Brother from the Same Planet

Brother from the Same Planet                               Written by Jon Vitti
                                                         Directed by Jeff Lynch

TV Guide synopsis

Homer's neglect sends Bart looking for a new father, and Homer
responds in kind.  Meanwhile, Lisa battles addiction to a 900 number
for a ``Beverly Hills, 90210'' [sic] star.  Voices: Phil Hartman, Tress
MacNeille, Dan Castellaneta.

Title sequence

Blackboard

    {The principal's toupee is not / a frisbee.}
    {The principal's tou} at cutoff.

Lisa's solo

    Descending eight notes.

Driveway

    Homer says ``D'oh!'' when Lisa scoots past.
    Homer yells ``Waugh!'' when Marge closes in on him.

Couch

    The entire wall rotates as if taking the family into a secret room,
    leaving a perfectly normal couch in the room.

Quotes and scene summary

   

 A soccer field.  Nelson Mundt, attacker.  Bart Simpson, goalie.  A
 shot on goal.  It hits Bart in the face.  But Bart is pleased. ``I
 stopped it!''  ``And I hurt someone,'' adds Nelson.

 The soccer coach announces that the player selected to attend
 Pele's soccer and acting camp is none other than Nelson himself.
 Nelson is duly appreciative.  ``Thanks, Dad!''

 Bart can't join Milhouse, Richard, and Lewis on their quest to sneak into
 an R-rated movie (``Barton Fink'') because he told his Dad he'd wait
 for him.  Bart waits, alone.

 Before leaving to visit her sisters with Lisa, Marge reminds Homer
 to pick up Bart.  Homer answers, ``I'm on my way.''  Only after they
 leave do we discover that Homer was watching ``Wheel of
 Fortune''---and the state of the puzzle was ``I'm on my wa[]''.

 Storm clouds move in, and Bart sees a station wagon coming up the
 road.  But it's not Homer, only an amazing simulation.  The car
 splashes mud as it passes.  When rain begins to fall, Bart seeks
 refuge under a tree, which is immediately struck by lightning.  Bart
 sits in the road, drenched.

 Homer sits at home watching television.

 The wind lifts a nun into the air, and she flies away.  (``This
 isn't funny!'')  And curiously explodes when she lands.  Bart tries
 sending a psychic message, ``Pick up Bart.''

 In a trance, Milhouse writes ``Trab pu kcip'' on the wall and earns
 a scolding from his father.

 Homer watches a Green Bay football crowd bid a fond farewell to
 their star, Brian Bartlett Starr.  Homer has the funny feeling he's
 forgetting something.  The crowd chants, ``Bart!  Bart!''  The
 banner ``We'll never forget you, Bart!'' is unfurled.  Santa's
 Little Helper barks, ``Bart!  Bart!''  And even little Maggie
 removes her pacifier and burps, ``Bart.''

 To escape the noise, Homer takes a bath, still trying to remember
 what it is he's supposed to do, but all he can get is ``Pick a
 bar.''  Homer dozes off, and in his dream, he finds Bart's skeleton
 on the soccer field.  Homer dashes naked out of the tub and out the
 front door.

 Homer finally arrives (dressed) to pick up Bart.  ``Hey, boy!  How
 was soccer practice?''  Bart climbs into the car and says nothing.
 Homer tries to buy Bart's forgiveness with a chocolate sundae, but
 the car hits a bump, sending the ice cream atop Bart's head.  Homer
 tries to put the issue behind them, but Bart isn't buying.

 In his room, Bart watches Krusty as guest host of ``Tuesday Night
 Live''.  His monologue is a massive flop.
   
   We got a great show for ya!  Well, actually, the last half hour is a
   real garbage dump.
   -- Krusty the Clown hosts ``Tuesday Night Live'',
      ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Bart muses, ``I miss Joe Piscopo.''  Next comes an advertisement for
 a ``Bigger Brothers'' program, and Bart calls.  ``My name is Bart
 Simpson, and I don't have a father.''  Meanwhile, ``Tuesday Night
 Live'' opens with a decidedly unfunny sketch.

 [End of Act One.]

 At the ``Bigger Brothers'' agency, Bart dons an accent and plays the
 r\^ole of a brave young boy whose father left him six years ago.
 The administrator assigns to Bart a bigger brother she has been saving.

 At school, a dynamic young man Tom arrives at school on his
 motorcycle, gives Bart his own helmet, and takes Bart away, to the
 awe of Bart's classmates.  ``Bart's dad has really put himself
 together!'' notes Martin.

 While Marge goes over the bills, Homer explains...
   
   Homer: Bart's not mad at me.
   Marge: He called you a bad father.
   Homer: Marge, when kids these days say `bad', they mean `good'.
          And to `shake your booty' means to wiggle one's butt.
          Permit me to demonstrate.
   -- So hot, it's cool, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Marge finds a $378.53 bill among the payables.
   
   Marge: Homer, do you have an explanation for this bill?
   Homer: Oh, it's that record club.  The first nine were only a penny.
          Then they jacked up the price!
          [breaks down crying] It's not fair!  It's not fair, I tells ya!
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 But the bill is a phone bill.  Somebody's been making calls to the
 Corey hot-line.  Lisa quickly hides in her room, the entrance to
 which is decorated by a Corey poster.

 Marge has a talking-to with Lisa.
   
   Marge: Why didn't you ask our permission, Lisa?
   Lisa:  I did!
          [begin flashback.  Homer watches television, Lisa stands in front.]
   Lisa:  Dad, can I...
   Homer: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
   -- A wink is as good as a nod, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Marge understands Lisa's plight.  She explains that when she was a
 girl, she had a crush on Bobby Sherman.  Lisa laughs uproariously.
 Marge tells Lisa to stop making the calls, and Lisa carefully says,
 ``I promise you'll never be billed for another call.''  Lisa then
 continues to laugh at the thought of Bobby Sherman.

 At Springfield Stadium, it's Tomato Day.  One free tomato with each
 paid admission.  Bart tells Tom that his former father gambled away
 the family's savings on a single hand of blackjack.
   
   Dealer: Nineteen.
   Homer:  Hit me.
   Dealer: [deals another card]  Twenty.
   Homer:  Hit me.
   Dealer: [deals another card]  Twenty-one.
   Homer:  Hit me.
   Dealer: [deals another card]  Twenty-two.
   Homer:  D'oh!
   -- Know when to say when, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 The start of the game is delayed for an announcement from a
 recruiter from the Springfield Communist Party.  The attendees unleash
 their (not-yet rotten) tomatoes.  ``Well, this is better than Dog
 Day.''

 At Dr. Hibbert's office, while waiting for her ear-drops to sink in,
 Lisa is uncontrollably drawn to the wall telephone.  She dials.
   
   Hi, you've reached the Corey hot-line.  $4.95 a minute.  Here are some
   words that rhyme with Corey:  Gory.  Story.  Allegory.  Montessori.
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 After lifting weights with Tom, Bart settles down to watch some
 television.  But it's not Itchy and Scratchy.  It's Ren and Stimpy.
 Bart and Tom get a kick out of an absurdly disgusting scene.

 It's show-and-tell day.
   
   Bart: Someday, I want to be an F-14 pilot like my hero Tom.  He lent
         me this new weapon called a neuro-disruptor.
         [Bart aims it and fires it at Martin, who convulses and collapses.
         The other kids applaud politely.]
   Ms.K: He's not dead, is he, Bart?
   Bart: Naah, but I wouldn't give him any homework for a while.
   Ms.K: Very good, Bart.  Thank you.
   Bart: Oh, don't thank me.  Thank an unprecedented eight-year military build-up.
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Martin is up next, but somehow his horsie doll fails to impress.

 Lisa pays Grampa a visit, who falls asleep in mid-sentence.  Lisa
 spots Grampa's telephone and dials.
   
   Hi, this is Corey.  Hope you and I can get married someday.
   -- Call 1-900-555-CORY, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Homer sits on the couch as Bart heads for the front door.
   
   Homer: Hey, boy.  Where ya goin'?
   Bart:  Father-son picnic.  [leaves]
   Homer: Have a good time! ... Wait a minute...
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Principal Skinner leaves Lisa to inventory a storage room full of
 Glee Club peanut brittle while he sits down to slash forty percent
 out of the budget.  Which he does by deleting entire classes
 at a time.  He hears DTMF tones and immediately recognizes them as a
 900 number.  Skinner catches Lisa on the phone listening to Corey
 read the newspaper headlines.

 Tom takes Bart hang-gliding.
   
   Tom:  Hey, look at the forest fire down there.
   Bart: [uninterested] Yeah, great.
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
   Bart: You've been really great to me, but there's probably some other
         kid who needs you even more.
   Tom:  Bart, I could kiss you.  If the ``Bigger Brothers'' didn't make
         me sign a form promising I wouldn't.
   -- Living in the age of cooties, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Homer spots Tom and Bart circling overhead through a pair of
 binocs and realizes what Bart's been up to.  When Bart returns,
 Homer does a Richard Burton on him.  When Bart asks what he's going
 to do, he merely answers, ``You'll see.''

 Homer pays a visit to the Bigger Brothers office.
   
   Administrator: And what are your reasons for wanting a Little Brother?
   Homer's brain: Don't say revenge!  Don't say revenge!
   Homer's mouth: Uh, revenge?
   Homer's brain: That's it, I'm gettin' outta here.  [footsteps, and a door slam]
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 The administrator ticks off ``revenge'' on the application and
 welcomes him to the agency.

 [End of Act Two.]

 The administrator gives Homer a list of boys who are in need of
 a Bigger Brother.  Homer goes through the book like a catalog.
 (``Ugly.  Wiener.  Crater-face.  Suey!  Suey!'')  Homer considers
 withdrawing his application but sees a young boy approach the
 desk in the next room.  ``Do you have a Bigger Brother for me yet?
 ... Okay, I'll be back in an hour.''  Homer presses his face to the
 window.  ``I'll take him!  Do you have him in blonde?''

 Marge has been called to school to talk to Lisa.  Marge suggests
 that if Lisa can hold out until midnight without calling, she will
 have licked her addiction.  Skinner advises Lisa to listen to her
 mother, commenting on his own relationship with his mother.
   
   Mother, that sailor suit doesn't fit any more!
   -- Principal Skinner gets weird again, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Marge and Lisa plot their escape.

 Homer pays a visit to the run-down part of town to pick up Pepe.
 Over ice cream, Homer tells stories of Bart.
   
   Homer: Son, I just want you to know I love you very much.
   Bart:  [shoves a half grapefruit in Homer's face]  Shut up!
          [end of flashback]
   Homer: Mmmmmm... grapefruit.
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Homer shows Pepe a wonder of modern technology:  The automatic
 garage door.  But it doesn't open all the way.  Homer offers to take
 Pepe home, but Pepe asks to see the stars.

 That evening, the two recline on the porch, admiring the stars.
   
   Pepe:  Tell me more!  I want to know <all> the constellations.
   Homer: Well, there's... Jerry the Cowboy.  And that big dipper looking
          thing is Alan... the Cowboy.
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
   Pepe:  Oh, Papa Homer, you are so learn\`ed.
   Homer: Heh heh heh.  `Learn'd', son.  It's pronounced `learn'd'.
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
   Pepe:  I love you, Papa Homer.
   Homer: I love you, too, Pepsi.
   Pepe:  Pepe.
   Homer: Pepe.
   -- The Pepe challenge, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Lisa sits in the green chair saying to herself, ``Gotta make it to
 midnight.  Gotta make it to midnight.''  Maggie plays with a toy
 phone.  The clock nears 7pm.  Marge knits.  Lisa develops a twitch
 and finally explodes, shouting at poor Maggie, ``Must you be forever
 dialing that phone!''  Lisa then quietly excuses herself.

 Lisa watches the clock in her room.  It's only 11:24.

 Marge comes into Lisa's room, to find it empty.  Downstairs in the
 kitchen, she finds Lisa asleep at the table, the phone in her hand.
 Marge quietly muses, ``Oh, Lisa.  You tried your best.''  But when
 she picks up the receiver, Marge hears, ``At the sound of the tone,
 the time will be 12 midnight.''  Lisa wakes up.  ``I made it!''

 Homer and Pepe watch another absurdly violent Itchy and Scratchy
 cartoon.

 Bart fishes under his bed in search of his skateboard, to learn that
 Homer gave it to Pepe.
   
   You're not the <only> one who can abuse a non-profit organization!
   -- Homer, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Homer tries to recall the good ol' days.
   
   Homer: Remember when I used to push you on the swing?
   Bart:  I was faking it.
   Homer: Gasp!  Liar!
   Bart:  Oh yeah?  Remember this?  ``Higher, Dad!  Higher!  Whee!''
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 At Marine World (``No longer educational'') both Homer and Pepe and
 Tom and Bart attend ``Bigger Brothers Day''.  Homer teases a dolphin
 with a fish, pulling it just out of reach.  The dolphin steals
 Homer's hot dog instead.  Homer attacks the dolphin, but is taken
 away by security.  Bart and Homer spot each other, and Tom draws
 Bart away.  ``You know better than to talk to strangers.''  Homer
 explains that he's Bart's father.  Tom stops in his tracks.  ``His
 father, the drunken gambler?''  Homer brightly answers, ``That's
 right.  And who might you be?''  Tom answers with his fists.  Homer
 throws starfish (a la a martial arts film), which Tom catches and
 carefully places in a nearby tank.  A shark eats them.  (``D'oh!'')
 The fight continues.
   
   This just in.  A fistfight is in progress in downtown Springfield.
   Early reports indicate, and this is very preliminary, that one of the
   fighters is a giant lizard.  [inset of Godzilla] [to off-camera aide]
   Do we have a source on this? ...  Uh huh.  A bunch of drunken frat
   boys. ...  All right, I could use some names.  I. P.  Freeley.
   -- Kent Brockman's breaking news story, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 The fight continues through an antiques shop, into Springfield
 Gorge, back up again, and finally ends back on the streets of
 downtown Springfield.  Homer is taken away in a stretcher.  Tom and
 Pepe sit on the kerb and muse (painfully obviously) on their
 respective losses.  Bart makes the obvious suggestion.  (Where am I,
 the planet cornball?)

 Homer and Bart sit on the couch.
   
   Another beer, Dad?
   -- Bart, ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
   Bart:  Dad, remember when Tom had you in that headlock and you
          screamed ``I'm a hemophiliac'' and when he let you go,
          you kicked him in the back?
   Homer: Heh heh heh.  Yeah.
   Bart:  Could you teach me how to do that?
   -- ``Brother from the Same Planet''
   
 Father-and-son bonding continues.

 [End of Act Three]
   

Voice credits

Starring

    Dan Castellaneta    (Homer, Krusty)
    Julie Kavner        (Marge)
    Nancy Cartwright    (Bart, Nelson)
    Yeardley Smith      (Lisa)
    Hank Azaria         (Wiggum)
    and
    Harry Shearer       (nearly everybody else)

Special Guest Voice

    Phil Hartman        (Mr. Mundt, Tom, himself)

Special Guest Voice

    Marcia Wallace      (Ms. Krabappel)

Also starring

    Pamela Hayden       (Milhouse)
    Tress MacNeille     (Pepe)
    Russi Taylor        (Martin, Administrator?)

Didja notice...

    ... in Homer's dream, Bart's skull has spikes? @{tn}
    ... the Christmas tree air freshener in Homer's car? @{mb}
    ... how Homer's and Lisa's eyes cross <outwards> when they laugh?
    ... the erupting volcano as Tom and Bart are hang-gliding?
    ... when Homer and Pepe are admiring the stars, Homer has a tall,
        cool glass of red beverage, but Pepe has nothing to drink! @{cm2}
    ... Homer was watching Itchy and Scratchy at <Pepe's> house!
    ... a Krusty Burger in the background during the fistfight?

Movie (and other) References

    - Rocky III
	- ``Eye of the tiger, Bart.'' @{rfd}
    * Psycho
	- Skinner's mother lives in the Psycho-house.
    * Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
	- Richard ``Get Drunk'' Burton accuses his wife (Liz Taylor)
	  of adultery.  Note Homer's affected accent, and the predominance
	  of shadows in the scene.  The original movie is black-and-white,
 	  for which shadows are important. @{jmv}
    - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
    Raiders of the Lost Ark
    Saturday Night Live (including G. E. Smith)
	- The producer's name is Lorne
    When Harry Met Sally
	- but see below
    The Shining
	- Trab Pu Kcip @{jb}

Freeze Frame Fun

Non-Threatening Boys

    - Timmy Tim and his [unreadable]
    - Meet Joey Joe

Reasons for applying to be a Bigger Brother

    . Spite
    . Malice
    * Revenge
    . Boredom
    . Profit

Under Bart's bed

    - Playdude magazine
    - Ball and jacks
     - No skateboard

Springfield Gorge

    - The third most beautiful gorge in the state

Animation and continuity goofs

Bart's telephone has only the digits 1 through 9.  No zero or
punctuation marks.

Comments and other observations

References obvious and obscure

Brother from Another Planet

The episode title is an obvious rearrangement of the title of this
movie by John Sayles. @{bw}

When Harry Met Sally

Alan J Rosenthal @{ajr} was the first to point out that the synthetic
orgasm scene was not invented by ``When Harry Met Sally'', noting in
particular that the Steve Martin film ``All of Me'' contained a
similar premise.  Facts notwithstanding, I maintain that it is ``When
Harry Met Sally'' that, for better of worse, will be associated with
the concept inthe mind of the general public.

The Flying Nun

This 60's sitcom starred Sally Field as a young nun working in a
convent in Puerto Rico.  Tropical breezes combined with her wing-like
headdress led to constant airborne adventures.  I am not making this
up.

And why did the Simpsons version of same explode?  Because it was funny.

Bart Starr

Ethan Miller @{elm} explains that Bart Starr was the star quarterback
for the Green Bay Packers who led the team to victory in the first two
Super Bowls, as well as league championships before the Super Bowl was
invented.  He concludes that Homer was watching an NFL Films
production about the star quarterback.

Other references

Robert Lopez @{rel} claims the grapegruit scene is a reference the
Cagney film ``The Public Enemy''.

Various attempts to reduce the fight scene to the level of a reference
have been rejected.

The Stellar Career of Bobby Sherman

ranma@nsipo.nasa.gov (no name) was for some reason compellet to post
the following list:

[Source: "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows"]

	"Shindig"
	(Music)
	ABC-TV 1965-1966
	[Semi-regular performer]
		***
	"The Music Scene"
	(Music)
	ABC-TV 1969
	[Performance]
		***
	"American Bandstand"
	(Music)
	ABC-TV 1970
	[Performance]
		***
	"Here Come The Brides"
	(Comedy-Adventure)
	ABC-TV, 9/25/68 - 9/18/70

	Comedy-adventure set in boomtown Seattle (pop. 152) in the 1870's.
	Logging camp operator Jason Bolt [Robert Brown] and his younger
	brothers Jeremy [Sherman] and Joshua [David Soul, "Starsky and
	Hutch"] were in danger of losing their timberland, at Bridal
	Veil Mtn., because their men were in near revolt -- over the
	lack of women in Seattle.  Jason contrived an ingenious scheme.
	Using funds borrowed from rival saw-mill operator Aaron Stempel
	[Mark Lenard], he sailed back to New Bedford, Mass., and
	persuaded 100 prospective brides to return with him to the
	frontier.  The girls, led by `straw boss' Candy Pruitt [Bridget
	Hanley], returned with Jason aboard Capt. Clancey's [Henry
	Beckman] decrepit ship, and Seattle was never the same again.
	There was a catch, however.  If any of the 100 girls left before
	the year was up, Jason would forfeit his land to Stempel.  It
	was quiet a year, but Jason won his wager.
		***
	"Getting Together"
	(Situation Comedy)
	ABC-TV, 9/18/71 - 1/8/72

	Recording star Bobby Sherman played a young songwriter struggling
	to make it in the popular music business in this youth-oriented
	comedy.  Bobby had the melodies, and his tone-deaf, off-beat
	friend Lionel [Wes Stern] wrote the lyrics.  Bobby's mod-rock
	was not without responsibilities, however, as he was legal
	guardian of his freckle-faced, 12-year-old sister Jennifer
	[Susan Neher]. The three of them .. lived in an antique ship ..
	while Bobby worked as a recording engineer, and the boys tried
	to peddle their songs.  Rita [Pat Carroll] was their motherly
	landlady, and Rudy [Jack Burns] her policeman-boyfriend.
	[...] "Getting Together" was previewed on a March 1971 telecast
	of `The Partridge Family', in which the Partridges introduced
	Bobby and Lionel to each other.

		----------

[Source: _American_Bandstand_ performance, 1970]

	Hey little woman, please make up your mind.
	You've got to come into my world 
	  and leave your world behind.
	Com'on now.

	Nah, nah nah nah, nah nah nah, na nah nah na.

	You've got to come on down from that cloud girl
	  and leave the world behind ...

			"Hey Little Woman"

		----------

[Source: _American_Gold_, September 1991]

	"Bobby Sherman is an Emergency Medical Technician in Long Island
	 now, a teen idol back then ..."

Miscellaneous

Lisa has a weird clock.  LED, yet the digits flip down.

Reviews

Okay, this is getting silly.  The references are gratuitous.  The
plots are absurd.  Homer has become a caricature of himself.  What
happened to the days when plots were simple and Homer reflected our
own weaknesses?  After all, ``There's a little Homer Simpson in all of
us.''  Oh well, at least Homer hasn't been accidentally locked in the
basement.

Boring distribution restrictions

Blah blah blah blah.