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Difference between revisions of "The Dad Who Knew Too Little"

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{{Quote|Dad, that information is all wrong! Maggie's a baby, not my best friend. You don't know anything about me!|[[Lisa Simpson]]}}
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{{Episode
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|image=DadWhoKnewTooLittle.jpg
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|image=Homerdextercolt.png
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|productionCode=EABF03
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|number=299
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|originalAirdate=January 12, 2003
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|season=14
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|blackboardText=
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|snumber=8
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|couchGag=The family are up an under construction skyscraper in the 1920's, sat on a girder watching TV
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|prodcode=EABF03
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|specialGuestVoices=[[Elliot Gould]] as [[Elliot Gould (character)|himself]]
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|airdate=January 12, [[2003]]
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|Written By=[[Matt Selman]]
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|couchgag=The family are up an under construction skyscraper in the 1920's, sat on a girder watching TV
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|Episode Number=299
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|guests=[[Elliott Gould]] as {{Ch|Elliott Gould|himself}}
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|Directed By=[[Mark Kirkland]]
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|showrunner1= Al Jean
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|writer=[[Matt Selman]]
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|director=[[Mark Kirkland]]
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|DVD features=yes
 
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"'''The Dad Who Knew Too Little'''" is the eighth episode of [[Season 14]], which aired on January 12, 2003. The episode was written by [[Matt Selman]] and directed by [[Mark Kirkland]]. [[Elliot Gould]] guest starred as himself. The episode received mixed reviews from TV critics.
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"'''The Dad Who Knew Too Little'''" is the eighth episode of [[season 14]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the two-hundred and ninety-ninth episode overall. It originally aired on January 12, [[2003]]. The episode was written by [[Matt Selman]] and directed by [[Mark Kirkland]]. It guest stars [[Elliott Gould]] as {{Ch|Elliott Gould|himself}}.
  
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==Synopsis==
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== Synopsis ==
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Homer hires a private detective to learn more about Lisa.
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{{Desc|[[Lisa]] becomes angry after watching a horribly inaccurate video that [[Homer]] gave to her as a birthday gift. The video showcases Homer's complete lack of knowledge regarding his daughter, so he decides to hire a private detective to learn more about Lisa.}}
  
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==Plot==
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== Plot ==
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Bart and Lisa are watching a TV program, "[[Padz]]" (a parody of MTV Cribs). They see a commercial for a new kind of personal diary, which does not allow anyone else to read it and shocks them if they try. Lisa, tired of Bart reading her diary (which he is doing at that moment and agrees with her), asks Homer and Marge to get her the diary for her birthday, to which they agree. The next day, Homer and Bart go to the mall to get the diary for Lisa. Homer gets sidetracked when he sees that the food court is handing out free samples. Bart tells him that they have to get Lisa's gift, but Homer ignores him and pigs out on all the free food (and when that runs out, he starts chewing up some pants in the men's department). Afterwards, they finally go to the toy store to get the diary for Lisa. However, all copies of the diary are sold out (the last one was bought by Mr. Burns minutes ago, to make a list of his enemies). Clueless about what to get for Lisa, Homer roams about the mall, until he encounters Ned Flanders, who informs him that he can make a personalized movie about Lisa, just like the one Flanders made for Rod. Homer, short of ideas, decides to go for Ned's idea (with the humorous quote "Stupid Flanders, you're a genius!").
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[[Bart]] and Lisa watch the reality TV show ''[[Padz]]'', which has an episode about [[Krusty the Clown]], and has a guest appearance by {{Ch|Elliott Gould}}. After the episode, an advert for the ''[[Turbo Diary]]'' comes on, which Lisa decides that she wants for her birthday. Lisa tells Homer and [[Marge]] that she wants the ''Turbo Diary'' and Homer and Bart go to the [[Springfield Mall]] to get one for her. At the Mall, the [[Food Court]] is giving out free samples, which Homer eats all of. Homer and Bart then go to [[Toys]] where they find that the last ''Turbo Diary'' was sold to [[Mr. Burns]]. As Homer and Bart walk through the Mall, not knowing what to get Lisa for her birthday now, they find [[Ned Flanders]] at the [[Make Your Child a Movie Star]] kiosk. Homer decides that he loves the idea so he makes a video for Lisa.
  
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On Lisa's birthday, Bart gives her a laser pointer and demonstrates its power by flashing it at Principal Skinner's crotch, prompting him to examine closely what that "red dot" is. Homer gives Lisa her present — the personalized movie he made for her. She is disappointed that she didn't get the diary she wanted, nevertheless she watches the movie. It's a story about Lisa as a sheriff in a Western movie. The dialogue in the movie helps Lisa realize that Homer knows absolutely nothing about her. She runs upstairs crying, making Homer feel bad.
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Lisa's birthday comes around and she opens her presents. Bart gives her a laser pointer, which he uses to shine a red dot on [[Principal Skinner]]'s crotch from the house. When Lisa opens the present from Homer and Marge, she's surprised to find a video tape. She plays the tape and it's ''[[The Adventures of Lisa Simpson, Girl Cowboy]]'', a personalized video made by Homer. However, Homer gets everything about Lisa wrong, saying that her favorite food is McNuggets, despite being a vegetarian, and that her best friend is [[Maggie]]. Lisa then runs from the room upset that her father doesn't know her at all.
  
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The next day, he tries to make it up to her by asking her about herself, but she blows him off, saying that he had eight years to get to know her and now it's too late. Later that day, feeling dejected, he goes to Moe's. When he tells the barflies there his problem, Moe tells him to have Lisa followed by a private detective and gives him a card for one, Dexter Colt. That night, Homer goes to a rather seedy part of town to meet Dexter. He wants Colt to follow Lisa and find out as much as he can, so that he can at least act as the perfect father. The shady detective takes the case.
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The next day, Homer tries to make things up to Lisa, but fails. He then goes to drown his sorrows at [[Moe's Tavern]], where the barflies and [[Moe]] tell him to go and see [[Dexter Colt]], a private detective who can find anything. Homer hires Colt to find out what Lisa likes. Colt gets to work on this job, breaking into Lisa's locker, threatening Skinner to get Lisa's permanent record, and bribing and blackmailing her fellow students. Eventually, he puts together a report on what Lisa likes and leaves it for Homer.
  
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Dexter starts following Lisa and going through her locker. He even muscles Skinner into showing him Lisa's permanent record. He blackmails Nelson to get him a book report of "The Secret Garden," written by Lisa. Finally, one day, as Homer leaves the power plant, he sees a large envelope on his car hood. It's the report by the detective about Lisa.
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Homer uses the report to become a better father to Lisa, playing her favorite music and taking her to places she likes, such as a protest against the [[Screaming Monkey Medical Research Center]]. When Homer goes to pay Dexter Colt for his services, he's shocked to find that Colt is charging $1,000, with many expenses piled on. Homer refuses to pay and flees the office. The next day, Homer and Lisa are shocked to find that the Research Lab had been vandalized and that the animals had been stolen from it. The evidence at the scene all pointed to Lisa and Homer realizes that Dexter Colt framed her. As the police come after Lisa, Homer and Lisa flee together in the car.
  
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Using the report, he starts to bond with Lisa by playing the songs that she likes and going to a protest against animal testing at a research lab, where monkeys are made to smoke cigarettes and pigs are smothered with make-up. Later that night, Homer tucks her into bed, happy that he's getting to know her, although he almost lets slip about the report.
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At [[The Three Seasons Motel]], Homer phones home to talk to Marge. The police were listening in though and traced the call. Homer then confessed to Lisa that he hired a detective to find out about her, which is how he knew what to do to make her happy. The police then come to their cabin and Homer and Lisa escape through the window. They eventually make their way to a traveling circus where they find the stolen animals. When Homer and Lisa figure out that Colt had sold the animals to the circus, Colt appeared, with [[The Flying Giuseppe]] in a cannon. Colt then fires The Flying Giuseppe at Homer, who pushes Lisa out of the way to keep her from being hit. Homer then escapes into the Hall of Mirrors, with Colt following him. Colt shoots Homer in the arm but then Lisa enters and hears the story Homer was telling about how Lisa found him crying in the closet due to her excellent hearing. Lisa is happy that Homer remembers that, then shines a laser pointer into Colt's eyes. Colt is then arrested after Lisa is exonerated and Homer and Lisa make up. The stolen animals are then taken to [[Cletus's farm]].
  
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Homer goes to see Dexter Colt to thank him for all his work. When Colt gives him a bill for $1000 (which includes many unrelated costs, such as a $40 steak that would have been free if he had eaten the whole steak and silver bullets to kill Lisa if she was a werewolf). Homer refuses to pay the incredible amount. Colt pulls out his handgun and grabs Homer by his shirt, but Homer wriggles out of his shirt and jumps out of the window. Colt swears revenge as Homer runs off into the night.
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During the end credits, Bart takes Lisa's ''Turbo Diary'' and asks Homer to read him a bedtime story. Homer keeps trying to read the ''Turbo Diary'' but keeps getting shocked by it.
  
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The next morning, Lisa, Homer, and Bart are watching the news. They see that someone has vandalised the research lab and stolen all the animals. Chief Wiggum says that, based on the clues collected (such as a Malibu Stacy scrunchy, a saxophone reed and the book report for "The Secret Garden" by Lisa Simpson), Lisa Simpson is the main suspect. Lisa says she is innocent and Homer knows she has been framed by Dexter Colt. The cops come to arrest Lisa, but Homer and Lisa take off in the car, with the cops in pursuit. Finally, they manage to escape and disguise themselves with shoe polish (to color their hair). They check into a motel and call Marge, but the cops have tapped the phone and zero in on their location. Homer, meanwhile, tells Lisa the truth about the detective and she gets angry with him again.
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== Production ==
 +
Episode writer [[Matt Selman]] got the idea for the self-insert video from the back of a magazine. He ripped the advert out and put it in a pile of plot ideas, thinking it could be funny one day. The ''Turbo Diary'' idea came from writer [[Joel H. Cohen]], who got a verbally activated locking diary for his daughter. The diary, however, didn't work.<ref name="Selman">{{Com|Selman, Matt|The Dad Who Knew Too Little|Fourteenth|(2011).|link=Matt Selman}}</ref> In the [[season 2]] episode "[[The Way We Was]]", [[Marge]] said that Elliott Gould was her hero. Gould then wrote a letter to the producers, thanking Marge for that. This led to the producers asking him to be in an episode.<ref name="Jean">{{Com|Jean, Al|The Dad Who Knew Too Little|Fourteenth|(2011).|link=Al Jean}}</ref>
  
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When the cops arrive, Homer and Lisa escape through the window. After running for a while, they come across a circus, where they see the stolen animals from the research lab. They are about to call the cops, when Dexter Colt shows up, aiming a cannon (with a human cannonball inside) at them. He fires it and Homer pushes Lisa out of the way and gets hit by the human cannonball, but he's okay (a reference to the episode "Homerpalooza"). Colt pulls out his handgun and Homer takes off into a hall of mirrors. Many reflections of Homer show up, but Colt shoots Homer in the arm. As Colt is about to shoot Homer, Lisa shows up. Colt wonders how she heard them, and Homer says that Lisa's hearing is very good and that one day when she was very young, she had heard him quietly sobbing in the closet. Lisa, impressed that Homer actually remembered something about her, flashes Colt in the eye with the laser pointer that Bart gave her (incidentally blinding him).
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[[Hank Azaria]] based Dexter Colt's voice on actor {{W|Robert Stack}}, who had played several detectives.<ref name="Jean"/> [[Mark Kirkland]] based Colt's design on {{W|Robert Mitchum}}. The animators watched multiple noir films together to see how the acting was for the detectives.<ref name="Kirkland">{{Com|Kirkland, Mark|The Dad Who Knew Too Little|Fourteenth|(2011).|link=Mark Kirkland}}</ref>
  
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Later, Colt is arrested and Lisa is exonerated. Homer tells her that he released all the lab animals into the wild. We see that he gave them to the Spuckler family, and Brandine Del Roy is suspicious of Cletus' intentions with the pigs.
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Animator [[Matthew Faughnan]] animated the hall of mirrors scene, using the xerox machine to help. This was a very challenging scene to animate.<ref name="Kirkland"/> The scene over the end credits of Bart getting Homer to read the ''Turbo Diary'' was actually taken from the middle of the episode. The episode was slightly too long so the scene was moved to the credits to make it fit.<ref name="Jean"/>
  
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During the closing credits, we see that Lisa finally got her diary. When she goes to sleep, Bart sneaks in steals the diary using a pair of tongs. While the house was shown, we hear Bart walking to Homer and asking him to read him a bedtime story. Homer accepts and asks Bart to give him the diary. He opens it and gets electrocuted as a result of being an unauthorized user. The episode ends with Bart laughing at his gullible father's excruciating pain and misery.
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Matt Selman created the email of chunkylover53@aol.com in real life so that nobody would steal it. Matt Selman actually answered emails sent to the account as Homer Simpson. He later changed the password, but forgot what he changed it to.<ref name="Selman"/>
  
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== Reception ==
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"The Dad Who Knew Too Little" won the [[2004]] Writers Guild of America award in Animation.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000710/2004/1/ IMDb - "Writers Guild of America, USA 2004 Awards"]</ref>
  
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As of November [[2021]], the episode has a 7.3 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701233/ IMDb - "The Dad Who Knew Too Little"]</ref>
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== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
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{{Images|ep=yes}}
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{{Season 14}}
 
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Latest revision as of 13:02, March 28, 2024

Season 14 Episode
← 298 "Special Edna"
299
"The Dad Who Knew Too Little"
"The Strong Arms of the Ma" 300 →
"Dad, that information is all wrong! Maggie's a baby, not my best friend. You don't know anything about me!"
―Lisa Simpson
"The Dad Who Knew Too Little"
Homerdextercolt.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 299
Season number: S14 E8
Production code: EABF03
Original airdate: January 12, 2003
Couch gag: The family are up an under construction skyscraper in the 1920's, sat on a girder watching TV
Guest star(s): Elliott Gould as himself
Showrunner: Al Jean
Written by: Matt Selman
Directed by: Mark Kirkland
DVD features


"The Dad Who Knew Too Little" is the eighth episode of season 14 of The Simpsons and the two-hundred and ninety-ninth episode overall. It originally aired on January 12, 2003. The episode was written by Matt Selman and directed by Mark Kirkland. It guest stars Elliott Gould as himself.

Synopsis[edit]

"Lisa becomes angry after watching a horribly inaccurate video that Homer gave to her as a birthday gift. The video showcases Homer's complete lack of knowledge regarding his daughter, so he decides to hire a private detective to learn more about Lisa."


Plot[edit]

Bart and Lisa watch the reality TV show Padz, which has an episode about Krusty the Clown, and has a guest appearance by Elliott Gould. After the episode, an advert for the Turbo Diary comes on, which Lisa decides that she wants for her birthday. Lisa tells Homer and Marge that she wants the Turbo Diary and Homer and Bart go to the Springfield Mall to get one for her. At the Mall, the Food Court is giving out free samples, which Homer eats all of. Homer and Bart then go to Toys where they find that the last Turbo Diary was sold to Mr. Burns. As Homer and Bart walk through the Mall, not knowing what to get Lisa for her birthday now, they find Ned Flanders at the Make Your Child a Movie Star kiosk. Homer decides that he loves the idea so he makes a video for Lisa.

Lisa's birthday comes around and she opens her presents. Bart gives her a laser pointer, which he uses to shine a red dot on Principal Skinner's crotch from the house. When Lisa opens the present from Homer and Marge, she's surprised to find a video tape. She plays the tape and it's The Adventures of Lisa Simpson, Girl Cowboy, a personalized video made by Homer. However, Homer gets everything about Lisa wrong, saying that her favorite food is McNuggets, despite being a vegetarian, and that her best friend is Maggie. Lisa then runs from the room upset that her father doesn't know her at all.

The next day, Homer tries to make things up to Lisa, but fails. He then goes to drown his sorrows at Moe's Tavern, where the barflies and Moe tell him to go and see Dexter Colt, a private detective who can find anything. Homer hires Colt to find out what Lisa likes. Colt gets to work on this job, breaking into Lisa's locker, threatening Skinner to get Lisa's permanent record, and bribing and blackmailing her fellow students. Eventually, he puts together a report on what Lisa likes and leaves it for Homer.

Homer uses the report to become a better father to Lisa, playing her favorite music and taking her to places she likes, such as a protest against the Screaming Monkey Medical Research Center. When Homer goes to pay Dexter Colt for his services, he's shocked to find that Colt is charging $1,000, with many expenses piled on. Homer refuses to pay and flees the office. The next day, Homer and Lisa are shocked to find that the Research Lab had been vandalized and that the animals had been stolen from it. The evidence at the scene all pointed to Lisa and Homer realizes that Dexter Colt framed her. As the police come after Lisa, Homer and Lisa flee together in the car.

At The Three Seasons Motel, Homer phones home to talk to Marge. The police were listening in though and traced the call. Homer then confessed to Lisa that he hired a detective to find out about her, which is how he knew what to do to make her happy. The police then come to their cabin and Homer and Lisa escape through the window. They eventually make their way to a traveling circus where they find the stolen animals. When Homer and Lisa figure out that Colt had sold the animals to the circus, Colt appeared, with The Flying Giuseppe in a cannon. Colt then fires The Flying Giuseppe at Homer, who pushes Lisa out of the way to keep her from being hit. Homer then escapes into the Hall of Mirrors, with Colt following him. Colt shoots Homer in the arm but then Lisa enters and hears the story Homer was telling about how Lisa found him crying in the closet due to her excellent hearing. Lisa is happy that Homer remembers that, then shines a laser pointer into Colt's eyes. Colt is then arrested after Lisa is exonerated and Homer and Lisa make up. The stolen animals are then taken to Cletus's farm.

During the end credits, Bart takes Lisa's Turbo Diary and asks Homer to read him a bedtime story. Homer keeps trying to read the Turbo Diary but keeps getting shocked by it.

Production[edit]

Episode writer Matt Selman got the idea for the self-insert video from the back of a magazine. He ripped the advert out and put it in a pile of plot ideas, thinking it could be funny one day. The Turbo Diary idea came from writer Joel H. Cohen, who got a verbally activated locking diary for his daughter. The diary, however, didn't work.[1] In the season 2 episode "The Way We Was", Marge said that Elliott Gould was her hero. Gould then wrote a letter to the producers, thanking Marge for that. This led to the producers asking him to be in an episode.[2]

Hank Azaria based Dexter Colt's voice on actor Robert Stack, who had played several detectives.[2] Mark Kirkland based Colt's design on Robert Mitchum. The animators watched multiple noir films together to see how the acting was for the detectives.[3]

Animator Matthew Faughnan animated the hall of mirrors scene, using the xerox machine to help. This was a very challenging scene to animate.[3] The scene over the end credits of Bart getting Homer to read the Turbo Diary was actually taken from the middle of the episode. The episode was slightly too long so the scene was moved to the credits to make it fit.[2]

Matt Selman created the email of chunkylover53@aol.com in real life so that nobody would steal it. Matt Selman actually answered emails sent to the account as Homer Simpson. He later changed the password, but forgot what he changed it to.[1]

Reception[edit]

"The Dad Who Knew Too Little" won the 2004 Writers Guild of America award in Animation.[4]

As of November 2021, the episode has a 7.3 rating on IMDb.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Selman, Matt (2011). Commentary for "The Dad Who Knew Too Little", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourteenth Season.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jean, Al (2011). Commentary for "The Dad Who Knew Too Little", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourteenth Season.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kirkland, Mark (2011). Commentary for "The Dad Who Knew Too Little", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourteenth Season.
  4. ↑ IMDb - "Writers Guild of America, USA 2004 Awards"
  5. ↑ IMDb - "The Dad Who Knew Too Little"


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "The Dad Who Knew Too Little".
Season 14 Episodes
Treehouse of Horror XIII • How I Spent My Strummer Vacation • Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade • Large Marge • Helter Shelter • The Great Louse Detective • Special Edna • The Dad Who Knew Too Little • The Strong Arms of the Ma • Pray Anything • Barting Over • I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can • A Star Is Born Again • Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington • C.E. D'oh • 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky • Three Gays of the Condo • Dude, Where's My Ranch? • Old Yeller-Belly • Brake My Wife, Please • The Bart of War • Moe Baby Blues
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