The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace
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The Simpsons episode | |
"The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" | |
Episode no. | 205 |
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Prod. code | 5F21 |
Orig. Airdate | September 20, 1998 |
Show Runner(s) | Mike Scully |
Writer(s) | John Swartzwelder |
Director(s) | Mark Kirkland |
Chalkboard | "I will not file frivolous lawsuits" |
Couch gag | The living room becomes a movie theater. |
Guest star(s) | William Daniels as KITT |
SNPP capsule | |
Season 10 August 23, 1998 – May 16, 1999 |
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List of all Simpsons episodes... |
"The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" is the second episode of the tenth season of The Simpsons. It aired on September 20, 1998. The episode's title is an allusion to Thomas Edison's nickname, "the Wizard of Menlo Park".
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Homer is shocked to hear on the radio that the average life expectancy for men is now 76.2 years, which makes him realize that at 38.1 years old, his life is halfway over. When he tells Marge this, she tells him that he is actually 39. Within the next few days, he is in a state of depression, feeling as if he has achieved nothing in his life. When the family has a party, Lisa mentions that Thomas Edison invented movies. Homer studies Edison's inventions and, in his own right, becomes an inventor after quitting his nuclear technician job. Ironically, while he is just starting his career of plans for inventions, the only good invention Homer can actually think of is an electric hammer (which goes berserk and isn't safe for anything).
Homer develops other inventions, such as an alarm that beeps every three seconds when everything is okay, a shotgun which shoots make-up onto women's faces, and a reclining chair which has a built-in toilet, but none of these inventions seem to be very useful. Fortunately, his invention career is saved when he adds two hinged legs to a chair, making it unable to tip over, but he is alarmed when he sees a poster with Edison in the same type of chair. Homer takes Bart and his electric hammer to the Edison Museum in New Jersey to destroy the chair, but Homer actually learns that Edison was working in the shadow of Leonardo da Vinci. Feeling a greater connection to his idol now, Homer decides not to destroy the chair. Unfortunately, he accidentally leaves his electric hammer at the museum. Later, Kent Brockman announces that the chair AND another invention of Edison's has been discovered — the aforementioned hammer — which means his already-wealthy heirs will become even richer.
[edit] Cultural references
- When Homer is reading about Edison at the library, one of the books on the table is called A Child's Garden Of Edison. This is a parody on A Child's Garden of Verses, a book of poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- The title is a take on Thomas Edison's nickname "The Wizard of Menlo Park," which was his home.
- The electric hammer that Homer invents is very similar to one invented by the father in the 1984 film Gremlins. The character in the film also had a reputation for inventions that either didn't work, or only worked for a couple of weeks.
- At Homer's imagined funeral are President Lenny, Bishop Flanders, and multiple-Oscar-winner Barney Gumble, and the Robot from Lost in Space and, inexplicably, Heckle and Jeckle.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
- "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" at the Internet Movie Database