The Simpsons Season 35's Weirdest Story Is Based On Real-Life News - Screen Rant

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Summary

• The Simpsons season 35, episode 10 is based on a real-life viral news story, showcasing the show's ability for timely political satire.
• The episode references various real scandals, such as the Lake Erie Walleye Trail scandal, Varsity Blues scandal, and Lance Armstrong's doping scandal.
• Despite the show's tendency for quirky misadventures, the episode strikes a better balance by grounding its inciting incident in reality, making Bart and Homer's antics feel believable.

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 35, episode 10.

While the story of The Simpsons season 35, episode 10 might seem too silly to be true, the outing’s events are based on a real-life viral news story. The Simpsons often features elements of timely political satire. The Simpsons famously had a long-running feud with former President H. W. Bush after disparaging comments he made about the show in 1992, and it's skewered everything from political figures to social movements. However, the show’s long production process means The Simpsons features fewer topical gags and storylines than its competitors like South Park.

The series may change this approach going forward, as one season 35 storyline implies that The Simpsons season 36 could feature more timely plots. In season 35, episode 10, “Do The Wrong Thing,” Bart and Homer bond over their ability to cheat at obscure sports events after Bart successfully fixes an angling meet-up in his father’s favor. While a lot of the episode’s story is purely fictional, the way that Bart helps his father beat his competitors has its basis in reality. According to an interview with episode writer Joel H. Cohen, a real-life news story inspired Bart’s clever method of tricking the judges,

The Simpsons Copied Bart’s Trick From A Real Cheating Scandal

In the episode, Bart helps Homer catch the biggest fish by stuffing it with marbles. Episode writer Joel H Cohen told Variety that a real incident inspired this plot twist. 2022's Lake Erie Walleye Trail fishing tournament scandal saw Chase Comnisky and Jacob Runyan use lead weights to increase their winning walleye's weight. According to CNN, Cominsky and Runyan received 10 days of jail time and a $2,500 fine each after their suspiciously heavy walleyes almost netted them $28,760 in prize money. In a nod to another real-life scandal (the Varsity Blues scandal), Homer’s influence lead Marge to cheat on Lisa’s application for a prestigious summer camp.

The combination of referencing both a little-known scandal and an infamous one in the episode made for some inspired antics. By using this viral story as a launching pad for the episode’s plot, Cohen ensured that the outing’s story felt rooted in believable, if bizarre, Americana. The rest of the episode’s events got increasingly silly, but the inciting incident’s basis in reality made Bart and Homer’s antics ring true despite the later, cartoonier twists. The worst episodes of The Simpsons season 35 abandoned reality altogether for relentlessly quirky, absurd misadventures, but “Do The Wrong Thing” found a better balance for Homer and Bart.

The Simpsons Season 35 Episode 10 Referenced A Lot of Real News

The Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament might have inspired the episode, but the outing went on to reference a lot of other stories ripped from the headlines. Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud charges, the Variety Blues scandal, Bill Belichick’s cheating, and the Michigan Wolverines football sign-stealing scandal were all name-checked in “Do The Wrong Thing,” as was Lori Laughlin’s rowing controversy and Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal. Impressively, The Simpsons managed to integrate all of these references into the episode’s storyline, meaning the many nods to real-life events never felt like bids to prove that the long-running series is still relevant 35 years after it began airing.

The Simpsons

Release Date

December 17, 1989

Cast

Tress MacNeille , Julie Kavner , Harry Shearer , Pamela Hayden , Nancy Cartwright , Hank Azaria , Dan Castellaneta , Yeardley Smith

Seasons

34

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