The Call of the Simpsons

"The Call Of The Simpsons" is the 7th episode of Season 1. It was the very first episode shown in the United Kingdom, when Sky One began airing the show on September 2, 1990, as well as being on the first UK VHS release in 1991. The episode deals with The Simpsons' family vacation in their new RV.

Synopsis
Homer is envious of neighbor Ned Flanders' new mobile home and goes to Bob's RV Round-Up to buy one of his own. Because of his poor credit, he only qualifies for a dilapidated one. Thrilled with the new RV, Homer takes his family on an excursion. Driving on remote back roads, he loses control of the camper and comes to a halt on the edge of a cliff. The family abandons the vehicle just before it plummets into an abyss.

Stranded in the wilderness, Homer and Bart set out for civilization, unaware that baby Maggie is tagging along. Separated from Homer and Bart, Maggie is soon adopted by a family of bears. Homer and Bart lose their clothes in a fast-moving river and use plants and mud to cover themselves. A nature photographer, mistaking Homer for Bigfoot, vidoes some badly shot footage and flees. Soon the forest is inundated with Bigfoot hunters and souvenir stands. Reporters find Marge and warn her about the hideous creature roaming the woods. When she sees the picture of Homer, Marge identifies the grotesque monster as her husband.

Cold and near exhaustion, Homer is captured by hunters, shot with a tranquilizer gun, and taken to a lab for tests. Scientists observe Homer, but are unsure if he is Bigfoot or a below-average human being. They allow Homer to return to his family until they can determine to what species he belongs.

Debut Appearances
Characters making a first appearance in this episode are:


 * Rod Flanders
 * Cowboy Bob

Miscellanea

 * Flanders makes $27 more a week than Homer does (although this is based on Ned's original job at a pharmaceutical company, not the Leftorium).
 * Signs at Bob's RV-Roundup (formerly RVs R Us): "We want to make friends :-) Not Profit :-(" "We give credit to everyone!"; "Bad Credit. Good!"; "Bankruptcy Shmankruptcy."
 * The Ultimate Behemoth RV: two-stories high with a fireplace, a full kitchen, four deep fryers---"one for each part of the chicken," a big-screen television set, and its own satellite, the Vanstar I.
 * The breaking Bigfoot report interrupts the president's address.
 * Signs advertising the Bigfoot cottage industry include "Half-Man, Half-Ape Burgers" and "Get Your Photo Taken with Bigfoot."
 * The fact that Homer is indeed the missing link is referenced again in season 16's "The Monkey Suit".
 * This is the first episode to feature Albert Brooks as a guest star. Like all his appearances, he is credited as A. Brooks.
 * Bart wears his "lucky red hat" for the first time in this episode (but coughs it out multiple times in Bart the General). Also, this is the only time the hat is totally red (other episodes depict it as red with a white visor).
 * This is the first episode in which Rod Flanders appears, but it is very brief, and he does not make a second appearance until the next season, and would not speak again until Bart the Daredevil.
 * This episode was the theme of a Burger King promotion including kids meal toys and collectable cups.
 * At the time of production, the writers and producers felt that this episode had the potential to be made into a two-part story. However, they eventually decided to make it as a single episode.


 * The scene with Bart and Homer making a trap was used in the season four episode So It's Come To This: A Simpsons Clip Show (the first clip show on The Simpsons). The part where Homer is naked after losing his clothes in the waterfall dive was used during the "hardcore nudity" montage at the end of the season seven clip show episode The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular.
 * In the United Kingdom, this was one of the first episodes released on video cassette in the early 1990s (on a tape paired with Bart the Genius), and thus was many viewers' introduction to the series (especially in the days before the series was shown on terrestrial television). A second tape featuring Bart the General and There's No Disgrace Like Home was released at the same time.

Cultural references

 * The tune for the camping scenes is called "The Happy Wanderer".
 * The episode title is a reference to the novella "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London.
 * When Homer is shot with tranquilizer darts, his last words to Bart before he loses consciousness are "Avenge my death." This is similar to Harry Dean Stanton yelling out to his two sons in Red Dawn.
 * When the camper is filming the deer grazing in the mud which Homer falls into, there is a short excerpt from the main theme of Claude Debussy's 'Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune'

Episode Quotes

 * Rod: Hey Bart, hot enough for ya?




 * Bob, RV Salesman: [awed, while introducing the Ultimate Behemoth] Man built this... it's a vehicle.




 * Homer: Is that a good siren? Am I approved?
 * Bob, RV Salesman: You ever known a siren to be good? No, Mr. Simpson, it's not. It's a bad siren. That's the computer in case I went blind telling me, "Sell the vehicle to this fella and you're out of business!" That's what the siren says. It seems the Ultimate Behemoth is a wee bit out of your price range, and "wee bit" is me being polite. You couldn't afford this thing if you lived to be a million.


 * [During the journey in the RV, Bart and Lisa are playing "What's That Odor?"]
 * Bart: [smells something horrible] Dad's feet?
 * Homer: Bart!!!
 * Lisa: You win, Bart.
 * Homer: Lisa!!!
 * Bart: Are we there yet, Dad?!
 * Homer: I'll tell when we get there. Go back to your smell game!


 * Homer: What am I gonna do? I've murdered us all!!! [echoes] Shut up!!! [echoes] D'oh!!! [echoes]


 * Lisa: Remember, Dad. The handle of the Big Dipper points to the North Star.
 * Homer: That's nice, Lisa, but we're not in astronomy class. We're in the woods.


 * Homer: [to Bart] And remember not to act afraid. Animals can smell fear. And they don't like it. Besides, there's nothing to be afraid of...
 * [Maggie sucks her pacifier behind them]
 * Homer: Aah! A rattler!
 * Bart: I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid--
 * Homer: Run, you fool!!!
 * [They both run away screaming]


 * [Marge and Lisa discuss the origin of babies]
 * Lisa: I heard a hideous story about it once, in the schoolyard.
 * Marge: Oh. Well, it's true, I'm afraid.


 * News Anchorman: Bigfoot, legendary half-man, half-ape, is no longer a legend. He's very, very real... now, the naturalist who took these absolutely extraordinary pictures was most impressed by the creature's uncivilized look, its foul language, and most of all, its indescribable stench. A popular supermarket tabloid has offered a reward of $5,000 to anyone who brings in the creature alive. Naturally, we'll have more on this story as soon as it develops. We now return you to the President's address, already in progress.


 * ''[Homer is shot by tranquilizer darts.]
 * Homer: Avenge me, son. Avenge... my... death. [starts snoring]


 * ''[Scientists hold a televised press conference regarding the tests performed on Homer.]
 * Marvin Monroe: Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished colleagues, after extensive biological and anatomical testing, I regret to announce that the evidence we have is inconclusive. This thing may or may not be human.
 * Scientist #1: That's what he thinks. I say it's none other than Bigfoot in the flesh.
 * Scientist #2: Oh no, I disagree. I think it is a man. The eyes have a glimmer of human intelligence.
 * Scientist #3: "Glimmer in the eyes..." What about the sloping ape-like forehead?
 * [Homer and Marge watch the conference in bed.]
 * Homer: Oh, the guys at work are going to have a field day with this.

Trivia

 * The motto of Bob's RV Roundup is "We'd rather make a friend than a profit."
 * The episode marks the first appearance of recurring guest star Albert Brooks. In this episode, and all of his subsequent appearances he is credited as A. Brooks.

Complete List of Characters

 * Homer Simpson
 * Marge Simpson
 * Bart Simpson
 * Lisa Simpson
 * Maggie Simpson
 * Ned Flanders
 * Rod Flanders
 * Cowboy Bob
 * Springfield Bears
 * Dr. Marvin Monroe