Viva Ned Flanders
| "Viva Ned Flanders" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:AABF06.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 10 |
| Directed by | Neil Affleck |
| Written by | David M. Stern |
| Original air dates | January 10, 1999 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "My mother is not dating Jerry Seinfeld" |
| Couch gag | A live-action hand spins a picture of the family, and the ink splatters. |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Mike Scully George Meyer Ron Hauge Julie Thacker Neil Affleck |
"Viva Ned Flanders" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons' tenth season. It first aired on January 10, 1999.
Synopsis
Springfield is without a casino when Mr. Burns' Casino (see "$pringfield") is demolished. Unfortunately, a mixup over whether demolitions are supposed to involve implosions or explosions results in the Casino being blasted into a huge dust cloud. The family goes to the car wash to get rid of the dust, and when Homer is there, he sees that Ned Flanders gets a senior discount. At church, Flanders admits to Homer that he is sixty years old. He says that he follows the three "c"s of success: clean living, chewing thoroughly, and "a daily dose of vitamin Church!" However, he also has never lived impulsively, and never really had any fun in life. The rest of the town stops admiring Ned for living so well, and begins to pity him for having never truly lived at all.
Ned reluctantly agrees with this and asks Homer to teach him the secret to his lust for life, leading Homer to take him on a gambling trip to Las Vegas. Homer is confident about going there, but Flanders is nervous. They see Captain Lance Murdoch (from "Bart the Daredevil") doing one of his stunts, and Homer chooses to volunteer, and survives. They wander into a casino "Nero's Palace" and begin to play roulette. Ned protests based on Deuteronomy 7 but Homer ignores the protest and takes the reference as a lucky number and they win. They then immediately lose it all. They then go to the casino's bar and get drunk, waking up the next morning in their hotel room.
Later on, Homer and Ned realize that they have married two cocktail waitresses: Homer's new wife is named Amber, and Ned's new wife is Ginger. The waitresses say that they are married to them, and prove it through a video tape. Homer and Ned try to escape from the waitresses, and go on a wild rampage through the casino, until they are confronted by casino security, Ernst and Gunter (also from "$pringfield"), Drederick Tatum, and the Moody Blues. They escape the casino, but are booted out of the casino, and say that they are not welcome to Las Vegas again. Homer and Ned head back to their real wives in Springfield by hitchhiking. Meanwhile, two vultures flew by to attack Homer and Ned, and while they were screaming, Homer tells Ned to cover his own eyes.
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. |
- First appearance of the Vegas wives: Amber and Ginger.
- Homer correctly states Adolf Hitler's birthday as April 20 and identifies it with Barney's which is the same day in the scene where Flanders and Homer are at the roulette table. Because the Columbine High School Shootings were intentionally executed on that date, the line was changed in the third Fox network airing (September 19, 1999) to July 15, same as Lassie's (the line about Lassie's birthday was in the closed captions of the original version and the syndicated versions). The syndicated versions have the original line about Hitler's birthday.
- The episode would later have a sequel, which is rare for the Simpsons. In the episode "Brawl in the Family" the Vegas wives would return for their spouses, causing more problems for Ned and Homer. In the season 18 episode, Jazzy and the Pussycats, it is revealed that Homer's Vegas wife died of a drug overdose.
Cultural references
- The episode title is an obvious spoof on the Elvis Presley song Viva Las Vegas, which even plays during the episode and during the ending credits.
- When Ned and Homer drive down the road to Las Vegas they pass two guys in a red convertible who bear a strong resemblance to Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The animation turns to a style like Ralph Steadman's artwork from Fear & Loathing.
- The poem quoted by Graeme Edge and Justin Hayward is a re-worked version of "Late Lament", the poem that follows "Nights in White Satin" on their Days of Future Passed album.
- Homer sings a botched version of Deep Purple's song Highway Star replacing the word "car" with "Ned"
- Ned says "When I want to laugh, I'll take Bob Saget." Ned likes him presumably because of the wholesome image Saget earned while starring on the family shows Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos. The irony is that Bob Saget is actually a stand-up comedian whose material is considered risque and contains foul language.
- Ned wonders what his wife will think about his Vegas marriage by yelling out "And then there's Maude! And then there's Maude!" These were the lyrics to the theme song from the '70s TV series Maude starring Bea Arthur.
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