1st episode of the 22nd season of The Simpsons
"
Elementary School Musical
" is the
twenty-second season
premiere of the American animated television series
The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the
Fox network
in the United States on September 26, 2010. In this episode,
Krusty the Clown
invites
Homer
to the
Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony
in
Oslo
. Later turning out to be a hoax, Krusty is sued by the
International Court of Justice
for his many instances of public indecency. Meanwhile,
Marge
takes
Lisa
to a performing arts camp for a week.
The episode was written by
Tim Long
and directed by
Mark Kirkland
. Upon airing, it was met with mixed reception from television critics. "Elementary School Musical" was viewed by 7.8 million viewers and attained a 3.7/8 rating in the 18?49 demographic, according to
Nielsen ratings
. The episode features guest appearances by
Lea Michele
,
Amber Riley
, and
Cory Monteith
from the musical television show
Glee
, as well as
Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie
,
Ira Glass
, and
Stephen Hawking
.
Plot
[
edit
]
As
Homer
,
Lisa
, and her friends watch the announcement of the year's
Nobel Prize
winners, they are astounded to hear that
Krusty the Clown
has won the Peace Prize. Krusty picks Homer to accompany him to
Oslo
for the awards ceremony to ensure that his jokes will be met with laughter, and Homer decides to take
Bart
with him. Their plane lands in
The Hague
, and it is revealed that the Peace Prize announcement was a ruse to bring Krusty there so he could be tried by the
International Court of Justice
for his deplorable public behavior over the years, such as dropping a monkey from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and stealing the act from a local clown in The Hague. Homer and Bart search desperately for any evidence to show that Krusty has made a genuine
contribution to humanity
, and eventually argue that his refusal to perform at
Sun City
because he wanted
potato chips
led directly to the
South African
government
's decision to
release Nelson Mandela
from prison. Even though these two incidents are not connected in any way, the court accepts this argument and frees Krusty, who immediately seeks out the nearest place to buy
marijuana
? the courthouse cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Marge surprises Lisa, who is despondent about Bart attending the Peace Prize ceremony instead of her, by sending her to a performing arts camp for a week. She eagerly immerses herself there in music and theater, meeting several campers who love to break into song and two guitar-playing hipster counselors, Ethan and Kurt. When Marge takes her home at the end of the week, Lisa has trouble readjusting to normal life and looks for a chance to express her newly awakened creative side. She runs away from home and seeks out Ethan and Kurt in "Sprooklyn", described by the counselors as the "artistic hotbed of Springfield". However, she soon learns that they have grossly exaggerated the area, which is really a run-down slum, and that they actually work at a sandwich shop. They sing a song about the difficulties of being an artist, during which Krusty gets beaten up for accidentally announcing he is the
prison snitch
. Ethan and Kurt encourage her to return to her family and think about trying to make an artistic name for herself when she is older. As Marge arrives to take Lisa home, Ethan and Kurt show off a mural that they have painted in her honor, which takes up an entire side of a building.
Production
[
edit
]
"Elementary School Musical" was written by
Tim Long
and directed by
Mark Kirkland
. The episode features guest appearances from
Lea Michele
,
Cory Monteith
, and
Amber Riley
from the
Fox
series
Glee
.
[2]
The three previously revealed their appearances on
Twitter
in February 2010.
[3]
Physicist
Stephen Hawking
also made an appearance.
[1]
Flight of the Conchords
members
Jemaine Clement
and
Bret McKenzie
first rehearsed their lines over the phone with
Nancy Cartwright
, the voice of Bart, before flying to the United States to record their parts for the show.
[4]
Clement, a fan of the show since it first aired as
shorts
on
The Tracey Ullman Show
, said that he and McKenzie would play new characters, rather than themselves.
[5]
He continued:
Yeah, we were over the moon. We don't play ourselves, because most people won't know who we are, but they'll look like yellow versions of ourselves. We play counsellors at an arts camp that Lisa's going to. It's pretty fun. We just went to a studio and recorded it, but, yeah, we were really flattered.
[5]
The opening sequence features
Otto Mann
in a
Partridge Family
-like bus, while the
chalkboard gag
makes a reference to the film
Inception
.
[6]
The
Glee
cast members sing a version of "
Good Vibrations
" by the
Beach Boys
.
[7]
Krusty the Clown
had a
Super Bowl "nip slip"
, appeared on
The Electric Company
and was seen using a child as a human shield in a similar manner to the character
Greg Stillson
from
The Dead Zone
.
[6]
Lisa listens to
This American Life
, a public radio program voiced by
Ira Glass
. Also, Ethan and Kurt have a map of
Middle Earth
on the wall of their apartment.
[6]
Krusty's comment that "I ain't gonna play Sun City" is a reference to
Steven van Zandt
's famous
protest song
.
Reception
[
edit
]
"Elementary School Musical" was initially broadcast on September 26, 2010, in the United States as part of the animation television night on
Fox
. Upon airing, the episode was viewed by 7.8 million households. "Elementary School Musical" garnered a 3.7/8 rating in the 18?49 demographic, according to the
Nielsen ratings
.
[8]
"Elementary School Musical" ranked twenty-third in the 18?49 demographic for the week.
[9]
Television critics were polarized with "Elementary School Musical".
Emily VanDerWerff of
The A.V. Club
gave the episode a 'C+' grade. Although she expressed satisfaction towards many aspects of the episode, such as the character development of Lisa Simpson, VanDerWerff criticized the songs performed in the episode. In response to the appearance of
Jemaine Clement
and
Bret McKenzie
of the
Flight of the Conchords
, she stated: "I have no idea if the writers wrote new songs for the two guys in Flight of the Conchords to sing [...] but the songs they sang were pretty weak."
[7]
Similarly, VanDerWerff was critical of the guest appearances of Michele, Riley, and Monteith, and stated: "Bringing in the
Glee
kids to sing a take on "
Good Vibrations
" that was, frankly, awful mostly just felt like an attempt to have guest stars in nothing parts so they could be promoted.
[7]
In contrast, Brad Trechak of
TV Squad
felt that the "Elementary School Musical" was an enjoyable start to the twenty-second season of the series, and retorted that the appearances of Clement and McKenzie was the highlight of the episode.
[6]
Similarly, Eric Hochberger of
TV Fanatic
wrote, "We actually loved Bret and Jemaine doing what they do best last night: playing characterized versions of themselves. Unlike the
Glee
kids, our favorite duo from New Zealand were given decent songs and some pretty great lines."
[10]
Hochberger gave the episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
[10]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"
'Glee' stars on 'The Simpsons': That's all?"
.
Zap2it
. Wonderwall. September 26, 2010. Archived from
the original
on January 29, 2013
. Retrieved
January 7,
2012
.
- ^
Porter, Rick (August 2, 2010).
"
'Glee' cast meets 'The Simpsons'
"
.
Jam! Showbiz
.
Canadian Online Explorer
. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012
. Retrieved
August 2,
2010
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- ^
"Neil Patrick Harris Guest Stint on GLEE Seems Likely"
.
Broadway World
. February 25, 2010
. Retrieved
August 2,
2010
.
- ^
"Bret and Jemaine's guest turn"
.
The Dominion Post
.
Stuff
. September 3, 2010
. Retrieved
September 3,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Fox, Killian (August 29, 2010).
"Jemaine Clement: 'I was in a public park replicating gay porn pics in my underpants'
"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
September 3,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Trechak, Brad (September 27, 2010).
"
'The Simpsons' Season 22, Episode 1 (Season Premiere) Recap"
.
HuffPost TV
. Archived from
the original
on January 6, 2013
. Retrieved
January 13,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
VanDerWerff, Emily (September 27, 2010).
"
"Elementary School Musical"/"Harder, Better, Faster, Browner"/"And Then There Were Fewer"
"
.
The A.V. Club
. Retrieved
January 13,
2022
.
- ^
Gorman, Bill (September 27, 2010).
"TV Ratings: Sunday Night Football Wins; Simpsons, Cleveland Show, Family Guy, Makeover, Housewives All Down vs. Last Season's Premieres"
.
TV by the Numbers
. Archived from
the original
on September 30, 2010
. Retrieved
September 27,
2010
.
- ^
Seidman, Robert (September 28, 2010).
"TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'Sunday Night Football', 'Glee,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Dancing with the Stars' Top Premiere Week"
.
TV by the Numbers
. Archived from
the original
on October 1, 2010
. Retrieved
September 28,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Hochberger, Eric (September 27, 2010).
"The Simpsons Season Premiere Review: "Elementary School Musical"
"
.
TV Fanatic
. Retrieved
December 10,
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]