Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song
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"Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season, first aired on April 28, 1994. It is also the 100th Episode (even though the true 100th episode in production order is the Season Six episode "Lisa's Rival"). This episode aired as the 100th celebration marathon.
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[edit] Plot
After dismissing the idea of taking Simpson family home movies and a geode, Bart brings Santa's Little Helper to school for show and tell. Even though Bart did well on the show and tell, the dog escapes into the air ducts after Mrs. Krabappel took him to the closet, and Groundskeeper Willie is greased up and sent after him. Willie catches the dog, but chooses the wrong vent to exit (the one hanging high over the gym) and the fire department is called in to rescue him. As the firemen are attempting to rescue Willie, Superintendent Chalmers appears outraged at the incident telling Principal Skinner, "Oh, I have had it, I have had it with this school, Skinner! The low test scores, class after class of ugly, ugly children." As they talk, Bart's dog falls into Chalmers' arms causing him to initially forgive Skinner; it is then rescinded when Willie falls through the vents and fall onto Superintendent Chalmers. This debacle results in Chalmers firing Principal Skinner.
Chalmers hires Ned Flanders as the new principal of Springfield Elementary School, but when Flanders is hesitant to discipline the children, they run amok, and the school becomes a mad house.
Bart befriends the now jobless Skinner, as they laugh about anecdotes of Flanders's failure that Bart relates. Skinner's original plan was to write the great American novel, an idea that is promptly shot down as a total plagiarism by Apu, as it resembles the novel Jurassic Park. Soon, Skinner eventually decides he should return to the only place that has ever really been a home to him, and rejoins the United States Army as a drill instructor.
Instead of rejoicing in the discipline-less school, Bart feels bad about causing Skinner's firing, so in an effort to get Skinner his job back, Bart attempts to expose Flanders' poor leadership to Chalmers, with the help of Homer. But despite the state of chaos Springfield Elementary is in, Chalmers is not concerned. However upon hearing Flanders utter "thank the Lord for this beautiful day" over the intercom, Chalmers immediately fires Ned stating "God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion". Back at school, Bart and Skinner have an amicable chat about their typically antagonistic relationship, and affectionately pat each other on the back. Bart uses this to stick a "KICK ME" sign on Skinner's back. Skinner gets the last laugh, however, because he also stuck a sign on Bart's back, his saying "TEACH ME."
[edit] Debut appearances
Characters making a first appearance in this episode are:
[edit] Cultural references
- The episode title is a reference to the 1971 Melvin Van Peebles film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.
- The opening segment with the flashback and music is in reference to the classic television show The Wonder Years, complete with Joe Cocker's rendition of The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends".
- The scene where Willie is in the vent and the dog is flashing past the next vent, and the scene where Skinner anxiously watches the air vent tracking system, is from the movie Alien.
- Skinner's "great American novel", Billy And The Clone-a-saurus idea turns out to be an inadvertent plagiarism of Jurassic Park.
- Lisa mentions Doctor Moriarty as Sherlock Holmes' archenemy, although his actual title is Professor Moriarty.
- Skinner says to Bart: "We'll always have the laundromat", the reference to "We'll always have Paris" in the movie Casablanca.
- This is also the first appearance of Ned's parents. His father speaks, but his mother is silent; she speaks in the episode "Hurricane Neddy".
- During commercial break, stars Luke Perry, Kelsey Grammer, and Leonard Nimoy made comments about this episode.
[edit] External links
- "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive