Saddlesore Galactica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Simpsons episode
"Saddlesore Galactica"

Episode no.	239
Prod. code	BABF09
Orig. Airdate	February 6, 2000
Show Runner(s)	Mike Scully
Written by	Tim Long
Directed by	Lance Kramer
Chalkboard	"Substitute teachers are not scabs."
Couch gag	The family act as karate students, and Homer uses a karate move when he uses the remote.
Guest star	Jim Cummings as Furious D. Bachman-Turner Overdrive as themselves Trevor Denman as himself
Season 11 September 26, 1999 – May 21, 2000
Beyond Blunderdome Brother's Little Helper Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner? Treehouse of Horror X E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder Eight Misbehavin' Take My Wife, Sleaze Grift of the Magi Little Big Mom Faith Off The Mansion Family Saddlesore Galactica Alone Again, Natura-Diddily Missionary: Impossible Pygmoelian Bart to the Future Days of Wine and D'oh'ses Kill the Alligator and Run Last Tap Dance in Springfield It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge Behind the Laughter
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Saddlesore Galactica" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' eleventh season. The episode aired on February 6, 2000.

1 Synopsis
2 Trivia
3 Cultural references
4 Worst episode ever?
5 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Mr. Largo is helping the Springfield Elementary School band prepare for their big performance at the state fair. After a suggestion by Lisa that they are doing the same old songs, they perform a different song, which is James Brown's "Living in America". They perform the song, but lose to Ogdenville Elementary School, who performs "Stars and Stripes Forever" using red, white, and blue glowsticks, forming a flag, which was against the rules as the competition forbade use of props. Meanwhile, Homer enjoys Bachman-Turner Overdrive. After they win, Lisa accuses Ogdenville of cheating, later writing a letter to President Clinton. At the fair, Homer and Bart see Duncan, the diving horse, who dives into the pool. Homer and Bart later take Duncan home after his owner abandons him, even though the Comic Book Guy rants that the family once had a hard time owning a horse.

The family does have problems taking care of Duncan, however: it costs them $500 a week to keep him. Homer and Bart try to think of a way that Duncan can make money to help offset the costs of keeping him. Duncan makes an excellent placekicker, but NFL league rules forbid horses from competing. After Homer denounces the rules, Bart discovers that Duncan is fast and suggests that he should be a racehorse. Homer enters Duncan at Springfield Downs, with Bart (in pajamas) as the jockey; they lose as Duncan refuses to leave the stall. Homer and Bart find a new strategy for Duncan to win, by making him into a Dennis Rodman look-alike, "Furious D", complete with purple hair and a nose ring. He intimidates the other horses by headbutting several of them, and he and Bart win the race. They go on to win a series of races until Homer discovers the secret lair of the losing jockeys. They reveal themselves to be murderous elf-like creatures who want him to throw the upcoming race. They threaten to eat Homer's brain if he doesn't comply. At the Springfield Derby, Duncan surprisingly wins the race, and the furious jockeys chase after Bart and Homer. Marge and Lisa foil the jockeys by spraying them with a hose. President Clinton comes to see Lisa at home and present her with a plaque.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

During the episode's original airing on Fox, Cake's "The Distance" was used during Furious D's first race under his new persona. However, on future airings in syndication, the song was changed to something that closely resembled "The Distance."
This episode marks the one and only time that Nelson Muntz has ever been subjected to a beating when Kearney and Jimbo punch him for using the word "guff".
Maggie does not appear in this episode.

[edit] Cultural references

The episode title references Battlestar Galactica.
In the recital, the Springfield elementary school band played James Brown's "Living in America". Bart said about Lisa "she's a sax machine", referring to her saxophone, but sounds like "Sex Machine", another of James Brown's songs.
The elf-jockeys living near the chocolate cascade are a parody of the Oompa-Loompa from the book (and films) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The sequence in which the jockeys tell Homer to lose the race is similar to the dream sequence in Fiddler On The Roof
The song playing in the background during the montage of Furious D winning is reminiscent of "The Distance" by Cake (see Trivia above).
After Homer had just won another race, he notes that he has more trophies than the pope and Wayne Gretzky combined.
The name "Furious D" is a possible reference to rock band Tenacious D, as noted in The Simpsons Beyond Forever.
Homer says he fought at 'La Choy' in Vietnam, La Choy is in fact a brand of Chinese Food.

[edit] Worst episode ever?

Many Simpsons fans have an extremely low opinion of "Saddlesore Galactica". The episode contains numerous meta-humor and self-referential jokes. Examples of this include the blatant recycling of themes and ideas from earlier episodes (which is pointed out repeatedly by Comic Book Guy, who incidentally is also wearing a "worst episode ever" t-shirt), the absurd plot twists (such as the jockeys being magical elf creatures), and the over-the-top caricaturizing of the main characters (such as Lisa taking up an issue and protesting against it). This has led some to be believe that it is in fact a joke and a parody of various fan criticisms of the show [1] (which many fans considered to be insulting towards them). It was voted the 5th worst episode of all time on NoHomers.net in 2003, and the 2nd worst episode in 2006.[2]

None the less, "Saddlesore Galactica" also has fans who defend the episode.