G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)

Last updated

"G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)"
The Simpsons episode
GI Doh.png
The episode's promotional image featuring Homer, Cletus, and the Colonel.
Episode no.Season 18
Episode 5
Directed by Nancy Kruse
Written by Daniel Chun
Production codeHABF21
Original air dateNovember 12, 2006 (2006-11-12)
Guest appearances
Kiefer Sutherland as The Colonel
Maurice LaMarche as The Assistant Colonel
Episode features
Chalkboard gag "We are not all naked under our clothes" [1]
Couch gag The Simpsons are on a carwash conveyor belt; they get washed, blasted with wax, scrubbed with prickly brushes, resulting with Marge's bushy hair and Maggie with a fresh pacifier. [1]
Commentary Al Jean
Matt Selman
Michael Price
Tom Gammill
Max Pross
Mark Kirkland
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Treehouse of Horror XVII"		Next →
"Moe'N'a Lisa"
The Simpsons season 18
List of episodes

"G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)", 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. [1] In its original run, the episode received 11.43 million viewers. [2] The episode is a critique of the U.S. military-industrial complex.

Contents

Plot

At the Springfield Mall, Bart and Milhouse torment the bullies as they work in a shoe store. When the manager leaves, however, they are stripped to their underwear by the bullies and hung in the store window. Two US Army recruiters fail to tempt Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney. Realizing that even the dumbest teenagers in the dumbest city in the dumbest US state do not want to join the Army, they decide to start targeting children. During a surprise assembly at Springfield Elementary, the recruiters show a short movie depicting the Army as a high-tech adventure. According to the film, soldiers fly around in attack helicopters destroying evildoers by day and rocking out in front of thousands of screaming fans by night. The students are easily swayed and quickly line up to enlist.

An excited Bart comes home from school and shows Homer and Marge his delayed entry program form. Though Homer is impressed, Marge is appalled at the idea of Bart joining the Army when he turns 18, prompting her to send Homer down to the recruitment center to get Bart out of his contract. Homer reluctantly forces the two recruiters to tear up Bart's paperwork, though he apologizes for it, saying that it was Marge who told him to do so. Upon learning this, the recruiters prey upon Homer's gullibility and convince him to enlist instead. At the post Homer infuriates his new hard-nosed colonel (Kiefer Sutherland). Homer loves the sound of the colonel's noticeably "awesome" gravelly voice. While the majority of recruits are assigned to the infantry, Homer, and a group of stupid recruits, are assigned to a rehabilitation platoon. During field training exercises at night, Homer and the other stupid recruits are given the role of the opposing force, (China). Upon learning that it is a live fire exercise, with the weapons to be tested on them, the unit tries to hide. Homer, mistaking gunfire for Chinese New Year, accidentally exposes his unit's location by launching a flare gun in the air. The flare blinds the colonel and his men, who were all wearing night vision goggles. Homer and his unit soon escape into Springfield while the Army gives chase as well as invades Springfield.

As the colonel and his troops patrol Springfield searching for him, Homer sneaks back home. Marge and Homer are surprised by a camera equipped toy helicopter and (in a scene reminiscent of many classic cartoon chases) Homer attempts to avoid it, running through the entire house, eventually leading the helicopter into a downstairs closet full of TNT and dynamite. He locks the door behind the UAV and the closet explodes. To avoid the army, Homer reluctantly hides out at the Retirement Castle with Grandpa. Marge rallies the Springfield community in coordinated resistance to the occupiers through a word of mouth campaign. The citizens spike the town reservoir with alcohol, intoxicating the occupying forces. The colonel's resulting hangover is so great he reluctantly surrenders to the townsfolk, stipulating only that Homer finish his enlistment. Homer does so by becoming a recruiter.

During the closing credits, a martial scoring of The Simpsons theme plays and the colonel voices "frontline infantry" assignments to nearly every cast and crew member (one exception being Kiefer Sutherland, who is assigned to the United States Coast Guard), as the credits roll. [1]

Cultural references

The episode title is a reference to G.I. Joe. [3] The army video game shoots down Osama bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, Jason Voorhees and a "deadly hurricane". [4] The music is taken from Sergei Prokofiev's score for Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky . Marge references an earlier episode with a similar plot, "Simpson Tide", in which Homer joins the U.S. Navy after being fired and causes an international incident. [4] The episode parodies several scenes from Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). Homer wonders if the drill sergeant will ask the recruits "what our major malfunction is" (Homer's is he cares too much). The drill sergeant gives Homer the nickname "Snowflake" (in the film Full Metal Jacket one of the Black recruits is nicknamed "Snowball" by the drill sergeant as an ironic jibe). Later, Homer receives a punishment of being made to eat doughnuts while the other recruits have to do push-ups. [3] Homer mentions Stripes when heading for Moe's basement, [3] and imagines the greatest leader as Cap'n Crunch. [4] The scene with Homer being chased by the mini helicopter parodies the style seen in many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. [3] The scene makes a nod to Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner and Tom and Jerry. [3] The scene ends with a computer monitor showing the "That's All Folks!" end title card. [3] The episode also contains the melody of Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye . The song that the U.S. Army plays on stage during the video shown at the school is a variant of "Communication Breakdown" by Led Zeppelin. During the training scene, the Martika song "Toy Soldiers" plays. The episode also includes a reference to the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison when Homer says that the Army will strip people naked, put a bag over their face, and have hicks laugh at them.

Reception

In its original run, the episode received 11.43 million viewers, [2] and garnered mixed-to-mostly negative reviews. [4] [5]

Adam Finley of TV Squad praised that the episode was entirely random, and enjoyed the parody of Looney Tunes. [4] Dan Iverson of IGN however, hated the episode, giving it 3.5 out of 10, calling it "painfully unfunny", and "the show's attempt to satirize the state of the U.S. military simply crossed the line of good taste". He concluded that it was "by far" the worst episode of the season, and "quite possibly" the worst episode in the entire of The Simpsons history. He did, however, enjoy the Looney Tunes parody and Sutherland's guest performance. [6] Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin criticized the episode, writing, "the mockery of Army recruiters and enlistees is absolutely disgusting." [7]

Related Research Articles

<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 III" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 29, 1992. The third annual Treehouse of Horror episode, it features segments in which Homer buys Bart an evil talking doll, Homer is a giant ape which is captured by Mr. Burns in a parody of the 1933 version of King Kong, and Bart and Lisa inadvertently cause zombies to attack Springfield.

"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 20, 1990. In the episode, which is a satire of censorship issues, Maggie bullies Homer by attacking him with a mallet and Marge blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions. It was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode to be directed by Jim Reardon. Alex Rocco makes his first of three guest appearances as Roger Meyers Jr.

<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 until "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII". 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.

"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 3, 1992. The plot follows Bart continually getting in trouble, and how Homer is unable to give him any suitable punishment. Marge gets Homer to agree to make a punishment stick, and he forbids Bart to see the new Itchy & Scratchy movie for not watching Maggie.

"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as "SimpsoncalifragilisticexpialaD'oh!cious" 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.

"E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)", also known as "E-I-E-I-D'oh", is the fifth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 7, 1999. In the episode, inspired by a Zorro movie, Homer begins slapping people with a glove and challenging them to duels to get whatever he wants. When a Southern gentleman accepts Homer's request for a duel, the Simpsons run off to the old farm Homer lived in with his parents and breed a dangerously addictive but successful tobacco/tomato hybrid called "Tomacco". The episode was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and directed by Bob Anderson.

"Days of Wine and D'oh'ses", also known as "Days of Wine and 'ses", is the eighteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 9, 2000. In the episode, Barney realizes how much of a pathetic drunk he is after watching his birthday party video and decides to give up alcohol forever, which upsets his friend Homer. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa work together to take a memorable photo for a new phone book cover contest.

"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">Treehouse of Horror XVI</span> 4th episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XVI" is the fourth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 2005. In the sixteenth annual Treehouse of Horror, the Simpsons replace Bart with a robot son after Bart falls into a coma, Homer and various other characters find themselves on a reality show where Mr. Burns hunts humans for sport, and costumed Springfieldians become whatever they are wearing, thanks to a witch who was disqualified from a Halloween costume contest.

"Itchy & Scratchy Land" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on October 2, 1994. Wanting a perfect family vacation, the Simpson family visits Itchy & Scratchy Land, where the animatronics turn against the guests.

"The Springfield Connection" is the twenty-third episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 7, 1995. In the episode, Marge deals with corruption and crime when she joins the Springfield police force.

Products produced from <i>The Simpsons</i> Recreations of fictional products from The Simpsons

The long-running television animation The Simpsons has featured a number of fictional products, sometimes spoofs of real-life products, that have subsequently been recreated by real world companies attempting to exploit the popularity of The Simpsons. In 2007, as part of a "reverse product placement" marketing campaign for The Simpsons Movie, real life versions of a number of Simpsons products were sold in 7-Eleven stores. Real cans of Buzz Cola, boxes of Krusty-O's cereal, Squishees, and a special edition (#711) of the Radioactive Man Comic were all sold in stores alongside other The Simpsons merchandise.

Media is a recurring theme of satire on The Simpsons. The show is known for its satire of American popular culture and especially television culture, but has since its inception covered all types of media such as animation, journalism, commercials, comic books, movies, internet, and music. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town but the town of Springfield acts as a complete universe. The town features a vast array of media channels—from kids' television programming to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry.

Bob Anderson is an American animation director on The Simpsons. He also contributed additional sequence direction on The Simpsons Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24 Minutes</span> 21st episode of the 18th season of The Simpsons

"24 Minutes" is the twenty-first episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 20, 2007 as part of the one-hour season finale, alongside the episode "You Kent Always Say What You Want". It was originally promoted as being the 400th episode, but was broadcast as the 399th. It was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and Billy Kimball. It was Kimball's first writing credit.

"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. Parodying the 2007 film No Country for Old Men, the episode first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 3, 2009. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Mike Frank Polcino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Falcon and the D'ohman</span> 1st episode of the 23rd season of The Simpsons

"The Falcon and the D'ohman" is the twenty-third season premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 25, 2011. In the episode, the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant hires a new security guard named Wayne and Homer soon becomes friends with him. "The Falcon and the D'ohman" also reveals the fate of the relationship between the characters Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel that was initiated in the previous episode of the series, "The Ned-Liest Catch", that aired in May 2011.

"The Spy Who Learned Me" is the twentieth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Marc Wilmore. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 6, 2012.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "HOMER BECOMES A JARHEAD ON "THE SIMPSONS" SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, ON FOX". The Futon Critic . Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Ratings". Simpsons Channel. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Cultural references for "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)"". IMDb. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Finley, Adam (November 13, 2006). "The Simpsons: G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)". TV Squad . Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Community reviews". TV.com . Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
  6. ↑ Canning, Robert (June 14, 2007). "The Simpsons: Season 18 Review". IGN . Archived from the original on June 22, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
  7. ↑ Malkin, Michelle (November 13, 2006). "The Simpsons pull a John Kerry". MichelleMalkin.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.