500 Keys
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (May 2011) |
| "500 Keys" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:500KeysPromo.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 22 |
| Directed by | Bob Anderson |
| Written by | John Frink |
| Original air date | May 15, 2011 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "It's Kristen Schaal, Not Kristen Schall" Guinea pigs should not be used as "guinea pigs" |
| Couch gag | Everyone and everything is represented as words written on a white void. |
"500 Keys" is the twenty-first episode of the twenty-second season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 15, 2011. It was written by John Frink and directed by Bob Anderson.[1]
Plot
Maggie gets locked in the car with the key inside. While searching for the spare keys, the Simpsons discovers a collection of keys to every door in Springfield. It soon proves unnecessary, as Maggie freed herself.
Lisa comes across a hidden classroom full of props underneath the school behind the door that says, "Banned Band Books". She is very intrigued about the discovery, so she shares it with Principal Skinner. When they go down with Martin, Database and a few other students, Lisa opens the door and what is behind the door is simply a bookshelf full of banned band books. Later, Lisa comes back to find out what happened. She touches the bookshelf and it simply falls apart. She goes into the classroom and a mysterious cloaked figure is writing, "The children are on Bus 23." Lisa, scared, runs away.
Meanwhile, Bart tries causing mayhem with the keys but all what is produced were good deeds, such as when he uses the window washer to moon everybody in the high-rise. Gil tries to commit suicide, and when he hits the window washer, he calls Bart a "naked fairy god-boy," and Bart receives a key to the city from Mayor Quimby.
At that time, Marge and Maggie engages in a chase of an electric toy train[2] that makes farting noises that was upsetting people. It was originally an anniversary present by Homer called "The Pooter Toot Express".
Homer finds a key to the Duff brewery, and he and Barney adventure in. Homer flies off in the Duff blimp, but he drinks and texts while flying it. Lisa asks Nelson about Bus 23, and he reveals that, "The bus never came back." Lisa and Bart want to find Bus 23, so they make Homer fly them there on the Duff Blimp. Lisa falls out into the water, and discovers that all the children are mannequins. Otto, who was the cloaked figure, feels safe at last knowing he wasn't responsible for the death of the 21 students.
Superintendent Chalmers and Seymour Skinner were trying to flee to Bolivia but they were forced to explain, thanks to Bart's help with taking the car's keys. They explain that on the day of Bus 23 disaster, they had gotten a check from the government for the school. However, when the money was destroyed, they had to fake the classroom with the mannequins to avoid getting busted for what they did. Then they had Otto take the mannequins back given that their rental date is due, only for him to drive into the river by accident.
In the epilogue, Otto is horribly driving the bus and he says, "They're just mannequins," but Milhouse and Bart tell him otherwise, trying to prevent Otto from driving off the bridge. The icy surface causes the bus to careen close to the edge. Otto thinks that they will fall slowly as seen in the movie Inception, only for his ride to plunge into the river.
Production
The episode features a cameo from Albert Brooks as Hank Scorpio, a one-time character from the eighth season episode, "You Only Move Twice".[3] The chalkboard gag was written to correct the error from the previous episode "Homer Scissorhands" where guest star Kristen Schaal's surname was spelled incorrectly as "Schall" in the credits.[4] Schaal eventually thanked the producers for the name correction through Twitter.[4]
Cultural references
Lisa gets help to find the mystery from sleuths Nancy Drew and the recently deceased Hardy Boys.[5] Homer's previous job keys included "Mr. Plow", "Homer the Smithers" and "NASA Space Center".[5] The secret chamber may refer to Harry Potter's Chamber of Secrets, and the drawing on the Key to the City that is given to Bart is very similar to Hogwarts' logo. The logos of the four nations (Water, Fire, Earth, and Air) from Avatar: The Last Airbender are found on the wall of the secret room.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on May 15, 2011, "500 Keys" was viewed by an estimated 6 million households and received a 2.5 rating/7% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[6] This means that it was seen by 2.5% of all 18–49 years olds, and 7% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode stayed even in the rating from the previous episode, "Homer Scissorhands".[6][7]
The A.V. Club writer Rowan Kaiser commented that while the episode was "amusing" it "never comes near great stuff" and also called the episode "disposable".[3] He ultimately gave the episode a B.[3]
References
- ^ Seidman, Robert. "Prepare for an A-May-Zing May on Fox - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ Template:Fr"French synopsis of each episode of season 22". simpsonspark.com. April 6, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c Kaiser, Rowan. ""Flirting With Disaster"/"500 Keys"/"Lobsterfest"/"Foreign Affairs"/"Hot Cocoa Bang Bang" | Fox animation | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ a b Itzkoff, Dave (2011-05-16). "Credit Where It's Due: A Spelling Lesson for 'The Simpsons'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
- ^ a b "The Simpsons review: "500 Keys"". TV Fanatic. 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
- ^ a b Seidman, Robert (2011-05-13). "TV Ratings Sunday: 'Survivor' Finale Trumps 'Desperate Housewives' Finale, Trump and Everything Else - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (2011-02-27). "TV Ratings Sunday: Finales Of 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'CSI:Miami' Up; 'The Amazing Race' Hits Low - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-05-09.