Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
Encyclopedia
"Double, Double, Boy in Trouble" is the third episode of the The Simpsons
' twentieth season, and first aired October 19, 2008. Bart meets the rich Simon Woosterfield, who happens to be Bart's exact look-alike
. Because of this, the two decide to switch homes; Simon enjoys his time with the Simpsons while Bart discovers his rich new half-brother and sister are out to kill him, so they can inherit the vast Woosterfield family fortune. Former NFL football great Joe Montana
guest stars as himself. In its original airing, the episode garnered a strong 8.09 million viewers.
The boys decide to secretly switch places and live each others lives for a while by trading their clothes in the bathroom. Bart likes his new life as a rich child however when he invites Milhouse over Simon's half siblings Devan and Quimbly put a spoon heated by a lighter in his mouth as he is blocking their full inheritance of the family fortune. Simon does not like his life as Marge cooked noodles with root beer and Cheetos he did not eat it. So Homer eats it and chews with his mouth open. When Simon is sent to bed without supper after calling Homer a spu-monkey for spitting food on him, Marge gives him pizza with no crusts and tucks him in. (This sequence would later provide the inspiration for "Postcards from the Wedge
", as it introduces the key plot for that episode) The next day the Woosterfields hold a party for all the rich people. When Devan and Quimbly lock him in the Woosterfield mausoleum telling him that the bodies turn to candy, Mr. Burn's gets him out. He tells Bart he was once the youngest in a wealthy family and his siblings all murdered each other in order to get the entire fortune mostly by poisonous potatoes. Bart realizes that Devan and Quimbly want to murder him in order to get the fortune and Simon inheritance.
When Simon listens to Abraham's stories Lisa concludes that Simon is an imposter and Simon explains his story to the family and that Devan and Quimbly are taking Bart to Aspen where they'll try to kill him so they can get his inheritance. Bart begins to start packing to leave however Devan and Quimbly are taking him to Aspen in order to kill him. Before the Simpsons get to him Quimbly pushes Bart down a hill only for experienced skiers. When Devan says that they'll split Simon's inheritance Quimbly offers Devan an implied poisoned potato (Devan's faith remains unknown) believing Simon to be dead so she'll get the entire fortune. Homer manages to save Bart in time and Simon is returned to his family with a hot fudge sundae by his butler Chester. The episode ends with Bart in bed saying "This is the life."
. Early in the episode, Homer makes a reference to Dennis the Menace
. The plot is a parody of Mark Twain
's novel The Prince and the Pauper
.
. Robert Canning of IGN said, "It was a far from groundbreaking episode, to be sure, but our familiarity of the characters and the fair amount of laughs made for yet another pleasurable viewing experience". He went on to say, "The story as a whole was interesting and the jokes were funny enough to elicit several audible guffaws" and rated the episode a 7.8 out of 10. Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict said, "'Double Double' scores a solid B on the laugh-o-meter. While there weren't many guffaws, I chuckled more than a few times."
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...
Look-alike
A look-alike is a person who closely resembles another person. In popular Western culture, a look-alike is a person who bears a close physical resemblance to a celebrity, politician or member of royalty. Many look-alikes earn a living by making guest appearances at public events or performing on...
. Because of this, the two decide to switch homes; Simon enjoys his time with the Simpsons while Bart discovers his rich new half-brother and sister are out to kill him, so they can inherit the vast Woosterfield family fortune. Former NFL football great Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
guest stars as himself. In its original airing, the episode garnered a strong 8.09 million viewers.
Plot
The episode begins off with Maggie, Homer and Bart at the Kwik-E Mart. Apu tries to get Homer to buy the last lottery ticket claiming the last ticket is always lucky. When Homer is about to take money out to buy the ticket, Bart decides to jump off a shelf and land in Chief Wiggum's cart full of marshmallows. However Wiggum moves the cart and Homer must rescue him. When he is about to land Lenny comes and buys the ticket. Lenny wins $50,000 which Homer gets jealous of. Apu decides to put it in his book The Ironic Tales of the Kwik-E Mart. At Moe's Tavern Lenny announces he is going to spend his winnings on a giant party at Woosterfield Hotel. The family can't find Bart before leaving but Bart is actually upstairs in the attic with a water gun full of cat urine. When he is about to shoot it at Rod and Todd Flanders in a wagon below, Marge steps in and Bart accidentally sprays Marge. After that Marge must wear her "back up dress". Homer and Marge wonder why Bart cannot behave and come to conclusion when Marge had a small drop of beer when Mayor Quimbly broke a bottle full of beer against a ship. When Marge opened her mouth a small drop of alcohol went in traveling to the infant. When it finally did the baby got spiky hair and its eye became Bart as a chorus sings Bart's catchphrase. At Lenny's party Bart discovers that Lenny will give out vacuuming robots in gift bags. Bart activates all the bad settings on them secretly. When everyone finds out Marge takes away Bart's non dice board game privileges after Bart says she already took away his TV and video game privileges. In the bathroom Bart meets his look alike the rich Simon Woosterfield youngest child of the Woosterfields that are billionaires richer than Mr. Burns. They also meet an adult Bart who has a wife that looks like Milhouse.The boys decide to secretly switch places and live each others lives for a while by trading their clothes in the bathroom. Bart likes his new life as a rich child however when he invites Milhouse over Simon's half siblings Devan and Quimbly put a spoon heated by a lighter in his mouth as he is blocking their full inheritance of the family fortune. Simon does not like his life as Marge cooked noodles with root beer and Cheetos he did not eat it. So Homer eats it and chews with his mouth open. When Simon is sent to bed without supper after calling Homer a spu-monkey for spitting food on him, Marge gives him pizza with no crusts and tucks him in. (This sequence would later provide the inspiration for "Postcards from the Wedge
Postcards from the Wedge
"Postcards from the Wedge" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 14, 2010. In the episode, Homer and Marge once again try to discipline Bart after Mrs...
", as it introduces the key plot for that episode) The next day the Woosterfields hold a party for all the rich people. When Devan and Quimbly lock him in the Woosterfield mausoleum telling him that the bodies turn to candy, Mr. Burn's gets him out. He tells Bart he was once the youngest in a wealthy family and his siblings all murdered each other in order to get the entire fortune mostly by poisonous potatoes. Bart realizes that Devan and Quimbly want to murder him in order to get the fortune and Simon inheritance.
When Simon listens to Abraham's stories Lisa concludes that Simon is an imposter and Simon explains his story to the family and that Devan and Quimbly are taking Bart to Aspen where they'll try to kill him so they can get his inheritance. Bart begins to start packing to leave however Devan and Quimbly are taking him to Aspen in order to kill him. Before the Simpsons get to him Quimbly pushes Bart down a hill only for experienced skiers. When Devan says that they'll split Simon's inheritance Quimbly offers Devan an implied poisoned potato (Devan's faith remains unknown) believing Simon to be dead so she'll get the entire fortune. Homer manages to save Bart in time and Simon is returned to his family with a hot fudge sundae by his butler Chester. The episode ends with Bart in bed saying "This is the life."
Cultural references
The title is a reference to the Double, Double, Toil and Trouble scene in MacbethMacbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. Early in the episode, Homer makes a reference to Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
. The plot is a parody of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's novel The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper is an English-language novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada before its 1882 publication in the United States. The book represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction...
.
Reception
The episode had an approximate 8.09 million viewers, an improvement from the previous episodeLost Verizon
"Lost Verizon" is the second episode of The Simpsons twentieth season, and first aired October 5, 2008. Bart becomes jealous of his friends and their cell phones. Working at a golf course, Bart takes the cell phone of Denis Leary after the star comedian throws it away in anger...
. Robert Canning of IGN said, "It was a far from groundbreaking episode, to be sure, but our familiarity of the characters and the fair amount of laughs made for yet another pleasurable viewing experience". He went on to say, "The story as a whole was interesting and the jokes were funny enough to elicit several audible guffaws" and rated the episode a 7.8 out of 10. Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict said, "'Double Double' scores a solid B on the laugh-o-meter. While there weren't many guffaws, I chuckled more than a few times."