All Singing, All Dancing
Encyclopedia
"All Singing, All Dancing" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons
' ninth season
and originally aired on the Fox
network on January 4, 1998. In it, the fourth clip show
aired by The Simpsons, Homer claims he hates singing, so Marge shows family videos of musical numbers from the previous seasons of the series. The original material was directed by Mark Ervin and was the first episode written by Steve O'Donnell
. It was executive produced by David Mirkin
. It features guest appearances from George Harrison
, Patrick Stewart
and Phil Hartman
, although these are all clips and none of them recorded original material for the episode.
Homer
rents Paint Your Wagon
, which he thinks will be a shoot-em-up Western, since it stars Clint Eastwood
and Lee Marvin
. Both he and Bart are dismayed to find out that it is actually a musical
, and express their distaste for such films. Marge is baffled by this, saying that they both love singing. The family starts delivering their dialogue in song form, and Marge decides to prove that Homer and Bart love to sing by showing family videos. Several clips are shown of various songs from past episodes, but Bart and Homer are not convinced. At this moment, Snake Jailbird breaks into their house and decides to hold them hostage. However once he hears them singing, Snake decides that they wouldn't make good hostages and leaves.
The family continues to sing and more videos are shown, this time of other Springfield citizens. Snake again breaks into the house and claims that he got a song stuck in his head and the only way to get rid of it is to kill the Simpsons. He tries to shoot them, but discovers that his gun is out of ammo and leaves again. Although Bart is now convinced, Homer is still not. Marge points out that everyone in town loves to sing, and more clips are shown. Homer is finally convinced and admits that there is something worse than singing: "when a long running series does a cheesy clip show."
Snake returns for a final time, with ammunition, and aims his gun at them, but Marge reveals that they are done singing. Snake declares that he has no problems with them, and leaves. During the end credits, Snake hears the theme song being played over the credits, and stops it with his gun.
Many of them are among the most popular songs from the show, "Who Needs The Kwik-E-Mart?", "We Do" had previously been nominated for best song at the Primetime Emmy Award
s, and "We Put the Spring in Springfield" won the award in 1997.
(which, in production order, preceded this episode). Executive producer David Mirkin
hated doing clip shows and "wouldn't do them if we had a choice" and this is referenced at the end of the episode. The episode contains two "screw the audience act breaks" in which a major problem is presented before the commercial but suddenly ends after the break. The episode also had problems with the censors as they objected to scenes of Snake pointing his shotgun at Maggie (a baby character). In spite of this, "All Singing, All Dancing" is one of the few episodes of The Simpsons that has been given a G-rating on American television.
from the Dollars Trilogy
movies. The movie Paint Your Wagon
is referenced at the beginning of the episode. The film does star Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin and was directed Joshua Logan
, but the writers did not base their parody or the song on the film at all. The man in the movie that confronts Clint Eastwood is modelled after Lee Van Cleef
.
Several of the songs featured in the episode are references to actual musicals
. "Springfield, Springfield", sung by Bart and Milhouse, is a reference to "New York, New York
", from On the Town. Krusty's "Send in the Clowns" uses different lyrics than the original version by Stephen Sondheim
. Confidence man
Lyle Lanley's "The Monorail Song" takes references from a performance by character Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man
, including Lanley's costume and "the crowd's mindless acceptance of his deceitful proposal." "See My Vest" is a parody of the song "Be Our Guest
", sung by Jerry Orbach
in the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast
. While at the First Church of Springfield, Bart substitutes the lyrics from Iron Butterfly
's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" to "In the Garden of Eden".
of 9.1, equivalent to approximately 8.9 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
.
Although he normally hates clip shows, David Mirkin liked this episode because of the singing and dancing and called the clips "truly wonderful". The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote "for a clips show, it's not bad. The only one missing really is "Dr Zaius" from "A Fish Called Selma
". In his book Planet Simpson, author Chris Turner wrote "when songs spring up one at a time, you might notice a clever line or two, or the way that they serve the same kind of plot-advancing or energy-generating purposes they do in Singin' in the Rain
or Cats
, but piled together in ["All Singing, All Dancing"], they amount to a sort of Simpsonian side project: Springfield: The Musical. And ... it's a very impressive side project at that. The episode was nominated for a 1998 Emmy Award
, in the "Music Direction" category. A review of The Simpsons season 9 DVD release in the Daily Post
noted that it includes "super illustrated colour commentaries" on "All Singing, All Dancing" and "Lost Our Lisa
". Isaac Mitchell-Frey of the Herald Sun
cited the episode as a "low moment" of the season, noting it "recycles parts of previous episodes".
Michael Dunne analyzed the episode in his book American Film Musical Themes and Forms, and gave examples from it while explaining that singing and dancing performances are generally not seen as acceptable in the television medium. He notes that Homer calls singing "fruity" and "the lowest form of communication" during the episode. However, Dunne also notes the fact that Homer himself sings "his objection that musicals are fake and phony." Dunne describes the frame narrative as establishing Marge as "..more favorably disposed toward musicals than the males in her house." Dunne concluded that "musicals come out on top in this episode, but the victory is marginal at best." Of the episode itself, Dunne wrote that "..the parodies contained in the show demonstrate that its creators are familiar enough with various forms of musical performance to echo them and confident enough that their viewers will catch the references."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
and originally aired on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on January 4, 1998. In it, the fourth clip show
Clip show
A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
aired by The Simpsons, Homer claims he hates singing, so Marge shows family videos of musical numbers from the previous seasons of the series. The original material was directed by Mark Ervin and was the first episode written by Steve O'Donnell
Steve O'Donnell (writer)
Steve O'Donnell is an American television writer. His credits include The Simpsons, Seinfeld, The Chris Rock Show and Late Night with David Letterman.He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated with an A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1976...
. It was executive produced by David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
. It features guest appearances from George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
and Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
, although these are all clips and none of them recorded original material for the episode.
Plot
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
rents Paint Your Wagon
Paint Your Wagon (film)
Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
, which he thinks will be a shoot-em-up Western, since it stars Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
and Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
. Both he and Bart are dismayed to find out that it is actually a musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, and express their distaste for such films. Marge is baffled by this, saying that they both love singing. The family starts delivering their dialogue in song form, and Marge decides to prove that Homer and Bart love to sing by showing family videos. Several clips are shown of various songs from past episodes, but Bart and Homer are not convinced. At this moment, Snake Jailbird breaks into their house and decides to hold them hostage. However once he hears them singing, Snake decides that they wouldn't make good hostages and leaves.
The family continues to sing and more videos are shown, this time of other Springfield citizens. Snake again breaks into the house and claims that he got a song stuck in his head and the only way to get rid of it is to kill the Simpsons. He tries to shoot them, but discovers that his gun is out of ammo and leaves again. Although Bart is now convinced, Homer is still not. Marge points out that everyone in town loves to sing, and more clips are shown. Homer is finally convinced and admits that there is something worse than singing: "when a long running series does a cheesy clip show."
Snake returns for a final time, with ammunition, and aims his gun at them, but Marge reveals that they are done singing. Snake declares that he has no problems with them, and leaves. During the end credits, Snake hears the theme song being played over the credits, and stops it with his gun.
Songs
The clip show features several full songs from previous episodes of The Simpsons.| Episode | Season | Song | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Homer's Barbershop Quartet Homer's Barbershop Quartet "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles... " |
5 | "Baby on Board" | |
| "Bart After Dark Bart After Dark "Bart After Dark" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons eighth season, first aired by the Fox network on November 24, 1996. After accidentally breaking a stone gargoyle at a local house, Bart is forced to work there as punishment. He assumes it will be boring work, but is pleasantly surprised when... " |
8 | "We Put the Spring in Springfield Springfield (The Simpsons) Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its... " |
|
| "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" | 5 | "Springfield, Springfield" | |
| "Homer and Apu Homer and Apu "Homer and Apu" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 1994. In the episode, Homer participates in a hidden camera investigation of the expired meat selling at the Kwik-E-Mart. Apu is immediately fired and... " |
5 | "Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart Kwik-E-Mart The Kwik-E-Mart is a fictional chain of convenience stores in the animated television series The Simpsons. It is a parody of American convenience store chains, such as 7-Eleven and Circle K, and represents many myths and stereotypes of them. It is notorious for its high prices and the poor quality... ?" |
|
| "Krusty Gets Kancelled Krusty Gets Kancelled "Krusty Gets Kancelled" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 13, 1993. In the episode, a new show featuring a puppet named Gabbo premieres in Springfield and competes with Krusty the Clown's show... " |
4 | Krusty's version of "Send In the Clowns Send in the Clowns "Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she... " |
|
| "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds Two Dozen and One Greyhounds "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" is the 20th episode of The Simpsons sixth season and originally aired on April 9, 1995. The episode was written by Mike Scully and directed by Bob Anderson. Frank Welker guest stars as Santa's Little Helper and various other dogs. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper... " |
6 | "See My Vest" | |
| "Marge vs. the Monorail Marge vs. the Monorail "Marge vs. the Monorail" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsonss fourth season and originally aired on January 14, 1993. The plot focuses around Springfield's purchase of a monorail from a conman, and Marge's dislike of the purchase. It was written by Conan O'Brien and directed by Rich Moore... " |
4 | "The Monorail Song" | |
| "Bart Sells His Soul Bart Sells His Soul "Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network, on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart pranks churchgoers by replacing the music to a hymn with a psychedelic rock song, so Reverend Lovejoy forces him and Milhouse... " |
7 | "In the Garden of Eden" (really "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The... ) |
|
| "Homer the Great Homer the Great "Homer the Great" is the twelfth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 8, 1995. In the episode, Homer discovers that Lenny and Carl are members of the ancient secret society known as the Stonecutters... " |
6 | "We Do" |
Many of them are among the most popular songs from the show, "Who Needs The Kwik-E-Mart?", "We Do" had previously been nominated for best song at the Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
s, and "We Put the Spring in Springfield" won the award in 1997.
Production
The episode is the fourth and penultimate clip show episode of The Simpsons. It was put together by Steve O'Donnell, who wrote this episode and The Joy of SectThe Joy of Sect
"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult called the "Movementarians" takes over Springfield, and Homer and the rest of the Simpson family become members...
(which, in production order, preceded this episode). Executive producer David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
hated doing clip shows and "wouldn't do them if we had a choice" and this is referenced at the end of the episode. The episode contains two "screw the audience act breaks" in which a major problem is presented before the commercial but suddenly ends after the break. The episode also had problems with the censors as they objected to scenes of Snake pointing his shotgun at Maggie (a baby character). In spite of this, "All Singing, All Dancing" is one of the few episodes of The Simpsons that has been given a G-rating on American television.
Cultural references
Clint Eastwood is dressed as the Man with No NameMan with No Name
The man with no name is a stock character in Western films, but the term usually applies specifically to the character played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy."...
from the Dollars Trilogy
Dollars Trilogy
The "Dollars Trilogy" , also known as the "Man with No Name Trilogy", refers to the three Spaghetti Westerns starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dollars , For a Few Dollars More , and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly .A Fistful of Dollars is an unofficial remake of...
movies. The movie Paint Your Wagon
Paint Your Wagon (film)
Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
is referenced at the beginning of the episode. The film does star Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin and was directed Joshua Logan
Joshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III was an American stage and film director and writer.-Early years:Logan was born in Texarkana, Texas, the son of Susan and Joshua Lockwood Logan. When he was three years old his father committed suicide...
, but the writers did not base their parody or the song on the film at all. The man in the movie that confronts Clint Eastwood is modelled after Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
.
Several of the songs featured in the episode are references to actual musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. "Springfield, Springfield", sung by Bart and Milhouse, is a reference to "New York, New York
New York, New York (On The Town)
"New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town and the 1949 MGM musical film of the same name. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town...
", from On the Town. Krusty's "Send in the Clowns" uses different lyrics than the original version by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
. Confidence man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
Lyle Lanley's "The Monorail Song" takes references from a performance by character Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
, including Lanley's costume and "the crowd's mindless acceptance of his deceitful proposal." "See My Vest" is a parody of the song "Be Our Guest
Be Our Guest
"Be Our Guest" is a 1991 Academy Award-nominated song from the animated film, Beauty and the Beast. The music was written by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman. The song was sung by Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, and other singers in the background chorus. The song was nominated for an Academy...
", sung by Jerry Orbach
Jerry Orbach
Jerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
in the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
. While at the First Church of Springfield, Bart substitutes the lyrics from Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" to "In the Garden of Eden".
Reception
In its original broadcast, "All Singing, All Dancing" finished 26th in ratings for the week of December 29, 1997 - January 4, 1998, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 9.1, equivalent to approximately 8.9 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
.
Although he normally hates clip shows, David Mirkin liked this episode because of the singing and dancing and called the clips "truly wonderful". The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote "for a clips show, it's not bad. The only one missing really is "Dr Zaius" from "A Fish Called Selma
A Fish Called Selma
"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and originally aired on March 24, 1996. The episode sees Troy McClure attempt to resurrect his acting career by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to...
". In his book Planet Simpson, author Chris Turner wrote "when songs spring up one at a time, you might notice a clever line or two, or the way that they serve the same kind of plot-advancing or energy-generating purposes they do in Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain (musical)
Singin' in the Rain is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown.Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, the plot closely adheres to the original...
or Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
, but piled together in ["All Singing, All Dancing"], they amount to a sort of Simpsonian side project: Springfield: The Musical. And ... it's a very impressive side project at that. The episode was nominated for a 1998 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
, in the "Music Direction" category. A review of The Simpsons season 9 DVD release in the Daily Post
Liverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
noted that it includes "super illustrated colour commentaries" on "All Singing, All Dancing" and "Lost Our Lisa
Lost Our Lisa
"Lost Our Lisa" is the twenty-fourth episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired May 10, 1998 on Fox. The episode contains the last appearance of character Lionel Hutz. When Lisa learns that Marge cannot give her a ride to the museum and forbids her to take the bus, she tricks...
". Isaac Mitchell-Frey of the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
cited the episode as a "low moment" of the season, noting it "recycles parts of previous episodes".
Michael Dunne analyzed the episode in his book American Film Musical Themes and Forms, and gave examples from it while explaining that singing and dancing performances are generally not seen as acceptable in the television medium. He notes that Homer calls singing "fruity" and "the lowest form of communication" during the episode. However, Dunne also notes the fact that Homer himself sings "his objection that musicals are fake and phony." Dunne describes the frame narrative as establishing Marge as "..more favorably disposed toward musicals than the males in her house." Dunne concluded that "musicals come out on top in this episode, but the victory is marginal at best." Of the episode itself, Dunne wrote that "..the parodies contained in the show demonstrate that its creators are familiar enough with various forms of musical performance to echo them and confident enough that their viewers will catch the references."
External links
- "All Singing, All Dancing" at The Simpsons.com