Dog of Death
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Dog of Death" | |
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| Episode no. | 54 |
| Prod. code | 8F17 |
| Orig. Airdate | March 12, 1992 |
| Writer(s) | John Swartzwelder |
| Director | Jim Reardon |
| Chalkboard | "I saw nothing unusual in the teacher's lounge" |
| Couch gag | Homer gets there first and lies down. The rest of the family arrive and sit on him. Homer flails his arms. |
| SNPP capsule | |
| Season 3 September 19, 1991 – August 27, 1992 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Dog of Death" is the 19th episode of The Simpsons' third season.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Springfield is "in the grip of lottery fever" with a $130 million jackpot and, as a result, an ailing Santa's Little Helper is ignored.
Once he is discovered to be sick, the family rushes him to the hospital to undergo an emergency operation. Homer is saddened to tell Bart and Lisa that they just can't afford the $750 for the operation, but seeing how much everyone (including himself) loves the dog, he resolves to find a way to pay for it.
To save up the money, everyone must give up their small luxuries. Among other things, Homer has to give up beer, Marge has to forgo her weekly lottery ticket, Bart has to have his hair cut for free at Springfield Barber College, Lisa has to forgo the 4th edition of Encyclopedia Generica (Copernicus to Elephantiasis), and Maggie's clothes have to last a little longer.
Things begin to fall apart after it is found that Marge's regular numbers would have won $40,000, and the family begin to resent the dog for forcing them to lose out on the things they enjoy, as Homer is reduced to singing at Moe's, Lisa has to do a report on Copernicus, Maggie's clothes rip and Bart suffers from an awful haircut.
After the family say bad things to the dog, it is the final straw. Santa's Little Helper runs away from home and goes off in a adventure, only to be adopted by Mr. Burns, who trains him to become one of his vicious attack hounds. After a long brainwashing process, which is that the dog watches a movie totally consisting of people being abusive to dogs, and Santa's Little Helper being trained by attacking Smithers who is in a protection suit, Santa's Little Helper in turn becomes a bloodthirsty killer.
When Bart goes to Burns's mansion to retrieve his dog, Santa's Little Helper tries to attack him but remembers all the good times they had and snaps out of his brainwashed state. The dog then returns to the family that loves him.
[edit] Trivia
- The veterinarian bears a striking resemblance to Ben Casey.
- The photos Marge doesn't want the public to see are: Homer kicking Santa's Little Helper, Homer strangling Santa's Little Helper, Santa's Little Helper biting Homer, Santa's Little Helper burying Homer, and Santa's Little Helper knocking Homer out as if they were in a boxing match.
- The bad things the family says to SLH are: Homer tells the dog to shove off, Marge yells at him (while sewing Maggie's clothes), Lisa is busy reading a "third-rate biography" of Copernicus she found at the bus station and Bart simply tells him that he is a "dumb dog".
[edit] Cultural References
- Lisa corrects Homer, indicating Nixon's dog was named Checkers.
- Among the books that end up in the Simpson's fireplace are The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Fatherhood by Bill Cosby and a book entitled "Canine Surgery". Fatherhood was heavily referenced in the episode "Saturdays of Thunder" earlier this season.
- The scene in which Monty Burns and Smithers brainwash Santa's little helper is a parody of Stanley Kubrick's 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, complete with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".
- This episode contains numerous references to facts or rumors about Michael Jackson; for example, one of the highways is called the "Michael Jackson Expressway" (referencing "Stark Raving Dad"), Kent Brockman's butler telling Kent that his pet llama bit Ted Kennedy, and Mr. Burns is sleeping in an iron lung.
[edit] Quotes
- Chief Wiggum: No, you got the wrong number. This is nine-one....two.
- Homer: Well, he's got all the money in the world, but there's one thing he can't buy.
Marge: What's that?
Homer: (pauses) A dinosaur! - Homer: Oh, he's gone and he's never coming back. Wait! There he is! No, it's a horse.
- Burns: (admiring Santa's Little Helper) Why, here's a fellow. Wiry. Fast. Firm, proud buttocks. Reminds me of me.
- Grampa: (sarcastically) Oh, sure! The old man's off his rocker. If Grampa says he's dead, then he must be alive!
Lisa: He is alive, he's wagging his tail!
Grampa: That don't mean nothing! Dogs wag their tails for hours after they die! I'm tired of this conversation! Let's talk about something else! I'm going home! (leaves) - Homer: (watches Santa's Little Helper eating dog food) Hey, how come he gets meat and we don't?
Marge: You wouldn't want what he's eating, it's mostly just snouts and entrails.
Homer: Mmm... snouts.
[edit] External links
- "Dog of Death" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
