Viva Ned Flanders
Encyclopedia
"Viva Ned Flanders" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons
' tenth season
. It first aired on the Fox network
in the United States
on January 10, 1999. In the episode, Ned Flanders
, who is revealed to be 60 years old, feels that he has not lived his life to the fullest. He asks for help from his neighbour, Homer Simpson
, who takes Ned to Las Vegas
to show him "the right way to live." However, while there, the two become intoxicated and marry
two cocktail waitresses.
The episode was written by David M. Stern
and directed by Mark Kirkland
. The revelation of Ned's age was heavily debated between the Simpsons staff, and the decision to make him 60 years old could have been inspired from a joke by Simpsons writer Ron Hauge
. A scene in the episode features the song Viva Las Vegas
by Elvis Presley
, although the staff originally wanted a version of the song performed by Bruce Springsteen
. The Moody Blues
guest-starred as themselves in the episode, and the episode marked the first appearance of the cocktail waitresses Amber and Ginger, who were voiced by Pamela Hayden
and Tress MacNeille
.
The episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) in 1999, which it ultimately lost to King of the Hill
. Following the tenth season's release on DVD
, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Amber and Ginger have appeared in later episodes in the series, the first time being the season 13
episode "Brawl in the Family
", which serves as a continuation of "Viva Ned Flanders".
or explosions results in the casino being blasted into a huge dust cloud. The family goes to the car wash to get rid of the dust, and when Homer is there, he sees that Ned Flanders gets a senior discount
. At church, Flanders admits to Homer that he is sixty years old. After he is exposed by Homer in the church, Ned says that he follows the three "c"s of success: clean living, chewing thoroughly, and "a daily dose of vitamin Church!" However, he also has never lived impulsively, and never really had any fun in life. The rest of the town stops admiring Ned for living so well, and begins to pity him for having never truly lived at all.
Ned reluctantly agrees with this and asks Homer to teach him the secret to his lust for life, giving Homer power of attorney. This leads Homer to take him on a gambling trip to Las Vegas
. Homer is confident about going there, but Flanders is nervous. When they arrive, they see Captain Lance Murdoch (from "Bart the Daredevil
") doing one of his stunts, and Homer chooses to volunteer, and survives. They wander into a casino called "Nero's Palace" and begin to play roulette
. Ned protests against games of chance based on Deuteronomy 7, but Homer ignores him and takes the reference as a lucky number. They win, but immediately lose all they won. They then go to the casino's bar and get drunk, waking up the next morning
in their hotel room married to two cocktail waitresses: Homer's new wife is named Amber, and Ned's new wife is Ginger.
Homer and Ned try to escape from the waitresses, going on a wild rampage through the casino, until they are confronted by casino security
, Gunter and Ernst (also from "$pringfield
"), Drederick Tatum, Boomhauer
, and the Moody Blues. They fail to escape the casino, and are literally forced out of the state before being told that they are not welcome in Las Vegas again. Homer and Ned head back to their real wives in Springfield by hitchhiking
.
and directed by director Neil Affleck
. It was first broadcast on the Fox network
in the United States
on January 10, 1999.
The beginning of the episode shows Mr Burns' casino being demolished with implosion. In the DVD commentary for the episode, show runner Mike Scully stated that there was "a lot of talk" and news reports about implosions at the time. Only directly after the implosion do the on-lookers realize the amount of dust that is unleashed. This is based on an observation by the writers, who noted that, when an implosion takes place, "everybody wants to be right next to them", not realising that dust and asbestos will "fly in the air." In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, director Affleck stated that the scene was very complicated to animate, and took about "four or five takes" to get right. Scully thought that the implosion looked "fantastic."
The revelation of Ned's age was much discussed among the writers, and Scully stated that they argued over "how old they could get away with," since Ned had "lived such a pure life" and had "taken such good care of himself." The writers kept pitching for him to be older and older, eventually debating whether his age would be 57 or 58. They then decided on 60, an idea that could have come from Ron Hauge
, one of the Simpsons writers. A few weeks before the discussions, after having found out that he was slightly older than the next oldest writer in the staff, Hauge had told one of the writers, in "the most serious reasonable" voice, that he was 60 years old. At the time, Hauge was "around 40" years old.
The morning after having drunk extensively, Homer and Ned are seen sleeping, clothed, in a jacuzzi. The staff discussed whether or not the two should wake up naked or clothed; series creator Matt Groening
, for example, wanted them to wake up naked, since it would "raise some question." During production, Affleck had drawn an alternate version of the scene, which would be based on his "extensive experience in the field of alcohol abuse" in his younger years. The scene would be in Ned's point of view, and would show Homer's open mouth half submerged in the jacuzzi. Affleck described the alternate scene as being "a little bit Fellini-esque" and therefore did not fit with The Simpsons style. Scully had also suggested that Ned would throw up on screen at the end of the scene, however the idea never came to fruition.
The song used during the chase scene in the casino is "Viva Las Vegas
", performed by Elvis Presley
. Although he admitted that he has "nothing against Elvis," Scully originally wanted to use a "hard to find" version of the song performed by Bruce Springsteen
. However, Scully could not clear the version in time, and therefore had to resort to using Elvis' version of the song. The episode features The Moody Blues
as themselves. Scully commented that they were "very good actors" and "did a great job." The episode also features the first appearance of Amber and Ginger, who were voiced by Pamela Hayden
and Tress MacNeille
respectively. Real-life commentator Don Rickles
and fictional character Lance Murdock were both portrayed by series regular voice actor Dan Castellaneta
, who plays Homer among many others in the series.
Affleck described the plot of the episode to have a "grotesque" and "burlesque," yet "plausible" quality to it. In a scene in the episode, Homer, not knowing of Ned's age, accuses Ned of defrauding a carwash salesman. Affleck commented that the scene has "a touch of music-hall" in it, as it turns, from a scene in church, to a "courtroom scene." He also noted that Ned's journey to Las Vegas can be compared to a Christian's travel to the temple of Mammon
, a figure that in the Bible is characterized as the personification of wealth and greed.
(1964). The panic and smoke cloud generated from the implosion of Mr Burns' casino is reminiscent of the 1997 disaster film Dante's Peak
, and the Simpson family's escape from the smoke cloud is a reference to a scene in the 1996 science fiction film Independence Day
. Outside Rev. Lovejoy's church is a notice that today's sermon will be 'He Knows What You Did Last Summer', which is a reference to the title of the 1997 slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer
. As Homer and Ned escape from Vegas, a snippet of the theme from the 1996 comic science fiction film Mars Attacks!
can be heard. The Comic Book Guy
's license plate is NCC-1701, which is also the registration of the USS Enterprise
, a fictional starship from the Star Trek
media franchise. He also has a bumper sticker which reads "my other car is the Millennium Falcon" which was given to him by somebody who looked liked the actor Harrison Ford
; the Millennium Falcon
was the ship used by Ford's character Han Solo
in the Star Wars
film series.
The song Homer and Ned listen to on the way to Las Vegas is “Highway Star” by English rock band Deep Purple
. The two characters driving the other way from Las Vegas were based on Ralph Steadman
's illustrations of Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr Gonzo from the novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, written by Hunter S. Thompson
. The reference was contributed by Simpsons writer George Meyer
, who stated that, since Homer and Ned were driving to Las Vegas, "we [the Simpsons writers] had to do a Ralph Steadman tribute. In the wedding video, Homer is seen wearing an attire similar to the ones worn by the Rat Pack
members.
, translating to approximately 11.5 million viewers. The same year, the episode was nominated for an Emmy award
in the category of animated programming less than one hour
, but it ultimately lost to the King of the Hill
episode "And They Call It Bobby Love." On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season DVD set.
Following its home video release, "Viva Ned Flanders" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Ian Jane of DVD Talk wrote that the episode is a "classic," and Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News found it to be one of the better episodes of the season. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that even though he found Ned being 60 years old "absurd," the episode "musters plenty of fine laughs." He especially liked Homer's escapades, as well as the scenes in Vegas. He concluded his review by writing that "now it’s Marge’s time to shine!" is one of his favorite lines of the series.
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, were also positive, commenting that the episode is "one of the fastest paced episodes ever," and "moves at breathless speed." They added that it is "enormous fun with more bizarre moments than you can shake a stick at," particularly praising a scene involving "a hysterical Joan Rivers
." Mac MacEntire of DVD Verdict wrote that the establishing shots in Vegas were the episode's highlights. Aaron Roxby of Collider thought negatively of the episode however, writing that, even though the episode has "some decent gags," it is overall "one of the weaker Flanders based episodes."
Amber and Ginger would re-appear in later episodes of the series. They first returned in the season 13
episode "Brawl in the Family
", in which they track down Homer and Ned. In the DVD commentary for said episode, current show runner Al Jean praised "Viva Ned Flanders, but stated that he thought the ending was "loose." He said, "Usually, like, if you leave a wife like, in Vegas, they track you down". "Brawl in the Family" was produced to "resolve" the ending to "Viva Ned Flanders." In the season 18
episode "Jazzy and the Pussycats
", the Simpson family attend Amber's funeral, after it is revealed that she has died of a drug overdose.
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 10)
The tenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between August 23, 1998 and May 16, 1999. It contains twenty-three episodes, starting with "Lard of the Dance". The Simpsons revolves around a working class family that...
. It first aired 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on January 10, 1999. In the episode, Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
, who is revealed to be 60 years old, feels that he has not lived his life to the fullest. He asks for help from his neighbour, Homer Simpson
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...
, who takes Ned to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
to show him "the right way to live." However, while there, the two become intoxicated and marry
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
two cocktail waitresses.
The episode was written by David M. Stern
David M. Stern
David M. Stern is an American television screenwriter. Among his first work in television was writing episodes of The Wonder Years in the late 1980s. He then proceeded to write several episodes of The Simpsons in the 1990s. In 2010, he developed the animated television series Ugly Americans...
and directed by Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
. The revelation of Ned's age was heavily debated between the Simpsons staff, and the decision to make him 60 years old could have been inspired from a joke by Simpsons writer Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. In his earlier career Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and a short lived reincarnation of The Carol Burnett Show...
. A scene in the episode features the song Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American romantic musical movie starring music icon Elvis Presley and actress/dancer Ann-Margret. This movie is regarded by many fans of these actors and by film critics as one of Presley's best movies, and it is noted for the apparent on-screen chemistry between Presley...
by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, although the staff originally wanted a version of the song performed by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
guest-starred as themselves in the episode, and the episode marked the first appearance of the cocktail waitresses Amber and Ginger, who were voiced by Pamela Hayden
Pamela Hayden
Pamela Hayden is an American actress, best known for providing various voices for the animated television show The Simpsons.-Biography:...
and Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
.
The episode 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 Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) in 1999, which it ultimately lost to King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King 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...
. Following the tenth 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....
, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Amber and Ginger have appeared in later episodes in the series, the first time being the season 13
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...
episode "Brawl in the Family
Brawl in the Family
"Brawl in the Family" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 6, 2002. In the episode, the Simpsons family arrested for domestic disturbance, prompting social worker Gabriel to move in and make the family functional...
", which serves as a continuation of "Viva Ned Flanders".
Plot
Mr. Burns' Casino is about to get demolished, however, a confusion over whether demolitions are supposed to involve implosionsBuilding implosion
In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings...
or explosions results in the casino being blasted into a huge dust cloud. The family goes to the car wash to get rid of the dust, and when Homer is there, he sees that Ned Flanders gets a senior discount
Senior Discount
Senior Discount is a punk rock band based out of Warren, Rhode Island. In addition to playing music, the band is also highly involved in the production of film...
. At church, Flanders admits to Homer that he is sixty years old. After he is exposed by Homer in the church, Ned says that he follows the three "c"s of success: clean living, chewing thoroughly, and "a daily dose of vitamin Church!" However, he also has never lived impulsively, and never really had any fun in life. The rest of the town stops admiring Ned for living so well, and begins to pity him for having never truly lived at all.
Ned reluctantly agrees with this and asks Homer to teach him the secret to his lust for life, giving Homer power of attorney. This leads Homer to take him on a gambling trip to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Homer is confident about going there, but Flanders is nervous. When they arrive, they see Captain Lance Murdoch (from "Bart the Daredevil
Bart the Daredevil
"Bart the Daredevil" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons second season and aired on December 6, 1990. It was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky and directed by Wes Archer. In the episode, the Simpsons go to a Monster truck rally that features famous daredevil Lance Murdock. Bart...
") doing one of his stunts, and Homer chooses to volunteer, and survives. They wander into a casino called "Nero's Palace" and begin to play roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
. Ned protests against games of chance based on Deuteronomy 7, but Homer ignores him and takes the reference as a lucky number. They win, but immediately lose all they won. They then go to the casino's bar and get drunk, waking up the next morning
Hangover
A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...
in their hotel room married to two cocktail waitresses: Homer's new wife is named Amber, and Ned's new wife is Ginger.
Homer and Ned try to escape from the waitresses, going on a wild rampage through the casino, until they are confronted by casino security
Casino security
Casino security refers to the measures that are taken at casinos to protect the establishment's money and property and the patrons. The security protects the casino and its customers from violent crime, theft, and other inappropriate behavior....
, Gunter and Ernst (also from "$pringfield
$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)
"$pringfield ", also known as "$pringfield", is the tenth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 16, 1993. In the episode, Springfield decides to legalize gambling to revitalize its economy. A casino owned by Mr...
"), Drederick Tatum, Boomhauer
Boomhauer
Jeff Dexter Boomhauer III, almost always referred to as simply Boomhauer, is a fictional character in the animated series King of the Hill. The character is voiced by series creator Mike Judge, and is known for his nearly incomprehensible speech....
, and the Moody Blues. They fail to escape the casino, and are literally forced out of the state before being told that they are not welcome in Las Vegas again. Homer and Ned head back to their real wives in Springfield by hitchhiking
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
.
Production and themes
"Viva Ned Flanders" was written by writer David M. SternDavid M. Stern
David M. Stern is an American television screenwriter. Among his first work in television was writing episodes of The Wonder Years in the late 1980s. He then proceeded to write several episodes of The Simpsons in the 1990s. In 2010, he developed the animated television series Ugly Americans...
and directed by director Neil Affleck
Neil Affleck
Neil Affleck is an actor, animator and director. Currently directing the children's cartoon, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends on Nick Jr., he has worked on The Simpsons and Family Guy in the past....
. It was first broadcast 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on January 10, 1999.
The beginning of the episode shows Mr Burns' casino being demolished with implosion. In the DVD commentary for the episode, show runner Mike Scully stated that there was "a lot of talk" and news reports about implosions at the time. Only directly after the implosion do the on-lookers realize the amount of dust that is unleashed. This is based on an observation by the writers, who noted that, when an implosion takes place, "everybody wants to be right next to them", not realising that dust and asbestos will "fly in the air." In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, director Affleck stated that the scene was very complicated to animate, and took about "four or five takes" to get right. Scully thought that the implosion looked "fantastic."
The revelation of Ned's age was much discussed among the writers, and Scully stated that they argued over "how old they could get away with," since Ned had "lived such a pure life" and had "taken such good care of himself." The writers kept pitching for him to be older and older, eventually debating whether his age would be 57 or 58. They then decided on 60, an idea that could have come from Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. In his earlier career Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and a short lived reincarnation of The Carol Burnett Show...
, one of the Simpsons writers. A few weeks before the discussions, after having found out that he was slightly older than the next oldest writer in the staff, Hauge had told one of the writers, in "the most serious reasonable" voice, that he was 60 years old. At the time, Hauge was "around 40" years old.
The morning after having drunk extensively, Homer and Ned are seen sleeping, clothed, in a jacuzzi. The staff discussed whether or not the two should wake up naked or clothed; series creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
, for example, wanted them to wake up naked, since it would "raise some question." During production, Affleck had drawn an alternate version of the scene, which would be based on his "extensive experience in the field of alcohol abuse" in his younger years. The scene would be in Ned's point of view, and would show Homer's open mouth half submerged in the jacuzzi. Affleck described the alternate scene as being "a little bit Fellini-esque" and therefore did not fit with The Simpsons style. Scully had also suggested that Ned would throw up on screen at the end of the scene, however the idea never came to fruition.
The song used during the chase scene in the casino is "Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American romantic musical movie starring music icon Elvis Presley and actress/dancer Ann-Margret. This movie is regarded by many fans of these actors and by film critics as one of Presley's best movies, and it is noted for the apparent on-screen chemistry between Presley...
", performed by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. Although he admitted that he has "nothing against Elvis," Scully originally wanted to use a "hard to find" version of the song performed by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. However, Scully could not clear the version in time, and therefore had to resort to using Elvis' version of the song. The episode features The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
as themselves. Scully commented that they were "very good actors" and "did a great job." The episode also features the first appearance of Amber and Ginger, who were voiced by Pamela Hayden
Pamela Hayden
Pamela Hayden is an American actress, best known for providing various voices for the animated television show The Simpsons.-Biography:...
and Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
respectively. Real-life commentator Don Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up comedian and actor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic....
and fictional character Lance Murdock were both portrayed by series regular voice actor Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, who plays Homer among many others in the series.
Affleck described the plot of the episode to have a "grotesque" and "burlesque," yet "plausible" quality to it. In a scene in the episode, Homer, not knowing of Ned's age, accuses Ned of defrauding a carwash salesman. Affleck commented that the scene has "a touch of music-hall" in it, as it turns, from a scene in church, to a "courtroom scene." He also noted that Ned's journey to Las Vegas can be compared to a Christian's travel to the temple of Mammon
Mammon
Mammon is a term, derived from the Christian Bible, used to describe material wealth or greed, most often personified as a deity, and sometimes included in the seven princes of Hell.-Etymology:...
, a figure that in the Bible is characterized as the personification of wealth and greed.
Cultural references
The episode's title is a reference to the film Viva Las VegasViva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American romantic musical movie starring music icon Elvis Presley and actress/dancer Ann-Margret. This movie is regarded by many fans of these actors and by film critics as one of Presley's best movies, and it is noted for the apparent on-screen chemistry between Presley...
(1964). The panic and smoke cloud generated from the implosion of Mr Burns' casino is reminiscent of the 1997 disaster film Dante's Peak
Dante's Peak
Dante's Peak is a 1997 disaster film directed by Roger Donaldson, written by Leslie Bohem, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton and Charles Hallahan. The film portrays the effect of a volcano erupting near a small town in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The film is loosely...
, and the Simpson family's escape from the smoke cloud is a reference to a scene in the 1996 science fiction film Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
. Outside Rev. Lovejoy's church is a notice that today's sermon will be 'He Knows What You Did Last Summer', which is a reference to the title of the 1997 slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American horror film. The film stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. The screenplay was written by Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream, and very loosely based on Lois Duncan's popular novel of the same title...
. As Homer and Ned escape from Vegas, a snippet of the theme from the 1996 comic science fiction film Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy, surreal humour, and political satire, and claims to be also a parody of multiple science fiction B movies...
can be heard. 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...
's license plate is NCC-1701, which is also the registration of the USS Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
, a fictional starship from the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
media franchise. He also has a bumper sticker which reads "my other car is the Millennium Falcon" which was given to him by somebody who looked liked the actor Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
; the Millennium Falcon
Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon is a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe commanded by smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca...
was the ship used by Ford's character Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
film series.
The song Homer and Ned listen to on the way to Las Vegas is “Highway Star” by English rock band Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
. The two characters driving the other way from Las Vegas were based on Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman is a British cartoonist and caricaturist who is perhaps best known for his work with American author Hunter S. Thompson.-Personal life:Steadman was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, and brought up in Towyn, North Wales...
's illustrations of Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr Gonzo from the novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, written by Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
. The reference was contributed by Simpsons writer George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, who stated that, since Homer and Ned were driving to Las Vegas, "we [the Simpsons writers] had to do a Ralph Steadman tribute. In the wedding video, Homer is seen wearing an attire similar to the ones worn by the Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
members.
Reception and legacy
In its original American broadcast on January 10, 1999, "Viva Ned Flanders" received an 11.6 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 11.5 million viewers. The same year, the episode was nominated for an 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...
in the category of animated programming less than one hour
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
, but it ultimately lost to the King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King 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...
episode "And They Call It Bobby Love." On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season DVD set.
Following its home video release, "Viva Ned Flanders" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Ian Jane of DVD Talk wrote that the episode is a "classic," and Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News found it to be one of the better episodes of the season. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that even though he found Ned being 60 years old "absurd," the episode "musters plenty of fine laughs." He especially liked Homer's escapades, as well as the scenes in Vegas. He concluded his review by writing that "now it’s Marge’s time to shine!" is one of his favorite lines of the series.
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, were also positive, commenting that the episode is "one of the fastest paced episodes ever," and "moves at breathless speed." They added that it is "enormous fun with more bizarre moments than you can shake a stick at," particularly praising a scene involving "a hysterical Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
." Mac MacEntire of DVD Verdict wrote that the establishing shots in Vegas were the episode's highlights. Aaron Roxby of Collider thought negatively of the episode however, writing that, even though the episode has "some decent gags," it is overall "one of the weaker Flanders based episodes."
Amber and Ginger would re-appear in later episodes of the series. They first returned in the season 13
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...
episode "Brawl in the Family
Brawl in the Family
"Brawl in the Family" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 6, 2002. In the episode, the Simpsons family arrested for domestic disturbance, prompting social worker Gabriel to move in and make the family functional...
", in which they track down Homer and Ned. In the DVD commentary for said episode, current show runner Al Jean praised "Viva Ned Flanders, but stated that he thought the ending was "loose." He said, "Usually, like, if you leave a wife like, in Vegas, they track you down". "Brawl in the Family" was produced to "resolve" the ending to "Viva Ned Flanders." In the season 18
The Simpsons (season 18)
The Simpsons 18th season aired from September 10, 2006 to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 production line. Al Jean served as the Showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season....
episode "Jazzy and the Pussycats
Jazzy and the Pussycats
"Jazzy and the Pussycats" is the second episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and first aired on September 17, 2006. When Bart turns a quiet funeral into a chaotic mess, Homer and Marge are faced with angry Springfielders who've had enough of Bart's mischievousness...
", the Simpson family attend Amber's funeral, after it is revealed that she has died of a drug overdose.
External links
- "Viva Ned Flanders" at The Simpsons.com