Homer The Smithers (with Daniel Connell)

Sad Jesus business birds.

I just called to say I don't love you.

You are right bad John my he impersonates my mother. Will you and you Smithers, you must have put him up to it.

I'm glad I fired you.

You really blew it this time, Smithers.

Four Finger Discounted.

Welcome to four Finger discount. With this week, we're going back to season seven to review Homo the Smithers. I'm Dano and I am Guy and we are not alone, Amy, We are certainly not.

We are joined by a comedian described on his own website as affable, lovable, and hilarious. Two out of three is not bad. It's Daniel Corral.

He is all three in this podcast.

He is actually all three in this podcast. He's he got across the board. What can I do?

But he's, yeah, an absolute legend. I find myself with very similar age. You've got kids. I just found everything. He was saying, I'm like pressure to the choir brother.

Meanwhile, I sort of turned up my hearing aid did what these young men were saying. It's like, yeah, I sort of vaguely remember that from decades earlier.

Yes, but yes, So Daniel joined us on today's show to review Homer and the Smithers. Also, if you want to support the show, you can do so for as little as just one dollar by supporting us on Patreon, Patreon, Patreon, Patreon, Petreon, Petri What that dad? What's a Patreon? Some some surface called patreon? But you can't, as I said, supporterus on Patreon for as little as a dollar for early in

Hey? Good, Thanks guys. How are you guys?

Oh fantastic, Thank you for joining us. So we're obviously here to talk about the Simpsons. But before we talk about the Simpsons, you've got a lot of stuff going on them. We just released a special recently, let's talk about that.

Yeah, just probably about well a month ago, I think it was, I released my third special called Little Lossie Batler, which is a show I toured all through twenty twenty four and then filmed it at the end of twenty four and then yeah, I listed about a month ago. Yeah, it's kind of the way of the world now with

You're like Smithers, You've got the grind set mate, You're just working twenty four to seven.

That's it.

I must admit.

When I was doing my research about you on the internet, found your LinkedIn profile, which is something I haven't seen a lot of sort of comedians have. Actually, I'm wondering how sort of vital that is in today's entertainment industry to be not just across across the socials, but across well, apparently increasingly the social or the business.

Yeah, it's becoming definitely more and more. The LinkedIn one, thankfully is run by my manager, so I don't know anything about it.

All have to do anything with that one.

I control Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and that's that's enough for me, But yeah.

The important stuff.

Yeah, there's so much now you need to do if you want it, basically, if you want to stay relevant. And it's pretty tricky because everybody. Now if I go to a open mic on a Tuesday night, everybody's got their camera set up the back, everybody's filming everything, and that's just never ending.

I suppose it makes it easier to get discovered, right if you're recording your stuff off time, because if you didn't have a need back in the day, now that you've got the need to do it, it's sort of you don't have to be flogging DVD's all the time. It's just just go to my YouTube channel and you can check out my stuff exactly.

Yeah, yeah, it's it's a fine line. I see some people filming that are quite new, and you I wouldn't want to be putting stuff up that when I'm that new, because if something does go viral and you then have to back it up with a live show, you haven't got the chops as of yet. So it's that fine balance of knowing when to start posting and releasing stuff. But yeah, everybody sort of figures it out on the run.

On the run.

I saw you've given up on your podcast pre covid. Is that ever going to return?

Yeah?

Yeah, I don't know, as you would be full aware running a podcast is it takes you know, it's not just one day of recording. You're doing days in the lead up, and it was taking a little bit of time away from the stand up, which is where I was making money. So yeah, it was it was a tricky balance. I'm sure if I kept it going, i'd probably be up to, you know, a few hundred episodes now, maybe be making some money off it. But yeah, I

How important has it been being on shows like have you been paying attention in recent years?

Yeah?

That that definitely is a huge help with ticket sales and just getting your name.

Out there a bit more for sure. Yeah.

You know, social media is especially TikTok and Instagram are probably the way a lot of people are blowing up now and getting their fans. Like, there's people on there that have you know, five hundred thousand followers and don't get any TV in Australia but can sell out theaters and really big rooms. But yeah, have you been paying attention? Especially it's probably one of the last places you can really show your comedy chops on Ossie TV. But when

So have you been paying attention?

Is a really important one for comedians just to be able to show that they can be funny. And then yeah, you do notice a little uptick in ticket sales from that.

Well, I'm wondering how important things like the Melbourne Comedy

Yeah, the festival is still still pretty good. I think a lot of rest of us that had comedy in them. You know, it's a bit tricky. It cost so much to run festivals now and the competition is so fierce, Like pretty much every American comedian, UK comedian, Indian comedians are coming in now and all year around now they're selling out rod Labor and palais and especially this is it just in Melbourne where I think ten years ago maybe four or five big names would come out and

Because Just for Last was canceled for a while, right, it.

Was, Yeah, yeah, it's I think it's just come back this year.

Yeah, Nina was saying that. Yeah, yeah, but she was saying that she did really well in her set and then they canceled it and just deleted her set. So now she can't find it and now they've brought Just the Last back again.

Yeah, right's your hands on this?

Yeah, but yeah, with the Simpsons, so obviously we're here talking about Home at the Smiths today, but what are your your earliest memories of the Simpsons, Like when were you growing up? Was it during the nineties, like what what was peak Simpsons for you?

Yeah, definitely early nineties.

I remember I have two older sisters, and I remember my big sister wanting to watch it a lot and we would just yeah, sit there. And then I just obviously became a big fan. And I don't think it's because it was like it was one of the few

A lot of people associate their earliest memories of the Simpsons with watching it with family members, Like for me, it's what with my dad. My dad and I didn't really have much in common, but we always watched the Simpsons together. And also I'm watching my sister's it's always this, you know, the Simpsons. Plus it meant that my dad couldn't watch the six PM news, could channel tend back the Simpsons on.

You know what going through When you asked me to do that, I went obviously went back and looked at some old seasons and just looking at the list of the episodes, and obviously there's what is a nine hundred odd episodes or whatever.

Nearly eight hundred. Now I think, yes, I'm like, yeah.

Yeah, I I just knew everyone. I was like, oh my god, I've seen every single episode. I knew every plot, and I just gout, Yeah, you just watched it, and it just was It's just in our brains now forever.

Having said that, Daniel, I mean, watching it at that young age, I'm wondering if it's sort of helped form your comedic style, if it just sort of seeped into your bones and into your DNA in some ways, like oh, this is how you do comedy, or this is how I learned comic timing, or that this is how I can shape a joke or this is how I can deliver.

Oh.

Absolutely, absolutely, I think it definitely is like you say, it just seeps in.

I remember.

I definitely would have gone to school and you know, talked about the episode the next day. That was something we did amongst our friendship group. We'd always go in and say the funny lines and try and do the voices. And I think that when you're really young, you're not really looking at formula and how they're putting the show

I was going to ask you any of the shows growing up that you maybe didn't really appreciate that once you realize you wanted to become a comedian, that you went back and went, oh, this is this is what I need to be getting influenced by inspiration from.

The one that comes to mind that the writing is exceptional now that I watch it because my wife loves it, and when I was a kid, I just had no is Frasier.

Yeah, yeah it is. It is up there.

Like obviously, we watched Seinfeld and I love Seinfeld and I always knew it was great, but Fraser's definitely gone up way so much in my book in the last decade of watching it. I just think the writing on that show was Obviously the acting is great, but the writing as well was just exceptional.

If you go back and watch it now, it still holds up.

Yeah, it's got that classic sort of combination. It's got really strong sort of sitcom bones in terms of it's set up and dynamic and all of that. Then it's got this sort of lovely frosting layer on top of just this sophisticated human that makes it be a little bit more classy by watching it. Then the lands are cut that with Martin sort of you know, cutting him down the side just by telling it how it. Isser is fantastic in that ring at.

Yeah, all those things you said, it's that Now that i'm you know, you get a few more gags and you understand when you're older and how things work. I just think the casting on that show and Seinfeld and you look back at it the car they just absolutely nailed their casting for each role on those shows.

They must look back.

People who did that must look back now with such you know Pride because they absolutely nailed the casting for that one.

I remember not liking Fraser as a kid because I didn't get it.

Well that's probably Yeah.

When I was a teenager, I find the jokes. I was like, I feel so smart now and almost like it was the benchmark if you understand Fraser, You're growing up, you know. But yeah, you usually pitched today, we weren't going to do hor with the Smith as you asked for it. I think it was like a season seventeen episode which flowed me.

It was.

I think it was Bart has two Mummies. I was really I could not believe it because every guest we've had just always going straight to the golden ear, and that's what usually what we do. Why why Bart has two mummies? What was it that drew you to that one? That's the one where Bart is that he become that the monkey in the cage at the grilla in the cage.

But yeah, it was it was just reading back through them all.

I remember that one, yeah, being because from I haven't watched it back, but I vaguely remember that Marge she gets she gets a job in that one, I believe, and that's why she's not.

She's not around for something not around.

Yeah, and the yeah, the chimp takes I actually can't remember.

Get I'll get the plot up. But yeah, but I was just like I was like season seventeen. Wow, normally most comedians are gone. We stopped watching out the season ten.

I was really impressed, and we would have talked about it not long ago on the show, but we did. Yeah, hard to remember much about it at all.

It's just I remember you didn't like it. I liked it, you didn't like it.

It's stricken from the record.

But yeah, But so you were still watching the show around season seventeen or is it just one that you may have just caught on TV?

Yeah?

I think I was.

Yeah, I'd say more likely that I caught it on TV. You know, if I'm home and got nothing on and that's on, I'll often just watch it. So what what years do you think that would have come out?

Season seventeen since that episode aired nineteenth of March two thousand and six. So I was just finishing high school then.

Yeah, I would have been just finished, and yeah, working in kitchens and would have had nights off.

And working in kitchens. Okay, So what were you were a chef. What were you doing water?

Yeah?

Yeah, after school I did a commercial cookery and was did that through about five years. Hated it but yeah, yeah, I didn't enjoy it, but.

Met some great comedy.

But yeah, so that one here says at an animal retirement home, so it's not a Z's animal retirement Homer monkey holds Bart hostage in her cage. Marge learns of the kidnapping on the news and must figure out a way to get her son back. Yes, yeah, yeah, I don't want Bart has two mmies. I was like, is he is he ritten me? Is he joking? Yeah? Yeah, but we went with we went at the Home of the Smith. I gave you a few selections. You wanted

Yeah.

I always thought Home was the funniest. I always thought his lines were yeah, you know everything all the so many of the punchlines are from him, So I think he always appealed to me. Yeah, And obviously Bart when you're little, Bart is the rat bag and you see yourself in him at times. But yeah, I would say Homer was always my favorite.

Did you ever like the Least of episode? Because I didn't as a kid. But again, as I get older, I appreciate that I have a lot more in common with Lisa than I realized when I was younger.

Yeah.

Yeah, I like that Bleeding Gums Murphy one. And you know those ones. When I think of Lisa episodes, they're the ones that pop in my mind, and they're.

Great appropriately enough that they always feel like thevery eat your vegetables episides, like these are the ones that are going to be good for you or teach you something as sid appropriately and I've given Lisa's vegetarianism. But yeah, as you get a bit older as well, you realize sometimes you need some vegetables in your diet.

Yeah, yes, I tell you what I never I never warmed too. This might be controversial. I never warm to the like the House of Horrors ones.

The trios of Horror really Yeah, okay, see, I like them because they're just sort of.

Because each season would have one, wouldn't they They would.

Yeah.

They started in season two and they're still doing to this day, and arguably they're the ones that people get the most hypedful now because they're you know, the horror, and that they're different because I think a lot of people aren't really watching the show as much as they used to, but that that triosop horor seems to always be a standout and a bit of fun because they can sort of let loose a bit. But I always enjoyed the trios of horror. Do you think you didn't

Or scorching hot take on your partner.

Well, it's not the horror. It was.

It was just that, I I, this is gonna sound weird considering I'm watching a cartoon that's completely crept from nothing. I didn't like that it was them not being themselves. They weren't being their they were being something it was. If it started it was a House of Horrors episode, I'll be like, oh.

Turn it off.

I feel like you're the first person in the world I've ever spoken to us.

I just liked the traditional, you know, each of them being themselves a proper storyline. I didn't like the whackingness of it.

I was like, no, man, well.

It's it's actually really interesting you say that because this episode aired Home of the Smithers during season seven, and that's when two guys, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein took over the show as the showrunners. They've been writers of the show and they got that gig just by being fans of the show, and they got into the writer's room and then they'll give them the job of being showrunners. And when they took over here, they felt the show had become too wacky and they wanted to make it

Yeah, I would tend to agree.

I didn't know those facts about writers and the changing, but yeah, I agree around that six, seven, eight, nine, ten is probably the most episodes I've rewatched.

Yeah, yeah, because Marge versus the Monorail, they say, is sort of like a turning point where they realized, oh, we can just do anything now and get away with it. And that was written by Conan O'Bryan and great episode. People love it. But the thing is, Matt Granning wasn't

Yeah, and I love that it sets up little things like the way he feeds him and brushes his teeth and things that you think, well, he's been doing that for the last you know, he's been doing that's in today one, all those times, all those other episodes we've watched, that's what's happened every morning.

You know this has been going on.

Love it, and it's got that great commodation again as I said before, of like it's very heightened kind of comedy in terms of like today I'm wearing the things that kinds up or even just brushing someone's teeth. But also I think everyone can relate to the situation of being put into a job that's probably above your pay grade, and you don't know what the fuck you're doing, and you're sort of bumbling through and you want to get

Yeah, and even the burnout for as a you know, older now. I watched it again yesterday, and just the burnout for Smith's like he's a real stress that people get and as a kid or even a teenager watching that, you're not thinking about that element of it at all.

I think that ties into what you were talking about earlier. Though. How about you know, with your comedy career, I think a lot of people, you know, from the outside in would probably go, Daniel's got it made. Gets to stand up on stage and just tell jokes. Fantastic, What a life it's like. You know, he's got to be his own marketing department, his own PR department, his own av club,

That's right.

Yeah, It's never ending, is a good way to put it. Especially in the stand up world, you kind of feel like you need to have your foot down the whole time, because if you take it off, you just sort of fall back in the pack. That's the I don't think that's true, but that's the feeling.

What it feels.

Yeah, in an industry where it's you know, there's not a lot of opportunity for you know, there's probably there's fifty spots for a thousand people sort of thing is how you're led to believe. But I think having a little break every now and again is really good. I used to never do it, but now I make sure I have a week in the middle of the year and then two around Christmas and news where I just don't even look at an email or joke.

Just get away, I was going to say, because like, I'm married with kids, who've got a seven year old just turned seven year old and a nearly five year old, and I found I would have been about six months ago. I was having real burnout, much like Simiths here, because I just was and given myself any time. I almost felt like I didn't deserve the time, which is kind of like Smith's in this episode. I don't know why I felt that way, but whenever I would take time

This house chaw.

And I couldn't relax. Even when I was having down time, I couldn't relax. But now I sort of go, no, you know, one day a week, just or even for a morning a week, just go do something, Go for a walk, go play a game of golf, go do something. And yeah, so much better for it.

Yeah, we're in the era of optimization. Yeah, where if you're not making the most of every second, you've just you've wasted it.

So yeah, and then you see you have a scroll on Instagram there's some guy absolutely ripped. He's like, I was up at four point thirty this morning, I've had a workout, two workouts already, and avocado on toast and I'm gonna.

Why can't you do this?

Man?

Probably because I'm not making ten k a month hustling the hustle broke lifestyle jumps.

Do you find it easy to switch off from comedy or is it just always there, always thinking of gags? Are able to sort of just turn it off.

Much better now, it's good. Yeah, that's come with time, for sure. I used to not at all. Used to always be I'd wake up and put a note in my phone at you know, two am, just stuff like that. And yeah, just as I said, it just got too much, so much better now where I'll just leave the phone and laptop in the bedroom and just you know, get away, get away from it. Sundays generally, because there's not really

This show is brought to you by the Forefinger Discount Patreon, where you'll find over one hundred hours of bonus podcasts, including exclusive Simpsons reviews and commentaries, as well as exclusive episodes. I've Going down to South Park, Tales of Futurama, Bob's Pods, Speaking of the Hill, Talking Sifold, the One about Friends, and so much more. So go ahead and join the family today at patreon dot com. Slash fourth Figure discaut What do you like with when you're writing a new gag?

Ah?

You kind I kind of write it a couple of times, just pat in a pen, and I'll generally just go straight to stage with it as so long as it's got something in there that you can see that's a beginning middle in a punchline, I'll go straight to and open mic, you know, in front of twelve people on a Monday night, and and just give it a run, because the more you say it out loud, the better

That's probably a much better approach as well, because if you think you've perfected a gag and then you test it and it bombs, it would probably hit your ego a bit, right, Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, got to get it up on its feet and let it breathe a bit.

Do do you find many egos in comedy? You kind of have to have an ego. But do you find many in the Australian scene naming names? But do you find you come across some ego sometimes but you want a few.

There's a few, for sure, but it wouldn't be It wouldn't be as many as you think.

I don't think it's Yeah, okay.

It's generally like a pretty even though it's cut throat and everyone's gunning for similar things, it's pretty. It's a pretty nice industry. There's not too many massive egos, you know. I feel like the time of the ego, especially in I've noticed it in music and comedy. Those days are a bit numbered for people with the big egos. Now you kind of just sort of have to be a decent you know, and.

It just person Yeah, yeah, I just feel like the.

Days of the divas and the idiots are a on. Like if you if you met you know, say you wrote down the five biggest names in Australian comedy and you met them, that you would find them all quite nice. I think you'd find It's not really an industry where you can have a big a go and be a prick because you get weeded out, you lose work because of it. Because there's someone as good as as there's someone that can you know, do your job right, there probably five people that can do that.

Job for you.

You can't really afford to be a prick and lose it, so most people kind of Yeah, I think there's be people that come into the scene with an ego and can be a bit of a jerk and they find out soon that you just can't survive that way.

Well, you mentioned balancing act before, and I think that's probably going to be vital because I mean, you're going to have to have some degree of ego in terms of backing yourself and having confidence in yourself to be able to get up on stage to day I'm going to make you laugh. Motherfucker, we don't say motherfucker, but or unless it Bernie mac. But at the same time, you can't let it sort of become your whole personality.

Yes, turn it on and turn it off. There's yeah, there's definitely a different when you're on stage. You can create a confident persona and sometimes even like an ego or be a prick on stage and that's what works for you. But the people you see on stage that you think do you say like harsh, or you probably chatter them off stage and they're just quite normal and nice.

How important is using language during comedy for having an effective punchline or whatnot? I know, because sometimes you know, some communists just don't want to swear at all, but some do. Like do you find it helps you with punchlines?

Sometimes I don't.

I don't specifically right like you know, F bombs or you know, I never really say so, Bob, I. I don't actually write them down on paper. They just personally, they just come with how I'm feeling. If I'm a bit ranty or angry at something, that probably they come out a bit more. If I'm just sort of setting up a punchline that's just about spiders or you know,

It of yourself aware you're obviously saying it a lot.

Yeah, yeah, but over time you just kind of get Now, I know when to say it, and I don't really think I'm saying it. I planned, sorry that I planned to say it. It just sort of comes out in the moment. And I think if I did so you recorded the same ten minutes set three nights in a row, I think that'd be F bombs at different times, and yeah, yeah, it wouldn't be the same sort of timings on the F bombs.

You've got kids, right, one, Yeah, a little boy.

One kid.

So do you find now you've got to train yourself not to swear. So maybe when you're doing your comedy that's just sort of your way of just getting it all out, because I find I swear a lot, but when the kids around, I'm going to try and control myself and hold it in, And then when the kids arend around, I'm just like, you know, I just sort of it just comes out naturally without even realized.

To be honest, I think I swear the same around my son. To be honest, I did.

I didn't till my wife slapped me across the back of the head, and I learned I had to try and stop that.

Yeah, and you'll be like if it was very organic. I mean not to spoil anything from a little Ossie that, but when you're sort of talking about Cody from foot Locker, yeah, and what you wish for him in the future, it's like that feels like it's only the game completely off. The cut off the cup felt completely natural. Yeah, I loved it.

Sometimes you just yeah, you're feeling it. My favorite.

All right, did we have any favorite moments from this episode? I know you did, guy, Yeah, absolutely, shall I got go first.

I think we're all very much relaying to Homer in this and as I mentioned before about you know, thrust into a position of responsibility that you had just unsuited for the bit where he says to Burns, can you repeat the part of the stuff where you talked about all the things. It's like, that's me at so many jobs?

Was the thing. I hope it wasn't stupid. In this episode, he was very actually very relatable. He was trying. It's just sometimes you just can't do the job.

Yeah, absolutely, Yeah, that's around when he sticks his head out the window and as Smithers is leaving and yeah, well yeah.

Yeah, what are I do in case of five?

That's it, And you get a great callback later on with that when he's actually making breakfast and everything's on the past. By the way, you see that his dedication to duty. When he actually shows up to make breakfast that first day. I think that's the first time I've ever seen Homer in long sleeves. Yeah, maybe in a long sleeve shirt, because normally he's got the unless he's at church or whatnot. Yeah, but you normally got the Sipowitz. He's got the got the short short seat shirt. But

We've got together.

We'll all talk about the cube, because that's just that's gold standard joke telling.

As far as the fact that Burns when the phone rings, is it about my cube? Like you believe it. He's accepted as fate and just a great visual.

Gag in this as well. When yeah, Smithers had been fired and like, well, any any big corporation is going to be happy to get a guy like Smithers. I think he's going to go work for At and t No, he's going to work for Neat and Tody Piano movies. That's just a really spot on visual gag as far as I'm concerned. So, yeah, he's my favorites, but there's going to be more to talk about as we go through. I'm sure.

Did you have any particular favorites, Daniel, Yeah.

Just to touch on the when Homer gets up to go to cook the breakfast for Burns and he gets up at four thirty and march es it's four thirty. Little Rascals doesn't start till six.

It's beautiful I'm so glad you said that, because I love that as well. It just reminds me of getting up earlier to watch you know that the start of Cheese TV or as Aerobics or whatever.

Watch Little Rascals is just brilliantly. I really like the start, the start at the drag the drag race. Burns plays for them all the staff to have a day out at the drag races at the speedway. And yeah, he's drinking beer from a tea span. A smith is feeding Burns beer from a tea spoon, and he's he's given me no bars, nothing's happening. Better grab the tables.

Not feeling younger or funky.

And he gets the car and he gets the cars to slow down as well, because that you can't he can't see them.

And I just love Homer for no reason. It's not of an acknowledge. He's just got a big giant novelty hat on. All right, let's get into some trivia, shall we. Why did you have any more favorite moments than you.

There would be there was?

I really I really liked when Homer knocks out mister Burns.

So believable, isn't it just like you would you would want to.

Do that from being so frustrated being bossed around. And he runs home and then it cuts to Smithers. He's driving a speedboat and he can sensors that something's not right.

It's like ob one and Luke Yeah yeah, and the.

Speedboat and then you see the pyramid of dude, pyramid of cars in swimsuits high up behind him.

Yeah, it's brilliant.

I really liked on Hope we got home. He just slams the door and just cowers in the corner. Marg's like, you, okay, something wrong? Except except that was a really sweet moment as well. I mean it's great when your partner or your wife or it were just sort of well, it's clearly there's something wrong, but.

Just gradually teasing and was like, except, yeah, it's sort of been fantiizing, but at the same times, like sometimes you don't need that from your partner. Yeah, exactly. Next question, you there eating the paste?

Okay, trivia time. My first question for you all is why is dared Devil Lance Murdock in the hospital. The Speedways a fundraiser for him. He's got something wrong with him. Oh good, it's cirrhosis of the Liver Liver and Homers.

Who when they announced it over there.

Yeah, that's one of my favorites as well, just the the announcer of the speedway, just putting everything everything every there. Yeah, it three times, three times, three times.

Smithers cutting it down later on. That's already he hustling. Your first question, my first question. We're back at the speedway. There's a brand of malt liquor advertised on the side of one of the hot rods. What brand of malt liquor is it?

I've got no.

Idea, me neither. I remember seeing the logo.

Yeah, it's Kingpin King molt Lecker. There's a lot of good advertising. I think you saw Laramie cigarettes on the side of one of them. Yeah, there was king Ping malt liquor.

Alright, how old is mister Burns's mother?

Oh yeah, one hundred and twenty four.

Oh close on hundred and twenty two. Good guess twenty two. Yeah, she's one hundred and twenty two. Try and sound more desecrated.

They say he's one hundred and four in that episode.

One hundred and four. Yeah, he's They're very fluid with his age, like it's always changing. But One of the things about this episode was that gave Bill and Josh, because they're big fans of old Timey Burns, he gave them a chance to really showcase just you know, a hoy hoy answer the phone. Just things like that showcase and the fact that she had the affair with President hate to believe it was. Who was a president from nineteen o nine to thirteen, Yeah, that.

Was president that old. My next question to you is how many times did the phone ring before for it picked up?

Oh, I know, I know, I think forty eight, wasn't it?

Yeah? Forty eight is correct? Right, all right.

My final question is how many names appeared on the list when Smithers was doing the search engine trying to find a replacement.

It's like five or six? Was it?

No?

Seven hundred and fourteen.

Because what he initially okay, typing incompetent seven hundred fourteen, anybody adds all the others lean with obs Yeah, seven hundred and fourteen.

I thought that was a really clever way of just because of course Home is going to be the one getting chosen. It's just like, oh the hell with this, I'm just gonna go Homer Simpsons. It's just an easy crutch, but it works well.

I love when Homer gets the job and it cuts to him sitting at the dinner table.

He says.

Everyone has to work. Everybody says they have to work harder when I'm around.

That's why I got.

Yes, that's one of the old time of old timing quotes. That one is there, for sure. It's not one of the ones of the inspirational post is yet on the Simpsons know that's one of the top tier Homer quotes. But all right, So this episode originally aired February twenty fifth, nineteen ninety sixty top three films at the US box office when this episode aired. Number three was Muppet Treasure Island. Now, I'm a obsessed, die hard Muppet fan, love the Muppets

It's got Tim Curry. Tim Curry has long John Silver or something. I don't know why I.

Missed it, but I just never and I've never gone back to revisit it. It's always it's in my Disney Plus watch list. I just haven't watched it yet. But yeah, my pet Treasure Island was number three. Number two was Broken Arrow with Travolta and Christian Slave Christian Slator, which is a fine nineteen nineties action flick. It was a bit bit wacky, but ill do I mean? And number one was Rumble in the Bronx, which I had no idea what it was. But this guy here, he knows

Yeah, he tried to break into the US market after being just a huge star in Hong Kong for so many years. And they you know, he was in the Cannonball Run with Burt Reynolds and Roger Moore back in the early eighties, and he was in some other some other action movie set in New York, but yeah, I think they were. The nineties was a real push to sort of bring Asian action cinema into the US. And yeah,

So what year was it again?

It was ninety six, twenty fifth, ninety six.

Yeah, But the funny thing is called Rumbling the Bronx. And it is clearly Vancouver Canton. It looks nothing like the Bronze.

So is it a dubbed film?

No, like it's so it's made in America. And yeah Jackie he had a decent enough for a grasp of English.

Yeah it wasn't English dubbed.

No no, no, no, it's yeah a US maybe North American movie. But with Jackie channels to the start off.

Okay, so everyone's speaking English, they are, okay, Yeah, becuse apparently.

It was a huge success.

Yeah, right, I can't believe that ninety period, that nineties period had so many of the greatest films of all time. And when I haven't heard of or seen any of those three films.

I hadn't seen brokesit. This man here, he is the movie guy, right, he knows everything about movies. He's just that he reviewed movies for a living for what twenty five years?

That right?

So he said, he always says, no, he knows. I love nineties action flicks, you know, like Connair's and face offs and that kind of stuff. Right, That's why I always say that the Aussie nineties, Australian summer double Headed was always face off in Connair every summer. You got it on Channel seven. But I had no idea about films like Broken Arrow and whatnot, and he always recommends him and I had never heard of it either. But yeah, it's if you like Conna Air and Face Off, you're

Right, what year was last Boy Scout?

That's ninety one.

I believe that feels like mid nineties to me, but it was a lot earlier. But what's your favorite genre of film, Daniel? Is it?

Like?

Is it that kind of nineties action fleet?

I did what's your called that?

When? Yeah? Back then.

If I go to a film now, I really like things that are true stories made into films like drama. Yeah, I really like the I just recently watched the Jordan the Nike film.

Yeah, movie movies.

Like that, the true stories adapted into what was the other one?

The always Moneyball?

Moneyball is great, I always I always forget the name, but the one with Richard Jewel, I really like that.

Yeah, movies, it's called Richard Jewels.

Yeah, Yes, there's one coming out that you might like. It's got I think Chane Tatum is the start, right, the guy that broke out of prison in hides and a Toys r Us store or something roof.

Many Rob McDonald's franchises.

Used to used to hide out in the toilets in McDonald's and then when they opened up the store, he'd come out and rob them. But he was really nice about it. He just put them in there in the cool room and said just stay here, you'll be fine. It's going to take some money, and he'd leave and he became like the McDonald's feet. And then he broke out of prison and hit in a roof of a Toys r Us for like how long?

Oh, a long time. Yeah, But he's always like, okay, I'm gonna put you in the in the cool room. Layer up. Okay, he didn't bring a jacket. Okay, you can add by jacket.

But yeah, that movie is coming out, and that's the kind of film you probably like, ye man, Yeah, check that out alrighty. This episode was written by John Swatswild and one of the most iconic Simpsons writers of all time. Directed by Steven Dean Moore as well. No chalk gag, but this one has the couch gag, with the Simpsons are driving to the couch in their little mini cars and they're wearing fezzsa. Do you know about these guys, I mean about fezzs?

No, well, what they're doing here? This is a This is a group called the Shriners. Okay, yeah, it's sort of like a bit like an offshoot of the Freemasons. Yeah, but because I saw and I'm like, this looks familiar to me for some reason. I mean, it's not just sort of like a circus kind of thing, but yeah, circus vibes. Yeah. But Shriner's International describes itself this is from Wikipedia, which is we all know one hundredercent accurate,

Yeah, I miss parades.

Yeah, we don't really happen as much as these, but the Shriners would get be there and they've been in these little cars and to be wearing their fazzes. So yeah, so this is a shout out to the Shriners. Whether Schwartzwelder was actually a member of the brotherhood or who knows, or just a fun visual gag.

Why don't we have parades anymore? Just people just don't want to go outside and wait and watch things. Or what is.

It probably to do with costs?

Surely, yeah, it's always be costs money, yes, and that's what where's the optimization in a you could be you know, you know, he could be doing some push ups.

But Burns welcomes all the employers to the drag racing event that he is fully paid for. That's one of the downfalls the guests of not working for somebody now, like doing podcasting full time, is the Christmas parties. He's getting all expenses paid for stuff. Yeah, but even Smithers, you know, he has to want the crowd by using the microphone, and he has to read from que cards even waiting for his name. My name is Anti burn So it's basically he's just just setting up here that

But a hot rod Mom, Mama. Yeah, it's always very sweet when Marge is trying to, you know, use the kid's lingo.

Yeah, it never works. But Smithers is giving Burns as you're saying earlier, Daniel, he's duff beer by the tea spoon. He doesn't feel in the younger funky, so he pumps it up to the tablespoon. Now it's time for the power plant Championship, so he gets Smithers to get his bioculars. Now, what are bioculars compared to binoculars? Is it just the wit? He says, get my bioculars.

I'm guessing just an early version of binoculars. Yeah. Yeah, they struck me as that kind of thing that rich old ladies would use it the opera.

Yeah, there's little things like that. Yeah yeah, but Burns demands that go slower so he can keep up. And yeah, they go really slow. The what do they call that? The parish parachute. Parachute doesn't even go off. Now everyone's leaving. Burns has his novelty foam hand, but he's not a fan of the size of it, so he demands Shiller's go get a smaller one.

It's a bit ostentatious.

Yeah, so Spillers goes together, and this is where we get a really iconic Lenny moment. Lenny's one of my favorite sub characters. But he rocks up and he just wants to He sn't do anything wrong. He wants to thank Burns had a great time. Granted, his breath smells of beer, bread, but he just wants to say thank you. Give him a big thumbs up, you know, Race Smolshindy, thank you very much. And he's just terrified of him, isn't he.

Well that's a great thing about Christmas parties as well, though, I mean, well, the great and terrible thing about Christmas part is everybody he gets a few drinks in. It's the great disinhibitor and democratize. It's like, you may be anyway, yeah one hundred times when I'm earning.

But yeah, just a guy meet.

And then you've got no job. But I've seen this happen more than once. You know, at Christmas parties, whenever you get a few drinks in, you get a little merry and you realize, yeah, just.

A guy, I'm just a guy.

And you get to work the next day and do you have any Christmas party stories, Daniel.

I remember being I had a job in health insurance when I moved to Melbourne to chase comedy, and I was, Yeah, I was working in call centers and things, and we had a Christmas party where the boss by the end of the night had his shirt off and was whipping around his like a button up shirt all his full chest exposed, dancing and stuff.

Was was he a brother or was he was he an offer?

It was uncharacteristic, Yeah, it was definitely. It was definitely alcohol that did the job.

But yeah, everybody liked him enough that it wasn't It wasn't a big deal. I'm sure he would have I'm sure he would have got some you know talking to the next day from the higher ups. But we all, yeah, it was always you know, the running not an HR violation. Today probably be a bit more frown upon. That's going back twelve or thirteen years, but it got referenced a lot after that.

Working in a call center is as mundane mundane as it seems.

Yeah, yes, especially in health insurance too, where people are calling with serious you know, it's some of the things you have to talk about. Sad it wasn't the most enjoyable job.

Not a great inspiration for your comedy routine.

Then no, no, I didn't get a lot of gags out of it.

But you know it means to an end, and now you're a comedy superstar. So this show is brought to you by the four figure discount Patreoon, where you'll find over one hundred hours of bonus podcasts, including exclusive Simpsons reviews and commentaries, as well as exclusive episodes of Going Down to South Park, tales of Futurama, Bob's Pods, Speaking of the Hill, Talking Sifould, the One about Friends, and so much more. So go ahead and join the family

Hey, Brodie, this was some swell.

Shouldn't they thank.

You very much?

Smither is what's happening on right time?

I just want to share your han.

Smithers doesn't seem as funny to men?

What way now Smithers?

Oh my god.

I just love Lenny. Who do you think is one of some of your favorite side characters? Daniel like Lenny? For me just seems like if anyone asked me, who do you think you would be friends with? It just feels like Lenny's the go to.

Yeah, yeah, Lenny and Carl.

You want to know there, You want to know how they live and what's going on behind the scenes. I can't remember any specific. Was there many Lenny centric episodes where it's where he's.

Not Lenny centric episodes? There was sort of you know that in the opening act. They sometimes have many plots that set up the main plot. Sometimes you got ones like that. But the recurring gig for Lenny now or was during the post Golden ear, was that I can't get things in his eye, so you get things that always be getting in his eye. And then we had the big please don't tell people how I live, which is when he's just squatting in the house at March

Not really? I mean part of the story, but not a Lenny episode. I think there was the one I remember where it was he was sort of responsible for the inciting incident where I think everyone came over to new TV, have a new TV, which was a big step up from you know, I don't tell anyone how I live now. The guy's got a flat screen plasma. Nice work, Lenny.

Yeah, but I would say, yeah, Lenny, probably a Snake. I would say it would be a favor.

Really Yeah.

I really like Snake. And I also really liked Oh the Girl. You know he's oh, you.

Know another one that I loved.

He I don't think he's in many episodes, but you'll know him for sure, Yes.

That guy, Yes, Ma, And then I think Spanish. Yeah, I always love that guy when he popped up because he's just still.

Like one of those characters that because that's Dan, the voice of Homer Dan castleing, it s feels like one of those things that he just improvising one day that's gone, Yeah, that is so good by turning that into a character.

He looks like such a dodgy guy.

Yeah, Oh, there was a I think it was Jack Benny, who was like a fairly famous American comedian who actually used that as a bit of a catch RaSE. You that's great.

I love it, yes, But but Burns is terrified on the way home. He should have sard the murderous look in his eyes. Breath smelled of a ricked of beer and pretzel bread, and Smithers blamed himself because I should never have left you alone. But Burns, I don't love that. Burn just has a mace ready to go, just read it to hit somebody. He says, I'll never forgive myself.

It's like a biscottie. It's like a It's a very over kind of biscuit.

Yeah, all right then, yeah, I just love that alphabetizer from W t Z. He's also leminaded the newspaper, but unfortunately Burns can't do the junior jumble now. So Smithers has had enough. He says I'm not worth living anymore, attempts to drown himself in the water tank, and Burns is just light your drama. Queen empties it out. He says Smithers needs a vacation, but he says, no, without you, I'll wither and die. And he says, what's risk I'm

I love Smithers just saying I can't even grobble properly.

Yeah, but this is where Smithers looking at replacements once who went out shine him. He looks up incompetent seven hundred and fourteen names. You can narrow it down to lousy, clumsy, dim witted, monstrously ugly. He'll get seven hundred and fourteen names. So he says this, I'll just go get Homer Simpson.

I think Smithers picked me because of my motivational skills.

Everyone always says they have to work a lot harder when I'm around.

You know, Dad, is this thing, mister Burns could give your career a real shut in the arm.

You know, Homer assisting mister Burns could give you a.

Career real shut in the arm. Just said that, say, next time, get.

Your own dome Harsh to Margins episode I've never really got that joke.

Yeah, it doesn't really go anywhere, does it. It just sort of mean for the sake of mean. But Homer's not paying any attention to Smithers when he is running through all of the various jobs, the twenty one hundred various jobs that he has to do, So he says, you you're gonna be answering the phone preparing his tax return moistening his eyeballs, sitting with his chewing and swallowing, lying to Congress, and some light typing, and I just love it. But when he's going through all these tasks,

What do it means?

Must be a hundred million years old. She has limited capacities. All she can do is dial and yell. So he says that Monty is an important meeting, he can't be disturbed, But he's actually just asleep in his office. He just can't talk to her ever since he shed that affair with President Taft. And yeah, you old dog, yes, as I was saying earlier nineteen nineteen, nineteen thirteen, just showcasing how old Burns is.

It's great that I love that scene there where he can't speak. He's in a meeting.

That shows him at his desk and he's falling asleep, yes, and then waking himself up. But when he wakes up, he gets he's angry, he goes back, he goes back to factory setting, and then falls asleep again, then wakes up angry, wakes.

Yeah, they're little details that when you're a kid watching, they're just, you know, straight you're not paying attention to that. I think it's just I think when you keep watching episodes like this, it's just Homer silly.

That's that's the gag. But the older you get, you just really.

Appreciate everything that's going into the writing of this show. It's fantastic Burns.

And you almost pick up on him subliminately. Like I was saying before, you know, if you're watching this as a kid, you know, and you're seeing it on repeat as well, because ten will often sort of recycle these ever.

Six pm week nights.

Yeah, you'd just be like just sort of catching it out of the corner of your eye or something, and the next thing you know, it's your favorite gag. Yeah.

Yeah, And as you're saying, the older you get, your watch episodes and there's jokes that you have probab watched a thousand times but you've never actually realized. And then it's It's almost like the penny finally drops and you go, oh, yeah, that's been there as well. I love that you can watch The Simpsons thirty years later and still find jokes that you never realized all this time. But Smithers is now leaving for the airport. Homer doesn't know twenty seven

What do I do?

In case of fire? Smithers can't hear? He leaves, turns around, Burns his office is just on fire. That's just and that's the kind of gag you can only really do in an animated series.

It's so good.

But I do love that when we come back from commercial, Over is putting out the fire, Burns and says, oh, Smithers, you look atrocious. He's already forgotten that that Homer is his is his replacement, and he orders his lunch. He wants a single pillow of shredded wheat, steam toast, and a Dodo egg. Tries to explain to Burns that is extinct.

That's the kind of thing that happens. If you get a few more miles, you get a bit of a shut off point where it's like, Okay, this is where music peaked. Anything me on, this is guard They don't care about Sabrina Carpon or Grazie Abrams. They don't exist. But yeah, he Burns is of an age where it's like, well, when you know, when I was a young man and viral, you know, Dodo Eggs were all the go. So clearly there's still a big thing.

What age Daniel were you were you realized you weren't with it anymore? Ah, in terms of like it happened to you.

Yeah, in the last couple of years, I reckon.

Yeah for me as well. Yeah, I just turned thirty seven, and my kids are sort of like, can we watch keepop in the Demon Hunters? And I'm like, I have no idea what you're talking about. Yeah, but yeah, I'm just I'm I'm out of touch.

It's called ke pop Demon Hunters or whatever.

I've written a couple of new gags recently about losing touch and having conversation with my niece and she's twenty two and she's yeah, she said, stop capping your crash out if you don't slurp on the uptake or something like that, and I was just like, she's had a stroke.

What's happened there?

This does not compute.

Yeah, yeah, so I just can't.

I just what does that mean?

I don't know, I don't know.

Yeah, I was scared to ask.

Yeah, yeah, Daniel, you've got your old man hat on. And I put my old man hat on for a moment because I've got no problem with the kids having the slang try to speak, but I do not like when existing terms are repurposed to mean something completely different.

Though.

Yeah, if you're crashing out, you having a nap exactly, or you're like, I'm exhausted, I'm going to crash out. When the kids using it's kind of like, oh I'm fired up, I'm angry about something.

Losing it.

Yeah, it's yeah, it doesn't make sense. Yeah, I'm sure our parents were saying the same thing when we were growing up in the ninety zero.

A legend or has always been a legend, though, you.

Know how often though, do you find songs from your childhood that you love? And then because I now hate it when new songs repurpose songs from my childhood, right, No, I know the original, but I used to love songs when I was a kid that was repurpose from when my mum and dad were kids as well. That's what I really Oh, I'm just becoming my mum and dad. Now I've just been getting old.

I'll show my aage when it's is it the kid rock song? And it starts off with the riff from Sweet Home Alaba? Yeah, and you think, oh, man, I'm getting some skinnered fantastic film. A sudden kid Rock kicks its love with the fuck.

But Homer wakes here. He wakes up at four point thirty and you can't put his pants on. He's just too tired. March says, yeah, Little Rustle doesn't start.

Till sixty yet.

What were the shows that you used to get up early for? You were excited if you wake up early and you're like, oh, yes, I'm going to be able to watch this. For some reason, I don't know what it was, but when I was a kid, I would wake up I knew it was really early, if like Thunderbirds were still on TV. Like Thunderbirds just seemed.

To be the show that always got repeated really early in the.

Morning, super early. And he Man. I loved he Man in the Morning.

Yeah cool.

And you know on Saturday mornings before I used to play footy and you get up, it's still dark and I'd watch the replay of It's a Knockout from the night before.

Oh really, It's a.

Knockout would be on it. Yeah, six o'clock, six or seven o'clock in the morning.

Yeah, okay, I have a good memory from when I was a kid. You never agros Cardo connection the show, Yeah, of course. Yeah, So I loved that when I was a kid. But there was a Bill and Ted animated series. I only had one season, but I loved it when I was a kid. But it was always the first cart too who and they would put on it like six am or whatever, and it was just too early for me when I was a little kid. So my dad used to before you go for recorded for me.

It was too early for me. That's his love language.

Ah yeah, but yeah. So Homer attempts to make breakfast here and everything catches on fire.

I just loved that.

The first two makes sense. You know, the stove, you know. Then he splashes the microwave on fire, corn flakes.

Fire.

Just combust as well, No.

Exactly, yes, but it gives up. So he enters with lard, lad doughnuts and burns here. I don't like ethnic food, he asked. This is where he asked how he's stock did and yeah, you're touching his earlier fantastic is what are my options? So great? Isn't it?

You can get up, we can go back to slip just a little livery of it. That's just uh, absolute gold metal stuff from Dan say.

He has to scrub the layer of dead skin off and then he puts the fangs in. I love the burnd just sits there and waits for the waits for the mouth to be closed. It's everything done for him.

The bit I love though, is when he yeah, you hear Burns saying yep, get that layer of dead skin off. Just hear the ho yes, just so grossed out. So he calls Simpson from his office, you know, Simpson Simpson Homss just doesn't hear it or he's just obliviou.

So he realized he has to get up and go talk to him, and he asked if he got the report from the accounting department, and he gives just basically gives him the out office message.

Doesn't he.

Clearly called him outside of work hours. So scrunches that up and puts it into the bin. Then we get the which I think for me is like the moment of the episode is the cube moment. Oh yeah, you have thirty minutes move your car. Your car's being empowdered. Your car's been crashing into a cube. You have thirty minutes to move your cube. Phone rings? Is it about my cube? Again? Like Home is trying at least right, Oh, Like he's dumb, but he's trying. That's what you gotta

I know he's next year, I know, big prep right, Yeah, he's in one year ago.

I'm still in kinderes. You haven't got the school part yet. Yeah? Is he reading and writing yet?

Maybe?

Just learning to read and write.

Writing is pretty good. Readings getting there?

Yeah? Man, everything changes when they can read and they can spell. So you know, you know how you sometimes you want to say stuff that kids that I don't know to know, so you spell it out. Once that's out the window, it's like now we've got no more, we've got no Morse code. We can't talk anymore. Yeah, the kids now are taking advantage of home. Or before that, though, we get Smithers calling, is this, we get the forty eight rings?

No, that's a bit later.

I know he's just that's coming up.

Yeah.

First of all this cause I did love the first visual is that Smithers still can't switch off. He's there with his suitcase, in his suit in his worksuit on this island resort.

That's right, yeah, volleyball, yeah exactly. Yeah.

He's like, do you want to FedEx your mail to me? I'll open it and return it to him. And it's like no, no, it's all right. This is home is getting dumbed by the minute, and Homer walks off sad. So it's affecting Homer here.

This isn't when he's in the he's on the payphone next to the dance floor. No, that's not.

That's when. That's when he's lowered his guard a bit and he is.

In the congo line.

Yeah, yep, yeah. So the kids are now taking advantage of Homer. He's tired. They asked him to do his homework, take get a right to the library. Marge's like, you need to relax, but he's not. You know, I can't do that. So she says Simpson, lie down, so as burns. So he lays down. Then we hear the giant bell ringing. Well it sounds like a giant bell, but it's just a little bell from his bed, and he says, the phone's ringing. Answer it, and this is where we get

He says.

The Homer is an absolute buffoon. But he says, you want lots of picks when you return. And this is I think it's very important here. I did have this in my notes at the start, that usually we get the Smithers is gay for Burns gags, right, and we didn't get any of that here. We get the Smithers's gay gags, which is what we get here because he goes photo taking isn't allowed in this particular resort. But we don't get.

Also, they're playing Relaxed by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which is scientifically proven to be the gayest song ever put.

To, you know, recorded, but we don't get. But we don't get Smithers is gay for Burns here because that no, no, they always feel weird those gags to me anyway.

Well, yeah, I mean I think there was a gag on thirty Rock when one of the writers, Frank was kind of like there was some delivery guy who used to come around. He's like, yeah, I think I think I'm gay for this guy, and he's like, I'm not gay, I'm just gay for Jamie. Yeah, And that's the thing I think that, Yeah, for a long time was like Smithers. I'm not sure if his sexuality. He's just got this infatuation with mister Burns, is like, no, Smithers likes dudes.

But then Homer arrives the next day, just before he walks in, his sort of shutters, So it's now clearly affecting him, and we just get a montage here of Burns ranting at him. So sixty watts, what do you think this is a tanning salon? You want a light stanch on his nightcap?

Posted?

You call this a tax return, you call this a supercomputer, just sort of throwing everything, throwing things at Homer. Eventually Homer just loses it and punches him out.

Nice little gag about Burns being old. You mentioned post them, Yeah, which is a brand of caffeine, a powdered caffeine free roasted grain beverage which sounds delightful. Invented by c to be posted in eighteen ninety five as a healthier alternative to coffee. Yeah, no, would have been all the rage. You know when Monty's coming.

Up, Well, this episode aired ninety six, they're technically saying that he was born in what eighteen ninety two? Yeah, okay, so that that don't make sense. All stuff from his child. Well, that's all only stuff you can remember. But yes, we're Burns. He's he hits Burns, worries and and runs home.

Yeah, I'd honestly forgotten about the punch to the face. I thought it was just like he pushed it. He would have pushed him over all.

In no, no, he labors him.

Yeah, it's an absolute Yeah.

If you watched it for the first time, you'd be like, shit, I killed well, especially.

Because yeah, Burns has been presented as so old and frails. How a good right cross of the face is just gonna take the way out. Who is there something wrong?

Homey? No?

Accept accept I killed mister Burds.

What happened? Dad?

By Bunch, Burns writ in his one hundred and four year old face.

Are you sure he's dead?

Maybe he just really really heard it?

Okay, maybe everything's all right. Maybe if you go apologize, he won't even fire you if he's alive.

This show is brought to you by the four Finger Discount Patreon, where you'll find over one hundred hours of bonus podcasts, including exclusive Simpsons reviews and commentaries, as well as exclusive episodes of Going Down to South Park Tales of Futurama, Bob's Pods, speaking of the Hill, talking Sifould, the one about friends, and so much more. So go ahead and join the family today at patreon dot com Slash four finger discount. Homer goes back, and I love it,

Smithers, by the way, I love Mo's line about yeah, when he's getting all fired up the bag in this brank phone call, ripping his eyes out, putting and shoving him down his pants so he can see me kick his ass.

Yes, but this is where we we have. Homer Burs are scared in the office. He doesn't want to leave in case home's out there. He puts the mirror under the door. Home is there, and he says, look, you're going to make your coffee. So no, no, no, the percolations are eminent. I'm making my own coffee, sees you ingress. So Homer then walks off. Homan enters and it's just coffee everywhere. Burn says he stopped the beans himself, and the offers to drive Burns home, but he says, no, no, no,

Can we give a shout out to Velocitata and the salet tricks? Oh yeah, accelerator and break. I'm sorry that we used to make things in this country, as I like to say, we creative. You could say that was your cards, Like, all right, put to the floor. You know I'm really hitting the vocitator.

Yes, so he says he's making an incredible time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's where he hits nearly hits Wigham.

Yes, yes, nice drive, mister B. That's a nice well, that's a sort of it is that a callback is mother Simpson after all before this episode, because we established in the episode when my Homer's mum comes that Wigham used to work for Burns. Remember, Oh that's right, that's why, that's why he refers to as mister B. Mister B.

Yeah.

So the next morning, Burns has already shrewted the environmental reports and thrown him out the window. He offers Homer his own cappucino. He knows how to make cappucino. He has the phone and a hoy hoy. That's one of my favorite Burns is ever just a hoy, hoy. It's just apparently that's what they is.

A bell Alexander Graham bell. Yeah, that's how we suggested, do you answer the phone?

Yeah, he's like, he said hello, that's that was the original hello. That's what the suggestion was. That's and that's where the gay comes from.

Yeah.

So so that he says, this is five two four six. He's got the wrong number anyway. So then he says, Homer, you've done more for me than any other man on this planet. Your brutal attack forced me to look after myself. You know, being weighted on hand and foot is fine, but you average Joe. But it's not for me. And this is where he thanks him, and Smithers walks in and sees Burns cuddling Homer saying thank you, and he thinks everything's wrong. He says, well now he send him

But anyway, there's a couple of great I love the I think there's two or three moments in this episode where Smithers does the oh my god, like he he drops something in panics. He drops his bag and it's just got four pineapples in it.

But pineapples.

That's what it's just about to say.

What crates on a little visual bit of a bit of business. I brought to some pineapples.

So but Lisa here says.

That Smith's is a go get. He'll get a new job.

I mean think it's at eighteen t But now as you're saying it's neat and tidy piano movers, he's gonna need to steal ride now to where his spine was. He's never gonna be able to move pianos again, and now call back to the opening act with the with the drag racing with the voice of a guy at Smith as he is trying to do it. Do we need all these mayhems? We do well? I suppose you know your businesses, got ready.

For ex signing, corner action at the Springfield dragstrip, get a motorized mayhem, mayhem, mayhem. We need all those mayhems?

We do all right.

I suppose you know your business.

Get ready for fun, fun fun. People are already here. We don't need to keep hustling them like this, do we?

He let go of me.

Where are you froming?

Then he asked for the job at Mos, which is the Barney guarding job, because when they do the midnight delivery, someone needs to distract Barney. He says, well, I was way outside until it's time, and Bunnet looks for to working with him. Then Homer He's like, no, I'm going

He's so happy.

Yes, he's so so happy.

Yeah.

But if you watch most most emotions here, like you just he's going through like seven different motions of you know, sadness, Terror's terrified, what's going to happen? It's just it's so great.

My favorite bit in that though, it's like when Homer is giving Smithers that pep talk and talks about you know, yeah, you can take the job that so many have contemplated in our darkest hours. I bet we've all got that sort of rock bottom job. It's kind of like if nothing else works out, I'm sure I can go do this, but I'll know that like nothing else is panned out of my life. But okay, this will you know, keep the lights on and you keep the wolf from the door.

Now, you were saying, as you know, pull back the curtain, Cameron d a new battery. You were saying whilst we're doing that that you have to fact check in correctly. Do you want to settle the score here about Jack Benny?

Okay, then yes we should. We should put a little respect on the name of one Frank Nelson. Who is that, you may ask. He's the gentleman who said yes on there on the Jack Benny Show. That's apparently all Frank did. Look Frank probably was a really sweet guy who did ride by his family in his community. But yeah, he is best known for saying.

You, if you can get a gig like that, though your set right?

Oh god?

Yeah?

Like just yeah catchphrase guy, catchphrase guy. We hit our share. We haven't been able to monetize it. We have many T shirts.

I had the yes guy's face as my Facebook profile picture for about ten years.

Why are you talking like that?

I had a straw.

I feel like he's also one of those characters to where I think maybe memes now is more popular, but say like ten years ago, before memes were a big thing. He's one of those Simpsons characters where if you know, you know, so, it's like, oh, I know the yes guys, like, oh yeah, we were on the same wavelengthy young, how.

Many search you reckon. He's in maybe half a dozen.

Less I'm up to now, maybe maybe ten all up, I'd say, I know, he just he's usually just like that the guy that greets you at the door of a restaurant or something.

And a fancy restaurant, you know, he's the dorman at Costington's or something like that.

You were saying before that you like Old Gill as well, and a lot of people love Old Gill. Old Gill actually came into the show when Phil Hartman was taken from us because he voiced Lionel Huts and Troy McClure, and it was almost like Old Gill took over from.

Lionel Hearts because Lonel Huts was sort of like that, we need a pathetic punching back.

Yeah, and that's Old Gil. But what is it about Old Gill that you like?

I just I think every time he comes on, you know, he's it's failing. So there's times where there's times where whatever scheme he's got going is working, and but you know, deep down at the end is near.

For it's going to screw it up.

Just how he talked this time, old girl go, then it's finally.

Yeah, have you ever seen a movie called Glen Garry Glenn Ross. Have you ever heard of this one?

I've heard there's a play on it at the moment, isn't there.

Yeah. Yeah, it's a really famous play and it was turned into a movie and and there's really all star cast at Albercino, Alec Baldwin, Hiven Spacey. But but Jack Lemon is playing this character who's like this old real estate salesman who's a bit pass it but still you know, still in their punching. And that's very much what Gill is based on. It even down to the look. But he's kind of like, you know, can't really make a sale.

But we're back at the power plant and Smithers is they've got a plan. Now. They're going to call mister Burns's mum and put him through, and then Smith's gonna come in and save the day. But of course Homer screws it up, so he calls missus Burns first. I'll give him what foruntill he cries brassa facts. I google brassa facts, not a thing.

I think it's just an old time word from the mind of Swartzwelder.

That what. Hello, missus Burns, this is Whalen Smithers. I have your son Montgomery on the line.

That improvident lack witch.

Oh it's too busy striding about his adam mill to call his own mother.

I'll give him.

What force till he cries brassa frax perfect When I give this signal, you transfer They called them, mister Burns. After she tears into him, I'll rush in and save the day.

Got it, I'm transferring a calling to you, mister Burns.

Lely, Hello, mister Burns, this.

Is your mother.

Oh hello meet.

Sorry about pulling the plug and you and all who could have known you'd pull through and live for another five decades.

Quick on his feet, pretends to be Missus Burns. Not good at all.

This is your mother. She doesn't call her some mister book.

But basically it all goes to ship. Burns walks out, catches them and new Smithers, you put him up to it. I'm glad I fired you, and you really blew it this time, Smithers, and that's where the fight sequence breaks out. Apparently they didn't. They thought it was going to be too harsh to hear the sound effects of them punching each other, so they hit it amongst the groans, so you actually hear the punch. You just hear the ow ow ow as opposed to the sound of a punch.

Condor into the power lines. Egg eats is either an extinct or endangered species.

He's got a monster, He's got bobo hot from the dryer. And make sure you know burn burn yourself on his eye? Yes, and Burns says, you know what, when you were gone, I became completely self reliant, and he gets with like a Spanish peanut, yep, take the skin off. Then he says, but that guy doesn't say homi. His name is that guy that hit me. Make sure he gets what's coming to him, And we cut to the family, all enjoying a fruit hamper courtesy of Smithers, saying thank you. What

Out of her? Was it five story story window? Free story window? Did you die?

What?

Am I a doctor?

And that is up?

And that's a good way of getting back the status squad?

Wasn't it very much? Homer's reset the factory setting, But again, I know the classic said gone got delivery of like what am I doctor?

And that is the end of Homer the Smithers. Yeah, fantastic episode, and was saying early one were surprise wasn't done much earlier. I'm glad you chose it, Daniel, thinking of choosing it. But what we usually do before we wrap up, though, I would like to ask our guests, we give them the spiel of it's nineteen ninety eight, so you got the first ten seasons of the show to work with. Nineteen ninety eight. Channel ten have come to you, they said, Daniel, we want you to put

With no particular order, we go obviously that one Home of the Smithers. I'd have that number one. A fish called Selma.

Okay, we've had a few people picking that one recently.

Yeah, that's the Troy McClure episode. Troy McClue is another character I really enjoy, just his lodginess and he's always up to no good.

And that is the Troy McClure episode too. And I'm so glad we got that before Phil Hartmon passed away.

But of Darkness, the one where yeah, the pool he breaks his leg and then starts Flanders is screaming's.

Right to put a neat little package.

When Flanders failed. Because I'm a lefty, so I love that. One always appealed.

To me, was what being left handed? Was that ever represented much on TV when you were going up?

I don't, I don't think. I just remember that being like, oh that's cool.

Like was he like the left handed representation on TV when you were when young? Yeah, that's being a right handed. It never really was a big deal to me. I was like, oh, Flanners is left handed. But I think if like, imagine if you were left handed, it's like, oh, finally a character just like me.

And Homer's Barbershop Quartet is probably one of my top Yeah, definitely one of my favorites.

Yeah, okay, I just love the Beatles fan the.

Beatles, Yeah, all those references, it's just a it's just a really lovely episode that one. The songs are so good in that as well.

Yeah, yeah, the fantastic Yeah, like maybe on Board seems like it's it's it's a joke, but it's actually a really catchy song. Maybe on board Yeah yeah. But the thing is with that episode too. When I was a kid, I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't one of my favorites. But I think getting older and becoming a real Beatles fan and understanding all the references, it's like, it's it's it's it's fantastic for a Beatles fan, it's everything you want. Alrighty, So,

I start with I'd finished with the quartet, and I'd start with left Hand Left handed reckon.

You're the first person to not put a treost of horror in but it makes them. Yeah, so any of horrors that you did, like, you.

Know, I never I never would have watched one. I couldn't tell you anything about any of them. Every time they'd start, I'd be like that.

I put on.

All right.

Well, thank you so much Daniel again for joining us here to review Home in the Smithers. I'm hopefully in the future maybe when you got your next tour coming up next year, we can get you back on.

Yeah, no worries. Thanks so much for having me. I'm definitely gonna start watching. When I went on to watch the last couple of days, I like, I can go back and start watching some episodes.

Everyone's saying, and I feel like Disney to start giving us some credit, because every time they're like, it's some people forget the Simpsons there and they start watching, they go, you know what, I like this show, watch more of it.

The people are speaking Disney plus you know who to sponsor?

All right, thanks Daniel. Here's I absolutely adore that episode Homing the Smith. There's one that I used to enjoy a lot as a kid. I hadn't revisited before this review for like I reckon ten plus years and man, what a joy.

You can't see it if you're maybe we're not videotaping this particular thing, but I am indeed doing the EH thumbs.

Up wheny thumbs up one of my favorite gifts.

About this episode and about this episode of Four Finger discoun I thought it went very well. I think Daniel Connell is a very good addition to it.

And of course, if you want to check out one of Dan's upcoming dates. All of these dates are in the description of this podcast. Get yourself a ticket and enjoy yourself there. Also following on social media, and also please continue to rate and review us on social media as well or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, where you do find this show. All of your reviews are much appreciated

Oh, I'm not sure this podcast work, Dan, though I don't feel any younger or funk you sh