Margical History Tour
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Margical History Tour" | |
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|---|---|
| Episode no. | 324 |
| Prod. code | FABF06 |
| Orig. Airdate | February 8, 2004 |
| Written by | Brian Kelley |
| Directed by | Mike B. Anderson |
| Chalkboard | None |
| Couch gag | The family bakes in a giant microwave. |
| Guest star | None |
| Season 15 November 2, 2003 – May 23, 2004 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Margical History Tour" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season. The episode aired on February 8, 2004.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Marge takes Bart, Lisa, and Milhouse to the library to find books for their school reports, only to find no books on the shelves. The books have been replaced by pamphlets and instruction manuals, and it's full of homeless people (and Homer) sleeping. In lieu of books, Marge tells the kids some history tales. She starts off with Milhouse's book report on Henry VIII.
[edit] Henry VIII
In this version of the Henry VIII story, Homer is King Henry VIII, in search of a woman who can bear him a son. He is an absolute glutton and womaniser. Unhappy that his wife Margerine of Aragon has borne him a daughter, Mary (Lisa), he wants to divorce her. He can't have her executed as she is the daughter of the King of Spain. They go to a counsellor (Dr. Hibbert) and ask him his opinions on divorce. Through a little coercion, he advises Henry to speak to the Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More (Flanders). Sir Thomas tells Henry that the church and their religion won't allow him to divorce his wife. Henry declares that he will start his own religion. Sir Thomas tries to reason with the adamant King, who finally seems to relent and then informs Sir Thomas that since he stuck to his principles, he will be canonized. And so he is, except Henry's definition is a bit different, as Sir Thomas More is fired out of a cannon, over a cliff. Mary tries to persuade him to let a female be the heir, but when he wonders if he can "canonize" her as well, she takes off.
Henry then banishes Margerine and marries Anne Boleyn (Lindsay Naegle). They consummate their marriage then and there. Nine months later, Anne tearfully apologises to Henry for having borne a girl child. He tells her to think nothing of it and we see that she is already set up on the chopping block, with Wiggum as the executioner. She is executed and Henry moves on to the next wife, Jane Seymour. However, during the wedding, Henry hears that she has an annoying, high-pitched voice, and she is next on the chopping block. (Look at Trivia below for the historical accurancy of this) Many more executions follow, including those of Otto (who was mistaken for a woman), Sarah Wiggum, Agnes Skinner (although she has already borne 10 sons) and others. When Moe comes to Henry to tell him that they have run out of pikes on which to stick the heads, he has him executed as well. But it turns out he was right and his head can't be piked.
Finally, after many years and executions, Henry is old and sick, lying on his bed, with Margerine by his side. He asks for her forgiveness for having locked her up in a dungeon and asks her to be his queen again. She accepts tenderly and then offers to fluff his pillow and then smothers him to death with it, saying that she will see him in hell.
[edit] Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea
At the end of the story, Milhouse is happy with all the material he got and leaves. But on his way out, he is tripped by Nelson, who steals his book report. Marge asks Lisa what her report is on. Lisa wants to do one on Sacagawea. So starts Marge's version. Lewis (Lenny) and Clark (Carl) are assigned to explore the West by President Thomas Jefferson (Mayor Quimby). They meet a tribe of Native Americans led by Homer. The explorers "welcome" them to the United States of America and give them a little flag. Homer then offers them the guidance of his daughter, Sacagawea (Lisa), which translates to "little know-it-all who won't shut her maize hole". She is married to a French fur trapper, Charbonneau (played by Milhouse), and is not very happy with that arrangement. They set off, headed for the Pacific. Sacagawea gives them many tips on how to survive the land, including how to scare a mountain lion (by making yourself appear bigger than it). They are attacked by a group of Native Americans, led by Bart, who wants to scalp someone. Charbonneau introduces himself as his brother-in-law and reminds him about when he killed all of the tribe's buffalo. Bart is happy to have someone to scalp (and decapitate).
Sacagewea starts to get fed up with Lewis and Clark's antics and stupidity. They have a compass, with a painted-on needle; they visualise a mud puddle to be the Pacific; and they even think about having mermaid (salmon) sex in the river. Finally, she leaves them and sets off back home. She decides to rest on a rock - a nice, soft, furry rock, which just happens to be a mountain lion. The lion tries to attack her, but she is saved by Lewis and Clark, who run out spreading their coats about them, making themselves look bigger. The mountain lion flees and Sacagawea is saved. She is happy that they actually were listening to her. The party arrives at the Pacific Ocean and a heavy downpour begins, prompting Lewis and Clark to name the rain-soaked place Eugene, Oregon.
[edit] Mozart and Salieri
Bart is up next. He doesn't seem too excited about having to do a book report. But Marge convinces him with a story of a bad-ass musician, who lived dangerously and died young. She gets his attention and starts the next story.
In a parody of the movie Amadeus, Bart is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lisa is Antonio Salieri. Mozart is a big hit in Vienna, playing a sonata on a grand piano as if he were playing at a rock concert. After the concert, his father Leopold (Homer) congratulates him and advises him to start merchandising. Salieri asks to be allowed to lead the next time, but Homer will have none of it. Later, as Salieri practises on her small piano, Mozart comes and starts teasing her. At a Music Awards function (hosted by Austria's own Rainer Wolfcastle), Mozart wins the best composer award, making Salieri's envy reach a boiling point.
Fops and dandies gather to watch Mozart's next opera, "The Musical Fruit" (parody of "The Magic Flute"). Sitting in the balcony is the Emperor (Montgomery Burns). Salieri wonders why there are so many spectators. Leopold replies that it is because the Emperor is there and people follow him everywhere. Salieri gets an idea and serves the Emperor free wine, spiked with a sleeping potion. The opera seems to be going pretty well, but that all changes when the audience hears the Emperor snoozing away. Immediately, everyone starts to dislike the opera. People even fake falling asleep. Mozart is shocked that his work is a flop.
This leads to Mozart's decline. He starts to drink and gets caught in the rain. He develops a high fever and becomes very ill. Salieri calls in "the best doctor in all of Vienna", Dr. Nick, who uses leech therapy on Mozart, which, obviously, doesn't work. Soon, Mozart is dying and his family gathers around him. Leopold is inconsolable, considering he won't be able to live without Mozart's income. Salieri feels a bit guilty about her hand in all this, saying she only wanted to ruin his life, not kill him. Mozart confesses that he thought highly of Salieri's work, believing that it would be remembered more than his, but with his youthful death, both he and his music will be immortalised forever. He then dies, after shouting, "Eat my pantaloons!" Leopold runs out into the street and mourns Mozart's death, but starts peddling death masks taken from Mozart.
The next day, Salieri goes to the Emperor's court to play to submit her work, "Requiem", in tribute to her "beloved" brother, Mozart. She is delighted, now that Mozart is no more. However, the Emperor's aide (Waylon Smithers) tells her that he is listening to another young musician's composition. She takes a peek and sees Beethoven (Nelson) playing for the Emperor (the famous Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony, accompanied by a variation of Nelson's characteristic laughter to the tune of Beethoven's Fifth), who enjoys the music so much that he declares all other music obsolete. Angry beyond all belief, Salieri dumps her composition and walks out in a daze, eyes twitching. She hails a carriage to the mental asylum, gets in and laughs hysterically as the carriage draws away.
Lisa realizes that Marge's telling of the lives of Mozart and Salieri is not the real version, noting that Mozart and Salieri had better relations in their time, and says that the story is based on the movie Amadeus. This spurs Homer on to realize that Tom Hulce, who starred in Amadeus, also starred in National Lampoon's Animal House. He begins singing a horribly incorrect version of the Animal House theme song, which carries on through the "whatever happened to..." clips about the main characters (see below) and the credits.
[edit] Trivia
- This is one of several Simpsons episodes that features three "mini-stories." Others include Tales from the Public Domain, Simpsons Bible Stories (which actually features four "mini-stories"), Simpsons Tall Tales, The Wettest Stories Ever Told, The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase and the Treehouse of Horror episodes.
- Contrary to this episode, Henry VIII only beheaded two of his six wives, Anne Boleyn and her cousin, Catherine Howard.
- None of these mini-episodes (especially the Henry VIII episode) are historically accurate. This is actually brought up at one point by Lisa.
- The line by an Austrian Dr. Nick is grammatically incorrect. He says "Guten Tag, everybody!", German for "good day". When he said it, it appeared to be night. One possible reason could be because most Americans just think of it as "Hello".
- Bart's opera, The Magical Fruit, is an obvious parody of The Magic Flute, which was written by Mozart.
- Chief Homer mistakenly calls Clark "Carl".
- The song that Bart played (when he was Mozart) is titled "Alla turca: Allegretto" from Piano Sonata no. 11 in A major.
- The Musical Fruit song is a parody of Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
- Sacagawea was called Janey by some members of the expedition (in reality), it is thus ironic that Lisa plays her, since one of her best friends is named Janey (in the show).
[edit] Cultural references
- The title is a take off of the album and song "Magical Mystery Tour" by The Beatles.
- The books seen in the library are "Everyone Poops: The Movie", "Yu-Gi-Oh! Price Guides", and "Itchy & Scratchy Books on Tape". "Everyone Poops" is a Japanese children's book that says that there is nothing wrong with pooping because it's natural for humans and animals. "Yu-Gi-Oh! Price Guides" is a gag on how much cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game are worth.
- Homer wipes his Mouth with the Magna Carta a important document in the 1200s. This is not the only time that Homer wipes his mouth with an important document, as he also does so with the a document at a meeting of the secret Stonecutters society.
