| "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 8 Episode 13 | ||
| Directed by | Chuck Sheetz | ||
| Written by | Al Jean Mike Reiss | ||
| Production codes | 3F27[1] 3G03 | ||
| Original air date | February 7, 1997 (1997-02-07) | ||
| Guest appearance | |||
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| Episode features | |||
| Chalkboard gag | "I will not hide the teacher'sProzac"[2] | ||
| Couch gag | The living room is empty. Outside,Homer is struggling with a locked front door while the other members of the family wait impatiently.[3] | ||
| Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Chuck Sheetz David Silverman | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| The Simpsonsseason 8 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as "SimpsoncalifragilisticexpialaD'oh!cious" is the thirteenth episode of theeighth season of the American animated television seriesThe Simpsons, that originally aired on theFox network in the United States on February 7, 1997. WhenMarge becomes stressed, the Simpsons hire a nanny, aMary Poppins parody named Shary Bobbins (voiced byMaggie Roswell). The episode was directed byChuck Sheetz and written and executive produced byAl Jean andMike Reiss.[3] It was the last episode for which Reiss received a writing credit. In 2014, Jean selected it as one of five essential episodes in the show's history.[4]
When Marge finds that she islosing her hair at an alarming rate, she visitsDr. Hibbert, who informs her that stress is the cause. TheSimpson family decide to hire a nanny to perform housework and childcare while Marge recovers. They are unable to find anyone suitable until a woman glides from the sky with a magical-parrot headed umbrella, introducing herself as Shary Bobbins. She is deemed perfect and is hired. Shary proves helpful for the Simpson family, and Marge's hair grows back once her stress subsides. As the reformed family sits down to a perfect dinner, Shary declares her work done and prepares to leave, only for the family to instantly revert to their original state of dysfunction the moment she steps out of the house. Resignedly, she decides to stay, and is ultimately forced to whenGrampa accidentally takes her umbrella.
The family begins to treat Shary poorly, and they lose interest in her zest for life and zealous reform. Declaring that the Simpsons will be the death of her, Shary spirals intodepression. She becomes analcoholic and channels her misery into her singing. Realizing the effect the Simpsons have had on Shary, Marge admits that nothing can change them, and the family expresses their contentment with their lives through a song. Shary accepts that she can do nothing to change the Simpsons' lives and bids farewell to the family as she glides away into the sky using her umbrella; unbeknownst to the Simpsons, she is soon killed after she is sucked into the engine of a passing airplane.
Although the majority of the season eight episodes wereexecutive produced byBill Oakley andJosh Weinstein, former executive producersAl Jean andMike Reiss had signed a deal withDisney that allowed them to produce four episodes ofThe Simpsons.[5] The idea for this episode originated several years before its airdate when Jean and Reiss were the regular showrunners. The idea was pitched at a writers' retreat by Jean but nobody had wanted to flesh it out. After being allowed to come back to produce some episodes, Jean and Reiss decided to write this episode.[5] At first, Reiss was against the episode and felt that it was a bad idea.[6] He felt that the plot was slightly ridiculous and that the show should not feature any magic; except for a few moments, he largely kept magic out of the episode. He now considers it one of the best episodes that he co-wrote.[6] At the time, "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" had more music in it than any other episode.[7] While writing, Jean thought that the songs would stretch out and make the episode the proper length but it was considerably shorter than required.[5] Several additional scenes, such as the full-lengthopening sequence and theItchy & Scratchy segment, were added to pad out the episode.[5] There was originally a sequence whereBart,Lisa and Shary visitPatty and Selma who sing "We Love to Smoke", a parody of "I Love to Laugh".[5] The song was cut because it wasn't getting any laughs but the full version was included on the albumGo Simpsonic with The Simpsons and a brief animated version was included as a deleted scene on the Season 8DVD.[5] During the end song,Homer can be seen dancing along but not singing; this was because the producers forgot to recordDan Castellaneta.[6] Many of the scenes were animated byEric Stefani, a former member ofNo Doubt, who specialized in animation for musical numbers.[7]
Julie Andrews (who portrayed the titular role inMary Poppins) was originally slated to appear in the episode as Shary, but in the end, the producers went with series regularMaggie Roswell after hearing Roswell's reading for the part.[6][8]Quentin Tarantino was also asked to guest star as himself in the Itchy and Scratchy short, but he did not want to deliver the lines required, believing them to be insulting.[5] Instead, regular Dan Castellaneta did the voice.[9]
The overall plot is a reference to the 1964 Disney filmMary Poppins and the book series it was adapted from; Shary Bobbins is based on the characterMary Poppins and the episode title is a spoof of the word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from the film. Several of the musical numbers are direct parodies of songs from the film, including "The Perfect Nanny", "The Life I Lead", "A Spoonful of Sugar" and "Feed the Birds"; adeleted scene featuresPatty and Selma singing their version of "I Love to Laugh".[5]
The montage of Marge losing her hair features the song "Hair" from themusical of the same name (though the version heard isThe Cowsills version).[10] Homer says he has seenMrs. Doubtfire and believes that some of the candidates for the role of nanny are men in drag.[5] Homer's imagination is a parody of the dancing characters inSteamboat Willie and features the song "Turkey in the Straw".[10] In the park,Groundskeeper Willie is seen singing a cover version of "Maniac" byMichael Sembello. The scene where Principal Skinner attempts to sell Jimbo is a reference to a similar scene inDickens'sOliver Twist, more specifically he yells "Boy for Sale", a reference to a song in the musical film adaptationOliver!
TheItchy & Scratchy short "Reservoir Cats" is a parody of the scene inQuentin Tarantino's 1992 filmReservoir Dogs where Mr. Blonde cuts off the ear of the police officer. The sequence features the same setting, camera angles and music — "Stuck in the Middle With You" byStealers Wheel. At the end, Itchy and Scratchy dance in a manner similar to that seen in Tarantino's 1994 filmPulp Fiction.[5] Tarantino was originally hired to voice himself, but he disliked the dialogue he was given. The role was then given to Dan Castellaneta.
Shary andBarney Gumble sing a drunken rendition ofJimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville".[5]
Krusty's television special "Krusty Komedy Klassic" subtly lampshades the implications from its initials which are the same for theKu Klux Klan. Krusty's "Mad About Shoe" sketch is a reference to theNBC sitcomMad About You, while the unseen "NYPD Shoe" sketch references theABC dramaNYPD Blue.
Principal Skinner is seen in a short, anachronistically Victorian scene, trying to sell Jimbo Jones in the park ("Boy for sale!"). He answers Jimbo's doubts by stating that this is legal only in Springfield's state and inMississippi. Until 2009 there was actually no law in Mississippi prohibiting thesale of children.[11]
In its original broadcast, "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" finished 76th in ratings for the week of February 3–9, 1997, with aNielsen rating of 5.6, equivalent to approximately 5.4 million viewing households.[12]
Alf Clausen received anEmmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Music Direction" for this episode.[13]
In 2014, writers for the series picked "Reservoir Cats" from this episode as one of their nine favorite "Itchy & Scratchy" episodes of all time.[14]
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