it, she gets a look at herself with a pistol, likes what she sees, and puts it away.
Gun control has been a hot political topic for decades, at least since Regan’s time, and the debate seems like it’ll never end. It’s worth noting that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has run half as long as The Simpsons has at this point, has had two separate episodes about the topic at this point.
So of course when The Simpsons decides to do an episode about guns, it hands the typewriter over to noted libertarian and pro-guns Swartzwelder, as often happens when the show decides to cover partisan issues (Groening, by contrast, is strongly against automated weapons).
The thing is, I think it works almost every time. Swartzwelder is great at being able to take the piss out of any subject and can play at both sides-isms with an almost ghoulish delight. With “The Cartridge Family”, he delivers yet another classic and a solid start to Mike Scully’s tenure as showrunner, Treehouse of Horror notwithstanding.
I think the episode is fair as it shows responsible gun owners to balance out Homer’s reckless behavior with his pistol, noting that gun control doesn’t have to mean that no one should be able to handle a weapon, just that a moron like Homer shouldn’t. And while it is a little absurd to imagine someone shooting off the tab to their beer can or the dial on their TV, consider the show and how it revels in Homer’s stupidity, and that you probably know someone who acts more like him than you’re comfortable with. Swartzwelder and co know what they’re doing.
The last act is standard boilerplate for the show, having Marge leave Homer after he crosses a line, which takes a little too long for him to recognize, but the resulting material is what the show lives on, and it remains an enjoyable farce from beginning to end.
Season 9, Episode 6
Aired November 9, 1997
Directed by Dominic Polcino
Written by Donick Cary
Synopsis: Springfield hosts a health exhibit which reveals something unsettling about the town- how out of shape everybody is, particularly the youth. This encourages most of the parents in town to send their children to peewee football try-outs, coached by Flanders. Nelson becomes the star quarterback, while Bart is given the respectful position of tackle, and with this dream team, Springfield starts winning games. Ned’s ability to coach is well-received by everyone but Homer, who goads him during the game and even on Roy Firestone’s show. Eventually, Flanders can’t take Homer’s hazing any more and relieves the title over to his neighbor. As the new coach, Homer makes his son train extra hard and chastises him, but Marge reminds him that this is similar to how Abe treated Homer in his gymnastic days, and after a painful memory, he decides to pull a 180. Now, Homer cut half the team and switched Bart into the quarterback position, a move he resents as Nelson is a terrific quarterback. Their first game is a disaster, 0-59 as it breaks Springfield’s winning streak. Bart is afraid to return to the game next week when even a surprise encounter from Joe Namath proves fruitless. He asks Lisa for advice, who suggests that he lies to Homer, so he fakes an injury for game time. When Homer decides to forfeit rather than replace his son, Bart snaps and quits. Homer reluctantly gives Nelson his position back, and while they go back to winning, he feels empty. After winning another game, Homer finds Bart at the Kwik-E-Mart and apologizes, convincing Bart to return to his position right before the championship game. We cut to the big game which is tied, and things are about to go badly when the cops come for Nelson. Bart agrees to take Nelson’s place and joins Chief Wiggum. Nelson wins the game, while Bart is going away for a long time due to burglary and arson.
It’s nice to see Homer recognize that his son needs kindness after years of torment from his own father, even if the generational gap towards parenting angle doesn’t last long enough for my liking. Grampa, to his credit, does at least get a cute moment when he falls asleep during a game.
As you can tell, I don’t have a whole lot to say about “Bart Star”, which is entertaining if maybe just a smidge below the show’s finest. It also feels a little short, but keeps a solid pace throughout.
Homer’s Bar Tab:
Chalkboard Gag Wars- “Everyone is tired of the Richard Gere story” vs. “I did not invent Irish dancing.” Timely references that haven’t aged well!
Couch Gag Wars- the family running with flames on their butts and rushing to sit onto a couch of water vs. the family being cubed together. Uhhhh, cubes.
I’d like to see Monsters of Poetry
I love the use of Tom Petty’s “The Waiting”, but I don’t know if he would have approved it being used for guns. Still, apparently he and his daughters were fans of the show, which is why he signed off to it being used. Of course, we’ll see him here later in the series!
“Don’t you remember when Maggie shot Mr. Burns?” “I thought that was Smithers.” “That would have made a lot more sense.”
I wonder what Milhouse made Homer for dinner.
Initially, Roy Firestone’s bit in “Bart Star” was written for Marv Albert, but he was swapped out when his sexual assault allegations came to light. Since the broadcast world largely seemed to forgive him, Albert would appear in the series a decade from this point.
Oh yeah, I forgot that Homer bought Tom Landry’s hat in “You Only Move Twice”. It’s a nice throwback to have him wear it again.
I bet Mr. Burns forgot who Homer was again.
We drove 2000 miles for this? The only person Homer doesn’t cut from the credits is Joe Namath, which is valid.
Next Week: Apu meets his arranged bride, and Lisa is the only one who doesn’t believe in an angel appearance.
