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Difference between revisions of "22 Short Films About Springfield"

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{{episode
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{{Tab}}
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{{EpisodePrevNext|Bart on the Road|Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"}}
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{{Quote|Sometimes I wonder about all the people in this town. Do you think anything interesting ever happens to them? I mean, there must be thousands of great stories out there...|[[Bart]] to [[Milhouse]]}}
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{{Episode
 
|title = 22 Short Films About Springfield
 
|title = 22 Short Films About Springfield
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|image=22_springfield.gif
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|image= 22 Short Films About Springfield title card.png
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|productionCode= 3F18
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|number=149
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|originalAirdate= April 14 1996
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|season=7
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|blackboardText=  
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|snumber=21
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|couchGag= The family are sea monkeys and swim to a clam shells couch to look at a treasure chest instead of a TV.
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|prodcode= 3F18
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|specialGuestVoices=[[Phil Hartman]] as [[Lionel Hutz]] and the hospital board chairman
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|airdate= April 14, [[1996]]
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|Written By=[[Richard Appel]] <br /> [[David Cohen]]<br /> [[Jonathan Collier]] <br /> [[Jennifer Crittenden]] <br /> [[Greg Daniels]]   <br /> [[Brent Forrester]] <br /> [[Rachel Pulido]] <br /> [[Steve Tompkins]] <br /> [[Josh Weinstein]] <br /> [[Bill Oakley]] <br /> [[Matt Groening]]  <br /> Writing supervisor <br /> [[Greg Daniels]]  
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|blackboard=  
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|Directed By= [[Jim Reardon]]
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|couchgag= The family are sea monkeys and swim to a clam shells couch to look at a treasure chest instead of a TV.
 +
|showrunner1= Bill Oakley
 +
|showrunner2= Josh Weinstein
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|guests=[[Phil Hartman]] as [[Lionel Hutz]] and the [[hospital board chairman]]
 +
|writer=[[Richard Appel]]<br>[[David Cohen]]<br>[[Jonathan Collier]]<br>[[Jennifer Crittenden]]<br>[[Greg Daniels]]<br>[[Brent Forrester]]<br>[[Rachel Pulido]]<br>[[Steve Tompkins]]<br>[[Josh Weinstein]]<br>[[Bill Oakley]]<br>[[Matt Groening]]
 +
|director= [[Jim Reardon]]
 +
|DVD features=yes
 
}}
 
}}
  
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"'''22 Short Films About Springfield'''" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons' seventh season.
+
"'''22 Short Films About Springfield'''" is the twenty-first episode of [[season 7]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the one-hundred and forty-ninth episode overall. It originally aired on April 14, [[1996]]. The episode was written by [[Richard Appel]], [[David Cohen]], [[Jonathan Collier]], [[Jennifer Crittenden]], [[Greg Daniels]], [[Brent Forrester]], [[Rachel Pulido]], [[Steve Tompkins]], [[Josh Weinstein]], [[Bill Oakley]] and [[Matt Groening]] and was directed by [[Jim Reardon]]. It guest stars [[Phil Hartman]] as [[Lionel Hutz]] and the [[hospital board chairman]].
  
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==Plot==
+
== Synopsis ==
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===Prolouge===
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{{desc|[[Bart]] and [[Milhouse]] wonder if anything interesting ever happens in [[Springfield]]. Thus commence interconnecting vignettes depicting various moments in the lives of the town's residents, which include [[Apu]]'s partying activities; [[Smithers]]' allergic reaction to a bee sting; and [[Dr. Nick]]'s appearance before a medical review board. Also: [[Principal Skinner]] makes lunch for [[Superintendent Chalmers]]. While [[Lisa]] gets gum in her hair, [[Snake]] and [[Wiggum]] are caught in a ''[[Pulp Fiction]]''-style situation.}}
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The episode opens with [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] and [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]] spitting off of a bridge, and wondering about the lives of other people in [[Springfield]]. The remainder of the episode consists of a variety of skits focusing on different supporting characters, as well as the Simpsons family. A few of these segments feature their own title cards or theme songs. At other times, the segments simply segue from one to the next.
 
  
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===Apu's skit===
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== Plot ==
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[[Sanjay]] asks [[Apu Nahasapeenmapetilon|Apu]] to go to a party. so Apu leaves the store for the next five minutes. During this period, he eats an uncooked hot dog, dances to the song "Trapezoid," and has sex with a woman in a tool shed.
+
=== Act I ===
 +
The episode opens with [[Bart]] and [[Milhouse]] spitting off of a bridge, and wondering about the lives of other people in [[Springfield]].
  
−
===Lisa's skit===
+
:''Apu in "The Joly Bengali"''  
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Lisa accidentally gets gum in her hair and has to go though a series of the towns peoples painful homemade remedys to only in the end just get a haircut
+
[[Sanjay]] asks [[Apu]] to go to a party so Apu leaves the store for the next five minutes. During this period, he eats a semi-cooked hot dog, dances to the song "Freakaziod" by Midnight Star, has sex with a woman in a tool shed, and falls into a pool with other partygoers. He heads back to the Kwik-E-Mart with a minute to spare. He opens the door to the store, and discovers that Hans Moleman was inside during the 4 minutes Apu was away. Moleman demands his 4 minutes of time back, but quickly lets it go, claiming he would just waste them.
  
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===Mr Burns' skit===
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:''Lisa''
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[[Montgomery Burns|Mr. Burns]] and [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]] on are on a bike ride and Smithers gets stung by a bee but also has an allergic reaction. Mr. Burns orders Smithers to  pedal even faster to the hospital, but in the end the paramedics pick up the unconscious Mr.Burns instead of the ailing Smithers.
+
While skateboarding, Bart accidentally throws gum into Lisa's hair while she puts a beer can into a recycling bin. Marge tries to get the gum out of Lisa's hair with peanut butter and mayonnaise. Lisa then goes outside to let the mix sink in, but is chased around by a swarm of bees.
  
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===Dr Nick's skit===
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:''Mr Burns & Smithers''
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[[Dr. Nick Riviera|Dr. Nick]] walks into the medical boardroom to have a meeting about his gross incompetence. Suddenly, a doctor walks in and tells them that a lunatic with a scalpel ([[Abraham Simpson]]) is demanding to see a quack. The board members turn to look at Dr. Nick. Dr. Nick walks though the door giving Grandpa Simpson a nonsensical diagnosis, which appeases him. The grateful board allows Dr. Nick to keep his medical license, and he celebrates by offering free nosejobs to everyone (starting with [[Jasper Beardley|Jasper]]).
+
[[Mr. Burns]] and [[Smithers]] are on a tandem bike ride and Smithers gets stung by a bee and has an allergic reaction after claiming that he is deadly [[allergies|allergic]] to bee stings. Mr. Burns orders Smithers to pedal to the hospital while in great pain, but in the end they crash right at the Hospital's door, and paramedics pick up the unconscious Mr. Burns instead of the ailing Smithers. Dr. Nick walks by and simply exclaims that Smithers needs booze, and drops pocket change on him.
  
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===Moe's skit===
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:''Dr Nick''
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[[Moe]] is looking at [[Barney]]'s tab having sent away to NASA for help in calculating the results. [[Snake]] then comes and robs Moe and steals his money while Moe is partly defenseless behind bulletproof glass.
+
[[Dr. Nick]] walks into the medical boardroom to have a meeting about his gross incompetence. Suddenly, a doctor walks in and tells them that a lunatic with a scalpel ([[Abraham Simpson]]) is demanding to see a quack. The board members turn to look at Dr. Nick. Dr. Nick walks though the door giving Grandpa Simpson a nonsensical diagnosis: that Abe's skeleton is trying to escape his body. He performs an improvised treatment by shocking Abe with the wires of a nearby surgery light. The grateful board allows Dr. Nick to keep his medical license, and he celebrates by offering free nosejobs to everyone, (starting with [[Jasper]]).
  
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===Skinner's skit===
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:''Moe & Barney''
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[[Principal Skinnner]] has to cook lunch for [[Superintendent Chalmers]] but his clams burn and he must get food from [[Krusty Burger]] and disguise it as his own cooking. However, Skinner frogot to turn off the oven and sets his house on fire and after Chalmers leaves Skinner has to get his mother out of the fire.
+
[[Moe]] asks [[Barney]] if he recalls Moe quipping that he'll have to send away to NASA to calculate Barney's bar tab. The results came in, and Moe tells Barney that he owes him 14 billion dollars (He initially claims that it was $70,000,000,000 until he realized that that was actually the cost for the Voyager Spacecraft). Barney gives Moe $2,000, which Moe says is halfway there. [[Snake]] then comes and tries to rob Moe. Moe quickly runs into a room behind him with a 3&nbsp;inch thick bulletproof glass window. While Moe is behind the bulletproof glass, Snake jumps over the counter, and steals from the cash register to pay off his student loans. Moe wonders how much air he has behind the bulletproof glass, and shortly after collapses.
  
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===Homer's skit===
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=== Act II ===
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[[Homer]] is walking [[Santa's Little Helper]], and holding [[Maggie]] at the same time and comes across a newspaper bender but loses the key and traps Maggie in there. Homer then tries to put a note on Santa's Little Helper about Maggie being trapped however it was writen in mustard and Santa's Little Helper eats it. Maggie is then clothless in the bender but Homer decides to put the bender in Maggie's crib and play with her.
+
:''Principal Skinner & Superintendent Chalmers''
 +
[[Principal Skinner]] has invited [[Superintendent Chalmers]] to his house for dinner, but his roast burns and he resorts to ordering fast food from [[Krusty Burger]] and disguising it as his own cooking. While trying to come up with fake explanations to explain his actions while covering up his lie, Skinner forgets to turn off the oven and sets his house on fire. He tells Chalmers that the fire is an aurora borealis taking place entirely within his own home. After Chalmers leaves, Skinner has to get his mother out of the fire.
  
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===Chief Wiggum's skit===
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:''Homer & Maggie''
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[[Chief Wiggum]] is at Krusty Burger with [[Eddie and Lou]] and Ed and Lou discuss the similarties of McDonalds and Krusty Burger to Chief.
+
[[Homer]] is walking [[Santa's Little Helper]], and holding [[Maggie]] and some groceries at the same time and comes across a newspaper vending machine. The paper has an article regarding a new donut tax. Concerned about the donut tax, Homer buys a paper while juggling around Maggie, etc., and accidentally locks Maggie in the newspaper vending machine. After finding only train flattened coins in his pocket, Homer tries to put a note on Santa's Little Helper about Maggie being trapped, however it was written in cheese whiz and Santa's Little Helper licks it off of the paper. Homer tries to pull Maggie out through the little space that the door opens, but pulls off Maggie's clothing accidentally. So Maggie is still in the vender and Homer decides to just steal the vending machine with Maggie still inside.
  
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===Bumblebeeman's skit===
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:''Chief Wiggum, Eddie & Lou''
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[[Bumblebeeman]] returns from his show and decides to relax however encounters a bunch of disasters that cause him to destroy his house and have his wife call a divorce.
+
[[Clancy Wiggum]] is at Krusty Burger with [[Eddie]] and [[Lou]], and they discuss the similarities and differences between [[McDonalds]] and Krusty Burger, and the food they sell. Wiggum later leaves and goes to get some donuts.
  
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===Snake and Wiggum's skit===
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:''Bumblebee Man''
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[[Snake]] is driving his car listening to a rock version of the theme song while Chief Wiggum is idioctly walking down the street eating doughnuts and Snake and Cheif Wiggum end up fighting only to wind up in [[Herman's Militay Antiques]].
+
[[Bumblebee Man]] returns from his show and decides to relax at home. However, he encounters a bunch of disasters (Similar to his show) that cause him to accidentally destroy his house and his wife divorces him out of anger.
  
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===Reverend Lovejoy's skit===
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:''Wiggum, Snake & Herman''
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[[Reverend Lovejoy]] decides to use his dog to distract [[Ned]] but it causes trouble and Lovejoy scolds it.
+
[[Snake]] is driving his car listening to a rock version of the Simpsons theme song while Chief Wiggum is casually walking down the street with donuts. Wiggum notices Snake, and Snake runs him over impulsively. Wiggum chases after Snake and they indirectly wind up in [[Herman's Military Antiques]]. Herman captures them at gunpoint and holds them hostage.
  
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===Lisa's 2n'd skit===
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:''Reverend Lovejoy & Ned Flanders''
−
[[Marge]] is trying to remove the gum out of [[Lisa]]'s hair however ends up getting distracted by townspeople who also want to help, as [[Ned Flanders]], [[Dr. Hibbert]], [[Lionel Hutz]], [[Sideshow Mel]], [[Otto]], [[Captain McAllister]] and [[Uter]].
+
[[Reverend Lovejoy]] walks his dog and intentionally has it relieve itself on [[Ned Flanders]]'s front yard. Ned comes out onto his yard, and Lovejoy pretends to scold his dog.
  
−
===Cletus's skit===
+
:''Lisa (cont.)''
−
[[Cletus]] finds  a pair of boots and tries to give them to [[Brandine]] (who is filling in for a job as a stripper) but refuses to wear them and Cletus has to put them back where they came from and decides to use the phoneline he found them on to call mom.
+
[[Marge]] is still trying to remove the gum out of [[Lisa]]'s hair. After Ned suggests freezing it out and hitting it with a hammer, he accidentally mashes more hair into it. Soon, everyone comes in to the Simpson's kitchen to offer suggestions: [[Groundskeeper Willie]], [[Dr. Hibbert]], [[Lionel Hutz]], [[Sideshow Mel]], [[Otto]], [[Captain McCallister]] and [[Üter]].
  
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===Milhouse's skit===
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=== Act III ===
−
[[Milhouse]] heads to [[Comic Book Guy]]'s store to go to the bathroom but Comic Book Guy tells Milhouse to purchase something to go to the bathroom  and [[Kirk]] comes and takes Milhouse to Herman's.
+
:''Cletus the Slack-jawed Yokel''
 +
[[Cletus]] finds a pair of boots and gives them to [[Brandine]] for her job interview, but she refuses to accept them, as they may scuff up the topless runway at the place she's trying to get a job at. Brandine tells Cletus to put them back where they came from. Cletus climbs a telephone pole and hangs them over the power lines where he found them. Cletus decides to shout to his mother to get off of the roof while he's up there.
  
−
===Herman's skit===
+
:''Milhouse''  
−
[[Herman]] has captured Snake and Wiggum but Milhouse comes in to go to the bathroom and takes out a mace and hits Herman making him unconsious.
+
[[Milhouse]] goes into [[Comic Book Guy]]'s store to go to the bathroom but Comic Book Guy tells Milhouse that he must purchase something first. Milhouse decides to buy a Hamburgler's comic for 75 cents. His father [[Kirk]] comes in and is appalled that Milhouse is just buying comics, he takes Milhouse to another place. He and Milhouse go into Herman's Military Antiques to get Milhouse to a restroom.
  
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===Lisa's 3r'd skit===
+
:''Wiggum, Snake & Herman (cont.)''
−
Lisa goes to [[Jake the Barber]] to get her hair cut and ends up having to get real people hair but only gets laughed at by Nelson.
+
[[Herman Hermann]] has captured Snake and Wiggum, who are tied up, and is now holding a shotgun and waiting for Zed to get here. Milhouse and his dad come in so that Milhouse can go to the bathroom. When a nervous Kirk tries to make small talk, Herman points his gun at him. Milhouse accidentally hits Herman from behind with a spiked flail, knocking him unconscious.
  
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===Nelsons's skit===
+
:''Lisa (cont.)''
−
[[Nelson]] laughs at Lisa's new hair and [[Mrs. Glick]]'s fall and a tall guy driving a small car but the tall guy then finds Nelson and pulls down his pants when he is front of everyone and teaches Nelson a lesson.
+
Lisa goes to [[Jake the Barber]] to get her hair cut. With a small bald spot from the hair getting cut, she gets it restyled, which makes Lisa feel more like a real person. She leaves the barber shop, and Nelson laughs at her hair.
  
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===Ending===
+
:''Nelson''
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Bart and Milhouse learn the truth and walk away but out of nowhere [[Professor Frink]] appears and tries to sing his tomfoolery but fails.
+
[[Nelson]] laughs at Lisa's new hair, [[Mrs. Glick]] tripping and falling into a trash can and a tall man, {{ap|Ian|very tall man}}, driving a Volkswagen Beetle. The tall man stops his car and gets out. He chases after Nelson and scolds him while holding him by his head. He then pulls down Nelson's pants and makes him walk down the street to teach him a lesson. People in the street laugh at Nelson as he is splattered by ketchup and mustard by Bart and Milhouse, who are standing on top of an overpass.
  
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==Trivia==
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Bart and Milhouse walk away, with the conclusion that everybody has their own story to tell, with not enough time to tell them all. Out of nowhere [[Professor Frink]] appears and tries to tell his story, but is cut short by the end credits.
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===General===
 
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*The episode does not actually feature twenty-two stories, but the according to the DVD commentary, the title was decided from the start, regardless of how many stories would actually end up in the episode.
 
  
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===Production notes===
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== Production ==
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*The very tall man is a caricature of writer [[Ian Maxtone-Graham]].
+
A scene was cut from the final episode which involved Krusty and Ralph flying on a plane. The scene was to see Ralph being transferred to first class after he cut himself on the wings given to him by the pilot and Krusty being moved to in-between Patty and Selma.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Joshstrangehill/status/427154321675808768 John Weinstein's Twitter Picture]</ref> A cel from this scene was later tweeted by Josh Weinstein.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Joshstrangehill/status/493429411606458368 Josh Weinstein's second Twitter picture]</ref>
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*The episode was inspired by "The Adventures of Ned Flanders" segment at the end of "[[The Front]]".
 
  
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===Animation/continuity errors===
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The [http://twitdoc.com/upload/thatbilloakley/chalmers-script.pdf original draft] of the Chalmers and Skinner segment, written by Bill Oakley, was originally to see an 'opening sequence' added to it, with a song being placed over a moving background of Chalmers and Skinner arguments.<ref>[http://twitdoc.com/upload/thatbilloakley/chalmers-script.pdf "Chalmers VS. Skinner" first draft]</ref>
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*Smithers suffers severe allergic reactions to the bee sting in this episode, yet in "[[Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk]]" was stung by several bees but suffered no problems at all.
 
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*Despite having returned to the house on a date with [[Agnes Skinner]] in "[[Bart the Fink]]", in this episode Chalmers apparently required directions to Skinner's house as if he'd never been before.
 
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*In "[[Bart Gets Famous]]", Bumblebee Man was revealed to be putting on a fake Spanish accent and actually spoke with an upper class voice, yet now he speaks Spanish all the time. This was a deliberate change as the writer's felt the revelation that he was English was a terrible joke.
 
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*The Spanish used by Bumblebee Man is completely inaccurate. This was also done deliberatly, to make sure that everyone could understand what he was saying without subtitles.
 
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*Chief Wiggum loses his hat in the fight with Snake, but in the next chapter of his story he is wearing it again.
 
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*Jasper supposedly got a nose job but he's seen with his regular nose later on.
 
  
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===Legacy===
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Another cut scene has [[Lionel Hutz]] in the jury room trying to bribe the jury with cake. [[Judge Snyder]] then walks in and shouts at Hutz for being in the jury room in the middle of a trial.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Joshstrangehill/status/917078097962266624/ Josh Weinstein's third Twitter picture]</ref>
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*The episode spawned the concept of a possible spin-off series ''Tales from Springfield'', although nothing has materialised as of 2008.
 
  
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==Cultural references==
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<gallery>
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*'''''[[wikipedia:Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould|Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould]]''''': The episode's title is a play on that of the 1993 film.
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File:22 Short Films About Springfield Cut Krusty Ralph scene.jpg|The Krusty and Ralph scene
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*'''''[[wikipedia:Pulp Fiction (film)|Pulp Fiction]]''''': Like [[wikipedia:Quentin Tarantino|Quentin Tarantino's]] film, the episode's plot is episodic and interconnected. Additionally there are several more lengthy parodies. The whole of the [[Chief Wiggum]], [[Snake]] and [[Herman]] plot is based on the "Gold Watch" segment of the film. Wiggum, Lou and Eddie's conversation about McDonald's parallels the famous "Royale With Cheese" discussion between Vince Vega and Jules Winnfield. Later, Snake runs down Wiggum like Butch Coolidge does to Marsellus Wallace. He then crashes into a wall, running down a fire hydrant and mailbox just like in the film. The two then fight and roll into Herman's shop, he ties them up and waits for Zed to arrive before being knocked out by a medieval weapon yielded by [[Milhouse]]. This again mirrors the film, with Herman in the role of Maynard.
+
File:22 Short Films About Springfield cut cel.jpg|Cut Ralph animation cel
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*"'''[[wikipedia:1999 (song)|1999]]'''": Apu's line "I'm going to party like it was on sale for $19.99!" references [[wikipedia:Prince (musician)|Prince]]'s song.
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File:22 Short Films About Springfield cut Lionel Hutz scene.jpg|The Lionel Hutz scene
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*"'''Freak-A-Zoid'''": Apu sings the song by [[wikipedia:Midnight Star|Midnight Star]].
+
</gallery>
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*'''''[[wikipedia:E.R. (TV series)|E.R.]]''''': Dr. Nick's scenes parody the popular medical series.
 
  
 +
== Reception ==
 +
"22 Short Films About Springfield" has received wide critical acclaim. [http://www.ew.com/ew/ Entertainment Weekly] placed the episode at 14 on their list of the 'Top 25 Simpsons episodes' and lauded the structure change-up and film references.<ref>[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748_3,00.html EW/Entertainment Weekly - Published on Jan 31, 2003 - "The Family Dynamic: As ''The Simpsons''' 300th episode approaches, we look back at Homer and Co.'s most hilarious, inspired moments."]</ref>
 +
[http://uk.ign.com/ IGN] named the episode the second best episode of the [[Season 7|seventh season]], following "[[A Fish Called Selma]]".<ref>[http://uk.ign.com/articles/2010/01/08/the-simpsons-20-seasons-20-episodes?page=1 IGN.com - By Robert Canning, Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson & Brian Zoromski, 8 Jan 2010 - "The Simpsons: 20 Seasons, 20 Episodes -- We pick the best episodes from each of the past 20 seasons."]</ref>
 +
 +
The episode is considered a fan favorite.<ref name="Weinstein">{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh |year=2006|title=The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
 +
 +
The episode inspired Simpsons creator Matt Groening to come up with a concept of a possible spin-off series called ''Tales from Springfield'', about the recurring characters of Springfield, along with the stories of young Homer. The idea has still not been made a reality.
 +
 +
The Skinner and Chalmers sketch would later become widely spread online under the name "Steamed Hams", a term Skinner uses in the sketch.
 +
 +
== Gallery ==
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<gallery>
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File:22 springfield.png
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</gallery>
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== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
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{{Images|ep=yes}}
 
{{Season 7}}
 
{{Season 7}}
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[[Category:Season 7]]
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[[sv:22 Short Films About Springfield]]
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[[Category:Episodes]]
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[[Category:1996]]
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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:Milhouse episodes]]
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[[Category:Apu episodes]]
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[[Category:Mr. Burns episodes]]
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[[Category:Principal Skinner episodes]]
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[[Category:Smithers episodes]]
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[[Category:Nelson episodes]]
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[[Category:Anthology episodes]]
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[[Category:12-rated episodes]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Richard Appel]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by David X. Cohen]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Jonathan Collier]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Jennifer Crittenden]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Greg Daniels]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Brent Forrester]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Rachel Pulido]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Steve Tomkins]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Josh Weinstein]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Bill Oakley]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Matt Groening]]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by Jim Reardon]]

Latest revision as of 12:48, March 28, 2024

Season 7 Episode
← 148 "Bart on the Road"
149
"22 Short Films About Springfield"
"Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"" 150 →
"Sometimes I wonder about all the people in this town. Do you think anything interesting ever happens to them? I mean, there must be thousands of great stories out there..."
―Bart to Milhouse
"22 Short Films About Springfield"
22 Short Films About Springfield title card.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 149
Season number: S7 E21
Production code: 3F18
Original airdate: April 14, 1996
Couch gag: The family are sea monkeys and swim to a clam shells couch to look at a treasure chest instead of a TV.
Guest star(s): Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and the hospital board chairman
Showrunners: Bill Oakley
Josh Weinstein
Written by: Richard Appel
David Cohen
Jonathan Collier
Jennifer Crittenden
Greg Daniels
Brent Forrester
Rachel Pulido
Steve Tompkins
Josh Weinstein
Bill Oakley
Matt Groening
Directed by: Jim Reardon
DVD features


"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of season 7 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and forty-ninth episode overall. It originally aired on April 14, 1996. The episode was written by Richard Appel, David Cohen, Jonathan Collier, Jennifer Crittenden, Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester, Rachel Pulido, Steve Tompkins, Josh Weinstein, Bill Oakley and Matt Groening and was directed by Jim Reardon. It guest stars Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and the hospital board chairman.

Synopsis[edit]

"Bart and Milhouse wonder if anything interesting ever happens in Springfield. Thus commence interconnecting vignettes depicting various moments in the lives of the town's residents, which include Apu's partying activities; Smithers' allergic reaction to a bee sting; and Dr. Nick's appearance before a medical review board. Also: Principal Skinner makes lunch for Superintendent Chalmers. While Lisa gets gum in her hair, Snake and Wiggum are caught in a Pulp Fiction-style situation."


Plot[edit]

Act I[edit]

The episode opens with Bart and Milhouse spitting off of a bridge, and wondering about the lives of other people in Springfield.

Apu in "The Joly Bengali"

Sanjay asks Apu to go to a party so Apu leaves the store for the next five minutes. During this period, he eats a semi-cooked hot dog, dances to the song "Freakaziod" by Midnight Star, has sex with a woman in a tool shed, and falls into a pool with other partygoers. He heads back to the Kwik-E-Mart with a minute to spare. He opens the door to the store, and discovers that Hans Moleman was inside during the 4 minutes Apu was away. Moleman demands his 4 minutes of time back, but quickly lets it go, claiming he would just waste them.

Lisa

While skateboarding, Bart accidentally throws gum into Lisa's hair while she puts a beer can into a recycling bin. Marge tries to get the gum out of Lisa's hair with peanut butter and mayonnaise. Lisa then goes outside to let the mix sink in, but is chased around by a swarm of bees.

Mr Burns & Smithers

Mr. Burns and Smithers are on a tandem bike ride and Smithers gets stung by a bee and has an allergic reaction after claiming that he is deadly allergic to bee stings. Mr. Burns orders Smithers to pedal to the hospital while in great pain, but in the end they crash right at the Hospital's door, and paramedics pick up the unconscious Mr. Burns instead of the ailing Smithers. Dr. Nick walks by and simply exclaims that Smithers needs booze, and drops pocket change on him.

Dr Nick

Dr. Nick walks into the medical boardroom to have a meeting about his gross incompetence. Suddenly, a doctor walks in and tells them that a lunatic with a scalpel (Abraham Simpson) is demanding to see a quack. The board members turn to look at Dr. Nick. Dr. Nick walks though the door giving Grandpa Simpson a nonsensical diagnosis: that Abe's skeleton is trying to escape his body. He performs an improvised treatment by shocking Abe with the wires of a nearby surgery light. The grateful board allows Dr. Nick to keep his medical license, and he celebrates by offering free nosejobs to everyone, (starting with Jasper).

Moe & Barney

Moe asks Barney if he recalls Moe quipping that he'll have to send away to NASA to calculate Barney's bar tab. The results came in, and Moe tells Barney that he owes him 14 billion dollars (He initially claims that it was $70,000,000,000 until he realized that that was actually the cost for the Voyager Spacecraft). Barney gives Moe $2,000, which Moe says is halfway there. Snake then comes and tries to rob Moe. Moe quickly runs into a room behind him with a 3 inch thick bulletproof glass window. While Moe is behind the bulletproof glass, Snake jumps over the counter, and steals from the cash register to pay off his student loans. Moe wonders how much air he has behind the bulletproof glass, and shortly after collapses.

Act II[edit]

Principal Skinner & Superintendent Chalmers

Principal Skinner has invited Superintendent Chalmers to his house for dinner, but his roast burns and he resorts to ordering fast food from Krusty Burger and disguising it as his own cooking. While trying to come up with fake explanations to explain his actions while covering up his lie, Skinner forgets to turn off the oven and sets his house on fire. He tells Chalmers that the fire is an aurora borealis taking place entirely within his own home. After Chalmers leaves, Skinner has to get his mother out of the fire.

Homer & Maggie

Homer is walking Santa's Little Helper, and holding Maggie and some groceries at the same time and comes across a newspaper vending machine. The paper has an article regarding a new donut tax. Concerned about the donut tax, Homer buys a paper while juggling around Maggie, etc., and accidentally locks Maggie in the newspaper vending machine. After finding only train flattened coins in his pocket, Homer tries to put a note on Santa's Little Helper about Maggie being trapped, however it was written in cheese whiz and Santa's Little Helper licks it off of the paper. Homer tries to pull Maggie out through the little space that the door opens, but pulls off Maggie's clothing accidentally. So Maggie is still in the vender and Homer decides to just steal the vending machine with Maggie still inside.

Chief Wiggum, Eddie & Lou

Clancy Wiggum is at Krusty Burger with Eddie and Lou, and they discuss the similarities and differences between McDonalds and Krusty Burger, and the food they sell. Wiggum later leaves and goes to get some donuts.

Bumblebee Man

Bumblebee Man returns from his show and decides to relax at home. However, he encounters a bunch of disasters (Similar to his show) that cause him to accidentally destroy his house and his wife divorces him out of anger.

Wiggum, Snake & Herman

Snake is driving his car listening to a rock version of the Simpsons theme song while Chief Wiggum is casually walking down the street with donuts. Wiggum notices Snake, and Snake runs him over impulsively. Wiggum chases after Snake and they indirectly wind up in Herman's Military Antiques. Herman captures them at gunpoint and holds them hostage.

Reverend Lovejoy & Ned Flanders

Reverend Lovejoy walks his dog and intentionally has it relieve itself on Ned Flanders's front yard. Ned comes out onto his yard, and Lovejoy pretends to scold his dog.

Lisa (cont.)

Marge is still trying to remove the gum out of Lisa's hair. After Ned suggests freezing it out and hitting it with a hammer, he accidentally mashes more hair into it. Soon, everyone comes in to the Simpson's kitchen to offer suggestions: Groundskeeper Willie, Dr. Hibbert, Lionel Hutz, Sideshow Mel, Otto, Captain McCallister and Üter.

Act III[edit]

Cletus the Slack-jawed Yokel

Cletus finds a pair of boots and gives them to Brandine for her job interview, but she refuses to accept them, as they may scuff up the topless runway at the place she's trying to get a job at. Brandine tells Cletus to put them back where they came from. Cletus climbs a telephone pole and hangs them over the power lines where he found them. Cletus decides to shout to his mother to get off of the roof while he's up there.

Milhouse

Milhouse goes into Comic Book Guy's store to go to the bathroom but Comic Book Guy tells Milhouse that he must purchase something first. Milhouse decides to buy a Hamburgler's comic for 75 cents. His father Kirk comes in and is appalled that Milhouse is just buying comics, he takes Milhouse to another place. He and Milhouse go into Herman's Military Antiques to get Milhouse to a restroom.

Wiggum, Snake & Herman (cont.)

Herman Hermann has captured Snake and Wiggum, who are tied up, and is now holding a shotgun and waiting for Zed to get here. Milhouse and his dad come in so that Milhouse can go to the bathroom. When a nervous Kirk tries to make small talk, Herman points his gun at him. Milhouse accidentally hits Herman from behind with a spiked flail, knocking him unconscious.

Lisa (cont.)

Lisa goes to Jake the Barber to get her hair cut. With a small bald spot from the hair getting cut, she gets it restyled, which makes Lisa feel more like a real person. She leaves the barber shop, and Nelson laughs at her hair.

Nelson

Nelson laughs at Lisa's new hair, Mrs. Glick tripping and falling into a trash can and a tall man, Ian, driving a Volkswagen Beetle. The tall man stops his car and gets out. He chases after Nelson and scolds him while holding him by his head. He then pulls down Nelson's pants and makes him walk down the street to teach him a lesson. People in the street laugh at Nelson as he is splattered by ketchup and mustard by Bart and Milhouse, who are standing on top of an overpass.

Bart and Milhouse walk away, with the conclusion that everybody has their own story to tell, with not enough time to tell them all. Out of nowhere Professor Frink appears and tries to tell his story, but is cut short by the end credits.

Production[edit]

A scene was cut from the final episode which involved Krusty and Ralph flying on a plane. The scene was to see Ralph being transferred to first class after he cut himself on the wings given to him by the pilot and Krusty being moved to in-between Patty and Selma.[1] A cel from this scene was later tweeted by Josh Weinstein.[2]

The original draft of the Chalmers and Skinner segment, written by Bill Oakley, was originally to see an 'opening sequence' added to it, with a song being placed over a moving background of Chalmers and Skinner arguments.[3]

Another cut scene has Lionel Hutz in the jury room trying to bribe the jury with cake. Judge Snyder then walks in and shouts at Hutz for being in the jury room in the middle of a trial.[4]

  • The Krusty and Ralph scene

  • Cut Ralph animation cel

  • The Lionel Hutz scene

Reception[edit]

"22 Short Films About Springfield" has received wide critical acclaim. Entertainment Weekly placed the episode at 14 on their list of the 'Top 25 Simpsons episodes' and lauded the structure change-up and film references.[5] IGN named the episode the second best episode of the seventh season, following "A Fish Called Selma".[6]

The episode is considered a fan favorite.[7]

The episode inspired Simpsons creator Matt Groening to come up with a concept of a possible spin-off series called Tales from Springfield, about the recurring characters of Springfield, along with the stories of young Homer. The idea has still not been made a reality.

The Skinner and Chalmers sketch would later become widely spread online under the name "Steamed Hams", a term Skinner uses in the sketch.

Gallery[edit]

  • 22 springfield.png

References[edit]

  1. ↑ John Weinstein's Twitter Picture
  2. ↑ Josh Weinstein's second Twitter picture
  3. ↑ "Chalmers VS. Skinner" first draft
  4. ↑ Josh Weinstein's third Twitter picture
  5. ↑ EW/Entertainment Weekly - Published on Jan 31, 2003 - "The Family Dynamic: As The Simpsons' 300th episode approaches, we look back at Homer and Co.'s most hilarious, inspired moments."
  6. ↑ IGN.com - By Robert Canning, Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson & Brian Zoromski, 8 Jan 2010 - "The Simpsons: 20 Seasons, 20 Episodes -- We pick the best episodes from each of the past 20 seasons."
  7. ↑ Weinstein, Josh. (2006). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "22 Short Films About Springfield".
Season 7 Episodes
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two) • Radioactive Man • Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily • Bart Sells His Soul • Lisa the Vegetarian • Treehouse of Horror VI • King-Size Homer • Mother Simpson • Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming • The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular • Marge Be Not Proud • Team Homer • Two Bad Neighbors • Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield • Bart the Fink • Lisa the Iconoclast • Homer the Smithers • The Day the Violence Died • A Fish Called Selma • Bart on the Road • 22 Short Films About Springfield • Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish" • Much Apu About Nothing • Homerpalooza • Summer of 4 Ft. 2
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