The Wettest Stories Ever Told

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"The Wettest Stories Ever Told"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 17
Episode 18
Directed by Mike B. Anderson
Written by Jeff Westbrook
Production codeHABF11
Original air dateApril 23, 2006 (2006-04-23)
Episode features
Couch gag Homer solves a jigsaw puzzle of the family, placing Maggie and his heads in the wrong positions and saying "D'oh!", and then immediately fixing the mistake and giggling.
Commentary Al Jean
Jeff Westbrook
Matt Selman
Tom Gammill
Max Pross
Mike B. Anderson
David Silverman
Episode chronology
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The Simpsons season 17
List of episodes

"The Wettest Stories Ever Told" is the eighteenth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 23, 2006. The episode was written by Jeff Westbrook and directed by Mike B. Anderson.

Contents

In this episode, three stories are told about life aboard ships at sea. The episode was watched by 7.1 million viewers and received mixed reviews.

Plot

When the Simpsons' plans for an outing at the Frying Dutchman turns into a disaster due to an uncooperative octopus, the family tells three nautically themed stories.

Mayflower Madman

In Lisa's story, Bart, Lisa and a widowed Marge board the Mayflower to head for the new world. Homer, fleeing from the police, boards the ship and hides in a barrel. Homer is attracted to Marge. However, Moe is jealous of their friendship. Moe takes Homer down to the storage room to play a drinking game. Homer and the crew get drunk, and Moe claims that Homer is responsible, leading Captain "Flandish" (Flanders) and Reverend Lovejoy to place him in a stock.

A storm approaches, and Flandish is knocked unconscious. Homer volunteers to take his place, and leads them safely out of the storm. Homer and Marge get together, and the members of the Mayflower meet the Wampanoag tribe and join them for the first Thanksgiving feast.

The Whine-Bar Sea

In Bart's story, the Bounty sets sail from England in 1789, commanded by Captain Bligh (Seymour Skinner). During the voyage, Bligh severely mistreats his crew. Willie warns him of a mutiny if he continues, but Bligh ignores him. They arrive in Tahiti, where Homer and Marge are the rulers of the island and have a wonderful time.

Bligh continues to abuse the crew, leading First Mate Bart Christian to mutiny and sending Bligh and Willie off in a lifeboat. Bart, as the new Captain, orders the crews to set sail for Tahiti, but after throwing away the ship's wheel, they end up in Antarctica.

Watership D'ohn (aka, The Neptune Adventure)

Mike B. Anderson directed the episode. Mike B. Anderson by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Mike B. Anderson directed the episode.

Homer tells a story taking place on the ocean liner S.S. Neptune on New Year's Eve during the 1970s. At midnight, Captain Burns fails to notice a massive freak wave, which hits the bridge, capsizing the ship and killing most of the passengers. Led by Selma, the survivors climb up the decks to the engine room, during which Lenny falls to his death, saying that it is "too confusing" to carry on.

Comic Book Guy swims through a flooded deck to help the others get to the engine room, but he has a heart attack and drowns. The group makes it to the engine room and are rescued, but Sideshow Mel is killed when he is accidentally set on fire by one of the rescue crew welding a hole in the ship. Once outside the ship, the survivors encounter the skeletons of the Bounty crew, who are still trying to get back to Tahiti.

Cultural references

The first story is a parody of the voyage of the Pilgrims to North America. [1] The second story is a parody of the Mutiny on the Bounty. [2] The third story is a parody of the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure . [3]

Reception

Viewing figures

In its original airing, the episode earned a 2.5 rating and was watched by 7.1 million viewers, which was the 53rd most-watched show that week. [4]

Critical response

Adam Finley of TV Squad said the episode "wasn't great, but I think it had enough good moments for me not to write if off completely." He thought the first story was the weakest and liked the second story. [2]

Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said the episode was "inconsistent" and had few jokes. [5]

On Four Finger Discount, Guy Davis and Brendan said it was "one of the weakest episodes ever told" despite a good writer and director for the episode. [6]

Themes and analysis

The second story has been cited as depicting the canoe greeting trope of Polynesians welcoming Europeans to the Pacific islands as shown in the American South Seas film genre. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bligh</span> Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator (1754–1817)

Vice-Admiral William Bligh was a British officer in the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. He is best known for the mutiny on HMS Bounty, which occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command. The reasons behind the mutiny continue to be debated. After being set adrift in Bounty's launch by the mutineers, Bligh and those loyal to him stopped for supplies on Tofua, losing a man to natives. Bligh and his men reached Timor alive, after a journey of 3,618 nautical miles.

Mutiny on the <i>Bounty</i> 1789 mutiny aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty

The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set him and eighteen loyalists adrift in the ship's open launch. The reasons behind the mutiny are still debated. Bligh and his crew stopped for supplies on Tofua, losing a man to natives. Bligh navigated more than 3,500 nautical miles in the launch to reach safety and began the process of bringing the mutineers to justice. The mutineers variously settled on Tahiti or on Pitcairn Island.

<i>The Bounty</i> (1984 film) 1984 film by Roger Donaldson

The Bounty is a 1984 British epic historical drama film directed by Roger Donaldson. It depicts the voyage and mutiny of HMS Bounty, with Robert Bolt's screenplay adapting the 1972 book Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian by Richard Hough. It stars Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as William Bligh, with supporting roles played by Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, Bernard Hill and Edward Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fletcher Christian</span> English sailor (1764–1793)

Fletcher Christian was an English sailor who led the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789, during which he seized command of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty from Lieutenant William Bligh.

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<i>Mutiny on the Bounty</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Frank Lloyd

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1935 American historical adventure drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It dramatizes the mutiny of HMS Bounty, and is adapted from the novels Mutiny on the Bounty and Men Against the Sea by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. It stars Charles Laughton as William Bligh, Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian, and Franchot Tone as Roger Byam.

<i>Mutiny on the Bounty</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by Carol Reed, Lewis Milestone

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 American Technicolor epic historical drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith, Richard Haydn and Tarita in her only role. The screenplay was written by Charles Lederer, based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Bronisław Kaper composed the score.

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HMS <i>Bounty</i> 18th-century Royal Navy vessel

HMS Bounty, also known as HM Armed Vessel Bounty, was a British merchant ship that the Royal Navy purchased in 1787 for a botanical mission. The ship was sent to the South Pacific Ocean under the command of William Bligh to acquire breadfruit plants and transport them to the British West Indies. That mission was never completed owing to a 1789 mutiny led by acting lieutenant Fletcher Christian, an incident now popularly known as the Mutiny on the Bounty. The mutineers later burned Bounty while she was moored at Pitcairn Island in the Southern Pacific Ocean in 1790. An American adventurer helped land several remains of Bounty in 1957.

Complement of HMS <i>Bounty</i> Crew of HMS Bounty during the 1789 mutiny

The complement of HMS Bounty, the Royal Navy ship on which a historic mutiny occurred in the south Pacific on 28 April 1789, comprised 46 men on its departure from England in December 1787 and 44 at the time of the mutiny, including her commander Lieutenant William Bligh. All but two of those aboard were Royal Navy personnel; the exceptions were two civilian botanists engaged to supervise the breadfruit plants Bounty was tasked to take from Tahiti to the West Indies. Of the 44 aboard at the time of the mutiny, 19 were set adrift in the ship's launch, while 25, a mixture of mutineers and detainees, remained on board under Fletcher Christian. Bligh led his loyalists 3,500 nautical miles to safety in the open boat, and ultimately back to England. The mutineers divided—most settled on Tahiti, where they were captured by HMS Pandora in 1791 and returned to England for trial, while Christian and eight others evaded discovery on Pitcairn Island.

References

  1. ↑ Gomez-Galisteo, M. Carmen (2013). Early Visions and Representation of America: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's Naufragios and William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 168. ISBN   978-1-4411-0382-6.
  2. 1 2 Finley, Adam (April 24, 2006). "The Simpsons: The Wettest Stories Ever Told". TV Squad . Archived from the original on April 30, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  3. ↑ McEntire, Mac. "The Simpsons: The Complete Seventeenth Season (Blu-ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings (Apr. 17-23)". ABC Medianet. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Jacobson, Colin (December 10, 2017). "The Simpsons: The Complete Seventeenth Season [Blu-Ray] (2005-06)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  6. ↑ Davis, Guy; Dando, Brendan (July 27, 2023). "The Wettest Stories Ever Told (S17E18)". Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast) (Podcast). Event occurs at 2:10. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ Locey, Matthew B. (2023). White Lens on Brown Skin: The Sexualization of the Polynesian in American Film. McFarland & Company. pp. 33–36. ISBN   9781476689180.
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