empartridge: a little piece of a little thing Ryan and I are...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:20:20 -0400

empartridge:

a little piece of a little thing Ryan and I are putting together this week

Marge Attacks!

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:55:01 -0400

Marge Attacks!

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Mon, 06 May 2013 19:25:05 -0400

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Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:38:11 -0400

judgemyname: Unsafe at any speed and also at any location.

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:38:44 -0400

judgemyname:

Unsafe at any speed and also at any location.

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Sun, 21 Apr 2013 21:25:46 -0400

dangaynor: Hutz by Dan Gaynor My guest comic for ‘The Simpsons...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:26:32 -0400

dangaynor:

Hutz by Dan Gaynor

My guest comic for ‘The Simpsons Drawing Club’.

Twitter @dangcomics

chickensnack: chanel suit marge on a random house in anchorage,...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:55:39 -0400

chickensnack:

chanel suit marge on a random house in anchorage, alaska.

why

patron-saint-of-the-denial: “Trab Pu Kcip! Trab Pu Kcip!”

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:42:44 -0400

patron-saint-of-the-denial:

“Trab Pu Kcip! Trab Pu Kcip!”

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Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:08:31 -0400

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Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:45:31 -0400

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Sat, 30 Mar 2013 12:07:18 -0400

sitcomfamily: Saw this license plate while driving...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 07:15:20 -0400

sitcomfamily:

Saw this license plate while driving today…

http://sitcomfamily.tumblr.com/

Milhouse Van Houten: Brony.

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 03:45:14 -0400

http://fillydelphia.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=495

http://imgur.com/BoPxX

Milhouse Van Houten: Brony.

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Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:21:39 -0400

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Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:03:44 -0400

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Sat, 16 Mar 2013 20:51:21 -0400

andybugay: “Last Exit to Springfield” is not the greatest...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:57:23 -0400

andybugay:

“Last Exit to Springfield” is not the greatest episode of The Simpsons in the world, but this is just a tribute… nonetheless.

This episode aired 20 years ago today (March 11, 1993), and many folks who are very much into cataloging the existence of the Saturday Night Live of animated TV (I guess I’m still part of that mix, aren’t I?) have long considered this episode to be one of the best, if not the best, episodes in the show’s almost-quarter-century run.

Given the shortcomings of the show’s recent seasons (too dull, too formulaic, too meta, too reliant on celebrity guest stars or “we’re still relevant!” publicity stunts), “Last Exit to Springfield” is often lionized and deified in the Simpsons fandom as The Perfect Episode. Thing is, though, it’s no island.

It aired in the show’s sweet spot, season 4. While seasons before and after it also produced great memories, virtually every episode in season 4 was a home run, and some of the moments in those episodes are some of the most oft-reminisced among Simpsons fans. “A Streetcar Named Marge” and its wacky re-imagining of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Burns and Smithers holding Tom Jones hostage in “Marge Gets a Job.” Bart, using a VCR, pinpointing the moment Ralph’s heart breaks in half in “I Love Lisa.” Lionel Hutz’ paean to “bourbon, brownest of the brown liquors” in “Marge in Chains.” A flashback episode done perfectly in “Lisa’s First Word.” A clip show— ye gods, a clip show— done well in “So It’s Come to This.” This is the season book-ended by “Kamp Krusty” and “Krusty Gets Kancelled,” two episodes that gave some depth to a character we probably didn’t expect depth from before. And on top of all that, season 4 gave the world “Whacking Day,” “Marge vs. the Monorail” and “Mr. Plow”— episodes so ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist of the Simpsons generation I don’t even need to explain them further. You know them and love them. Probably.

So it somewhat bewilders me that “Last Exit to Springfield” gets cherry-picked as The Perfect Episode, but I get it. It’s everything people want in a Simpsons episode. It has a down-to-earth plot that most people relate to, involving labor issues and unions, as well as a family’s need to keep their finances in check (Lisa needing braces). It has cultural references that are timeless rather than timely, invoking Yellow Submarine, Chuck Jones’ TV adaptation of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Tim Burton’s Batman (“The mirror. THE MIRROR!”), Citizen Kane, “Classical Gas” and Moby-Dick. It has Homer in the role he’s best in: as an unwitting, bumbling (but not too bumbling) hero. It has Mr. Burns as a perfect villain, who puts his power to good (evil) use by cutting Springfield’s power when the union wouldn’t cooperate. It has some of the greatest memorable laugh-out-loud moments, such as Homer acting out on his threat to punch Lenny in the face, or Grampa and his story that goes nowhere about onions on his belt, which was the style at the time. It has Dr. Joyce Brothers, making a cameo appearance out of left field (she brought her own mic). It has monkeys that can’t spell. It makes fun of the British.

To me, it’s not The Perfect Episode, but rather A Perfect Episode to Rule Them All. I consider many of the episodes from seasons 2 through 8 pretty darn perfect, even as the show began to evolve and warp with different showrunners. Perfect mixes of clever stories and well-done jokes. I could go into the show’s decline into madness, but nobody wants to read that right now. Instead, I simply tip my hat to “Last Exit to Springfield,” still great after two decades.

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Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:05:15 -0400

mozitjean13: Love this.

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 08:57:37 -0500

mozitjean13:

Love this.

The No Homers Club

empartridge: a little piece of a little thing Ryan and I are...

Marge Attacks!

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judgemyname: Unsafe at any speed and also at any location.

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dangaynor: Hutz by Dan Gaynor My guest comic for ‘The Simpsons...

chickensnack: chanel suit marge on a random house in anchorage,...

patron-saint-of-the-denial: “Trab Pu Kcip! Trab Pu Kcip!”

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sitcomfamily: Saw this license plate while driving...

http://sitcomfamily.tumblr.com/

Milhouse Van Houten: Brony.

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andybugay: “Last Exit to Springfield” is not the greatest...

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mozitjean13: Love this.