I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot

Last updated

"I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot"
The Simpsons episode
I, D'oh-bot.png
Bart hugs "Chief Knock-a-Homer".
Episode no.Season 15
Episode 9
Directed by Lauren MacMullan
Written by Dan Greaney
Allen Glazier
Production codeFABF04
Original air dateJanuary 11, 2004 (2004-01-11)
Episode features
Couch gag The couch is a white cake and the Simpsons are squeezed out like frosting on top of it.
Commentary Matt Groening
Al Jean
Allen Glazier
Matt Selman
Michael Price
Tom Gammill
Max Pross
Matt Warburton
Nancy Cartwright
Lauren MacMullan
Alan Sepinwall
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays"
Next 
"Diatribe of a Mad Housewife"
The Simpsons (season 15)
List of episodes

"I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot", also known as "I, D'oh-Bot", is the ninth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 11, 2004. This episode represents a milestone in the history of the series as Snowball II is killed off. The primary plot is based on Richard Matheson's short story "Steel".

Contents

Plot

Bart is taunted by school bullies Nelson, Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney because he does not have a 10-speed bike as they do. In order to get Homer to buy him one, Bart places his current bike so that it is run over and destroyed by Dr. Hibbert. Homer buys the 10-speed for Bart, but refuses to pay the small assembly fee and builds it himself. Bart is happy since it looks great and works perfectly at first, but it falls apart when he moons the bullies. Homer, wanting Bart to be proud of him, tries to build a battle robot for the show Robot Rumble . He fails to construct one, and instead assumes the identity of one, which Bart names "Chief Knock-a Homer". Unaware of Homer's ruse, Bart enters the robot in the Rumble.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hibbert's car runs over and kills the Simpsons' cat Snowball II, [1] shortly after crushing Bart's bike. A devastated Lisa recites a poem tearfully at the funeral, where Snowball II is buried next to Snowball I. [1] Lisa adopts a ginger cat, which she names Snowball III, but he drowns in the fish tank. [1] The next cat, Coltrane (Snowball IV), jumps out of a window after hearing Lisa play her saxophone. [1] The owner of the cat sanctuary refuses to give Lisa any more cats, but the Crazy Cat Lady wanders past and throws a cat at Lisa that strongly resembles Snowball II. [1] Although Lisa tries to shoo it off, worried that it will meet the same fate as the others, it survives a near miss on the street when Gil Gunderson swerves to avoid hitting it while driving and crashes into a tree. Lisa decides to keep the cat, officially naming it Snowball V; however, the family will call it Snowball II in order to maintain the status quo. Principal Skinner comments disparagingly on the choice, but relents when Lisa points out that the same had previously been done for him.

Homer defeats numerous opponents and makes it to the finals, despite being injured from the battles with the other robots. In the final match against Professor Frink's undefeated super-robot, an ED-209 look-a-like, Bart finds Homer in the bot after the grueling first round. Caught, Homer apologizes to Bart, but Bart is impressed because of all the pain Homer went through to win his son's admiration. In the second round, ED-209 squeezes Homer out of the robot, but immediately stops as soon as it sees him. Frink explains that the robot follows Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and has been programmed to serve humans rather than harm them. ED-209 sets out a chair for Homer and pours him a martini. Homer wins the match (although one of the commentators points out that the tournament rules prohibit any human combatants) and Bart is proud of him.

Cultural references

Reception

DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson was critical of the episode, saying it "starts pretty well but droops before too long. The robot theme is too silly, and the cat sequences are too morbid. Some of the battle bots bits amuse, but they're not enough to overcome the episode's general flaws."[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer Simpson</span> Character from the Simpsons franchise

Homer Jay Simpson is the protagonist of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of the Simpsons, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created by the cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell but instead created a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons received their own series on Fox, which debuted on December 17, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professor Frink</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Professor John I.Q. Nerdelbaum Frink Jr. is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the 1991 episode "Old Money". Frink is Springfield's nerdy scientist and professor and is extremely intelligent, though somewhat mad and socially inept. Frink often tries to use his bizarre inventions to aid the town in its crises but they usually only make things worse. His manner of speech, including the impulsive shouting of nonsensical words, has become his trademark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'oh!</span> Catchphrase used by Homer Simpson

"D'oh!" is the most famous catchphrase used by the fictional character Homer Simpson, from The Simpsons, an animated sitcom. It is an exclamation typically used after Homer injures himself, realizes that he has done something foolish, or when something bad has happened or is about to happen to him. All his prominent blood relations—son Bart, daughters Lisa and Maggie, his father, his mother and half-brother—have also been heard to use it themselves in similar circumstances. On a few occasions, Homer's wife Marge and characters outside the family such as Mr. Burns and Sideshow Bob have also used this phrase.

"Treehouse of Horror VII" is the first episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 27, 1996. In the seventh annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Bart discovers his long-lost twin, Lisa grows a colony of small beings, and Kang and Kodos impersonate Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in order to win the 1996 presidential election. It was written by Ken Keeler, Dan Greaney, and David X. Cohen, and directed by Mike B. Anderson. Phil Hartman provided the voice of Bill Clinton. This is the first Treehouse of Horror episode to be a season premiere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simpson family</span> Family of five fictional characters in animation series The Simpsons

The Simpson family are the main fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town of Springfield, United States, and they were created by cartoonist Matt Groening, who conceived the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted on Fox on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" and were later spun off into their own series, which debuted on Fox in the U.S. on December 17, 1989, and started airing in Winter 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XIII</span> 1st episode of the 14th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror 13" is the first episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the thirteenth Treehouse of Horror episode. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 3, 2002, three days after Halloween. It is the second Halloween episode to have a zombie related segment, and the last Halloween to have three separate writers credited for writing three stories. It is also the first Halloween episode to be titled Treehouse of Horror in the opening credits, as all prior Halloween episodes were referred to as The Simpsons Halloween Special. It is the first of these episodes not to have a Roman numeral used in its opening title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XIV</span> 1st episode of the 15th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XIV" is the first episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 2, 2003. In the fourteenth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Homer takes on the role of the Grim Reaper, Professor Frink creates a Frankenstein-version of his deceased father ("Frinkenstein") and Bart and Milhouse obtain a time-stopping watch. It was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Steven Dean Moore. Guest stars in the episode include Jerry Lewis, whose character in The Nutty Professor served as the inspiration for recurring Simpsons character Professor Frink, as Frink's father, and Jennifer Garner, Dudley Herschbach, and Oscar De La Hoya as themselves. The episode was nominated for the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.

"Future-Drama" is the fifteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The 350th episode overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 17, 2005. In the episode, Bart and Lisa stumble into Professor Frink's basement, and he gives them a look into their future as teenagers getting ready for their high school graduation.

"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialad'ohcious" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 7, 1997. When Marge becomes stressed, the Simpsons hire a nanny, a Mary Poppins parody named Shary Bobbins. The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz and written and executive produced by Al Jean and Mike Reiss. It was the last episode for which Reiss received a writing credit. In 2014, Jean selected it as one of five essential episodes in the show's history.

Joseph Stewart Burns, better known as J. Stewart Burns or simply just Stewart Burns is a television writer and producer most notable for his work on The Simpsons, Futurama, and Unhappily Ever After.

"Lost Our Lisa" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 10, 1998. The episode contains the last appearance of the character Lionel Hutz. When Lisa learns that Marge cannot give her a ride to the museum and forbids her to take the bus, she tricks Homer into giving her permission. After Lisa gets lost, Homer goes looking for her and the two end up visiting the museum together.

"My Sister, My Sitter" is the seventeenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 2, 1997. In the episode, Marge and Homer leave Lisa to babysit Bart and Maggie. Annoyed that his younger sister is his babysitter, Bart does everything he can to annoy her. When Bart is injured, Lisa must find him medical attention without spoiling her reputation as a good babysitter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principal Skinner</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Principal Seymour Skinner is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, and is constantly engaged in a battle against its inadequate resources, apathetic and bitter teachers, and often rowdy and unenthusiastic students, Bart Simpson being a standout example.

"The PTA Disbands" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series, The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 16, 1995. In the episode, Bart Simpson manipulates Edna Krabappel into organizing a strike of Springfield Elementary's teachers union to protest Principal Skinner's miserly school spending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)</span> 5th episode of the 18th season of The Simpsons

"G.I. ", also known as "G.I. D'oh", is the fifth episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 12, 2006. It was written by Daniel Chun and directed by Nancy Kruse, while Kiefer Sutherland makes his first of two guest appearances this season. Maurice LaMarche does additional voices. In its original run, the episode received 11.43 million viewers. The episode is a critique of the U.S. military-industrial complex.

"Waverly Hills, 9-0-2-1-D'oh", or "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-(Annoyed Grunt)", is the nineteenth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 3, 2009.

"Days of Future Future" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 548th episode of the series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 13, 2014. It was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Bob Anderson.

"Love Is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 587th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on February 14, 2016.

"Frink Gets Testy" is the eleventh episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 629th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Chris Clements and written by Dan Vebber. It aired in the United States on Fox on January 14, 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Delaney, Tim (December 2, 2009). Simpsonology: There's a Little Bit of Springfield in All of Us. Prometheus. p. 135. ISBN   9781615921348.