Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
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"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after
Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
Sunday . In the episode, while buying new tires for his car,
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...
meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen. After becoming friends, Kogen offers Homer a free bus ride to the Super Bowl, as long as he can find enough people to fill Kogen's bus. Several people, including
Bart Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
, tag along on what soon becomes a problematic trip. Meanwhile,
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...
and
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...
set out to find the missing parts of "
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...
's Egg Magic", a celebrity-endorsed craft kit. "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" was directed by
Steven Dean Moore Steven Dean Moore is an American animation director. His credits include 65 episodes of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and several episodes of the Nickelodeon series ''Rugrats'' (1991–2004). Moore was also one of four sequence ...
and written by
George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an United States, American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he served as a scriptwriter and gag writer (for which he is credited as a producer) and led the show's commu ...
, Brian Scully, Mike Scully and Tom Martin, the first credit Martin received for the series. Mike Scully jokingly said that the episode was "thrown together ..without thought or structure" by the writers. For the subplot, the writers tried to come up with the "most boring thing" Lisa and Marge could do to pass time. The episode features several guest-stars, including comedian
Fred Willard Frederick Charles Willard Jr. (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with Christopher Guest in his mockumentary films ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984), ''Waiting for Guffman'' (1996), ''Be ...
, country singer
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
, Fox CEO
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, sports commentators
Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...
and John Madden, and former
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
players
Troy Aikman Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from the Oklahoma Sooners, he play ...
,
Rosey Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American former football player, bodyguard, actor, singer, Protestant minister, and motivational speaker. He played professionally as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) ...
and
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...
. All guest-stars played themselves, except for Willard who portrayed Kogen. The episode pokes fun at folk singer
Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...
, former United States president
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
as well as the series' fans, among other things. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 11.5 million viewers, making it the tenth most watched program of the week as well as the second most watched scripted program on the network the night it aired. The episode was released on home video for the first time in 2004, and in 2007, the episode was again released as part of the DVD set ''The Simpsons – The Complete Tenth Season''. Following its broadcast, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. After its original broadcast, however, a scene in the episode involving a fictitious, sexually suggestive
Super Bowl commercial Super Bowl commercials, colloquially known as Super Bowl ads and sometimes referred to as Big Game spots for legal reasons, are high-profile television commercials featured in the U.S. television broadcast of the Super Bowl, the championship g ...
for the Catholic Church became the subject of controversy. The scene garnered scrutiny from the American Catholic anti-defamation and civil rights organization The Catholic League, whose members sent hundreds of angry letters to the Fox network, demanding any mention of Catholicism in the episode be excised. In September the same year, when the episode was supposed to repeat, the Catholic League asked Fox if they could censor the scene, which the network agreed to. Their decision, however, was criticized by journalists and staff members. The censored version of the episode is still in syndication, as well as on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
.


Plot

When
Bart Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
,
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...
and the students of
Springfield Elementary 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 unknown state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundings ...
go on a field trip to the
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
, Bart gets a
coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in ...
book as a souvenir, which he gives to
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...
as a birthday present. Homer uses one of his coupons for a free wheel balancing at a tire shop, but is conned into buying four new tires for his car. While waiting for the installation, Homer meets Wally Kogen, a travel agent. The two watch a special on the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
while drinking at Moe's, and Wally explains that his agency is sending a charter bus to the game. To get free seats for himself and Bart, Homer helps Wally fill the bus by persuading many prominent male citizens of Springfield to sign up. Homer, Bart, and the men arrive at
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
's Pro Player Stadium for pre-game festivities, only to discover that Wally has bought counterfeit tickets. They try to sneak in, but are caught and detained in a cell, where they vent their frustration on Homer by using him as a substitute for the opening kick ceremony. After
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
—a friend of Wally's and one of the halftime entertainers—breaks them out, they make their way into a skybox suite and spend more time gorging themselves on free food and drinks than they do watching the game. Confronted by the box's owner,
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, the group flees toward the field but is promptly swept into the locker room by the victorious
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
whom they have triumphed over their rival team, the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
. They share in the celebration, with Homer taking a congratulatory phone call from
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, and several of the men wind up with Super Bowl rings as they board the bus to return to Springfield. Meanwhile,
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...
and Lisa find a 1960s-era egg decorating kit endorsed by
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...
and decide to use it. When the kit proves to have no feet for the egg, Marge calls the company's help line and finds herself listening to Price on a voice mail greeting. As Homer's group leaves Miami,
Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...
and John Madden analyze the events of the episode, their initially favorable opinion quickly souring. They board a bus driven by Price, who has trouble shifting gears properly.


Production

"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" was directed by
Steven Dean Moore Steven Dean Moore is an American animation director. His credits include 65 episodes of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and several episodes of the Nickelodeon series ''Rugrats'' (1991–2004). Moore was also one of four sequence ...
and co-written by former staff writers Tom Martin,
George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an United States, American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he served as a scriptwriter and gag writer (for which he is credited as a producer) and led the show's commu ...
, Brian Scully, and executive producer and former
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
Mike Scully. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, right after
Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
and the premiere of ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
''.Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" was the first episode for which Martin received a writing credit, and in the DVD audio commentary for the episode, he stated that he "loved" writing the episode.Martin, Tom. (2007). Commentary for "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The writing process for the episode was "kind of unusual", since the writers "threw it he episodetogether" without, Scully quipped, thinking of "things such as thought and structure". A scene in the episode shows Homer buying new tires for his car. The scene was written by Brian Scully, who had been scammed by a
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey S. Firestone (18681938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, carriages, and other form ...
dealer. The episode's subplot was the result of the ''Simpsons'' writers trying to find activities for Marge and Lisa to participate in while Bart and Homer were at the Super Bowl. According to Martin, the writers were trying to come up with "the most boring thing" Marge and Lisa could do to pass time. After hearing cast member
Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta ( ; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, ...
's impression of
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...
, the writers found the impression to be so funny that they based the subplot on the fictional crafts set "Vincent Price's Egg Magic". In a scene in the episode, Homer and Kogen are in Moe's tavern, discussing their favorite football teams with Moe. When Moe mentions that his favorite team is the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
, he holds a glass in front of his mouth, obscuring his lip movements. He then passes the same glass to Homer, who does the same for the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
. Originally, the characters would be saying something else, however, because the staff wanted the episode to be "current", new dialogue was recorded for the scene. Because there was no time to animate the scene from scratch, the staff simply made the characters hold a glass in front of their mouths while saying their lines. This technique was also used in reference to the ongoing impeachment scandal, as when the characters mention that the President and First Lady will be watching, they cover their mouths when calling them by name. The song that plays during the bus trip to the Super Bowl was performed by
NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed circa 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...
. The episode also features British rock band Blur's "
Song 2 "Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. It is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released physically on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Singles ...
", which plays during the "race" to the stadium. The episode features American comedian
Fred Willard Frederick Charles Willard Jr. (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with Christopher Guest in his mockumentary films ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984), ''Waiting for Guffman'' (1996), ''Be ...
as Wally Kogen. Scully stated that, for many years, the ''Simpsons'' staff had wanted Willard to guest-star in an episode, and that they had been looking for a character for Willard to portray. Scully also stated that Willard was "great fun" to have on the show. Wally Kogen's name is taken from two former writers on ''The Simpsons''; the character's first name, Wally, is taken from
Wallace Wolodarsky Wallace Wolodarsky, also billed as Wally Wolodarsky, is an American screenwriter, television producer, film director, and actor known for being one of the writers for ''The Simpsons'' during the first four seasons with his writing partner Jay ...
, and the character's last name, Kogen, is taken from
Jay Kogen Jay Kogen is an American comedy writer, producer, actor and director. Biography He was born to a Jewish family. His father is comedy writer Arnie Kogen. In 2001, Kogen had a son, Charlie, who is now a musician. Career Kogen co-wrote several ep ...
. The episode also features former football players
Rosey Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American former football player, bodyguard, actor, singer, Protestant minister, and motivational speaker. He played professionally as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) ...
,
Troy Aikman Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from the Oklahoma Sooners, he play ...
and
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...
as themselves. Scully stated that, when athletes guest-star in television shows, their performances are "not always the greatest", however, he asserted, Aikman, Grier, and Marino were all "really funny" and "did a great job". Country singer
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
guest-starred as herself as well. Scully stated that he was "shocked" by how short Parton was; however, he added that she was "very nice" and "thrilled" to be in the episode. Also featured in the episode is
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, creator of the Fox Broadcasting Company. Originally, the writers wanted Murdoch to be portrayed by Castellaneta (who had previously voiced Murdoch in the episode "
Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" is the ninth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 26, 1995. The episode was written by freelance w ...
"), the voice of Homer among other characters in the series. However, after a while, the writers decided to ask if Murdoch would guest-star as himself. Scully comments that the writers were "impressed" that Murdoch would introduce himself as a "billionaire tyrant" in the episode. The episode pokes fun at U.S. President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
. In their list ''15 Simpsons Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras'', Genevieve Koski, Josh Modell, Noel Murray, Sean O'Neal, Kyle Ryan, and Scott Tobias of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...
'' wrote "By the time this episode aired .. the nation had endured more than a year of the
Lewinsky scandal Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...
. The episode debuted a month after the House impeached Clinton, but less than two weeks before the Senate's impeach/acquit vote, so an air of uncertainty lingered over an otherwise lightweight episode about Homer organizing a Super Bowl trip." Wally covers his mouth with a glass when he mentions the names of Bill and Hillary, who he hears will be watching the Super Bowl. In a scene in the episode, Clinton calls to congratulate the Super Bowl victors from the Oval Office, but is distracted by
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
measuring a window. As Scully recalls, at the time, the ''Simpsons'' writers were confident Gore would win the 2000 presidential election, which eventually was marginally, and controversially, won by
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. The episode also comments on the series' fanbase. Near the end of the episode, Madden and Summerall provide the following analysis: In his book ''Leaving Springfield'', John Alberti writes about the exchange: "This conversation begins with conventional football game patter used to comment on the episode, but then takes an abrupt turn when Madden realizes, in spite of the humor, that the episode did not live up to expectations (which he has not originally noticed)." The episode title is a reference to the film ''
Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album '' War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted ...
'' (1971), and perhaps the U2 song of the same name. The couch gag is a reference to
James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
's 1997 film ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
''. The beginning of the episode shows Bart's grade visiting a post office. Their tour guide is modeled after American actor and folk singer
Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...
, of whom director Moore is a fan.Moore, Steven Dean. (2007). Commentary for "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. "Vincent Price's Egg Magic" is a parody on celebrity-endorsed craft kits which were popular during the 1960s and which, according to Meyer, do not exist anymore. The decision to have Price endorse an egg crafts product is based on Price's role as Egghead in the 1960s series ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
''.Meyer, George. (2007). Commentary for "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The sequence featuring a man called Rudy being refused entry to the group's bus because he is "too small to go to the Super Bowl" is a reference to the 1993 film ''
Rudy Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...
'' about football player
Rudy Ruettiger Daniel Eugene Ruettiger (born August 23, 1948) is an American motivational speaker and author who played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. His early life and career at Notre Dame were the inspiration for the 1993 film '' Rudy ...
; Rudy also implies the he is rather obnoxious, telling the people on the bus "What I lack in size, I make up for in obnoxiousness!" Dolly Parton says she will be joined by actor
Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...
and dance group
Stomp Stomp may refer to: *Stomp (strike), a downwards kick using the heel Music and dance * ''Stomp'' (album), by Big D and the Kids Table, 2013 *Stomp (jazz), a type of rhythmic jazz tune popular in the 1920s *Stomp (theatrical show), a percussive ph ...
for her performance during the
Super Bowl halftime show Halftime shows are common during many American football games. Entertainment during the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), is one of the more lavish of these performances and is usually very widely wat ...
, while the Super Bowl features a booth called "Take a Leak with
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
Greats"; the players shown participating are
Ricky Watters Richard James Watters (born April 7, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Watters played co ...
and
Jim Plunkett James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final eight seasons with the R ...
.


Release and reception


Broadcast and re-releases

In its original American broadcast on January 31, 1999, "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" received an 11.6 rating, meaning it was seen by approximately 11.5 million viewers. It finished in 10th place in the ratings for the week of January 25–31, 1999, making it the second most watched scripted program on Fox, after the
premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
of ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
''. On September 14, 2004, "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", along with the
season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: ...
episode " Homer's Night Out", the season 11 episode "
The Mansion Family "The Mansion Family" is the twelfth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2000, and was watched in around 11.3&nbs ...
" and the season 13 episode " Homer the Moe", were released on a DVD set called ''The Simpsons – Gone Wild''. On August 7, 2007, "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" was again released as part of ''The Simpsons – The Complete Tenth Season'' DVD box set. Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Tom Martin, Matt Selman and Steven Dean Moore participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.


Controversy


Background

The beginning of the episode's third act shows Marge and Lisa watching a Super Bowl commercial. In his book ''The Gospel According to'' The Simpsons, Mark I. Pinsky described the commercial: The scene was inspired by real-life Super Bowl commercials in which, according to Scully, "you don't know what the product is" because there is "so much going on". It was also based on the 1983 music video for the American rock band
ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
's "
Gimme All Your Lovin' "Gimme All Your Lovin'" is a song by American rock band ZZ Top from their 1983 album ''Eliminator''. It was released as the album's first single in early 1983. The single reached No. 37 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and reached No. 10 ...
". Although they had come up with the commercial's premise, they were not sure of what its
tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...
would be. Eventually, Martin, one of the episode writers, suggested "The Catholic Church... we've made a few changes." It got the biggest laugh from the other writers and was subsequently included in the episode. The scene garnered scrutiny from members of The Catholic League, a self-appointed organization that is not, despite its name, affiliated with the Catholic Church. The league had criticized ''The Simpsons''' depiction of Catholicism before, namely in the episode " Lisa Gets an 'A', which aired the year before. The scene included an exchange between Bart and Marge that the League felt was hurtful to Catholics. William A. Donohue, the president of the league, wrote Fox a letter asking them to explain why the dialogue was in the show. After failing to receive an answer several times, Donohue was at last given a reply written by Thomas Chavez, manager for broadcast standards and practices. The league were not satisfied with Chavez' answer. After "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" aired, the Catholic League issued an article in their news magazine ''Catalyst''. In it, they mentioned the scene in "Lisa Gets an 'A, and wrote that ''The Simpsons'' had "struck again, big time" with the Super Bowl commercial in "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday". They wrote that they had sent a complaint to Chavez regarding the scene, and encouraged others to do the same; "We wrote to Mr. Chavez again, but we also told him that he'd be hearing from you, too. So don't disappoint us."


Censorship

Following the episode's broadcast, the
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received several angry letters and emails from concerned Catholics, who were uneasy with the commercial scene. According to Scully, the letters were worded the same, and all started with "My family and I have always enjoyed ''The Simpsons'', until last night..." Nevertheless, the letters provoked a reaction from ''The Simpsons'' staff, and in an interview, Scully said, "We got a couple of hundred letters, and it was very obvious from reading a majority of them that he Catholic letter writershad not seen the show. Some of them were from third-graders, all saying the same thing: 'Please don't make fun of my religion.' Which we all know third-graders are very adamant about." Several months later, the Catholic League contacted Fox again, asking that the word "Catholic" be excised from the voice-over when the episode repeated in September 1999 on the network, as well as in its subsequent syndicated airings. The network agreed, and Roland MacFarland, Fox's vice president of broadcast standards, ordered Scully to cut the word from the episode or eliminate all reference to religion. Scully refused, and after a long argument, MacFarland offered to replace the protesting denomination with a Protestant substitute – Methodist, Presbyterians or Baptists. Scully then asked MacFarland "What would be the difference changing it to another religion, and wouldn't that just be offending a different group of people?", to which MacFarland replied that Fox had already had trouble with the Catholics earlier that season. Following the complaints, Fox removed any mention of Catholicism from the scene, resulting in the line "The church..." Scully was reportedly furious with Fox's actions. In an interview in ''
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'', Scully said, "people can say hurtful things to each other about their weight, their race, their intelligence, their sexual preference, and that all seems up for grabs, but when you get into religion, some people get very nervous." Marisa Guthrie of ''
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'' also criticized the network, describing it as "caving in" to the Catholic League's protests. She wrote, "Hollywood has always been gun shy of controversy, but recent displays of self-censorship on the part of entertainment industry executives make us cringe ..Granted Catholics, as a group have endured an ample amount of bashing, but ''The Simpsons'' is an equal opportunity offender." Howard Rosenberg, a writer for ''Los Angeles Times'', criticized Fox's actions as well. He argued that the network had a biased opinion towards Catholicism and that, had the scene mentioned a different religion, it would have been accepted. He also wrote, "Given its famous flaunting of sleaze and death-defying motorcycle leaps, the big news here is that Fox has standards. Its latest production is Censors Who Kill Jokes." In an issue of ''Catalyst'', the Catholic League responded to Rosenberg's article. They argued that Rosenberg was biased against Catholics, in that he was content with the series lampooning Catholicism, but not other religions. The controversy surrounding the scene has since been referenced in later episodes of the series. While the censored version of "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is still in syndication in the US, as well as on Disney+ internationally, it was left uncensored on ''The Simpsons – The Complete Tenth Season'' DVD box set.


Critical reviews

Following its broadcast, "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" received mostly positive reviews from critics. In his review of ''The Simpsons – Gone Wild'' DVD set, David Packard of DVD Verdict wrote: "This episode has always been one of my favorites, and while the following episode The Mansion Family"is a nice inclusion as well, this episode is the best on the disc. The hilarious gags come at a slam-bang pace, and they're occasionally edgy." He especially liked the set-piece in the post office, as well as the Super Bowl commercial. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'' called the episode "A thoroughly enjoyable romp through what happens when a bunch of lads go for a Sunday out at the ball game." They enjoyed the guest-stars, writing "both Dolly Parton and, bizarrely, Rupert Murdoch – spice things up nicely", however they were most fond of Fred Willard as Wally Kogen. "A shame he doesn't join our regulars", they wrote. James Plath of DVD Town wrote that the episode is "funny," and Ian Jane of DVD Talk found the episode "amusing". The ''
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''s Gregory Hardy named it the third best episode of the show with a sports theme. Phillip Stephenson of ''
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'' called the episode "classic", and Susan Dunne of ''
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'' described it as "debauched but hilarious". ''
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'''s Greg Paeth noted that the episode is a critical favorite. On the other hand, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a more mixed review. He wrote: "Like most guest star-ridden episodes, this one gets a bit gimmicky to fit in all the cameos." He found the self-referential ending "fails to become clever and instead just seems silly." However, he wrote that the episode "includes a few goods bits, especially the phone call in which Homer convinces Lenny to go to the game." Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News wrote that the episode is "so jam-packed with guest celebrity voices that they ran out of room for a plot. Or humor." Chris Barsanti of Filmcritic.com gave a negative review as well, and wrote that the episode is "lost amid a flurry of celebrity walk-ons and lazy jokes."


References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * *


External links

* * {{The Simpsons episodes, 10 The Simpsons season 10 episodes 1999 American television episodes American football animation Christianity-related controversies in television Religious controversies in animation Super Bowl in fiction Animation controversies in television Television controversies in the United States Television censorship Cultural depictions of Rupert Murdoch Cultural depictions of John Madden Religious controversies in the United States Television episodes written by Mike Scully Television episodes written by George Meyer Television episodes directed by Steven Dean Moore