That '90s Show (The Simpsons)
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"That '90s Show" is the eleventh episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 27, 2008. Kurt Loder and "Weird Al" Yankovic both guest star as themselves, this being the second time for Yankovic.[1] The episode was written by Matt Selman, and directed by Mark Kirkland. The episode's title is a parody of That '70s Show, a television program that also aired on Fox.
After Bart and Lisa discover Marge's degree from Springfield University, Homer and Marge recount one of the darkest points of their relationship, in which Marge has an affair with a pretentious history professor and a dejected, self-destructive Homer achieves brief fame as the frontman of a grunge band.
The show parodies the floating timeline utilized in The Simpsons, in which characters remain the same age even though every episode is set in the present. While previous episodes, such as the 1992 episode "The Way We Was", depicted Homer and Marge's early romance in the 1970s, this episode portrays their lives as a young couple in the mid-'90s, paradoxically the same time period in which the early seasons of the show were produced and set.
Plot
The
In the flashback, younger Homer and Marge are happily dating, living together in an apartment after graduating from high school. Marge is an avid reader, and Homer is part of an
Marge quickly admires August, and both form a mutual attraction. August begins manipulating Marge by telling her Homer is a simple "
Homer performs a new song, called "Shave Me" (based on "
Cultural references
When Homer's band is playing "Politically Incorrect", a character named "Marvin Cobain" calls his cousin Kurt Cobain on the phone and makes him listen to the song, stating that it might be the new sound he has been looking for. This is a reference to a scene from the movie Back to the Future where Marvin Berry calls his cousin Chuck Berry and makes him listen to Marty McFly playing a cover of "Johnny B. Goode". The breaking news broadcast on TV by Kurt Loder (voiced by Loder himself) self-references Loder's own breaking news broadcast on MTV News that Kurt Cobain was dead. The episode title is a reference to another popular, but live-action, Fox sitcom That '70s Show. The same title would coincidentally later be used for that show's 2023 sequel series. The episode parodies Kurt Cobain's rise to fame with Nirvana. Sadgasm is a parody of Nirvana, and the band's breakup references Cobain's breakup from Nirvana. When Homer blocks himself from his fans in his mansion, this references Cobain's heroin addiction and his depression before his suicide. Most of Sadgasm's songs are based on songs from Nirvana. In one scene, it is implied that Homer is watching Seinfeld, as the theme can be heard. He also says to Marge, "No soup for you!", and that he is the "master of his domain," which are lines from the episodes "The Soup Nazi" and "The Contest", respectively, and ponders, "Oh Elaine, will you ever find a man who's sponge-worthy?", an allusion to the episode "The Sponge". When Homer goes to Moe's and asks for a beer, Moe tells him he turned his establishment into a cigar bar, a reference to the 1990s' cigar boom.
Reception
An estimated 7.6 million viewers tuned into the episode.[2]
Richard Keller of TV Squad enjoyed the many cultural references to the 1990s, but felt disappointed that the episode changed the continuity of The Simpsons.[3]
References
- ^ "Primetime Listings". FoxFlash. January 27, 2008. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ "That 90's Show". Simpsons Channel. 2008. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
- ^ "That 90's Show". tvsquad.com. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
External links
- "That '90s Show" at IMDb
