Gilbert and Sullivan

Gilbert and Sullivan were a duo consisting of librettist W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900). They were renowned for their comic operas. Among the most famous are H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado.

One of the staple references of The Simpsons is that Sideshow Bob is a huge fan of Gilbert and Sullivan. In the Simpsons universe, Gilbert and Sullivan and their works have been referred to several times.

References

Television episodes

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 5 83 "Cape Feare" When the Simpsons leave for their safehouse provided by the Witness Relocation Program, in the car Lisa finds a set of audio tapes titled "The FBI Light Opera Society Sings the Complete Gilbert and Sullivan". During the drive, they sing "Three Little Maids from School" from The Mikado. When Sideshow Bob is about to kill Bart and asks if he has any last requests, Bart's request is for Bob to sing the entire score of H.M.S. Pinafore. 88 "Bart's Inner Child" When Homer finds the free trampoline ad in the Springfield Shopper, one of the other items being given away is a Gilbert and Sullivan manuscript, the original draft of H.M.S. Pinafore. It appears a few entries below the "FREE TRAMPOLINE" ad. 96 "Deep Space Homer" To demonstrate his fitness for astronaut duty, a newly sober Barney performs a series of handsprings while singing "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" from Pirates of Penzance, in order to show off his improved balance and diction. 21 463 "The Bob Next Door" When Bart believes his new neighbor Walt Warren to be Sideshow Bob in disguise, he and Milhouse, knowing of Bob's fondness for Gilbert and Sullivan, sing "Three Little Maids from School" in an attempt to draw him out. The attempt fails. However, "Walt" later gets Bart alone, reveals himself to be Sideshow Bob, and says, "And now I am free to sing all the Gilbert and Sullivan I damn well please!"

Comic stories

Picture Comic issue Story name Reference Simpsons Comics #229 Itchy & Scratchy Live! At the beginning of the performance of Itchy & Scratchy Live, the actor portraying Scratchy (later revealed to be Sideshow Bob) culture-shames the audience: "You wouldn't come to see Gilbert and Sullivan, but you'll come to this! For shame!"

External links

• Gilbert and Sullivan at Wikipedia

Cultural references

Television The A-Team • All in the Family • Alvin and the Chipmunks • America's Funniest Home Videos • Animaniacs • Barney & Friends • Battlestar Galactica • Baywatch • Beauty and the Beast • Bewitched • The Big Bang Theory • Black Mirror • Bob's Burgers • The Brady Bunch • Breaking Bad • Charlie's Angels • Cheers • The Critic • CSI • Dallas • Davey and Goliath • DC Comics • Dennis the Menace • Dilbert • Disenchantment • Doctor Who • The Dukes of Hazzard • Family Guy • The Flintstones • Frasier • Futurama • Game of Thrones • Garfield • Gilligan's Island • Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. • Happy Days • The Honeymooners • Gunsmoke • I Dream of Jeannie • I Love Lucy • The Jetsons • King of the Hill • Late Show with David Letterman • Law & Order • The Lone Ranger • Looney Tunes • Lost • Lost in Space • Married... with Children • Marvel • M*A*S*H • Matlock • Monty Python's Flying Circus • Mork & Mindy • The Munsters • The Muppets • My Little Pony • MythBusters • The Odd Couple • Orange Is the New Black • Peanuts • Pokémon • Popeye • The Powerpuff Girls • The Ren & Stimpy Show • Rick and Morty • The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show • Sailor Moon • Scooby-Doo • Sesame Street • Seinfeld • The Smurfs • The Sopranos • South Park • SpongeBob SquarePants • Stargate • Starsky & Hutch • Star Trek • Stranger Things • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Teletubbies • That '70s Show • Thriller • The Tracey Ullman Show • Transformers • The Twilight Zone • The Walking Dead • When Animals Attack! • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? • The Wonder Years • The X-Files Films 2001: A Space Odyssey • Alice in Wonderland • Alien • Alvin and the Chipmunks • Apocalypse Now • Avatar • Back to the Future • Beauty and the Beast • Ben-Hur • Das Boot • C.H.U.D. • Charlie's Angels • Casablanca • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory • A Christmas Carol • Citizen Kane • A Clockwork Orange • Close Encounters of the Third Kind • DC Comics • Dial M for Murder • Die Hard • Dracula • The Dukes of Hazzard • The Exorcist • Fantasia • The Fly • Frozen • Garfield • Ghostbusters • The Godfather • Godzilla • Gone with the Wind • Harry Potter • Home Alone • The Hunger Games • Indiana Jones • It's a Wonderful Life • James Bond • Jaws • Jurassic Park • King Kong • Laurel & Hardy • The Lion King • The Little Mermaid • The Little Rascals • The Lone Ranger • Looney Tunes • The Lord of the Rings • M*A*S*H • Mad Max • Marvel • The Marx Brothers • The Matrix • The Odd Couple • Pirates of the Caribbean • Planet of the Apes • Pokémon • Popeye • Psycho • Pulp Fiction • RoboCop • Saw • Scooby-Doo • The Shawshank Redemption • The Shining • The Silence of the Lambs • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • The Sound of Music • Soylent Green • SpongeBob SquarePants • Star Trek • Star Wars • A Streetcar Named Desire • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Terminator • Thelma & Louise • They Saved Hitler's Brain • The Three Stooges • Thriller • Titanic • Toy Story • Transformers • When Harry Met Sally... • The Wizard of Oz Video games Angry Birds • Candy Crush Saga • Donkey Kong • Grand Theft Auto • The Legend of Zelda • Mario • Minecraft • Pokémon Magazines Cracked • MAD • The New Yorker • Playboy • Rolling Stone Books Alice in Wonderland • Beauty and the Beast • Ben-Hur • The Catcher in the Rye • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory • A Christmas Carol • A Clockwork Orange • Dial M for Murder • Dracula • The Exorcist • Fahrenheit 451 • The Fly • Game of Thrones • The Godfather • Gone with the Wind • Goosebumps • Harry Potter • The Hunger Games • James Bond • Jaws • Jurassic Park • The Little Mermaid • The Lord of the Rings • Moby-Dick • The Old Man and the Sea • Planet of the Apes • Psycho • The Silence of the Lambs • The Shining • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • A Streetcar Named Desire • The Wizard of Oz Comics DC Comics • Dennis the Menace • Dilbert • Garfield • Life in Hell • Marvel • Mary Worth • My Little Pony • Peanuts • Popeye • Sailor Moon • The Smurfs • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles • Tintin • The Walking Dead Other Art references • Gilbert and Sullivan • Hindenburg disaster • References in other media