Saddlesore Galactica
Encyclopedia
"Saddlesore Galactica" is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season
of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. In the episode, the Simpson family
rescues a diving horse named Duncan from abuse and keeps it as a pet, but when the cost of upkeeping the horse rises, Homer
and Bart
train Duncan to be a racing horse. Meanwhile, Lisa
is upset over her school losing the band competition to Ogdenville unfairly at the state fair and writes a letter to Bill Clinton
in protest. "Saddlesore Galactica" was written by Tim Long
and directed by Lance Kramer
and features guest appearances from Jim Cummings
, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, and Trevor Denman
. The episode is cited by many critics and fans as one of the worst episodes of the series, but it has received some positive reviews too.
. After a suggestion by Lisa
that they are doing the same old songs, they perform a different song, which is James Brown's "Living in America
". They perform the song, but lose to Ogdenville Elementary School, who performs John Philip Sousa
's old "Stars and Stripes Forever" using red, white, and blue glowsticks, forming a flag, which was against the rules as the competition forbade use of visual aids. After they win, Lisa accuses Ogdenville of cheating, later writing a letter to President Clinton
, complaining that was a "state unfair
". At the fair, Homer
and Bart
see Duncan, the diving horse, who dives into the pool. The Simpsons take Duncan home after his sleazy owner is accused of animal cruelty and flees, but not before the Comic Book Guy
points out that the Simpsons have already taken in a horse as a pet
, and “the expense forced Homer to work at the Kwik-E-Mart, with hilarious consequences”.
Just as the Comic Book Guy predicted (and how it played out on "Lisa's Pony
"), the Simpsons end up having financial issues while keeping Duncan: it costs them $500 a week to keep him. Homer and Bart try to think of a way that Duncan can make money to help offset the costs of keeping him. Duncan makes an excellent placekicker
, but National Football League
rules forbid horses from competing. After Homer denounces the rules, Bart discovers that Duncan is fast and suggests that he should be a racehorse. Homer enters Duncan at Springfield
Downs, with Bart as the jockey
; they lose as Duncan, frightened, refuses to leave the stall until all other horse
s have actually finished.
Homer and Bart find a new strategy for Duncan to win, by making him into a Dennis Rodman
look-alike, "Furious D", complete with dyed-purple hair and one of Lisa's bracelets for a nose ring. He intimidates the other horses (and headbutts several of them) and wins the next races. They go on to win a series of races until Homer is invited to have a beer
in the jockeys' lounge, but instead, discovers the secret lair of the losing jockeys. They reveal themselves to be murderous elf-like creatures who want him to have Duncan lose the upcoming race. They threaten to eat Homer's brain
if he does not comply. Though intimidated at first, Homer cannot bear to tell Bart about it, and instead vows to deal with those "murderous trolls". At the Springfield Derby, Duncan surprisingly wins the race, and the furious jockeys chase after Homer and Bart. Keeping his word to deal with them, Homer gets Marge
and Lisa to foil the jockeys by spraying them with a hose and a water gun, and Homer stuffs the jockeys up in hole-proof garbage bags to get them sent to the dump. Afterwards, they search horse pictures for mates for Duncan.
President Clinton comes to see Lisa at home and presents her with a plaque, saying that Ogdenville was wrong to use glowsticks and that Springfield Elementary's band is the true champion. He also breaks the fourth wall
when he thanks Lisa for giving a moral lesson to children in the audience: "If things don't go your way, just keep complaining until your dreams come true", but when Marge complains that this is a lousy lesson, the President simply replies "Hey, I'm a pretty lousy President".
and directed by Lance Kramer
as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000). The episode features guest appearances from Jim Cummings
as Duncan/Furious D, Bachman–Turner Overdrive (Fred Turner
and Randy Bachman
) as themselves, and Trevor Denman
as himself.
The episode is heavily self-referential and contains a number of meta-references. When the Simpsons take Duncan home from the fair, Comic Book Guy
points out that the Simpsons have already taken in a horse as a pet (as seen in "Lisa's Pony
"), and that "the expense forced Homer to work at the Kwik-E-Mart
, with hilarious consequences." In another scene later in the episode, when Lisa points out to Marge that Marge is showing signs of gambling problems, Comic Book Guy shows up again and tells Lisa: "Hey, I'm watching you!" This refers to the fact that Marge's gambling problems have already been explored in the episode "$pringfield". Jonathan Gray analyzed the self-referentiality in The Simpsons in his 2006 book Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality, writing that "Sitcoms constantly 'reset' themselves, living in [...] an 'existential circle' in which nothing really changes, and every episode starts more or less where the last one started; and The Simpsons frequently plays with this sitcom clock, and with the amnesia of sitcom memory. The family members often forget important events in their 'history' [...]". Gray noted that in "Saddlesore Galactica", "the action continues as normal, as sitcom memory (or lack thereof) is pointed out but comically not acted upon. Thus, where Grote (1983: 67) notes that sitcom episodes 'live in a kind of time-warp without any reference to the other episodes,' producing a situation whereby everything 'remains inviolate and undisturbed, no matter what transitory events may occur' (1983: 59), The Simpsons comically reflects upon this."
for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
According to writer Tim Long on the audio commentary, "Saddlesore Galactica" is considered by many critics and fans as one of the worst episodes in the history of the show, particularly for the scenes featuring the jockey elves. Maclean's
writer Marco Ursi named it his least favorite episode of The Simpsons, and elaborated that "This is the one where The Simpsons get a horse – again – and the plot devolves into something involving the secret land of the jockeys. Making meta-references to the fact you’ve just made your 'worst episode ever' doesn’t make it any funnier." Nancy Basile of About.com
listed the episode as one of the worst episodes of the season—the episodes that "made me cringe because they included blatant gimmicks and outlandish plots".
"Saddlesore Galactica" has received some more positive reviews too, though. While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on the episode, noting: "I remember that 'Saddlesore' was much despised when it first aired, though I can’t recall if I joined that chorus as well. Maybe the many iffy episodes since early 2000 have made it look better, but I think that 'Saddlesore' offers a decent number of laughs. It goes off onto some dopey tangents and displays an unnerving tendency toward self-awareness, but it provides reasonable entertainment." DVD Talk
's Ian Jane noted in his review of the eleventh season that "Bachman Turner Overdrive have a fun cameo" in the episode.
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
of the American animated sitcom 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...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. In the episode, the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
rescues a diving horse named Duncan from abuse and keeps it as a pet, but when the cost of upkeeping the horse rises, Homer
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...
and Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
train Duncan to be a racing horse. Meanwhile, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
is upset over her school losing the band competition to Ogdenville unfairly at the state fair and writes a letter to Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in protest. "Saddlesore Galactica" was written by Tim Long
Tim Long
Tim Long is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Tim calls Exeter, Ontario, Canada his home town and has written for The Simpsons, Politically Incorrect, Spy Magazine and The Late Show with David Letterman. Currently credited as a consulting producer on The Simpsons, Long was - until...
and directed by Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer is an animation director on The Simpsons. He also worked as an assistant animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie.-History:Kramer graduated from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, ND...
and features guest appearances from Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, and Trevor Denman
Trevor Denman
Trevor Denman is an American sportscaster and public-address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing.Denman was born in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa...
. The episode is cited by many critics and fans as one of the worst episodes of the series, but it has received some positive reviews too.
Plot
Mr. Largo is helping the Springfield Elementary School band prepare for their big performance at the state fairState fair
A state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....
. After a suggestion by Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
that they are doing the same old songs, they perform a different song, which is James Brown's "Living in America
Living in America (song)
"Living in America" is a 1985 song composed by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight, and performed by James Brown. It was released as a single in 1985 and reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
". They perform the song, but lose to Ogdenville Elementary School, who performs John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....
's old "Stars and Stripes Forever" using red, white, and blue glowsticks, forming a flag, which was against the rules as the competition forbade use of visual aids. After they win, Lisa accuses Ogdenville of cheating, later writing a letter to President Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, complaining that was a "state unfair
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
". At the fair, Homer
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...
and Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
see Duncan, the diving horse, who dives into the pool. The Simpsons take Duncan home after his sleazy owner is accused of animal cruelty and flees, but not before the 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...
points out that the Simpsons have already taken in a horse as a pet
Lisa's Pony
"Lisa's Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa's saxophone, resulting in her flopping at the school...
, and “the expense forced Homer to work at the Kwik-E-Mart, with hilarious consequences”.
Just as the Comic Book Guy predicted (and how it played out on "Lisa's Pony
Lisa's Pony
"Lisa's Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa's saxophone, resulting in her flopping at the school...
"), the Simpsons end up having financial issues while keeping Duncan: it costs them $500 a week to keep him. Homer and Bart try to think of a way that Duncan can make money to help offset the costs of keeping him. Duncan makes an excellent placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
, but National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
rules forbid horses from competing. After Homer denounces the rules, Bart discovers that Duncan is fast and suggests that he should be a racehorse. Homer enters Duncan at 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...
Downs, with Bart as the jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
; they lose as Duncan, frightened, refuses to leave the stall until all other horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s have actually finished.
Homer and Bart find a new strategy for Duncan to win, by making him into a Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
look-alike, "Furious D", complete with dyed-purple hair and one of Lisa's bracelets for a nose ring. He intimidates the other horses (and headbutts several of them) and wins the next races. They go on to win a series of races until Homer is invited to have a beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
in the jockeys' lounge, but instead, discovers the secret lair of the losing jockeys. They reveal themselves to be murderous elf-like creatures who want him to have Duncan lose the upcoming race. They threaten to eat Homer's brain
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
if he does not comply. Though intimidated at first, Homer cannot bear to tell Bart about it, and instead vows to deal with those "murderous trolls". At the Springfield Derby, Duncan surprisingly wins the race, and the furious jockeys chase after Homer and Bart. Keeping his word to deal with them, Homer gets Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa to foil the jockeys by spraying them with a hose and a water gun, and Homer stuffs the jockeys up in hole-proof garbage bags to get them sent to the dump. Afterwards, they search horse pictures for mates for Duncan.
President Clinton comes to see Lisa at home and presents her with a plaque, saying that Ogdenville was wrong to use glowsticks and that Springfield Elementary's band is the true champion. He also breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
when he thanks Lisa for giving a moral lesson to children in the audience: "If things don't go your way, just keep complaining until your dreams come true", but when Marge complains that this is a lousy lesson, the President simply replies "Hey, I'm a pretty lousy President".
Production and themes
"Saddlesore Galactica" was written by Tim LongTim Long
Tim Long is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Tim calls Exeter, Ontario, Canada his home town and has written for The Simpsons, Politically Incorrect, Spy Magazine and The Late Show with David Letterman. Currently credited as a consulting producer on The Simpsons, Long was - until...
and directed by Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer is an animation director on The Simpsons. He also worked as an assistant animator on Tom and Jerry: The Movie.-History:Kramer graduated from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, ND...
as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000). The episode features guest appearances from Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
as Duncan/Furious D, Bachman–Turner Overdrive (Fred Turner
Fred Turner (musician)
Charles Frederick "Fred" Turner is a Canadian rock bassist, vocalist and songwriter, and was a founding member of the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive . He is credited on early Bachman–Turner Overdrive and B.T.O. albums as "C.F...
and Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...
) as themselves, and Trevor Denman
Trevor Denman
Trevor Denman is an American sportscaster and public-address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing.Denman was born in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa...
as himself.
The episode is heavily self-referential and contains a number of meta-references. When the Simpsons take Duncan home from the fair, 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...
points out that the Simpsons have already taken in a horse as a pet (as seen in "Lisa's Pony
Lisa's Pony
"Lisa's Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa's saxophone, resulting in her flopping at the school...
"), and that "the expense forced Homer to work at 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...
, with hilarious consequences." In another scene later in the episode, when Lisa points out to Marge that Marge is showing signs of gambling problems, Comic Book Guy shows up again and tells Lisa: "Hey, I'm watching you!" This refers to the fact that Marge's gambling problems have already been explored in the episode "$pringfield". Jonathan Gray analyzed the self-referentiality in The Simpsons in his 2006 book Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality, writing that "Sitcoms constantly 'reset' themselves, living in [...] an 'existential circle' in which nothing really changes, and every episode starts more or less where the last one started; and The Simpsons frequently plays with this sitcom clock, and with the amnesia of sitcom memory. The family members often forget important events in their 'history' [...]". Gray noted that in "Saddlesore Galactica", "the action continues as normal, as sitcom memory (or lack thereof) is pointed out but comically not acted upon. Thus, where Grote (1983: 67) notes that sitcom episodes 'live in a kind of time-warp without any reference to the other episodes,' producing a situation whereby everything 'remains inviolate and undisturbed, no matter what transitory events may occur' (1983: 59), The Simpsons comically reflects upon this."
Reception
The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. On October 7, 2008, it was released on DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season. Staff members Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, Tom Martin, and Lance Kramer participated in the DVD audio commentaryAudio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
According to writer Tim Long on the audio commentary, "Saddlesore Galactica" is considered by many critics and fans as one of the worst episodes in the history of the show, particularly for the scenes featuring the jockey elves. Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
writer Marco Ursi named it his least favorite episode of The Simpsons, and elaborated that "This is the one where The Simpsons get a horse – again – and the plot devolves into something involving the secret land of the jockeys. Making meta-references to the fact you’ve just made your 'worst episode ever' doesn’t make it any funnier." Nancy Basile of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
listed the episode as one of the worst episodes of the season—the episodes that "made me cringe because they included blatant gimmicks and outlandish plots".
"Saddlesore Galactica" has received some more positive reviews too, though. While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on the episode, noting: "I remember that 'Saddlesore' was much despised when it first aired, though I can’t recall if I joined that chorus as well. Maybe the many iffy episodes since early 2000 have made it look better, but I think that 'Saddlesore' offers a decent number of laughs. It goes off onto some dopey tangents and displays an unnerving tendency toward self-awareness, but it provides reasonable entertainment." DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
's Ian Jane noted in his review of the eleventh season that "Bachman Turner Overdrive have a fun cameo" in the episode.
External links
- "Saddlesore Galactica" at The Simpsons.com