Love, Springfieldian Style

"**Love, Springfieldian Style**"
"Love, Springfieldian Style"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	Season 19; Episode 12
Directed by	Raymond S. Persi
Written by	Don Payne
Production code	KABF05
Original air date	February 17, 2008
Episode features
Couch gag	Each family member rushes into the living room and attaches themselves to a giant-size baby mobile.
Commentary	Matt Groening ; Al Jean; Matt Selman ; Tim Long ; Tom Gammill ; Max Pross ; Raymond S. Persi; Yeardley Smith
Episode chronology
← Previous; "That '90s Show"	Next →; "The Debarted"
	The Simpsons (season 19)
	List of episodes

Last updated April 02, 2024

"Love, Springfieldian Style" is the twelfth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 2008, three days after Valentine's Day. It includes three self-contained stories about romance. The three tales are parodies of Bonnie and Clyde , Lady and the Tramp and Sid and Nancy .^[1]

Plot

The episode begins on a Valentine's Day afternoon. As a Valentine's Day treat, Homer takes Marge to a carnival, where they leave the kids in order to spend the day with one another in the Tunnel of Love. Inside, the two enjoy each other's company; however, Bart attempts to spoil his parents' happiness by filling the water with Jell-O, causing Homer and Marge's boat to stop. Trapped, Homer decides to pass time by telling Marge the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie and Clyde

In 1933, during the Great Depression, Bonnie Parker (Marge) rejects a man trying to get her attention (Cletus), saying she is looking for someone exciting. Clyde Barrow (Homer) then arrives, and after robbing a store (which he ironically co-owns with his father), the two run off. Clyde discovers Bonnie's passion is violence, and the two go on a crime spree by robbing banks.

After tricking a citizen (Flanders) into helping them, the two garner intense popularity across the country. The citizen they tricked soon realizes what had happened and betrays them to the police after learning they are an unmarried couple. The Texas officers soon arrive, and the police gun Bonnie and Clyde down. While being shot, Bonnie tells Clyde that she is looking for a man with more excitement, and that they would never have been together.

Back at the Tunnel of love, Bart and Lisa arrive at Homer and Marge's boat and want them to tell a child-friendly story. Marge tells the story of Shady and the Vamp.

Shady and the Vamp

Vamp (Marge) is a royal and luxurious female dog. Shady (Homer) is in love with Vamp and eyes her from a distance, vowing that he will win her. After Shady is trampled by a mob of children, Vamp comforts him, and he asks her out for dinner. The two go to Luigi's, where, after a romantic pasta dinner (Except for the part were Shady nearly swallows Vamp over a string of spaghetti), the two run off onto a hill when the health inspector comes. In the morning, Vamp wakes up with nauseous feelings, and Shady leaves her, claiming that a fox hunter is near, knowing she is actually pregnant.

In a musical number entitled "Any Minute Now" (featuring canine versions of Lenny, Carl and Barney backing up for Shady), the two dogs await for one another's return, though the cats living with a now-pregnant Vamp (Patty and Selma) convince her that Shady would never come back, whilst the dog who is friends with Shady (Moe) convinces him that he should stay with them rather than be "stuck" with Vamp and their puppies. Two of her puppies (Bart and Lisa) decide to go look for their father, and after being kidnapped by the dog catcher (Groundskeeper Willie), Shady arrives to save his children. Shady returns them home and reunites with Vamp, choosing to stay with her, but then Vamp informs Shady that there were actually nine other puppies in the litter (all of whom resemble Bart and Lisa with the exception of one, who resembles Maggie).

When Homer eventually gets bored with Marge's story, Bart tells the story of Sid and Nancy.

Sid and Nancy

Nancy Spungen (Lisa), a young model student, walks into a rock concert by the Sex Pistols with her friend Milhouse, where she is enamored by the eccentric bassist, Sid Vicious (Nelson). After viewing him throw his bass at a fan at his concert, she decides to go after him. A chocolate dealer (Otto), who is in fact an undercover policeman and arrests Nancy's friend shortly afterwards, sells her a chocolate bar which she gives to Sid, who soon begins dating her. As shown in a montage, the two begin having their lives spiraled out of control while gaining a chocolate addiction. Sid soon begins ditching the Sex Pistols, angering lead singer Johnny Rotten (Bart) and guitarist Steve Jones (Jimbo).

Sid arrives in the middle of a performance after a major chocolate spree, and knocks into an amplifier which topples over and crushes their drummer, Paul Cook (Dolph). Nancy arrives to defend Sid, and informs the Pistols that Sid does not need them, and the two go off trying to sing a soft type of music, performing at CBGB (Comic Book Guy's Bar). When they are kicked out for playing music against everything that punk rock represents (which, according to the Comic Book Guy, is nothing), the two decide to go back to their addiction and kiss in the alley as garbage (emptied by Homer) rains down on them. Homer wishes everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and to "shut your gob."

Cultural references

The title of the episode is a take-off of Love, American Style .
The song played at the beginning of the episode is "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole.
In the Bonnie and Clyde segment, the radio actors performing "The Bonnie and Clyde Hour" are drawn to resemble George Burns and Gracie Allen.^[2] The "Robby Robin" character is a parody of Woody Woodpecker.^[2]
The "Shady and the Vamp" segment refers to the 1955 Disney movie Lady and the Tramp . The whole segment is uniquely animated in the painted art style that is reminiscent of Disney features. Coincidentally, "Homer" was another name considered for the character of Tramp.
The dog Groundskeeper Willie takes into the gas chamber is based on Disney's character, Goofy.^[2]
The final segment is a reference to the romance of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen and the film Sid and Nancy .^[3] CBGB was a real music bar that is now closed (though in the episode it stands for Comic Book Guy's Bar).^[2] Several punk icons, (Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian of The Damned) are also seen in the bar.
In the Bonnie and Clyde segment, when rebuffing Cletus, Marge says, "This is Texas, the future home of Hakeem Olajuwon", who would be famous in the 1990s playing for Texas-based NBA team Houston Rockets.
In the Sid and Nancy segment, when at the bar, the song that the Sex Pistols (Bart, Nelson, Jimbo - playing guitarist Steve Jones - and Dolph playing drummer Paul Cook) are listening to is "Neat Neat Neat" by The Damned, until Martin changes the jukebox song to "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers (prompting punishment by the bullies).
The song played during the drug/chocolate montage is "Ever Fallen in Love?" by The Buzzcocks.
When one of the punks in the CBGB crowd comments that Sid and Nancy's song does not make him feel angry, but instead makes him feel his anger ebb; his mohawk goes down into an emo-style fringe.
The song played at the end (transition to the credits) is a parody of "Taxi to Heaven" from the movie Sid and Nancy, originally performed by Pray for Rain.

Censorship

This episode was first broadcast in the UK and Ireland on Sky1 on December 21, 2008 at 9.30pm. It was the second episode of The Simpsons to be broadcast after the watershed hour (after "Weekend at Burnsie's") because the adult content was deemed too strong to be shown before then. The Bonnie and Clyde story ends with Homer and Marge being shot multiple times, though they do not bleed or die. The Sid and Nancy story includes repeated use of the word "bollocks" by Bart as he sings, as well as depictions of Nelson and Lisa buying and consuming chocolate as if it were an illegal substance.

It has since been repeated on Channel 4, where it was heavily edited. The Bonnie and Clyde section ends just as the police begin firing at the car, missing Bonnie's final comments to Clyde. The Shady and the Vamp section cuts the scene where the Goofy-like character enters the gas chamber, although he is seen in the dog pound. The Sid and Nancy section was also edited in a way that was similar to the edits in the Sky1 broadcast.

Reception

7.81 million viewers watched this episode.

Richard Keller of TV Squad enjoyed the episode. He said that, "This time around they seemed to focus on the stories themselves rather than overload them with gags as they tend to do. The result were some pretty nice stories." His favorite was the second story.^[2]

Related Research Articles

"All's Fair in Oven War" is the second episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 2004. In the episode, Marge gets her kitchen remodeled and the dishes she makes inside it get rave reviews. The suggestion of Ned Flanders leads her to enter a cooking contest. However, Marge realizes the competition is harder than it seems. Meanwhile, Bart finds Homer's vintage Playdude magazines and decides to adopt the lifestyle he sees within the articles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trilogy of Error</span> 18th episode of the 12th season of The Simpsons

"Trilogy of Error" is the eighteenth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 266th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 29, 2001. In the episode, Homer's rush to the hospital to re-attach his severed thumb, Lisa's rush to school to win the science fair, and Bart's run-in with an illegal fireworks scheme are interconnected as each act tells the events of the same day, but from a different point of view.

"Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network 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.

"Treehouse of Horror IX" is the fourth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 1998. This is the ninth Treehouse of Horror episode, and, like the other "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, contains three self-contained segments: In "Hell Toupée", Homer gets a hair transplant and is possessed by the spirit of an executed criminal; in "Terror of Tiny Toon", Bart and Lisa are trapped in a special, extremely violent episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show; and in "Starship Poopers", Marge reveals that Maggie is the product of a one-night stand with the alien Kang.

<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.

"Simpsons Bible Stories" is the eighteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on Easter Sunday, April 4, 1999. It is the first of The Simpsons' now annual trilogy episodes, and consists of four self-contained segments. In the episode, the Simpson family falls asleep during a sermon in church. Marge dreams that she and Homer are Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Lisa dreams that she and her fellow Springfield Elementary School students are Hebrew slaves in Ancient Egypt and guides Moses to lead them to freedom, Homer dreams that he is King Solomon called to resolve a dispute between Lenny and Carl over the ownership of a pie, and Bart dreams he is King David, who has to fight Goliath's son, Goliath II.

"Last Tap Dance in Springfield" is the twentieth 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 May 7, 2000. In the episode, Lisa decides to sign up for tap dancing lessons after being inspired by a film about a girl who enters a tango contest and wins. Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse hide out at the mall to escape going to summer camp. "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" was written by Julie Thacker, who based it on her own experiences with dance classes.

<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.

"Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 1, 1995. In the episode, the Simpson children are put in foster care at Ned and Maude Flanders' house. Homer and Marge are forced to attend a parenting class to get their children back.

<i>The Simpsons</i> opening sequence Opening sequence of the TV series The Simpsons

The Simpsonsopening sequence is the title sequence of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It is accompanied by "The Simpsons Theme". The first episode to use this introduction was the series' second episode "Bart the Genius".

"Rome-Old and Juli-Eh" is the fifteenth 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 March 11, 2007. It was written by Daniel Chun, and directed by Nancy Kruse. Jane Kaczmarek guest starred as her recurring character, Judge Constance Harm.

"Midnight Towboy" is the third episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 7, 2007, and in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2007. This is the first Simpsons episode to premiere in October since season eleven's "Treehouse of Horror X", which aired on October 31, 1999.

"I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is the fourth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 14, 2007. For the second time in the series, Marge helps a prison assailant. Marge meets Dwight, a man who attempts to rob the bank the two are in. Marge promises that she would visit him in prison, should he turn himself in, but too frightened to go into the prison, she breaks her promise. It was written by Dana Gould and directed by Bob Anderson. Steve Buscemi makes his second guest appearance on the show, though this time he voiced a character, Dwight. Ted Nugent has a voice cameo. Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes a surprise guest return as Snake's girlfriend Gloria, who originally appeared in "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love". During its first airing, the episode originally garnered 8.8 million viewers, higher than the previous episode.

That 90s Show (<i>The Simpsons</i>) 11th episode of the 19th season of The Simpsons

"That '90s Show" is the eleventh episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 27, 2008. Kurt Loder and "Weird Al" Yankovic both guest star as themselves, this being the second time for Yankovic. The episode was written by Matt Selman, and directed by Mark Kirkland. The episode's title is a parody of That '70s Show, a television program that also aired on Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XXI</span> 4th episode of the 22nd season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XXI" is the fourth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 2010. This is the 21st Treehouse of Horror episode, and, like the other Treehouse of Horror episodes, consisted of three self-contained segments: In "War and Pieces", Bart and Milhouse discover a real-life board game that they must win to return home; in "Master and Cadaver", Marge and Homer go on a honeymoon on a sailboat, and rescue a mysterious castaway named Roger; and in "Tweenlight", Lisa falls in love with a vampire named Edmund.

"The Daughter Also Rises" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz and written by Rob LaZebnik. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 12, 2012.

"Luca$" is the seventeenth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 547th episode of the series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 6, 2014. It was written by Carolyn Omine and directed by Chris Clements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XXVIII</span> 4th episode of the 29th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XXVIII" is the fourth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, the 28th episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials, and the 622nd episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 22, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XXXII</span> 3rd episode of the 33rd season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XXXII" is the third episode of the thirty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 709th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 10, 2021, and unlike the previous season, aired at the appropriate time to avoid conflict with Major League Baseball’s post-season, which stretched into November. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan, and written by John Frink.

References

↑ "Primetime Listings". FoxFlash. January 27, 2008. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
1 2 3 4 5 Keller, Richard (February 17, 2008). "Love Springfieldian Style". TV Squad . Retrieved February 19, 2008.
↑ "SDCC 07: The Simpsons Panel". IGN . July 29, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2007.

External links

"Love, Springfieldian Style" at IMDb

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.

[FF-1] "Primetime Listings". FoxFlash. January 27, 2008. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.

[tvsquad-2] 1 2 3 4 5 Keller, Richard (February 17, 2008). "Love Springfieldian Style". TV Squad . Retrieved February 19, 2008.

[3] "SDCC 07: The Simpsons Panel". IGN . July 29, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2007.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e The Simpsons episodes
Seasons 1–20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Season 21–present 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Season 19	"He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" "The Homer of Seville" "Midnight Towboy" "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" "Treehouse of Horror XVIII" "Little Orphan Millie" "Husbands and Knives" "Funeral for a Fiend" "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" "E Pluribus Wiggum" "That '90s Show" "Love, Springfieldian Style" "The Debarted" "Dial 'N' for Nerder" "Smoke on the Daughter" "Papa Don't Leech" "Apocalypse Cow" "Any Given Sundance" "Mona Leaves-a" "All About Lisa"
Themed episodes	Treehouse of Horror list
See also	The Simpsons episode guides "The Simpsons Guy"
Category