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| {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} | |||
| {{Infobox Simpsons episode| | |||
| {{Infobox Simpsons episode | |||
| episode_name = 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky| | |||
| | image = | |||
| episode_no = 307| | |||
| | caption = | |||
| prod_code = EABF11| | |||
| | season = 14 | |||
| airdate = ], ] | | |||
| | episode = 16 | |||
| writer = ] and ]| | |||
| | director = ] | |||
| | writer = ]<br/>Allen Grazier | |||
| blackboard = None| | |||
| | production = EABF11 | |||
| couch_gag = The family (literally) ], and settle on the couch; Homer's legs have been bitten off, though| | |||
| | airdate = {{Start date|2003|03|30}} | |||
| guest_star = ] as Declan Desmond and ] as Fat Tony| | |||
| | guests = * ] as Declan Desmond | |||
| image = ] | | |||
| * ] as ] | |||
| season = 14 | | |||
| * ] as ] | |||
| color = #EFEFEF | |||
| | couch_gag = The living room is in an ocean. ] is on water skis, with the others on him, as he ski-]; everybody lands on the couch, but Homer's legs are in the mouth of the shark. | |||
| | commentary = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />] | |||
| | prev = ] | |||
| | next = ] | |||
| }} | }} | ||
| "'''{{-'}}Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky'''" is the sixteenth episode of the ] of the American animated television series '']''. It originally aired on the ] in the United States on March 30, 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/scuse-me-while-i-miss-the-sky/episode/193390/summary.html|title='Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky|publisher=]|accessdate=5 January 2010|archive-date=31 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331093903/http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/scuse-me-while-i-miss-the-sky/episode/193390/summary.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The episode was written by ] and Allen Grazier and was directed by ]. | |||
| In this episode, Lisa tries to reduce the town's light pollution, so she can see the stars at night. Meanwhile Bart tries to steal the hood ornament from Fat Tony's car to regain his reputation after he is humiliated. ] guest starred as Declan Desmond. The episode received mixed reviews. | |||
| "'''Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky'''" is an episode from the ] of '']'' that aired ] ]. The title is a punning reference to the line "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky" from the song "]" by ]. | |||
| == |
==Plot== | ||
| Declan Desmond, an opinionated British documentary film producer, films a documentary at ] on the students' lives. He interviews ] as he gets hit by a ball of dirt thrown by ] and breaks down in tears. Later, Declan belittles ] as she talks about the multiplicity of her interests, insinuating that she could neither be happy nor successful juggling too many hobbies or passions. Hurt by his criticism, Lisa resolves to find a single passion to which she can devote herself; ]. She convinces Homer to buy her a ], but discovers that ] from the city is blocking her view of the sky. After a discussion with ], Lisa starts a ] to reduce the city's light pollution. After gaining enough signatures, ] agrees to turn off the streetlights, leading to a clear view of the stars, at which many people from Springfield marvel. | |||
| {{spoiler}} | |||
| Meanwhile, Bart is looking for a way to regain his popularity after being humiliated. After seeing ] parading around with stolen car ]s, he decides to steal one off ]'s car. ] and Bart are foiled on their first attempt because Quimby is pressured to switch the lights back on due to rising crime. Yet the light level is set too high which means that no one can sleep so Lisa, still wanting to see the light pollution reduced, and Bart, still wanting to steal Fat Tony's hood ornament, take a now ] ] to the power plant and overload the generators causing a ], which ends the light pollution, but before the angry citizens can attack, Lisa points out a ] and the town looks on in wonderment while Bart sneaks off and steals Fat Tony's hood ornament, with ]'s song "]" playing in the background. | |||
| The episode starts in the ] Elementary auditorium, where ] is addressing the kids, asking them to not to use school computers to access websites that poke fun at him. He then introduces a Declan Desmond (voiced by ]), a no-nonsense ] filmmaker, whose ] are hard-hitting and, sometimes, a bit distorted. He shows the kids a clip from one of his documentaries about ], "'''Do You Want Lies With That?'''", in which he interviews ], who is standing in line in Krusty Burger, about his awareness of the fact that the meat contains ]-tainted beef. Also, he has hidden camera footage showing ] stapling half-eaten burgers back together to sell. After the clips are finished, Declan informs the kids that he is now shooting a documentary in Springfield Elementary and wants them all to act as they normally do. | |||
| The show ends with a montage of clips from Declan's documentary. | |||
| Along with his cameraman (Simon), he goes around the schoolyard, capturing the kids playing and frolicking, and settles on ], who is making mudballs (to chuck at nerds, girls he likes...). All of a sudden, Bart himself gets splattered on his head by a mudball, made by ] and the other bullies. Bart cries and tries to hide from the camera. Just like that, his popularity in school, Declan notes, has gone the way of English ]. Declan then interviews the hall monitors, ] (who is acting way too melodramatically) and ] (who is acting... well, just like Ralph). Skinner interrupts the interview and leads Declan away from them and opens "a random door", leading to a rather Victorian-style room, filled with books, with ] playing in the background, and ] sitting on a big armchair, reading a book. Skinner pushes Declan to sit with the "typical student" and talk with her. After Skinner leaves, Declan voices his suspicions of the surroundings. Lisa, trying to be cool, leans back in her armchair and knocks over all the "bookcase" props, exposing the room to be a storage room. Declan asks Lisa what her hobbies are. She rattles off quite a few, which he mocks saying that she needs to have one major passion. She realises that he's right. | |||
| ==Production== | |||
| Meanwhile, Bart is having trouble regaining his popularity. He sees the other kids cooing over Nelson's new fad - tying a car's hood ornament around his neck. Bart realises that to regain his popularity, he must do what Nelson did, and better. | |||
| By this time in the show's history, there had been an "ever-present fear that as the show ages it risks ']{{'"}}. ''The Simpsons'' writers satirized the term's namesake (an episode of '']'' in which ] jumps over a shark on water skis) in the episode, which has a couch gag where the Simpson family jump over a tank full of sharks in a similar fashion (the gag had previously been used in the episode "]"). Executive producer ] said, "We figured that if we said it first, then they couldn't say it".<ref>{{cite news|title=Life imitating bart|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/life-imitating-bart-20040817-gdjk90.html|newspaper=]|date=August 17, 2004|access-date=January 28, 2022}}</ref> | |||
| The writers included a line where ] mentions his Icelandic heritage, as well as the fact that Homer, Moe and Lenny show absolutely no interest in what he's saying. This would later become both the basis and an explicit reference point in the episode "]", where Carl steals the winnings from a lottery ticket he jointly purchased with the gang before returning to Iceland; them when they track him down, he says that he is not sorry for what he did because they are not friends, as "friends care that their friends are from Iceland!" | |||
| The next day, Lisa cycles around to try and find a good hobby. She goes to the ], where she contemplates whether to become a ] or a ]. Finally, she settles on becoming an ], after watching a rather inspiring Astronomy show. The next day, she pleads with Homer to buy her a ], which he does by writing a questionable cheque. That night, using ]'s astronomy book, she finds out that she will be able to view ] and ]. When she tries to see them with the telescope, she finds that the bright lights from the stadium (holding a Beach Boys concert, as ] can be heard) and a motel (which is frequented by ]) are too much to properly view them. When she goes to the top of a hill, near the ], much to her disappointment and frustration, she finds that the bright lights of Springfield are just too much to see even a single star. ] tells her that they can't see stars because of ]. She decides to start a ] to stamp out light pollution. So she goes around collecting signatures (even Declan Desmond signs the petition, after a rather intellectual exchange). | |||
| Once she gets enough signatures, she hands over the list to Mayor Quimby, who obliges by turning off the streetlights in Springfield. Lisa, now able to see the stars, tells the people to wonder at the sight. ] sees a dollar sign, ] sees a cent sign, ] sees ]'s face, and Carl sees... the same thing. ] looks up and sees the ] (the symbol for Judaism). He then rubs his eyes in horror, then looks back up to see a ]. Lisa sees the stars spelling out "Thank You, Lisa" and is flattered. | |||
| Unfortunately, since there's no light, kids (especially the bullies) run around cutting off hood ornaments from cars. Bart tries to get in on the action, but he's too late. That is until he sees a '30s ]-style car drive past, sporting a beautiful hood ornament (a golden angel holding a globe, resembilng an ]). Bart decides to get it, no matter what. As the car drives, a bird sits on the hood ornament. The car stops and ] and his goons get out and beat the hell out of it. Bart sees it and gulps. | |||
| Meanwhile, the people of Springfield have had enough of all the lawlessness due to the absence of light and demand they be switched on again. Quimby decides to oblige them again, despite Lisa's objections, since there is a ] coming soon. Bart and Milhouse disguise themselves as mustached valet parking attendants and offer to park Fat Tony's car when he pulls into Luigi's for dinner and he accepts. When the goons find out from Luigi that he does not have parking attendants, they run outside but can't see Bart or Milhouse because of the dark. At City Hall, Mayor Quimby turns on the lights and turns the dimmer to "Perma-Noon", so that this time they burn even brighter. Bart and Milhouse, now fully visible, run off. | |||
| The lights are so bright that no one can sleep due to the glare. One week later, the Simpsons are going nuts from the lack of sleep. Bart still has his heart set on getting Fat Tony's hood ornament. Lisa complains that the only thing they can see in the sky is the decrepit ] satellite. They decide to work together to reduce the light in Springfield. That night, they drag a sleep-deprived Homer to the ], so that he can get them in. There, they overload the generators, causing a power outage. Now that all the lights are out, the sleep-deprived animals fall asleep. Homer is ecstatic as well. Bart and Lisa watch the stars. But angry townsfolk move threateningly towards them, angry about the power outage. Suddenly, Lisa points to the sky where the meteor shower has started. The people, on seeing it, calm down and appreciate it. A ] just misses Professor Frink, who finds ] molecules on it, but the ] inside runs off with the meteorite. The Simpsons watch the meteor shower peacefully at home. | |||
| Clips from Declan Desmond's documentary "'''American Boneheads: A Day in the Life of Springfield Elementary'''" are shown. Ralph declares that he wants to live with ]; ] says that he's going to technical school, which prompts ] and ] to beat him up calling him a sell-out and soccer-mom; Milhouse says he wants to hit .352 in the Major League, and during practice, he can't hit even one ball to save his life; finally, Declan says he's going to ]. | |||
| ==Cultural references== | ==Cultural references== | ||
| The episode's title references the lyric "scuse me while I kiss the sky" from ]'s song "]". | |||
| *The recording from Springfield Museum mentions the star ] which is a fictional planet from the ], and the apparent home of ] from the show. | |||
| ==Quotes== | |||
| *'''Machine voice:''' Since the dawn of time, travelers looking for guidance have turned to the heavens. ], star of the North. The mighty ]. The majestic ], home to a familiar blue planet we call...Rigel VII, not too far from ]. We have only touched the vastness of the universe. Who will discover the wonders that lie beyond our galaxy? Will it be you, you, or...''you''? ''(The machine shines a light on each chair, the final one landing on Lisa)''. <br/> '''Lisa:''' That's it! Lisa Simpson, Astronomer! ''(leaves)'' <br/> '''Machine voice:''' Now, who's going to press my reset button? Will it be you, you, or...''you''? ''(Again the lights show in the same sequence, only Lisa is not there)''. | |||
| *'''Declan Desmond:''' Does it make you feel smart to question other people's motives? <br/> '''Lisa:''' Yes. | |||
| *'''Declan:''' While I make this documentary, I want everyone to be yourselves. I want to see trouble children brooding, bullies dishing out what-for... <br/> '''Milhouse (sitting with the "Super Friends" {in other words, the nerds} while acting cool):''' What about us cool kids? Should we just chill out? <br/> '''Declan:''' You're doing great. ''(to Simon, his cameraman)'' Stay with the dink. | |||
| *'''People of Springfield:''' Two, four, six, eight! It's time to re-illuminate! | |||
| *'''Fat Tony:''' That boid (bird) just touched my car. You know what to do.<br>'''Legs''': You're gonna be drinking woims (worms) through a straw!<br> (the goons start beating up the bird) | |||
| *'''Milhouse''' (in disguise, to Fat Tony): Have-a da cheese pizza. Issa greasy like you. | |||
| *'''Marge:''' I haven't slept in seven days and I've gotten so much ironing done! ] <br/>'''Lisa:''' Dad, all the light is making Mom and Maggie crazy.<br/> '''Homer:''' Don't you think you're overreacting, talking gumball machine? <br/> ''(A nod to Mystery Science Theater 3000; specifically the robot Tom Servo)'' | |||
| *'''Lisa:''' Mr. Mayor, you can't flip-flop like this! We'll miss the ]! <br/> '''Quimby:''' I don't know how you keep getting past ]. | |||
| *''(Moe and Selma are making out on a park bench when the lights come on)'' <br/> '''Selma:''' Hey! You're not ]! <br/> '''Moe:''' And you ain't that ] from the zoo! <br/> '''Both:''' Meh. ''(they continue making out)'' | |||
| *'''Lisa:''' Forget it Bart. It's so bright out that the only thing in the sky you can see is the Fox satellite. <br/>(A damaged satellite held up by balloons is shown)<br/> | |||
| *'''Lisa''': With my brain, and your..uh...your...assistance...<br>'''Bart''': You can say it. I add nothing. | |||
| *'''Bart:''' How did you get Dad to go along with this? <br/> '''Lisa:''' (to Bart) He can be quite manipulative in his sleep-deprived state. (to Homer) Okay, Dad. You're playing patty-cake with Maggie. (Playing Patty-cake, Homer places his palm in the palm-reader)<br/> '''Machine:''' Palm recognized. Access granted. <br/> ''']:''' Aw, my baby's first words. | |||
| *'''Bart:''' ] also said, ''less talk, more rock''. | |||
| *''']:''' (Observing meteor shower) Whoa, I don't need drugs to enjoy this! Just to enhance it. | |||
| *'''Professor Frink:''' Great glavin in the Gladbag! | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| *'''Professor Frink:''' Astronomers are like hermit crabs, the second I leave another one will slide right in. Oh, there's one now. I SEE YOU! ''(throws a microscope, which causes the astronomers to run)'' <br/> '''Astronomer:''' You said he was out of microscopes! | |||
| ===Viewing figures=== | |||
| The episode was watched by 12.56 million viewers, which was the 16th most-watched show that week.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/41425843/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership (March 24–30)|date=April 2, 2003|work=]|access-date=June 10, 2023|via=]|archive-date=June 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605113122/https://www.newspapers.com/article/41425843/the-los-angeles-times/|url-status=live}}{{free access}}</ref> | |||
| ===Critical response=== | |||
| *'''Moe:''' Alright, you boozebags! It's closin' time! ''(wipes up the beer with a rag and twists the beer into a "re-use" jar)'' So, who's the ]? <br/> '''Lenny:''' It was Andy. ''(points to two ]s taking a body away)'' <br/> '''Moe (laughs):''' No one has ever won "Moe's Drink A Gallon of ] Contest" and no one ever will. ''(posts a picture of Andy being taken away on a "In Memory" section of the wall)'' Oh, life is good. | |||
| Colin Jacobson of ''DVD Movie Guide'' wrote, "ike most Lisa-based stories, this one tends to be lackluster." He enjoyed the subplot involving Bart and Fat Tony.<ref>{{cite web|first=Colin|last=Jacobson|date=December 16, 2011|title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fourteenth Season (2002)|url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfourteen.shtml|website=DVD Movie Guide|access-date=November 10, 2024|archive-date=August 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823020618/http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfourteen.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| On ''Four Finger Discount'', Brendan Dando liked both Lisa and Bart's stories while Guy Davis felt the episode was pieced together from many different writers' ideas.<ref>{{cite podcast|first1=Guy|last1=Davis|first2=Brendan|last2=Dando|title='Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky (S14E16)|work=Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast)|date=November 18, 2021|url=https://fourfingerdiscount.podbean.com/e/scuse-me-while-i-miss-the-sky-simpsons-podcast-review/|time=2:40|access-date=November 10, 2024|archive-date=November 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111014053/https://fourfingerdiscount.podbean.com/e/scuse-me-while-i-miss-the-sky-simpsons-podcast-review/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| *'''Homer:''' I wish God was alive to see this. | |||
| English musician ] credits hearing ]'s ] in this episode as his formative musical moment.<ref>{{cite news|last=della Cava|first=Marco|title=On the Verge: Jake Bugg is straight outta Nottingham|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/09/08/on-the-verge-jake-bugg/2597581/|accessdate=4 December 2013|newspaper=]|date=10 September 2013|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014185214/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/09/08/on-the-verge-jake-bugg/2597581/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| *'''Fat Tony:''' ''(upon hearing that Luigi's has no valet service)'' You're saying that the 10 year old with the mustache is a fake? | |||
| === |
===Awards and nominations=== | ||
| Director ] won the ] for this episode.<ref>{{cite web|title=31ST ANNUAL ANNIE AWARD NOMINEES AND WINNERS (2003)|url=http://annieawards.org/31st-annie-awards|publisher=]|accessdate=21 July 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701220856/http://annieawards.org/31st-annie-awards|archivedate=1 July 2016}}</ref> The episode was also nominated for an ] for Best Television Episodic Comedy.<ref>{{cite web|first=Cam|last=Shea|title=THE SIMPSONS: GUNNING FOR 60 SEASONS|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/11/21/the-simpsons-gunning-for-60-seasons|website=]|accessdate=21 July 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322073405/http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/11/21/the-simpsons-gunning-for-60-seasons|archivedate=22 March 2016|date=20 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=13th Annual Environmental Media Awards|url=http://ema-online.org/awards_13th_annual.php|publisher=]|access-date=November 10, 2024|archive-date=October 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014120621/http://ema-online.org/awards_13th_annual.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
| *'''Ralph:''' I'm going to live with my ]. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *'''Jimbo Jones:''' I'm going to a two-year technical school, then work in a garage. (Jimbo's friends start beating him up).<br>'''Kearney''': Sell-out!<br>'''Dolph''': Soccer-mom! | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| *'''Milhouse:''' I'm going to hit .352 in the Major League. (He misses all the pitches; he hits the catcher; he uses t-ball; manages to knock the ball, then trips.) <br/> '''Declan Desmond:''' Did you get that Simon? <br/> '''Simon/Cameraman:''' (nods) <br/> '''Declan Desmond:''' Brilliant! Lets go to Moe's. | |||
| {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_14#.27Scuse_Me_While_I_Miss_the_Sky|{{" '}}Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky"}} | |||
| {{Portal|The Simpsons}} | |||
| *{{IMDb episode|0701042}} | |||
| {{The Simpsons episodes|14}} | |||
| ===In ''Do You Want Lies With That?''=== | |||
| *'''Declan:''' Did you know Krusty uses ] beef to save money? <br/> '''Homer:''' No, because he passes the savings onto me, the consumer. ''(goes into a wave of bizarre movement)'' | |||
| *'''Krusty:''' (After stapling together two leftover Krusty burgers.) Good as new. (Trademark Krusty laugh) | |||
| *'''Declan Desmond:''' Do you like the fact you have sold yourself to ]s? <br/> '''Krusty:''' Look. I offer people a meat-like burger and some kind of cola and they still get change back from their fifty. | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky}} | |||
| ] | |||
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Latest revision as of 00:27, 25 December 2024
16th episode of the 14th season of The Simpsons
| "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 14 Episode 16 | ||
| Directed by | Steven Dean Moore | ||
| Written by | Dan Greaney Allen Grazier | ||
| Production code | EABF11 | ||
| Original air date | March 30, 2003 (2003-03-30) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
| |||
| Episode features | |||
| Couch gag | The living room is in an ocean. Homer is on water skis, with the others on him, as he ski-jumps over sharks; everybody lands on the couch, but Homer's legs are in the mouth of the shark. | ||
| Commentary | Al Jean Dan Greaney Allen Glazier Carolyn Omine Kevin Curran J. Stewart Burns Joe Mantegna Steven Dean Moore David Silverman | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| The Simpsons season 14 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" is the sixteenth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 30, 2003. The episode was written by Dan Greaney and Allen Grazier and was directed by Steven Dean Moore.
In this episode, Lisa tries to reduce the town's light pollution, so she can see the stars at night. Meanwhile Bart tries to steal the hood ornament from Fat Tony's car to regain his reputation after he is humiliated. Eric Idle guest starred as Declan Desmond. The episode received mixed reviews.
Plot
Declan Desmond, an opinionated British documentary film producer, films a documentary at Springfield Elementary School on the students' lives. He interviews Bart as he gets hit by a ball of dirt thrown by Nelson and breaks down in tears. Later, Declan belittles Lisa as she talks about the multiplicity of her interests, insinuating that she could neither be happy nor successful juggling too many hobbies or passions. Hurt by his criticism, Lisa resolves to find a single passion to which she can devote herself; astronomy. She convinces Homer to buy her a telescope, but discovers that light pollution from the city is blocking her view of the sky. After a discussion with Professor Frink, Lisa starts a petition to reduce the city's light pollution. After gaining enough signatures, Mayor Quimby agrees to turn off the streetlights, leading to a clear view of the stars, at which many people from Springfield marvel.
Meanwhile, Bart is looking for a way to regain his popularity after being humiliated. After seeing Nelson parading around with stolen car hood ornaments, he decides to steal one off Fat Tony's car. Milhouse and Bart are foiled on their first attempt because Quimby is pressured to switch the lights back on due to rising crime. Yet the light level is set too high which means that no one can sleep so Lisa, still wanting to see the light pollution reduced, and Bart, still wanting to steal Fat Tony's hood ornament, take a now sleep-deprived Homer to the power plant and overload the generators causing a power outage, which ends the light pollution, but before the angry citizens can attack, Lisa points out a meteor shower and the town looks on in wonderment while Bart sneaks off and steals Fat Tony's hood ornament, with Don McLean's song "Vincent" playing in the background.
The show ends with a montage of clips from Declan's documentary.
Production
By this time in the show's history, there had been an "ever-present fear that as the show ages it risks 'jumping the shark'". The Simpsons writers satirized the term's namesake (an episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis) in the episode, which has a couch gag where the Simpson family jump over a tank full of sharks in a similar fashion (the gag had previously been used in the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation"). Executive producer Al Jean said, "We figured that if we said it first, then they couldn't say it".
The writers included a line where Carl Carlson mentions his Icelandic heritage, as well as the fact that Homer, Moe and Lenny show absolutely no interest in what he's saying. This would later become both the basis and an explicit reference point in the episode "The Saga of Carl", where Carl steals the winnings from a lottery ticket he jointly purchased with the gang before returning to Iceland; them when they track him down, he says that he is not sorry for what he did because they are not friends, as "friends care that their friends are from Iceland!"
Cultural references
The episode's title references the lyric "scuse me while I kiss the sky" from Jimi Hendrix's song "Purple Haze".
Reception
Viewing figures
The episode was watched by 12.56 million viewers, which was the 16th most-watched show that week.
Critical response
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote, "ike most Lisa-based stories, this one tends to be lackluster." He enjoyed the subplot involving Bart and Fat Tony.
On Four Finger Discount, Brendan Dando liked both Lisa and Bart's stories while Guy Davis felt the episode was pieced together from many different writers' ideas.
English musician Jake Bugg credits hearing Don McLean's "Vincent" in this episode as his formative musical moment.
Awards and nominations
Director Steven Dean Moore won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production for this episode. The episode was also nominated for an Environmental Media Award for Best Television Episodic Comedy.
References
- "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky". TV.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
- "Life imitating bart". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 17, 2004. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
- "National Nielsen Viewership (March 24–30)". Los Angeles Times. April 2, 2003. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Jacobson, Colin (December 16, 2011). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fourteenth Season [Blu-Ray] (2002)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on August 23, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- Davis, Guy; Dando, Brendan (November 18, 2021). "'Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky (S14E16)". Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast) (Podcast). Event occurs at 2:40. Archived from the original on November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- della Cava, Marco (September 10, 2013). "On the Verge: Jake Bugg is straight outta Nottingham". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- "31ST ANNUAL ANNIE AWARD NOMINEES AND WINNERS (2003)". ASIFA-Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- Shea, Cam (November 20, 2011). "THE SIMPSONS: GUNNING FOR 60 SEASONS". IGN. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- "13th Annual Environmental Media Awards". Environmental Media Association. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
