WEBVTT - Episode 1,000: The Simpsons Spectacular Part II 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.519 Hey everybody, this is Chuck here with a tour show announcement. 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:07.720 We're gonna be back at Sketch Pest this year in 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:12.160 January and lovely San Francisco. We don't have the firm 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:14.360 date on that yet, but stay tuned for details, but 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:17.599 we do know when we're gonna be in Seattle and Portland. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:21.639 We're gonna be in Seattle on January in Portland the 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:26.480 next day January. That's at the More Theater and Revolution Hall, respectively. 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:29.520 And there is a pre sale going on today for 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:32.919 the Seattle show. Used the code Hippie Rob. You can 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:36.120 either go to the More Theater website or just go 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:40.000 to h T T P colon slash slash bit dot 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:43.320 d o slash Seattle Live and use the code hippy 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:45.640 Rob to get your pre sale tickets. Portland goes on 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:49.479 sale tomorrow and that would be bit dot d o 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.040 slash p d X Live. Come out and see us, everybody. 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:57.360 We're looking forward to these. Welcome to Stuff you Should 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:06.560 Know from how Stuff Works dot com. Hey, and welcome 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:11.479 to the podcast again to the actual real episode one 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:16.040 thousand of Stuff you Should Know, The one thousand episode 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.200 of Stuff You Should Know. I'm Josh Clark, there's Charles W. 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:23.680 Chuck Bryant, there's Jerry over there, Chuck. Episode one thousand 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:25.800 is upon us right now. You know what my mom 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:27.560 used to always say when I was a little kid. 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:30.760 She said, son, if you live your life right, one day, 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:34.080 you're going to have a four digit podcast. Wow. You 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:39.319 know she had some real predictive powers. Absolutely. Oh, I'm 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:41.759 gonna take her to the horse track. Uh, you should 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:43.920 do that. And we should probably just get right into 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:46.000 this since we left everyone with the cliffhanger. Hunh yeah, 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.760 I agreed, agreed, Everyone's like shut up. I almost feel 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:50.760 like we should apologize for splitting this up. But this 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:53.960 just there's no way to get this done in one episode. Nope, 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:58.360 there really isn't. All right. So, uh, you may remember 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:04.120 us from certain podcasts as Simpsons Tribute. Uh. When we 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:06.920 left off, I believe we had told our writer's room story. 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:09.720 We had, so that's as far as we got. No, 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:11.640 we got to the table read part. Yeah, that's what 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.360 I mean, sorry, table table read story. So once the 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:18.760 table read happens, then all of the um is everybody 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:20.240 with us. I guess they've had a few days for 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:24.359 this to stew right to discus stew. Yeah, there's another 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:29.040 great one too. Um. So after the table read, everybody's 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:31.519 kind of got their ideas down, the notes get sent 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.480 out and it's get made that kind of thing, and 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:38.680 then the voice actors all go do their parts. And 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:40.840 I think a lot of people think that they're all 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.239 in the same room together acting off of one another. 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:46.239 That is not at all the case. Yeah, I mean 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:48.560 this is this is no surprise, like people know, that's 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:50.200 how animation works. You don't all get in the big 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:53.880 room and read to each other. Well, you do by yourself, right, 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.320 And um, it's really up to the director now at 0:02:57.320 --> 0:02:59.640 this point. So once the once the show or the 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.440 episods get divided up or whatever, they get handed off 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:06.520 to directors. And there's multiple directors for the Simpsons, right, 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:10.120 and so the director, or I should say, in this case, 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.600 I think it's the producer who would be handling the 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.280 audio bit at this part, and the director really is 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.359 working on the animation part. But they they go off 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:22.160 and they record the audio, the dialogue and the sound, 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:26.560 and they handed off and at the same time there 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:30.680 are animators who are working very closely with the director. 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:35.360 Two bring the script to life and to do that. 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:39.560 This is totally different from a live action show, right, 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:41.720 because at a live action show, you write the script 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:43.360 and then people mess with the script or whatever, and 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:45.240 you rehearse it and everything, and then you shoot it. 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.320 This is different. You have to draw everything out. There's 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:52.880 a several extra steps for any animated show, and from 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:57.080 what I understand, the Simpsons do far more than any 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:00.560 other animated show on television today. It's way more are expensive, 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.680 there's way more steps, but you could argue it produces 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:10.520 a really polished finished product. Yeah, And the steps really 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:13.920 begin as far as animation is concerned, by creating a 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.960 storyboard slash story reel. Yeah, and this whole process soup 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:20.480 to nuts can take about six to eight months from 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.760 pitching the episode of having a completed episode. So they're 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:27.520 they're constantly working this process, Like as soon as they've 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.800 have recorded those lines, there's already writers working on the 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.320 other episode, just like a just a constant cycle going basically. Right, 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:36.920 There's different groups of writers, there's different groups of directors 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:40.520 and producers and and animators, and they're they're working simultaneously 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.160 on on multiple episodes. All right, So we're at the 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.640 story reel and what the story reel does. It Uh, 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:48.760 sort of just sets the basics down for each scene, 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.760 how you position the characters, what kind of expressions they're making, 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:56.040 what's going on in the background. And then this goes 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.919 on to more artists who refine that storyboard and story 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:04.480 right and so um, apparently they used to do storyboard 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:07.720 and then story reel, which is like, Um, the storyboard 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:09.599 is just like a bunch of skills I've seen it 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:13.400 compared to like a picture book maybe, whereas like a 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:16.880 story reel would have a little more movement and animation 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:20.680 and motion to it. Apparently they've combined those now in 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:25.320 their process. And then there's also another step called layout, 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:28.400 and I think layout is takes the longest of all 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:33.120 of the parts of putting an episode together, because again, 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:35.839 if you compare it to like a live action television show, 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.960 when you shoot a rehearsal, the director and the producer 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:42.320 and the writers can go back and watch and then 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:45.960 make notes. When you're animating a show, you have to 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:50.320 animate that rehearsal. You have to animate the rehearsal so 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.480 that the director and the head of the showrunner and 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:56.720 and the everybody else can can get together and then 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:59.520 make those notes. So you have to kind of animate 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:01.800 it first, and you want to get it to a 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:06.719 certain level of completion so that you you know what's 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:10.359 going to come out ultimately in the end. UM, but 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:14.680 you you stop short of actually animating the entire thing 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:19.400 because apparently the Simpsons shoot their UM show in like 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.880 twenty four frames per second, and what they're doing, say 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:25.120 as far as layout, which is about the most finished 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:29.039 product they're going to do in the house, UM is 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:31.920 maybe a third of that or a quarter of that. 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:34.640 So that means somebody has to go and fill it in. 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:37.400 And once they've got everything set and we'll talk more 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:40.800 about that, they send it overseas. Yeah, and uh with 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.200 this layout, Like we talked earlier about the style guide 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:45.000 in the show Bible, and this is where that really 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:48.520 comes into play because you have different people drawing and 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:51.919 everyone has their own style unto themselves, but you have 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:54.719 to remain true to the show, so that show Bible 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:57.840 and style guide are really sort of the rules of 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.600 the show that everyone can refer to you and say 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:07.080 no when Homer yells literally like his lips, do this exactly, 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:09.560 Like that's how that's how it works. And we can't 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:12.640 deviate from that. It's got to be consistent, right, And um, 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:15.640 I saw a couple of style guides. And for example, 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:18.920 if you look closely, I never noticed this, but the 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:22.880 nose always overlaps the eye. I has never drawn over 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:27.480 the nose. Um. Their teeth are never square or pointy. 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.640 They're always slightly rounded, but not two round. So you'll 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.920 see like examples of these things, and you'll see examples 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:36.840 of yes and no kind of thing. Um. And here's 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.200 a bit of trivia for you, especially if you're an 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:43.880 animation nerd. Bart's body minus his shoes, but from his 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:47.320 shoes up is two heads high, so his body and 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:49.680 his head are the same size. Interesting, And then you 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:51.520 have his shoes, and if you put all those three 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:57.080 things together you have a correctly proportioned Bart. That's pretty good, alright. 0:07:57.080 --> 0:07:59.520 So once you have the layout done, you have moved 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:03.200 on to some thing called an exposure sheet. This is 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:06.760 a pretty complicated chart basically that really breaks down in 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:11.320 super super precise detail, each frame and everything in the 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:15.800 entire episode. So so think about this, Chuck, The Simpsons 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:20.440 shoots twenty four frames per second, and let's say that 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:24.960 it's the average episode is twenty two minutes of actual content, right, 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.520 So if you'll allow me to pull out my Texas 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:32.360 instrument pocket calculator as I am doing right now, we're 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:37.240 gonna do twenty four times sixty times twenty two equals 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.800 thirty one thousand, six hundred and eighty frames and say 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:46.120 a twenty two minute episode. Okay, amazing, amazing indeed, So 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:48.800 get this man with those exposure sheets you were just mentioning. 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:52.040 Every single one of those thirty one thousand, six d 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:57.440 eighty frames is accounted for. Everything that's going on in 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:01.800 every single one of those frames is down and accounted for, 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.680 like not not just like the movements of Homer's eyes 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:09.720 or what Homer's doing, but also what the background characters 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:14.079 are doing, how how whispy um Patty or Selma's cigarette 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:19.120 smoke is um. And you do this for every single character, 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:23.920 whether foreground or background, in every single scene, in every 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:27.600 every single frame of every single episode for thirty years. 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:32.199 Isn't that insane? Yeah, they break down words into phonems 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:36.560 so they can so everything just matches up in times 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:40.480 outright for not only to be realistic but for comedy, 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:43.840 right exactly, And the whole reason they're doing. This is 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.800 for what I said earlier that the people who actually 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:51.360 do the animation, the people who draw those thirty one thousand, 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:55.480 eight hundred and sixty frames for every episode, they're located 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:59.959 overseas UM. I think with the Simpsons in particular, they 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:05.120 work with a Calm, which is a South Korean company UM, 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:10.720 and they do the actual animation. Most animation from here 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:13.880 in the States has actually done overseas in Asia for 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:18.120 the most part, the final animation, right, Uh, the ones 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:21.319 who who the people who do the actual like animation 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.520 of every single frame. So up to the point here 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:28.400 in the United States in house, they've gotten it pretty close. 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.480 But again they've just maybe animated a quarter or a 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:33.920 sixth of the actual frames that are going to be 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:38.000 animated for the episode. And they've gotten it as far 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.600 as they have because they're trying to work out the acting, 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:43.920 the comedic timing, making sure that all the facial expressions 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:45.760 are right and the movements are right. But then the 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:49.320 people actually go through and animate those frames based on 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:55.920 that frame by frame bible for every single episode, and 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:58.320 it it serves as a blueprint for both the animators 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:00.760 and for the Simpsons creators because they can point to 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:02.440 and be like, no, we didn't want this, you guys 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:06.199 need to reanimate that. Supposedly, and this is like the 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:11.719 most mind bending, lee detailed process anyone's ever done. Supposedly 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.199 the Simpsons kept it up longer than anybody, but even 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:18.520 they have moved to almost all digital process now. Yeah, 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:20.640 I mean they use software that has streamlined some of 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:25.160 this um but it's not like they plug things into 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:28.319 a computer and it animates things, you know, right, No, no, 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:30.839 they're they're just using it to say, like, rather than 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:36.760 using a film stock to to slowly capture each phoneme 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:39.800 frame by frame. Now it's all digitized, like they can 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:43.600 upload the audio, upload the layout and put them together 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:45.880 in time. It like that, which is I'm sure the 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:50.000 productions assistance lives are so much better now. Yeah. And 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:52.760 of course once it's animated, it comes back from ACoM 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.880 in South Korea, and then it's sent to the editor 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.920 and producers. They're gonna add all the music that of course, 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:03.800 the iconic score from Danny Elfman, and it's edited all 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.160 together and you slap it on the television, slap it 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:10.760 on the behind. Wow, I know. And each one of 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:15.240 those takes about six months right to get an episode 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.480 done and again, like I've read south Park can can 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:21.319 be done in a week. Well, yeah, that's how they 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:23.679 there's that great documentary about south Park. How but they 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:27.160 put together a show and um, they do that so 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:31.640 they can stay super super current, which is how that 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.280 show works. You know. Yeah, for sure, different beast and 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:37.120 I mean it looks good too, especially once they made 0:12:37.160 --> 0:12:40.119 their mark on this is what this style of animation 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.400 looks like. Now it's just like you're You're totally absorbed 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.520 into their world the moment you see it, you know. 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:51.319 All Right, So let's talk a little bit about Springfield. Um, 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:55.440 the beloved Springfield, USA, where the show is set. It 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:59.280 has been a a running joke over the years. Graining 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:01.920 picked Ringfield because there are many many springfields in the 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:05.559 country here in the United States, and one of the 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.679 running jokes is that they have never named where exactly 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:14.040 what state Springfield is in and shall not no, although 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.640 supposedly in I don't know, the last couple of years, 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:19.360 he gave an interview and said that he named it 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:23.800 after Springfield, Oregon because he's apparently from Portland's and so 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:26.520 everybody's like, oh, that's where Springfield is. And I think 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:30.840 the next episode they released Bart's chalkboard gag said Springfield 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:36.160 is in any state that but yours, not yeah, but yours. Yeah. 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:38.559 And I mean, I think he might have named it 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:40.840 because a lot of the streets in Portland or in 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:44.960 The Simpsons as well, but his characters. But I don't 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:46.679 think he was saying and this is why they did that. 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:48.520 I don't think he was saying, hey, it's an Oregon. 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:52.280 That's just where he got the name originally, right. I think, yeah, 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:54.679 the reason he chose that name was just to make 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:58.880 it as generic as possible and as relatable as possible 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:02.240 to any you know, small town. And the grab stir 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:07.360 makes a pretty good point, Um that simply that Springfield 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:11.640 is you could mistake it for any small town. Everybody 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:16.000 knows everybody else's name, everybody knows everyone else's business. Um, 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:19.120 it's just a small town. But then, just to keep 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:20.840 the plot going, and this is one of the great 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:24.160 benefits of making it an animated show, it also has 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:27.880 a gorge. It has not one, but two mountains. It 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:33.200 has like world class museums, an airport, Yeah, volcano has 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:37.640 a squid port, like the the the waterside um area 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.240 that they redeveloped. Um has malls, it has a casino, 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:46.240 It's got like all this stuff. Um. And so it's 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:48.520 a relatable small town. But at the same time, they 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.680 just played with it and made it as big as 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:53.680 they want it to be too. Uh. Yeah. And of course, 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:56.600 aside from all the big, huge things, the Simpsons has 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:58.120 got a lot of comedy over the years from the 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:02.360 names of the businesses. Um. A few of my favorites. Uh. 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.920 There was a pastry shop called the French Confection. Uh. 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:09.360 There was a there are a museums Louve American Style. 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:12.640 Did you ever watch that show Love American Style? Yeah, 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:16.000 it was so great. Um. The soup kitchen was called 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:21.160 Helter Shelter. Uh. And there was a seafood restaurant called 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:23.920 the Frying Dutchmen. And those are just a few. That's 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:27.760 like sort of a long running gag is to get 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.800 good pun names out of the businesses. So there um. 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:34.240 In addition to Matt Graining saying that it was that 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:37.520 he chose or he named it after Springfield, Oregon, there's 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:42.160 an episode that um certain purists point to is the 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.360 tipping point where the Simpsons went from good to bad 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:49.680 it was the end of season ten, and the episode 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.400 was like a behind the Laughter or behind the Music parody. Yeah, 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.200 it was called behind the Laughter, remember that one? And 0:15:56.240 --> 0:16:00.560 in it they at the very end the narrator references 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:05.240 them as a north northern Kentucky family but they knew 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:07.480 that they yeah, And I was like, well, they just 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:10.920 said it. But then apparently for reruns they had the 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:15.480 narrator also recorded different a couple of other um states, 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:18.760 so it's just totally up in the air. One of 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:24.160 them was apparently um Lena I like Lanai Hawaii Springfield 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.280 Lani Hawaii apparently is a place, but it's it's not, 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:31.040 of course. And then just to kind of they took 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:34.920 that fact that that they never identified Springfield and they 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.640 managed to use that as like a running gag as well. Right, 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:43.120 So the referential humor that the show is is deeply 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.680 involved in also was self referential too, and that like 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:49.840 anytime somebody went to point to a map where Springfield was, 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.200 somebody would get in front of the camera and between 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:56.480 you and the camera, um or would suddenly talk over 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:59.800 somebody who was about to say what state Springfield was in. 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:02.360 So it just became a kind of an in joke 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.119 for people who watched The Simpsons as well. Yeah, and 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:07.640 I think Ned even at one point said the state 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:13.680 borders Kentucky, Maine, Nevada in Ohio. So no one knows 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:17.639 where springfields. But I think that bart chalkboard thing was. 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.320 It was the closest we'll ever get to it. And 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:23.200 who wants why would why would you want to know 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.200 where it is? You know what? I know. I get 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:28.560 that certain nerds might be like, I want to solve this, 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.919 but to me, that's just part of the charm of 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:34.680 the show, you know, agreed. So um, I want to 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:36.920 say something. I mentioned museums, and you mentioned the louve 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.359 American style. I wonder if that was the one. But 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:42.480 there was one episode where the Simpsons went to a 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:46.840 museum and they took the audio tour, and the audio 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:50.960 tour was hosted by Melanie Griffith. But rather than like 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:54.160 talk about the paintings, the whole thing consisted of her going, 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:58.240 oh this one's nice. Look at this one. Oh this 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:01.280 painting is nice. Let's see it's in the next room. Oh, 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.960 this room is nice. Like that was the audio tour. 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.560 That's great. It was great. Man. So aside from the 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:11.560 multiple universities, the sports teams and stadiums, the International Airport, 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.680 the tire fire, the mystery spot, and all the huge 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.359 landmarks in this small town you're gonna see. The Simpsons 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:21.200 spent a lot of time at places like Quickie Mark uh, 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:25.040 most tavern, the power plant, power plant where Homer works, 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:28.040 Springfield Elementary where Barton leasas been going to school for 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:31.640 thirty years, which is I think that he decided early 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:33.400 on he didn't want to age the characters at all. 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.160 It was a good choice, yeah, because you can go 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:40.679 on forever. Bad news for Maggie because she doesn't have 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:44.439 many lines. Yeah, that's true. And I think Matt Greening 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:48.760 does the pacifiers suck too? Yeah? Uh. And of course 0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:51.479 next door to Homer lives one Ned Flanders with his family. 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:54.000 And here's another little tidbit that I did not know. 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.160 I don't know how it got past me, but apparently 0:18:56.200 --> 0:19:01.080 Ned Flanders is sixty years old. Yeah, he's he's cut 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:05.200 his youthful looks with a healthy dose of vitamin Church. Yeah. 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:07.840 It always cracks me up that Ned just looks like 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:11.439 a normal guy until, like like in the skiing episode 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:13.199 where they were skiing when he's all buff and his 0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:16.560 buns are all tight, and or in the street car 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:19.000 named Marge episode, he has to take his his shirt 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:22.640 off because he's playing Stanley Kawalski, I think, and he's 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:26.560 like ripped. It's so funny. Yeah, all right, well, let's 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.440 take a break here. We're gonna come back and talk 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.560 a little bit about the odd episode numbering code right 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:54.840 after this. Alright, So if you're a Simpsons fan, you 0:19:54.920 --> 0:20:00.480 might say, what about season seven episode three didn't for us? 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:03.160 That is good enough for us, But you'd be mistaken 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:07.639 because they have a very uh what's the word, not obscure, 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:11.240 but just very convoluted way of numbering their episodes. Yeah, 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:14.000 they do it. So remember they're working on multiple episodes 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:17.560 at once, and not all of those episodes make it 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:20.400 into the same season. So the way that they keep 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:24.119 track of their episodes is by batch number. And I 0:20:24.160 --> 0:20:26.560 didn't see anywhere how many can be in a batch, 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:32.480 did you? Uh No, But let's say let's say between 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:36.840 six and a baker's dozen't okay, that's my guest stab 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:39.399 in the dark, and maybe magraining will right into correct 0:20:39.520 --> 0:20:42.480 us one way or another, I hope. So, but um, 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:47.400 the batch number and letter is the first two digits 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:51.960 or um whatever you want to call them, number or 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:54.560 number and letter. Sorry, right, that's what I was having 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:58.919 problems with. So like, for example, season four, episode six, 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.920 that would be UM nine F zero three, and the 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:07.000 zero three is the number that the episode had in 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:09.320 the batch. So it really has nothing to do with 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:11.560 release data where it fell in the season. It had 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:14.840 to do with when it was assigned an inner production. Yeah. 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:17.679 I think what's important is that they get it. Yeah, 0:21:17.840 --> 0:21:21.280 and then they even switched later in the series two. Uh, 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:27.840 letter codes only, isn't that right? Uh? They changed the 0:21:27.960 --> 0:21:31.800 UM well, now not letter codes only, because season ten, 0:21:31.840 --> 0:21:35.480 episode thirteen would be A A B F zero nine, right, 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:38.919 so they changed the batch code to letters. Okay, all right, 0:21:39.560 --> 0:21:42.040 and god knows what A A B F O nine sanswer. 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.760 But but even Chuck, like, as far as I'm concerned, UM, 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:50.359 if you are referencing an episode and you say something 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:54.560 like season four, episode six, I don't know what episode 0:21:54.560 --> 0:21:59.520 that is, Um, I don't even go by title. I 0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:02.720 just go by the one about this well, yeah, I 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:05.280 mean let's say I go by title when it's obvious, 0:22:05.480 --> 0:22:09.280 like march versus the monorail, UM but yeah, I usually 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:11.959 will go by yeah, the one where you know Homer 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:16.359 did blank right exactly, That's what Friends did. Yeah, that 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:19.680 was actually the title though, right. Yeah. So Season four, 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:21.320 episode six, by the way, was the one about the 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:24.879 Itchy and Scratchy movie, which Bart is banned from seeing 0:22:24.880 --> 0:22:27.720 but ends up becoming a Supreme Court justice because Homer 0:22:27.760 --> 0:22:32.119 took the stand and punished him. Um. So, they have 0:22:32.359 --> 0:22:35.280 many staples on the show that they've done over the years. 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:39.640 We mentioned the blackboard gag at the beginning of the intro, uh, 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:42.000 and the intro itself is has got some long running 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:46.440 gags besides Bart writing different messages on the chalkboard during 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:49.640 the tension hall over and over the couch gag when 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:52.720 the family runs in finally all together into the living 0:22:52.800 --> 0:22:55.480 room to get on the couch. It's always something different 0:22:55.560 --> 0:22:58.480 and special and funny, and apparently some of them are 0:22:58.480 --> 0:23:03.440 like way longer than others. Um, they will add seconds 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:07.720 onto it if like an episode came in shorter than 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:09.879 they meant it too. Yeah, it's kind of nice to 0:23:09.880 --> 0:23:12.840 have that leeway to play with, I think, and they've 0:23:12.840 --> 0:23:17.720 actually made pretty good hey by outsourcing that too. Um yeah, 0:23:18.080 --> 0:23:22.159 to like guest animators like Guiarmo del Toro Banks he 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.000 did one. Um, so they're actually doing those. I just 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:27.760 thought it was sort of an homage. No, No, they're 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:30.399 they're either actually animating them or coming up with the 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:34.880 idea or directing them. Um. Don Hertzfeld did one. Bill 0:23:34.920 --> 0:23:39.040 Plimpton did one. John Krick Falsey, I've never known how 0:23:39.080 --> 0:23:41.160 to say his name, but the guy who did Running Stimpy, 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:44.160