"The Falcon and the D'ohman" is the
twenty-third season premiere 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 Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
''. It originally aired on the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
in the United States on September 25, 2011. In the episode, the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant hires a new security guard named Wayne and
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 ...
soon becomes friends with him. "The Falcon and the D'ohman" also reveals the fate of the relationship between the characters
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...
and
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel-Flanders ( Krabappel; ) is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Marcia Wallace from 1990 until her death in October 2013. She was a 4th-grade teacher, who taught Bart Simpson's class a ...
that was initiated in the previous episode of the series, "
The Ned-Liest Catch
"The Ned-Liest Catch" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 22, 2011. This is the second s ...
", that aired in May 2011.
Actor
Kiefer Sutherland guest starred in the episode as the voice of Wayne. This was the third time he appeared on ''The Simpsons''. The episode also features a guest appearance by American chef and ''
Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...
'' judge
Tom Colicchio
Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...
as himself in a segment in which
Marge dreams about being a contestant in a show similar to ''Top Chef''. "The Falcon and the D'ohman" has received mixed reviews from television critics, with criticism directed at the plot and the cultural references featured. However, a reference in the episode to the computer-animated re-enactments of news stories done by the Taiwan-based
Next Media Animation
Next Animation Studio (formerly Next Media Animation; ) is a Taiwan-based subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Next Media that creates humorous and simple CGI-animated coverage of recent news stories and sporting events and releases them through TomoNews ...
has been particularly praised.
Background
![Al Jean by Gage Skidmore 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Al_Jean_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg)
"The Falcon and the D'ohman" features a reference to the previous episode of the series, the
twenty-second season finale "
The Ned-Liest Catch
"The Ned-Liest Catch" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 22, 2011. This is the second s ...
" that aired on May 22, 2011. In that episode, the characters
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...
and
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel-Flanders ( Krabappel; ) is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Marcia Wallace from 1990 until her death in October 2013. She was a 4th-grade teacher, who taught Bart Simpson's class a ...
start dating. The episode ends with
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 ...
and
Marge Simpson
Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short " Good Night ...
giving viewers a link to the official ''The Simpsons'' website, TheSimpsons.com, and encouraging them to go on the website and vote over the 2011 summer on whether Ned and Edna should stay together. The result of the poll was revealed in "The Falcon and the D'ohman"—a majority had voted for the couple to remain in a relationship.
According to executive producer
Al Jean
Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
, the poll was "very strong in one direction".
[ In an interview before the result was presented, Jean guaranteed that the poll was authentic and that the writers would not undo the viewers' decision, adding "What the fans have joined together, let no writer put asunder."]
Plot
Comic Book Guy
Jeff Albertson, commonly known as Comic Book Guy, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the second-season episode " Three Men and a Comic Book", wh ...
opens the season premiere by telling the viewers that there will be hints in the episode as to the conclusion of the romance between Ned and Edna.
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 ...
sneaks late into work at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
, sings to the tune of The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
's "Walking on the Moon
"Walking on the Moon" is a song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, ''Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to beco ...
", and marks up his time card to make it seem like he was on time and had put in some overtime hours. Homer is surprised to find that a new security guard named Wayne has been hired, and repeatedly tries to befriend him, only to be rebuffed. One night, while Wayne is walking home in the rain and hail, he reluctantly agrees to let Homer drive him to Moe's Tavern
Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
for a drink, though insists they remain professional afterwards. While Wayne is in the bathroom, Snake
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
dramatically crashes through the door on his motorcycle to rob everyone. As soon as Wayne comes out, he soundly beats up Snake. The story spreads quickly and a news segment that features an interview with Wayne by Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode " Krusty Gets Busted". He is a grumpy, self-centered local Springfield news anchor.
Prof ...
and a computer-animated Taiwanese dramatization of the incident soon airs on television. It is discovered that Wayne is a highly-trained former CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
black ops
A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it i ...
agent, who decided to go into hiding in Springfield. He is plagued by recurring flashbacks from his previous missions, which cause him to act or shout them out, as evidenced when he unintentionally attacks Mr. Burns, the boss of the power plant, which results in Wayne being fired.
Because Wayne can no longer afford his apartment, Homer lets Wayne sleep in Bart
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
's treehouse. However, Wayne speaks loudly about past missions in his sleep, causing the couples in the nearby houses to lose sleep. Ned and Edna are one of these couples, and they are shown holding each other in bed. News of what happened to Burns spreads to YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and is seen by one of Wayne's gangster enemies, Viktor, in Kiev, Ukraine
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. Apparently, Wayne accidentally killed Viktor's wife with a stray bullet on a previous mission. Thus, the Ukrainian gangster and his henchmen kidnap and torture Homer as bait to lure Wayne. Wayne tracks Homer down through tracking device
A tracking system, also known as a locating system, is used for the observing of persons or objects on the move and supplying a timely ordered sequence of location data for further processing. It is important to be aware of human tracking, fu ...
s he unknowingly ate, frees him and kills all of the Ukrainian gangsters, including Viktor, with help from Homer.
Afterwards, Wayne repays Homer for his help by giving him the fist pound he wanted when they first met, and considers leaving Springfield, but Marge suggests that Wayne get a job at the Springfield Department of Motor Vehicles instead. At the DMV, he has a flashback to the time he was a prisoner in North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
and was forced to write ''Being Short Is Not A Hindrance To Greatness'', a ridiculous musical play paying tribute to Kim Jong-il.
During the closing credits, Ned and Edna thank the fans for voting for their relationship to continue. Seymour Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, ...
tries to protest, but Agnes, who approves of the outcome, rebukes him for waiting until the polls had closed to offer his opinion.
Production
"The Falcon and the D'ohman" was written by Justin Hurwitz
Justin Gabriel Hurwitz (born January 22, 1985) is an American film composer and a television writer. He is best known for his longtime collaboration with director Damien Chazelle, scoring each of his films: '' Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench'' ...
and directed by Matthew Nastuk
Matthew Nastuk is an animation director on ''The Simpsons''. He started directing during the tenth season, and has since directed over two dozen episodes and continues to direct today.
''The Simpsons'' episodes
He has directed the following episod ...
. The storyline of the episode resembles David Cronenberg's film ''A History of Violence
''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, ...
''. "The Falcon and the D'ohman" features several references to popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
. For example, in a sequence at the beginning of the episode, Homer sings about working at the power plant to the melody of The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
's song "Walking on the Moon
"Walking on the Moon" is a song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, ''Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to beco ...
". According to Chris Ledesma, music editor on ''The Simpsons'', the staff was "very fortunate to have obtained the original master tracks from The Police without vocals. This is a rare instance. When we need to do our own lyrics to an established hit song, omposer_Alf_Clausen.html"_;"title="Alf_Clausen.html"_;"title="omposer_Alf_Clausen">omposer_Alf_Clausen">Alf_Clausen.html"_;"title="omposer_Alf_Clausen">omposer_Alf_Clausenusually_arranges_and_records_a_'sound-alike'_that_tries_to_capture_all_the_spirit_and_nuance_of_the_original_so_that_the_audience_immediately_identifies_the_track,_but_allows_us_to_add_our_own_vocals."_The_episode_also_made_frequent_use_of_the_sequence_"Montagues_and_Capulets.html" ;"title="Alf_Clausen">omposer_
omposer_Alf_Clausen">Alf_Clausen.html"_;"title="omposer_Alf_Clausen">omposer_Alf_Clausenusually_arranges_and_records_a_'sound-alike'_that_tries_to_capture_all_the_spirit_and_nuance_of_the_original_so_that_the_audience_immediately_identifies_the_track,_but_allows_us_to_add_our_own_vocals."
_The_episode_also_made_frequent_use_of_the_sequence_"Montagues_and_Capulets">Dance_of_the_Knights"_from_the_ballet_''Romeo_and_Juliet_(Prokofiev).html" ;"title="Alf_Clausen.html" ;"title="Alf_Clausen.html" ;"title="omposer Alf Clausen">omposer Alf Clausen">Alf_Clausen.html" ;"title="omposer Alf Clausen">omposer Alf Clausenusually arranges and records a 'sound-alike' that tries to capture all the spirit and nuance of the original so that the audience immediately identifies the track, but allows us to add our own vocals." The episode also made frequent use of the sequence "Montagues and Capulets">Dance of the Knights" from the ballet ''Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)">Romeo and Juliet'' by Sergei Prokofiev. The sequence had to be licensed, as it was under copyright in most parts of the world.
Another cultural reference appears in one of Wayne's flashbacks, in which he is seen receiving special training against enemies such as Chucky
Chucky may refer to:
*Chucky (name)
*Chucky (character), a fictional character in the ''Child's Play'' franchise
**'' Chucky: Slash & Dash'', a 2013 video game
** ''Chucky'' (TV series), a 2021 TV series
*Chucky madtom (''Noturus crypticus''), en ...
from the '' Child's Play'' film and basketball player Kobe Bryant. The Taiwanese dramatization of Wayne's fight with Snake at Moe's Tavern parodies the humorous computer animated re-enactments of news stories done by the Taiwan-based Next Media Animation
Next Animation Studio (formerly Next Media Animation; ) is a Taiwan-based subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Next Media that creates humorous and simple CGI-animated coverage of recent news stories and sporting events and releases them through TomoNews ...
. One YouTube clip that Viktor sees is a reference to The Gregory Brothers
The Gregory Brothers are an American musical quartet, specializing in comedy music and pitch correction through their YouTube channel Schmoyoho (). After the success of their songs 'Chrissy Wake Up' and ' It's Corn' in the summer of 2022, NPR r ...
, the creators of the popular online '' Auto-Tune the News'' series, in that a news segment featuring a lady who has lost her cat has been autotune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-T ...
d into a song.[ Marge's dream of becoming a contestant in a cooking competition parodies the American ]reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
competition series ''Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...
''. American chef Tom Colicchio
Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...
, who is a judge on that show, guest starred in "The Falcon and the D'ohman" as himself.[
Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland guest starred in "The Falcon and the D'ohman" as the security guard Wayne. This was the third episode of ''The Simpsons'' that he appeared in, the first being the 2006 episode " G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)" (playing a colonel) and the second being the 2007 episode "]24 Minutes
"24 Minutes" is the twenty-first episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 20, 2007 as part of the one-hour season finale, alon ...
" (playing his character Jack Bauer
Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox television series '' 24''. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a federal agent of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) based in Los Angeles, and w ...
from the television series '' 24'').[ As noted by Rick Porter of the website Zap2it, Sutherland's appearance in "The Falcon and the D'ohman" makes him "one of the relatively few ''Simpsons'' guest stars who've appeared more than once and voiced different characters rather than recurring residents of Springfield."][ Other guest stars to have done this are Albert Brooks, ]Jon Lovitz
Jonathan Michael Lovitz (; born July 21, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990. Lovitz starred as Jay Sherman in '' The Critic'' and played a baseball scout in '' A League of ...
, and Phil Hartman
Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...
, all of whom have played one-time characters and recurring parts. The character Wayne is partly based on Sutherland's ''24'' character Jack Bauer, who, according to Christopher Hooton of ''Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'', is also a "po-faced anti-terrorism agent constantly finding his loved ones kidnapped by megalomaniacs." After the episode had aired in the United States, the Ukrainian press
Since November 2015 Ukrainian authorities, state agencies and local government authorities are forbidden to act as founders (or cofounders) of printed media outlets. reported that the mafioso Viktor bears a resemblance to the Ukrainian President
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...
.
Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
in the United States on September 25, 2011, as the premiere of the twenty-third season of ''The Simpsons''.[ It was watched by approximately 8.08 million people during this broadcast. It received a 3.9 ]Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
in the demographic for adults aged 18–49 (up three percent from the last season's premiere), and a ten percent share. ''The Simpsons'' became the second highest-rated program in the 18–49 demographic in Fox's Animation Domination lineup that night, finishing with a higher rating than ''The Cleveland Show
''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, and ...
'' and '' American Dad!'' but a lower rating than '' Family Guy''. ''The Simpsons'' was, however, the most-watched show in the lineup in terms of total viewers.
Critical reception
Since airing, "The Falcon and the D'ohman" has received mixed reviews from critics.
The plot of the episode has been criticized by some reviewers. Kyle Lemmon of '' Under the Radar'' gave the episode a three out of ten rating, concluding that "this new episode is rarely grounded in any kind of reality. The best examples of ''The Simpsons'' center the situational humor in somewhat plausible scenarios within the town. I guess after so many years, they've completely run out of ideas." Similarly, Television Blend's Jesse Carp wrote that the plot shows "essentially what is wrong with the show and why I stopped watching. Because of the endless amount of material needed to keep a series running for twenty three years, they have to resort to outlandish plots and endless cameos to stay interesting. The best episodes, ... definitely have some absurd elements but they're all firmly grounded in a fairly real world of Springfield, USA and its colorful cast of characters. I'd like to see more of that. I miss them."
The cultural references featured in the episode have attracted both criticism and praise. The parody of Next Media Animation has been commended by several reviewers. Hayden Childs of ''The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' commented that the episode "features a couple of quite funny sight gags, like the fresco on Moe's ceiling and the delightful Taiwanese dramatization of certain events", but further wrote that the "rest of the jokes and references clang away without being too funny or too insulting, and that is probably the best that any viewers can ask of ''The Simpsons'' in its advanced age." Television Blend's Steve West commented that the episode was the worst of the Animation Domination lineup that week and further elaborated that the cultural references "are always a year behind, and the smart writers who used classic American culture to bring wit to the series have been replaced by those who want to mimic '' South Park'' and ''Family Guy''. They fail miserably, and it's gotten so bad that I now no longer care about the relationship between Marge and Homer."
Matt Roush of ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' wrote more positively about the episode, noting that "Fox's eternal ''The Simpsons'' kicks off a night of all-new animation, welcoming Kiefer Sutherland in a very clever guest role as a security guard trying without much success to escape his violent past. A nod to Taiwanese animation is just one of the highlights in this homage to ''24''-style mayhem." Similarly, Umika Pidaparthy of CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
's The Marquee Blog commented that "there were a lot of light laughs in this episode, like when Wayne walks through the Ukrainian part of Springfield (Tsarbucks, anyone?). Pop culture references like the Taiwanese animation of the robbery were hilarious. I was disappointed, though, to see that Marge's daydream about being on ''Top Chef'' didn't become a side story." Mike Hughes of the ''Lansing State Journal
The ''Lansing State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan, owned by Gannett.
Overview
The ''Lansing State Journal'' is the sole daily newspaper published in Greater Lansing. The newspaper had an average Monday through ...
'' commented that the episode was "inconsistent, but adgreat moments", and that it was "much better than Fox's other season-openers" that premiered on the same day.
References
External links
*
"The Falcon and the D'ohman"
at The Simpsons.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon And The D'ohman, The
2011 American television episodes
The Simpsons (season 23) episodes
Cultural depictions of Kim Jong-il