Estranger Things
| "Estranger Things" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 36 Episode 18 |
| Directed by | Matthew Nastuk |
| Written by | Tim Long |
| Production code | 36ABF11 |
| Original air date | May 18, 2025 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Estranger Things" is the eighteenth and final episode of the thirty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 790th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 18, 2025. The episode was written by Tim Long and directed by Matthew Nastuk. The title is a spoof of Stranger Things.
In this episode, Bart and Lisa grow up and drift apart when they stop watching The Itchy & Scratchy Show together. Zooey Deschanel and Max Greenfield guest starred. Singer Sarah McLachlan appeared as herself. The episode received mixed reviews.
Plot
[edit]Four years earlier, Bart and Lisa discover The Itchy & Scratchy Show on television and vow to watch it every day. They bond while watching it as they grow older.
In the present, they are horrified when Marge presents Maggie in an Itchy & Scratchy infant bodysuit. Seeing how it is being marketed to babies, they decide to stop watching and separately begin watching different shows on their tablets, which disappoints Marge, who does not want Bart and Lisa to drift apart. She tells them to stay together as they grow up. They agree to consider it, but do not do so when Marge dies, leaving Homer a widower.
Thirty-five years later, Lisa is now the commissioner of the NBA, which is now the women's professional basketball league formerly known as the WNBA. She pays for the cost of Homer living in the retirement home. Scheduled to make a speech at Springfield Elementary School, Lisa returns home. She is denied entry to visit Homer at the retirement home, so she visits her childhood home. Lisa discovers Bart is running an unlicensed retirement home with Homer, Lenny, Carl, and Comic Book Guy living there. Bart claims he is taking good care of them, but Lisa calls him a failure. She complains about him in her speech.
Later, Lenny disappears, so Bart and Lisa search for him and Bart gets him down from a tree. Lisa is impressed, but Bart is mad that he must do the manual labor while Lisa only sends money. At home, Homer is taken by Senior Protective Services because Lisa filed a complaint earlier which further angers Bart.
Homer is being transferred to Florida, which is now a prison for seniors. Overwhelmed, Lisa goes to the attic and discovers a video made by Marge, who tells Bart and Lisa she hopes that they are depending on each other. They reconcile and go to rescue Homer. They find the senior transport bus and play the sound of water running to force the bus to stop at a restroom. They take Homer and bring him home where they watch a reboot of The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
In Heaven, Marge sees this happen as she then joins Ringo Starr in an activity.
During the credits, footage of the points where Itchy kills Scratchy are shown.
Production
[edit]Writer Tim Long wrote the premise of Bart and Lisa drifting apart based on his own relationship with his sister. Originally, the flash forward would feature Bart and Lisa as teenagers, but executive producer Matt Selman suggested a longer time jump and Marge's death. Long also wanted to do a parody of the scene from the 1999 Pixar film Toy Story 2 featuring Sarah McLachlan's song "When She Loved Me" due to the emotional impact of it on the audience that he observed in the theater. He wanted the parody to feature Itchy and Scratchy but noted the difficulty of writing Itchy & Scratchy cartoons because the ones featured in the past decade were primarily movie parodies. Another writer on the show who was a parent suggested having babies be the reason Bart and Lisa stop watching Itchy & Scratchy.[1]
Starting with this episode, Kelly Macleod began voicing the character of Milhouse Van Houten. Macleod previously appeared as a different character in the thirty-third season episode "Bart the Cool Kid".[2]
Zooey Deschanel guest starred as Quirk Girl and Max Greenfield guest starred as Schultz.[3] Deschanel previously appeared on the series as Mary Spuckler.[4] Singer Sarah McLachlan appeared as herself.[3]
Cultural references
[edit]Zooey Deschanel and Max Greenfield's characters are parodies of their characters from the television series New Girl, which aired on Fox.[5]
Bart is seen watching a show on a tablet titled Screaming Friends, a parody of Adult Swim's Smiling Friends. Series creators Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel responded positively to the parody.
Reception
[edit]Viewing figures
[edit]The episode earned a 0.13 rating and was watched by 0.54 million viewers, which was the second-most watched show on Fox that night.[6]
Critical response
[edit]John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 7 out of 10. He thought the episode showed that episodes set in the future were no longer special. He also thought the Itchy & Scratchy premise and reboot reflected on what the series is now trying to do with its long run.[7]
Mike Celestino of Laughing Place thought the episode was "a really solid outing". He highlighted the Toy Story 2 parody and the guest stars.[8]
Marisa Roffman of Give Me My Remote thought the episode was "surprisingly touching" and liked that The Itchy & Scratchy Show was used as the cause of the drift.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ VanHooker, Brian (May 19, 2025). "Don't Worry, 'The Simpsons' Isn't Done with Itchy & Scratchy, Says the Writer of Last Night's Season Finale". Cracked.com. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Stenzel, Wesley (May 16, 2025). "The Simpsons announces new Milhouse voice actor following Pamela Hayden's exit". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ a b "(SI-3611) "Estranger Things"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (May 3, 2012). "Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sarah Silverman join Zooey Deschanel on 'The Simpsons' – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Stenzel, Wesley (May 16, 2025). "Watch Zooey Deschanel and Max Greenfield spoof their New Girl roles on The Simpsons". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Pucci, Douglas (May 22, 2025). "Sunday Ratings: 'American Idol' on ABC Draws 2-Year High with 23rd Season Finale". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
- ^ Schwarz, John (May 19, 2025). "Review: The Simpsons "Estranger Things"". Bubbleblabber. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Celestino, Mike (May 19, 2025). "TV Recap / Review: Bart and Lisa Drift Away from "Itchy & Scratchy" (and Each Other) in "The Simpsons" Season 36 Finale". Laughing Place. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
- ^ Roffman, Marisa (May 19, 2025). "About Last Night…THE LAST OF US, AMERICAN IDOL, THE SIMPSONS, and More". Give Me My Remote. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
