You Kent Always Say What You Want

"You Kent Always Say What You Want" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons' eighteenth season aired on May 20, 2007 as part of the one hour season finale, alongside the episode "24 Minutes"; a repeat took place on August 19, 2007. It was the milestone 400th episode of The Simpsons and was written by Tim Long. Guest starring Ludacris as himself and Maurice LaMarche as the Fox announcer.

Plot

Driving home after a trip to the dentist, Homer and the kids decide to go to the local ice cream parlor, where Homer buys what turns out to be the store's millionth ice cream cone. This results in Homer appearing on Kent Brockman's show Smartline. There, an overexcited Homer knocks over Kent's mug, spilling hot coffee on his lap. Kent jumps up and, in a moment of excruciating pain, yells out a really horrible swearword. Immediately Kent apologizes for swearing but as he and Homer leave he is relieved to see that no one seems to have seen his faux-pas. However, Ned Flanders sees Kent's swearing while going through tapes of TV shows looking for blasphemous material, and immediately he shoots off a mail to the FCC, reporting the incident. The next day, during the Channel 6 newscast, Kent finds out that he is under scrutiny for his indiscretion and that the station has been fined $10 million. Later, Lindsay Naegle speaks to Kent, assuring him that his job is safe, but then abruptly fires him after claiming that the Splenda in his coffee is cocaine.

The next day, at the Simpsons' home, Homer finds Kent sleeping on their couch, after Marge took him in amid fears that he might commit suicide. Later, while watching TV, Lisa wonders why Fox News can be so conservative, when the Fox Network keeps airing "raunchy shows". Kent replies that Fox deliberately run shows that will attract huge fines, that are then funneled through the FCC to the Republican Party. He says that apparently everyone in the media knows it, but no one has the guts to say it. Lisa goads him into blowing the whistle on the scam, using her web camera. Kent's subsequent webcast is so successful that the Republican Party members are less than thrilled about Kent threatening their ill-gotten gains, so Lindsay Naegle and Krusty hatch a plan to stop him.

The next day, Lisa and Kent are accosted by the party-members, who offer him his old job back with a 50% raise, which Kent immediately accepts, before apologizing to Lisa. At home, feeling downcast, she complains to Homer about there being no truth and bravery in today's media. Homer starts to tell Lisa something horrible Kent mentioned about the Fox Network, but the audience doesn't hear what he says as his voice is dubbed by another voice (Maurice LaMarche) promoting Fox and its shows. However, Homer suspects that the Fox Network might attempt to cover up his words, so looking at the camera, he starts saying, "the truth is..." before being cut off by the Twentieth Century Fox Television logo and music. He appears against an all-white backdrop and tries to continue his exposé, but he is shushed by the Gracie Films logo.

Cultural references

• The scene where Kent Brockman says to stand up to FOX while smoking is in reference to Edward R. Murrow and the film Good Night, and Good Luck.
• The title of the video shown in the dentist's office, "Menace Tooth Society", is a spoof of Menace II Society. Lisa's comment that the dentist's cartoon sends mixed messages parallels critiques of the spoofed movie.
• The title of this episode is a play on the The Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want".
• When ordering his ice cream cone, Homer mentions several toppings, all of which are real candies with their names slightly but noticeably changed, such as Herschel's Smooches and Mrs. Badbar.
• As Marge runs hurriedly home to greet Bart and Lisa, the main yodeling music of the Coen Brother's film Raising Arizona is heard overhead.

Production

This episode, formerly known as "The Kent State Massacre", was renamed in light of the Virginia Tech massacre, which occurred only a month before the episode was set to air. The episode was intended to spoof increased fines by the Federal Communications Commission in the wake of the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. However, a month before the episode aired, Don Imus was fired for remarks he made on the air about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Similarly, Brockman wasn't immediately fired for his comments.

Reception

Robert Canning of IGN.com named the episode one his three favorites of the season, stating that it "ended the season on a very high note".