22 Short Films About Springfield
"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons' seventh season, airing on April 22, 1996. The title is a spin on the film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. Many fans have also noted that the episode also pays homage to Pulp Fiction by Quentin Terentino, mimiking the style of disjointed stories all coming together to form one plot, and more obviously, the scene in Melvin's Pawn Shop ("When Zed gets here..."). The episode also sparked the idea amongst the staff of a spin-off TV series Tales from Springfield, focusing on the town rather than the Simpsons family.
Plot
Small slices of life in Springfield are shown, such as: Bart craves sugar; Apu in "The Jolly Bengali"; Lisa with gum in her hair; Smithers and the bee sting; Dr. Nick saves the day; Moe gets robbed; "Skinner and the Superintendent"; Homer, Maggie and the newspaper bin; McDonald's Quarter Pounder vs. Krusty burgers; the Bumblebee Man at home; Chief Wiggum, the hood and the storekeeper; Reverend Lovejoy and his dog; Lisa and the gum (part 2); Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel; Milhouse has to use the bathroom; Chief Wiggum, the hood and the storekeeper (part 2); Lisa and the gum (part 3); Nelson gets his comeuppance; Bart and Milhouse find the truth; "The Tomfoolery of Professor John Frink" is almost seen.
Quotes
- Apu: For the next 5 minutes, I'm going to party like it's on sale for nineteen ninety-nine!
- Hans Moleman: You just wasted 4 minutes of my life and I want them back… oh I'd probably just waste them anyway.
- Cletus theme song
Some folk'll never eat a skunk and then again some folk'll, like Cletus, the Slack-Jawed Yokel! Second verse: Most folk'll never lose a toe but then again some folk'll, like Cletus, the Slack-Jawed Yokel!
- Seymour Skinner: Oh, no, I said, "steamed hams." That's what I call hamburgers.
- Waylon Smithers: I, I'm allergic to bee stings. They cause me to, uh, die.
- Lou: You know, I went to the McDonald's in Shelbyville on Friday night --
- Police Chief Wiggum: [interrupting] The McWhat?
- Lou: Uh, the McDonald's restaurant. I, I never heard of it either, but they have over 2,000 locations in this state alone.
- Eddie: Must've sprung up overnight.
- Lou: You know, the funniest thing though; it's the little differences.
- Wiggum: Example.
- Lou: Well, at McDonald's you can buy a Krusty Burger with cheese, right? But they don't call it a Krusty Burger with cheese.
- Wiggum: Get out! Well, what do they call it?
- Lou: A Quarter Pounder with cheese.
- Wiggum: Quarter Pounder with cheese? Well, I can picture the cheese, but, uh, do they have Krusty partially gelatinated non-dairy gum-based beverages?
- Lou: Mm-hm. They call 'em, "shakes."
- Eddie: Huh, shakes. You don't know what you're gettin'.
- Wiggum: Well I know what I'm getting. Some donuts.
- Comic Book Guy: That, is a rare photo of Sean Connery signed by Roger Moore. It costs one hundred and fifty dollars.
- Very Tall Man: Do you find something comical about my appearance whilst I am driving my automobile?
- Professor Frink: [singing] Professor Frink Professor Frink, He'll Make ya laugh, he'll make ya think he likes run and the thing with the person…(grumbles) That monkey is going to pay.
