Harry Shearer Movies
California native Harry Shearer was one of the busier child actors of the 1950s. He appeared in such films as The Robe (1953) (as the boy David) and Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953); he could be heard on such radio programs as Suspense, Lux Radio Theatre, and the Jack Benny Show; and among his many TV guest roles was the character who would evolve into Eddie Haskell in the 1955 Leave It to Beaver pilot. After attending U.C.L.A., Shearer flourished as a standup comedian and comedy writer. He was frequently employed on the writing staff for such TV laughspinners as Laverne and Shirley and America 2Night; he also worked both sides of the camera in the 1984 rockumentary parody This Is Spinal Tap, co-starring as rock idol Derek Smalls and co-writing the script with director Rob Reiner and fellow cast members Christopher Guest and Michael McKean. In league with another top satirist, Albert Brooks, Shearer concocted the screenplay for another faux documentary, 1979's Real Lampoon. During the 1984-1985 TV season, Shearer joined the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on NBC's Saturday Night Live. The soft-spoken, saturnine Harry Shearer has recently supplied his voice to the Fox Network cartoon series The Simpsons, and since 1992 he has hosted and co-written a weekly syndicated radio comedy potpourri, Le Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1994
Semi-corrupt public official Mayor Joe Quimby (voice of Dan Castellaneta) is up for re-election, and radio talk-show host and Republican activist Birch Barlow (voice of Harry Shearer) is determined to put a more conservative candidate in office. Looking for the right man to run against Quimby, Barlow and his right-wing brain trust think they may have found their man in Sideshow Bob (voice of Kelsey Grammer), convicted felon, former children's entertainer, and nemesis of Bart Simpson (voice of Nancy Cartwright). After Barlow's radio campaign results in Sideshow Bob's early release, Bart and Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) help Mayor Quimby in his campaign against the charismatically evil Bob, but Quimby spoils his own campaign and Bob wins with a projected 100 percent of the vote. However, an anonymous tipster tells Bart and Lisa that something was not cricket with the election, and the kids make a shocking discovery as they examine Springfield's polling records. Sideshow Bob Roberts also features a guest voice-appearance by noted disc jockey and music archivist Dr. Demento as himself; the episode first aired on October 9, 1994. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1994
After sneaking away from a school field trip to a box factory, Bart Simpson (voice of Nancy Cartwright) makes his way to the television studio where his hero, Krusty the Clown (voice of Dan Castellaneta), tapes his show. When Krusty throws a star fit after not being served the Danish he demanded, Bart steals one for him from newsman Kent Brockman (voice of Harry Shearer), and the grateful clown gives Bart a job as his assistant. Bart soon discovers that being Krusty's assistant means doing the errands no one else is willing to do ("Now I need you to go clean out my toilet . . . Eew! I don't know what I was thinking last night!"), but when Sideshow Mel falls ill, Bart is given a small part in a sketch. Bart muffs his entrance, then tries to cover by saying "I didn't do it." The line gets a big laugh, and Krusty brings Bart back again to say the line several more times. Soon Bart is famous as "The I Didn't Do It Boy," but he grows tired of being known only for his catch phrase. He soon discovers, though, that his fans aren't all that interested in watching him expand his repertoire. "Bart Gets Famous" first aired on February 3, 1994. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
James L. Brooks' showbiz comedy I'll Do Anything is "The Musical That Almost Was" (after test screenings Brooks removed all the musical numbers in the film, turning the film into a songless romantic comedy). Matt Hobbs (Nick Nolte) is a hardly working actor who finds himself raising his 6-year-old daughter Jeannie (Whittni Wright) after her mother Beth (Tracey Ullman) is sent away to prison. Since Matt now has to support a daughter, he has to develop more regular work habits. As a result, he takes a job as a chauffeur for a William Castle-inspired schlockmeister named Burke Adler (Albert Brooks). As Adler develops a relationship with divorced test-marketing researcher Nan Mulhanney (Julie Kavner), Matt becomes romantically attached to beautiful development executive Cathy Breslow (Joely Richardson). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Whittni Wright, (more)
A mix of political satire and a modern take on 1930's-style screwball comedy, this romance from director Ron Underwood was assumed by many to be based on the real-life relationship between liberal political consultant James Carville and conservative commentator Mary Matalin. Michael Keaton stars as Kevin, an insomniac who meets Julia (Geena Davis) in a store late one night as they haggle over the last bottle of sleeping pills. After spending a romantic evening together, Kevin and Julia each discover to their chagrin that the other is a rival speechwriter in a nasty New Mexico senatorial campaign. As the senate race heats up, the bickering pair tries to keep the relationship alive, but then Julia's ex-fiance Baghdad Bob Freed (Christopher Reeve), a network news foreign correspondent, shows up with the intention of renewing their relationship. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, (more)
- 1994
Late October brings yet another trio of comic nightmares from The Simpsons. In The Shinning, Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) gets a job as winter caretaker at a resort hotel high in the mountains owned by Mr. Burns (voice of Harry Shearer). The maintenance man, Groundskeeper Willie (voice of Castellaneta), discovers Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) shares his psychic gift of "shinning" ("You mean 'shining'?" "Shh! You wanna get sued?!?"), which comes in handy when Homer snaps under the pressure after finding the hotel has no beer or television. Time and Punishment finds Homer trying to fix a toaster and somehow becoming unstuck in time, encountering any number of alternate histories as he zooms back and forth from the prehistoric age to the "present." And in Nightmare Cafeteria, Bart and Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) notice that students kept after school for detention are disappearing, as the cafeteria is suddenly serving an abundance of rich, meaty dishes, leading the quickly shrinking number of students to wonder if Principal Skinner (voice of Shearer) and Lunchlady Doris (voice of Doris Grau) are resorting to cannibalism. "Treehouse of Horror" first aired on October 30, 1994. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Everyone's favorite headbangers from Aurora, Illinois, are back in this sequel to the 1992 hit comedy Wayne's World. The success of their TV show allows Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) to finally move out of their parents' homes, but now they have to figure out what to do with their lives. Wayne's girlfriend, up-and-coming rock star Cassandra (Tia Carrere), is enjoying a career boost thanks to her new manager Bobby Cohn (Christopher Walker), but Garth thinks that Bobby is more interested in her body than her place on the charts. Meanwhile, Wayne is visited in a dream by the late Jim Morrison (Michael A. Nickles), who convinces him to promote a massive rock festival, "Waynestock," featuring Aerosmith as headliners. Garth, on the other hand, is finally relieved of his pesky virginity by femme fatale Honey Hornee (Kim Basinger), though it turns out that Honey has a hidden agenda. Drew Barrymore, Harry Shearer, and Charlton Heston play cameo roles in Wayne's World 2, and Jay Leno, Rip Taylor, and Todd Rundgren appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, (more)
- 1993
After C. Montgomery Burns (voice of Harry Shearer) is found guilty of dumping toxic waste from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in a city park, he's fined $3 million, which he pays at once, in cash. With a sudden and unexpected budget surplus, the good people of Springfield are trying to decide what to do with the money when smooth-talking salesman Lyle Lanley (voice of Phil Hartman) convinces the town that what they need is a monorail system. Marge Simpson (voice of Julie Kavner), however, is against the idea and has reason to believe that Lanley is pulling a fast one on the city, even though Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) has already enrolled in monorail conductor's school. Marge discovers that the monorails Lanley constructed in other cities were not only faulty but dangerous, and she must race back to Springfield before someone gets hurt and before Lanley gets away with the money. Leonard Nimoy makes a guest appearance as a celebrity attending the monorail dedication (whom Mayor Quimby mistakes for one of the Little Rascals). "Marge Vs. The Monorail" first aired on January 14, 1993. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The mock heavy-metal band Spinal Tap (actually comedians Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer) return to duty in this made-for-TV sequel to Rob Reiner's 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, filmed to promote the group's album Break Like the Wind. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, (more)
- 1992
Looking for something to break the monotony of her life as a housewife, Marge Simpson (voice of Julie Kavner) auditions for the Springfield Community Center's upcoming production of Streetcar! -- a musical adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. The director, melodramatic Llewllyn Sinclair (voice of Jon Lovitz), isn't impressed at first by Marge's audition, but after hearing her talk to Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta), he's convinced she's just the woman to play Blanche DuBois opposite Ned Flanders (voice of Harry Shearer), who was cast because he looks better with his shirt off than anyone else who tried out. Homer doesn't think much of Marge's new interest in theater, and her anger at her husband gives her performance a keen emotional edge, but will this rift in their marriage prove irreparable? Meanwhile, since Marge is busy with rehearsals, she sends baby Maggie to a daycare center, the Ayn Rand School for Tots, where the staff is determined to keep the children away from their pacifiers; Maggie, however, isn't about to give it up without a fight. A Streetcar Named Marge first aired on October 1, 1992. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League was founded in 1943, when most of the men of baseball-playing age were far away in Europe and Asia fighting World War II. The league flourished until after World War II, when, with the men's return, the league was consigned to oblivion. Director Penny Marshall and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel re-create the wartime era when women's baseball looked to stand a good chance of sweeping the country. The story begins as a candy-bar tycoon enlists agents to scour the country to find women who could play ball. In the backwoods of Oregon, two sisters -- Dottie (Geena Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty) -- are discovered. Dottie can hit and catch, while Kit can throw a mean fastball. The girls come to Chicago to try out for the team with other prospects that include their soon-to-be-teammates Mae Mordabito (Madonna), Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell), and Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh). The team's owner, Walter Harvey (Gary Marshall) needs someone to coach his team and he picks one-time home-run champion Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), who is now a broken-down alcoholic. After a few weeks of training, as Dugan sobers up, the team begins to show some promise. By the end of the season, the team has improved to the point where they are competing in the World Series (which is no big deal, since there are only four teams in the league). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, (more)
- 1992
It's Halloween again, and the Simpson family is having a party, with everyone trying to top each other with tales of terror. In Clown Without Pity, Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) forgets to buy a birthday present for Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright), and finds a talking Krusty the Clown doll at a strange little shop. Homer soon realizes, however, that he didn't get an ordinary toy; the doll threatens to kill him and chases him around the house with a knife when it isn't busy trying to convince the Malibu Stacy doll owned by Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) that she looks awfully warm in that cheerleader's outfit. Grampa passes along his own version of the classic monster epic King Kong -- King Homer -- in which Mr. Burns and Smithers (both voiced by Harry Shearer) set out to capture the giant ape King Homer, using aspiring starlet Marge Bouvier (voice of Julie Kavner) to lure the beast into their trap. And in Dial "Z" For Zombie, Bart learns the local library is a lot more interesting than he imagined when he finds a book of magic spells that can be used to reanimate the dead. Bart and Lisa use one of the incantations to resurrect their departed cat, Snowball I, but they make a few miscalculations, and soon Springfield is crawling with "the living impaired" who've passed on over the past two centuries. "Treehouse Of Horror III" was first aired on October 29, 1992. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- PG
This wacky buddy comedy was the fifth in a series of Hollywood remakes of films by French director Francis Veber, none of which were box office successes. Sheila Kelley is Valerie Highsmith, an heiress who, despite her family's wealth, suffers from horribly bad luck. On a vacation to Mexico, she takes a fall, causing amnesia, then is mugged and kidnapped for ransom. When her father (Sam Wanamaker) becomes frustrated with the failed attempts of a detective, Ray Campanella (Danny Glover) to find his daughter, he teams a very reluctant Ray with Eugene Proctor (Martin Short), an accountant whose bumbling bad luck is even worse than Valerie's. The theory is that perhaps two such incredibly unlucky people will act like magnets, with Eugene leading Ray to Valerie's location. Although Ray finds Eugene irritating, the unlikely partners eventually begin making surprising progress in the case, despite Eugene's never-ending screw-ups and pratfalls. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Danny Glover, (more)
Sylvester Stallone gives comedy another try in this farce set in the 1930s. Angelo "Snaps" Provelone (Stallone) is the wealthy and powerful head of the Chicago mob, but his ailing father (Kirk Douglas) doesn't approve of his life in crime, and on his deathbed, Dad makes Snaps promise to go straight. Determined to honor his late father's wishes, Snaps decides to go into banking -- just as his life has fallen into chaos. Anthony Russano (Vincent Spano) informs Snaps that he's hijacked $50,000 of his money and wants to marry his daughter. Snaps discovers that his daughter Lisa (Marisa Tomei) is actually involved with the chauffeur, Oscar (Jim Mulholland), but Anthony's girlfriend Theresa (Elizabeth Barondes) has convinced her beau that Snaps is her father. Snaps hopes to use this misunderstanding as a way of getting his money back, but in the meantime, he has to deal with a wary banking board, rival mob boss Vendetti (Richard Romanus), prissy elocution coach Thornton (Tim Curry), and Snaps' one-time girlfriend Roxanne (Linda Gray). Oscar's stellar supporting cast includes Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, Harry Shearer, Eddie Bracken, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Bruce Davison. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Ornella Muti, (more)
Terry Gilliam directed this adaptation of Richard LaGravenese's mystical (and mythical) tale of redemption in the hard-time town of New York City. Jeff Bridges is shock radio DJ Jack Lucas, whose low opinion of humanity lends itself well to his radio talk show, where the enmity rubs off on his listeners. One fan in particular takes Jack's rants to heart and goes to a fancy restaurant with a gun, murdering innocent diners. Jack is so distraught at what his on-air suggestion wrought that he sinks into a three-year depression, drinking himself to sleep and mooching off of his girlfriend Anne Napolitano (Mercedes Ruehl, in an Oscar-winning performance), an attractive owner of a video store. Hitting bottom, Jack slumps to the river, prepared to commit suicide. To his rescue comes a crazed but witty homeless man named Parry (Robin Williams), who tells Jack he's destined for great things -- all his has to do is find the Holy Grail (conveniently located in mid-town Manhattan) and save Parry's soul. He also wants Jack to help him out with the woman of his dreams, Lydia Sinclair (Amanda Plummer), a shy type who works at a publishing company. Parry was once a university professor became unglued by a tragic event in his past; Jack soon realizes that to save himself, he first must save Parry. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, (more)
- 1991
One morning Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta) notices that his neighbor Ned Flanders (voice of Harry Shearing) is angrily shooing a man off of his property. Wondering what's going on, Homer learns that the man is an installer from a local cable TV service (voice of Phil Hartman) who offered to give Ned an illegal cable hook-up in exchange for a one-time, under-the-table payment. Lacking Ned's scruples, Homer asks the installer to give him a hook-up, and soon the Simpsons are basking in the glow of free cable programming. But after Reverend Lovejoy (also voiced by Shearer) gives a sermon on the evils of theft, Lisa begins having qualms about the ethics of stealing cable, and announces she'll no longer watch TV with the family unless they start paying for their cable service. Marge (voice of Julie Kavner) also wonders if having free cable is such a good idea, especially after she discovers Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) is charging his classmates to watch softcore adult movies shown on the "Top Hat" cable network. Lisa decides to stage a vigil outside the Simpson home to protest Homer's actions, just as he's invited over all of his friends to watch a championship boxing match on a pay channel he's receiving illegally. Phil Hartman also provides the voice of Moses in a biblical flashback sequence. "Homer Vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" was first aired on February 7, 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta) has never much cared for his next-door neighbor, the aggressively cheerful, born-again Christian Ned Flanders (voice of Harry Shearer). But it's not in Homer's nature to turn down barbecue, so he grudgingly tags along when Ned invites the Simpsons to a cookout. As it turns out, Ned uses the occasion to announce he's given up his job as a pharmaceutical salesman to open his own business, a shop called the Leftorium that specializes in gadgets for southpaws. Homer wins a wishbone-pulling contest with Ned, and in a fit of pique wishes to himself that Ned's business becomes a dismal failure. However, when the Leftorium falls on hard times and the Flanders family is reduced to living out of their car, Homer wonders if Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) might have a point about the dangers of "shameful joy." Meanwhile, Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) begins taking karate classes, but loses interest when he learns he'll have to read a book rather than break stuff -- which becomes a problem when he tries to fool the family into thinking he's still attending class. "When Flanders Failed" was first aired on October 3, 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In the second annual Halloween spookfest from The Simpsons, Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) pig out on candy after trick-or-treating, against the advice of their mother Marge (voice of Julie Kavner). Soon the two kids are having nightmares, as is their father Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta), never one to stay away from sweets. In Lisa's Nightmare, a parody of the classic tale The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs, the Simpsons are vacationing in Morocco when Homer buys a monkey's paw that he is told can make wishes come true. The Simpsons, however, don't use it very responsibly (no great surprise there), leading to misery, disappointment, and an alien takeover. Bart's Nightmare is a take-off on the Twilight Zone episode "It's A Good Life," in which Bart is a monster-child who can make his every wish come true, which makes him hell to be around, especially for Homer after Bart transforms him into a Jack-in-the-Box. And in Homer's Nightmare, Homer is fired by C. Montgomery Burns (voice of Harry Shearer), but that's not the half of his problems -- Mr. Burns and his sidekick Smithers (voice of Shearer) then steal Homer's brain to use in a robot they imagine will be the perfect worker. Appropriately enough, "Treehouse of Horror II" first aired on October 31, 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Bart Simpson (voice of Nancy Cartwright) is riding his skateboard home after a hard day at school when he falls down a flight of stairs and finds himself in "The Legitimate Businessman's Social Club," a meeting place for Fat Tony (voice of Joe Mantegna) and other kingpins of the Springfield Mafia. Forced to mix a Manhattan, Bart proves to be a pretty good bartender, and Fat Tony offers him a job after school. But Bart's duties at the Social Club take up more and more of his time, and when Principal Skinner (voice of Harry Shearer) makes Bart stay after school, Fat Tony is not amused. The next day, Skinner disappears and is soon presumed dead, and when Police Chief Wiggum (voice of Hank Azaria) confronts Fat Tony, he pins the blame on Bart. Soon Bart is on trial for murder, and the various members of the "Social Club" testify that the boy is actually the godfather of a vast criminal empire. "Bart The Murderer," which first aired on October 10, 1991, also features a voice performance from Neil Patrick Harris, who plays "Bart Simpson" in a made-for-TV movie, Blood On The Blackboard: The Bart Simpson Story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
One day, while riding his skateboard, Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) is hit by a car, and after a near-death experience (during which he pays a brief visit to Heaven, only to descend into Hell after spitting over the railing) he regains consciousness in the hospital. Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) learns that the car was being driven by C. Montgomery Burns (voice of Harry Shearer), who offers to give the Simpsons $100 in compensation if they agree not to sue (which is at least an improvement over his thoughts immediately after the accident: "For crying out loud! Just give him a nickel and let's get going!"). Homer is outraged and hires sleazy lawyer Lionel Hutz (voice of Phil Hartman), who is certain he can get a one million dollar claim from Burns with the help of less-than-scrupulous physician Dr. Nick Riviera (voice of Hank Azaria). However, in order to clinch the case, several of the Simpsons will have to stretch the truth under oath, something that Marge (voice of Julie Kavner) is reluctant to do. Mr. Burns' legal team offers Homer $500,000 to settle out of court, which Marge urges him to accept; Homer decides to go for the full million, but Marge's testimony tips the case in Burns' favor. Crestfallen, Homer wonders out loud if he'll ever be able to love Marge again after she cost him a million bucks. "Bart Gets Hit By a Car" was first aired on January 10, 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
After Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) bemoans the lack of variety in the Simpsons' dining habits, Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) warily takes the family out for dinner to Springfield's leading Japanese restaurant, The Happy Sumo. While Homer is initially suspicious of sushi, he discovers he quite likes it once he tastes some, and ends up trying everything on the menu. The last item, however, is a rare variety of blowfish sushi, and the Master Chef (voice of Sab Shimono) is afraid it may have been cut incorrectly -- making it poisonous. Dr. Hibbert (voice of Harry Shearer) informs Homer that he may have only 24 hours to live, and Homer is determined to make the most of his last day, vowing to spend a final bit of quality time with Lisa, Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright), Marge (voice of Julie Kavner), and Grampa (voice of Castellaneta). One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish first aired on January 24, 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Billy Zane stars in this direct-to-video gem as a spectacularly unsuccessful car thief. Hoping to reform by leaving LA, Zane must scare up $400 worth of exit money. He decides to pull off one last job, stealing a TV from William Bastiani. An ill-tempered criminal, Bastiani stabs Zane, who then runs off blindly into a cemetary ("Blood" and "Concrete": get it?) Weaving around the tombstones, Zane makes the acquaintance of would-be suicide Jennifer Beals. Love blooms, but it might be too late for both of them: Bastiani is found murdered, and Zane is suspect number one-forcing him to hide out from both the cops and the mob. Luxuriating in its tawdriness and cheapness, Blood & Concrete: A Love Story actually has an offbeat charm all its own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, Jennifer Beals, (more)
- 1990
By an amazing coincidence, the opening episode of Murphy Brown's third season coincides with the 390th edition of "FYI", the fictional TV newsmagazine presided over by temperamental telejournalist Murphy Brown (Candice Brown). Convinced that "FYI" needs a fresh coat of paint after 13 seasons on the air, producer Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud) hires image consultant Chris Bishop (Harry Shearer), who makes it his mission in life to tackle Murphy's "serious warmth problem"...whether she likes it or not. (Trivia note: Peter Marx appears as Murphy's 37th secretary, even though the role of "Secretary 37" has been essayed at the end of the previous season by Carol Ann Susi.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
After an incident with a cherry bomb sends Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) to the office of Principal Skinner (voice of Harry Shearer) one time too many, Skinner suggests the answer to Bart's discipline problems might be not to kick him out of school, but to ship him out of the country. Bart is sent to France as an exchange student, while Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) and Marge (voice of Julie Kavner) are entrusted with the care of Adil (voice of Tress MacNeille), a well-mannered student from Albania. However, everyone involved is in for a few surprises; Bart discovers that his French sponsors are actually the mean-spirited proprietors of a winery who use him for slave labor when not fortifying their product with anti-freeze, while Adil is actually a spy who uses Homer's naïveté to obtain classified information about American nuclear power plants. "The Crepes of Wrath" was first aired on April 15, 1990. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) makes the mistake of trying to protect a batch of cupcakes Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith) made for her teacher from schoolyard bully and thug in training Nelson (voice of Cartwright). Nelson gives Bart a beating, and promises more of the same; Marge (voice of Julie Kavner) suggests that Bart try to reason with the bully, while Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) tells his son that fighting dirty is the only answer. Neither strategy seems to work, so Bart turns to Grampa Simpson (voice of Castellaneta) for advice. With the help of Herman (voice of Harry Shearer), the mildly insane owner of a store specializing in military relics, Bart and Grampa organize his fellow fourth graders into an army and orchestrate an all-out water-balloon war against Nelson and his fellow bullies. "Bart the General" was first aired on February 4, 1990. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1990
C. Montgomery Burns (voice of Harry Shearer), owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant -- and boss to Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta) -- throws his annual employee picnic, which is hardly a relaxing experience for his workers, since he insists on winning all the games and tends to fire people who don't enjoy themselves. After observing the more highly functional families of his co-workers, Homer becomes depressed, convinced that the Simpsons are the worst family in Springfield. Determined to get his relationship with his wife and children back on track, Homer pawns the family's television and enrolls them all in group therapy with nationally advertised psychotherapist Dr. Marvin Monroe (voice of Shearer), who offers to give his patients double their money back if he can't resolve their issues. But Monroe soon realizes he's never been up against a challenge like treating the Simpsons. "There's No Disgrace Like Home" was first aired on January 28, 1990. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
