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Difference between revisions of "Trilogy of Error"

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{{episode
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{{Icons||FE}}
|image=TrilogyofError1.gif
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{{Tab}}
|productionCode=CABF14
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{{EpisodePrevNext|Simpson Safari|I'm Goin' to Praiseland}}
|originalAirdate=April 29, 2001
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{{Episode
|blackboardText=
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|image=Trilogy of Error promo.png
|couchGag=
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|number=266
|specialGuestVoices=
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|season=12
|Written By=
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|snumber=18
|Directed By=
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|prodcode=CABF14
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|airdate=April 29, [[2001]]
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|blackboard="Fire is not the cleanser"
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|couchgag=The family skateboard to the couch, jumping off a ramp and doing some stunts before landing. Homer falls off the ramp and is hit on the head with his own skateboard.
 +
|guests=[[Frankie Muniz]] as [[Thelonius]]<br>[[Joe Mantegna]] as [[Fat Tony]]
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|showrunner1= Mike Scully
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|writer=[[Matt Selman]]
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|director=[[Mike B. Anderson]]
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|DVD features=yes
 
}}
 
}}
  
This is one of several Simpsons episodes which are considered [[anthology episodes]] that features mini-stories.  
+
"'''Trilogy of Error'''" is the eighteenth episode of [[season 12]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the two-hundred and sixty-sixth episode overall. It originally aired on April 29, [[2001]]. The episode was written by [[Matt Selman]] and directed by [[Mike B. Anderson]]. It guest stars [[Frankie Muniz]] as [[Thelonius]] and [[Joe Mantegna]] as [[Fat Tony]].
  
==Plot==
+
== Synopsis ==
===Prologue===
+
{{Desc|[[Homer]]'s thumb is cut off following breakfast and the episode follows three different paths. Homer's day: as he and [[Marge]] race to get his thumb reattached. [[Lisa]]'s day: as she misses the bus and tries to get to school so that she can win the science fair. [[Bart]]'s day: as he and [[Milhouse]] make use of a stash of fireworks that [[Fat Tony]] has illegally smuggled into the country. In the end their respective paths come together.}}
Every part begins with the garbage truck coming by and then it picks up [[Ned]]'s mailbox making him say "Son of a diddily" and then a newspaper saying that Spring has arrived is tossed.
 
  
===Homer's Day===
+
== Plot ==
[[Homer]] is getting ready for work and after coming out of the shower he tries to eat breakfast however [[Marge]] bought a really hard to eat breakfast from Europe and then [[Bart]] leaves when [[Milhouse]] rings the doorbell. Homer and [[Lisa]] are then excused from the table and Lisa shows Homer her science project [[Linguo]] a grammar fixing robot and when Homer says "Me like beer", Linguo corrects it by saying "I like beer" and Homer gives Linguo a bottle of beer and makes him malfunction. Homer then sees a tray of brownies and Homer wants one but Marge does not allow it and then Homer grabs one when Marge is cutting and then the knife cuts Homer's thumb off. Marge tries to call 911, however [[Chief Wiggum]], who picks up the line misinterprets the information as a deliberate attack and states that she will be arrested, forcing Marge to use a fake address of 123 Fake Street. Marge drives Homer to a doctor, but crashes into [[Rainier Wolfcastle]]'s car forcing them to carjack him. After learning from [[Dr. Hibbert]] that Homer's finger insurance does not cover his thumb, Marge drives Homer to [[Dr. Nick Riviera|Dr. Nick]]'s hospital. When his thumb is decaying, Homer and Marge make a pitstop at [[Moe's Tavern]] and [[Moe]] gives Homer a new jar to put his thumb in to preserve it. After wasting time in the tavern Homer comes out and finds that Marge and the car are gone and Homer catches a ride with [[Cletus]] to go to [[Dr. Nick]]'s. However, it is on fire and Cletus's truck is stolen, forcing Homer to walk to [[Shelbyville]] and on the way he sees Linguo's head in the trash following an explosion.
+
=== Prologue ===
 +
A garbage truck comes by. It picks up [[Ned]]'s mailbox (making him say "Son of a diddily"), and then a newspaper saying that Spring has arrived is tossed.
  
===Lisa's Day===
+
=== Homer's Day ===
After Homer gives Linguo beer and makes him malfunction Lisa goes to her room and fixes Linguo. But when Lisa has to leave, her bike is missing, the bus has left (while [[Martin]] is on it with his science project ready), and Homer and Marge have left for the hospital. Lisa runs to school and sees [[Krusty]]'s limo after it almost hits her. Krusty has his chauffeur [[Mr. Teeny]] take Lisa to school, passing Chief Wiggum along the way who asks for directions to 123 Fake Street. However, it is the wrong school and Lisa is actually in [[West Springfield Elementary]] and there she meets a student named [[Thelonius]] who she falls in love with. Lisa then runs to Moe's Tavern to find Homer, but Homer is not there. She notices that Chief Wiggum is there who is working on a sting operation to catch some fireworks smugglers and is listening to the conversation with some people he sent undercover and the criminals. When Lisa recognizes one of the criminals as [[Fat Tony]], Wiggum speaks into the microphone which exposes his undercover people. Just as Lisa leaves Moe's, Homer and Marge arrive and Lisa sees Marge outside and Lisa hops in her car which Marge stole from Rainier Wolfcastle and leave when Marge hears Homer talking to Moe drunk and knows she has plenty of time to drive Lisa to school. However, the car instructions are in Austrian and they run out of fuel. Marge and Lisa then take a ride in Cletus's truck by hiding in the back and after arriving at Dr. Nick's, Marge steals the truck during the time that Homer and Cletus observe that the hospital is on fire. With only a few minutes of school left and on the way they nearly run over Bart and Milhouse.
+
[[Homer]] is getting ready for work and after coming out of the shower, he tries to eat breakfast. However, [[Marge]] bought a really hard to eat breakfast from Europe and then [[Bart]] leaves when [[Milhouse]] rings the doorbell. [[Lisa]] tries to spare her mother's feelings by winking to Homer and asking if he wants to see her school project, Homer not understanding what Lisa is doing. Homer said no but he'd rather do that than eat the crappy breakfast, leaving Marge in the kitchen hurt. Lisa shows Homer her science project, [[Linguo]], a grammar fixing robot and when Homer says "Me like beer", Linguo corrects it by saying "I like beer" and Homer gives Linguo a bottle of [[Duff Beer]] and makes him malfunction. Homer then sees a tray of brownies in the kitchen and Homer wants one but Marge is still cutting them. Homer then attempts to grab one when Marge is cutting and she accidentally cuts Homer's thumb off. Marge tries to call 911, however [[Chief Wiggum]], who picks up the line, misinterprets the information as a deliberate attack and states that she will be arrested, forcing Marge to use a fake address of 123 Fake Street. Marge drives Homer to a doctor, but crashes into [[Rainier Wolfcastle]]'s car forcing them to carjack him. After learning from [[Dr. Hibbert]] that Homer's finger insurance does not cover his thumb, Marge drives Homer to [[Dr. Nick]]'s hospital. When his thumb is decaying, Homer and Marge make a pitstop at [[Moe's Tavern]] and [[Moe]] gives Homer a new jar to put his thumb in to preserve it. After wasting time in the tavern, Homer comes out and finds that Marge and the car are gone and Homer catches a ride with [[Cletus]] to go to Dr. Nick's. However, Dr. Nick's is on fire and Marge steals Cletus's truck, forcing Homer to walk to [[Shelbyville]]. 20 miles away, he decides to bin his thumb, and then sees Linguo's head fly to him following an explosion.
  
===Bart's Day===
+
=== Lisa's Day ===
Milhouse comes over and Bart tags along with him. They steal Lisa's bike and go to a cave where Milhouse has found firecrackers and then the boys enjoy blowing things up including Dr. Nick's office until they hear sirens and hide in an abandoned building and are caught by Chief Wiggum (which is a coincidence as the building's address is the fake address that Marge made up to Chief Wiggum earlier). The boys are then into a sting operation to find the real firework smugglers who end up being Fat Tony's gang. Bart and Milhouse are exposed when Wiggum speaks into their receiver and are forced to escape. They come out through a sewer and then come up through a Manhole cover and are nearly ran over by Marge and Lisa. The boys, Marge, and Lisa are then confronted by Fat Tony in an alley, but Lisa has to sacrifice Linguo by having him fix the terrible grammar of [[Legs and Louie]] that overloads him and causes Linguo to explode. Linguo's head then falls into the trash and Homer finds it.
+
After Homer gives Linguo beer and makes him malfunction, Lisa goes to her room and fixes Linguo. But when Lisa has to leave, her bike is missing, the bus has left (while [[Martin]] is on it with his science project ready), and Homer and Marge have left for the hospital. Lisa runs to school and sees [[Krusty]]'s limo after it almost hits her. Krusty has his chauffeur, [[Mr. Teeny]], to take Lisa to school, passing Chief Wiggum along the way who asks for directions to 123 Fake Street. However, it is the wrong school and Lisa is actually in [[West Springfield Elementary]] and there she meets a student named [[Thelonius]] who she falls in love with. Lisa then runs to Moe's Tavern to find Homer, but Homer is not there. She notices that Chief Wiggum is there who is working on a sting operation to catch some fireworks smugglers and is listening to the conversation with some people he sent undercover and the criminals. When Lisa recognizes one of the criminals as [[Fat Tony]], Wiggum speaks into the microphone which exposes the undercover people, Bart and Milhouse. Just as Lisa leaves Moe's, Homer and Marge arrive. Lisa sees Marge outside, and hops in her car which Marge stole from Rainier Wolfcastle. They leave when Marge hears Homer talking to Moe drunk and knows she has plenty of time to drive Lisa to school. However, the car instructions are in Italian and they run out of fuel. Marge and Lisa then take a ride in Cletus's truck by hiding in the back (with some chickens) and after arriving at Dr. Nick's, Marge steals the truck, during the time that Homer and Cletus observe that the hospital is on fire. With only a few minutes of school left, Marge attempts to make it. But as she does, Bart crawls out of a manhole and the truck is headed right for him.
  
===Epilogue===
+
=== Bart's Day ===
Legs is able to fix Homer's thumb and it becomes Lisa's science project which is awarded 1st place by [[Elizabeth Hoover|Ms. Hoover]] and then the whole episode cast comes and laughs except for Mr. Teeny who murmurs "this plot made no sense" an example of "breaking the fourth wall".
+
At breakfast, Milhouse comes over and Bart tags along with him. They steal Lisa's bike and go to a cave where Milhouse has found firecrackers. The boys enjoy blowing things up, such as [[Skinner]]'s lawn gnomes and Dr. Nick's office. They hear sirens and hide in an abandoned building and are caught by Chief Wiggum (which is a coincidence as the building's address is the fake address that Marge made up to Chief Wiggum earlier). The boys are then put into a sting operation to find the real firework smugglers who end up being Fat Tony's gang. Bart and Milhouse are exposed when Wiggum speaks into their receiver and are forced to escape. They come out through a sewer and then come up through a manhole cover and Bart is nearly ran over by Marge and Lisa, but instead gets a small blow on the head. The boys, Marge, and Lisa are then confronted by Fat Tony in an alley, but Lisa has to sacrifice Linguo by having him fix the terrible grammar of [[Legs]] and [[Louie]] that overloads him and the sparks from his body set off the fireworks, causing a big explosion. Over on the highway, Homer finds Linguo's head, as it flew through the air and landed in front of him.
  
==Errors==
+
=== Epilogue ===
*When Lisa is looking at the bus one can see Milhouse sitting on it even though he is with Bart.
+
To avoid arrest, [[Legs]] sews Homer's thumb back on successfully and this becomes Lisa's science fair project, which is awarded 1st place by [[Ms. Hoover]]. The whole episode cast comes and laughs except for Mr. Teeny who murmurs "this plot made no sense" an example of "breaking the fourth wall".
*During Lisa's segment time seems to move really quickly as when she leaves Thelonius she says it is eleven but when she goes to Moe's Tavern a few seconds later it is noon and then when she is at Dr. Nick's it is 2:45 PM.
 
*Also during Bart's segment time also seems to move even faster as when they Fat Tony and his gang found out that Bart was wearing a wire it was noon and when Bart gets hit by the truck Marge and Lisa stole from Cletus it's almost 3:00 PM.
 
  
==Cultural Referances==
+
== Production ==
The inovative story telling style shown in this episode was also used in an episode of [[Malcolm in the Middle]], the seventh episodeof the seventh season intitled "Blackout" Invloved the same series of events being seen from several different view points. The charactor of [[Thelonius]]  is voiced by [[Frankie Muniz]] who plays Malcolm.  
+
The episode was written by Matt Selman and directed by Mike B. Anderson. Matt Selman said that the pitch for "Trilogy of Error" had Lisa stuck in a school for "special" children, and that it was deemed insensitive.<ref>[https://twitter.com/mattselman/status/504459694132723713 Twitter.com - Matt Selman]</ref>
The 2003 Patrick Swayze movie [[11:14]] is another example of this type of story-telling.
 
  
{{Season 12}}
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== Reception ==
[[Category:Season 12]]
+
The episode has received positive reviews. IGN awarded the episode a rating of 9, describing it as "outstanding" and suggested that, "The Simpsons may have peaked in the '90s, but that doesn't mean the eight years since haven't delivered their share of quality episodes. This was one of them. And with so much plot to go over in this review, there just wasn't enough room to reference all the great lines. Like Dr. Nick's, 'Inflammable means flammable?!' and Cletus' reference to 'TV magic queers'."
[[Category:Episodes]]
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[[Category:Trilogy Episodes]]
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== References ==
[[Category:Anthology]]
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{{Reflist}}
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{{Images|ep=yes}}
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{{season 12}}
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[[Category:2001]]
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[[Category:Homer episodes]]
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[[Category:Bart episodes]]
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[[Category:Lisa episodes]]
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[[Category:Fat Tony episodes]]
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[[Category:Anthology episodes]]
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[[Category:Crime-themed episodes]]
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[[Category:12-rated episodes]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Matt Selman]]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by Mike B. Anderson]]
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[[de:CABF14]]
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[[sv:Trilogy of Error]]

Latest revision as of 12:33, August 30, 2024

Season 12 Episode
265 "Simpson Safari"
266
"Trilogy of Error"
"I'm Goin' to Praiseland" 267
"Trilogy of Error"
Trilogy of Error promo.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 266
Season number: S12 E18
Production code: CABF14
Original airdate: April 29, 2001
Chalkboard gag: "Fire is not the cleanser"
Couch gag: The family skateboard to the couch, jumping off a ramp and doing some stunts before landing. Homer falls off the ramp and is hit on the head with his own skateboard.
Guest star(s): Frankie Muniz as Thelonius
Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony
Showrunner: Mike Scully
Written by: Matt Selman
Directed by: Mike B. Anderson
DVD features


"Trilogy of Error" is the eighteenth episode of season 12 of The Simpsons and the two-hundred and sixty-sixth episode overall. It originally aired on April 29, 2001. The episode was written by Matt Selman and directed by Mike B. Anderson. It guest stars Frankie Muniz as Thelonius and Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony.

Synopsis[edit]

"Homer's thumb is cut off following breakfast and the episode follows three different paths. Homer's day: as he and Marge race to get his thumb reattached. Lisa's day: as she misses the bus and tries to get to school so that she can win the science fair. Bart's day: as he and Milhouse make use of a stash of fireworks that Fat Tony has illegally smuggled into the country. In the end their respective paths come together."


Plot[edit]

Prologue[edit]

A garbage truck comes by. It picks up Ned's mailbox (making him say "Son of a diddily"), and then a newspaper saying that Spring has arrived is tossed.

Homer's Day[edit]

Homer is getting ready for work and after coming out of the shower, he tries to eat breakfast. However, Marge bought a really hard to eat breakfast from Europe and then Bart leaves when Milhouse rings the doorbell. Lisa tries to spare her mother's feelings by winking to Homer and asking if he wants to see her school project, Homer not understanding what Lisa is doing. Homer said no but he'd rather do that than eat the crappy breakfast, leaving Marge in the kitchen hurt. Lisa shows Homer her science project, Linguo, a grammar fixing robot and when Homer says "Me like beer", Linguo corrects it by saying "I like beer" and Homer gives Linguo a bottle of Duff Beer and makes him malfunction. Homer then sees a tray of brownies in the kitchen and Homer wants one but Marge is still cutting them. Homer then attempts to grab one when Marge is cutting and she accidentally cuts Homer's thumb off. Marge tries to call 911, however Chief Wiggum, who picks up the line, misinterprets the information as a deliberate attack and states that she will be arrested, forcing Marge to use a fake address of 123 Fake Street. Marge drives Homer to a doctor, but crashes into Rainier Wolfcastle's car forcing them to carjack him. After learning from Dr. Hibbert that Homer's finger insurance does not cover his thumb, Marge drives Homer to Dr. Nick's hospital. When his thumb is decaying, Homer and Marge make a pitstop at Moe's Tavern and Moe gives Homer a new jar to put his thumb in to preserve it. After wasting time in the tavern, Homer comes out and finds that Marge and the car are gone and Homer catches a ride with Cletus to go to Dr. Nick's. However, Dr. Nick's is on fire and Marge steals Cletus's truck, forcing Homer to walk to Shelbyville. 20 miles away, he decides to bin his thumb, and then sees Linguo's head fly to him following an explosion.

Lisa's Day[edit]

After Homer gives Linguo beer and makes him malfunction, Lisa goes to her room and fixes Linguo. But when Lisa has to leave, her bike is missing, the bus has left (while Martin is on it with his science project ready), and Homer and Marge have left for the hospital. Lisa runs to school and sees Krusty's limo after it almost hits her. Krusty has his chauffeur, Mr. Teeny, to take Lisa to school, passing Chief Wiggum along the way who asks for directions to 123 Fake Street. However, it is the wrong school and Lisa is actually in West Springfield Elementary and there she meets a student named Thelonius who she falls in love with. Lisa then runs to Moe's Tavern to find Homer, but Homer is not there. She notices that Chief Wiggum is there who is working on a sting operation to catch some fireworks smugglers and is listening to the conversation with some people he sent undercover and the criminals. When Lisa recognizes one of the criminals as Fat Tony, Wiggum speaks into the microphone which exposes the undercover people, Bart and Milhouse. Just as Lisa leaves Moe's, Homer and Marge arrive. Lisa sees Marge outside, and hops in her car which Marge stole from Rainier Wolfcastle. They leave when Marge hears Homer talking to Moe drunk and knows she has plenty of time to drive Lisa to school. However, the car instructions are in Italian and they run out of fuel. Marge and Lisa then take a ride in Cletus's truck by hiding in the back (with some chickens) and after arriving at Dr. Nick's, Marge steals the truck, during the time that Homer and Cletus observe that the hospital is on fire. With only a few minutes of school left, Marge attempts to make it. But as she does, Bart crawls out of a manhole and the truck is headed right for him.

Bart's Day[edit]

At breakfast, Milhouse comes over and Bart tags along with him. They steal Lisa's bike and go to a cave where Milhouse has found firecrackers. The boys enjoy blowing things up, such as Skinner's lawn gnomes and Dr. Nick's office. They hear sirens and hide in an abandoned building and are caught by Chief Wiggum (which is a coincidence as the building's address is the fake address that Marge made up to Chief Wiggum earlier). The boys are then put into a sting operation to find the real firework smugglers who end up being Fat Tony's gang. Bart and Milhouse are exposed when Wiggum speaks into their receiver and are forced to escape. They come out through a sewer and then come up through a manhole cover and Bart is nearly ran over by Marge and Lisa, but instead gets a small blow on the head. The boys, Marge, and Lisa are then confronted by Fat Tony in an alley, but Lisa has to sacrifice Linguo by having him fix the terrible grammar of Legs and Louie that overloads him and the sparks from his body set off the fireworks, causing a big explosion. Over on the highway, Homer finds Linguo's head, as it flew through the air and landed in front of him.

Epilogue[edit]

To avoid arrest, Legs sews Homer's thumb back on successfully and this becomes Lisa's science fair project, which is awarded 1st place by Ms. Hoover. The whole episode cast comes and laughs except for Mr. Teeny who murmurs "this plot made no sense" an example of "breaking the fourth wall".

Production[edit]

The episode was written by Matt Selman and directed by Mike B. Anderson. Matt Selman said that the pitch for "Trilogy of Error" had Lisa stuck in a school for "special" children, and that it was deemed insensitive.[1]

Reception[edit]

The episode has received positive reviews. IGN awarded the episode a rating of 9, describing it as "outstanding" and suggested that, "The Simpsons may have peaked in the '90s, but that doesn't mean the eight years since haven't delivered their share of quality episodes. This was one of them. And with so much plot to go over in this review, there just wasn't enough room to reference all the great lines. Like Dr. Nick's, 'Inflammable means flammable?!' and Cletus' reference to 'TV magic queers'."

References[edit]


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Trilogy of Error".
Season 12 Episodes
Treehouse of Horror XI A Tale of Two Springfields Insane Clown Poppy Lisa the Tree Hugger Homer vs. Dignity The Computer Wore Menace Shoes The Great Money Caper Skinner's Sense of Snow HOMЯ Pokey Mom Worst Episode Ever Tennis the Menace Day of the Jackanapes New Kids on the Blecch Hungry, Hungry Homer Bye, Bye, Nerdie Simpson Safari Trilogy of Error I'm Goin' to Praiseland Children of a Lesser Clod Simpsons Tall Tales