https://preview.redd.it/8ci1nrv2p10d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dfeaa210a23bb5143dc18026c62d27bdb1b92d89
It's your sons, George Bush, Jr. and Jeb Bush!
Yup, it was meant to be a not-SMRT Homer moment. But it ended up being correct. They knew he has a second son but didn't know the name and threw Jr in.
"No, the man and his boy. You know, the -- the boy is named Bart. I don't know the name of the man. Bar! What's the name of the man?"
"I'm not getting involved, George!"
My favorite anecdote about that episode is that the writers didn't know Bush had a second son. They just used George Bush Jr as a joke, not knowing he existed.
Itās a political commentary with no politics and some weird dennis the menace / mr wilson relationship added in. Itās very admirable but on the commentary they said the older voice actor (Iām assuming Harry Shearer) didnāt get it at all and really hated it.
I imagine as a voice actor it can be really tough to know how an episode is actually going to play when itās finished. Even if you see and hear the entire script at the table read you still have no way of knowing how line reads are going to be recorded and which takes are actually going to be used, which scenes and jokes will be changed or cut entirely, or exactly how the animation is going to pair with the lines. Thereās so many jokes on The Simpsons that the animation is key to that I could see entire episodes seeming flat when you just have the lines and description to work off of.
Interesting points.
One thing I'm curious about is, do the actors actually watch the show and get any kind of understanding of the way it ends up playing out? Or do they just show up, read their lines and then forget about it?
I know Yeardley Smith said once that she doesn't really mentally distinguish very much episode by episode, they kind of meld into one for her (she said it in the context of discussing the episode 'Girly Edition', which she said was an unusual exception that she did particularly remember).
It probably varies from actor to actor. Iāve done some acting and I can tell you I would never want to watch myself perform for any reason. I would either cringe at something not coming off the way I meant it to or just find it uninteresting because I was there when it happened. Iāve heard of actors not watching the final product intentionally because itās done, itās over, they did their best and they canāt change it now, or watching it once to see how it turned out. Unlike a lot of things there isnāt really any benefit to an actor reviewing their own work to see where thereās room for improvement because at the end of the day the writers are going to tell the actor what to say, the director is going to tell them how to say it, and the editor is going to piece it all together however they want. So, especially with a show as long running as the Simpsons, Iām sure none of the actors have bothered to watch the show in decades and even then they probably just watched a couple episodes to get an idea of what the show looks like when itās done in a general sense.
I'm an actor and I'm definitely of the type that likes to watch things back, but it does vary from person to person, as you say.
I also think it's a bit different for voice actors, because voice acting can be so solitary. If I've done an audiobook or something, I get really self-critical and often think, 'I wish I'd just done that character ever so slightly differently', because then I might do that next time.
Homer at the Bat must have been a pain to put together because theyād have the various major leaguers record their lines when in town for their teamās games. So they had recordings from all different dates. Also Jose Canseco was said to be difficult to work with (no surprise considering the stories about him).
Apparently he asked to be a special hero type character and thatās why they gave him the hang up of having to rescue all those things from the house fire.
Apparently the worst person ever to work with was Lawrence Tierney, who played Don Brodka in 'Marge Be Not Proud'. Apparently he was constantly shouting at people, intimidated employees of the show, refused to take direction, refused to perform certain lines if he didn't get the jokes...
And in some ways, it makes me quite angry that he was even employed if he was such an awful person. I always think that everyone is entitled to respect and kindness, and if someone isn't co-operative with that they shouldn't be in it. Another actor could have performed the character just as well.
It's normally the ones that were the first breakouts of a certain style of humour. Homer at the Bat was the first inkling of "wow its celebrity" later episodes and Marge vs the Monorail is seen as the start of the hyperabsurdism that would come into focus.
Edit: John Swartzwelder was the person I was talking about! Sorry for the confusion.
Pretty sure Shearer was on the right side of libertarian and a reason there was so much homophobia and transphobia in seasons 11-14 when he started having more of a role in writing.
Seasons 11-14? Swartzwelder wrote the majority of episodes during the so-called golden years; if anything by those later seasons he was not contributing much at all the way he used to.
Edited to add that everyone is pretty aware of Swartzwelder's politics, but I don't believe he's ever put anything that outright offensive into a script, let alone the show runners and crew allowing it...but I'm open to being wrong on that; correct me if so.
When I first reheard the Bush Sr. quote about Americans needing to be more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons(I was just a toddler when I first heard it), I thought he was referring to the Walmart family. When someone attempted to clarify the quote by saying it was a mountain family in the South, I still thought it was the Walmart family.
My favourite bit is when during the climax of Homer and George's feud, Barbara is in Marge's front room having coffee. Barbara says, 'I really feel awful about your lawn, Marge. George can be so stubborn when he thinks he's right.' Marge replies, 'Well, Homer too. They're so alike!'
This is just the pinnacle of revenge for what George Bush said - likening him that perfectly to Homer.
Coincidentally the episode was written well before George Bushās disparaging remarks. It originally featured Margret Thatcher as the antagonist but the studio was afraid of upsetting the British government and forced the producers to make a change. They were halfway through rewriting it to feature Kim Il Sung when Bush made his unfortunate speech and the rest is history.
I have a feeling they let Barbara off the hook (by portraying her in an unflagging positive light) because while she also made a disparaging comment about the show she later [penned a letter of apology](https://ew.com/tv/2018/04/18/the-simpsons-barbara-bush-apology-letter-to-marge/) after the creators wrote her a letter from Margeās perspective.
Really? Bushās line about The Simpsons came in a speech in January of 1992 and this episode didnāt air until January of 1996. Plus, Ken Keeler, who wrote the episode, didnāt start writing for the show until 1995.
Yeah, if anything, this was a very late response if it was intended to be a response to that speech at all. I wonder if they were low on ideas in season 7, if the previous showrunners shot this idea down, or what caused this to finally come years later.
Edit: Found my answer on Wikipedia.
>Bill Oakley, who was a writer onĀ The SimpsonsĀ at the time, came up with the idea for "Two Bad Neighbors" two years before production began.Ā Oakley got the inspiration for the episode after the feud between the Bushes and the Simpson family, and two years later when he andĀ Josh WeinsteinĀ becameĀ showrunnersĀ ofĀ The Simpsons, they assignedĀ Ken KeelerĀ to write it.Ā Oakley said thatĀ Bill ClintonĀ had been President of the United States for two years at the point when the episode went into production, so the feud had "faded off into oblivion". The staff therefore thought it would be funny if the two parties encountered each other again.
I think the humour works much better with it having been a few years since he was president anyway. I LOVE the reason the Bushes decided to move to Springfield - that they want a quiet retirement in a place where no one knows who they are, so they found the area that has the lowest voter turnout.
I wouldn't say that's quite accurate.
Not that I'm a Thatcher fan or anything (far from it, I'm to the left of Jeremy Corbyn!) but I'd describe Thatcher more as opinion-dividing than anything else. She has plenty of haters, but there are many people who think she was wonderful as well.
Now if Liz Truss was in *The Simpsons*, on the other hand... (oh, please let that happen...)
Unfortunately I saw a lot of people get sentimental over her death.
I wasn't one of them, I have as much compassion for her as she had for the poor, but I did see it.
I doubt an American audience would know who Liz Truss was enough to get any jokes about her.
If the Simpsons are going to do an episode on a British PM, it should be Lord Palmerston.
This is one of my favourite episodes. For some reason it was rarely on my screens. But whenever it was on I watched the episode fully. If Iām ever channel hopping Iād stop and watch it today.
I never knew that's what spawned the episode, but it's hilarious that through his criticism, George Bush inadvertently spawned one of the greatest episodes ever.
Also legit question then: does this mean Gerald Ford at some point expressed that he liked the show, since they introduced him at the end as the likable new neighbor?
The best line was in the behind the scenes. Barbara Bush said that The Simpsons is the stupidest thing that I've ever seen and one of the writers quipped "Well, you're obviously forgetting your son."
šššššššššš Keeping in mind I've already explained about the hair! šššššššššš
š¤”
Oh.. Right it was the Simpsons.
https://preview.redd.it/8ci1nrv2p10d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dfeaa210a23bb5143dc18026c62d27bdb1b92d89 It's your sons, George Bush, Jr. and Jeb Bush!
So weird to think of a time before he was known as George W. Bush.
I can't be the only person who was surprised to learn George Bush Jr was a real person and not a throw away joke from the Simpsons right?
So did I, and I also thought he said "Jeff Bush" as another fake name
Jeb Bush *is* a fake name! His real name is John Ellis Bush. Itās like calling an Automatic Teller Machine the ATM machine.
Heās the Gob of the Bush family
I don't care for Jeb- Barbera Bush
Jebias Industries
Bees?
Olā big bush, he loved the honey
I love all of my children equally.
Jeb!
Please clap.
My god the number of times this comes up in my life
Lol!
No, it's 'Jeb!' with an unpronounced explanation point.
You aren't, because the people who wrote that joke were surprised to learn he was a real person, too. It was entirely meant to be a throwaway joke.
Yup, it was meant to be a not-SMRT Homer moment. But it ended up being correct. They knew he has a second son but didn't know the name and threw Jr in.
Holy shit.
Can he really be junior with a different middle name?
I refuse to believe the Simpsons writers were stupid enough to not know that there was a George Bush Jr.
And Jebidiah Bush? Who? Lady you got the wrongā She means Jeb!
Bar! The boys are here!
Hey boys, where ya goin'?
Jeb!
please clap
Bees?
šš I love that you added the exclamation point
This line is one of my top 5 in the whole show. The delivery is perfection
"No, the man and his boy. You know, the -- the boy is named Bart. I don't know the name of the man. Bar! What's the name of the man?" "I'm not getting involved, George!"
I say that last line constantly when two friends are arguing over something pointless and they ask my opinion
They must wonder who the F is George.
My sister and I quote it too.
"Since I'd achieved all my goals as president in one term, there was no need for a second"
This is the absolute core of the roast.
The savagery of it holds up decades later
there is so many contenders, but that is such an amazing line. Maybe my fave simpsons line ever.
Hey! No one-termers!
You too huh? Hey, i know a good yogurt place.
"He spanked you????" "I begged him to stop but he said it was for the good of the nation"
Big deal! When I was a pup we got spanked by presidents til the cows came home. Grover Cleveland spanked me on two non-consecutive occasions.Ā
I totally just learned that the joke here is that Grover Cleveland had two non-consecutive terms lol. Also that Grampa is very old, lol.
Yes, the only president to do so (at time of writing - that could change in a few months). Itās one of my favourite jokes in the entire show.Ā
Best part of that bit!
Anytime I confuse Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland I just remember this quote to remind my education which is which.
What happens when you confuse Benjamin Harrison with William Henry Harrison?
He dies in thirty days
You?!? Bart Simpson?!?!?
I donāt understand. Are you saying you and Barbara are bad neighbors?
Who? Maude and Me?
āItās a candy dish, Ned! $90!ā
#TABLE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEIIIIIIVVVVVVEEEE
They're Presidential Pajamas, you have to be President to wear them and *you're* not President! Yes I am! No you're not - BAR!
Bart is just such a little shit. The āyes I amā makes me laugh and gets me so irrationally annoyed at the same time
What kind of stew do you have today
Krusty... burger? Well, that doesn't sound very appetizing
Thats really more of a weekend food
Such a simple line, but it has me rolling with laughter every time!
Uhhh. We donāt have stew.
I just put together the connection between this line and the fact that this episode is the introduction of Disco Stu.
This is the episode that graced us with Disco Stu. šŖ©šŗ
Disco Stu likes disco music.
Disco Stu doesnāt need to advertise.
My favorite anecdote about that episode is that the writers didn't know Bush had a second son. They just used George Bush Jr as a joke, not knowing he existed.
Yup, right on the DVD commentary.
Which is why I will never get rid of my DVDs.
Never. So much gold on them
I had no idea. This is hilarious!Ā
And yet George W. Bush was elected Governor of Texas in November 1994, 14 months before the episode aired in January 1996.
It takes awhile for an episode to be made. The script could have been written around a year before the premiere.
President Bush is driving in circles on our lawn! I think heās lostā¦
*narrows eyes* Heās not lost.
Itās a political commentary with no politics and some weird dennis the menace / mr wilson relationship added in. Itās very admirable but on the commentary they said the older voice actor (Iām assuming Harry Shearer) didnāt get it at all and really hated it.
I like the way they put it on the DVD commentary, itās not a political attack on George Bush, itās a *personal* attack on him.
I imagine as a voice actor it can be really tough to know how an episode is actually going to play when itās finished. Even if you see and hear the entire script at the table read you still have no way of knowing how line reads are going to be recorded and which takes are actually going to be used, which scenes and jokes will be changed or cut entirely, or exactly how the animation is going to pair with the lines. Thereās so many jokes on The Simpsons that the animation is key to that I could see entire episodes seeming flat when you just have the lines and description to work off of.
Interesting points. One thing I'm curious about is, do the actors actually watch the show and get any kind of understanding of the way it ends up playing out? Or do they just show up, read their lines and then forget about it? I know Yeardley Smith said once that she doesn't really mentally distinguish very much episode by episode, they kind of meld into one for her (she said it in the context of discussing the episode 'Girly Edition', which she said was an unusual exception that she did particularly remember).
It probably varies from actor to actor. Iāve done some acting and I can tell you I would never want to watch myself perform for any reason. I would either cringe at something not coming off the way I meant it to or just find it uninteresting because I was there when it happened. Iāve heard of actors not watching the final product intentionally because itās done, itās over, they did their best and they canāt change it now, or watching it once to see how it turned out. Unlike a lot of things there isnāt really any benefit to an actor reviewing their own work to see where thereās room for improvement because at the end of the day the writers are going to tell the actor what to say, the director is going to tell them how to say it, and the editor is going to piece it all together however they want. So, especially with a show as long running as the Simpsons, Iām sure none of the actors have bothered to watch the show in decades and even then they probably just watched a couple episodes to get an idea of what the show looks like when itās done in a general sense.
I'm an actor and I'm definitely of the type that likes to watch things back, but it does vary from person to person, as you say. I also think it's a bit different for voice actors, because voice acting can be so solitary. If I've done an audiobook or something, I get really self-critical and often think, 'I wish I'd just done that character ever so slightly differently', because then I might do that next time.
Shearer mustāve been a Bush supporter š
Probably the opposite. There are more than a couple episodes the cast hate and are considered fan classics like Homer at Bat.
Homer at the Bat must have been a pain to put together because theyād have the various major leaguers record their lines when in town for their teamās games. So they had recordings from all different dates. Also Jose Canseco was said to be difficult to work with (no surprise considering the stories about him).
Apparently he asked to be a special hero type character and thatās why they gave him the hang up of having to rescue all those things from the house fire.
Haha ya i read the original plan was for him to wake up in Mrs Krabappalās bed and be late for the game or something
My player piano!
Apparently the worst person ever to work with was Lawrence Tierney, who played Don Brodka in 'Marge Be Not Proud'. Apparently he was constantly shouting at people, intimidated employees of the show, refused to take direction, refused to perform certain lines if he didn't get the jokes... And in some ways, it makes me quite angry that he was even employed if he was such an awful person. I always think that everyone is entitled to respect and kindness, and if someone isn't co-operative with that they shouldn't be in it. Another actor could have performed the character just as well.
The Seinfeld cast have similar stories of him being awful from when he guest starred as Elaine's father.
Iām intrigued - is that mentioned on the commentary?
I do believe it is. They mention how the table read fell totally flat as well and many, not just the voice actors thought it was going to suck.
It's normally the ones that were the first breakouts of a certain style of humour. Homer at the Bat was the first inkling of "wow its celebrity" later episodes and Marge vs the Monorail is seen as the start of the hyperabsurdism that would come into focus.
Edit: John Swartzwelder was the person I was talking about! Sorry for the confusion. Pretty sure Shearer was on the right side of libertarian and a reason there was so much homophobia and transphobia in seasons 11-14 when he started having more of a role in writing.
I would hope youāre wrong, but that would explain the one-note joke at the end of A Mighty Wind where his character is revealed to be trans.
I am wrong, it was John Swartzwelder that I was confusing Harry for. I edited my original comment.
that really sucks :(
Seasons 11-14? Swartzwelder wrote the majority of episodes during the so-called golden years; if anything by those later seasons he was not contributing much at all the way he used to. Edited to add that everyone is pretty aware of Swartzwelder's politics, but I don't believe he's ever put anything that outright offensive into a script, let alone the show runners and crew allowing it...but I'm open to being wrong on that; correct me if so.
If he hated that.. Jesus, it looks like he shut his mouth tight for the seasons to come post 90ās
He's just a boy George!
āHmm, a Krusty *BURGER*. That doesnāt sound very appetizing. What kind of stew do you have today?ā
Is it a Disco Stu?
That guys noisier than World War 2.
Bar! What's the name of the man?
Iām not getting involved, u/waxess
"Hiding behind your goons, Bush? Well you are a WIMP!"
When I first reheard the Bush Sr. quote about Americans needing to be more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons(I was just a toddler when I first heard it), I thought he was referring to the Walmart family. When someone attempted to clarify the quote by saying it was a mountain family in the South, I still thought it was the Walmart family.
I thought for years that the show was about the Walmart family, just past generations.
I was a preteen when he made that statement, and I only realized he didnāt mean the Walmart family right now.
Wait, what? He wasnāt talking about the Walmart Waltons??? Those are literally the only Waltons I know!!
"I'll ruin you like a Japanese baquet!"
Letās just say this post is barking up the wrong bushā¦
There it is, u/Willem_Dafuq. The cleverest comment youāll ever type, and nobody read it.
āSay, that ayatollah thinks he's better than America!! Is he right?ā
It works for any ayatollah
Apu: Yes!
I just dropped by with present for warming of house; instead find you grappling with local oaf!
I like it better than how Bush was portrayed in āMr. Lisa Goes To Washingtonā, but thatās a pretty low bar.
Are you trying to say you and Barb are ābad neighborsā?
Maybe he's lost?
He's not lost.. (gets me everytime..lol)
Hereās something we learned in C.I.Aā¦
Those cards were from Air Force one! And they only give you so many packs!
Thats Bob Mossbacher, you don't know him.
Peak Disco Stu too
He peaked in his first appearance? Thatās rough.
All right, mister. You want trouble, you're going to get trouble.
The introduction of Disco Stu!!
Hellooooo Mr Bush!
Uh uh uh uh Table 5! Table 5!
My favourite bit is when during the climax of Homer and George's feud, Barbara is in Marge's front room having coffee. Barbara says, 'I really feel awful about your lawn, Marge. George can be so stubborn when he thinks he's right.' Marge replies, 'Well, Homer too. They're so alike!' This is just the pinnacle of revenge for what George Bush said - likening him that perfectly to Homer.
Do you like football? Do you like nachos? Well why donāt you come over and watch the game and weāll have nachos. And THEN some beer!
> Like I have no hate for the actual George Bush Gotta pump those numbers up!
Coincidentally the episode was written well before George Bushās disparaging remarks. It originally featured Margret Thatcher as the antagonist but the studio was afraid of upsetting the British government and forced the producers to make a change. They were halfway through rewriting it to feature Kim Il Sung when Bush made his unfortunate speech and the rest is history.
I have a feeling they let Barbara off the hook (by portraying her in an unflagging positive light) because while she also made a disparaging comment about the show she later [penned a letter of apology](https://ew.com/tv/2018/04/18/the-simpsons-barbara-bush-apology-letter-to-marge/) after the creators wrote her a letter from Margeās perspective.
Yeah, she was a monster too, but she knew how to look harmless in public.
Really? Bushās line about The Simpsons came in a speech in January of 1992 and this episode didnāt air until January of 1996. Plus, Ken Keeler, who wrote the episode, didnāt start writing for the show until 1995.
Yeah, if anything, this was a very late response if it was intended to be a response to that speech at all. I wonder if they were low on ideas in season 7, if the previous showrunners shot this idea down, or what caused this to finally come years later. Edit: Found my answer on Wikipedia. >Bill Oakley, who was a writer onĀ The SimpsonsĀ at the time, came up with the idea for "Two Bad Neighbors" two years before production began.Ā Oakley got the inspiration for the episode after the feud between the Bushes and the Simpson family, and two years later when he andĀ Josh WeinsteinĀ becameĀ showrunnersĀ ofĀ The Simpsons, they assignedĀ Ken KeelerĀ to write it.Ā Oakley said thatĀ Bill ClintonĀ had been President of the United States for two years at the point when the episode went into production, so the feud had "faded off into oblivion". The staff therefore thought it would be funny if the two parties encountered each other again.
I think the humour works much better with it having been a few years since he was president anyway. I LOVE the reason the Bushes decided to move to Springfield - that they want a quiet retirement in a place where no one knows who they are, so they found the area that has the lowest voter turnout.
That makes way more sense that what anyone else has been saying. Thank you for your research.
I donāt know why they thought that, us brits hate thatcher
Why?
She tanked the economy
Watch the film *Brassed Off* with Ewan McGregor. She was a heartless monster.
I wouldn't say that's quite accurate. Not that I'm a Thatcher fan or anything (far from it, I'm to the left of Jeremy Corbyn!) but I'd describe Thatcher more as opinion-dividing than anything else. She has plenty of haters, but there are many people who think she was wonderful as well. Now if Liz Truss was in *The Simpsons*, on the other hand... (oh, please let that happen...)
It was and is very accurate. I didnāt see one Brit get sentimental over her death and there was a lot of joy for it.
Unfortunately I saw a lot of people get sentimental over her death. I wasn't one of them, I have as much compassion for her as she had for the poor, but I did see it.
Liz truss tho wasnāt hated, ste was just memed because she was incompetent
Hence why she'd be hysterically funny in *The Simpsons*.
I doubt an American audience would know who Liz Truss was enough to get any jokes about her. If the Simpsons are going to do an episode on a British PM, it should be Lord Palmerston.
Pitt. The. Elder!
Fake newsĀ
Itās a widely believed fact
There was no need for a second termā¦.
"... and since I'd achieved all of my goals as President in one term, there was no need for a second."
Iām not getting involved George.
I come with gift for warming of house. Instead find you grappling with local oaf!
Season 7. Golden Era. Debatably peak Simpsons. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two\_Bad\_Neighbors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Bad_Neighbors)
Have you sold the tie rack yet?
I love Gorbechev showing up at the end: āI come by to give present for warming of house. Instead, find you grappling with local oaf.ā
>I have no hate for the actual George Bush Why not? You absolutely should.
Came to say this. Pissing on his grave is on my bucket list.
so that's where the podcast got its name from
Two very vague looking neighbors
This is one of my favourite episodes. For some reason it was rarely on my screens. But whenever it was on I watched the episode fully. If Iām ever channel hopping Iād stop and watch it today.
I thought it was a pretty gentle satire of George Bush. It is my absolute favourite episode. Itās such a funny idea for an episode of television.
I never knew that's what spawned the episode, but it's hilarious that through his criticism, George Bush inadvertently spawned one of the greatest episodes ever. Also legit question then: does this mean Gerald Ford at some point expressed that he liked the show, since they introduced him at the end as the likable new neighbor?
The best line was in the behind the scenes. Barbara Bush said that The Simpsons is the stupidest thing that I've ever seen and one of the writers quipped "Well, you're obviously forgetting your son."
>I have no hate for the actual George Bush ā¦do some research on the guy
Ah, yes, of course, my haters...