Trilogy of Error
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"Trilogy of Error" is the eighteenth episode of the twelfth 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, ...
'', and the 266th episode overall. 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 an ...
in the United States on April 29, 2001. In the episode,
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 ...
's rush to the hospital to re-attach his severed thumb,
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 ...
's rush to school to win the science fair, and
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 ''Barthol ...
's run-in with an illegal fireworks scheme are interconnected as each act tells the events of the same day, but from a different point of view. "Trilogy of Error" was directed by
Mike B. Anderson Mike B. Anderson, sometimes credited as Mikel B. Anderson, is an American television director who works on ''The Simpsons'' and has directed numerous episodes of the show, and was animated in "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" as cadet Anderson. W ...
and written by
Matt Selman Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...
. The episode, initially titled "Go, Simpson Go", was initially pitched by Selman who figured the whole plot out before pitching it. The episode features a guest appearance from ''
Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...
'' star
Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award n ...
as Thelonious, while
Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jeffe ...
reprises his role as recurring character Fat Tony. The episode has received positive reviews since its original airing and Selman named it the best episode he has ever written.


Plot

The episode takes place over a single day, which starts when Homer, Bart and Lisa are called down to breakfast by Marge only to find a sticky, gooey cereal called mueslix, which they do not want to eat. While Bart excuses himself to answer the door for Milhouse, Lisa helps Homer come up with an excuse to avoid eating breakfast.


Homer's day

Lisa shows Homer her project for the school science fair, a grammar robot named Linguo, which Homer breaks by pouring beer down his throat. Shortly after, Marge accidentally severs Homer's thumb as she is cooking, and Santa's Little Helper runs around with the severed thumb, forcing Homer to chase him for it. Marge calls the police, but when they mistake her for an attempted murderer, she gives them a fake address (123 Fake Street). After Homer retrieves the thumb, he and Marge drive to the hospital; along the way they crash into Rainier Wolfcastle's car and then steal it. At the hospital, Dr. Hibbert claims that their finger insurance will not cover the cost as thumbs are not included, so they drive off for Dr. Nick's clinic. Since Homer's thumb is starting to shrivel, he stops at Moe's, where he gets a brine solution. He gets distracted when Moe offers him a beer, and then passes out. When Barney wakes him up with coffee, Homer rushes out and sees Marge is gone. He hitchhikes with Cletus who drives him to Dr. Nick's, but they discover the clinic is on fire. Homer asks Cletus to drive him to Shelbyville Hospital, but his truck gets stolen, leaving Homer to walk to the hospital. His thumb is almost completely shriveled up now, and he is about to throw it in a garbage can when an explosion blasts Linguo's head in the air and it lands next to Homer.


Lisa's day

Lisa has to fix Linguo after Homer breaks him, missing the school bus as a result. Her bike is stolen and Marge and Homer drive off without her, so she runs around town before getting a ride from Krusty and his driver
Mr. Teeny The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...
. However, Mr. Teeny mistakenly takes her to ''West'' Springfield Elementary School, where after walking into a French class, she has a whirlwind romance with Thelonious, a student who shares her interests. Still needing a ride, Lisa stops at Moe's Tavern looking for her dad, but he is not there. She spots Chief Wiggum and asks for a ride, but he is too busy tracking down Fat Tony with the help of an undercover informant with a wire. Wiggum botches the mission by announcing himself via the wire, with gunfire heard. Homer comes in just as Lisa leaves by the back door. Outside, Lisa finds Marge, who takes her to school, but the car runs out of gas. Marge and Lisa see Cletus' truck and hitch a ride, but when he exits his truck they steal it and drive off to the school. However, they are forced to stop when Bart emerges from a manhole in front of them.


Bart's day

With Bart letting him borrow Lisa's bike, Milhouse takes Bart to a cave he has found, which is full of fireworks. The duo test some, but accidentally set fire to Dr. Nick's clinic. Bart and Milhouse hide in a building, but are caught by the police due to the fake address Marge gave them. The police ask the boys to help them find the fireworks smuggler in exchange for avoiding juvenile detention. Bart and Milhouse find Fat Tony and his henchmen and surreptitiously offer to buy his fireworks. However, when Wiggum announces himself via the wire taped to Bart's stomach, Fat Tony realizes that they are undercover. Bart distracts him by lighting firecrackers before running off, so he chases the boys through the sewers until they emerge near Marge and Lisa. Having been chased down the street, Bart and Milhouse get cornered. To save them, Marge throws Linguo at the mobsters who proceed to taunt Linguo. Due to the gangsters' bad grammar, Linguo begins to
short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...
and sparks from his body ignite nearby fireworks, causing Linguo to explode and his head to launch like a missile.


Epilogue

Fat Tony is arrested just as Homer arrives, but when Marge points out his severed thumb and Lisa's destroyed science project, Fat Tony proposes a solution: Lisa brings the mobsters to the science fair, and Legs successfully reattaches Homer's thumb while Lisa narrates the presentation for her class, earning her first place at the science fair. Marge remarks that it has been "one crazy day", causing everyone to laugh, but a distraught Mr. Teeny fears that the episode's plot made no sense and encourages the audience to "Tell the people".


Production

"Trilogy of Error" was written by
Matt Selman Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...
and was directed by
Mike B. Anderson Mike B. Anderson, sometimes credited as Mikel B. Anderson, is an American television director who works on ''The Simpsons'' and has directed numerous episodes of the show, and was animated in "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" as cadet Anderson. W ...
as part of the twelfth season of ''The Simpsons'' (2000–2001). Selman was inspired by the 1999 comedy thriller film '' Go''. Before pitching it, he devised the whole plot in order to prove that it could be done. The episode was originally called "Go, Simpson Go" in an allusion to the 1998 German crime thriller film ''
Run Lola Run ''Run Lola Run'' (german: Lola rennt}, lit. "Lola Runs") is a 1998 German experimental thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The story follows a woman named Lola (Franka Potente) who needs to obtain 100,000 Deutschmarks in twenty min ...
''. Due to the
non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...
structure of the episode, the writing staff found it difficult to write jokes for the episode, because "every thing would affect the story". In the original draft, the second act would have portrayed Lisa traveling on the short
school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
and meeting children with amusing disabilities, but it was deemed "too radical" at the time. The production team also wanted to create a segment focusing on
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932 ...
, but they decided she was already prominent in the first two segments. During production, the staff found it difficult to choose which jokes to start each act, since all three started the same way. There was also a debate on the appearance of
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 ...
's truncated thumb. The staff decided to add a thumbnail, although characters in ''The Simpsons'' do not have nails on their fingers and toes. The cost of "Trilogy of Error" was above average, despite the several replays of the same animation and the expectations of the production staff. During production of the third act of the episode, Selman went on vacation and the staff had to finish the act without him. The title of the episode is a reference to the 1975
made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
horror film ''
Trilogy of Terror ''Trilogy of Terror'' is a 1975 American made-for-television anthology horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black. It features three segments, each based on unrelated short stories by Richard Matheson. The first follows a college ...
''. The episode makes a number of allusions to the 1999 film '' Go'', an example of which is
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 Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932 ...
's theft of
Rainier Wolfcastle The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
's car after Wolfcastle smashes up their car. The episode also parodies the 1992 film ''
Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward Bunke ...
'' by showing the same events occurring from different points of view, while also featuring music similar to that featured in ''
Run Lola Run ''Run Lola Run'' (german: Lola rennt}, lit. "Lola Runs") is a 1998 German experimental thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The story follows a woman named Lola (Franka Potente) who needs to obtain 100,000 Deutschmarks in twenty min ...
'' during the "Lisa's Day" segment. 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 an ...
in the United States on April 29, 2001. On August 18, 2009, it was released on DVD as part of the box set ''The Simpsons – The Complete Twelfth Season''. Staff members Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Rob Lazebnik, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Max Pross, David Mirkin, and Mike B. Anderson participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were featured on the box set as well.


Reception

In its original broadcast, "Trilogy of Error" finished with a Nielsen rating of 8.4, equivalent to approximately 14.4 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week. Since airing, "Trilogy of Error" has received positive reviews from critics. In a 2008 Flashback Review, Robert Canning of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
called the episode "outstanding" for its several sight gags and pop culture references. He concluded it was an amazing episode and that it proved the series could still deliver " tsshare of quality episodes" despite its overall drop in quality. He ultimately gave the episode a 9.0/10. Several members of the IGN staff later named it the best episode of the twelfth season.
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017 ...
named "Trilogy of Error" the 20th best episode of the series. Colin Jacobson of ''DVD Movie Guide'' positively compared the episode to the ''
Treehouse of Horror ''Treehouse of Horror'' is an annual series of special Halloween-themed episodes of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', with 33 anthology episodes between 1990 and 2022. Also known as ''The Simpsons Halloween Specials'', each episode typical ...
'' episodes and called the episode a "clever program that consistently entertains".
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
called it the best episode of the 12th season.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trilogy Of Error The Simpsons (season 12) episodes 2001 American television episodes Television episodes set in hospitals