The War of the Simpsons - S2-E20
Corrected entry: After Marge explains why they're having the party, Homer recalls their wedding very vividly, having, "priests, champagne, and musicians," but in Season 3, "I Married Marge," their wedding isn't that spectacular as Homer remembers.
Question: When Frank Grimes is shown on the news, where is he receiving his degree? He appears to be outside of a house, but he says later that he lives between two bowling alleys.
Answer: The news crew might have wanted to film him outside, on a nearby street, instead of going to his apartment. It looks more cheerful.
Answer: There's no telling. Possibly his parents' house. Possibly a house he sold when he moved to Springfield and he had to downgrade when his promised high-paying job went to a dog.
His parents abandoned him.
Good point. Then his own house, wherever he lived before Springfield.
Question: After Smithers rejects the job offer from Globex, the associates speak to the "next most senior" employee at the plant - Homer. If I remember correctly, isn't Carl a supervisor over Homer?
Answer: "Next most senior" means Homer has worked at the plant longer than Carl, despite Carl's position as supervisor. Carl was simply promoted over employees that had been there longer (which isn't uncommon in the workplace).
It often happens because a more senior employee is not ideal, but they do just enough acceptable work that management will keep them around. Management doesn't want the hassle of the hiring process, and they might want to avoid unemployment pay or a possible lawsuit.
Homer's Triple Bypass - S4-E11
Question: Bart and Lisa say they don't feel highs and lows because their generation watches MTV. Can someone explain more?
Answer: I think Lisa and Bart are actually referring to Generation X and early Millennials. People of these ages are also known as "the MTV Generation." They dealt with the political, social, and economic issues that were happening in the '80s and '90s. Many were also "latchkey kids" who had to be independent from an early age. They are known for being apathetic or even cynical, after growing up the way they did.
Answer: They probably mean that MTV has little to do with real life, and viewers became numbed and emotionally detached from reality by watching the contrived idealized images almost non-stop. It prevents them developing empathetic feelings toward others in their lives.
This episode aired Dec 1992, and given that it took 6-9 months to produce an episode, the writing took place early or mid 1992. MTV's first reality show, "The Real World", didn't air until May 1992. "Road Rules", MTV's 2nd reality TV show didn't air until 1995.
But that's all equally applicable to watching endless music videos, shortening attention spans. The fear is/was that constant "input" like that would slightly numb people to the real world, with exciting music/images being the only thing that generates an emotional response, in comparison to the more "boring" real world.
Question: When Lisa guesses that Mr. Bergstrom is either Jewish or Italian, why does he quickly say that he is Jewish? As if he certainly doesn't want to be mistaken for Italian?
Answer: When I was a child, my classmate said I could be Jewish, Italian, or Middle Eastern, but I couldn't be what I truly was, Mexican.
Question: I, like Marge, don't know much about football. Why is Homer disappointed to own the Denver Broncos team? I know his first choice was owning the Dallas Cowboys, but he seems to especially dislike the Broncos.
Answer: I don't think the writers had anything particular in mind when choosing the Denver Broncos to be the butt of the joke. But I wonder if it's meant to be a clue where Springfield is. But, while this episode did air late 1996 when the Broncos had a winning season, given the amount of time needed to produce the episode, it was written when the Broncos were a mediocre team at best. From '92-'95 they had a 32-32 record and never finished higher than 3rd in their division. And the Cowboys and Broncos are in separate conferences, so they're not particularly rivals. But as Phaneron points out, the Broncos ended up winning back-to-back Super Bowls in the following 2 season after this episode aired, so Homer is a very lucky guy.
Probably also worth mentioning that by the time this episode had aired, the Broncos had an 0-4 record in the Super Bowl, and to this day I believe they hold the record for most Super Bowl losses.
The Buffalo Bills also had an 0-4 record at the time of airing having lost 4 straight years.
The Vikings are also 0-4 in the Super Bowl. The Patriots have 5 losses (although only had 1 at the time this episode aired).
True, and they would have been a funnier pick for Homer to end up owning, given that two consecutive of those four Super Bowl losses were to the Cowboys. Although Homer fantasizing about being John Elway in the episode Cape Feare makes his disdain for the Broncos rather funny.
Question: What religion are the Simpsons? I know they're Christians, but what branch (e.g. Catholic? Protestant?).
Answer: Since Reverend Lovejoy is both married and referred to as 'Reverend', they must be Protestants. They never name the exact protestant denomination.
The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism First Church of Springfield.
Corrected entry: It is revealed in this episode that the Simpsons live in the state of Kentucky.
Correction: However, it is NOT possible for the Simpsons to live in Kentucky. The Simpsons' beach is an OCEAN BEACH. It not only has whales and dolphins in it, it also (in several episodes) is used as a transportation/trade route. Remember the shipment of Hot Pants in the "soul mate" episode? Remember the time Willy was deported because of the illegal immigrant laws? The fact that there's a rocky shoreline and a lighthouse (even one operated by E.A.R.L) shows oceanfront. There (for the geographically impaired) is NO OCEAN in Kentucky. In addition, there's no Evergreen Terrace (nor Evergreen St., Ct., Ave., Blvd., etc) in Springfield KY.
Springfield contiguously changes, that's part of the running gag. Sometimes it's landlocked.
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (1) - S6-E25
Corrected entry: During this episode, Skinner mentions that he doesn't have a secretary, but in a much earlier episode called 'Bart the Genius' he has one.
Correction: Skinner said he *doesn't* have a secretary. He didn't say he has *never* had one. He obviously doesn't have one in this episode. He didn't say anything about the secretary he had in Bart the Genius.
The secretary could've quit, been fired, taken a promotion, been laid off due to budget cuts, etc.
Corrected entry: When the police trap Snake after the car chase they say he's trapped in meaning there was only one way in. So how does Snake get his car stuck in the alleyway when he must have got through the alleyway to begin with?
Correction: There was only one way in and out for a car as Snake finds out. The alley they both came in is obviously different from the one Snake tries to escape through. This is further confirmed by the fact that the police car is not parked at the end of the alley Snake tries to exit through.
Also, Springfield PD isn't exactly known to be top-notch. This could've been a mistake by the cops as well. Even so, character mistake.
Corrected entry: Homer manages to call Marge from a pay phone even though both of his arms are trapped in two vending machines.
Corrected entry: When Burns buys KBBL and tells Bill and Marty they're fired, they take off their headphones but can still hear what Burns is saying when he asks for the toilet noise to be played.
Correction: The phone call might have been on speaker phone as well as being heard in their headphones. Even if it wasn't on speaker phone we can hear Mr Burns' voice as well so when they take their headphones off it's likely they could hear his voice as we could.
I've worked in radio, and if their mics aren't on, the phones generally come through the studio speakers unless you pick up the handset so yes they would have heard him.
Corrected entry: In the opening, Homer tosses out the uranium stuck on his shirt. It bounces once, and disappears mid bounce.
Correction: It disappears as Bart swings round the lamppost. There is nothing to say he didn't hit it with his skateboard, which would send it flying in another direction, thus making it seem like it has vanished.
In every episode prior to season 20 that I've seen it hits the curb and bounces up onto the sidewalk. From season 20 on, Otto catches it and eats it.
Audio problem: Where Lurleen sings the line "I tried to kiss him," on the TV show Ya-Hoo!, you can see that her lips aren't moving. (00:20:35)
Tree House of Horror II: A Simpsons Halloween - S3-E7
Corrected entry: How can Moe not realize he got a prank call that's really long, and isn't even asking for a name? (00:11:35)
Correction: He does know that it's a prank call and that Bart is the one calling. He goes along with it because he doesn't want to make Bart mad.
I'm pretty sure that this is just an internet theory.
No, in this episode Bart has supernatural powers and the whole town lives in fear of him. He's making people do what he wants because he can.
There's No Disgrace Like Home - S1-E4
Corrected entry: When Homer hits Barney in Moe's he says "here's five you haven't met" meaning his fingers. Only problem is all The Simpsons characters have four fingers.
Correction: They probably did this for a joke.
Also, later on in the series, Lenny and Carl ask why it's called a high five when they only have 4 fingers.
Corrected entry: As Bart tells his friends about his racer, there is a set of stairs visible at an impossible area of the garage. (00:09:00)
Correction: The stairs are inside the house, we are seeing the underside of them.
Future episodes show the garage is on a corridor to the kitchen, nowhere near the stairs.
Corrected entry: We know that Apu's store is spelled "Kwik-E-Mart," but in this episode, when Bart had the 3-D layout of The Town, it says "Quick-E-Mart."
Correction: Bart might have believed it was spelt Quick instead of Kwik. It sounds the same and most kids when they learn to spell are taught to spell as it sounds, so that might have lead to Bart not thinking it was a mistake. It was only a small display for plan of attack.
As a regular customer at the Kwik-E-Mart, I'm pretty sure that he would know how it was spelt.
Question: Why did Sideshow Bob want to kill Selma? I don't ever recall her doing anything to upset him.
Question: I know the real life reason for it, but is there ever any in show explanation why Bart and Lisa's hair seems to just be flesh extensions of their heads?
Chosen answer: Since Lisa is called blonde and Bart "tow-headed, " I think we are meant to assume that their hair is simply bright yellow, the same color as their skins. And it is an accepted fact in Springfield that yellow is a normal skin color.
Actually, in the episode, "No Loan Again, Naturally", Bart says that while staying inside the house for days, his hair was reverting to its natural red. He was worried that the kids would call him 'Rusty'.
Correction: Homer is an idiot, and his memory is not too good either.
SexyIrishLeprechaun
The mistake is valid, and not every mistake can be dismissed because Homer is an idiot sometimes. In the episode "A Milhouse Divided," he even wants to marry Marge again to make up for their cheap wedding at the chapel, which would not make sense if they already had a big wedding with champagne, musicians, etc.