Helter Shelter
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"Helter Shelter" is the fifth episode from the fourteenth season of The Simpsons that aired December 1, 2002. Coincidentally, in the episode "Homer Loves Flanders", there's a soup shelter named "Helter Shelter", whose founder is Father James Helter. The title itself is a parody of The Beatles' song, "Helter Skelter."
[edit] Synopsis
After Homer suffers a brain injury at work, Mr. Burns, fearing Homer will sue him, offers his family tickets in a luxury sky box at a hockey game. Although the family lives it up in the sky box, Lisa does not, and she moves to the rink side area. She gives a player from Russia some advice on where to aim to score and, in gratitude, he offers Lisa his hockey stick, which Homer mounts in Lisa's room after the game. Overnight, termites (living in the hockey stick) come into the Simpson house and severely damage it. The next day, Marge finds herself talking to Ned Flanders while opening a cupboard, Bart touches a door and it crumbles, Homer falls downstairs from the toilet (still sitting on the toilet) and Lisa's doll-house crumbles into dust. They are told by the "A Bug's Death" exterminator (Homer hired him because of that funny name) that they cannot return into the house for 6 months, since it is tented and will be fumigated. Dolph, Kearney and Jimbo Jones, thinking its a circus, try to crawl under the tent, but are rescued by the exterminator, before any real damage could occur.
The family looks at various options for a new home. Homer, at first, suggests that they just stand in front of their house for 6 months ("time will just fly") and the King of the Hill theme plays, but then he gets bored and they try to check into a hotel. Unfortunately, all hotels in town are full, thanks to a "Bran Convention". They then decide to move in with Homer's "best friend in the whole world", Lenny (actually, Homer has Lenny confused with Carl). Lenny's apartment is pretty good, until they discover that he is sharing a wall with a Jai Alai Court (which generates a large amount of noise). They ditch that idea and try to move in with the Comic Book Guy, but he scares them off with his sci-fi talk. They land up at Moe's Tavern, but Marge has no intention of staying there once Maggie begins smoking and drinking. Barney and Carl inform the Simpsons about a reality show, where a family is put in an 1895 Victorian house, where they must live like it was 1895. Homer is reluctant at first, but then they go to the reality show.
At The Reality Channel studio, the executives screen many families (including the Cosbys because Bill just wants to get back on TV) and finally they settle on the Simpsons (they like the way Homer strangles Bart and overreacts when he does not get his lattè). They are taken to the Victorian house and shown around by the Network Executive, who says that they will be filmed round the clock. The only thing of the 20th century there is a "Confessional Room", which is a small room with a video camera where they say what they fell about the lifestyle. Marge runs inside and confesses that her hair is not really blue, she pauses and then tries to grab the tape from the camera.
The next day, Marge and Lisa are preparing breakfast, and tell Bart that it takes 6 hours to do so. Homer has trouble shaving with a straight razor and shows up with his stubble and many closely-spaced cuts. They go to the Kwik-E-Mart, where Apu only allows them to buy things that were available in 1895 (Apu states that Oreos were made in 1896, though in actuality they were first made in 1912). At dinner, the family seems a bit down (much to the delight of the show's audience). But Homer tells them that they are on TV and must suck it up. Thus, the next day onwards, the Simpsons all start to get along and form a non-dysfunctional lifestyle. Bart even sends Moe a prank telegram ("Heywood U. Cuddleme"). Without conflict and hardship plaguing them, the Simpsons are no longer entertaining viewers, who tune out in droves.
The Reality Channel network executives feel that the show's popularity has waned, because the family is supposed to be at each others' throats. They decide to introduce Squiggy (an out-of-work 70's actor) from Laverne and Shirley into the household. But even his presence (and that of a taser which he uses on Homer) does not boost the ratings. Finally, one of the executives comes up with an idea. The house is airlifted at night (while the family is asleep) and put into a river.
The next morning, Homer, on his way to the blacksmith to get his tooth pulled, falls into the river. He is saved by Marge and Lisa. He confronts the executives (via the Confessional Room), who inform him that they can do anything they like, because it says so in the contract. The house finally washes up on shore and the Simpsons run out and see it collapse, with all the 1895 things they had grown accustomed to and Squiggy. The network crew is filming it and loving the drama that unfolds. They then break for lunch, but deny the Simpsons any of their lunch, as the crew is not supposed to interfere in the family's lives.
Later, the family sits by a pond, wondering what to do next, when they see a bunch of wild-looking people, advancing on them. Homer tries to promote peace, but they tell him that they are not savages, just contestants in reality shows, whom the network ditched after they failed in their tasks most of them from Survivor. One of the men was supposed to eat kangaroo testicles but he couldn't eat anymore but now he can't stop eating them. They decide to overpower the crew and return to civilization.
Together with the Simpsons, they attack the crew and disrupt their lunch. Homer is about to destroy the crew's helicopter with a big rock, but Marge tells him that they need it to return home. Finally at home, Homer decides to watch scripted TV shows, as he has had it with reality shows. However, after watching Law & Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit, he gets disillusioned with TV and looks for other means of entertainment, like books and clubs. Bart suggests he go drink water from the hose, to which he agrees. Outside, as he drinks, Bart turns off the water and Homer looks into the pipe and gets splashed in his eye, then in his ear, then in his other eye....much to the amusement of his family and the fans of scripted entertainment!
[edit] Trivia
- Homer's line "Where's that kid with my latte?" was last used in "Beyond Blunderdome".
- This is the third time Bill Cosby has been parodied on The Simpsons.
- When the family realizes that they are seeing a hockey game, the are discouraged and disappointed, yet in "Lisa on Ice", the family seems to have an interest in the game.
- When Kozlov hands Lisa his hockey stick, it says "КОЗЛОВ" - the real Russian spelling of Kozlov.
- If you look closely, you can see a crossed hammer and a hockey stick on Kozlov's hockey stick, an obvious reference to the Soviet symbol of the hammer and sickle.
[edit] Cultural references
- The title is a play on the Beatles song "Helter Skelter," a famous song which, it was claimed by prosecutors, was indirectly connected to the murders carried out by Charles Manson and his "family".
- The scene where the Simpsons are waiting for time to fly by mirrors the opening sequence of King of the Hill.
- "Squiggy" being sent to boost their ratings is a reference to The Cosby Show sending "Smitty" (Adam Sandler) to the Cosby's house.
- A member of the crew says 'I can't eat any more kangaroo testicles'. This is a reference to I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here!
