Whacking Day
"Whacking Day" | |
---|---|
The Simpsons episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 20 |
Directed by | Jeff Lynch |
Written by | John Swartzwelder |
Production code | 9F18 |
Original air date | April 29, 1993 |
Guest appearance | |
| |
Episode features | |
Couch gag | The Simpsons walk in, while the couch is replaced by a small wooden chair that they all sit on.[2] |
Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Jeffrey Lynch David Silverman |
"Whacking Day" is the twentieth episode of the
expose the fraudulent and cruel nature of the holiday.The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Jeffrey Lynch; Barry White, who had expressed a wish to appear in the show, guest stars as himself. It was pitched by George Meyer, who wanted to create an episode against the mistreatment of snakes. The episode includes the first appearance of Superintendent Chalmers, and features an Itchy & Scratchy parody of Oliver Stone's film JFK. "Whacking Day" won a Genesis Award for "consciousness-raising on behalf of animal issues".
Plot
During an inspection by
Meanwhile, the local holiday Whacking Day is approaching. Each year on May 10, the people of
On Whacking Day, Barry White arrives to begin the festivities, but quickly leaves in disgust when he discovers the holiday is dedicated to killing snakes. Bart suggests to Lisa that they lure the snakes to safety by playing music with heavy bass from the stereo speakers. White, who just happens to be walking by, agrees to help by singing "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe", attracting hundreds of snakes into the house.
The pursuing crowd arrives, but they are soon turned around on the subject of Whacking Day by Bart's newfound knowledge; the first Whacking Day was actually held in 1924 as an excuse to beat up Irish immigrants. Lisa also reminds the townspeople of the positive things that snakes have done for them, such as killing rodents. The townspeople agree to give up the tradition.
Skinner is impressed with Bart's efforts and welcomes him back to the school, but then realizes in horror that he completely forgot about Jimbo, Dolph, Kearney and Nelson, because they are still in the utility basement; they are shown talking about their feelings and comforting each other. Skinner and Willie race to the school with the mountain bikes for the boys to avoid a potential lawsuit. When Willie asks Skinner what they will do if the boys are dead, Skinner assures him that the two of them will ride the bikes into
Production
Writer George Meyer, who was very "animal conscious", was interested in writing an episode related to an annual ritual held in a Texan town, where the townspeople would beat rattlesnakes with sticks. Meyer did not have time to pen the episode himself, so the idea was given to John Swartzwelder.[3] The subject matter of "beating snakes" worried the staff who thought that many would deem it cruel, even though the episode's message is against the mistreatment of snakes.[3] The episode's first act was one of the shortest the staff had ever written at that time, roughly ten pages in length, but with no ideas to expand, they left it as it was.[3] Due to this, the main plot does not start until the beginning of the second act, as the writers could not come up with much material for it.[3]
In order to speed up animation, director Jeffrey Lynch "begged" storyboard artists Kevin O'Brien and Steve Markowski to help him with the episode. The three spent several months on the episode.[4] Barry White wanted to guest star on the show, so he was written into the plot. He sang "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" especially for the episode, rather than using a recorded version.[3]
The song Grampa was supposed to sing in his flashback, showing how he posed as a German cabaret singer in World War II, was "
The episode marks the first appearance of
Cultural references
Over newsreel footage of Whacking Day,
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Whacking Day" finished tied for 25th in the weekly ratings for the week of April 26 – May 2, 1993 with a
For "consciousness-raising on behalf of animal issues",[7] the episode was awarded the Genesis Award for "Best Television Prime Time Animated Series" in 1994.[8]
Jeffrey Lee Puckett of
Matt Groening considers Homer's "I am evil Homer" fantasy to be one of the "all-time great moments" in the show's history.[12]
A 2003 article in
In
References
- ^ OL 433519M..
- ^ a b Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Whacking Day". BBC. Archived from the original on June 23, 2003. Retrieved February 12, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Jean, Al (2004). The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season Commentary for the Episode "Whacking Day" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Lynch, Jeffrey (2004). The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season Commentary for the Episode "Whacking Day" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Reiss, Mike (2004). The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season Commentary for the Episode "Whacking Day" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- Press-Telegram. May 5, 1993. p. C-6.
- ^ Lycan, Gary (June 20, 1994). "Using Awards to Fight Cruelty to Animals – Preview: Show Cites Media and Entertainment Contributions to Cause of Humane Treatment". The Orange County Register. p. F-10.
- ^ "Free Willy, Simpsons Win Genesis Awards". Rocky Mountain News. January 30, 1994. p. 56A.
- The Courier-Journal. p. 12S.
- ^ Vognar, Chris (June 18, 2004). "A Fine Song and Dance: Simpsons Musical Spoofs are Worthy of an Encore". The Dallas Morning News. p. 16-H.
- ^ Martin, Andrew (October 7, 2011). "Top 10 Best Musical Guests On 'The Simpsons'". Prefix Mag. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
- ^ Groening, Matt (2004). The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season Commentary for the Episode "Whacking Day" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Serico, Chris (July 31, 2003). "Move Over, Homer! Eastchester Had Its Own 'Whacking Day'". The Journal News. p. 9-A.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Archivedfrom the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan. "The Simpsons (Classic): Whacking Day". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.