Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?
"Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" | |
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The Simpsons episode | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 24 |
Directed by | Rich Moore |
Written by | John Swartzwelder |
Production code | 8F23 |
Original air date | August 27, 1992 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
Episode features | |
Couch gag | The family cartwheels to the couch.[2] |
Commentary | Matt Groening James L. Brooks Al Jean Nancy Cartwright Rich Moore |
"Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons (and the de facto season four premiere). It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on August 27, 1992. It was originally slated to air as the season premiere for the next season, but Fox decided to air it earlier to promote the series premiere of Martin.
In the episode,
The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Rich Moore. Danny DeVito guest starred as Herb, with Joe Frazier making a cameo as himself. "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" was the second time Herb appeared on the show; he had previously appeared in the season two episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", in which Homer designing an overpriced monstrosity as the new car of Herb's company bankrupts Herb. The producers decided to create this episode in part because many fans were unhappy about the sad ending to "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?".
"Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" received positive reviews from critics and DeVito was praised for his guest performance.
Plot
A routine physical exam at the
Homer plans to buy a vibrating chair as a replacement for the living room couch, which
Herb repays Homer's loan and buys several gifts for the Simpsons, including a new washer and dryer for Marge, an NRA membership for Bart, and a monthly book club subscription for Lisa. Herb forgives Homer for ruining him earlier and buys him the vibrating chair to reward his faith and generosity, and the Simpsons use the original $2,000 to replace the broken couch.
Production
The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Rich Moore.[3] The reason for the late broadcast on August 27, 1992 (the season usually ends in May) was because the Fox network decided to add an additional episode to the season and show it during the summer to become "the biggest network" on television. As a result, the writers, animators, and producers had to work longer hours than normal to be able to finish the extra episode, which became "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?"[4] The idea for the scenes involving the Spinemelter 2000 originated when one of the writers bought a vibrating chair to relax after working 20 hours a day on the episode.[5]
The decision to make another episode with Herb was reached due to many viewers being unhappy about the sad ending to the previous episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" (season two, 1991), in which Homer causes Herb to become bankrupt.[4] It was decided that an episode would be created in which he regains his fortune.[6] Originally the producers were going to end the original Herb episode with Herb saying "I have an idea!" at the end of it, but they decided to flesh this out into a full story, which resulted in "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?".[7] In addition, the producers decided that they enjoyed Danny DeVito's guest starring as Herb in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", so they brought him back.[6][8] Cast member Hank Azaria noted that DeVito was less enthusiastic in his second performance as Herb: "Some people come in and you can tell they kind of regretted doing it. The second time, Danny DeVito was like 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's get it over with.' He did a great job, but he didn't enjoy the process."[9]
In part because the writers had so many ideas for what Herb would invent, the original script of "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" ended up being too long at fifty-three pages. During the same time as the voices were being recorded, the writers cut some of the material.
Boxer
The award that Homer received was based on the Emmy Award, but with a statue of Burns instead.
Cultural references
The title of the episode and the plot, to a certain extent, is a reference to the common expression "
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" finished 31st in the ratings for the week of August 24–30, 1992, with a
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide were positive of the episode, particularly praising the scenes involving Homer's fixation for vibrating chairs and Maggie speaking to the family through the baby translator.[2] The Guardian's David Eklid said episodes such as "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?", "Lisa's Pony" and "Stark Raving Dad" make season three "pretty much the best season of any television show, ever."[15] The episode's reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey was named the 27th greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film's Nathan Ditum.[16]
Herb's reappearance was praised by reviewers of the episode. Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed stated that Herb is "a perfect sibling for [...] Homer, with the two characters having a harmonious give-and-take comedic style. Indeed there isn't a great deal of substance in John Swartzwelder's script, but it is a great deal of fun with plenty of laughs to more than make up for this flaw. There is also a humorous cameo by Joe Frazier that puts a nice accent on the show."[17]
Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict gave "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" a near-perfect score of 99/100, praising it for "the jokes about what the money could be spent on (including one of the best bits ever in a Simpsons episode—Homer sitting on a high-tech vibrating chair) and a good impetus to reintroduce Herb."[18]
Several critics have praised DeVito's appearance. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said he enjoyed seeing what happened to Herb, "and DeVito's performance helps make the show more successful; they really need to bring him back one of these days."[19] Tom Adair of The Scotsman considers "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" to be a classic episode of the show, in part because of DeVito's performance.[20] Gibron also liked the choice of DeVito as the voice of Herb as he is "almost the antithesis of everything Dan Castellaneta does with Homer vocally."[18] Nate Ditum ranked DeVito's performance as the tenth best guest appearance in the show's history.[21]
Notes
- ^ As depicted in the 1991 episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
References
- ^ OL 433519M..
- ^ a b c Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes?". BBC. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
- ^ a b Jean, Al (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d e f Groening, Matt (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d Brooks, James (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c Moore, Rich (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d Reiss, Mike (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c Cartwright, Nancy (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Marder, Keith (April 28, 1994). "Real People Are Models For 'Simpsons' Voices". Times Union. p. C4.
- ^ "Two New Fox Shows Nothing To Brag About". The Plain Dealer. August 27, 1992. p. 12F.
- San Jose Mercury News. p. 1C.
- ^ Marx, Jack (August 18, 2004). "My World". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 2.
- ^ "Readers point out more evidence of 'Simpsons'-Kubrick connection". The Star-Ledger. March 13, 1999. p. 43.
- Press-Telegram. p. C5.
- ^ Eklid, David (April 29, 2008). "Notes & queries: Homer's oddities". The Guardian.
- ^ Ditum, Nathan (June 6, 2009). "The 50 Greatest Simpsons Movie References". Total Film. GamesRadar. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Meyers, Nate (June 23, 2004). "The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season". Digitally Obsessed. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
- ^ a b Gibron, Bill (February 23, 2005). "The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ Jacobson, Colin (August 21, 2003). "The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
- ^ Adair, Tom (November 13, 2004). "Points worth getting". The Scotsman. p. 23.
- ^ Ditum, Nathan (March 29, 2009). "The 20 Best Simpsons Movie-Star Guest Spots". Total Film. GamesRadar. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
External links
- "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes? episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
- "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" at IMDb