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(Redirected from Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes)
"'Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?'" is the 24th episode of ''The Simpsons''' third season. It was originally supposed to be the opener for season four, but FOX decided to air it earlier to promote the series premiere of ''Martin''; thus, it became the finale of season three.
Homer "wins" the first annual "Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence", a fictional $2000 prize awarded by Montgomery Burns. The name of the "award" was hastily concocted by Burns on the spot in an attempt to convince Homer to sign a waiver freeing the nuclear plant of all liability for Homer's recently discovered sterility. Joe Frazier is the host of the award ceremony, which features extraordinary extravagance (including a lengthy opening) but only the one $2000 prize is awarded to Homer. Despite planning on using the money for the Spinemelter 2000 vibrating chair, Homer agrees to loan the money to his bitter half-brother Herb Powell who, ruined by Homer previously, is now a hobo. Herb's idea to become rich again is by making a machine to translate a baby's words into actual English. Using Homer's money to develop his invention, which is an instant money-making success, Herb becomes rich once again. Along with returning the money to Homer, he buys several gifts for the Simpson family, including a new washer-dryer for Marge, an honorary membership to the NRA for Bart and a subscription to the Greater Books of the Western Civilization for Lisa. Herb then tells Homer that his gift to him is that he forgives him for ruining him in the first place, and he and Homer re-establish a brotherly relationship. Finally, Homer is rewarded for his generosity and faith when Herb has a truck pull in with Homer's vibrating chair.
★ The fight between Barney and Joe Frazier was originally going to have Barney victorious, however, Frazier's son objected.
★ On the commentary, Al Jean states that Frazier was very hard to record, especially saying the word 'Excellence' in the award title. George Meyer was the director and after almost twenty takes, Frazier got the word down. Afterwards Meyer said to Fraizer that the take was 'excellent', but he did not get the joke.
★ Even though Homer eventually got the Spinemelter, it was never seen again in the series. However, it does appear in the games Virtual Springfield and The Simpsons Hit And Run. It appears in the attic in the Treehouse of Horror episode The Thing and I. However, Treehouse of Horror appearances are generally considered non-canon.
★ So far in the series, this is the last major appearance of Herb. The next time he's even mentioned is thirteen years later in the episode "The Heartbroke Kid", where Homer questions who else would need to lose weight, the last person he mentions being "my seldom-seen half-brother Herb", quickly going to a shot of a picture of him on the wall.
★ The song played during the opening of the "First Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence" is referred to as "The Field of Excellence" on the album ''Go Simpsonic with the Simpsons'' and is track 14.
★ The couch is undamaged in the end of the episode, even though Bart destroyed it at the beginning of the episode, but no explanation is given. (It may be the "something nice" that Herb got for Maggie or it may have been bought with the $2000 Herb returns to the Simpsons at the end of the episode.)
★ The episode title is a play on the Great Depression-era tune "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?". (Mr. Burns sang this song in the second season episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish"). Additionally, "two dimes" is gambling slang for two thousand dollars, which is the amount Homer lends Herb.
★ One of the men that sits with Herb by the fireplace in the beginning of the episode looks very similar to Charlie Chaplin's character The Tramp. The Tramp also eats a boot in the Chaplin movie ''The Gold Rush''.
★ The images Homer sees when sitting in the Spinemelter chair parodies the penultimate scene of ''. In fact the scene in which the dog is subjected to watching many acts of violence while having it's eyes forced to be open with a doctor dropping liquid to keep the eyes from dropping, is a direct reference to another Stanley Kubrick film, A Clockwork Orange.
★ Homer reminisces about sitting on the couch while watching ''Dallas'' (specifically Kristin's revelation that she shot J.R. Ewing), the Hands Across America charity event (Marge and the kids take part with the Flanders while Homer schlumpily sits on the couch), and the Berlin Wall coming down, which he switches over to ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''.
★ Homer's line "excuse me while I kiss the sky" originates from the Jimi Hendrix song "Purple Haze".
★ When Herb is giving gifts to the family, Homer despondently says, “I don’t think there's a vibrating chair in that bag for me.” This is a reference to The Wizard of Oz.
★ In Homer's flashbacks of the couch you could see the painting from the first season hanging on the wall
★
"'Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?'" is the 24th episode of ''The Simpsons''
| Contents |
| Plot |
| Trivia |
| Cultural references |
| External links |
Plot
Homer "wins" the first annual "Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence", a fictional $2000 prize awarded by Montgomery Burns. The name of the "award" was hastily concocted by Burns on the spot in an attempt to convince Homer to sign a waiver freeing the nuclear plant of all liability for Homer's recently discovered sterility. Joe Frazier is the host of the award ceremony, which features extraordinary extravagance (including a lengthy opening) but only the one $2000 prize is awarded to Homer. Despite planning on using the money for the Spinemelter 2000 vibrating chair, Homer agrees to loan the money to his bitter half-brother Herb Powell who, ruined by Homer previously, is now a hobo. Herb's idea to become rich again is by making a machine to translate a baby's words into actual English. Using Homer's money to develop his invention, which is an instant money-making success, Herb becomes rich once again. Along with returning the money to Homer, he buys several gifts for the Simpson family, including a new washer-dryer for Marge, an honorary membership to the NRA for Bart and a subscription to the Greater Books of the Western Civilization for Lisa. Herb then tells Homer that his gift to him is that he forgives him for ruining him in the first place, and he and Homer re-establish a brotherly relationship. Finally, Homer is rewarded for his generosity and faith when Herb has a truck pull in with Homer's vibrating chair.
Trivia
★ The fight between Barney and Joe Frazier was originally going to have Barney victorious, however, Frazier's son objected.
★ On the commentary, Al Jean states that Frazier was very hard to record, especially saying the word 'Excellence' in the award title. George Meyer was the director and after almost twenty takes, Frazier got the word down. Afterwards Meyer said to Fraizer that the take was 'excellent', but he did not get the joke.
★ Even though Homer eventually got the Spinemelter, it was never seen again in the series. However, it does appear in the games Virtual Springfield and The Simpsons Hit And Run. It appears in the attic in the Treehouse of Horror episode The Thing and I. However, Treehouse of Horror appearances are generally considered non-canon.
★ So far in the series, this is the last major appearance of Herb. The next time he's even mentioned is thirteen years later in the episode "The Heartbroke Kid", where Homer questions who else would need to lose weight, the last person he mentions being "my seldom-seen half-brother Herb", quickly going to a shot of a picture of him on the wall.
★ The song played during the opening of the "First Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence" is referred to as "The Field of Excellence" on the album ''Go Simpsonic with the Simpsons'' and is track 14.
★ The couch is undamaged in the end of the episode, even though Bart destroyed it at the beginning of the episode, but no explanation is given. (It may be the "something nice" that Herb got for Maggie or it may have been bought with the $2000 Herb returns to the Simpsons at the end of the episode.)
Cultural references
★ The episode title is a play on the Great Depression-era tune "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?". (Mr. Burns sang this song in the second season episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish"). Additionally, "two dimes" is gambling slang for two thousand dollars, which is the amount Homer lends Herb.
★ One of the men that sits with Herb by the fireplace in the beginning of the episode looks very similar to Charlie Chaplin's character The Tramp. The Tramp also eats a boot in the Chaplin movie ''The Gold Rush''.
★ The images Homer sees when sitting in the Spinemelter chair parodies the penultimate scene of ''. In fact the scene in which the dog is subjected to watching many acts of violence while having it's eyes forced to be open with a doctor dropping liquid to keep the eyes from dropping, is a direct reference to another Stanley Kubrick film, A Clockwork Orange.
★ Homer reminisces about sitting on the couch while watching ''Dallas'' (specifically Kristin's revelation that she shot J.R. Ewing), the Hands Across America charity event (Marge and the kids take part with the Flanders while Homer schlumpily sits on the couch), and the Berlin Wall coming down, which he switches over to ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''.
★ Homer's line "excuse me while I kiss the sky" originates from the Jimi Hendrix song "Purple Haze".
★ When Herb is giving gifts to the family, Homer despondently says, “I don’t think there's a vibrating chair in that bag for me.” This is a reference to The Wizard of Oz.
★ In Homer's flashbacks of the couch you could see the painting from the first season hanging on the wall
External links
★
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