Comments on: Lisa: [laughing at an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon] Bart, you're not laughing. Too subtle?

Lisa: [laughing at an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon] Bart, you're not laughing. Too subtle?

riffola — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 01:51:35 -0800

Subtly Simpsons. "... a list of lines from The Simpsons that we, your editors, have found to be particularly witty, often with their humor derived from subtleties of language, esoteric allusions, or just plain wit."

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 04:42:33 -0800

When Sideshow Bob is in jail, his prisoner number is: 24601. This is also Jean Valjean's number in Les Miserable I was so chuffed that I noticed this myself when I saw that episode. Good stuff.

By: Duck_Lips

Duck_Lips — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 06:21:38 -0800

Ok, Simpsons is a funny show. we know , but the point is the writing is so good, that you shouldn't need someone to explain all the jokes to you. i'll wait for the inevitable Cliff Notes, arcane graduate student theses, and reductionist high school textbooks, with jokes deconstructed AND pre-written essays for when (ultimately) The Simpsons is studied as literature and Shakespeare is replaced

By: languagehat

languagehat — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 07:43:12 -0800

Duck_Lips, I have no idea what point you're trying to make: the usual MeFi irony overdose, I suppose. Me, I'd say the writing is so good it includes all levels of jokes, from those obvious to children to those so subtle I'm grateful to have a site like this to explain them to me (like the Jean Valjean reference, which I'd never have gotten). I just wish it were better proofread ("Sicacusa" for Siracusa, for example—and that Patton reference is another one I'd have missed).

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 08:09:44 -0800

Best. Link. Ever. Oh, OK...not really, but it is a good link -- chock-full of references -- some remembered, others not. Handy.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 11:19:47 -0800

Cuban salsa sensation Tito Puente is playing at a club called Chez Guevara's, a subtle reference to "Che" Guevara. How subtle! :) Great link, cheers.

By: nthdegx

nthdegx — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 13:01:19 -0800

"you shouldn't need someone to explain all the jokes to you." I have the benefit of claiming cultural ignorance for some of the examples, others just plain flew over my head, and some I even got in the first place, but for those I didn't, it's nice to be able to look again and fill in some blanks. No, you don't need every joke explained to enjoy the show, but for fans it's fascinating to garner further appreciation of the subtleties the Simpsons has to offer.

By: LittleMissCranky

LittleMissCranky — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 13:26:16 -0800

I didn't see this one on the site, but this is my favorite esoteric Simpson's exchange: Lisa: Pablo Neruda said that laughter is the language of the soul. Bart: I am familiar with the works of Pablo Neruda.

By: jamsterdam

jamsterdam — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 15:05:15 -0800

personal favorite: In "She of Little of Faith" (2001), as the nerd-built rocket carrying the hamster Nibbles ascends from the backyard, Homer recites: "to slip the surly bonds of gravity,and punch the face of God", an allusion to this poem quoted by Reagan after the Challenger disaster in 1986.

By: jamsterdam

jamsterdam — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 15:13:59 -0800

My favorite parlor game with the Simpsons is to trace out the chain of events in an episode, how one little event at the beginning of the episode cascades into an enormous consequence by the end. My favorite is how Homer being late to take out the trash after "Love Day" eventually results in the entire city of Springield having to pick up and move down the road.

By: LinusMines

LinusMines — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 17:01:45 -0800

Bart and Milhouse: Mickey Rooney!! Rooney: Hi, Milhouse. The studio sent me to talk to you, being a former child star myself, and the number-one box-office draw from 1939 to 1940. Bart: (in awe) Wow, spanning two decades! -- Episode: Radioactive Man (2F17, Season 7)

By: emf

emf — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 17:15:38 -0800

When Homer exclaims "Oh! Calcutta" in the octuplets episode, I always took it to refer to this. I don't think the translation on the site is correct, though :)

By: bwg

bwg — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 19:34:13 -0800

MeFite1: Are you being sarcastic, dude? MeFite2: I don't even know anymore.

By: widdershins

widdershins — Fri, 02 Jan 2004 07:02:37 -0800

Superintendant Chamers: "Religion has no place in public schools the way facts have no place in organized religion." Why is this not a bumpersticker?

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Sat, 03 Jan 2004 17:49:18 -0800

Other 24601 references... In one episode, Principal Skinner reveals that his prisoner number in Vietnam was 24601. That same prisoner number was Hank Jennings' in "Twin Peaks" (1990)