|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||
|
"22 Short Films About Springfield" |
|
| “ | Sometimes I wonder about all the people in this town. Do you think anything interesting ever happens to 'em? I mean, there must be thousands of great stories out there. | „ |
| ~ Bart Simpson (Prologue) |
"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of Season 7, being the 149th episode overall. It originally aired on April 14, 1996. The episode was written by Richard Appel, David Cohen, Jonathan Collier, Jennifer Crittenden, Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester, Rachel Pulido, Steve Tompkins, Josh Weinstein, Bill Oakley, and Matt Groening and directed by Jim Reardon. It features guest stars Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and the hospital board chairman.
Synopsis[]
It is about the untold stories of many people of Springfield, focusing mainly on recurring characters. This is one of several episodes considered anthology episodes that feature mini-stories.
Full Story[]
Prologue[]
While spitting and squirting mustard over a bridge, Bart wonders about the people driving on the cars below and what kind of lives the people of Springfield live and adventures they have. Milhouse doesn't think too much of it and the two decide to go to the Kwik-E-Mart.
Apu's Story[]
Sanjay asks Apu to go to a party, but Apu insists that he stay at the Kwik-E-Mart because he has more fun there. Sanjay convinces him to be there or "be square." Apu decides to close the Kwik-E-Mart for five minutes and "party like it's on sale for $19.99." After a brief title card with Indian music playing ("Apu in: The Jolly Bengali"), Apu rushes to the party where he eats a tofu dog fresh from the grill, has a beer, belches, flirts with an Indian woman who has no ring on her finger and is only arranged to be married, dances to Midnight Star's "Freak-A-Zoid," takes the woman into a pool house to have sex, comes out smoking a cigarette and wearing his clothes backwards, and falls backwards into the pool, taking a string of people with him. Happy that he's the life of the party, Apu heads back to the Kwik-E-Mart with a minute to spare and finds Hans Moleman there, complaining that Apu took four minutes of his life and he wants them back, then laments that he'd only waste them anyway.
Lisa's First Story[]
While listening to Swing Serenade on the radio, Marge is cleaning the sink. Lisa asks Marge if she can recycle a beer can that Homer threw at the TV. Marge, annoyed and bored, says, "Why not?" As Lisa goes to recycle the can, Bart speeds by on his skateboard and chucks a wad of chewed gum in there, except it lands in Lisa's hair. Lisa runs screaming back in the house, telling Marge that someone discarded their gross gum in her hair. She pulls on it, but it doesn't come out. Marge tries peanut butter to get it out, but it doesn't work. Marge adds some mayonnaise to "get it going" and sends Lisa outside to let the mixture marinate. Lisa grouses that she smells like a sandwich and ends up running from a swarm of bees. One of the bees flies away and eyes Pedro the Bumblebee Man and Bart (still on his skateboard) before it comes to land on Smithers and Mr. Burns riding a tandem bike.
Smithers' Story[]
Mr. Burns notices that Smithers has slowed down. Smithers tells Burns that a bee landed on his eye and he has to be extremely careful, as he has a fatal allergy to bee stings. Smithers suggests that Mr. Burns peddle, but Mr. Burns decides to swat the bee. The bee stings Smithers. Smithers goes into anaphylactic shock and causes the bike to wobble. Smithers (despite the swollen face, slurred speech, and borrowed time before he completely dies) urges Mr. Burns to pedal to the hospital. Mr. Burns, however, decides to hurl antiquated insults at Smithers to get him to keep going. The duo make it to the hospital, but Mr. Burns soon becomes exhausted from insulting his trusty assistant. The hospital staff takes in Mr. Burns while leaving Smithers outside to die. As Dr. Nick comes in, he throws some change at Smithers, thinking he's a homeless alcoholic in need of booze.
Dr. Nick's Story[]
Dr. Nick enters the medical review boardroom, where its dour malpractice committee members go over Dr. Nick's history of incompetence, some of which include performing surgery with a knife and fork from a seafood restaurant and misusing the cadavers as passengers for the carpool lane. A male nurse bursts in and alerts the board about a mentally unstable patient who needs to see a quack doctor. The patient (Grampa Simpson) is threatening the surgery staff with a scalpel just as Dr. Nick comes in to assess the situation. Grampa complains of being edgy and needing a calmative. Dr. Nick diagnoses Grampa Simpson with "bone-us eruptus" and the only cure is "transdental electromicide." When one of the nurses can't get a golf cart motor in, Dr. Nick improvises with the electric cord from a surgery lamp and shocks Grampa into submission. The medical board members congratulate Dr. Nick for proving his worth, and Dr. Nick rewards all patients with a free nose job, starting with Jasper Beardley.
Moe's Story[]
While tapping a light bulb that's shorting out, Moe asks Barney if he remembers the time he said that he would have to send away to NASA to calculate his bar tab. Barney laughs, thinking it was a joke, until Moe says the results just came back today. Moe pulls out a stack of dot matrix printer paper and tells Barney that his tab is $14 billion dollars (after accidentally saying it was $70 billion, which was actually the cost of the Voyager spacecraft). Barney puts down $2000 for it, just as Snake Jailbird bursts in and threatens to shoot Barney in the head. Moe escapes to a crawlspace that's behind three inches of bulletproof glass and challenges Snake to do his worst. Snake decides to steal all the money from the cash register (which, according to Snake, is enough to pay off his student loan debt) and escapes. Moe shouts at Snake to come back, then wonders how much air is in the crawlspace. Moe passes out.
Skinner's Story[]
Principal Skinner serves hamburgers to his superintendent, calling them "steamed hams".
In this spoof of The Odd Couple-style sitcoms/comedy pairings (called Skinner and the Superintendent, complete with its own theme song and opening), Superintendent Chalmers comes over to Principal Skinner's house for "an unforgettable luncheon." However, the roast Skinner had in the oven gets burned. Not wanting to leave his boss without a lunch, Skinner decides to go to Krusty Burger and pass the fast food off as his own cooking. Just before he leaves, Chalmers catches him with one leg out the window. Skinner covers it up by saying he's doing isometric exercise, then covers up the fact that the roast is on fire by saying they're having steamed clams for lunch. With Chalmers none the wiser (or not in the mood to deal with him), Skinner runs off to Krusty Burger to get burgers and fries. Skinners continues spinning the web of lies by saying that the "steamed clams" he promised Chalmers is actually "steamed hams," an allegedly regional colloquialism for "hamburgers" from upstate New York (Albany, not Utica, where Chalmers was from). Chalmers begins to suspect something's wrong with the meal when he notices that the hamburgers tastes like the ones from Krusty Burger and they're grilled, despite being called "steamed hams." Rather than come clean, Skinner steps inside the kitchen (which is now filled with smoke from the burning oven), then comes out and feigns being tired. Chalmers goes to leave, but notices the burning kitchen. Skinner lies again, saying it's aurora borealis. Chalmers asks if he can see it, but Skinner turns it down. As Skinner and Chalmers leave the house, Agnes screams to Skinner that the house is on fire. Chalmers still thinks Principal Skinner is odd, but he admits that he liked the lunch and that Skinner can "steam a good ham." As Chalmers leaves, Agnes screams for help while Skinner smiles and flashes a thumbs up. A Springfield Fire Department fire engine races by as the next story unfolds.
Homer's Story[]
Homer (with Maggie and Santa's Little Helper in tow and a grocery bag in hand) passes by a newspaper vending machine and sees a headline about a doughnut tax. As he tries to get the newspaper with that headline out, he somehow gets Maggie stuck in the machine. Homer fishes in his pocket to get another quarter, but remembers that the coins he has are all smashed from when he put them on the railroad tracks so trains can run them over. He goes to get more change, but changes his mind when he sees Maggie sadly pressing her face against the glass, silently begging him not to leave. Homer tries to pull Maggie out with another newspaper, but he ends up pulling her onesie off leaving her naked. Homer then writes a message in spray cheese and sends Santa's Little Helper to run for help, but Santa's Little Helper ends up eating the message. With no other option, Homer steals the newspaper vending machine Maggie is trapped in and takes her home.
Chief Wiggum's Story[]
Policemen having a conversation about the little differences between Krusty Burger and McDonald's.
Chief Wiggum, Eddie, and Lou are having lunch at Krusty Burger. The three have a conversation about how a McDonalds in Shelbyville has similar items to Krusty Burger, but with different names, like the Krusty Burger with Cheese is a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a Krusty Partially-Gelatinated Non-Dairy Gum-Based Beverage is simply called a "shake". Eddie finds it weird, but Chief Wiggum brushes it off and heads off to get some doughnuts (but not before Eddie and Lou have to pop the seat of the booth with forks to get him out).
Bumblebee Man's Story[]
Pedro the Bumblebee Man comes home from yet another slapstick-filled day on the set of his Mexican sitcom. Today's episode included getting pecked in the head by a woodpecker while spying on sexy ladies at a nude beach, having a man dressed in a little boy's sailor suit plug a spaghetti noodle he's eating into an electrical outlet, and getting knocked down by a giant baseball. Relieved that his real life is nothing like his sitcom, Pedro goes to have a relaxing day in his house, until he gets hit with oranges from the kitchen cupboard, bumps into the radio, gets launched into the ceiling, hangs from a chandelier, and takes down the front of his house, all while his pet chihuahua yaps at him. Pedro's wife comes in and freaks out over the mess. She yells at him in Spanish, serves Pedro divorce papers, and tries to hitch a ride with Snake (who passes by her) just as the rest of the house collapses.
Snake and Wiggum's Story[]
Snake is driving his car listening to a rock version of The Simpsons theme song while Chief Wiggum is walking down the street with a box of doughnuts. Wiggum notices Snake. Snake tries to run him down. Wiggum chases after Snake, not because of attempted vehicular homicide or causing an accident, but because Wiggum wants to swap insurance information with him. The duo fight and wind up in Herman's Military Antiques, where Herman holds them both at gunpoint. One of Wiggum's doughnuts rolls into a sewer and gets swept into the water passing by Flanders' house.
Reverend Lovejoy's Story[]
While out walking his dog, Reverend Lovejoy stops outside Ned Flanders' house and encourages the dog to go to the bathroom on his lawn. Flanders brings Lovejoy's attention to it and Lovejoy insincerely scolds the dog for making a mess. Ned goes over to the Simpsons' house to get his snow shovel back so he can clean up.
Lisa's Second Story[]
Flanders walks by Marge's window, asking if she's making juice the old-fashioned way. It turns out Marge is still trying to get the gum out of Lisa's hair from a previous sequence (off-screen, Marge tried other foods to get the gum out: olive oil, lemon juice, tartar sauce, chocolate sauce, gravy, bacon fat, hummus, and baba ghanoush and Lisa has horsefly bites on her scalp thanks to all the failed attempts). Flanders suggests freezing the gum and hitting it with a hammer, which works when Flanders gets gum stuck in "the ol' pushbroom" (his mustache). However, it doesn't work with Lisa, which leads to more hair being mashed into the mess. Soon, everyone in town throws in their two cents on what to do about the chewing gum in Lisa's hair, from Groundskeeper Willie wanting the gum chewed up, Captain McAllistair suggesting a Baltic squid, Otto taking a picture of Lisa's hair for Fangoria magazine, Dr. Hibbert recommending a "gum and hair man," Sideshow Mel telling Lisa not to dig the gum out with a bone (which is how Sideshow Mel got a bone stuck in his hair), Lionel Hutz wanting Lisa to leave it in as evidence for a court case against Bazooka Joe, Uter offering help because his father works at a gum factory in Dusseldorf, and The Capitol City Goofball making noises.
Cletus' Story[]
After an opening theme sequence set to bluegrass music, Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel comes home with a pair of discarded boots that Brandine can wear for her job interview. Brandine rejects them as they'll "scuff up the topless dancin' runway." Cletus throws the boots back on some power lines. After a reprise of his theme song, Cletus realizes that he can call his mom from where he is...and yells at her to get off the roof.
Milhouse's Story[]
As Comic Book Guy finishes ordering something with extra cheese over the phone, Milhouse bursts in in desperate need of the bathroom. Comic Book Guy states that the bathroom is for paying customers only. Milhouse picks out a rare, autographed photo of Sean Connery signed by Roger Moore, priced at $150.00. However, Milhouse only has 75 cents and can only afford a Hamburglar comic book/coloring book that was already filled out. Just as Milhouse makes his purchase and heads for the bathroom, Kirk catches his son buying comics and scolds him for lying about having to go to the bathroom. Rather than explain to Kirk that Milhouse needed to buy something to use the bathroom, Comic Book Guy announces that the transaction is complete and Kirk takes Milhouse away.
Kirk Van Houten's Story[]
Snake and Chief Wiggum are beaten, tied up, and gagged in Herman's Military Antique Store. Herman is waiting for someone named "Zed" to come so "the party can begin." However, Kirk and Milhouse come in, asking Herman if Milhouse (who, at this point, is on the verge of not being able to hold it in anymore) can use the bathroom. Herman lets Milhouse use the bathroom (which is in the back), so long as he makes it quick. Kirk makes awkward small talk about how the military antiques store used to be a pet store, despite Snake and Wiggum clearly being in distress. Herman threatens Kirk with his shotgun, but Milhouse (returning from the bathroom with a knight's helmet and flail) inadvertently saves the day when he knocks Herman out and asks his dad if he can buy the helmet and flail. Chief Wiggum (still bound and gagged) hops out of the store, just as Lisa runs by him to the barbershop.
Lisa's Third Story[]
Lisa goes to Jake the Barber to get the gum and other food out of her hair. Though the first try leaves Lisa with a bald spot, the second try has Lisa's hair styled perfectly, making her look like a real person. Lisa kisses Jake the Barber on the cheek and leaves.
Nelson's Story[]
As Lisa walks out of the barbershop, Nelson laughs at her new hairstyle. Lisa walks away, dejectedly putting a wool cap over her hair. Mrs. Glick looks over at Lisa and ends up tripping and falling into a garbage can. Nelson laughs at her. A small car with a large man driving it passes by and Nelson laughs at it. The car stops and the man gets out. Nelson runs away and hides in a manhole. Lisa (still upset over being laughed at) points Nelson out to the man looking for him. The Very Tall Man (Ian) picks Nelson up by his head and lectures him on laughing at tall people driving small cars (and just laughing at people's misfortunes in general). When it doesn't seem like Nelson gets the hint, The Very Tall Man pantses Nelson and forces him to march in the middle of the street. A crowd forms as The Very Tall Man encourages the people to laugh at Nelson the same way Nelson laughs at them. A crying Nelson waves at the crowd and blows them kisses at The Very Tall Man's requests, then gets squirted with ketchup and mustard from Bart and Milhouse above.
Ending[]
Milhouse and Bart come to the conclusion that, yes, interesting stuff does happen to the people of Springfield, but, sadly, there's not enough time to hear them all. The episode ends with Professor Frink trying to shoehorn his story into the show just before it fades out to the executive producer credits.
Behind the Laughter[]
Reception[]
As of 2024, the episode has gained from 8.8/10 to 9/10 rating on IMDb.
Legacy[]
- The episode inspired Simpsons creator Matt Groening to come up with a possible spin-off series called Tales from Springfield (also known as just Springfield), about the recurring characters of Springfield, along with the stories about Homer when he was younger. As of this writing, Matt Groening has not made this show a reality, but a lot of later episodes do focus more on the secondary characters rather than the main family.
- The Futurama episode "Three Hundred Big Boys" follows a similar plotline where it's an interconnected story focusing on different characters, but the premise is about how the characters from Futurama spend a $300 government refund check given to them by President Nixon.
- Skinner's story "Skinner and the Superintendent" has become an Internet meme known as "Steamed Hams." In these parodies, something will be different, such as changing every adjective to the word "steamed" or showing the entire sequence in a different genre or medium (anime, German expressionist film, 1980s video game, etc). The most popular of these meme videos is "Steamed Hams but There's a Different Animator Every 13 Seconds", with 10 million views.
External Links[]
- "22 Short Films About Springfield" at the Internet Movie Database
- "22 Short Films About Springfield" script via Springfield! Springfield!