From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Simpsons episode
"22 Short Films About Springfield"
Episode no.	149
Prod. code	3F18
Orig. Airdate	April 21, 1996
Show Runner(s)	Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein
Written by	Richard Appel David S. Cohen Jonathan Collier Jennifer Crittenden Brent Forrester Rachel Pulido Steve Tompkins Josh Weinstein Matt Groening Writing Supervisor Greg Daniels
Directed by	Jim Reardon
Couch gag	Sea monkey creetures swims to a clam shells couch to look at a treasure chest instead of a TV. (originally shown in "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming")
DVD commentary by	Matt Groening Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein Richard Appel David S. Cohen Rachel Pulido Yeardley Smith Jim Reardon David Silverman James Oakley
SNPP capsule
Season 7 September 17, 1995 – May 19, 1996
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two) Radioactive Man Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily Bart Sells His Soul Lisa the Vegetarian Treehouse of Horror VI King-Size Homer Mother Simpson Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular Marge Be Not Proud Team Homer Two Bad Neighbors Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield Bart the Fink Lisa the Iconoclast Homer the Smithers The Day the Violence Died A Fish Called Selma Bart on the Road 22 Short Films About Springfield Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish" Much Apu About Nothing Homerpalooza Summer of 4 Ft. 2
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons' seventh season, airing on April 21, 1996. The title is a spin on the film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. The episode is also rumored to have sparked the idea amongst the staff of a spin-off TV series Tales from Springfield, focusing on the town rather than the Simpsons family, however this idea never came to anything; It is believed that the staff felt it would detract from The Simpsons as a TV series, and that the show already focused on the townsfolk very much anyway. It is still debated whether this whole idea was just fan speculation or not.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Trivia 3 Cultural references 3.1 The Tarantino connection 4 Deleted stories 5 External links

The episode is a series of short skits, each showing a brief slice of life in Springfield. Though the episode title claims to contain 22 short films, in reality the number is 20 (some beginnings and ends are subjective). It is possible that the opening sequence and end credits of the show could also count as short films, which would make the total 22.

1. Bart and Milhouse squirt condiments from a highway overpass.
2. Apu attends a party at his brother Sanjay's house.
3. Lisa gets gum in her hair.
4. Smithers gets stung by a bee.
5. Dr. Nick treats Grampa Simpson.
6. Moe gets robbed.
7. Skinner hosts dinner for Superintendent Chalmers.
8. Homer traps Maggie in a newspaper vending box.
9. The cops debate McDonald's Quarter Pounder vs. Krusty Burgers (Pulp Fiction parody).
10. Bumblebee Man at home.
11. Snake and Chief Wiggum are captured by Herman (Pulp Fiction parody).
12. Reverend Lovejoy and his dog bother Ned Flanders.
13. Lisa and the gum (part 2).
14. Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel.
15. Milhouse has to use the bathroom.
16. Chief Wiggum, the hood and the storekeeper (part 2) (Pulp Fiction parody).
17. Lisa and the gum (part 3).
18. Nelson gets his comeuppance.
19. Bart and Milhouse find the truth.
20. Lastly, an additional segment, "The Tomfoolery of Professor John Frink" is almost seen.

• Simpsons writer Ian Maxtone-Graham was the basis of the tall man in the car who gives Nelson his comeuppance.
• There are several major characters who did not get their own story in the scene where the various Springfieldians are trying to help Lisa, including Groundskeeper Willie, Lionel Hutz, Otto, Sideshow Mel, Lenny, Mayor Quimby, Dr. Hibbert, the Sea Captain, Mr. Teeny and Üter. There are also some minor one-time characters, such as Corporal Punishment, Colonel Hapablap, Dr. Colossus, Handsome Pete and the Capitol City Goofball.
• Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein and Matt Groening can be seen in animated form among the crowd who is on the street laughing at Nelson. According to Oakley, he and Weinstein are in the scene because they told the animators to fill the streets with idiots. Also seen in this scene is Don Brodka from "Marge Be Not Proud".
• Most of the Spanish used in Bumblebee Man's segment is not actual Spanish. In the Season 7 DVD commentary for this episode, the writers say that this was deliberate because they wanted even non-Spanish speakers to understand the dialogue.
• Snake is wearing a Middlebury T-shirt while he fights Chief Wiggum. Judging by his earlier quote while robbing Moe, "Goodbye student loan payments!", one can come to the conclusion that Snake is an alumnus of Middlebury College.
• This episode was the fourth and final episode so far to be broadcast with a title caption at the beginning of the episode. The first three are: "The Telltale Head", "Bart Gets Hit by a Car", and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular".
• Smithers nearly dies from a single bee sting in this episode, yet showed no effects of being stung by several bees in "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk". This scene was also cut out in syndication to fit time restraints.
• When Super Intendant Chalmers catches Principal Skinner trying to escape through his window to get food from Krusty Burger, he yells "SEY-MOUR" as opposed to "SKIN-NER" which he usually says, SEY-MOUR is usually reserved for Skinner's Mother Agnes.
• At the party, Apu is seen eating a tofu dog, alluding to the previous episode Lisa the Vegetarian.
• Both Bart and Milhouse are seen throughout the episode, Bart is the person to put gum in Lisa's hair, and is also seen by the bee that stings Smithers, Milhouse is with his Father, when he knocks out Herman. The two characters are seen at the beginning and end, together.
• Apu's story was meant to have a jingle at the title, but got cut out to make time. it can be seen in the episode's deleted scenes on the DVD
• According to the DVD commentary, the barber who styles Lisa's hair was from the Tracy Ullman shorts.
• Lisa's bald spot at the barber's is "normal" skin colored (as in pinkish) instead of yellow (the "Simpsons-ish" skin color). In other words, Lisa has a pink scalp.

• Apu's line, "For the next five minutes, I'm going to party like it's on sale for $19.99!", references Prince's hit song, 1999.
• Dr. Nick's story is very similar to many scenes from E.R.
• Superintendent Chalmers says "Aurora borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?" which is a reference to the 1995 movie The Langoliers, where Captain Brian Engle says: "You're kidding. The Aurora borealis over California? And at this time of year?"
• Skinner says that "Steamed Hams" is an expression used in Albany and not Utica, while the two cities are in the same region of upstate New York, barely an hour apart from one another.
• A rare photograph of Sean Connery (signed by Roger Moore) is available at The Android's Dungeon.
• Marge cites Eloise for using peanut butter to get gum out of Lisa's hair.

The episode contains numerous references to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Like the film, the episode's plot is episodic though interconnected. Apu's brother Sanjay makes a square with his fingers, like Uma Thurman. The policemen's conversation about McDonald's parallels the famous "Royale With Cheese" discussion; the Krustyburger restaurant it takes place in also bears a striking resemblance to the diner Pumpkin and Honey Bunny attempt to rob in the film. In addition, the Simpsons theme (to the tune of Misirlou) is playing in the background on the Krusty Burger's jukebox.

The subplot involving Chief Wiggum and Snake is a direct parody of the "Gold Watch" segment of the film. Snake runs over the donut-carrying Wiggum at a red light, like Bruce Willis did to Ving Rhames, and Wiggum chases after Snake (although his motive is exchanging insurance information rather than revenge). The two run into Herman's Pawn Shop, where Herman beats up and binds and gags the two, then waits for "Zed" to arrive. The Van Houtens come in instead, and a visibly annoyed Herman lets Milhouse use the restroom. Herman then threatens Kirk with his shotgun, but Milhouse unintentionally knocks out the shopkeeper with a flail he found in the back room. Wiggum then hops out the open door, still tied to his chair, and falls down in the middle of the street.

The episode could be said to be a nod to Tarantino's style as a whole as Tarantino will often take segements from other films (or different media) and intertwine them into the story in the same way this episode does.

Many characters had stories but they were cut due to the length of the episode. This meant some prominent characters didn't get a story revolving around them, for example: Marge, Krusty, Patty and Selma, Ralph Wiggum and Lionel Hutz. The deletion of the Krusty story meant that he wasn't seen in this episode at all.

• "22 Short Films About Springfield" episode guide at TV.com
• "22 Short Films About Springfield" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• "22 Short Films About Springfield" at the Internet Movie Database