The Way of the Dog

Last updated

"The Way of the Dog"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 31
Episode 22
Directed by Matthew Faughnan
Written by Carolyn Omine
Featured music"The Way We Were" by Suzanne Waters
Production codeZABF16 [1]
Original air dateMay 17, 2020 (2020-05-17)
Running time21 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds"		Next →
"Undercover Burns"
The Simpsons season 31
List of episodes

"The Way of the Dog" is the 22nd and final episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons , and the 684th episode overall. It debuted on Fox on May 17, 2020. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by Carolyn Omine. In this episode, Santa's Little Helper bites matriarch Marge, causing the family to reflect on the difficult life that the dog led prior to being adopted by the family and they end up reuniting him with his mother to avoid having to euthanize him.

Contents

The episode is dedicated in memory of Little Richard, who previously appeared in the episode "Special Edna" and had died on May 9, 2020. It also includes footage from the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

The episode has received positive reception from critics.

Plot

Santa's Little Helper is agitated by the sights, sounds, and smells of the Simpsons' Christmas celebration: he refuses to be affectionate, tears apart the couch, and stares idly at a smudge on the cabinet. Lisa suggests attending a seminar from dog psychologist Elaine Wolff. Wolff mostly berates dog owners and her talk is not helpful, but when Lisa tries to ask her to help the Simpsons to empathize with Santa's Little Helper, she explains that they are underestimating how his sense of smell is strongly tied to memory, and it brings back memories of when he was an abused racing dog. When Marge reaches for a Santa Claus hat that the dog has been keeping next to him, he nips at her on the hand.

Bart insists on sleeping outside with the dog overnight. The next day, they take him to an incompetent vet who wants to euthanize him. He calls the police and Chief Wiggum comes to their house with a dog exterminator close behind. Moments before animal control is set to arrive, Wolff appears at the door saying that she has had a revelation and wants to save him.

She runs off with Santa's Little Helper, and they go to her therapy institute, where she has an opportunity to communicate with him. She determines that the event causing his post-traumatic stress disorder goes back to his childhood, and she sets out to find his origin. At the No Kill Kennel, dog trainer Les Moore explains how he took Santa's Little Helper from his mother She-Biscuit because he ran to her so quickly. The family is outraged, but their hearts are quickly warmed when the mother and son are reunited in Moore's yard. The Simpsons adopt She-Biscuit and give her a happy home.

Production

In December 2019, it was reported that Cate Blanchett would guest star in the season finale as a canine psychologist. [2]

Michael York, the voice actor for the character Clayton, recorded his dialogue with producer/engineer Zach Zurn at Carpet Booth Studios in Rochester, Minnesota. [4] York has since relocated to Rochester in 2022. [5]

Reception

Viewing figures

The episode earned a 0.6 rating and was watched by 1.89 million viewers, which was the most watched show on Fox that night. [6]

Critical response

Writing for The A.V. Club , Dennis Perkins gave the episode a B, praising it for the attempt to do a serious study of the character of Santa's Little Helper but noting that the finale was too sentimental. [3]

Den of Geek 's Tony Sokol gave the episode four out of five stars for its emotional depth and its ability to make the show's past more rich. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa's Little Helper</span> Dog in The Simpsons animated TV series

Santa's Little Helper is a fictional dog in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. He was previously voiced by Frank Welker, and is currently voiced by Dan Castellaneta. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons him for finishing last in a greyhound race. Homer Simpson and his son Bart, who are at the race track in hope of winning some money for Christmas presents, see this and decide to adopt the dog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of The Simpsons

"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" is the series premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Introducing the Simpson family into half-hour television in this episode, Bart Simpson disobediently gets a tattoo without the permission of his parents. After Marge spends all the family's holiday budget on having it removed, Homer learns that his boss is not giving employees Christmas bonuses, and takes a job as a shopping mall Santa.

Some Enchanted Evening (<i>The Simpsons</i>) 13th episode of the 1st season of The Simpsons

"Some Enchanted Evening" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on May 13, 1990. Written by Matt Groening and Sam Simon and directed by David Silverman and Kent Butterworth, "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first episode produced for season one and was intended to air as the series premiere in fall 1989, but aired as the season one finale due to animation problems. The Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" premiered in its place on December 17, 1989. It is the last episode to feature the original opening sequence starting from "Bart the Genius". In the episode, Homer and Marge go on a night out while leaving the children under the care of a diabolical babysitter named Ms. Lucille "Botz" Botzcowski.

<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.

"Little Big Mom" is the tenth 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 January 9, 2000, the first episode of the 2000s. In the episode, while the rest of the Simpson family goes skiing, Marge remains at the ski lodge due to her fear of skiing, only to break her leg from a falling clock. As a result, while hospitalized, Marge leaves Lisa to take care of the house. When Bart and Homer refuse to help out with the chores, Lisa pulls a prank on them by making it look like they have leprosy.

"Bart's Dog Gets an 'F'" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 7, 1991. In the episode, the Simpson family's dog, Santa's Little Helper, infuriates Homer and Marge by destroying a family heirloom and an expensive pair of shoes. When Marge and Homer want to get rid of the dog, Bart enrolls him at an obedience school to curb his bad behavior.

"Judge Me Tender" is the twenty-third and final episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The 464th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 23, 2010. In the episode, Moe discovers his talent for judging in competitions and is invited to appear on the show American Idol. Meanwhile, Homer drives Marge crazy when he starts spending too much time at home, and Lisa tries to comfort Santa's Little Helper.

"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.

"Peeping Mom" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 570th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by John Frink. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 19, 2015.

"Gal of Constant Sorrow" is the fourteenth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 588th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by Carolyn Omine. It aired in the United States on Fox on February 21, 2016.

"To Courier with Love" is the twentieth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 594th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by Bill Odenkirk. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 8, 2016.

"Orange Is the New Yellow" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 596th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by Eric Horsted. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 22, 2016. The title is a spoof of the book and the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black.

"Dogtown" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 618th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by J. Stewart Burns. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 21, 2017 and the United Kingdom on Sky 1 on May 28, 2017.

"Werking Mom" is the 646th episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the seventh episode of Season 30. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Carolyn Omine and Robin Sayers. The episode was also dedicated in memory of Stan Lee of Marvel Comics fame, who died on November 12, 2018, and had guest starred three times on the show, in the episodes "I Am Furious (Yellow)", "Married to the Blob" and "Caper Chase" respectively.

"Highway to Well" is the 17th episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 679th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 22, 2020. The episode was written by Carolyn Omine and was directed by Chris Clements.

"The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A." is the 21st and penultimate episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 705th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 16, 2021. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino, and written by Carolyn Omine. In this episode, Homer meets a British secret agent.

"Mothers and Other Strangers" is the eighth episode of the thirty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 715th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 28, 2021. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Al Jean. This episode is a retcon of the events of Homer's mother Mona Simpson since "Mother Simpson", in which Homer reunites with Mona after believing she died when he was a child. Here, Homer has flashbacks to discovering his mother's whereabouts in Utah as a teenager and never fully reuniting with her as an adult.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pixelated and Afraid</span> 12th episode of the 33rd season of The Simpsons

"Pixelated and Afraid" is the 12th episode of the 33rd season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 718th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on February 27, 2022. The episode was directed by Chris Clements and written by John Frink. The title is a spoof of Naked and Afraid.

"My Octopus and a Teacher" is the 18th episode of the 33rd season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 724th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 24, 2022. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Carolyn Omine. It is the first appearance of Bart's new teacher Ms. Peyton, voiced by Kerry Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XXXIII</span> 6th episode of the 34th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XXXIII" is the sixth episode of the thirty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 734th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 30, 2022. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver, and written by Carolyn Omine, Ryan Koh and Matt Selman. This is the first Treehouse of Horror episode to not have an opening sequence, and instead just opens on a book of the episode before going straight into the first segment. This is also the first Treehouse of Horror since season 14's to feature a different writer for each segment. This is the first Treehouse of Horror to air closest to Halloween since 2011 without going into November.

References

  1. ↑ Jean, Al [@AlJean] (September 12, 2019). ".@TheSimpsons terrific read today by @CarolynOmine" (Tweet). Retrieved May 17, 2020– via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 Snierson, Dan (December 13, 2019). "The Simpsons Taps Cate Blanchett, David Harbour for Guest Roles". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Perkins, Dennis (May 17, 2020). "The Simpsons' 31st Season Finale Goes Back to the Beginning to Help a Very Good Boy". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  4. ↑ Molseed, John (June 24, 2020). "Recording for 'The Simpsons'? That sounds professional". Post-Bulletin . Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  5. ↑ "From Hollywood to Rochester: Actor Michael York moves to be closer to Mayo Clinic". Post-Bulletin . January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  6. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (May 19, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.17.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  7. ↑ Sokol, Tony (May 17, 2020). "The Simpsons Season 31 Episode 22 Review: 'The Way of the Dog'". Den of Geek . Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
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.