Talking Simpsons - You Only Move Twice With Allie Goertz & Julia Prescott

OK my two cents on shoe-gate is that it is way funnier that Homer says yes, referring to some previous encounter with a man saying farewell to a shoe. The best comedy shows will refer to things that you never see and forcing you to mentally fill in the gaps yourself. There must be a word for this. Either way it's a more than cromulent device.

Fun crossover episode, I'll have to give their podcast a shot -- I've always loved this episode, and the Bond-inspiration (and BONT appearance) shines great. The episode's many allusions to 007, including the Goldfinger-esque torture scene & song, Scorpio's position as a business tycoon a la a much friendlier Max Zorin, and the title itself were references I got and loved as a kid. Since "Bont" is done with Sean Connery's portrayal in mind, it's worth noting he's still with us - and won't be the first "official" 007 actor to die (RIP, Roger Moore).

Dylan (batmanboy11) Freitag

Long time listener, first time poster! So, I thought I would wade into the "Ever see a guy say good-bye to a shoe?" controversy, or shoe-gate, as I call it. I mostly agree with you guys that when I first heard the joke, I thought it was Homer saying he had seen this happen one time previously, but, I've come to think of this joke more is the framework of a new employee who agrees with everything his employer says while also trying to seem worldly and experienced. "Have you ever worked with the new IBM system?" "Yes, a few times." Even if he has never touched a computer before, so he doesn't seem stupid on his first day. My two cents. Great podcast, guys!

Bryan Field

James Bond? MA TIME TO SHINE. There are three main James Bond movies getting referenced in this episode. You Only Live Twice for both the title, and the big final battle - which of course they lose without Bont. Scorpio’s “henchwoman” assistant is obviously sexy killer Xenia Onatopp from GoldenEye. Goldfinger the main reference for both the Scorpio theme song and the James Bont torture scene (no, not last movie Spectre Hank, which was also referencing this), where he was famously threatened with a laser along with the awesome line “do you expect me to talk?”, “no Mr Bond, I expect you to die!” - which The Itchy & Scratchy Show also did a parody of previously. I love this bit in Goldfinger, specifically because Bond doesn’t get out the deathtrap in an exciting way. He bluffs his way out. Goldfinger’s one of my favourites - as only the third Bond movie it’s a lot more dependent on story (why second movie From Russia With Love is so good) and yet is moving towards the action movie franchise it would stay as. It’s got the first proper appearance of gadget-master Q, the Aston Martin DB5, and the iconic image of a dead naked girl covered in gold paint in Bond’s bed. It’s also literally the only time the villain has revealed his plans to Bond and Bond basically replies “actually that’s pretty fucking awesome, well done”. On the other hand, Goldfinger also did give us Pussy Galore. Oops. As for Scorpio himself, I’d say he’s probably closest to Christopher Walken’s Max Zorin from A View To A Kill, in the rich businessman mold, although far nicer. The only other thing I’ll say is about Lisa’s allergies - I’m a hay fever sufferer who basically dies every Spring (I’m only just starting to resurrect now), but my home town of Oxford, UK is literally the only place in the world where I suffer from it. My wife too, who moved here from China and suddenly discovered her allergies in much the same way Lisa did (I think I was the chipmunk though, sorry honey). Oh, and You Only Move Twice I believe refers to the Simpsons moving to Cypress Creek and then moving back to Springfield. So, twice.

Chris J

One of the biggest episodes I've been waiting for, and you guys landed it beautifully. I work for an extremely large company here in town, and my constant joke is that I do work for the Weather Control team, and that the company is so large we do have other teams that are actually out there for global warfare <not really="">. Our CEO really could be a Hank Scorpio, I swear. </not>

RoryDropkick

Also, I feel like him being named Hank Scorpio is a bit of a subtle joke. Like Hank is a pretty normal name, the kind of name you expect from the 'guy you could grab a beer with' type boss, but Scorpio is a over the top James Bond-esque super villain name. This might be obvious, but as someone who doesn't remember a time when I didn't know who Hank Scorpio was, I never thought about this possible intent until just now.

Sadie Carter

'Let's do it to it...grammar that is`' is weirdly one of my most quoted lines.

Sadie Carter

I feel the reason Hank wasnt in the movie is because you cannot maintain Homer's blissful ignorance of the situation if he's the antagonist. Hank should never be a villian to Homer

Jenny Ibrahim

I would work for Scorpio in a heartbeat. Hell the only supervillain thing about him is how he GAINS power, but for all we know the way he USES his power and rules over the places he conquers coul be super legit. Keep up the good work Hank.

ShyRanger

I think the Denver Broncos joke is about wasted potential. The Broncos had lost 3 super bowls. Also super nerdy correction: "The Simpsons" would not be allowed to own a NFL team. Only private individuals are allowed to own teams, the NFL does not want public financial records. The only team not privately owned is the Packers which is community owned and they are grandfathered.

Alex Forsyth

Great episode, guys. Well worth the crossover! However, unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe I heard a suggestion for "line of the show". Do you have any particular favourites? Also speaking of lines, I didn't realise this episode was the origin of OSW Review's "Let's do it, to it... Grammar, that is" quote. Thanks for the great show (and introducing me to ECUS). ^_^

To Boldy Joe... Moore

“ I know of them”. - Holy cow. I have been using that for decades and I did not know that I was quoting this episode, or even making a quote. It just became something I said.

JR Ralls

I feel like there is too much going on with Bart's class. I think you guys are right that the broader joke is on the education system. The Canadian kid really hits home as I have one brilliant student who was stuck in an English Language Learners class after moving to the States despite being fluent in English. With that said, the episode feels like it has its cake and eats it too. It's clear that the teacher and program is shitty, but the kids are also depicted as being toddler like in their "cookoo" reaction as well as the shitty musical chairs games. The "Yay you're all winners!" also feels like it throws in an extra level of criticism that doesn't necessarily jibe with the original conceit of the plotline. Honestly, "Sideshow Bob Roberts" handling of Bart being held back was a much more humane and funny direction. I feel like they were sort of stuck with what to do with Bart without retreading. The previous normal episode of the show already dealt with more realistic children of 1996 responding to Bart. So they went with a retread of an older episode.

Jo Quigley