The Old Man and the Key
Encyclopedia
"The Old Man and the Key" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons
' thirteenth season
. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network
on March 10, 2002. In the episode, Grampa Simpson falls in love with Zelda, an old woman who has just moved in to the senior home in which Grampa lives. However, Grampa is not the only one in the home who is infatuated with Zelda.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Lance Kramer
. The storyline was pitched by Vitti, who based it on an article about social status in senior homes. The episode features Olympia Dukakis
as Zelda, and Bill Saluga
as his television character Ray J Johnson. The song "Ode to Branson", which was written by Vitti and composed by Alf Clausen
, was submitted for the Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Music And Lyrics in 2002, which it ultimately lost to a score from The Blue Planet
. Following its release on DVD
and Blu-ray, the episode received mixed reviews, however a scene in the episode has become one of the most popular scenes of the series.
. A beautiful new woman named Zelda moves into his retirement home. Grampa is determined to win her love over the youthful owner of a minivan. After renewing his driver's license
(which Patty quickly gave to him in return that he would not wink at her again), Grampa convinces Homer to let him borrow the car to romance her. Although he impresses the new old gal, Homer
and Marge
think she is a hoochie
and only likes Grampa because he can drive. After he crashes Homer's car in a death race with the Souvenir Jackitos, a rival seniors gang, Homer gets particularly livid with Grampa and takes his keys away, forbidding him to drive ever again. Zelda informs Grampa that she got them tickets to Branson, Missouri
but when he tells her he does not have a car Zelda leaves with Zack and his minivan.
Grampa steals Marge's car and "kidnaps" Bart
, taking him on the road to Branson, Missouri
to win back Zelda. When realizing that Grandpa and Bart are heading to Branson, Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie, take a bus there. However they end up not in Branson, Missouri, but Bronson, Missouri. (Where every male in town looks and talks like Charles Bronson
) Ray Jay Johnson, Mr. T
, Charo
, Yakov Smirnoff
, Charlie Callas
, Bonnie Franklin
and Adrian Zmed are the stars of the show in Branson they go to see. (Tennessee Ernie Ford
is backstage, but crumbles to dust when Grampa proves he is dead by showing the deceased actor his obituary
.) Grampa calls out to his lady from on-stage, but then denounces her in front of everyone, who then call her (in a chant) a hoochie, sending her fleeing off the stage in tears. Grampa then reconciles with Homer.
and directed by Lance Kramer
. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on March 10, 2002. The idea for the episode was pitched by Vitti, who was inspired by an article about senior homes
. The article described senior homes as being a lot like high school
s, in that there are popular
and unpopular people
, and that those who, for example, own a car are "like kings." Vitti suggested that the episode should be that "Grampa's life [is] basically like that of a teenage kid," with Homer acting as if he was Grampa's father. The Souvenir Jackitos, who challenge Grampa to a death race in the episode, were conceived from an observation by the writers. The writers argued that the only ones buying expensive trademarked jackets are old people who want to appear younger.
A scene in the episode shows Grampa and Bart driving to Branson with Marge's car, listening to the radio. Because the scene consists entirely of auditive gags, the Simpsons staff had difficulty figuring out what to show visually during the scene. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, Jean explained that these scenes “get a really big laugh at the table,” but are subsequently hard for the animators. The scene makes use of a repeated background, an animation technique made famous by Hanna-Barbera
in order to cut budget.
The song "Ode to Branson," which is performed by several "washed-up" celebrities, was composed by Alf Clausen
and written by Vitti. Even though Vitti received sole credit for writing the song, parts of the lyrics were written by Simpsons writer Carolyn Omine
, which were then revised by fellow writer Matt Selman
. Selman was especially satisfied with the rhyme sung by Mr T; he stated that whenever he feels down, he thinks of that rhyme and that it "boosts [him] up inside." The episode features American actress Olympia Dukakis
as Grampa's love interest Zelda. American comedian Bill Saluga
also makes an appearance, as his television character Ray J. Johnson
. The owner of the minivan is portrayed by series' regular Hank Azaria
, who imitated the voice of Clark Gable
for the character.
, a suit popular in the 1940s. When Grampa and Zelda take off on one of their dates, three old men with long beards imitate ZZ Top
as a short part of "Sharp Dressed Man
" is played. Grampa's interaction with the "Souvenir Jackitos" in Apu's store mirrors a scene in the 1961 musical film West Side Story
, with Grampa and his friends taking the role of the Jets in the film, the "Souvenir Jackitos" as the Sharks, and Apu as Doc. The "Death race" on the other hand, is a reference to the 1955 drama film Rebel Without a Cause
. The abandoned aqua duct, in which the death race takes place, is based on the Los Angeles River
.
, translating to approximately 7.9 million viewers. The episode ranked 19 in the top 25 most watched television programs the week it aired. Later in 2002, "Ode to Branson" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Music And Lyrics, which it ultimately lost to a score from BBC
's nature documentary
The Blue Planet
. In 2007, the song was included on the soundtrack album
The Simpsons: Testify
.
Following the thirteenth season's release on DVD
and Blu-ray, "The Old Man and the Key" received mixed reviews from critics. Writing for Project:Blu, Nate Boss stated that Grampa "just isn't all that funny when cornered, and that's what we get here," and that "the jokes are a bit too few and far between." Giving the episode a negative review, Ryan Keefer of DVD Talk wrote that it was "borderline painful" and one of the season's "duds." Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com wrote that the episode "moves at a geriatric pace," and R. L. Shaffer of IGN
stated that it "represent[s] some of the worst of The Simpsons." On the other hand, giving the episode a positive review, Ron Martin of 411Mania enjoyed the "poke towards Branson, Missouri, a mecca for old people everywhere," and Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B rating. Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that, even though Grampa is "essentially a one-joke personality," "those gags tend to be pretty fun." He concluded his review by writing that the episode was "a likable program."
Despite the mixed responses, the episode features one of the "most used little clips" of the series. The scene shows Grampa getting his driver's license. Instead of taking a photo for the license on the spot, Grampa suggests that Patty, who works in the facility, use a photo of him from a newspaper headline that reads "Old man yells at cloud." Patty agrees, and Grampa, holding his newly acquired license, goes up to a window and yells "Who's laughing now?" at a cloud. The scene has become very popular since the episode's broadcast, and a still from the scene has been used several times on The Daily Show
. Both Malkowski of DVD Verdict and Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide considered it to be the best part of the episode.
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 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network
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...
on March 10, 2002. In the episode, Grampa Simpson falls in love with Zelda, an old woman who has just moved in to the senior home in which Grampa lives. However, Grampa is not the only one in the home who is infatuated with Zelda.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
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...
. The storyline was pitched by Vitti, who based it on an article about social status in senior homes. The episode features Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis is an American actress. In 1987, she won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her performance in Moonstruck...
as Zelda, and Bill Saluga
Bill Saluga
Bill Saluga is an American comedian. He was a founding member, along with Fred Willard, Michael Mislove, George Memmoli, and Patti Deutsch of the improvisational comedy troupe Ace Trucking Company...
as his television character Ray J Johnson. The song "Ode to Branson", which was written by Vitti and composed by Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of The Simpsons, of which he has been the sole composer since 1990...
, was submitted for 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...
for Outstanding Music And Lyrics in 2002, which it ultimately lost to a score from The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet is a BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 12 September 2001.Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans", each of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of...
. Following its release on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray, the episode received mixed reviews, however a scene in the episode has become one of the most popular scenes of the series.
Plot
The show begins with the Simpson family getting a phone call from Grampa Simpson's retirement home saying that he is dead. When the family arrives he informs them the home got it wrong and Grampa is still aliveDeath hoax
A death hoax is a deliberate or confused report of someone's death that turns out to be incorrect and murder rumors. In some cases it might be because the person has intentionally faked death.-Celebrity death hoaxes:...
. A beautiful new woman named Zelda moves into his retirement home. Grampa is determined to win her love over the youthful owner of a minivan. After renewing his driver's license
Driver's license in the United States
In the United States, nearly all driver's licenses are issued by individual states , rather than the federal government. Drivers are normally required to obtain a license from their state of residence, and all states recognize each other's licenses for temporary visitors subject to normal age...
(which Patty quickly gave to him in return that he would not wink at her again), Grampa convinces Homer to let him borrow the car to romance her. Although he impresses the new old gal, 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 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...
think she is a hoochie
Slut
Slut or slattern is a pejorative term applied to an individual who is considered to have loose sexual morals or who is sexually promiscuous...
and only likes Grampa because he can drive. After he crashes Homer's car in a death race with the Souvenir Jackitos, a rival seniors gang, Homer gets particularly livid with Grampa and takes his keys away, forbidding him to drive ever again. Zelda informs Grampa that she got them tickets to Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
but when he tells her he does not have a car Zelda leaves with Zack and his minivan.
Grampa steals Marge's car and "kidnaps" 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...
, taking him on the road to Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
to win back Zelda. When realizing that Grandpa and Bart are heading to Branson, Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie, take a bus there. However they end up not in Branson, Missouri, but Bronson, Missouri. (Where every male in town looks and talks like Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
) Ray Jay Johnson, Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
, Charo
Charo
María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten , better known as Charo, is a Spanish-American actress, comedienne, and flamenco guitarist, best known for her flamboyant stage presence, her provocative outfits, and her trademark phrase...
, Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis , better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is a Ukrainian-born American comedian, painter and teacher. He was popular in the 1980s for comedy performances in which he used irony and word play to contrast life under the Communist regime in his native Soviet Union with life in the...
, Charlie Callas
Charlie Callas
Charlie Callas was an American comedian and actor most commonly known for his work with Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis, and Dean Martin and his many stand-up appearances on television talk shows in the 1970s...
, Bonnie Franklin
Bonnie Franklin
Bonnie Gail Franklin is an American actress, best known for her starring role in the television series One Day at a Time.-Personal life:...
and Adrian Zmed are the stars of the show in Branson they go to see. (Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
is backstage, but crumbles to dust when Grampa proves he is dead by showing the deceased actor his obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
.) Grampa calls out to his lady from on-stage, but then denounces her in front of everyone, who then call her (in a chant) a hoochie, sending her fleeing off the stage in tears. Grampa then reconciles with Homer.
Production
"The Old Man and the Key" was written by Jon VittiJon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
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...
. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on March 10, 2002. The idea for the episode was pitched by Vitti, who was inspired by an article about senior homes
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
. The article described senior homes as being a lot like high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s, in that there are popular
Popularity
Popularity is the quality of being well-liked or common, or having a high social status. Popularity figures are an important part of many people's personal value systems and form a vital component of success in people-oriented fields such as management, politics, and entertainment, among...
and unpopular people
Unpopularity
Unpopularity, the opposite of popularity, is the quality of lacking acceptance or approval by one's peers.-Development:The importance of peer relations in an adolescent's normal psychosocial development has been well-researched...
, and that those who, for example, own a car are "like kings." Vitti suggested that the episode should be that "Grampa's life [is] basically like that of a teenage kid," with Homer acting as if he was Grampa's father. The Souvenir Jackitos, who challenge Grampa to a death race in the episode, were conceived from an observation by the writers. The writers argued that the only ones buying expensive trademarked jackets are old people who want to appear younger.
A scene in the episode shows Grampa and Bart driving to Branson with Marge's car, listening to the radio. Because the scene consists entirely of auditive gags, the Simpsons staff had difficulty figuring out what to show visually during the scene. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, Jean explained that these scenes “get a really big laugh at the table,” but are subsequently hard for the animators. The scene makes use of a repeated background, an animation technique made famous by Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
in order to cut budget.
Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of The Simpsons, of which he has been the sole composer since 1990...
and written by Vitti. Even though Vitti received sole credit for writing the song, parts of the lyrics were written by Simpsons writer Carolyn Omine
Carolyn Omine
Carolyn Omine is an American television writer. She has written for Full House, The Parent 'Hood and The Simpsons. She was credited as an executive producer by the Simpsons' 17th season, although this changed to a producer in the 18th....
, which were then revised by fellow writer Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
. Selman was especially satisfied with the rhyme sung by Mr T; he stated that whenever he feels down, he thinks of that rhyme and that it "boosts [him] up inside." The episode features American actress Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis is an American actress. In 1987, she won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her performance in Moonstruck...
as Grampa's love interest Zelda. American comedian Bill Saluga
Bill Saluga
Bill Saluga is an American comedian. He was a founding member, along with Fred Willard, Michael Mislove, George Memmoli, and Patti Deutsch of the improvisational comedy troupe Ace Trucking Company...
also makes an appearance, as his television character Ray J. Johnson
Ray J. Johnson
-The shtick:Saluga's shtick as Ray J. Johnson is to become annoyed when addressed as "Mr. Johnson", exclaiming in a loud voice, "My name is Raymond J. Johnson, Jr...
. The owner of the minivan is portrayed by series' regular Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
, who imitated the voice of Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
for the character.
Cultural references
A scene in the episode shows Grampa wearing a zoot suitZoot suit
A zoot suit is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Italian Americans during the late 1930s and the 1940s...
, a suit popular in the 1940s. When Grampa and Zelda take off on one of their dates, three old men with long beards imitate ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
as a short part of "Sharp Dressed Man
Sharp Dressed Man
"Sharp Dressed Man" is a song performed by ZZ Top from their album Eliminator released in 1983. The song was produced by band manager Bill Ham, and recorded and mixed by Terry Manning....
" is played. Grampa's interaction with the "Souvenir Jackitos" in Apu's store mirrors a scene in the 1961 musical film West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, with Grampa and his friends taking the role of the Jets in the film, the "Souvenir Jackitos" as the Sharks, and Apu as Doc. The "Death race" on the other hand, is a reference to the 1955 drama film Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
. The abandoned aqua duct, in which the death race takes place, is based on the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on March 10, 2002, "The Old Man and the Key" received a 7.9 rating, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, translating to approximately 7.9 million viewers. The episode ranked 19 in the top 25 most watched television programs the week it aired. Later in 2002, "Ode to Branson" was nominated for 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...
for Outstanding Music And Lyrics, which it ultimately lost to a score from BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's nature documentary
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet is a BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 12 September 2001.Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans", each of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of...
. In 2007, the song was included on the soundtrack album
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
The Simpsons: Testify
The Simpsons: Testify
The Simpsons: Testify is an album that features songs from the animated television series The Simpsons. It was released on September 18, 2007 and includes songs from season 11 to season 18...
.
Following the thirteenth season's release on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray, "The Old Man and the Key" received mixed reviews from critics. Writing for Project:Blu, Nate Boss stated that Grampa "just isn't all that funny when cornered, and that's what we get here," and that "the jokes are a bit too few and far between." Giving the episode a negative review, Ryan Keefer of DVD Talk wrote that it was "borderline painful" and one of the season's "duds." Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com wrote that the episode "moves at a geriatric pace," and R. L. Shaffer of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that it "represent[s] some of the worst of The Simpsons." On the other hand, giving the episode a positive review, Ron Martin of 411Mania enjoyed the "poke towards Branson, Missouri, a mecca for old people everywhere," and Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B rating. Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that, even though Grampa is "essentially a one-joke personality," "those gags tend to be pretty fun." He concluded his review by writing that the episode was "a likable program."
Despite the mixed responses, the episode features one of the "most used little clips" of the series. The scene shows Grampa getting his driver's license. Instead of taking a photo for the license on the spot, Grampa suggests that Patty, who works in the facility, use a photo of him from a newspaper headline that reads "Old man yells at cloud." Patty agrees, and Grampa, holding his newly acquired license, goes up to a window and yells "Who's laughing now?" at a cloud. The scene has become very popular since the episode's broadcast, and a still from the scene has been used several times on The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
. Both Malkowski of DVD Verdict and Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide considered it to be the best part of the episode.
External links
- "The Old Man and the Key" at The Simpsons.com