A Tale of Two Springfields

"A Tale of Two Springfields"
The Simpsons episode
File:A Tale of Two Springfields.png
Episode no.	Season 12
Directed by	Shaun Cashman
Written by	John Swartzwelder
Original air dates	November 5, 2000
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	"I will not plant subliminAL messaGOREs
Couch gag	Homer sits on a whoopee cushion that Bart has planted.

"A Tale of Two Springfields" is an episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons. The title is a spoof of Charles Dickens' classic book, A Tale of Two Cities.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler While feeding Santa's Little Helper, Bart finds a badger in his doghouse. Bart and Lisa try to get rid of it themselves, but are unsuccessful. After Homer suggests they blow up the doghouse with dynamite, Lisa tells them to call animal control. When Homer calls them, he gets a tri-tone and a recording indicating that he did not enter the correct area code. Marge informs him that the phone company ran out of numbers, so they had to split Springfield into two area codes. One half keeps the old 636 and the Simpsons' half get the new 939. He is outraged that they changed the code so suddenly (even though Lenny and Carl say that they had weeks of advance warnings, including two weeks at area code camp). While at a town meeting, with Homer covered with dynamite, Lyndsey Neagle shows a film (starring talking telephone Phony McRing-Ring) that attempts to convince the audience two area codes are better. The whole town agrees with it. However, Homer stands up, reminding them how terrible it was and points out that the original 636 code was kept by the rich side of town. When Homer fails to blow himself up, he leads a rebellion of the poor and goes off to form a new town.

Homer names the town with the new 939 code "New Springfield", while the half of the town with 636 is now called "Olde Springfield". Homer is appointed mayor of New Springfield but shows disrespect for the office by using his sash as a napkin. Rivalry quickly ensues between the two towns. When Olde Springfield insults the inefficiency of his half of town, Homer cuts power to Olde Springfield. Olde Springfield retaliates by hijacking a beer truck and dumping its contents in the river. Homer and New Springfield strike back by cutting off the river into Olde Springfield; however this causes its inhabitants to find gold in the river and buy the Evian bottled water factory from France. Homer decides to build a giant wall right through town, just like Berlin. When he tells his citizens they don't have enough supplies to get past tomorrow and that a wave of disease will kill the weak, everyone except the Simpsons leave.

Now the mayor of a ghost town, Homer boasts to himself that The Who is coming to their town, when they are actually performing in Olde Springfield. Together, he and Bart are able to get them to perform in New Springfield. When Olde Springfield is waiting for the band, they find them in New Springfield and prepare to riot. Just before a major conflict, The Who suggests they get speed-dial to solve their rivalry. They also agree to play if Springfield tears down the wall, which Pete Townshend ends up destroying by playing a power chord.

Trivia

• Pete Townshend declined to supply his voice for the show. He had his brother, Simon Townshend, substitute for him.
• In syndication, all of the badger scenes (with the exception of the first) are cut. In fact, the entire episode was heavily cut for syndication. Originally 22 minutes and 11 seconds long, two minutes and 10 seconds were cut, and the episode was expanded 46 seconds to a length of 20:47. This is still about a half-minute shorter than most syndicated versions.
• This is the 250th episode of the show.
• Area code 636 is actually assigned to suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri^[1]; although this seems to reveal Springfield’s state, the real Springfield, Missouri is in a different area code. Area code 939 is one of two codes used in Puerto Rico.
• This episode premiered on terrestrial television in the UK on 5 November 2004, exactly four years after its original US airdate. It was also the first episode shown on Channel 4, which had recently purchased terrestrial rights from BBC Two.
• This is the only episode of the Simpsons directed by Shaun Cashman.
• When Lisa is trying to find out what badgers eat she goes on whatbadgerseat.com, a real site made by the producers of the show.
• The song played right before the end credits is Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who, which was used previously in 2000 in a commercial for the Nissan Maxima and, as of 2007, the title song to the TV Series CSI: Miami.
• The Simpsons' telephone number is given as 939-555-0113. The old area coded number of 636-555-0113 appears to connect to Mr. Burns; however, in Lisa's Date with Density, his phone number was 555-0001.
• The "angel skeleton" from Lisa the Skeptic can be seen in the wall dividing the cities.
• One of the Simpsons comic books published by Bongo featured a similar plotline in which Springfield is divided over the issue of use of and access to the lake.

Cultural references

• Homer imagines himself as a mayor, walking down the street in a Western town, wearing a cowboy hat and firing a rifle, in a parody of he opening credit of the Western show, The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors.
• When Kent Brockman's newscast shows a picture of Homer and friends on the steps of a home, the layout and poses match the cover of The Who's Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy album.
• Todd's woodpecker is a reference the Woody Woodpecker show.
• The self-referencing blackboard gag refers to the presidential election which was two days after the episode was aired. A controversy surrounding the election was the supposed use of subliminal messages.
• The timing of the episode coincides with Matt Groening's native northwest Oregon splitting into two overlapping area codes (Area code 503 and Area code 971), forcing Oregonians including Groening to dial 10 digits for every phone call.
• Moe's line "That fat, dumb, and bald guy sure plays some real hard ball" is a variation of a lyric in the song "Pinball Wizard" by The Who. The original lyric is "That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball".
• While waiting for The Who's concert in Olde Springfield, Principal Skinner seems to be dressed in Mod attire. Edna Krabappel is dressed as a typical groupie.
• The last part of the final scene - where the badgers descend upon Springfield - shows one badger, much smaller than the rest, some distance behind the others. This is probably a reference to several similar Looney Tunes cartoons starring Sylvester in which he is originally terrorised by a group of mice, but subsequently develops enough courage to "show them who's boss" and drive them all away. In each of these cartoons, the mice are shown fleeing the house, screaming and squeaking in fear, followed a little later by a baby mouse chattering incoherently in a voice that has been recorded at high speed.

Goofs

• Chief Wiggum seems to be on the side of Old Springfield for the most part. However, there are times in the episode where he is seen with the New Springfielders as well.

Quotes

• Homer: Now we just sit back and wait for an NFL franchise.
  Cardinals representative: I couldn't help overhearing... I represent the Arizona Cardinals...
  Homer: Keep walking.
• Moe: Homer stole our rock performers! That fat, dumb, and bald guy sure plays some real hardball.
• Lisa: (reading from the computer) Well, according to WhatBadgersEat.com badgers subsist primarily on a diet of stoats, voles and marmots.
  Bart: (looking in the kitchen cabinet) Stoats... Stoats...
  Lisa: Bart, you won't find stoats in a can.
  Bart: (holding a can) Then what's this?
  Lisa: It says corn, Bart.
  Bart: Must you embarrass me?
• Homer: [angry crowd hurls a fireball at Homer and misses] Ha ha, you hit the Tire fire, you hit the... [the 2nd fireball hits Homer] AAAHHH!
• Lisa: Here we are. In a pinch, badgers have been known to eat woodpeckers.
  Bart: Perfect! Hey Todd, can we borrow your woodpecker?
  Todd: I guess so! But we need him back by six. It's his birthday! (he holds up the woodpecker, who is wearing a small party hat)
  Bart: Okay! (The woodpecker avoids the badger, and then pecks Bart's head.)
  Woodpecker (a la Woody Woodpecker): HA ha ha ha ha! (It flies away and hits a light, where it is scorched. It then flies slowly away)
• (Bart and Lisa stare at dog kennel with badger inside)
  Homer: TV broke?
  Lisa: No, there's a badger inside.
  Homer: Badger my ass, It's probably just Milhouse.
• Homer: We need to block them from our sight with a giant wall!
  Marge: Like the one in Berlin?
  Homer: Good idea! Maybe we should call the guys they used.
  (Homer dials a number, but gets the tri-tone. His eye begins to twitch)
  Marge: Uh, Homer...
  Homer: (insistently) It's ringing!
• Homer: Area code!? But it's a local call!
  Marge: The phone company ran out of numbers, so they split the city into two area codes. Half the town keeps the old 636 area code, and our half gets 939.
  Homer: 939!!!?? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!? Oh my life is ruined.
  Marge: Geez, you just have to remember three extra numbers.
  Homer: Oh if only it were that easy Marge.
  (the badger from the first quote is at the window looking in from the backyard)
  Homer: Go away! We got bigger problems now.
  (the badger leaves)
• Homer: I accuse the telephone company of making that film on purpose!
  Lindsay Neagle: Well, of course we did!
  (Everyone gasps)
• Carl: I'm not sure which code is better. The six is closer to the three, so ya got convenience there. But the nine has less to do with Satan, which is a plus in this religious world of ours.
  Homer: What really burns me up is they didn't give us one word of warning.
  Carl: What do you mean? They ran those TV commercials about it, and that big radio campaign.
  Lenny: Don't forget the leaflets they dropped from the Space Shuttle, and the two weeks we all spent at area code camp.
  Homer: Not a single word of warning.
• John: Aren't you the mayor of New Springfield?
  Homer: That's right.
  Roger: The crazy mayor of New Springfield?
  Homer: That's right.
• Security Guard: And just where do you think you're going?
  Bart: (whispering) Give him the chloroform, Dad!
  Homer: Uh, I'll give you this bottle of chloroform if you take us to The Who!
  Security Guard (To Homer) You want to see The Who?! I'll take you to The Who! Here's your Who!! (Throws Homer and Bart in front of Who)
  Roger: I thought we fired that guard.
  Security Guard: (Sarcastically) Right, I got fired...by The Who. Whatever.
• Homer: (trying to talk the Who out of playing Old Springfield) They'll make you wear frilly shirts, just like Keith Partridge!
  Roger: Keith Partridge?! Who huddle!
• Homer: Come on, what happened to the angry, defiant Who of "My Generation," "Won't Get Fooled Again," and "Mama's Got a Squeeze Box"?
  John: We know our songs, Homer.
• Homer: Sweetie, you know your mother and I only stay together for the sake of my political career.
  Marge: That's not true! (a cameraman appears at the kitchen window)
  Homer: Big grins! (kisses his wife as the cameraman takes their picture) That'll play great in the sticks. (Homer wipes his mouth on his sash, then tears it off to reveal a new one reading, "Time to reorder") That was fifty already?
• Lenny: Ah, there's nothing like revenge for getting back at people.
  Carl: I don't know. Vengeance is pretty sweet.
• Kent Brockman (covered in golden chains): Thank you, Mayor Simpson. Because of you, we are all taking golden showers. (people off-camera laugh) What?
• Jimbo: Hey look! A novelty flying disk!
  Bart: That's my novelty flying disk!
  Dolph: It's ours now, since it's in our park in Olde Springfield.
  Kearney: His pants are in our park!
  (they take Bart's pants)
  Bart (slyly): My homework is in your park.
  Kearney: Let's do it!
  (they take Bart's backpack. The scene then cuts to the bullies doing Bart's homework.)
  Dolph (to himself): What does freedom mean to me?
• Homer: I would like you to play all of these!
  Roger (looks at list): Wait. Homer, a lot of these are Grand Funk Railroad songs!
  John: And we don't even know "Pac-Man Fever".
  Homer: Come on! It practically plays itself!
• Roger: Why don't you get auto-ring-up or as you Yanks call it "speed-dial"? (the town begins agreeing)
  Homer: Magic Bus!
  Town: Yeah! Magic Bus! Magic Bus!
  Roger: Alright! We'll play Magic Bus if you tear down this wall!
  Homer (pause): Pinball Wizard!
  Pete: Oh hell, I'll do it myself. (sets his amplifier to "WHUH-OH!")
• Homer: Uh, I have a question, Phoney.
  Lisa: It's a movie, Dad.
  Homer: Quiet, honey, Daddy's asking the man a question.

External links

• "A Tale of Two Springfields episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
• "A Tale of Two Springfields" at IMDb
• Complete Transcript
• Whatbadgerseat.com A spoof site created after the episode.