When Flanders Failed
Encyclopedia
"When Flanders Failed" is the third episode of the The Simpsons
' third season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1991. In the episode, Homer
makes a wish for Ned Flanders
's new left-handed
store to go out of business. The wish comes true and gets the Flanders family into financial troubles. Ned is forced to sell his possessions, and Homer gleefully buys many of his things. When finding out that Ned's house is to be repossessed
, Homer feels guilty and decides to get the store back in business by telling all the left-handed citizens about it. Meanwhile, Bart
takes karate
lessons but quits after discovering that it is not as interesting as he had expected it to be.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Jim Reardon
. It had an unusual amount of animation glitches because the animation studio was training a new group of animators. The episode features cultural references to playwright
William Shakespeare
and the film It's a Wonderful Life
. The title of the episode is a reference to the title of the poem "In Flanders Fields
". Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
of 13.9, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
invites the Simpson family
to a barbecue party and announces his plans to open a store for left-handed people; The Leftorium. During the pulling of a wishbone
, Homer
, who has been constantly jealous of the material success of Ned Flanders
and his family, wishes for The Leftorium to be a failure and go out of business. Homer frequently checks in on Ned to ensure that business is going poorly and is happy to see precisely that happening. When Homer sees left-handed citizens struggling with items made for right-handed people, he thinks about informing them about The Leftorium, but decides not to. Eventually the store does indeed close due to lack of business, plunging the Flanders into debt and misery. Ned is forced to sell his possessions, and Homer gleefully buys many of Ned's things. Homer starts to regret what he did, but when he goes to return Ned's possessions, he finds Ned's house repossessed and the family living in their car. Homer wrestles with the guilt his wish has brought, and tells Ned to open the store for one final day. He then tells all the left-handed residents of Springfield about The Leftorium, and they all travel to the store and buy things. The increase in customers helps Ned keep the store open and get his house back.
In a subplot
, Bart
begins taking karate
lessons at Akira's karate school. On his first lesson, he finds that karate is quite boring, so he decides to skip each lesson in order to play video games at the mall arcade. Whenever he is questioned by his family and friends about the techniques he has learned, he refers to the "Touch of Death
", an ability he saw in one of the arcade games he played. He proceeds to terrorize his sister Lisa
into doing his will by threatening her with the technique. His actions catch up to him when Lisa prods him to defend her from the school bullies and reclaim her saxophone. He manages to get it back, but ends up being pantsed and hung by his underwear from the basketball hoop by the bullies.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Jim Reardon
. It featured an unusual amount of animation glitches because the animation studio in Korea
was training a new group of animators, and this episode was one of their first efforts. Show runner
Mike Reiss
said he will always remember it as the episode "that came back animated with a thousand mistakes in it and was just a complete and utter mess." Reardon said there was "literally a mistake in every other scene" when the episode came back from Korea. Several scenes had to be re-animated in the United States because of these glitches, but according to Reardon, "you can still see the lesser ones that got through, such as line quality problems particularly in the first act." Though it aired in season three, "When Flanders Failed" was produced during the previous season
. It was recorded in spring 1991 when the previous season came to an end, and was scheduled to air in autumn that year. The staff therefore had more time to fix the glitches during the summer.
"When Flanders Failed" features the second appearance of the character Akira, voiced by Hank Azaria
. He was previously seen in the season two episode "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
", where he is a waiter at a Japanese restaurant. It is revealed in this episode that the characters Ned Flanders, Moe Szyslak
and Montgomery Burns
are left-handed, just like The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
. The Simpsons writer George Meyer
came up with the idea of The Leftorium when the writers were trying to figure out what Ned's failed business would be. The inspiration came from friend of Meyer's who opened a left-handed store that was quickly forced to close down due to lack of business.
". Homer watches the Canadian Football League Draft
on television. The Simpsons writers Jay Kogen
, Wallace Wolodarsky
, and John Swartzwelder
appear on the draft list. Akira's school is located in the mall next to Shakespeare's Fried Chicken, a reference to the English poet
and playwright
William Shakespeare
. Akira gives Bart's karate class the ancient Chinese military treatise The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
. The episode's ending in which Homer gathers the citizens to The Leftorium is a reference to the film It's a Wonderful Life
, including Homer's toast and the way Ned and his wife Maude are dressed. Richard Sakai
is seen in one of the crowd shots at The Leftorium at the end of the episode. The word schadenfreude
became increasingly known in popular culture after it appeared in this episode. Lisa
asks Homer
if he has ever heard of schadenfreude after he expresses delight that Ned's business is failing. Defining it for him, she says, "It's a German term for 'shameful joy', taking pleasure in the suffering of others."
of 13.9, equivalent to approximately 12.8 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. In 2003, "When Flanders Failed" was utilized in a Roanoke
Presbyterian Church
Sunday School
class to stimulate a discussion among both children and adults about why unfortunate things happen to good people. Phil Brown, the teacher of the class, said the reason they used episodes of The Simpsons was "to get something that would get the kids excited and be more than just a traditional Sunday School lecture series."
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Kirk Baird of the Las Vegas Sun
named it the fifth best episode of The Simpsons, and Central Michigan Life
called it an "instant classic". Pete Oliva of North Texas Daily
said the episode "proves that it is possible to laugh and cry at the same time without being able to control either response." Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "When Flanders Failed" shows that even if The Simpsons is not dealing with famous celebrities or "high profile places", the writers can still "wring uproarious comedy out of their cast of regulars. Flanders is a special creation in the canon of humor, a regular guy who is funny because of how hyper-normal he is compared to his Neanderthal neighbors. The focus on people who are left-handed, and the whole idea of being a lefty, is an unusual basis for a television show. But then again, nothing about The Simpsons is ever common." Hock Guan Teh of DVD Town also praised the writers, stating that they "are able to craft a downtrodden tale for the perpetually clueless Flanders family that serves to illustrate how dark emotions can eventually be overcome by Homer's guilt. A memorable episode." Niel Harvey of The Roanoke Times
called "When Flanders Failed" a "classic bit of Simpsonia." The episode's reference to It's a Wonderful Life was named the 26th greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
' s Nathan Ditum.
Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 3.5/5 rating and commented that "perhaps it is not profound in its examination of jealousy causing people to behave irrationally, but it handles the topic in a serious manner while not compromising the show's humor. The side story with Bart stems from the era of the series when Bart was the big star, but it still has some funny bits." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote: "Mean Homer equals Funny Homer, so 'When Flanders Failed' presents an above average show. He seems unusually crude here, which makes him amusing. The subplot with Bart and his karate class also adds good material, especially when he threatens to turn the 'Touch of Death' on Lisa. Another sappy finish slightly mars this one, but it remains generally solid." Kimberly Potts of AOL
named it tenth best episode of the show and commented: "Schadenfreude is the theme of this tight episode about Homer's joy at the failure of Flanders' Leftorium store. There are few times Homer is more shamelessly smug than he was while imitating Flanders and using Ned's yard sale grill, and we haven't even mentioned Bart's 'Touch of Death' subplot." Winston-Salem Journal
s Tim Clodfelter called it an "outstanding" 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 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1991. In the episode, 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...
makes a wish for 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...
's new left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
store to go out of business. The wish comes true and gets the Flanders family into financial troubles. Ned is forced to sell his possessions, and Homer gleefully buys many of his things. When finding out that Ned's house is to be repossessed
Repossession
Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. Repossession is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property...
, Homer feels guilty and decides to get the store back in business by telling all the left-handed citizens about it. Meanwhile, 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...
takes karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
lessons but quits after discovering that it is not as interesting as he had expected it to be.
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 Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon is an animation director and storyboard consultant, best known for his work on the animated TV series The Simpsons. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series, and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 through 15...
. It had an unusual amount of animation glitches because the animation studio was training a new group of animators. The episode features cultural references to playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and the film It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
. The title of the episode is a reference to the title of the poem "In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields
"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most notable poems written during World War I, created in the form of a French rondeau. It has been called "the most popular poem" produced during that period...
". Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 13.9, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot
Ned FlandersNed 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...
invites 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...
to a barbecue party and announces his plans to open a store for left-handed people; The Leftorium. During the pulling of a wishbone
Furcula
The ' is a forked bone found in birds, formed by the fusion of the two clavicles. In birds, its function is the strengthening of the thoracic skeleton to withstand the rigors of flight....
, 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...
, who has been constantly jealous of the material success of 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...
and his family, wishes for The Leftorium to be a failure and go out of business. Homer frequently checks in on Ned to ensure that business is going poorly and is happy to see precisely that happening. When Homer sees left-handed citizens struggling with items made for right-handed people, he thinks about informing them about The Leftorium, but decides not to. Eventually the store does indeed close due to lack of business, plunging the Flanders into debt and misery. Ned is forced to sell his possessions, and Homer gleefully buys many of Ned's things. Homer starts to regret what he did, but when he goes to return Ned's possessions, he finds Ned's house repossessed and the family living in their car. Homer wrestles with the guilt his wish has brought, and tells Ned to open the store for one final day. He then tells all the left-handed residents of Springfield about The Leftorium, and they all travel to the store and buy things. The increase in customers helps Ned keep the store open and get his house back.
In a subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
, 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...
begins taking karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
lessons at Akira's karate school. On his first lesson, he finds that karate is quite boring, so he decides to skip each lesson in order to play video games at the mall arcade. Whenever he is questioned by his family and friends about the techniques he has learned, he refers to the "Touch of Death
Touch of Death
The Death Touch refers to any martial arts technique that can kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body....
", an ability he saw in one of the arcade games he played. He proceeds to terrorize his sister 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...
into doing his will by threatening her with the technique. His actions catch up to him when Lisa prods him to defend her from the school bullies and reclaim her saxophone. He manages to get it back, but ends up being pantsed and hung by his underwear from the basketball hoop by the bullies.
Production
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 Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon is an animation director and storyboard consultant, best known for his work on the animated TV series The Simpsons. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series, and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 through 15...
. It featured an unusual amount of animation glitches because the animation studio in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
was training a new group of animators, and this episode was one of their first efforts. Show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
said he will always remember it as the episode "that came back animated with a thousand mistakes in it and was just a complete and utter mess." Reardon said there was "literally a mistake in every other scene" when the episode came back from Korea. Several scenes had to be re-animated in the United States because of these glitches, but according to Reardon, "you can still see the lesser ones that got through, such as line quality problems particularly in the first act." Though it aired in season three, "When Flanders Failed" was produced during the previous season
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
. It was recorded in spring 1991 when the previous season came to an end, and was scheduled to air in autumn that year. The staff therefore had more time to fix the glitches during the summer.
"When Flanders Failed" features the second appearance of the character Akira, voiced by 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...
. He was previously seen in the season two episode "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 24, 1991. In the episode, Homer consumes a poisonous fugu fish at a sushi restaurant, and is told that he has only twenty-two hours...
", where he is a waiter at a Japanese restaurant. It is revealed in this episode that the characters Ned Flanders, Moe Szyslak
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
and Montgomery Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
are left-handed, just like The Simpsons 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....
. The 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...
came up with the idea of The Leftorium when the writers were trying to figure out what Ned's failed business would be. The inspiration came from friend of Meyer's who opened a left-handed store that was quickly forced to close down due to lack of business.
Cultural references
The title of the episode is a reference to the title of the poem "In Flanders FieldsIn Flanders Fields
"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most notable poems written during World War I, created in the form of a French rondeau. It has been called "the most popular poem" produced during that period...
". Homer watches the Canadian Football League Draft
Canadian College Draft
The Canadian College Draft is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League select eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from the ranks of CIS football or NCAA college football...
on television. The Simpsons writers Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen
-Early life:Jay Steven Kogen was born on May 3rd, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Mad writer Arnie Kogen, and Sue Kogen . His paternal grandparents, Samuel Kogen and Pauline Gorin, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire , while his maternal grandparents, Harold Hirsch and Ida...
, Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky is an American television writer and director. He wrote for The Simpsons during the first four seasons; all of his episodes were co-written with former writing partner Jay Kogen...
, and John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
appear on the draft list. Akira's school is located in the mall next to Shakespeare's Fried Chicken, a reference to the English poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Akira gives Bart's karate class the ancient Chinese military treatise The Art of War
The Art of War
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun Tzu , a high ranking military general and strategist during the late Spring and Autumn period...
by Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu
Sun Wu , style name Changqing , better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi , was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy...
. The episode's ending in which Homer gathers the citizens to The Leftorium is a reference to the film It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, including Homer's toast and the way Ned and his wife Maude are dressed. Richard Sakai
Richard Sakai
Richard Sakai is an American producer best known for partnering with James L. Brooks and for his work on The Simpsons....
is seen in one of the crowd shots at The Leftorium at the end of the episode. The word schadenfreude
Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages, and has been calqued in Danish and Norwegian as skadefryd and Swedish as skadeglädje....
became increasingly known in popular culture after it appeared in this episode. 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...
asks 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...
if he has ever heard of schadenfreude after he expresses delight that Ned's business is failing. Defining it for him, she says, "It's a German term for 'shameful joy', taking pleasure in the suffering of others."
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "When Flanders Failed" finished 29th in the ratings for the week of September 30–October 6, 1991, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 13.9, equivalent to approximately 12.8 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. In 2003, "When Flanders Failed" was utilized in a Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
Presbyterian Church
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
class to stimulate a discussion among both children and adults about why unfortunate things happen to good people. Phil Brown, the teacher of the class, said the reason they used episodes of The Simpsons was "to get something that would get the kids excited and be more than just a traditional Sunday School lecture series."
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Kirk Baird of the Las Vegas Sun
Las Vegas Sun
The Las Vegas Sun is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper. It is one of Las Vegas, Nevada's two daily newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group....
named it the fifth best episode of The Simpsons, and Central Michigan Life
Central Michigan Life
Central Michigan Life is Central Michigan University's student newspaper. It is almost entirely independent from the university. Only the salaries of the adviser and executive secretary are paid through CMU; all other expenses are covered by CM Life's own advertising revenue.The paper is published...
called it an "instant classic". Pete Oliva of North Texas Daily
North Texas Daily
The North Texas Daily, also known as the NT Daily, is the student newspaper of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, published Tuesday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during the summer. The Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday papers are broadsheets...
said the episode "proves that it is possible to laugh and cry at the same time without being able to control either response." Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "When Flanders Failed" shows that even if The Simpsons is not dealing with famous celebrities or "high profile places", the writers can still "wring uproarious comedy out of their cast of regulars. Flanders is a special creation in the canon of humor, a regular guy who is funny because of how hyper-normal he is compared to his Neanderthal neighbors. The focus on people who are left-handed, and the whole idea of being a lefty, is an unusual basis for a television show. But then again, nothing about The Simpsons is ever common." Hock Guan Teh of DVD Town also praised the writers, stating that they "are able to craft a downtrodden tale for the perpetually clueless Flanders family that serves to illustrate how dark emotions can eventually be overcome by Homer's guilt. A memorable episode." Niel Harvey of The Roanoke Times
The Roanoke Times
The Roanoke Times is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Landmark Media Enterprises...
called "When Flanders Failed" a "classic bit of Simpsonia." The episode's reference to It's a Wonderful Life was named the 26th greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 3.5/5 rating and commented that "perhaps it is not profound in its examination of jealousy causing people to behave irrationally, but it handles the topic in a serious manner while not compromising the show's humor. The side story with Bart stems from the era of the series when Bart was the big star, but it still has some funny bits." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote: "Mean Homer equals Funny Homer, so 'When Flanders Failed' presents an above average show. He seems unusually crude here, which makes him amusing. The subplot with Bart and his karate class also adds good material, especially when he threatens to turn the 'Touch of Death' on Lisa. Another sappy finish slightly mars this one, but it remains generally solid." Kimberly Potts of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
named it tenth best episode of the show and commented: "Schadenfreude is the theme of this tight episode about Homer's joy at the failure of Flanders' Leftorium store. There are few times Homer is more shamelessly smug than he was while imitating Flanders and using Ned's yard sale grill, and we haven't even mentioned Bart's 'Touch of Death' subplot." Winston-Salem Journal
Winston-Salem Journal
The Winston-Salem Journal is a daily newspaper primarily serving the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and its county, Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also features coverage of Northwestern North Carolina and circulates as far west as Tennessee and north to Virginia.The paper is owned by...
s Tim Clodfelter called it an "outstanding" episode.
External links
- "When Flanders Failed" at The Simpsons.com
- "When Flanders Failed" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...