Helter Shelter
Encyclopedia
"Helter Shelter" is the fifth episode from the fourteenth season
of The Simpsons
that aired December 1, 2002.
is hit by a falling metal beam at work and suffers a serious head injury, Mr. Burns
smartly buys him off with tickets at a luxury sky box
at a hockey
game as compensation. Bart, Marge and Homer enjoy the sushi, caricature artist, and appearance by Larry Holmes
, while Lisa leaves in disgust so she can watch the game with real fans in real surroundings. When she gives a Russian player advice which leads to him scoring a goal, she receives his hockey stick as a gift. However, genuine Russian "no-wood-nik" termites, which were living in the stick, end up eating away at the entire Simpson house. An exterminator says their house should be tented and fumigated, and they cannot return for six months. However, the family has no place to go. The only hotel they can afford is booked for months, and when they try to stay with Lenny and then Comic Book Guy
, they cannot deal with Lenny's house being next to a jai alai
court and CBG's collection of comic book cardboard figures. At Moe's Tavern, their last resort, Barney
and Carl inform the Simpsons about a reality show, where a family is put in a Victorian
house, where they must live as if it was the year 1895. Homer is reluctant at first, but then they go to the reality show.
At the studio, the executives screen many families and finally they settle on the Simpsons (saying they want a family that has not been on TV forever and ever), after viewing Homer's overreactions over nothing. They are taken to the Victorian house and shown around by the Network Executive, who says that they will be filmed round the clock. The only thing of the 20th century there is a "Confessional
Room", which is a small room with a video camera where they say what they feel about the lifestyle. The family struggles with all of the drastic changes in their daily life and are pretty miserable, much to the delight of the show's audience, who cannot wait to see which of them dies first. Homer tries to lighten up the family, saying they should be glad on TV, and begin to conform to their new lives cheerily. This is not deemed as entertaining, however, and viewership begins to drop. In attempts to save the show, the executives decide to introduce Squiggy from Laverne & Shirley
into the household, since he's the biggest 1970's TV star whose phone has not been disconnected. But even his presence (and that of a taser which he uses on Homer) does not boost the ratings. Finally, one of the executives comes up with an idea. The house is airlifted at night and put into a river.
The Simpsons are shocked to find what had happened the next morning, and the house finally washes up on shore and falls apart, with Squiggy in it. The network crew is filming it and loving the drama that unfolds. They then break for lunch, but deny the Simpsons any of it so they go to eat some bugs. Later on, the family is confronted by a bunch of savage-looking people, who turn out to be contestants who lost a final challenge on a Survivor
-type show and were abandoned in the jungle. They decide to overpower the crew and return to civilization. Together with the Simpsons, they attack the crew, overpowering them. Homer then tries to crush the helicopter with a giant boulder but he is pushed into the ground. Finally at home, Homer decides to watch scripted TV shows, as he has had it with reality shows, but the family finds more pleasure in watching him lose a battle of wits with a high-powered garden hose.
The Simpsons (season 14)
The fourteenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between November 3, 2002 and May 18, 2003. The show runner for the fourteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive produced 21 of 22 episodes. The other...
of The Simpsons
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...
that aired December 1, 2002.
Plot
After HomerHomer 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...
is hit by a falling metal beam at work and suffers a serious head injury, Mr. Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
smartly buys him off with tickets at a luxury sky box
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
at a hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
game as compensation. Bart, Marge and Homer enjoy the sushi, caricature artist, and appearance by Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
, while Lisa leaves in disgust so she can watch the game with real fans in real surroundings. When she gives a Russian player advice which leads to him scoring a goal, she receives his hockey stick as a gift. However, genuine Russian "no-wood-nik" termites, which were living in the stick, end up eating away at the entire Simpson house. An exterminator says their house should be tented and fumigated, and they cannot return for six months. However, the family has no place to go. The only hotel they can afford is booked for months, and when they try to stay with Lenny and then Comic Book Guy
Comic Book Guy
Comic Book Guy is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the second-season episode "Three Men and a Comic Book", which originally aired on May 9, 1991. He is the proprietor of a comic book store, The...
, they cannot deal with Lenny's house being next to a jai alai
Jai alai
Jai alai is a sport involving a ball bounced off a walled space. It is a variety of Basque Pelota. The term, coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also often loosely applied to the fronton where the sport is played...
court and CBG's collection of comic book cardboard figures. At Moe's Tavern, their last resort, Barney
Barney Gumble
Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend. His capacity for...
and Carl inform the Simpsons about a reality show, where a family is put in a Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
house, where they must live as if it was the year 1895. Homer is reluctant at first, but then they go to the reality show.
At the studio, the executives screen many families and finally they settle on the Simpsons (saying they want a family that has not been on TV forever and ever), after viewing Homer's overreactions over nothing. They are taken to the Victorian house and shown around by the Network Executive, who says that they will be filmed round the clock. The only thing of the 20th century there is a "Confessional
Confessional
A confessional is a small, enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called confession, or Reconciliation. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church, but similar structures are also used in Anglican churches of an Anglo-Catholic orientation, and also in the...
Room", which is a small room with a video camera where they say what they feel about the lifestyle. The family struggles with all of the drastic changes in their daily life and are pretty miserable, much to the delight of the show's audience, who cannot wait to see which of them dies first. Homer tries to lighten up the family, saying they should be glad on TV, and begin to conform to their new lives cheerily. This is not deemed as entertaining, however, and viewership begins to drop. In attempts to save the show, the executives decide to introduce Squiggy from Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
into the household, since he's the biggest 1970's TV star whose phone has not been disconnected. But even his presence (and that of a taser which he uses on Homer) does not boost the ratings. Finally, one of the executives comes up with an idea. The house is airlifted at night and put into a river.
The Simpsons are shocked to find what had happened the next morning, and the house finally washes up on shore and falls apart, with Squiggy in it. The network crew is filming it and loving the drama that unfolds. They then break for lunch, but deny the Simpsons any of it so they go to eat some bugs. Later on, the family is confronted by a bunch of savage-looking people, who turn out to be contestants who lost a final challenge on a Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
-type show and were abandoned in the jungle. They decide to overpower the crew and return to civilization. Together with the Simpsons, they attack the crew, overpowering them. Homer then tries to crush the helicopter with a giant boulder but he is pushed into the ground. Finally at home, Homer decides to watch scripted TV shows, as he has had it with reality shows, but the family finds more pleasure in watching him lose a battle of wits with a high-powered garden hose.
Production notes
- This is the last episode of The Simpsons to use cel animation. Starting with "The Great Louse DetectiveThe Great Louse Detective"The Great Louse Detective" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. It features Kelsey Grammer in his eighth appearance as Sideshow Bob...
," The Simpsons is animated and colored using digital ink and paint.
Cultural references
- The Comic Book Guy has a Xena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
poster in his wall. - The title is a play on the BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song "Helter Skelter" and the Rolling Stones song "Gimme ShelterGimme Shelter"Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelled "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling...
". - The reality show the Simpsons end up on is a parody of the British reality show The 1900 HouseThe 1900 HouseThe 1900 House is a historical reality television programme made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 1999. The show is about a modern family that tries to the live in the way of the late Victorians in 1900 for three months in a modified house...
. - The scene where the Simpsons are waiting for time to fly by mirrors the opening sequence of King of the HillKing of the HillKing of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
. - "Law & Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit" is a reference to the TV show Law & OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
and its various spin-offsLaw & Order (franchise)The Law & Order franchise is a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and originally broadcast on NBC, all of which deal with some aspect of the criminal justice system...
. - The label on the exterminator's van saying "A Bug's Death" is a reference to PixarPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
's A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
. - The piano number played throughout the sequences in the old house is "The EntertainerThe Entertainer (rag)"The Entertainer" is sub-titled "A rag time two step", which was a form of dance popular until about 1911, and a style which was common among rags written at the time.Its structure is: Intro AA BB A CC Intro2 DD....
" by Scott JoplinScott JoplinScott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
, popularized by Marvin HamlischMarvin HamlischMarvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
, who arranged a version of the rag for the movie The StingThe StingThe Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
.
External links
- "Helter Shelter" at The Simpsons.com