Saturdays of Thunder
Encyclopedia
"Saturdays of Thunder" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons
' third season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 1991. In the episode, Homer
takes a fatherhood quiz and realizes that he knows nothing about Bart
. He strives to be a better father and learns that Bart is participating in a Soap Box Derby
. Homer and Bart make a racer
together; however, it is not very good. Bart decides to drive Martin
's far superior racer instead, after Martin is involved in an accident where he receives a series of serious skin burns. Homer is at first devastated, but decides that he must be a good father and support Bart.
The episode was written by Ken Levine
and David Isaacs
, and directed by Jim Reardon
. Larry McKay and Phil Hartman
both made guest appearances as a television announcer and Troy McClure
respectively. "Saturdays of Thunder" features cultural references to films such as Ben-Hur
, Lethal Weapon
, and Days of Thunder
. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics, who praised its sports theme. It acquired a Nielsen rating
of 14.9, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
takes a fatherhood quiz and discovers he knows next to nothing about his son. He signs up for therapy at the National Fatherhood Institute and after a confidence-building pep talk, offers to help Bart
build his own soapbox racer for the upcoming Soap Box Derby
. At the qualifying race, Bart and Martin
form an alliance vowing that either must somehow beat bully Nelson
and his very intimidating racer, the Roadkill 2000, "armed with every dirty trick in the book." As the race starts, Bart can barely reach any kind of noticeable speed with Homer's racer and it eventually falls apart. Martin's sleek, aerodynamic racer easily wins, but loses control at high speed and crashes. An injured Martin finds that he can no longer race and opts for Bart and himself to combine forces by having Bart race Martin's racer over the racer he and Homer built.
Bart gladly accepts Martin's offer, as there is no other way he could win over Nelson. Homer, however, feels betrayed by Bart's choice to drive Martin's racer instead of the one he helped Bart to make. When Bart tries to apologize to Homer, he miserably denounces both Bart and Martin, telling Bart to do whatever he wants. Marge
steps in and tells Homer that she has defended him through a lot of things over the years, but his latest actions prove that he is a bad father. As Bart gets ready to race in the final match with Martin's newly tuned racer, Homer thinks to himself about how wrong he has been, realizing that Bart needs his support regardless of whose racer he is using, and he rushes off to the race. At the starting line, Homer wishes Bart good luck and tells him that no matter how the race ends he will still be proud of him. The race is tough as Nelson pulls every dirty trick in his arsenal, but eventually through his skill Bart finishes first and the team enjoys their victory.
The episode was written by Ken Levine
and David Isaacs
, and directed by Jim Reardon
. The inspiration for it originated from a line in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
", a previous episode in which Marge bans Bart and Lisa
from watching their favorite cartoon, The Itchy & Scratchy Show
, and Bart says "I'm gonna go build a soapbox racer instead." Actor Phil Hartman
made his fourth guest appearance on The Simpsons in this episode as the voice of celebrity Troy McClure
. The character appears at the beginning of the episode in I Can't Believe They Invented It!, a television show that Homer watches. Larry McKay guest starred as the television announcer at the Soap Box Derby.
The idea for the subplot of Homer's parenting originated from a real fatherhood test executive producer Sam Simon
found and brought to the Simpsons studio. Levine later commented on writing the episode, "At the time David and I were writing this, my son, Matt, was about Bart's age. [...] So for me there was a certain amount of guilt associated, like 'Do I know my son's hobby? Do I know my son's best friend?' etc." The scene in which Bart welds
on his racer resulted in an argument between the staff of the show and the Fox network's censors. The censors were concerned that children would imitate Bart by misusing welding tools; however, the staff was able to convince them that very few children have access to welding tools.
, starring American actor Tom Cruise
. The song used at the end of the episode is "Wind Beneath My Wings
", a song by Bette Midler
that is used in Days of Thunder. While Homer is watching television at the beginning of the episode, Marge and her sisters, Patty and Selma
, go through a catalog of different hairstyles; Patty tells her sisters that she wants Mary Tyler Moore
's hairstyle, referencing the American actress known for her roles in television sitcoms. When Marge and her sisters head to the beauty parlor, Homer promises Marge that he will take Lisa to the video store. When they arrive at the store, Homer watches a clip from the latest McBain film that sees McBain's partner being brutally shot in the chest, a reference to a similar scene in the film Lethal Weapon
. McBain's partner is black, a reference to the fact that Dirty Harry
's partner is black in the film Sudden Impact
.
When Homer calls the National Fatherhood Institute, he is put on hold and Harry Chapin
's song "Cat's in the Cradle
" plays in the telephone while he waits. Cast member Harry Shearer
based the voice of Dave, the director of the Fatherhood Institute, on actor Mason Adams
. At the institute, Dave gives Homer a copy of the book Fatherhood
by American actor Bill Cosby
. In an upcoming episode, "Dog of Death
", Homer throws the book into the fireplace as replacement for wood. When Homer and Bart build the soapbox racer, Bobby Goldsboro
's song "Watching Scotty Grow
" plays in the background. The whipping and spikes coming out of Nelson's racer are a reference to the chariot
race in the film Ben-Hur
. The idea of Nelson's racer being "armed with every dirty trick in the book" was based on the 1973 Soap Box Derby World Championship scandal, when a 14 year old boy was stripped of his title two days after winning the national race for cheating. During the final race, Homer stands up in the crowd to cheer on Bart and his body is silhouetted against the sun, a reference to a scene in the film The Natural
. The theme song from The Natural plays in the scene.
's song "Black or White". In its original American broadcast, the episode finished 26th in the ratings for the week of November 11–17, 1991, with a Nielsen rating
of 14.9, equivalent to approximately 13.7 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week.
Since airing, the episode has received mixed to positive reviews from television critics. Niel Harvey of The Roanoke Times
called it a "classic bit of Simpsonia," and the Daily Record
said it is "definitely one not to miss." The Orlando Sentinel
s Gregory Hardy named it the sixth best episode of the show with a sports theme. Michael Coulter of The Age
commented that "Saturdays of Thunder" is "one of the many excellent" The Simpsons episodes to feature a sporting theme. He went on to say: "A 'classic' Simpsons, insofar as it boasts a plot, rather than a sequence of surreal pop-culture parodies." The episode's parody of Ben-Hur, however, was named the eighth greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
s Nathan Ditum.
Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict looked unfavorably on the episode, writing that it "has a premise—Bart builds a soapbox racer—that frankly has very limited modern day appeal. We can't really get into the whole Martin/Nelson/Bart race dynamic and today, soapbox derby has been technologized all out of proportion to the point where very few, if any, practice it. With such a narrow target, many of the jokes just don't work." Gibron preferred the subplot of Homer's attempts to become a better father.
Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed was more positive about the episode, commenting that the episode's emphasis is on Homer's parenting, like many other season three episodes, and "contrary to popular opinion, Homer is actually a good father who tries to do good by his children." He thought the racing sequences featured "good animation and direction", but considered the highlight of the episode to be the clip from the film McBain that Homer watches in the video store. Meyers gave the episode a 4/5 rating. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson, who listed the episode as one of his favorites from season three, said that "on the surface, 'Saturdays of Thunder' essentially just rehashes" the theme of the previous episode, "Lisa's Pony
", in which Homer tries to be a better father for Lisa. Jacobson commented that "Saturdays of Thunder", however, "simply seems funnier than 'Lisa's Pony'. The soapbox derby elements provide lots of great gags. [It] offers a great episode." Like Meyers, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide thought the highlight of the episode was the McBain video.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 1991. In the episode, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
takes a fatherhood quiz and realizes that he knows nothing about Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
. He strives to be a better father and learns that Bart is participating in a Soap Box Derby
Soap Box Derby
The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run in the United States since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio...
. Homer and Bart make a racer
Soapbox (car)
A gravity racer is a motorless vehicle capable of holding a driver built for the purpose of racing or recreation. They are propelled by gravity and can achieve speeds upwards of 112 km/h .-Soapbox cars:...
together; however, it is not very good. Bart decides to drive Martin
Martin Prince
Martin Prince, Jr. is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Russi Taylor. Martin is Bart Simpson's classmate, and is Lisa Simpson's rival in intelligence, as well as Nelson Muntz's favorite target for bullying...
's far superior racer instead, after Martin is involved in an accident where he receives a series of serious skin burns. Homer is at first devastated, but decides that he must be a good father and support Bart.
The episode was written by Ken Levine
Ken Levine (TV personality)
Ken Levine is a writer, director and producer in the television and film industry. Levine has worked on a number of television series, including M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, Wings, Everybody Loves Raymond, Becker and Dharma and Greg...
and David Isaacs
David Isaacs (writer)
David Isaacs has been an American TV and Screen writer, and producer since 1975. He has written episodes of M*A*S*H, Cheers, its spin-off Frasier, and The Simpsons with Ken Levine....
, and directed by Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon is an animation director and storyboard consultant, best known for his work on the animated TV series The Simpsons. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series, and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 through 15...
. Larry McKay and Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
both made guest appearances as a television announcer and Troy McClure
Troy McClure
Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman and first appears in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor, usually shown doing low-level work, such as hosting infomercials...
respectively. "Saturdays of Thunder" features cultural references to films such as Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
, Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
, and Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder is a 1990 American auto racing film released by Paramount Pictures, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott. The cast includes Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes and Michael Rooker. The film also features appearances...
. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics, who praised its sports theme. It acquired a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 14.9, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot
HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
takes a fatherhood quiz and discovers he knows next to nothing about his son. He signs up for therapy at the National Fatherhood Institute and after a confidence-building pep talk, offers to help Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
build his own soapbox racer for the upcoming Soap Box Derby
Soap Box Derby
The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run in the United States since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio...
. At the qualifying race, Bart and Martin
Martin Prince
Martin Prince, Jr. is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Russi Taylor. Martin is Bart Simpson's classmate, and is Lisa Simpson's rival in intelligence, as well as Nelson Muntz's favorite target for bullying...
form an alliance vowing that either must somehow beat bully Nelson
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
and his very intimidating racer, the Roadkill 2000, "armed with every dirty trick in the book." As the race starts, Bart can barely reach any kind of noticeable speed with Homer's racer and it eventually falls apart. Martin's sleek, aerodynamic racer easily wins, but loses control at high speed and crashes. An injured Martin finds that he can no longer race and opts for Bart and himself to combine forces by having Bart race Martin's racer over the racer he and Homer built.
Bart gladly accepts Martin's offer, as there is no other way he could win over Nelson. Homer, however, feels betrayed by Bart's choice to drive Martin's racer instead of the one he helped Bart to make. When Bart tries to apologize to Homer, he miserably denounces both Bart and Martin, telling Bart to do whatever he wants. Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
steps in and tells Homer that she has defended him through a lot of things over the years, but his latest actions prove that he is a bad father. As Bart gets ready to race in the final match with Martin's newly tuned racer, Homer thinks to himself about how wrong he has been, realizing that Bart needs his support regardless of whose racer he is using, and he rushes off to the race. At the starting line, Homer wishes Bart good luck and tells him that no matter how the race ends he will still be proud of him. The race is tough as Nelson pulls every dirty trick in his arsenal, but eventually through his skill Bart finishes first and the team enjoys their victory.
Production
Ken Levine (TV personality)
Ken Levine is a writer, director and producer in the television and film industry. Levine has worked on a number of television series, including M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, Wings, Everybody Loves Raymond, Becker and Dharma and Greg...
and David Isaacs
David Isaacs (writer)
David Isaacs has been an American TV and Screen writer, and producer since 1975. He has written episodes of M*A*S*H, Cheers, its spin-off Frasier, and The Simpsons with Ken Levine....
, and directed by Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon
Jim Reardon is an animation director and storyboard consultant, best known for his work on the animated TV series The Simpsons. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series, and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 through 15...
. The inspiration for it originated from a line in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons second season and first aired on December 20, 1990. In the episode, which is a satire of censorship issues, Maggie attacks Homer with a mallet and Marge blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions. It was written by John...
", a previous episode in which Marge bans Bart and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
from watching their favorite cartoon, The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show in the animated television series The Simpsons. It usually appears as a part of The Krusty the Clown Show, watched regularly by Bart and Lisa Simpson...
, and Bart says "I'm gonna go build a soapbox racer instead." Actor Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
made his fourth guest appearance on The Simpsons in this episode as the voice of celebrity Troy McClure
Troy McClure
Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He was voiced by Phil Hartman and first appears in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor, usually shown doing low-level work, such as hosting infomercials...
. The character appears at the beginning of the episode in I Can't Believe They Invented It!, a television show that Homer watches. Larry McKay guest starred as the television announcer at the Soap Box Derby.
The idea for the subplot of Homer's parenting originated from a real fatherhood test executive producer Sam Simon
Sam Simon
Samuel "Sam" Simon is an American director, producer, writer, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was...
found and brought to the Simpsons studio. Levine later commented on writing the episode, "At the time David and I were writing this, my son, Matt, was about Bart's age. [...] So for me there was a certain amount of guilt associated, like 'Do I know my son's hobby? Do I know my son's best friend?' etc." The scene in which Bart welds
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
on his racer resulted in an argument between the staff of the show and the Fox network's censors. The censors were concerned that children would imitate Bart by misusing welding tools; however, the staff was able to convince them that very few children have access to welding tools.
Cultural references
"Saturdays of Thunder" features a number of references to popular culture. The title of the episode is itself a play on the film Days of ThunderDays of Thunder
Days of Thunder is a 1990 American auto racing film released by Paramount Pictures, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott. The cast includes Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes and Michael Rooker. The film also features appearances...
, starring American actor Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
. The song used at the end of the episode is "Wind Beneath My Wings
Wind Beneath My Wings
"Wind Beneath My Wings" is the title of a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. They recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to musician Bob Montgomery. Montgomery then recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo version he was given to a ballad...
", a song by Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
that is used in Days of Thunder. While Homer is watching television at the beginning of the episode, Marge and her sisters, Patty and Selma
Patty and Selma
Patty and Selma Bouvier are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. They are twins and are both voiced by Julie Kavner. They are Marge Simpson's older twin sisters, who both work at the Springfield Department of Motor Vehicles, and possess a strong dislike for their...
, go through a catalog of different hairstyles; Patty tells her sisters that she wants Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
's hairstyle, referencing the American actress known for her roles in television sitcoms. When Marge and her sisters head to the beauty parlor, Homer promises Marge that he will take Lisa to the video store. When they arrive at the store, Homer watches a clip from the latest McBain film that sees McBain's partner being brutally shot in the chest, a reference to a similar scene in the film Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
. McBain's partner is black, a reference to the fact that Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
's partner is black in the film Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact is a 1983 American crime thriller and the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood...
.
When Homer calls the National Fatherhood Institute, he is put on hold and Harry Chapin
Harry Chapin
Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
's song "Cat's in the Cradle
Cat's in the Cradle
"Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album Verities & Balderdash. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974...
" plays in the telephone while he waits. Cast member Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
based the voice of Dave, the director of the Fatherhood Institute, on actor Mason Adams
Mason Adams
Mason Adams was an American character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Adams was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned an MA degree from the University of Michigan in Theatre Arts and Speech and also attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying theater arts...
. At the institute, Dave gives Homer a copy of the book Fatherhood
Fatherhood (book)
Fatherhood is a bestselling 1986 book attributed to Bill Cosby and published by Doubleday & Company, Inc. The book was ghostwritten by humorist Ralph Schoenstein.-History:...
by American actor Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
. In an upcoming episode, "Dog of Death
Dog of Death
"Dog of Death" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 12, 1992. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper falls ill and the Simpson family must make budget cuts in order to pay for his operation...
", Homer throws the book into the fireplace as replacement for wood. When Homer and Bart build the soapbox racer, Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Goldsboro is an American country and pop singer-songwriter. He had a string of Pop and Country hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature #1 classic "Honey," which sold well over one million copies in the United States.-Early life:Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida...
's song "Watching Scotty Grow
Watching Scotty Grow
"Watching Scotty Grow" is a song written by country music singer-songwriter Mac Davis. Although featured on Davis' 1972 album I Believe in Music, a more famous version of the song was performed by Bobby Goldsboro in 1970 and included on Goldsboro's album We Gotta Start Lovin.-History:Goldsboro had...
" plays in the background. The whipping and spikes coming out of Nelson's racer are a reference to the chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
race in the film Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
. The idea of Nelson's racer being "armed with every dirty trick in the book" was based on the 1973 Soap Box Derby World Championship scandal, when a 14 year old boy was stripped of his title two days after winning the national race for cheating. During the final race, Homer stands up in the crowd to cheer on Bart and his body is silhouetted against the sun, a reference to a scene in the film The Natural
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
. The theme song from The Natural plays in the scene.
Reception
"Saturdays of Thunder" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 14, 1991. It received high ratings due to the fact that it was immediately followed by the premiere of the music video for Michael JacksonMichael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's song "Black or White". In its original American broadcast, the episode finished 26th in the ratings for the week of November 11–17, 1991, with a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 14.9, equivalent to approximately 13.7 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week.
The Roanoke Times
The Roanoke Times is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Landmark Media Enterprises...
called it a "classic bit of Simpsonia," and the Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
said it is "definitely one not to miss." The Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
s Gregory Hardy named it the sixth best episode of the show with a sports theme. Michael Coulter of The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
commented that "Saturdays of Thunder" is "one of the many excellent" The Simpsons episodes to feature a sporting theme. He went on to say: "A 'classic' Simpsons, insofar as it boasts a plot, rather than a sequence of surreal pop-culture parodies." The episode's parody of Ben-Hur, however, was named the eighth greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
s Nathan Ditum.
Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict looked unfavorably on the episode, writing that it "has a premise—Bart builds a soapbox racer—that frankly has very limited modern day appeal. We can't really get into the whole Martin/Nelson/Bart race dynamic and today, soapbox derby has been technologized all out of proportion to the point where very few, if any, practice it. With such a narrow target, many of the jokes just don't work." Gibron preferred the subplot of Homer's attempts to become a better father.
Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed was more positive about the episode, commenting that the episode's emphasis is on Homer's parenting, like many other season three episodes, and "contrary to popular opinion, Homer is actually a good father who tries to do good by his children." He thought the racing sequences featured "good animation and direction", but considered the highlight of the episode to be the clip from the film McBain that Homer watches in the video store. Meyers gave the episode a 4/5 rating. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson, who listed the episode as one of his favorites from season three, said that "on the surface, 'Saturdays of Thunder' essentially just rehashes" the theme of the previous episode, "Lisa's Pony
Lisa's Pony
"Lisa's Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa's saxophone, resulting in her flopping at the school...
", in which Homer tries to be a better father for Lisa. Jacobson commented that "Saturdays of Thunder", however, "simply seems funnier than 'Lisa's Pony'. The soapbox derby elements provide lots of great gags. [It] offers a great episode." Like Meyers, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide thought the highlight of the episode was the McBain video.
External links
- "Saturdays of Thunder" at The Simpsons.com