Simpsons – The Monkey Suit (s17e21)

“The Monkey Suit” is the 21st episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season that originally aired on May 14, 2006.
Chalkboard: “Je ne parle pas Français” (I don’t speak French)
Couch gag: Progressively older family portraits.
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Synopsis

Lisa brings the family to go to the museum to see a weaving exhibit, but to her shock (and Homer and Bart’s joy), it has been canceled and replaced by a “History of Weapons” exhibit. Faced with a long line, Homer notices Ned Flanders and his kids at the front of the line and cuts in front of them. Others start taking advantage of Ned’s kindness, until they are stuck at the end. At the end of the day, the Flanders are still waiting, and are denied entry, as it’s closing time for the Weapons exhibit. So they decide to check out the evolution exhibit. Ned is horrified to hear that humans evolved from apes and that the creation account in Genesis is characterized as a “myth.” Covering his kids’ eyes, he drags them out.

He meets up with the church council to suggest promotion of Creationism. This sounds good to Reverend Lovejoy as it might help him regain his patrons, most of who have left his church for a nearby church (with vibrating pews). The next day, Ned and Lovejoy blackmail Principal Skinner into introducing Creationism in the school. Lisa is perturbed by this, and at a town meeting asks everyone to make a choice between Creationism and Darwinism, as there is only one truth. The townspeople vote for Creationism, much to her chagrin, and the act of teaching or learning Darwinism and Evolution are now made illegal. So Lisa decides to start holding secret classes for people interested in Evolution. However, just as the first lesson is about to begin, she is arrested by Chief Wiggum “for the teaching of non-Biblical science.”

She is brought to trial, which is dubbed “Lisa Simpson v. God.” Representing her is Clarice Drummond, a despised ACLU lawyer from New York City, while on God’s (i.e., Ned’s) side is Wallace Brady, a beloved overweight southern lawyer. The trial does not go smoothly for Lisa, as Professor Frink (called by Clarice) gives ambiguous answers regarding God’s existence, while a creationist scientist (with a degree in “Truthology” from “Christian Tech”) says that Evolution cannot be real, as there is no proof of a “Missing Link” (depicted in a picture as a savage hominid, holding a rock over his head). At home, Lisa is dejected and Marge decides to help her out. So she starts reading Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species and gets pretty much engrossed in it. When the trial resumes, Marge tells Lisa that she can help her. While Ned is being cross-examined by Clarice, Marge gives Homer a cold beer. Homer, ecstatic at getting a beer, tries to open it unsuccessfully. The more he tries, the more primitive he gets. Finally, Ned loses his cool and calls him “a big monkey-faced gorilla.” Clarice then asks Ned to compare the picture of the “Missing Link” and Homer shaking the beer over his head. Ned concedes defeat and the case is dismissed. Ned walks off sadly, but Lisa explains that she is all right with his beliefs, but considers that science and church should never mix together, a point which Ned agrees upon.

To-do lists feature

This episode feature different charecters mentioning or showing their to-do list of things they want to accomplish.

• The to-do lists in this episode:

Bart’s completed to-do list:

• Win baseball game
• Appear in summer stock play
• See summer blockbuster
• Have a summer romance

Grampa’s to-do list (2 out of 9):

• Sleep with Esther Williams
• Be first white man in Negro League

The girl that Bart had a summer romance with’s completed to-do list:

• Kiss 100 boys

Homer’s completed to-do list:

• Check out that new store
• Find, destroy Atlantis
• Fake interest in son

• Homer’s “Find, Destroy Atlantis” may be a reference to “Homer the Great,” where the song “We Do” had the line “Who keeps Atlantis off the maps, Who keeps the Martians under wraps? We do, we do!”

Cultural References

• This is an obvious spoof of the Scopes trial. In addition, the lawyers Clarice Drummond and Wallace Brady are parodies of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. Their names were changed to Henry Drummond and Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind, the play which dramatized the trial.
• The scene where Bart wins a baseball game parodies The Natural and The Bad News Bears.
• Bart appears in a stage adaptation of Grease 2, in which he confusedly quotes Fonzie.
• The unmaskings and the puzzle-piece fade-outs are a reference to The Saint TV series.
• The summer blockbuster Bart watches is a parody of Men in Black.
• The song played in the “Myth of Creation” diorama is “What a Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers.
• The blackboard at Lisa’s evolution seminar features the phrase “Viva la Evolución,” a pun on the revolutionary call “Viva la Revolución.”
• The character appearing on the TV show at the beginning of the episode, first seen in “I’m Spelling as Fast as I Can,” is a parody of television personalities Vampira and/or Elvira.

High-Quality Wallpaper of Homer (evolution)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey_Suit