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Miracle on Evergreen Terrace
All Singing, All Dancing
Bart Carny

Clip show
This episode is a clip show.
It features clips from previous episodes.
Ooh, why did they have to screw up a perfectly serviceable wagon story with all that fruity singing?
Homer about the film

"All Singing, All Dancing" is the eleventh episode of Season 9 (originally going to be the last episode of Season 9 in production order).

Synopsis[]

In yet another clip show episode, Homer is appalled that the movie he rented, Paint Your Wagon, is a campy, Western-themed musical and not a gritty, spaghetti Western. Marge and the family try to prove that musicals are part of their life (and the lives of the people of Springfield) through a collection of videos (read: past clips) showing The Simpsons' most memorable songs and musical moments, only to be interrupted by Snake Jailbird, who holds the family hostage.

Full Story[]

Act 1[]

Homer rents the movie Paint Your Wagon for the family to watch. He and Bart expect to see a violent Western movie starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and someone who appears to be Lee Van Cleef. However, the truth is that the movie is actually a musical. This causes Homer to dispose the tape and condemn singing, but Marge reminds Homer that he often sings.

The Simpson family then starts their debate, which leads to clips of Homer singing "Baby on Board" with Principal Skinner, Barney and Apu in "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", and "We Put the Spring in Springfield" with Bart, Belle and other Springfield citizens in "Bart After Dark".

After that, Bart sings an insult about Homer's singing, which leads Homer to strangle Bart when Marge sings that Bart had also sung "and danced like a girl". This leads to when Bart sang "Springfield, Springfield" with Milhouse in "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood". When this flashback is done, Snake Jailbird jumps into the house through an open window and warns the family not to move or he will blow their heads off.

Act 2[]

As Snake holds the Simpson family hostage at gunpoint, Marge and Homer sing-beg him to spare their kids. Snake then sings that for hostage purposes, they are too weird and leaves. After Snake leaves, Lisa sings about many other citizens of Springfield who can sing. This leads to clips of them and Apu singing "Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?" in "Homer and Apu", Krusty and Sideshow Mel singing their version of "Send in the Clowns" in "Krusty Gets Kancelled", and Lisa and Bart watching Mr. Burns sing "See My Vest" in Two Dozen and One Greyhounds".

After those flashbacks, Snake suddenly returns through the window, singing that he got annoyed with their music from his first visit and plans to kill them all for getting a song stuck in his head. Homer then says that he should have closed the window.

Act 3[]

Snake prepares to shoot the Simpson family, but his rifle is empty, so he leaves again to get extra ammo. The family continues to sing, which leads to another flashback at three more musical numbers: Lyle Lanley and the citizens singing "The Monorail Song" in "Marge vs. the Monorail", the Springfield citizens at church singing "In the Garden of Eden" by I. Ron Butterfly (actually "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly) in "Bart Sells His Soul", and Homer with the other Stonecutters singing "We Do" in "Homer the Great".

Homer sings of being convinced, but when Snake hops through the window once again and starts singing that he is finally going to kill them, Marge says that they are finished singing. Snake then tells her that he has no reason to kill them, so he leaves once again. The Simpson family then prepare for dinner while Marge closes the window and hums. Snake, who just heard Marge's humming, fires a bullet at the window, making the glass break, to which Marge says "Okay! Okay! Sorry!" During the end credits, Snake is heard shooting the theme song, making it stop for a few seconds, then play very quietly afterwards. Snake still hears it, and shoots at it again. Finally, when the Gracie Films logo is seen, he even shoots the music there and says, "You, too, Gracie music dude! Gaw!" Snake is not annoyed at the 20th Century Fox outro.

Critical Reception[]

In its original broadcast, "All Singing, All Dancing" finished 26th in ratings for the week of December 29, 1997 – January 4, 1998, with a Nielsen rating of 9.1, equivalent to approximately 8.9 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files.

Although he normally dislikes clip shows, David Mirkin stated in the DVD commentary that he liked this episode because of the singing and dancing and called the clips "truly wonderful". However, most fans and critics have cited this episode as emblematic of the series' dip in quality. Currently, the episode has two-and-a-half stars, is rated a 5 out of 10 on IMDb, and is considered one of the most universally hated episodes in the series, joining "Lisa Goes Gaga", "Bart vs. Itchy & Scratchy" and "The Star of the Backstage" .[1]

References[]


Season 8 Season 9 Episodes Season 10
The City of New York vs. Homer SimpsonThe Principal and the PauperLisa's SaxTreehouse of Horror VIIIThe Cartridge FamilyBart StarThe Two Mrs. NahasapeemapetilonsLisa the SkepticRealty BitesMiracle on Evergreen TerraceAll Singing, All DancingBart CarnyThe Joy of SectDas BusThe Last Temptation of KrustDumbbell IndemnityLisa the SimpsonThis Little WiggySimpson TideThe Trouble with TrillionsGirly EditionTrash of the TitansKing of the HillLost Our LisaNatural Born Kissers
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