"D'oh-in' in the Wind" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998. In the episode,

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

travels to a farm owned by Seth and Munchie, two aged hippies who were friends with Homer's mother. After finding out his middle name is "Jay", Homer is drawn to the carefree lifestyle of

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

s, and decides to become one himself. The episode was written by

Donick Cary Donick Cary is an American writer and producer. Early life Cary grew up on Nantucket Island, graduating from Nantucket High School in 1986. Personal life He is the son of actors Richard and Mara Cary and the brother of actress Martha Cary, the l ...

and directed by Mark Kirkland, with a couple of scenes being directed by Matthew Nastuk. Kirkland, who was going through a divorce during the episode's production, assigned Nastuk, his assistant director, to take over direction in his stead. However, after Nastuk had directed a scene, Kirkland felt better and returned to direct the rest of the episode. The episode features the revelation of Homer's middle name, "Jay", which is a tribute to characters from '' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' who got their middle initial from Jay Ward. The episode features comic actors

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

as Munchie and

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on ''Mary Hartman, ...

as Seth. Carlin was suggested by ''Simpsons'' writer

Ron Hauge Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. Early in his career, Hauge was a contributor to '' National Lampoon''. In 1989 he created a graphic for ''Spy Magazine'' captioned "The World Championship," with wars between co ...

, who "really wanted to meet him", although he did not attend the recording session with Carlin and Mull. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 8.4 million viewers. Following the tenth season's home release on August 7, 2007, "D'oh-in' in the Wind" received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

After starring in a commercial by

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant,

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

decides to be an actor. As he fills out a

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

form at home,

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

points out that he has only written his middle initial, J, in the blank for his middle name. Neither Homer nor Grampa knows that name, but Grampa takes Homer to a farm where Mona, Grampa's wife and Homer's mother, spent some time during her days as a

. The farm is run by two middle-aged hippies, Seth and Munchie, who were friends of Mona. They point out a mural that she painted based on an incident at

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

, which is dedicated to Homer and reveals his middle name as Jay. Seeing how carefree his life would have been as a hippie, Homer decides to become one. He dons a dirty old poncho left behind by Mona and begins to carry a

frisbee A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitive ...

, but is dismayed to learn that Seth and Munchie are running an organic juice company at the farm. He persuades them to accompany him on a "freak-out" ride through Springfield, disrupting the citizens' daily lives with silly antics. When the three return to the farm afterward, though, they find that Homer's frisbee has jammed the juicing machinery and caused the loss of an entire shipment of the farm's products. Seth and Munchie angrily order Homer to leave. To set things right, Homer sneaks back to the farm at night, picks and processes all the vegetables he can find, and delivers the juice shipment to Springfield. In so doing, he unknowingly harvests a hidden field of

peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to gl ...

, which Seth and Munchie had intended for their personal use as recreational drugs. The juice causes intense psychedelic hallucinations in those who drink it, and the police quickly trace it to the farm and move in to arrest Homer, Seth, and Munchie. Homer defends Seth and Munchie by placing himself in the officers' path, reminding them of the morals and values from the 1960s, and placing a flower in the barrel of each officer's rifle. When Chief Wiggum fires, Homer ends up hospitalized with one of the flowers lodged in his skull.

Production

"D'oh-in' in the Wind" was written by

and directed by Mark Kirkland and Matthew Nastuk. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998.Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The idea for the episode was pitched by Cary, who thought it would be fun to see the citizens of Springfield hallucinating. He then fleshed it out, forming its current iteration. The episode features the revelation of Homer's middle name, "Jay", which is a "tribute" to animated characters such as

Bullwinkle J. Moose Bullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character which premiered in the 1959–1964 ABC network animated television series ''Rocky and His Friends'' and ''The Bullwinkle Show'', often collectively referred to as ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'', produced by ...

and Rocket J. Squirrel from '' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' who got their middle initial from Jay Ward.Groening, Matt. (2007). Commentary for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The name was pitched on for three days by the writers.Cary, Donick. (2007). Commentary for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Originally, Kirkland was supposed to be the sole director for the episode, however, at the time, he was going through a divorce that he "did not see coming". Because of this, Kirkland assigned his assistant director, Matthew Nastuk, to direct the episode in his stead. However, after having directed a scene, Nastuk claimed that he was "terrified" and wanted Kirkland to continue the direction. Kirkland returned to direct the episode, feeling better after getting over the divorce. Despite the circumstances, Kirkland stated that he "loved" working on the episode, and could relate to the story since he had grown up in a "sort of

commune school" in the late '60s and early '70s. Kirkland based a lot of the scenery designs in the episode on the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

where, according to him, a lot of "ex-hippies" live.Kirkland, Mark. (2007). Commentary for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The two hippies, Seth and Munchie, were portrayed by comic actors

and

respectively. For a while, the staff were not sure of who would play Munchie. Although they had decided on Mull to play Seth, the staff were "kind of stuck" on who would play Munchie. Carlin was suggested by

, one of the ''Simpsons'' writers, who "really wanted to meet

arlin The name Arlin may refer to: * Arlin Godwin, American electronic musician and filmmaker * Arlin Horton, founder of Pensacola Christian College * Arlin Adams (1921–2015), American judge * Arlín Ayoví (born 1979), Ecuadorian football player * B ...

but ended up not going to the recording session.Hauge, Ron. (2007). Commentary for "D'oh-in' in the Wind", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Scully stated that Mull and Carlin were "some of the funniest guys that ever lived", and that recording their lines was "a lot of fun". Although it does not occur with most other guest stars in the series, Mull and Carlin recorded their lines together. While the designs of Seth and Munchie were not modeled after anyone in particular, their hair-styles were slightly based on those of Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen, owners of the ice cream company

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

. Comedian

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

was portrayed by series regular cast member

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...

, who plays Homer among many other characters in the series.

Jill St. John Jill St. John (born Jill Arlyn Oppenheim; August 19, 1940) is a retired American actress. She may be best known for playing Tiffany Case, the first American Bond girl of the 007 franchise, in '' Diamonds Are Forever''. Additional performances i ...

and Phyllis Diller were both voiced by American voice actress

Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne; born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series ''Animaniacs'', Babs Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Chip and Gadget Hackwrench ...

. The psychedelic version of ''The Simpsons main theme that plays during the end credits was performed by Yo La Tengo, an American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band who are friends of Cary's.

Cultural references

The episode makes multiple references to 1960s culture, including films such as ''

The Love-Ins ''The Love-Ins'' is a 1967 American counterculture-era exploitation movie about LSD that was directed by Arthur Dreifuss. The film is loosely based on the 1960s American figure Timothy Leary and represents the 1960s San Francisco scene, particu ...

'' (1967). The episode features the theme from the musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'', "

Incense and Peppermints ''Incense and Peppermints'' is the debut album by psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. Released in October 1967, it reached No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts during a 24 week run

" by Strawberry Alarm Clock (1967), " White Rabbit" by

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

(1967) and " Time of the Season" by The Zombies (1968). In a flashback to

in 1969,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's performance of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" is shown, as is a recreation of the photograph of embracing couple Nick and Bobbi Ercoline taken at the festival and used as a poster for the film ''

'' (1970). Additionally, Homer sings

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

's 1983 song " Uptown Girl". After drinking the tainted juice, Grampa and Jasper sit on a bench, laughing like the title characters from the series ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

'', while Flanders hallucinates skeletons and dancing bears (images associated with the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

), marching hammers (from

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

's 1982 film ''

Pink Floyd—The Wall Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

'') and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' lips and tongue logo. Mr. Burns' film is credited as "An Alan Smithee Film", a reference to the

Alan Smithee Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild o ...

pseudonym credit used by directors who wanted to be disassociated from a film on which they had lost creative control, to the detriment of the final product. When Barney drinks alcohol to prevent the bad effects from the tainted juice, a pink elephant comes to his rescue, referencing the scene in Dumbo where Dumbo and Timothy drink alcohol and see pink elephants. Seth and Munchie's dog is named Ginsberg, thought to be a reference to beat poet

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

. Homer putting the flowers in the policemen's rifles is a reference to the iconic October 22, 1967 ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine picture, " Flower Power" by

Bernie Boston Bernie Boston (May 18, 1933 – January 22, 2008) was an American photographer most noted for his iconic ''Flower Power'' image. Life and career Boston was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in McLean, Virginia. During his time in high sc ...

. The phrase used by

Dr. Hibbert Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as gree ...

regarding Homer's condition ("I'm a doctor, not a gardener") is a reference to a recurring ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' gag, when Doctor

Leonard McCoy Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, known as "Bones", is a character in the American science-fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. McCoy was played by actor DeForest Kelley in the original ''Star Trek'' series from 1966 to 1969, and he also appears in the anim ...

retorts, mostly to

Spock Spock is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterprise ...

, that he is a doctor and not a hatever the situation refers to Additionally, the end credit theme music by Yo La Tengo is presented in a style that parodies " Tomorrow Never Knows" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, and as the credits end, Homer says "I buried Flanders", a reference to the

Paul Is Dead "Paul is dead" is an urban legend and conspiracy theory alleging that English musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles died on 9 November 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike. The rumour began circulating in 1967, gaining broad popular ...

myth.

Reception

In its original American broadcast on November 15, 1998, "D'oh-in' in the Wind" received an 8.5 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 8.3 million viewers. The episode finished in 40th place in the ratings for the week of November 9–15, 1999. On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of ''The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

box set. Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Donick Cary, Ron Hauge and Mark Kirkland participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode. Following its home video release, "D'oh-in' in the Wind" received mixed reviews from critics. Giving the episode a positive review, Aaron Roxby of Collider wrote that, even though he felt that the jokes about hippies were "a bit overplayed", he still considered it to be one of the best episodes of the season. James Plath of DVD Town thought fondly of the episode as well, calling it "funny". Writing for DVD Movie Guide, Colin Jacobson stated that, even though he feels the sixties have been lampooned "many, many times over the years", he considered "D'oh-in' in the Wind" to be a successful spoof of the era. He enjoyed the way the episode portrayed and mocked the ways aging hippies "didn't live up to their youthful ideas". He concluded his review by writing that "D'oh-in' in the Wind" is one of the first great episodes of the season. However, Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News did not enjoy the episode. Considering it to be one of the worst episodes of the season, he found the "jabs" at the hippie culture to be dated, writing that the episode is "a quarter century too late". Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'' were negative as well, calling the episode "dreadful". They wrote that, aside from a couple of references to sixties psychedelia and the hippie movement, the only significant part of the episode is the revelation of Homer's middle name. They concluded by writing that the episode is "humourless".

References

External links