Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious

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The Simpsons episode
"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious"
Episode no. 166
Prod. code 3G03
Orig. Airdate February 7, 1997[1]
Show Runner(s) Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Written by Al Jean
Mike Reiss[2]
Directed by Chuck Sheetz[2]
Couch gag A picture of the couch is seen, but nobody enters. Cut to the outside of the house where the Simpsons have locked themselves out.[2]
DVD commentary by Matt Groening
Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Chuck Sheetz
David Silverman
SNPP capsule
Season 8
October 27, 1996 – May 18, 1997
  1. Treehouse of Horror VII
  2. You Only Move Twice
  3. The Homer They Fall
  4. Burns, Baby Burns
  5. Bart After Dark
  6. A Milhouse Divided
  7. Lisa's Date with Density
  8. Hurricane Neddy
  9. El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)
  10. The Springfield Files
  11. The Twisted World of Marge Simpson
  12. Mountain of Madness
  13. Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
  14. The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
  15. Homer's Phobia
  16. Brother from Another Series
  17. My Sister, My Sitter
  18. Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment
  19. Grade School Confidential
  20. The Canine Mutiny
  21. The Old Man and the Lisa
  22. In Marge We Trust
  23. Homer's Enemy
  24. The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
  25. The Secret War of Lisa Simpson
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(d'oh)cious[2] is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' eighth season and originally aired February 7, 1997.[1] It was directed by Chuck Sheetz and was written and executive produced by Al Jean & Mike Reiss.[2] After Marge becomes stressed, the Simpsons hire a new nanny, a Mary Poppins look-alike, who tries to help the Simpson family become better people.[1] The episode title is a parody of the word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from the film "Mary Poppins."

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Sherry Bobbins.
Sherry Bobbins.

After discovering that she is losing hair at an alarming rate, Marge visits Dr. Hibbert, who informs her that it is because of stress. The Simpsons family decides to hire a nanny who can help relieve Marge of some chores. They start interviewing several candidates, but none of them are right for the job. Bart and Lisa sing a song about what they would consider the perfect nanny, and their prayers are answered when a woman with an umbrella glides down from the sky and introduces herself as Sherry Bobbins. She seems perfect and is immediately hired.

Sherry Bobbins proves to be a big help for the Simpson family, helping the kids clean their rooms and even helping make Mr. Burns happy. Marge recovers from her stress and her hair returns back to normal. The next day, Sherry Bobbins declares her work finished and leaves the house. Just as she is starting to miss the Simpson family, she sees Homer throttling Bart and the family seems to have returned to its previous state. She realizes that her work is far from complete and decides to stay.

The family now starts to treat her rudely and lose interest in her songs and zest for life. Declaring that the Simpsons would be the death of her, she becomes depressed and starts drinking with Barney. The family realizes that they had crushed her spirit and decide to cheer her up. Marge tells Sherry that nothing can be done to change the Simpsons and they are happy just the way they are. The family sings a song and Sherry declares that the Simpsons are a bunch of apes and takes off with her magical umbrella. As Sherry glides away, Lisa asks whether they will see her again and Homer is positive that they will. Unbeknownst to the Simpson family, Sherry is sucked into a passing airplanes jet engine not long after leaving.[1][3][4][5]

[edit] Production

Although the majority of season 8 episodes were Executive produced (showran) by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, former EPs Al Jean and Mike Reiss had signed a deal that allowed them to produce four episodes of The Simpsons.[6] The idea for this episode originated several years before its airdate when Jean and Reiss were the regular showrunners. The idea was pitched at a writers retreat by Al Jean and nobody had wanted to write it. After being allowed to come back to produce some Simpsons episodes, Jean and Reiss decided to do this episode.[6] At first, Mike Reiss was against the episode and had felt that it was a bad idea.[7] He felt that the plot was slightly ridiculous and the show shouldn't feature any magic and except for a few moments, he largely kept magic out of the episode. He now considers it one of the best liked episodes that he co-wrote.[7]

At the time, Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious had the largest amount of music of any Simpsons episode.[8] While writing, Jean thought that the songs would stretch out and make the episode the proper length, but it was considerably shorter than required.[6] Several things, such as the Itchy & Scratchy episode were added in an episode to pad out the episode.[6] There was originally a sequence where Bart, Lisa and Sherry Bobbins visit Patty and Selma and they sing "We love to smoke", a parody of "I Love to Laugh".[6] The song was cut because it wasn't getting any laughs, but the full version was included in Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons and a brief animated version was included as a deleted scene on the Season 8 DVD.[6] During the end song, Homer can be seen dancing along but not singing, this is because the producers forgot to record Castellaneta.[7]

Many of the scenes were animated by Eric Stefani, a former member of No Doubt, who specialized in animation for musical numbers.[8]

[edit] Casting

Julie Andrews was originally asked to guest star in the episode and had initially agreed to take the role although in the end, the producers went with regular Maggie Roswell.[7] Nancy Cartwright mentions in her autobiography that after hearing Roswell's reading, the producers cast her in the role instead.[9]

Quentin Tarrantino was originally asked to guest star in the episode, but he didn't want to deliver the lines required, believing them to be insulting.[6] He now regularily wears a "bootleg Itchy & Scratchy T-shirt."[10]

[edit] Cultural references

Reservoir cats.
Reservoir cats.

The plot of the episode is an obvious reference to Mary Poppins, with Sherry Bobbins being based on the character Mary Poppins and the episode title is a spoof of the word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". Several songs are also direct parodies of songs from the film including "The Perfect Nanny", "The Life I Lead", "A Spoonful of Sugar", "Feed the Birds" and a deleted scene featured Patty and Selma singing their version of "I Love to Laugh".[6] The montage about Marge losing her hair features the song "Hair" from the film Hair.[11] Homer believing various nannies are men in drag is a parody of Mrs. Doubtfire.[6] Homer's imagination is a parody of the dancing characters in Steamboat Willie and features the song "Turkey in the Straw"[11] The Itchy & Scratchy short "Reservoir Cats" is a parody of "The ear-cutting scene" from Reservoir Dogs where Mr. Blonde cuts off the ear of the police officer. The sequence features the same setting, camera angles and same music - "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel. In the end, Itchy & Scratchy dance in a manner similar to the film Pulp Fiction.[6]

[edit] Reception

Alf Clausen received an Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Music Direction" for this episode.[12] The episode earned a score of 7.1/10 at the Internet Movie Database,[13] and an 8.4/10 out on TV.com.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on March 28, 2007
  2. ^ a b c d e Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on March 28, 2007
  3. ^ Martyn, Warren; Adrian Wood (2000). I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-7535-0495-2. 
  4. ^ Episode Capsule at The Simpsons Archive
  5. ^ Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, p. 173. ISBN 0-00063-8898-1. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jean, Al. (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  7. ^ a b c d Reiss, Mike. (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  8. ^ a b Sheetz, Chuck. (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  9. ^ Cartwright, Nancy. My Life as a Ten Year old Boy. ISBN 0-786-86696-9. 
  10. ^ Groening, Matt. (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  11. ^ a b Silverman, David. (2006). The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  12. ^ Every show, every winner, every nominee. The Envelope. Retrieved on February 10, 2007.
  13. ^ Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious. IMDB.com. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.
  14. ^ Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious. TV.com. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.

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