A Tale of Two Springfields
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"A Tale of Two Springfields" is an episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons. The title is a spoof of Charles Dickens' classic book, A Tale of Two Cities.
Synopsis
While feeding Santa's Little Helper, Bart finds a badger in his doghouse. Bart and Lisa try to get rid of it themselves, but are unsuccessful. After Homer suggests they blow up the doghouse with dynamite, Lisa tells them to call animal control. When Homer calls them, he gets a tri-tone and a recording indicating that he did not enter the correct area code. Marge informs him that the phone company ran out of numbers, so they had to split Springfield into two area codes. One half keeps the old 636 and the Simpsons' half get the new 939. He is outraged that they changed the code so suddenly (even though Lenny and Carl say that they had weeks of advance warnings). While at a town meeting, with Homer covered with dynamite, Lyndsey Neagle shows a film that attempts to convince the audience two area codes are better. The whole town agrees with it. However, Homer stands up, reminding them how terrible it was and points out that the original 636 code was kept by the rich side of town! When Homer fails to blow himself up, he leads a rebellion of the poor and goes off to form a new town.Homer names the town with the new 939 code "New Springfield", while the half of the town with 636 is now called "Olde Springfield". Homer is quickly appointed mayor of New Springfield and quickly abuses his power, such as using his sash as a napkin. Rivalry quickly ensues between the two towns. When Old Springfield insults the inefficiency of his half of town, Homer cuts power to Old Springfield. Old Springfield retaliates by hijacking a beer truck and dumping its contents in the river. Homer and New Springfield strike back by cutting off the river into Old Springfield; however this causes its inhabitants to find gold in the river and buy the Evian bottled water factory from France. Homer decides to build a giant wall right through town, à la Berlin. When he tells his citizens they don't have enough supplies to get past tomorrow and that a wave of disease will kill the weak, everyone except the Simpsons leave.
Now the mayor of a ghost town, Homer boasts to himself that the Who is coming to their town, when they are actually performing in Old Springfield. Together, he and Bart are able to get them to perform in New Springfield. When Old Springfield is waiting for the band, they find them in New Springfield and prepare to riot. Just before a major conflict, the Who suggests they get speed-dial to solve their rivalry. They also agree to play if Springfield tears down the wall, which John Entwistle ends up doing with his bass guitar.
Quotes
- Moe: Homer stole our rock performers! That fat, dumb, and bald guy sure plays some real hardball.
- (Bart and Lisa stare at dog kennel with badger inside)
Homer: TV broke?
Lisa: No, there's a badger inside.
Homer: Badger my ass, It's probably just Milhouse.
- Homer: We need to block them from our sight with a giant wall!
Marge: Like the one in Berlin?
Homer: Good idea! Maybe we should call the guys they used.
(Homer dials a number, but gets the tri-tone. His eye begins to twitch)
Marge: Uh, Homer...
Homer: (insistently) It's ringing!
- Homer: Area code!? But it's a local call!
Marge: The phone company ran out of numbers, so they split the city into two area codes. Half the town keeps the old 636 area code, and our half gets 939.
Homer: 939!!!?? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!? Oh my life is ruined.
Marge: Geez, you just have to remember three extra numbers.
Homer: Oh if only it were that easy Marge.
(the badger from the first quote is at the window looking in from the backyard)
Homer: Go away! We got bigger problems now.
(the badger leaves)
- Homer: I accuse the telephone company of making that film on purpose!
Lindsay Neagle: Well, of course we did!
(Everyone gasps)
- Carl: I'm not sure which code is better. The six is closer to the three, so ya got convenience there. But the nine has less to do with Satan, which is a plus in this religious world of ours.
- John: Aren't you the mayor of New Springfield?
Homer: That's right.
Roger: The crazy mayor of New Springfield?
Homer: That's right.
- Security Guard (To Homer) You want to see The Who?! Here's your Who!! (Throws Homer and Bart in front of Who)
Roger: I thought we fired that guard.
Security Guard: (Sarcastically) Right, I got fired...by The Who. Whatever.
- Homer: (trying to talk the Who out of playing Old Springfield) They'll make you wear frilly shirts, just like Keith Partridge!
Roger: Keith Partridge?! Who huddle!
- Homer: Come on, what happened to the angry, defiant Who of "My Generation," "Won't Get Fooled Again," and "Mama's Got a Squeeze Box"?
John: We know our songs, Homer.
- Homer: Sweetie, you know your mother and I only stay together for the sake of my political career.
Marge: That's not true! (a cameraman appears at the kitchen window)
Homer: Big grins! (kisses his wife as the cameraman takes their picture) That'll play great in the sticks. (Homer wipes his mouth on his sash, then tears it off to reveal a new one reading, "Time to reorder") That was fifty already?
- Lenny: Ah, there's nothing like revenge for getting back at people.
Carl: I don't know. Vengeance is pretty sweet.
- (Trying to get past a security guard)Homer: I'll give you this bottle of chloroform if you take us to The Who!
- Kent Brockman (covered in golden chains): Thank you, Mayor Simpson. Because of you, we are all taking golden showers. (people off-camera laugh) What?
- Jimbo: Hey look! A novelty flying disk!
Bart: That's my novelty flying disk!
Dolph: It's ours now, since it's in our park in Olde Springfield.
Kearney: His pants are in our park!
(they take Bart's pants)
Bart (slyly): My homework is in your park.
Kearney: Let's do it!
(they take Bart's backpack. The scene then cuts to the bullies doing Bart's homework.)
Dolph (to himself): What does freedom mean to me?
- Homer: I would like you to play all of these!
Roger (looks at list): Wait. Homer, a lot of these are Grand Funk Railroad songs!
John: And we don't even know "Pac-Man Fever".
Homer: Come on! It practically plays itself!
- Roger: Why don't you get auto-ring-up or as you Yanks call it "speed-dial"? (the town begins agreeing)
Homer: Magic Bus!
Town: Yeah! Magic Bus! Magic Bus!
Roger: Alright! We'll play Magic Bus if you tear down this wall!
Homer (pause): Pinball Wizard!
John: Oh hell, I'll do it myself. (sets his amplifier to "WHUH-OH!") - Lisa: (reading from the computer) Well, according to whatbadgerseat.com badgers subsist primarly on a diet of stoats, voles and marmots.
Bart: (looking in the kitchen cabinet) Stoats... Stoats...
Lisa: Bart, you won't find stoats in a can.
Bart: (holding a can) Then what's this?
Lisa: It says corn, Bart.
Bart: Must you embarrass me?
Trivia
- Pete Townshend declined to supply his voice for the show. He had his brother, Paul Townshend, subsitute for him.
- When Kent Brockman's newscast shows a picture of Homer and friends on the steps of a home, the layout and poses match the cover of The Who's Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy album.
- This is the 250th episode of the show.
- Homer imagines himself as a mayor, walking down the street in a Western town, wearing a cowboy hat and firing a rifle, in a parody of he opening credit of the Western show, The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors
- When Lisa is trying to find out what badgers eat she goes on [whatbadgerseat.com] this is a real site made by the producers of the show
- The self-referencing blackboard gag refers to the presidential election which was two days after the episode was aired. A controversy surrounding the election was the supposed use of subliminal messages.
- Todd's woodpecker is a reference the Woody Woodpecker show.
- In syndication, the last 60 to 30 seconds of the episodes, which shows the badgers going toward Springfield, is not shown.
- Area code 636 is actually assigned to suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri[link]; although this seems to reveal Springfield’s state, the real Springfield, Missouri is in a different area code. Area code 939 is one of two codes used in Puerto Rico.
Goofs
- Chief Wiggum seems to be on the side of Old Springfield for the most part. However, there are times in the episode where he is seen with the New Springfielders as well. An obvious miscommunication amongst the script writers.
External links
- [Episode Capsule at The Simpsons archive]
- [Complete Transcript]
- [Whatbadgerseat.com] A spoof site created after the episode.
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