Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish
"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" | ||
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Couch gag The couch springs out like a bed. | | |
Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss | |
"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" is the fourth episode of the
The episode was written by
Journalists have described the episode as a satire on both
The episode was positively received by television critics for its satire on American politics. It acquired a
Plot
Burns' political advisers inform him that he is greatly despised by most people, while Bailey is beloved by all. To quell the controversy over Blinky, Burns appears on television with an actor portraying Charles Darwin who claims Blinky is an evolutionary leap, not a "hideous genetic mutation". After Burns vows to lower taxes and runs a smear campaign against Bailey, his campaign ties hers in the polls. Burns' advisers suggest that he have dinner at the home of one of his employees the night before the election. After scanning the plant's video monitors for the most average man he can find, Burns chooses Homer.
The upcoming dinner with Burns divides the Simpson household. With Homer supporting Burns's campaign simply to not antagonize his boss, Marge and Lisa are appalled that Homer has allowed Burns to use their home as a campaign tool, only agreeing to it after Homer begs. For dinner, Marge serves Blinky, placing the fish's head on Burns's plate. Unable to swallow the fish, Burns spits it out. Cameras flash as the expelled bite flies through the air and hits the floor, dooming his gubernatorial campaign. Bailey wins the election. Burns destroys the Simpsons' furnishings in a fit of rage, but Lisa prevents any major damage by saying that “I don’t see what destroying our possessions will accomplish.” Burns warns that he will ensure Homer's dreams will go unfulfilled as long as he lives. However, Marge happily reassures Homer that his ambitions are so meagre nobody could possibly thwart them.
Production
The episode was written by Sam Simon and John Swartzwelder, and directed by Wes Archer. Blinky had previously made a brief appearance in the season one episode "Homer's Odyssey", in which he was seen swimming in the lake outside the plant. The writers liked the design of the fish and decided to devote an episode to him.[1]
Mary Bailey and Springfield Shopper reporter Dave Shutton made their first appearance on the show in this episode.[2] Dave Shutton, voiced by Harry Shearer, was named after a friend of Swartzwelder. Dave Shutton's roles have since become less relevant and have been reduced to cameos and appearances in crowd scenes.[3] Mary Bailey would later appear briefly in episodes such as "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" and "The Seven-Beer Snitch".[4] Nancy Cartwright ad-libs Bart's blasphemous prayer at the dinner with Mr. Burns (which takes place during the episode's climax) and she records it in one take. It was so funny that the crew was laughing during the prayer, and immediately after she finished, Cartwright and the rest of the voice cast also broke into uncontrollable laughter. Producer Matt Groening says it was fortunate she could do it in one take, as a second would have been impossible to do.
During the Tracey Ullman Show and the first season of The Simpsons, Bart quickly became one of the most popular characters on television in what was termed "
Cultural references
The name of the episode comes from the slogan in a political advert used in
Themes and impact
Journalists have described "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" as a satire on American politics. Joanne Ostrow, a reviewer for
The episode also features an environmentalism theme. This theme is present in the nuclear power plant's polluting Lake Springfield, which causes the fish in the lake to mutate.
On February 13, 1991, a local group in Albany, New York, fought the government's plan to create a nuclear waste dump in their neighborhood. It was staged by Citizens Against Radioactive Dumping (CARD) at the monthly meeting of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission in Albany. Here four children dressed up as Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa, and presented a three-eyed fabric fish, which looked like Blinky, to the commission. In addition to that they performed a rap song, which explained the plot of the episode.[22]
Since the episode's initial airing, Blinky has been mentioned several times in news articles regarding nuclear waste and mutation. A reporter for the
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" finished nineteenth in the ratings for the week of October 29–November 4, 1990, with a
The episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics since airing. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called the episode a "superb example" of political satire, "demonstrating the lengths people will go to to win votes. Marge, of course, sees straight through Burns and uses Blinky the three-eyed fish to demonstrate his lack of conviction."[11] Phil Rosenthal of the Los Angeles Daily News called the episode a "wonderful stab" at American politics and the "media machine that drives it", and added: "The message is so subtle, the makers of The Simpsons might deny it is there at all for fear of turning off a portion of its audience. Truth is, you may very well be so busy laughing and taking in the fine details, such as the references to Citizen Kane, to notice."[34]
Hal Boedeker of
Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor, thought the episode's story was "nicely composed, so you don't have to recognize the Citizen Kane references to appreciate the effort, but it adds to the fun."[38] He also noted that it begins the exploration of Mr. Burns "in earnest, the first of many characters who will receive elaborate coverage as the series advances."[38] Jeremy Kleinman of DVD Talk thought both Lisa's "tremendous intellect" and Marge's "moral compass" were "probed" in the episode, and he thought one "clear highlight" of the episode was Burns's attempts to explain away Blinky's mutation by turning to an actor portraying Charles Darwin who proceeds to give a speech suggesting that Blinky is merely advanced.[16]
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote: "The episode took an unusual approach for an early show, as it focused largely on a secondary character. One could argue that season one's '
References
- ^ Groening, Matt (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 43.
- ^ a b Reiss, Mike (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Jean, Al (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Cassidy, John (1990-07-08). "Cartoon leads a revolt against apple-pie family — Simpsons". The Sunday Times.
- ^ "Simpsons set for big screen". The Daily Telegraph. 2007-07-15. Archived from the original on 2022-01-15. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
- ^ Kleinfield, N.R. (1990-04-29). "Cashing in on a Hot New Brand Name". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
- ^ Cerone, Daniel (1991-05-09). "'Simpsons' steals away Cosby viewers". Los Angeles Times. p. 4.
- ^ Jean, Al. (2002). Commentary for "Bart Gets an F", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "A Chicken in Every Pot" political ad and rebuttal article in New York Times. Series: Herbert Hoover Papers: Clippings File, 1913 - 1964. National Archives. 30 October 1928. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
{{cite book}}
:|website=
ignored (help) - ^ a b Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Two Cars in Every Garage, Three Eyes on Every Fish". BBC. Archived from the original on 2003-10-02. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ a b Shales, Tom (October 11, 1990). "They're Scrapping Again — But This Time It's A Ratings Fight". Washington Post. pp. C1.
- ISBN 1-55111-337-6.
- ^ "Bart Gives Quayle Some Spelling Tips". The Record. June 25, 1992. pp. D16.
- ^ Ostrow, Joanne (October 10, 1990). "Family lifestyles poles apart in 'Simpsons' vs. 'Cosby'". The Denver Post. pp. 1F.
- ^ a b Kleinman, Jeremy (August 1, 2002). "The Simpsons — The Complete Second Season". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ a b Turner 2004, p. 223.
- ^ Turner 2004, p. 56.
- ^ Claustro, Lisa (August 26, 2007). "'The Simpsons' Can be Used to Teach Science". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Sussman, Beth (August 12, 2007). "'The Simpsons'? Scientific?". USA Today. ABC. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-275-96928-8.
- ^ Fine, Thomas (1992-01-12). "Cartoon heroes animate protest — Simpson look-alikes featured in fanzine feature". Syracuse Herald American (NY). p. C1.
- ^ Laukaitis, Algis (December 22, 2005). "A fish with two mouths?". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Whalen, Bill (June 6, 2002). "California Daydreaming". National Review. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Smith, Matt (January 13, 2009). "Is Blinky, The Simpsons' Three-Eyed Fish, Headed For San Francisco?". SF Gate. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Park, Brian (August 30, 2007). ""Quality of life" is a popular term in Colorado". The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Taormina, Barbara (July 27, 2007). "Hot water: Could the new LNG pipeline stir up old radioactive waste?". North Shore Sunday. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Anderson, Thomas (June 1, 2008). "Exelon: Atomic Power Play". Exelon. Archived from the original on 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ Liszewski, Andrew (2011-10-27). "The Simpsons Called It: Three Eyed Fish Caught Outside a Nuclear Power Plant". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ "El pez de tres ojos de los Simpson era argentino" [The Simpsons' three-eyed fish was Argentinian]. Infobae.com (in Spanish). 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings /Oct. 29-Nov. 4". Long Beach Press-Telegram. November 7, 1990. pp. C12.
- ^ Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ "The EMA Awards". Environmental Media Awards. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ Rosenthal, Phil (November 1, 1990). "'Cosby', 'Simpsons', Delivers More Than Laughs Tonight". News & Record. pp. B6.
- ^ Boedeker, Hal (October 11, 1990). "The New Family Feud Tonight". The Miami Herald. pp. 1G.
- ^ Mann, Virginia (October 11, 1990). "Rueful Bart Retains Old 'Simpsons Bite". The Record. pp. F18.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (November 2, 1990). "The Simpsons". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 1-932916-01-6.
- ^ Jacobson, Colin. "The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- Bibliography
External links
- "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
- "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" at IMDb