Question: Near the beginning of this episode, there is a heating repairman. He asks "Does anyone want to hear the story of the love I once had and lost?" or something like that. Is this character supposed to be the professor from Marge's flashback? He is also seen later on sitting with the kids and listening to Marge's narration, but then he just disappears from the story with no explanation. The purpose of introducing and then abandoning this character is lost on me.
The Simpsons (1989)
1 question in That '90s Show
Continuity mistake: This is a mistake for the introduction from seasons 2-20 (1991-2009). When Homer screams, he turns round. You see this in a wide shot. There are no boxes to the right of the door in the garage. However, two just appear out of thin air when he runs through the garage. (00:01:50)
Tree House of Horror X - S11-E4
[The Simpsons are driving down a road as fast as possible.]
Homer: Dear God, it's Homer. If you really love me you'll save my life now.
[The gas needle immediately drops to empty and the car stops.]
Homer: D'oh.
Trivia: The only voice artists who regularly perform as only one character are Yeardley Smith as Lisa and Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel. Yeardley has also voiced different versions of Lisa (Lisa Jr. and Lisabella) in at least two other episodes.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: I think a lot of shows (Simpsons included) use the trope of an initial set up kicking off the main plot but not being referenced back again. As in if this was a regular show the heating repairman would be forgotten and that plot line dropped. The Simpsons were just making a joke and kinda spoofing that trope by having the repairman pop back up again to listen to the story.