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Difference between revisions of "The Otto Show"

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{{Tab}} {{EpisodePrevNext|Black Widower|Bart's Friend Falls in Love}}
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{{episode
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{{Tab}}
|image = 8f21.gif
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{{EpisodePrevNext|Black Widower|Bart's Friend Falls in Love}}
|Episode Number = 57
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{{Quote|Well, that tears it. Until you get a license and wear your own underwear, mister, you are suspended without pay.|[[Principal Skinner]] to [[Otto Mann]]}}
|productionCode = 8F21
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{{Episode
|originalAirdate = April 23, 1992
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|name= The Otto Show
|blackboardText = "I will not spin the turtle"
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|image= 8f21.gif
|couchGag = Santa's Little Helper is on the couch and growls when the family approach it. The family back off.
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|number= 57
|specialGuestVoices = [[Spinal Tap]], [[wikipedia:Christopher Guest|Christopher Guest]] and [[wikipedia:Michael McKean|Michael McKean]] as themselves
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|season=3
|Written By = [[Jeff Martin]]
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|snumber=22
|Directed By = [[Wes Archer]]
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|prodcode= 8F21
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|airdate= April 23, [[1992]]
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|blackboard= "I will not spin the turtle"
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|couchgag= Santa's Little Helper is on the couch and growls when the family approach it. The family back off.
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|guests= [[Christopher Guest]] as [[Nigel Tufnel]]<br>[[Michael McKean]] as [[David St. Hubbins]]
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|showrunner1= Al Jean
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|showrunner2= Mike Reiss
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|writer= [[Jeff Martin]]
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|director= [[Wes Archer]]
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|DVD features=yes
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{Quote|''"So the lady drove faster, but a strange car kept banging into her from behind! Finally, the lady swerves off the road into the woods, and lost the other car. And that's when she realized that the man in the other car wasn't trying to hurt her. No, he was trying to warn her... about the axe-wielding maniac hiding in her back seat!"''|Otto Mann}}
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"'''The Otto Show'''" is the twenty-second episode of [[season 3]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the fifty-seventh episode overall. It originally aired on April 23, [[1992]]. The episode was written by [[Jeff Martin]] and directed by [[Wes Archer]]. It guest stars [[Christopher Guest]] as [[Nigel Tufnel]] and [[Michael McKean]] as [[David St. Hubbins]].
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== Synopsis ==
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{{Desc|[[Otto]] loses his job driving the school bus, partially because he doesn't have a driver's license, and, after being kicked out of his apartment, goes to live with the Simpsons.}}
  
"'''The Otto Show'''" is the twenty-second episode of [[Season 3]]. It first aired on April 23, 1992. It was written by [[Jeff Martin]] and directed by [[Wes Archer]]. [[Spinal Tap]] guest star as themselves, reuniting [[Simpsons]] regular [[Harry Shearer]] with [[wikipedia:Christopher Guest|Christopher Guest]] and [[wikipedia:Michael McKean|Michael McKean]]. [[Otto Mann|Otto]] loses his job driving the school bus, partially because he doesn't have a driver's license, and, after being kicked out of his apartment, goes to live with the Simpsons.
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== Plot ==
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[[File:Break Like the Wind.png|thumb|left|{{Chs|Spinal Tap}} perform "[[Break Like the Wind]]".]]
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[[Bart]] gets ready to go to a {{Chs|Spinal Tap}} concert, with [[Homer]] taking him, digging out his old concert jacket to do so. On their way, they pick [[Milhouse]] up and arrive at the [[Springfield Coliseum]], where Homer waits in the car as Bart and Milhouse attend the concert. Backstage, Spinal Tap have an interview with {{ap|Bill|KBBL}} and [[Marty]] of [[KBBL]] before going on stage and performing "[[Break Like the Wind]]" to the audience. During the performance, they have several problems, including puddles on the stage and the inflatable devil deflating. The band decides to end early and leaves, with the audience starting a riot in response.
 +
 
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The rest of the family watch the news about the riot on TV, with [[Marge]] getting worried. Homer and Bart then return home, which leaves Marge relieved. Bart then tells Homer and Marge that he wants to be a rock star. When Marge asks how Milhouse is, Homer rushes back to the concert to find him. Homer and Marge discuss Bart wanting to be a rock star and decide to buy him an expensive guitar to practice on. However, Bart isn't any good and thinks the guitar is broken. When he gives it to [[Otto]] on the school bus to try out, Otto rocks out, to Bart's surprise, saying that it was all he did in high school. Otto then puts on a performance for the kids, causing traffic and having the students become late for school. Otto then rushes to school and crashes the bus. When the police ask to see Otto's license, Otto tells them he doesn't have one. Otto then gets fired by Skinner, with [[Principal Skinner]] taking over as the bus driver.
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Bart is shocked to find that Skinner is now the driver, whilst the rest of the kids are fine with it, singing "[[Hail to the Bus Driver]]". Skinner then gets stuck at an intersection to a busy road for a long time, with nobody letting him out. Meanwhile, Otto goes to take his bus driver test but fails, scoring a 0. Back at the intersection, several hours have passed and Skinner gets angry at [[Ralph]]. Otto then returns home to find that he has been evicted by his landlord for not paying his rent. As Bart goes to the [[Kwik-E-Mart]], he is given a special [[Squishee]] that he doesn't like, so he throws it into a trash can, which Otto was currently living in. Bart then invites Otto to live in his garage, not telling Homer and Marge.
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Homer and Marge are woken up in the night by Otto and Bart performing rock songs. After talking it through, they decide to let Otto stay with them until he gets back on his feet. However, all Otto does is sit around watching TV, which annoys Marge. Otto also clogs the drains with his hair and annoys Homer in the process. Homer and Marge then decide to kick him out, with Otto scaring Lisa being the final straw.
  
== Plot ==
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Angry at being kicked out and insulted by Homer, Otto goes back to the [[DMV]] to take the bus test again. [[Patty]] agrees to let him do so after Otto said he wanted to staple his license to Homer's big, bald head, with Patty giving Otto the answers to the test. As Otto takes the driving part of the test, the two of them talk about Homer and laugh about him. Patty then passes Otto due to their hatred of Homer. Otto then turns up as the school bus driver the next day and the kids sing "Hail to the Bus Driver", as Skinner watches the bus go off.
[[Bart]] and [[Milhouse]] attend a [[Spinal Tap]] concert, but it turns into a major flop and degenerates into a riot. Nonetheless, Bart is impressed by the aging heavy metal band and wants to become a rock guitarist.
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== Production ==
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The episode title is a pun on "{{W|auto show}}".<ref name="Martin">{{Com|Martin, Jeff|The Otto Show|Third|(2003).}}</ref> [[Fox]] were unhappy with Spinal Tap being chosen as the band for the episode, as part of the reason was nobody had heard of them and the crew had forgotten to clear the songs until the episode was already animated, and they were charged a lot of money.<ref name="Jean">{{Com|Jean, Al|The Otto Show|Third|(2003).}}</ref> Fox also thought that they could have gotten a real band for the amount of money spent.<ref name="Reiss">{{Com|Reiss, Mike|The Otto Show|Third|(2003).}}</ref> In the concert, the crowd were drawn with really long bangs so the animators didn't have to draw eyes for everyone. There was also a scene where the drummer exploded, but it was cut.<ref name="Archer">{{Com|Archer, Wes|The Otto Show|Third|(2003).}}</ref>
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The scene of Homer singing "[[Spanish Flea]]" was going to be cut, as the song was expensive to license. However, it got a really big laugh at the table read so they kept it in and bought the song rights.<ref name="Martin"/> [[Jay Kogen]] had to pull some strings to get the rights to the song.<ref name="Brooks">{{Com|Brooks, James L.|The Otto Show|Third|(2003).}}</ref> During the dream sequence of Bart as a rockstar, Bart says "slag off". The producers tried to get "piss off" and "sod off" said instead, but the censor disallowed it.<ref name="Jean"/> The scene with Spinal Tap's bus going over the cliff and going up in flames was not originally in the script, but the producers felt that the bus going up the hill was too mild.<ref name="Groening">{{Com|Groening, Matt|The Otto Show|Third|(2003).}}</ref> The line about Otto wanting a book written from the vampire's point of view came from Jeff Martin being next to a guy on a plane who was telling him about a book he liked as it was written from the vampire's point of view.<ref name="Martin"/> Jay Kogen and [[Wallace Wolodarsky]] wanted Otto's last name to be "Mechanic", but the animators put "Mann" on his license instead.<ref name="Reiss"/>
  
[[Homer]] and [[Marge]] decide to buy Bart his own electric guitar, but Bart struggles to learn how to play it. The next morning on the school bus, Bart brings his guitar onto the bus and [[Otto Mann|Otto]] compliments him on his "cherry axe" to which Bart replies that he thinks the guitar is broken. Bart hands it to Otto, who – with the bus still stopped in traffic – wows his passengers with an impromptu concert. However, Otto loses track of time and is forced to drive recklessly to school. In the ensuing chaos, the bus runs Spinal Tap's bus off the road, and turns over onto its side in the town square. Numerous people call [[Springfield Elementary School]] to report the accident, earning Otto a reprimand from [[Principal Skinner]]. However, when [[Eddie|Officer Eddie]] asks for Otto's driver's license to complete his report, Otto is forced to admit he doesn't have one. Otto loses his job, and Skinner takes over his route. Skinner finds it hard going, not being an aggressive driver like Otto.
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== Reception ==
 +
Nathan Rabin of {{W|The A.V. Club}} said that "The Otto Show" "has a lot of fun with the cornball rituals of the rock concert". He then goes on to say that the episode "gets much of its mojo from ''{{W|This Is Spinal Tap}}''". Rabin later said that with this episode, "''The Simpsons'' stretched its legs a little and devoted much of an episode to a one-note supporting character".<ref>[https://tv.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-the-otto-show-1798169394 The A.V. Club - "The Simpsons (Classic): "The Otto Show""]</ref>
  
Things quickly go downhill for Otto. He fails his driver's test at the Springfield DMV, he is unable to find a new job, and he is evicted from his apartment. He calls upon the Simpsons to take him in until he can find a new job, and is allowed to move into the garage, after Bart convinces the family.
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As of January [[2020]], the episode has a 7.8 rating on {{W|IMDb}}<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701254/ IMDb - "The Otto Show"]</ref> and a 8.6 rating on {{W|TV.com}}.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/the-otto-show-1342/ TV.com - "The Otto Show"]</ref>
  
Otto makes a nuisance of himself as he becomes comfortable laying around the house and playing his guitar. Homer soon loses his patience with Otto after finding a clump of his hair in their bathroom sink. The last straw is when Otto tells Lisa a ghost story similar to ''High Beams ''from '''''Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark'''''. Marge and Homer hear Lisa's screaming and Homer demands that he be sent on his way. Marge and Bart, however, encourage Otto to give the driving test one last try. Otto goes to the [[Department of Motor Vehicles|Springfield DMV]] and demands another chance to take the test. When [[Patty Bouvier|Patty]] asks why, he tells her "So I can staple it on Homer Simpson's bald head". This quickly changes Patty's demeanor out of spite for her brother-in-law. Though Otto isn't successful in his retest, Patty decides to grant Otto his license anyway, and Otto is back to work. Otto drives off into the sunset, with Skinner remarking, "Hail to the bus driver, bus driver man".
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== In other languages ==
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{{LanguageBox
 +
|fr=yes
 +
|frName=Le Permis d'Otto Bus
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|frTrans=Otto Bus' License
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|de=yes
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|deName=Der Fahrschüler
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|deTrans=The learner driver
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|es=yes
 +
|esName=El Otto-show
 +
|esTrans=The Otto-show
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|la=yes
 +
|laName=El rock de Otto
 +
|laTrans=Otto's rock
 +
|br=yes
 +
|brName=Show de Otto
 +
|brTrans=Otto Show
 +
|jp=yes
 +
|jpName=オットーの免許証
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|jpTrans=Otto's Driver's License
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}}
  
{{Season 3}}
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== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
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{{Images|ep=yes}}
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{{season 3}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto Show, The}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto Show, The}}
[[es:The Otto Show]]
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[[pt:Show de Otto]]
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[[Category:1992]]
[[Category:Episodes]]
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[[Category:Bart episodes]]
[[Category:Season 3]]
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[[Category:Principal Skinner episodes]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Jeff Martin]]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by Wes Archer]]
 +
 
 +
[[sv:The Otto Show]]

Latest revision as of 13:04, August 19, 2024

Season 3 Episode
056 "Black Widower"
057
"The Otto Show"
"Bart's Friend Falls in Love" 058
"Well, that tears it. Until you get a license and wear your own underwear, mister, you are suspended without pay."
Principal Skinner to Otto Mann
"The Otto Show"
8f21.gif
Episode Information
Episode number: 57
Season number: S3 E22
Production code: 8F21
Original airdate: April 23, 1992
Chalkboard gag: "I will not spin the turtle"
Couch gag: Santa's Little Helper is on the couch and growls when the family approach it. The family back off.
Guest star(s): Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel
Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins
Showrunners: Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Written by: Jeff Martin
Directed by: Wes Archer
DVD features


"The Otto Show" is the twenty-second episode of season 3 of The Simpsons and the fifty-seventh episode overall. It originally aired on April 23, 1992. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Wes Archer. It guest stars Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel and Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins.

Synopsis[edit]

"Otto loses his job driving the school bus, partially because he doesn't have a driver's license, and, after being kicked out of his apartment, goes to live with the Simpsons."


Plot[edit]

Bart gets ready to go to a Spinal Tap concert, with Homer taking him, digging out his old concert jacket to do so. On their way, they pick Milhouse up and arrive at the Springfield Coliseum, where Homer waits in the car as Bart and Milhouse attend the concert. Backstage, Spinal Tap have an interview with Bill and Marty of KBBL before going on stage and performing "Break Like the Wind" to the audience. During the performance, they have several problems, including puddles on the stage and the inflatable devil deflating. The band decides to end early and leaves, with the audience starting a riot in response.

The rest of the family watch the news about the riot on TV, with Marge getting worried. Homer and Bart then return home, which leaves Marge relieved. Bart then tells Homer and Marge that he wants to be a rock star. When Marge asks how Milhouse is, Homer rushes back to the concert to find him. Homer and Marge discuss Bart wanting to be a rock star and decide to buy him an expensive guitar to practice on. However, Bart isn't any good and thinks the guitar is broken. When he gives it to Otto on the school bus to try out, Otto rocks out, to Bart's surprise, saying that it was all he did in high school. Otto then puts on a performance for the kids, causing traffic and having the students become late for school. Otto then rushes to school and crashes the bus. When the police ask to see Otto's license, Otto tells them he doesn't have one. Otto then gets fired by Skinner, with Principal Skinner taking over as the bus driver.

Bart is shocked to find that Skinner is now the driver, whilst the rest of the kids are fine with it, singing "Hail to the Bus Driver". Skinner then gets stuck at an intersection to a busy road for a long time, with nobody letting him out. Meanwhile, Otto goes to take his bus driver test but fails, scoring a 0. Back at the intersection, several hours have passed and Skinner gets angry at Ralph. Otto then returns home to find that he has been evicted by his landlord for not paying his rent. As Bart goes to the Kwik-E-Mart, he is given a special Squishee that he doesn't like, so he throws it into a trash can, which Otto was currently living in. Bart then invites Otto to live in his garage, not telling Homer and Marge.

Homer and Marge are woken up in the night by Otto and Bart performing rock songs. After talking it through, they decide to let Otto stay with them until he gets back on his feet. However, all Otto does is sit around watching TV, which annoys Marge. Otto also clogs the drains with his hair and annoys Homer in the process. Homer and Marge then decide to kick him out, with Otto scaring Lisa being the final straw.

Angry at being kicked out and insulted by Homer, Otto goes back to the DMV to take the bus test again. Patty agrees to let him do so after Otto said he wanted to staple his license to Homer's big, bald head, with Patty giving Otto the answers to the test. As Otto takes the driving part of the test, the two of them talk about Homer and laugh about him. Patty then passes Otto due to their hatred of Homer. Otto then turns up as the school bus driver the next day and the kids sing "Hail to the Bus Driver", as Skinner watches the bus go off.

Production[edit]

The episode title is a pun on "auto show".[1] Fox were unhappy with Spinal Tap being chosen as the band for the episode, as part of the reason was nobody had heard of them and the crew had forgotten to clear the songs until the episode was already animated, and they were charged a lot of money.[2] Fox also thought that they could have gotten a real band for the amount of money spent.[3] In the concert, the crowd were drawn with really long bangs so the animators didn't have to draw eyes for everyone. There was also a scene where the drummer exploded, but it was cut.[4]

The scene of Homer singing "Spanish Flea" was going to be cut, as the song was expensive to license. However, it got a really big laugh at the table read so they kept it in and bought the song rights.[1] Jay Kogen had to pull some strings to get the rights to the song.[5] During the dream sequence of Bart as a rockstar, Bart says "slag off". The producers tried to get "piss off" and "sod off" said instead, but the censor disallowed it.[2] The scene with Spinal Tap's bus going over the cliff and going up in flames was not originally in the script, but the producers felt that the bus going up the hill was too mild.[6] The line about Otto wanting a book written from the vampire's point of view came from Jeff Martin being next to a guy on a plane who was telling him about a book he liked as it was written from the vampire's point of view.[1] Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky wanted Otto's last name to be "Mechanic", but the animators put "Mann" on his license instead.[3]

Reception[edit]

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said that "The Otto Show" "has a lot of fun with the cornball rituals of the rock concert". He then goes on to say that the episode "gets much of its mojo from This Is Spinal Tap". Rabin later said that with this episode, "The Simpsons stretched its legs a little and devoted much of an episode to a one-note supporting character".[7]

As of January 2020, the episode has a 7.8 rating on IMDb[8] and a 8.6 rating on TV.com.[9]

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Der Fahrschüler" The learner driver
Spain flag.png Español "El Otto-show" The Otto-show
Hispanic America.gif Español "El rock de Otto" Otto's rock
France.png Français "Le Permis d'Otto Bus" Otto Bus' License
Brasil Flag.png Português "Show de Otto" Otto Show
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "オットーの免許証" Otto's Driver's License

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Martin, Jeff (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Jean, Al (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Reiss, Mike (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season.
  4. Archer, Wes (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season.
  5. Brooks, James L. (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season.
  6. Groening, Matt (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season.
  7. The A.V. Club - "The Simpsons (Classic): "The Otto Show""
  8. IMDb - "The Otto Show"
  9. TV.com - "The Otto Show"


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "The Otto Show".
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