Talking Simpsons - Homer at the Bat With Dave Schilling
Added 2023-01-18 05:00:01 +0000 UTCWe welcome back podcaster/writer Dave Schilling--check out his recent LA Times journalism--as we dig into the show's iconic tribute to the national pastime! Yes, we're examining Homer's magical ascent to the top of local softball, all to be undone by Mr. Burns' cheating of hiring nine different ringers. Learn about the making of this fan favorite, explanations of some of the deeper baseball references, and tons more. So shave those sideburns and join us for this week's podcast!
Comments
The storyboard artist, Raymie Muzquiz, posted the scrapped Bull Durham scene on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/mashymilkiesinc/656551033470894080/look-what-i-found-storyboards-cut-from-the
rubber cat
2023-01-24 21:08:28 +0000 UTCthe new episode of The Simpsons about vlogging was very funny but hopefully the George R.R. Martin gag becomes immediately outdated 😆
Pikachu Ferrari
2023-01-23 12:57:10 +0000 UTCI am convinced the ending was inspired by the 1987 made-for-HBO film LONG GONE starring William Petersen (of CSI fame) about a minor league team in 1957 finally reaching the pennant due to getting a few new heavy hitters. The evil owners of the rival team bribe them to sit out the game. At the end they rebel & play. Spoiler alert: With bases loaded & panicking that he will strike out, Petersen taunts the pitcher into beaning him in the head to win the game. This film was constantly in rotation on HBO just 5 years prior to "Homer At The Bat" so I'd be surprised if it wasn't fresh in the minds of the writing staff. LONG GONE is funny, tackles racism & baseball myths, & features amazing performances from Petersen, Dermot Mulroney, & a luscious Virginia Madsen at her peak. Highly praised by The NY Times & many other critics, this cult classic is worth seeing. It's on YouTube, people.
James Babbo
2023-01-21 23:54:15 +0000 UTCSteinbrenner was also a notorious d-bag. NOBODY liked Steinbrenner. Growing up as a Yankee fan, I very much enjoyed that comment
nalem
2023-01-20 03:27:38 +0000 UTCFor me, the dvd releases helped me watch episodes that was hardly ever shown on syndication. I only got to see episodes from season 8 and up when it was on syndication.
Blarghjon
2023-01-19 20:58:59 +0000 UTCThis was a big episode for me as a kid growing up in New Hampshire. The Boston Red Sox were really the only sports team I cared about, and Roger Clemens was my favorite player on the team. I was a little disappointed he was essentially turned into a chicken, but the episode was and still is great. Almost every line is a joke of some kind and it holds up so well. The only criticism I have is Burns using the "Duh" line since it's too out of character for me. This is an old man whose slang should be exceptionally dated. I'm guessing the thinking was having Burns say that was funny since it's unexpected, but they're usually better at keeping Burns strictly in his lane. That said, top 10 episode for me and probably top 3. I just love it. And if I could be allowed to be pedantic a moment, I would argue 7 misfortunes befell the ringers in this episode. The 8th would be Mattingly, who didn't suffer an actual misfortune, but was fired by Burns for his choice of hairstyle which Burns apparently could not ignore. Which is definitely something George Steinbrenner would have done. He only allowed his players to sport a neatly trimmed moustache which makes a lot of those old Yankees teams look like a collection of 70s porn stars now.
Joe Hodgson
2023-01-19 20:34:19 +0000 UTCI love this episode, but being a Simpsons fan made me hate baseball. It felt like every attempt to watch new episodes of any Sunday night cartoon block was thwarted by MLB interruptions. I simply gave up and only watched those shows in syndication. Fuck baseball, I want cartoons.
Andrew O.
2023-01-19 19:58:19 +0000 UTCI've always had an image of Ozzie Smith being the nicest, most fun-loving guy thanks to this ep, and this solidifies it Boo to the baseball players who haven't bothered taking 25 minutes out of their lives to see themselves guesting on one of the greatest TV shows of all time
nina matsumoto
2023-01-19 17:48:24 +0000 UTCThe part about Jose Canseco's name being auto-corrected reminded me of the UK Blu-Ray for the 1990 Ninja Turtles movie where, for some reason, one of the subtitles reads: "A Hoseiken Seiko bat? Tell me you didn't pay money for this!"
To Boldy Joe... Moore
2023-01-19 16:01:48 +0000 UTCI seem to remember Ozzie Smith saying something about wanting to come back for an episode since he technically didn't die or something to that effect.
Aaron Alcott
2023-01-19 15:56:52 +0000 UTCAs a fellow gay I got a good chuckle out of Bob asking Henry if he's ever worn a jock strap.
PurpleComet
2023-01-19 06:55:03 +0000 UTCThis is how I learned the meaning of the word thrice as well although I thought it was a joke at first like one of Mr. Burns' many old timey lines.
littleterr0r
2023-01-19 05:03:28 +0000 UTCOne of the biggest differences between '90s baseball and baseball now is that the 90s was probably the last time you can assemble nine guest stars from the MLB and not include a single non-American. By 1995, Hideo Nomo would be easily the best pitcher on the Dodgers roster. If it were made today you would have to have Japanese, Korean, Cuban, Mexican, and of course, Dominican players. Also, just as an aside, the current mayor of Burbank as of the premiere of this podcast is Konstantin Anthony, a democratic socialist! As a native of Burbank, I NEVER thought anyone on the left would become mayor, but I'm very proud he is. The Family Guy joke about Burbank is pretty accurate, we have close to a half-dozen horror-themed stores, but also a surprising number of gun shops!
Matt LS
2023-01-19 00:30:23 +0000 UTCIt's so weird to me that this is considered such a classic episode because I don't remember it being in syndication or even watching it on my homemade Simpsons tapes, but maybe it just wasn't played a lot in my area.
littleterr0r
2023-01-19 00:03:40 +0000 UTC
