The Scorpion's Tale

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"The Scorpion's Tale"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 22
Episode 15
Directed byMatthew Schofield
Written byBilly Kimball
Ian Maxtone-Graham
Production codeNABF08
Original air dateMarch 6, 2011 (2011-03-06)
Guest appearances
Episode features
Couch gag
A person playing The Simpsons couch gag game, chooses the Simpsons family in the style of an RPG character creator, and they go running to the couch. Afterwards, it says "game over."
Episode chronology
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The Simpsons season 22
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"The Scorpion's Tale" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Matthew Schofield and written by Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 6, 2011.

Plot

During a trip to "Satan's Anvil," the students and faculty of Springfield Elementary stumble into bizarre people and situations:

Grampa
live at their house, after he was kicked out of the old folks home for being too grumpy. After Lisa confirms that the flower has a powerful chemical agent that nullifies all the negative feelings of any living being, Homer sneaks some into his father's coffee, curing his usual crankiness. Grampa decides to do this daily, acknowledging that a drug that stimulates happiness is the best thing that ever happened in his bitter life.

Unfortunately, despite the positive effects, Lisa refuses to give more of this drug, or to tell them the composition. While they complain about it at Moe's Tavern, a drug industry employee from Hottenhoffer Pharmaceuticals named Walter Hotenhoffer (formerly known as

pills, but since the product has not been properly tested, only Grampa is allowed to use them. Unfortunately, Bart
decides to sell some of the pills to everyone who has a problem with grumpy old people, making all the elderly people in Springfield becoming happy and carefree.

Lisa eventually realizes that Grampa is still using the drug, but she also admits that the pills are rather helpful to him. However, the drug's

Baby Boomer generation still needs their guidance, and this is only possible with their constant nagging. In the end, everything turns back to normal (except Hotenhoffer, who still has nightmares regarding what happened at Wonka's factory
).

Production

Director Werner Herzog guest starred as a pharmaceutical executive.[1] When approached by the producers to appear, Herzog did not understand the request because he thought The Simpsons was a comic strip. He was sent a DVD of the show and thought the humor was "wonderful" and "subversive." He said he enjoyed working on the episode.[2] Creator Matt Groening named Herzog one of his favorite guest stars.[3]

Jackie Mason was listed in the FOX press release as a guest star, but was not credited in the episode.[4]

Cultural references

The

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner series is parodied in the episode with a real coyote chasing a real roadrunner. The music playing during this scene is inspired by "The Dance of the Comedians" from The Bartered Bride by Bedřich Smetana
.

Mr. Burns sitting on a throne down by the seashore and failing to command the tide to obey him is a reference to the tale of king

Cnut the Great as ruler of the waves
.

The song playing during the montage of Lisa walking through the desert is "Gassenhauer," composed by Carl Orff. The orchestral music playing during the scenes of newly nice senior citizens playing outdoors is modeled on a theme from the first movement of Symphony No. 1 in D by Gustav Mahler. Ending credits music modeled on music by Thomas Newman from the closing credits from The Player.

Walter Hotenhoffer reveals that he is actually Augustus Gloop from the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory saying, "Ja, it is true I am Gloop. Being stuck in that tube changed me in so many ways."

Reception

The episode received a 2.8/8 in the 18-49 share, and 6.20 million viewers, slightly edged out by the new Family Guy in the Animation Domination block.[5]

Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B−, praising Herzog's performance, but finding Lisa's varying opinions throughout the episode annoying.[6]

Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars. He felt Werner Herzog was not used correctly and that the pharmaceutical story was a repeat of past stories.[7]

References

  1. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (March 7, 2011). "Port of Call Springfield: Werner Herzog Does 'The Simpsons'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Kohn, Eric (April 20, 2011). "Werner Herzog on 3D, "The Simpsons," and Nicolas Cage". IndieWire. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Keveney, Bill (March 19, 2021). "'The Simpsons': Matt Groening on how Anne Hathaway surprised him, why he loves Bitey the possum". USA Today. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "(SI-2208) "The Scorpion's Tale"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 7, 2011). "TV Ratings Sunday: 'Secret Millionaire' Money for ABC; Restaurant Not So Great, 'Celebrity Apprentice' Down; 'Housewives Up'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Kaiser, Rowan (March 7, 2011). ""The Scorpion's Tale"/"Sheesh! Cab, Bob?"/"The Hand That Rocks The Wheelchair"/"The Blue And Gray And Brown"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  7. ^ Hochberger, Eric (March 7, 2011). "The Simpsons Review: "The Scorpion's Tale"". TV Fanatic. Retrieved August 18, 2023.

External links

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