I thought there was an interesting tidbit in a recent Simpson’s episode. Homer, challenged in this scene to summon his mental abilities, conjures up “Intellectual Homer” in his imagination. “Intellectual Homer”, however, is shown face down, impaled by a sword, with the words “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” scrawled in blood on the floor around him. This is one of those scenes that flashes by rather quickly, and the only way I was able to read what was written on the floor was to rewind and slow-mo the scene.
Which got me to thinking - I can usually find at least one or two instances per Simpson’s episode where there is great humor embedded in scenes, but only available to those of us with the capability to time-shift and slow-mo our TV viewing. Another show that makes frequent use of this technique is the Daily Show on Comedy Central. It’s amusing to try to find all of the camouflaged humor in these programs. The downside – it can sometimes take an hour to watch a half-hour show. Also, other people who are trying to view the program sometimes don’t find this very amusing, so use your better judgement.
Nice catch.
I saw this episode for the first time last night, and noticed some writting. I did the frame-backwards dance, and immediately recalled your blog entry about this topic. Not recalling the meaning of either ontogeny or phylogeny from my school days, I had to look them up. Reference in the scene to Mr. Haeckels dead theory is the type of thing that gives The Simpsons the extra fine, funny edge.
Ok, here’s another rewind-ten-times episode.
Principal Skinner and class visit the Springfield Glacier. In the visitor’s center, Milhouse selects a postcard to send to his grandmother. Next to him, Skinner unrolls a beach towel he purchased in Sequoia National Park; he wants to return it. The towel shows a tall Sequoia tree, with the slogan “I got wood in Sequoia National Park.” Skinner admits, “I learned too late that it implied tumescence.”
Here is an interesting post from a person who mis-repaired his VCR and ended up being able to receive the DVS (Descriptive Video Services) audio broadcast track. Apparently this track is intended for the blind, as it is a verbal depiction of everything going on in the scene, including the things that rush past us in real-time.
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2005/05/the_simpsons_as.html
From what the author of the post says, this is just the ticket for non-visually impaired persons to see (hear) what transpires in these all too brief scenes.
And then there is “Ontology recapitulates philology” to deal with!