In its thirty sixth season premiere, The Simpsons employed an excellent meta gimmick, giving audiences a style of what an A.I.-generated collection finale of the present would appear like. On one degree, it labored as a surface-level parody of hackneyed tv finales. On the opposite, it gave The Simpsons a option to dramatize the central query that’s been on each fan’s thoughts for a minimum of twenty years: Shouldn’t the present simply finish already?
The truth that “Bart’s Birthday” was in a position to handle this meta concern in a means that felt new and ingenious, whereas additionally not venturing too far exterior the realm of what we have come to count on from an episode of The Simpsons, is a testomony to the present’s present writing workers.
The 22-minute run time was completely jam-packed stuffed with acquainted characters, a lot of whom haven’t been seen on the present in years. Among the extra sudden deep-cut cameos embrace…
That Man With the Large Hand
Keep in mind the nuclear plant worker with the large hand? He confirmed up for one throwaway joke in “The Final Temptation of Homer”:
And he later appeared briefly in “Simpson Tide,” lastly revealing the story behind his freakishly giant appendage.
However after that… nothing. That’s till final evening. Apparently he’s been working on the plant this entire time, and is current when Mr. Burns graphically melts to dying.
Additionally: shout out to Zutroy, the “American as apple pie” plant worker, who’s in the identical scene.
The Actual Seymour Skinner
Considerably controversially, in Season 9’s “The Principal and the Pauper,” the true Sgt. Seymour Skinner returns and exposes imposter Armin Tamzarian — however then all people agreed to by no means point out it once more “beneath penalty of torture.”
Author Michael Value advised our personal Brian VanHooker, that he figured followers would “go loopy” for the second in “Bart’s Birthday” by which Sgt. Skinner returns dwelling to his mom, who proclaims: “My actual son is dwelling.”
Poor Armin.
Thomas Pynchon
Legendary writer Thomas Pynchon has visitor starred on The Simpsons a couple of instances now. Famously, Pynchon is such a fan that he refused to say a line calling Homer a fat-ass, claiming that “Homer is my hero. I can’t communicate ailing of him.”
It was a welcome shock to see (however not hear) him on the fake black-tie screening hosted by Conan O’Brien. Pynchon, full together with his paper-bag query mark masks, may be seen rubbing noses with different stars equivalent to Tom Hanks and Mr. T.
John Waters
One of many superstar viewers members on the Dolby-Mucinex, seated subsequent to former WNBA star Lisa Leslie, is John Waters — a minimum of we predict it’s John Waters. He’s dressed like his character John from “Homer’s Phobia,” however has aged like the true life Waters. In any case, this marks the primary time he’s appeared on the present in any kind since 1997.
Fairly A lot Everybody at Bart’s Birthday Celebration
Bart’s climactic celebration is chock-full of Simpsons characters that we haven’t seen in fairly some time — a few of whom get singled out, like Hank Scorpio, Unky Herb and the late Frank Grimes, however there are way more cameos to identify, when you’ve got a pause button and means an excessive amount of time in your fingers.
There’s Lisa’s previous trainer Mr. Bergstrom, the proprietor of La Maison Derrière, Mr. Burns’ estranged son Larry, Malibu Stacy creator Stacy Lovell and unhoused animation pioneer Chester J. Lampwick, simply to call a couple of. Plus, SpiderPig and Homer’s Coyote Spirit information.
Not surprisingly, there have been no references in anyway to Leon Kompowsky.
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