Difference between revisions of "Midnight Rx"

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"Midnight Rx" is an episode of The Simpsons from its sixteenth season. It was the first new episode of 2005.

Synopsis

Mr. Burns holds a Springfield Nuclear Power Plant employee party at the Springfield Air & Space Museum and Homer takes his family there and when they go into the room for Burns's plane the Plywood Pelican Mr. Burns reveals that he has terminated the employee prescription drug program as said in the invitation there would be a nasty secret. Other businesses in Springfield follow and Dr. Hibbert retires. Homer then tries to get a new job however the person who is suposed to give him a new job is just playing online video games. Marge and Lisa then decide to go to a drug dealing company however the accountant is very incompetent and shows a Huey Lewis music video. In the mean time at the Springfield Retirement Castle the employees let the seniors go cold turkey and use alternate methods to give the seniors medication.

Grandpa then comes to The Simpsons house and him and Homer decide to go to Canada to get drugs for their needs. Homer and Abe then go to Canada while getting fake drug access cards from Johnny Canuck. The two then go on a drug expedition with Jefferson Airplane's song the White Rabbit playing in the background. Homer then returns home to find his family is in the backyard dressed up in Hawaiian clothing congratulating Homer for bringing drugs. Homer then goes to the Kwik-E-Mart to find out Apu can't stand his children crying at night and Ned needs insulin for Rod. Homer then brings them to Canada and after a long drug expedition Ned gives Apu a cup of coffee which is so hot Ned gives Apu a wet towel to wear on his head and his screaming makes him appear to be expressing his faith. The guard then catches Homer and tells him to open the door and out comes a bunch of smuggled drugs.

Homer and his pals are then sent to jail for their whole life unless they promise never to come back to Canada again. In the mean time Smithers tells Mr. Burns the termination of the prescription drug program forced him to lose his medication for his throat making it a goiter. Homer and Abe then are so upset about their loss until Mr. Burns comes and takes his Plywood Pelican to Canada with Johnny Canuck filling it with medication. The plane then loses control in a thunderstrom and Homer is mistaken for extra weight but instead of releasing Homer, Burns releases himself with two parachutes (one for him, two for his nephew) and Homer and Abe are left to steer clear in a storm. The plane however luckily lands in Springfield in which Chief Wiggum is sleeping in his car and is woken up by the plane crashing. Abe and Homer are then arrested for waking him up, but a group of Springfield citizens tells Wiggum not to arrest them as their smuggling has helped them and they are let free. Mr. Burns in the mean time rushes to his mansion and cures Smithers and then brings the employee prescription drug plan back into action. Homer is then excited to tell Marge about this however Homer gets a mysterious lump on his neck.

Trivia

General

• This episode reveals that Lisa takes Xanax for stress problems.
• When Homer, Grandpa, Flanders, and Apu go to Winnipeg a sign can be seen as they enter the city. It reads: Welcome to Winnipeg. We were born here, what's your excuse?

Broadcast

• Ironically, with part of the episode taking place in Winnipeg, CKND, the Winnipeg station that airs first-run episodes of The Simpsons, aired an NFL playoff game on January 16, 2005 in place of this episode.
• Krusty the Klown mentions that he needs lithium dibromide (LiBr) to treat his bipolar disorder. Lithium dibromide appears to be a reference to either lithium bromide, which is used in air-conditioning systems, or lithium carbonate which is commonly used to treat bipolar disorder. Lithium dibromide is also incorrectly named using the system of IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry. This line was cut from the episode when it aired on Sky One. What is heard on the UK airing is the end of his speech which is "Nobody likes a bipolar clown." Krusty does his trademark laugh, then begins to cry. He repeats this laugh-cry pattern a few times.

Previous Episode References

• On the Canadian News, Homer is referred to as a former U.S. astronaut, a reference to Deep Space Homer
• Homer being restricted from entering Canada is a reference to the episode Kill the Alligator and Run which involves the whole Simpson family being banned from Florida.

Errors

• When the Canadian Ned offers Flanders a "reeferino" and says that "it's legal here", this is somewhat incorrect as non-medicinal marijuana is still technically illegal in Canada, but punishment for possession of the drug in small amounts is relatively minor, and jail time for possession is very unlikely. This scene makes reference to the ongoing debate about the de-criminalization of marijuana in Canada.
• When Homer, Grandpa, Ned and Apu are returning to the United States, they encounter an RCMP officer at the border, in full uniform. In actuality, RCMP officers only wear the Red Serge on special occasions; as well, the CBSA is responsible for patrolling the border on the Canadian side, not the RCMP. Additionally, in reality when crossing the Canada - United States border, people only need to check in with the country they are entering, not the one they are leaving. These three exact errors also happened in an episode of That 70's Show. One more small issue is when one RCMP officer asks the other if Homer had a passport, when in reality passports at the time were not required to cross the border.
• Earlier in the show Mr. Burns mentions that rain makes the Plywood Pelican catch fire. Later, it is shown in a dock

Cultural References

• The title is a parody of the film Midnight Express.
• The drug store is called "Dudley Do Drugs" a parody of Dudley Do-Right.
• Huey Lewis' single "I Want a New Drug" was used in the Pharmaceutical Ad. The video was a modified cartoon version of the band's actual music video.
• During their last drug run, when Homer asks Johnny Canuck how he can repay him, Johnny Canuck responded by saying that he would like to see someone "with an IQ of a child get executed by the state" because they "don't get that up here." Canada officially abolished the death penalty in 1976.
• The man at the employment agency plays a game clearly modelled after Doom.
• The scene in which Mr. Burns revives Smithers is a parody of the Disney movies Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (the glass coffin) and Sleeping Beauty (Smithers being locked in a palace room).
• The banner at the U.S.-Canadian border reads that Canada is now "Celine Dion Free", a reference to Canadian singer Celine Dion moving to Las Vegas to perform nightly at Caesars Palace.
• The song that is playing when Homer and Grandpa are getting the drugs is "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane, a song with thinly veiled drug references.
• The Springfield Air and Space Museum is a parody of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Aerospace References

This episode contains many references to aerospace and its history.

• The Air and Space museum.
• Spirit of Shelbyville (Parody of the Spirit of St Louis)
• The Wright Flyer
• The Enola Gay
• Cape Canaveral
• Wing Walking
• The Plywood Pelican, which is an obvious reference to Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, which in turn also references the simpsons episode $pringfield in which Mr Burns has a similar plane named the Spruce Moose.
• Apollo 12
• When the 4 men drive to Canada a road sign can be seen that points to Gimli. This may be a reference to the Gimli Glider.
• Reference to Homer as a former Astronaut.