OTH: The Simpsons- "Viva Ned Flanders" / "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken"
lmao imagine giving Homer power of attorney.
Season 10, Episode 10
Aired January 10, 1999
Directed by Neil Affleck
Written by David M. Stern
Synopsis: Homer sees Ned take advantage of a senior’s citizen discount at the car wash, which makes him think that Flanders is a liar, but the truth is soon revealed- it turns out that he’s actually 60, but doesn’t look a day over 40. Ned thanks his life of clean living and refusing to give into temptation for his good looks and health. This comes at a price, though, as Flanders realizes how much of a shell he’s been stuck in, and desires to live as freely as his neighbor. He goes over to Homer and asks for his advice on how to live as carelessly as he does, and the fat one agrees to mentor Ned. It doesn’t take long for Homer to realize that Springfield is limited in terms of debauchery, so he decides to take Ned to Las Vegas. At first, he’s overstimulated and disturbed, but after seeing Homer volunteer to be part of an Evel Knievel-type’s stunt, Ned gets into the hang of things and decides to take Homer’s lead. A round of gambling is followed by some heavy drinking, which results in the two waking up hung over from a bender they don’t recall, where the two men discover that they married their servers from last night, Amber and Ginger. Homer and Ned are disturbed to discover that they’re bigamists and try to weasel out of their second marriages, but Amber and Ginger won’t let them escape without a fight. They’re eventually caught by a hodgepodge of Vegas’ top brass, including the Moody Blues for some reason, who kick the two out into of the city’s limits without their car. Homer and Ned begin their long walk home as they try to come up with a reasonable alibi.
The idea for aging Flanders to 60 came from writer Ron Hauge, who lied about being the same age during a writer’s room meeting, when he was closer to 40. The crew thought it would be funny if he was older than he appeared, and sure, it works.
That said, it’s worth talking about how far the character of Ned Flanders has gone, as we’ve seen before that he has his own keg in his basement. Hell, the keg returned as recently as last season’s “The Joy of Sect”, but now he’s too pure for any kind of peanut butter. Turning the character from the perfect neighbor to a total religious dweeb has become something of note beyond even the show’s fans, giving off a trope noted as Flanderization, where a specific character’s side traits are stretched so far that they overwhelm their entire personality. Ned isn’t the only character who this phenomenon can be attributed to, like how Ralph seems to be dumber every episode and Mr. Burns’ evil persona is toned down to build up on tired old jokes.
That can be bothersome at times, but at least there are still shades to Ned’s character. He isn’t always a total pushover, and he’s rightfully angry with Homer for how he screwed them over during their stay in Vegas. Does he ultimately go along with his hairbrained schemes? Only out of desperation.
That makes for a good time, which “Viva Las Flanders” offers in spades. Appreciate the pun, I worked hard on it. But in all seriousness, this is one of the most decidedly entertaining episodes in a while, a treat from beginning to end.
Amber and Ginger will return later in the series, but not during this part of my review series. We don’t really need to see more of them anytime soon, however.
“Viva Las Flanders” was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Animation, but lost to King of the Hill’s “And They Call it Bobby Love”. Which makes sense, the award usually goes to the more sentimental program, and let’s be honest, that is the stronger episode. Although I also really like The Powerpuff Girls episode that was nominated. It’s also worth noting that other Fox animated shows Futurama and The PJ’s were nominated that year.
Season 10, Episode 11
Aired January 17, 1999
Directed by Mark Ervin
Written by Larry Doyle
Synopsis: The Springfield Isotopes recover from a cruddy season and make it to the playoffs. When the team wins, Homer goes on a drunken binge with Barney, Lenny and Carl, where they end up driving through Springfield Elementary and wreck havoc on the school. The next day, when their damage makes the news, it’s decided that the school was attacked not by a group of drunk adults, but unruly kids, and now the police are enforcing a strict curfew for children, starting right at sunset. Maybe not the worst idea, but Bart, Lisa and the other children of Springfield are miserable. An opportunity to fight the man comes when a knock-off of Village of the Damned is announced to screen at the drive-in, which Bart convinces most of the local kids to sneak into. While they eventually get caught and are forced to do volunteer work as punishment, Bart has another idea, inspired by the movie. He and Lisa have plenty of secrets on Homer, as do most of the kids have dirt on their parents, so they decide to hack their local radio system to reveal some of these facts. These broadcasts become a sensation, but rather than compromise with the children, Chief Wiggum is hellbent on finding the perpetrators and putting an end to the madness. It’s not hard to find them, however, since Bart and the other kids are broadcasting behind a new billboard that Chief Wiggum set up. This starts a rousing number where the kids and adult clash, which ends with both sides waking up the elderly, who suggest a new curfew for anyone under the age of 70… which passes. Take that, adults!
This is an episode that I recall well from back when watching The Simpsons on my local Fox syndicate was a daily ritual for me (Monday through Thursdays from 7 to 8, never on Fridays because of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays on Cartoon Network), not because the episode aired that frequently, but due to it being a kid-oriented episode. While I loved Homer’s antics and certain other characters, the episodes where Bart and Lisa get to interact with and establish the town’s ecosystem of children really stood out to young me. There’s a reason that most works for children are about kids their age or teenagers at the oldest, anything past high school is hard for children to fathom unless they’re wacky, like Homer Simpson or Johnny Bravo.
As an adult, I still think that “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken” is a good time, but I can see why this doesn’t come up as a favorite for many. This just isn’t the most consistently entertaining episode, which almost makes it consistent in its own way. Each act has a couple of memorable gags, but it often feels like the episode exists to tell the story more than the show’s general MO of entertaining.
And that would be fine if this was a particularly enlightening story. There’s no real comeuppance for Homer and his friends for wrecking the school, and the episode isn’t especially interested in delving into why the way the children are being treated is unfair. The story just kind of… is. It feels like with a Swartzwelder on hand, this could have soared, but the material isn’t totally there.
Still, there’s enough good material to give the episode a pass. I like the spoof of Village of the Damned well enough, and Larry Doyle hands off enough solid lines to give this a thumb’s up. Could we get a better version of the episode? Good enough is good enough, but even just thinking about the previous episode, I know that we can do better.
Homer’s Bar Tab:
Chalkboard Gag Wars: “My mom is not dating Jerry Seinfeld” vs. “Sherri does not got back”. I’ll give points to Jerry Seinfeld, since Marge is actually age-appropriate for him, unlike his actual girlfriend around this time.
Couch Gag Wars: An animator spins the frame vs. the family jumping off from a plane like in Dr. Strangelove. The former has already been done, so…
So we start off with the return of Mr. Burn’s casino AND a reference to when the town moved. I love the show’s loosey-goosey continuity.
I would see Oklahomo.
“When I wanna laugh, I’ll take Bob Saget, thank you very much.” Neddy must not have seen The Aristocrats… or any of Saget’s stand-up.
All bad things named after children- acting childish, kidnapping, child abuse. And of course there’s adultery, but not until you’re older.
In the commentary, the crew are riffing on Village of the Damned, which I don’t think is that bad, honestly, and I was never a child of the 60’s.
“Two hundred channels, nuthin’ but cats.”
I know the show doesn’t take place in Florida, but since it’s illegal for male police officers to wear pantyhose, you could sure fool me.
Next Week: Homer and his buddies make their way to the Super Bowl, and then Homer changes his name. Hijinks ensue x2.