Question: During this episode we see Bart stay with Flanders while Marge is in labour with Lisa. However Rod and Todd seem to be the same age here that they are in normal episodes. Lisa even babysits them in some episodes despite them obviously being at least 4 or 5 years older than her. Compared to Bart and Lisa, how old are they supposed to be?
Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie - S4-E6
Question: Homer bans Bart from ever watching "The Itchy And Scratchy Movie". But what exactly is the audience meant to think about this? Is the audience meant to think Homer did the right thing or Homer did a severe thing and the audience wants Bart to watch The Itchy And Scratchy Movie?
Chosen answer: Like many great episodes of the Simpsons, this one does not give us a good or bad guy. Rather, it's examining a family dynamic; parents want to protect their children, children want to prove their maturity. Just like in real life, no one is being especially unreasonable, they're just butting heads by each trying to do what they think is best.
Marge vs. the Monorail - S4-E12
Question: Was the whole point of Lyle's flight to Tahiti making a brief layover in North Haverbrook so the citizens there could get their revenge on Lyle? (00:18:30)
Chosen answer: No. Lyle's flight having a layover in North Haverbrook was a happy accident for its citizens. It is unknown why the plane had a layover, except it suiting the plot.
Homer's Triple Bypass - S4-E11
Question: Bart and Lisa say they don't feel highs and lows because their generation watches MTV. Can someone explain more?
Answer: I think Lisa and Bart are actually referring to Generation X and early Millennials. People of these ages are also known as "the MTV Generation." They dealt with the political, social, and economic issues that were happening in the '80s and '90s. Many were also "latchkey kids" who had to be independent from an early age. They are known for being apathetic or even cynical, after growing up the way they did.
Answer: They probably mean that MTV has little to do with real life, and viewers became numbed and emotionally detached from reality by watching the contrived idealized images almost non-stop. It prevents them developing empathetic feelings toward others in their lives.
This episode aired Dec 1992, and given that it took 6-9 months to produce an episode, the writing took place early or mid 1992. MTV's first reality show, "The Real World", didn't air until May 1992. "Road Rules", MTV's 2nd reality TV show didn't air until 1995.
But that's all equally applicable to watching endless music videos, shortening attention spans. The fear is/was that constant "input" like that would slightly numb people to the real world, with exciting music/images being the only thing that generates an emotional response, in comparison to the more "boring" real world.
Kamp Krusty - S4-E1
Question: When the kids take over Kamp Krusty, Lisa hands out all the kids' confiscated mail to them and one of them says "My insulin." How did that kid survive at that camp all that time (whilst it was being run by the bullies and Mr Black), without their insulin and not become ill due to not being able to treat their diabetes?
Chosen answer: He assumedly arrived at camp with a supply. The shtick is that the counselors are so cruel they'd withhold his lifesaving medication.
Brother From the Same Planet - S4-E14
Question: When Homer is at the Bigger Brothers place, he looks at a book of children who want a Bigger Brother. When he looks at one of them he says "Zooie. Zooie." What exactly does he mean by this?
Tree House of Horror III: The Simpson's Halloween Special III - S4-E5
Question: In the opening credits, what is the meaning of the tombstone that says "American Workmanship"?
Answer: They're implying the quality of American-made products had really declined. At the time, the US market was facing stiff competition from Japan and other nations, and some people blamed it on American goods being shoddy.
Question: Surly Duff tells a kid to "Take a picture, it'll last longer" - just what does this expression mean?
Answer: It's just a sarcastic response people say when they catch someone staring at them. As if the person staring is trying to burn an image in their mind of what that person looks like and a picture will last longer than the memory.
Answer: Along with the other answer, it's a sarcastic thing that people say to someone who they don't want to be friends with or date. ie. a group of "cool" kids not letting a "loser" type into their group, or a woman rejecting a guy who wants to date her. They are basically saying "I want to get away from you as fast as possible, so you might as well take a picture - it'll last longer than our friendship/relationship would."
Chosen answer: This extensive discussion of Rod and Todd's ages appears in the website simpsons.wikia.com: "There is also some controversy as to which of the two is the elder. In "Dead Putting Society" the commentator at the golf tournament states that Todd is 10. In Homer Badman, one of the corrections that the TV-magazine show Rock Bottom makes is to their claim that "the older Flanders boy is Todd, not Rod" (although this could have been included purely to stir up fans). Later, in Bart Sells His Soul, the Flanders family eat out for Rod's "big ten-oh", suggesting the two are of similar age (however, the present time in at least one other Simpsons episode has been set two years before that of others, as shown by All's Fair in Oven War). However, in "My Sister, My Sitter" Lisa, when babysitting Rod and Todd, tells a story about a robot named Todd who "had a brother named Rod, who was two space years older than him". Todd responds by saying, "I don't like this story!" As Rod is shown to be quite a bit bigger and taller than Todd, the claim that Todd is the older brother is disputed. Rod and Todd were both born before Lisa (who is eight), Todd appearing a younger age than Bart (who is 10) in the episode "Lisa's First Word" (when Bart was entering "the terrible twos"). Despite these discrepancies, the Simpsons official website states that "Todd is the youngest and most impressionable member of the happy Flanders clan". This seems to trump any inconsistency concerning age seen in the episodes. On the other hand, the character profile for Rod Flanders in the book "The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family" describes him as the "youngest of the Springfield Flanders.", but they have made some mistakes in that book. Another possible reason for the variation is that, in the DVD commentaries for show, the writers have stated that they are never sure which Flanders sibling is Rod and which one is Todd and are often forced to check character models to be sure. According to the commentary, early show writers used two different mnemonics to identify the taller brother; first that Todd started with T and was Taller, or that Rod was long like a rod and hence taller."
Michael Albert