Tales from the Public Domain
"Tales from the Public Domain" | |
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flipbook style, with the pages flipped by real hands. | |
Commentary | Al Jean Matt Selman Tim Long John Frink Don Payne Joel H. Cohen Matt Warburton Mike B. Anderson |
"Tales from the
The episode was written by
In its original American broadcast, the episode was seen by more than 4% of the population between ages 18 and 49. Following its release on DVD and Blu-ray the episode received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Homer is told that he has an overdue book from the library, which he checked out when Bart was a baby. He says that he had intended to read to Bart every day, but various things had gotten in his way. Before he returns it, he reads from the book, telling three stories.
D'oh, Brother Where Art Thou?
In this story, Homer is
Hot Child in the City
Lisa is Joan of Arc, who leads the French against the English in the Hundred Years' War, which Homer implies was also called "Operation Speedy Resolution". Despite her family's concern, she joins the army, where she has new ideas about defeating the enemy. She meets the King of France (Milhouse). During a battle, the English capture Joan and put her on trial. She is accused of witchcraft, and sentenced to death. When Lisa claims that she was following God's will, Groundskeeper Willie reveals that he too was chosen by God, but to lead the English armies against the French (despite the fact that the Scottish were actually on the French side at the time). God's voice then excuses himself by revealing that the two were never supposed to meet.
As they read the end, Joan of Arc is being burnt at the stake, still waiting for God to save her. Shocked, Lisa asks Homer if she was really burned to death. Marge then interrupts, claiming that Joan of Arc was rescued by Sir Lancelot, and they get married and live in a spaceship. She then rips out the last page and eats it, remarking that it is easier to chew than the video of Bambi.
Do the Bard, Man
Bart is
Production
"Tales from the Public Domain" was directed by Mike B. Anderson and written by Andrew Kreisberg, Josh Lieb and Matt Warburton. It originally aired on March 17, 2002 on the Fox network. "Tales from the Public Domain" is the third trilogy episode produced for the series, the other two being "Simpsons Bible Stories" from season 10, and "Simpsons Tall Tales" from season 12. Al Jean, the show runner for the episode, stated that trilogy episodes are "very fun for the writers" to do because it allows them to parody "great works of literature" and condense them into one act each.[1]
Before writing the episode, the writers had decided that one of the segments would feature Lisa as the main character. According to Jean, the writers found it very difficult to find a historical story for Lisa because there are "so few [historical stories] that star women". They had the same problem when pitching stories for "Simpsons Tall Tales", in which they resorted to giving Lisa the role of "Connie Appleseed", a feminization of the historical figure
In the DVD
Cultural references
Each segment is based on and include references to historical stories; "D'oh Brother, Where Art Thou" takes its story from the ancient
The song that the sirens are singing in the first segment is a parody on the 1978 disco song "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow.[4] In order to return to Ithaca, Homer crosses the river Styx, in which the dead can be seen dancing "Lady" by the band Styx.[5] In the second segment, the captain resembling Chief Wiggum is initially leading the French army. The soldier resembling Lou points out that the captain "keeps switching back from French and English." The scene satirizes films like Doctor Zhivago in which the Russians speak with a British accent even though they are in Russia. At the end of the act, Marge can be seen eating the page which shows Joan's demise and, say "Well, it's easier to chew than that Bambi video." The scene is a reference to a scene in the Disney film Bambi, in which Bambi's mother is shot to death by hunters.[1]
In the beginning of the third act, Bart argues that modern writers like Steven Bochco, one of the creators of the television series NYPD Blue, are more talented than Shakespeare. Bochco saw the episode with his children and was so flattered that he sent The Simpsons staff some NYPD Blue merchandise.[1] After the ghost of Homer has spoken to Bart, he leaves Bart's room by flying through the wall, causing slime to appear on the wall. This is a reference to Slimer, a ghost from the Ghostbusters franchise who has a similar function.[6]
Release
In its original American broadcast on March 17, 2002, "Tales from the Public Domain", along with a new episode of Malcolm in the Middle, received more than a full rating point more than ABC's showing of the film Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, which received a 3.1 rating among adults between ages 18 and 49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that the episode was watched by more than 4% of the American population of said demographic at the time of its broadcast.[7] On August 24, 2010, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season on DVD and Blu-ray.[8]
These anthology shows tend to be pretty spotty. The series usually pulls of [sic] the Halloween ones relatively well, but the others are much more hit or miss. "Hamlet" probably comes across the best, but it’s still pretty mediocre.
Colin Jacobsson, DVD Movie Guide[8]
Following the release of The Simpsons thirteenth season, "Tales from the Public Domain" received mixed reviews from critics. Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that The Simpsons trilogy episodes "tend to be pretty spotty." Of the three stories, Jacobsson liked "Do the Bard, Man" the most, although he overall found the episode to be "mediocre".[8] Adam Rayner of Obsessed with Film wrote that, even though the episode "has a few laughs", it "just feels half-hearted",[9] and, writing for 411Mania, Ron Martin described the episode as being "just a lazy way out for the writers".[10] Giving the episode a negative review, Nate Boss of Project:Blu wrote that the episode is "awful" and "kinda annoying", and that it "has been done so many times, it's hardly all that funny".[11] On the other hand, Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com wrote that he is "particularly fond of [the episode]" and Rosie Fletcher of Total Film considered it to be a "stand-out" episode in the season.[12][13] The Vulture column of New York magazine named it one of the ten best episodes of the show's later era.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Jean, Al. (2010). Commentary for "Tales from the Public Domain", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Payne, Don. (2010). Commentary for "Tales from the Public Domain", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Anderson, Mike B. (2010). Commentary for "Tales from the Public Domain", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Long, Tim. (2010). Commentary for "Tales from the Public Domain", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Seitz, Matt Zoller (February 10, 2012). "Nine Latter-Day Simpsons Episodes That Match Up to the Early Classics". New York. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ^ Selman, Matt. (2010). Commentary for "Tales from the Public Domain", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "Longer 'Fear Factor' takes 18-49s". Media Life. March 19, 2001. Archived from the original on May 17, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ a b c Jacobsson, Colin (September 2, 2010). "The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [Blu-Ray] (2001)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ Raynor, Adam (September 20, 2010). "DVD Review: THE SIMPSONS SEASON 13". Obsessed With Film. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ Martin, Ron (September 15, 2010). "The Simpsons Season 13 DVD Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ Boss, Nate (September 8, 2010). "The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season". Project-Blu. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ Broadwater, Casey (September 5, 2010). "The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ Fletcher, Rosie (September 29, 2010). "The Simpsons: Season Thirteen". Total Firm. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
External links
- "Tales from the Public Domain" at IMDb