When Flanders Failed
| "When Flanders Failed" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| "When Flanders Failed" | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 |
| Directed by | Jim Reardon |
| Written by | Jon Vitti |
| Original air dates | October 3, 1991 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "Nobody likes sunburn slappers" |
| Couch gag | They do a little dance. |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Jon Vitti Jim Reardon |
"When Flanders Failed" is the third episode of the The Simpsons' third season. The episode aired on October 3, 1991. However, many sources list this episode as being broadcast before the previous one, Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington.
Synopsis
Ned Flanders invites the Simpsons to a barbecue party; during the pulling of the wishbone, Homer, who has been constantly jealous of the material success of the Flanders family, wishes for the Leftorium, Ned's new left-handed goods store in the Springfield Mall, to go out of business. Homer frequently checks on Ned to ensure that business is going poorly. However, when Homer is not at the store, he sees left-handed people having problems and would likely benefit from being customers at the Leftorium, but he does not recommend the store. When the store does indeed close, plunging the Flanderses into debt and misery, after first taking advantage of the desperate Ned selling off his possessions, Homer wrestles with the guilt his wish has brought and make things right again, by telling the left handed population of Springfield about his plight.
In a subplot, when prodded to get away from the television and get some exercise, Bart offers to learn karate, only to skip out of each lesson in order to play in the mall arcade. Whenever he is questioned about the techniques he has learned, he refers to the "Touch of Death", an ability seen in one of the arcade games he plays. His actions catch up to him when Lisa prods him to defend her from the school´s bullies (Dolph, Jimbo and Nelson) and reclaim her saxophone. He manages to get Lisa reclaim it, but ends being stuck on a basketball court, much to Lisa's regret.
Trivia
- If you notice an unusual number of animation glitches in this episode, it's because the animation studio was training a new group of animators and this episode was one of their first efforts, according to the DVD commentary.
- Homer's line at the end, referring to Flanders as "the richest left-handed man in Springfield" is ironic as Mr Burns, a billionaire, is standing very near to him at the time.
- In this episode, it is revealed that the following people are left-handed, like Simpsons creator Matt Groening:
- Ned Flanders (opens the Leftorium)
- Moe Syzlak (buys a left-handed corkscrew)
- Montgomery Burns (buys numerous left-handed tin openers, and a car with a left-handed stickshift)
- Other characters who purchase things at the Leftorium, but who are not explicitly revealed to be left-handed, include:
- Apu
- Barney Gumble (buys a T-shirt which reads "Kiss me, I'm left-handed")
- Sideshow Mel
- Clancy Wiggum
- Akira (buys supposedly left-handed nunchaku)
- The 3 CFL draft picks shown were former Simpsons writers. Including:
- The B.C. Lions drafting Jay Kogen
- The Calgary Stampeders drafting John Swartzwelder
- The Toronto Argonauts drafting Wallace Wolodarsky (who had previously been mentioned as a football player in The Telltale Head)
- Two scenes were cut in syndication: one of Homer's face turning purple after choking on a hamburger at the end of act 1 (note that Homer's evil laugh is cut off abruptly in syndication because of this), and one of Bart running to karate class only to be picked up by Homer seconds later after watching the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon "Burning Love" (note that this cartoon was also cut when it first appeared in Krusty Gets Busted).
Cultural References
- The title of this episode is a reference to the poem "In Flanders Fields".
- This episode is famous among fans of The Simpsons for Lisa's use of the German word schadenfreude to describe Homer's initial reaction to the Leftorium's poor business. Homer similarly thinks "sour grapes" is a German word, as it sounds like sauerkraut.
- Akira gives Bart's karate class the ancient Chinese military treatise The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
- Homer is watching the CFL Draft on TV. The team mentioned is the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A rouge is when the football is kicked into the opposing teams endzone and not returned. The CFL draft is not broadcast on TV. Not even in Canada.
- The episode ending -- in which Homer gathers the townfolk to rush to the aid of a beleaguered friend, culimating in a happy song -- is a reference to the movie It's a Wonderful Life.
- Akira is amused to find "left-handed nunchucks" in the Leftorium; in fact this Japanese ninjutsu weapon is ambidextrous. This is similar to a practical joke often played on unsuspecting trainees in the movie industry, where they are sent to purchase a "left-handed screwdriver".
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