22 Short Films About Springfield
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"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons' seventh season, airing on April 22, 1996. The title is a spin on the film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. The episode also sparked the idea amongst the staff of a spin-off TV series Tales from Springfield, focusing on the town rather than the Simpsons family.
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[edit] Synopsis
The episode is a series of short skits, each showing a brief slice of life in Springfield. Though the episode title claims to contain 22 short films, in reality the number is 20 (some beginnings and ends are subjective).
- Bart and Milhouse squirt condiments from a highway overpass
- Apu attends a party at his brother's house
- Lisa gets gum in her hair
- Smithers gets stung by a bee
- Dr. Nick treats Grandpa Simpson
- Moe gets robbed
- Skinner hosts dinner for Superintendent Chalmers
- Homer traps Maggie in a newspaper vending box
- The cops debate McDonald's Quarter Pounder vs. Krusty Burgers
- Bumblebee Man at home
- Snake and Wiggum are captured by Herman
- Reverend Lovejoy and his dog bother Ned Flanders
- Lisa and the gum (part 2)
- Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel
- Milhouse has to use the bathroom
- Chief Wiggum, the hood and the storekeeper (part 2)
- Lisa and the gum (part 3)
- Nelson gets his comeuppance
- Bart and Milhouse find the truth
- Lastly, an additional segment, "The Tomfoolery of Professor John Frink" is almost seen
[edit] Trivia
- Simpsons writer Ian Maxtone-Graham was the basis of the tall man in the car who gives Nelson his comeuppance.
- There are several major characters who did not get their own story in the scene where the various Springfieldianites are trying to help Lisa, including Groundskeeper Willie, Lionel Hutz, Otto, Sideshow Mel, Lenny, Mayor Quimby, Dr. Hibbert, the Sea Captain, Mr. Teeny and Üter. There are also some minor one-time characters, such as Corporal Punishment, Colonel Hapablap, Dr. Colossus, Handsome Pete and the Capitol City Goofball.
- Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein and Matt Groening can be seen in animated form among the crowd who is on the street laughing at Nelson. According to Oakley, he and Weinstein are in the scene because they told the animators to fill the streets with idiots. Also seen in this scene is Don Brodka from Marge Be Not Proud.
- The sign at the Kwik-E-Mart reads "closed for the second time ever". Up until that point, the only other time the store was shown as being closed was in Stark Raving Dad.
- The Spanish used during the Bumblebeeman's story is very bad. There are several words used that are not actually words (Woodpecker in Spanish is not "wudpequero") and many phrases seem like they were written in English and quickly translated into Spanish using a dictionary. Clearly, the crude Spanish was the intention of the writers because they are usually quite picky about correct translations. In several DVD commentaries, the writers say they went to various trustworthy sources to make sure they had correct translations - this is probably ironic, however, with the mistakes being deliberate for comedic value.
- This episode was the fourth and final episode so far to be broadcast with its title written near the beginning. The first three are: The Telltale Head, Bart Gets Hit by a Car, and The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
- Smithers nearly dies from a single bee sting in this episode, yet showed no effects of being stung by several bees in "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk".
[edit] Cultural References
- Apu's line, "For the next five minutes, I'm going to party like it's on sale for $19.99!", references Prince's hit song, 1999.
- Dr. Nick's story is very similar to many scenes from E.R.
- Superintendent Chalmers says "Aurora borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?" which is a reference to the 1995 movie "The Langoliers", where Cpt. Brian Engle says: "You're kidding. The aurora borealis over California? And at this time of year?"
[edit] The Tarantino connection
The episode contains numerous references to Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Like the film, the episode's plot is episodic though interconnected. Apu's brother Sanjay makes a square with his fingers, like Uma Thurman. The policemen's conversation about McDonald's parallels the famous "Royale With Cheese" discussion; the Krustyburger restaurant it takes place in also bears a striking resemblance to the diner Pumpkin and Honey Bunny attempt to rob in the film. In addition, Misirlou is playing in the background on the Krusty Burger's jukebox.
The subplot involving Chief Wiggum and Snake is a direct parody of the "Gold Watch" segment of the film. Snake runs over the donut-carrying Wiggum at a red light, like Bruce Willis did to Ving Rhames, and Wiggum chases after Snake (although his motive is exchanging insurance information rather than revenge). The two run into Herman's Pawn Shop, where Herman beats up and binds and gags the two, then waits for "Zed" to arrive. The Van Houtens come in instead, and a visibly annoyed Herman lets Milhouse use the restroom. Herman then threatens Kirk with his shotgun, but Milhouse unintentionally knocks out the shopkeeper with a spiked mace he found in the back room. Wiggum then hops out the open door, still tied to his chair, and falls down in the middle of the street.
[edit] Deleted stories
- Many characters had stories but they were cut due to the length of the episode. This meant some prominent characters didn't get a story revolving around them, for example: Marge, Krusty, Patty and Selma, Ralph Wiggum and Lionel Hutz. The deletion of the Krusty story meant that he wasn't seen in this episode at all.
[edit] External links
- "22 Short Films About Springfield" episode guide at TV.com
- "22 Short Films About Springfield" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
- "22 Short Films About Springfield" at the Internet Movie Database
