Talking Simpsons - Bart's Dog Gets An "F" With Conor Lastowka

I always took the dog pov gibberish at the end of act two as a way to get a swear word in the show. I “translated” it to being something something fucking dog.

I think you guys are thinking too deeply into Lisa's comment about starting a new quilt. Malice isn't a character trait of Lisa's (at least not this early in the series). Making lemons out of lemonade definitely is what made Lisa tick. So in effect, Lisa is trying to distract Marge from her loss. On the complete opposite end of this scene & one that I believe you did not think was malice is the sequence from "Lisa the Skeptic" where Marge tells Lisa "If you can't take a leap of faith every once in a while, well, then I feel sorry for you." What a horrible thing to tell your 8 yr old child! And yes, by season 9 you could claim that Lisa was written to be older but she's still in 2nd grade. I was shocked to hear Marge say that. It still comes across that way.

James Babbo

I know it's a very different thing because permanent vs. non-permanent etc. etc. but it reminds me of people going "you paid $300 for a tattoo?? You got ripped off man, I know a guy who can do it for $30 in his garage"

nina matsumoto

My family has had 2 dogs, both were/are poorly trained and had/have behavioural problems. My parents are lower middle class boomers and having a dog and 1-2 cats is just the thing you do. Kinda wish they took the dogs to an obedience school of some kind. It's hard having people over when she jumps on them. Guests insist they're fine, but I'm always embarrassed as hell.

glowstickjuice

I was really surprised you disliked the part with Lisa‘s magazines so much. When I was a (equally nerdy) young girl my dad acted the exact same way and brought home all the teenie magz. You’re allowed to like stupid things when you‘re sick after all! :D Even the „kissing disease“ line sounds like a joke my parents would drop to cheer me up. The whole interaction always made Lisa seem human and relatable in my eyes.

CeLEAstia

We always had dogs growing up. The first one Dusty did go to obedience school and according to my mom was the class clown. Our second, Jynx only lasted a couple of weeks or months. He liked to dig into the dry wall (my mom said she thought he did that because we might have had mice). He was destructive in other ways and eventually was rehomed on a farm. Flash forward fifteen years later I was telling some friends in college about Jynx. I suddenly stopped midsentence and immediately got up and called my mom and asked her to honestly tell me what happened. She assured me Jynx really went to live on farm and that's where we adopted our third dog Pepper. Potential long delayed family trauma averted. Speaking of Tracey Ullman I totally crushed on her in high school (funny, brunette AND an English accent to boot) which is why I started watching the show and thus saw the Simpsons shorts premier. By the way, how many people caught that some of the footage of Lisa calling Homer from the couch was recycled for Lisa's Pony?

Stephen C. Nedell

Was just watching "Homer to the Max" and I noticed that in a mall scene they had an Assassins "Join the Conspiracy" sign in the background

Samwise

I knew there was going to be haircut shaming here. If you have longish hair and you live in an area with a high cost of living, $100 is not unreasonable. It’s standard at a quality salon here in New Jersey. It’s definitely worth it if it makes you look good and feel good! Speaking of looking good, Henry you are doing an awesome job with your weight loss! I saw a picture of you on Twitter a few weeks ago and I couldn’t believe it! You look great and I am so proud of you!

Sabrina

Thanks for the advice, but I know all the haircut hacks and have had the same stylist for 5-6 years (I even followed her to a new place). Plus I only get about four haircuts a year and I like to pay for skilled labor, especially now that I can afford it.

Bob Mackey

Bob - ask around with your friends. plenty of stylists do haircuts outside the salon, and you can save some loot/have more of it go directly to them rather than renting a chair

notsmohqe

Bob gets compliments on his hair all the time. You get what you pay for! Salon workers deserve to get paid well. It's not about paying for the raw service -- you're paying them for their time and care and expertise, just like commissioning an artist. Like yeah, you can definitely get a drawing for $25, but you can also get one for $100 if you need something more detailed or from someone with more experience. It depends on what you need. Bob's hair is medium-length so he needs a stylist rather than a barber.

nina matsumoto

It's the Bay Area, and a salon so we're basically being charged what it would cost a woman to get her hair cut. Also you can't argue with the results. Just ask my wife!

Bob Mackey

A Beef Wellington is Gordon Ramsay’s speciality dish. And it’s notoriously difficult to make, since you gotta bake it so the pastry around it cooks properly but also the beef is usually medium rare. If you’re on Ramsay’s show and was able to cook well enough to impress him, you’d probably win the competition.

Adam Esat

Geez! For $100 it better be a haircut you could set your watch to! Seriously though, I'd sooner cut my own hair (and have) before paying more than $25 (including tip) for a haircut. That's absolutely insane to me.

Andrew O.

I wonder if they parodied The Oscar because this is a "boy and his dog story". "Why DO you wonder that, Alex?" You're definitely asking. Because the screenplay to The Oscar (1966) was written, at least in part, by author Harlan Ellison. Ellison is most famous for the teleplay to "City on the Edge of Forever" from Star Trek, the short story, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," and also the short story "A Boy And His Dog", which had it's own screen adaptation in 1975. Since you had a writing-room full of boomer uber-nerds, there is NO WAY that at least one of those fools weren't huge fans of Ellison. But, the connection might be coincidental. Maybe I'm thinking too deeply on it. Harlan eventually did play himself on the Simpsons in "Married to the Blob," from season 25.

Alex Atchley