Yellow Subterfuge
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Yellow Subterfuge" is the seventh episode of the twenty-fifth 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 537th episode of the series. 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 December 8, 2013. It was written by
Joel H. Cohen Joel H. Cohen is a Canadian producer and screenwriter for ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Suddenly Susan'' and ''The Simpsons''. He is the younger brother of one-time ''Simpsons'' writer Robert Cohen, who penned the season three episode "Flaming Moe ...
and directed by Bob Anderson. In the episode, when Principal Skinner promises that the most well-behaved at Springfield Elementary will get to ride in a submarine, Bart does everything possible to become a model student. Meanwhile, Krusty, on Lisa's advice, sells the foreign rights to his show in order to rake in more money, but the international Krustys' popularity soon outstrips his own.


Plot

Principal 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, an ...
announces a school field trip in a
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
, but warns that only the best-behaved students will be allowed to go due to space limitations. If any student breaks a rule, they will be barred from going on the trip.
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 ...
behaves well in order to remain eligible, but Skinner crosses him off the list after he accidentally tracks mud into the school. After Bart unsuccessfully attempts to curry Skinner's favor and trick Skinner into reinstating him by impersonating
President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
,
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 ...
sees how upset Bart is and decides to help him get revenge on Skinner. The next morning, Skinner finds his mother Agnes's corpse in the kitchen, stabbed to death. Homer and Bart soon discover the corpse despite Skinner's attempt to hide it, and Homer offers to clean up the mess and sends Skinner upstairs. Agnes stands up, uninjured and having taken part in the scheme, and Bart and Homer tell Skinner that the police are coming to arrest him. They provide him with a fake ID and a disguise and put him on a bus to Juarez, only to be shocked when he turns up at their house later that day. Skinner explains that he cannot run away from his crime, but also admits that he is probably glad to have killed Agnes.
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 ...
and Agnes interrupt, having overheard this confession. Angered that Skinner had wanted her dead and the fact that he broke his promise to Bart for one minor infraction, Agnes decides to punish him further by being even meaner to Skinner by not taking the pills that keep her temper in check. Meanwhile,
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 ...
learns that
Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Si ...
has gone bankrupt. She suggests that Krusty sell the foreign rights to his show; he does so, demanding a large percentage of the stars' earnings. The foreign shows quickly become more popular than his own, but instead of doing the right thing in allowing the stars to keep more of their money, Krusty tries to capitalize on their popularity by offering to do a guest shot on every show. This suggestion angers them so badly that Krusty and his agent are forced to flee on a
golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...
.


Reception

Dennis Perkins 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 ...
'' gave the episode a C+, saying "While there are a fair amount of laughs along the way, ‘Yellow Subterfuge’ is a rushed, ramshackle enterprise, livened up by some solid Skinner-work. Even Bart’s teary breakdown to Homer that he had actually been trying to be good cribs liberally from the legendary “
Bart Gets an F 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 ''Bartholo ...
,” one of the first episodes to hint at ''The Simpsons’'' seemingly incongruous ability to wring genuine emotion from overtly silly situations. It’s a damnably difficult balance to achieve—but the show used to be much better at it." The episode received a 3.1 rating and was watched by a total of 6.85 million people, making it the most watched show on
Animation Domination Animation Domination (also called AniDom, Fox AD, and AD) is an American animated programming block which has aired in two iterations on the Fox broadcast network, featuring a lineup solely made up of prime-time animation and adult animation carr ...
that night.


References


External links

*
"Yellow Subterfuge"
at theSimpsons.com {{The Simpsons episodes, 25 2013 American television episodes The Simpsons (season 25) episodes