"Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons' thirteenth season. Like the episode Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes?, this episode was publicized as a "bonus episode", which aired after the official season 13 finale and was supposed to be the season 14 premiere.
| "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Dabf17.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 13 |
| Directed by | Pete Michels |
| Written by | Dana Gould |
| Original air dates | May 22, 2002 |
| Episode features | |
| Couch gag | The Blue Man Group performs in front of the couch. |
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler Once again, Springfield is in the midst of a massive heat wave. Every apartment building has installed a large air conditioning device. However, this draws a lot of power from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Despite the safety measures Mr. Burns has taken (cutting power to the orphanage), the plant is at full power. At home, without an air conditioning device, the Simpsons have to follow an old-fashioned fan. Homer decides to give them a taste of winter by plugging in his dancing Santa Claus. This overloads the plant and causes a town-wide blackout. Eventually, a huge riot and looting occur. The police become powerless to stop the massive crime wave.
The next day, Springfield has been devastated by the crime. Quimby decides to take action by forming a blue ribbon committee. At the Simpsons' house, someone stole Lisa's Malibu Stacy collection. Homer decides to take action by finding them. He does and later foils a robbery at the Kwik-E-Mart. He likes the idea of combining his love of helping and hurting people. Homer forms his own security company called "SpringShield". Although it only has Homer, Lenny, and Carl, it is more efficient and successful than the Springfield Police Department. When Quimby sees Chief Wiggum trying to shoot a Piñata with a shotgun, he dismisses Wiggum and makes Homer the chief of police.
After busting Fat Tony trying to make "toy poodles" by gluing cotton balls to ferrets, Homer practically rids Springfield of crime. However, Fat Tony escapes and vows to kill Homer unless he leaves town. Homer is unable to get protection from the citizens he protected (only Ned Flanders volunteers, but Homer ignores his offer) and Lenny and Carl lock themselves in a jail cell. When Homer does not leave, Fat Tony arrives with his mafia muscle - the characters of the Sopranos series. Just before they are about to kill Homer, someone shoots the mobsters and injures them. Safe again, Homer makes Wiggum the chief of police again. When Marge thanks him for saving Homer, Wiggum says that he lost his gun, badge and nearly lost his squad car. Unbeknownst to them, the person who saved Homer was Maggie, who fired at the mobsters from her window with a concealed firearm. Template:Spoilerend
Cultural references
- The episode title references the 1965 James Brown song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag".
- the characters that walk past skinner include Jughead Jones, Fat Albert, and Fonzie.
- The scene where Homer is trying to recruit people to help defend himself against Fat Tony & co. is similar to a scene in the western High Noon from 1952 with Gary Cooper.
- The sequence when Fat Tony and his fellow mafiosi get in the white van is a parody of the opening sequence of the American series The Sopranos, and the song in the background is the Sopranos' theme song, "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3. Also the characters of Silvio Dante, Christopher Moltisanti, and Paulie Walnuts are shown as Fat Tony's crew.
- When the power goes out, Moe says, "I'm gonna miss FOX Celebrity Boxing!" FOX Celebrity Boxing aired the same night as this episode did.
- The short dialogue between Fat Tony and the ferret wearing a wire: "You're not a pet, and you're not a friend. You're nothing to me." is a direct parody of the end of the conversation between Michael Corleone and Fredo Corleone in the Godfather II: "You're not a brother, and you're not a friend. You're nothing to me."
Trivia
- The picture Otto is carrying by while the Simpson's watch is Picasso's Guernica
- This episode was dedicated to the memory of the late Stephen Jay Gould, who played himself in Lisa the Skeptic.
- In this episode, during the blackout, Arnie Pie is reporting to Kent Brockman, who is in the television studio, who seems to be reporting in an on-air, fully lit studio, even though it is a city-wide blackout. It is, however, possible that the studio is running on a back-up generator.