The Otto Show

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"The Otto Show"
The Simpsons episode
Promotional poster featuring Homer with David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls, and Nigel Tufnel.
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 22
Directed byWes Archer
Written byJeff Martin
Production code8F21
Original air dateApril 23, 1992 (1992-04-23)
Guest appearances
Episode features
Chalkboard gag"I will not spin the turtle"[1]
Couch gagSanta's Little Helper growls at the family as they enter, forcing them to retreat slowly.[2]
CommentaryMatt Groening
James L. Brooks
Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Dan Castellaneta
Jeff Martin
Wes Archer
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Black Widower" 		Next →
"Bart's Friend Falls in Love"
The Simpsons season 3
List of episodes

"The Otto Show" is the twenty-second episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 23, 1992. In the episode, Bart wants to become a rock star after attending a Spın̈al Tap concert, so Homer and Marge buy him a guitar. He shows the guitar to Otto, who plays it and makes the children late for school. While racing to Springfield Elementary, Otto crashes the school bus and is suspended until he earns a driver's license. Unable to pay his rent, Otto moves in with the Simpsons.

The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Wes Archer. It was the first episode of the show to feature Otto Mann in a prominent role. "The Otto Show" features an appearance from Spın̈al Tap, a parody band that first appeared in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984). The episode guest stars Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins and Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel. Harry Shearer, who is a regular Simpsons cast member, reprises his This Is Spinal Tap role as Derek Smalls.

In its original airing on the Fox Network, the episode had an 11.5 Nielsen rating and finished the week ranked 41st. The episode received positive reviews and Spinal Tap was ranked as the 18th best guest appearance on the show by IGN.

Plot[edit]

Bart and Milhouse attend a Spın̈al Tap concert, but the poor condition of the arena leads Spın̈al Tap to angrily end their concert after only 20 minutes. A riot breaks out.

Bart decides he wants to become a rock guitarist, so Homer and Marge buy him an electric guitar, but he struggles to learn how to play it. On the school bus, Bart tells the driver, Otto, that his guitar must be broken, but Otto plays it in an impromptu performance that wows the bus passengers. After his rendition of "Free Bird" makes the children late for school, Otto's reckless driving runs Spinal Tap's tour bus off the road and crashes the school bus. Otto admits to Officer Lou he does not have a driver's license and is suspended without pay. Unable to pay his rent, he is evicted from his apartment. Homer and Marge reluctantly let him stay in their garage after Bart pleads with them, but Otto soon makes a nuisance of himself and Homer demands that he leave.

Otto tells his instructor Patty that he wants to pass so he can "staple my license to Homer Simpson's big bald head". Intrigued, Patty gives Otto the correct answers to the written test. She gives him a passing grade after being amused by Otto's story of Homer's crude behavior. Otto regains his job and is seen arriving to pick the kids up from school whilst a wistful Principal Skinner—having attempted, unsuccessfully, to drive the bus in Otto’s absence—watches on in admiration.

Production[edit]

Michael McKean, who guest starred as David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap.

"The Otto Show" was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Wes Archer. The episode's title is a pun on auto show.[3] The episode was the first to feature bus driver Otto Mann in a prominent role.[4] Otto's full name is revealed for the first time. Writers Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky had originally wanted to name him Otto Mechanic, but the animators gave him the last name Mann.[4]

"The Otto Show" features an appearance from the characters of Spın̈al Tap, a parody band that first appeared in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984).[5] The episode guest stars Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins and Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel. Harry Shearer, a regular Simpsons cast member, co-starred in This Is Spinal Tap and reprises his role as bassist Derek Smalls.[6] The episode follows the approach of the film by presenting Spın̈al Tap as if they were a real band. According to executive producer Al Jean, the executives at Fox were unhappy about having the band guest star, partially because it cost a lot of money to purchase rights to play their songs.[6] Mike Reiss said that Fox felt that the show could have gotten a "real group" for that amount of money.[4] The animators gave many of the members of the crowd at the Tap concert long bangs, so they would not have to animate many pairs of eyes.[7] In the final scene to feature the band, their tour bus bursts into flames after being knocked off the road. According to the writers, the scene was not in the original script and was added because they felt the band's final scene was not interesting enough.[8] In a 2016 interview Shearer said this was the only time Spinal Tap had worked to a script, all other movie, television and live appearances being improvised.[9]

Marge says she hopes "the Spın̈al Taps don't play too loud." Homer says that his hearing has not been affected by heavy metal concerts and Marge replies, but her response is not heard clearly due to Homer's tinnitus. On the DVD commentary, the writers said that Marge's line was "pretty funny" and had taken a long time to write. In 2023, a fan used sound editing software to discover that Marge told Homer "Make sure they don't pick up any of the band's attitudes towards women, liquor, religion, politics...really anything."[10]

Cultural references[edit]

When Homer puts on an old jacket he finds a can of Billy Beer in one of the pockets. While waiting in the car during the Spinal Tap concert (as well as the ensuing riot), Homer sings along to the song "Spanish Flea" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The writers had a difficult time getting the rights to the song, but a writer who is related to a member of the band was able to get the rights at the last minute.[6] Homer also hums along to "Summer Samba" during a prior segment in the car. Homer makes a comment on their situation with Otto, saying "This is not Happy Days and he is not The Fonz!" Otto then walks in and says to Homer, "Heeeeeyy, Mr. S."[2] Otto plays "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd on the school bus.[2] Otto's statement that he would prefer to be sleeping in a Dumpster brand trash container over a "Trash Co. Waste Disposal Unit" alludes to the word's status as a registered trademark for a brand of large trash containers.[6]

Reception[edit]

In its original airing on the Fox Network, the episode had an 11.5 Nielsen rating and was viewed in approximately 10.59 million homes. It finished the week of April 20–26, 1992 ranked 41st, down from the season's average rank of 35th.[11] The Simpsons was the fourth highest rated show on Fox that week after Married... with Children, Beverly Hills, 90210 and In Living Color.[11]

The episode, like the whole of the third season, received mostly positive reviews from critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, "A nice episode for Otto and some great moments for Skinner as he tries to drive the bus, but especially memorable for Homer's moment of forgetfulness after the concert. Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer reprise their roles from This Is Spinal Tap perfectly."[2] MovieFreak.com's Dennis Landmann named "The Otto Show" as one of the stand-out episodes from the third season.[12]

Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed praised the episode, giving it a rating of five out of five donuts and writing "The writing is at full throttle here, cramming tons of jokes into the episode's 20-minute runtime with stunning success."[13] DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that it was "another solid episode. Actually, it regresses somewhat from the high quality of its predecessors. The Spinal Tap material feels somewhat tacky – it was a tie-in with their then-current attempt to sell a new album – and Otto's not a strong character. I don’t think the series ever made him the lead again, and he works best in small doses. "Otto: remains very good, but it doesn’t compete with the year’s best shows.""[14]

The guest appearance of Spın̈al Tap was especially noticed. Bryce Wilson, in his review of the third season for Cinema Blend, wrote "Simpson’s [sic] voice actor Harry Shearer...reunites Spinal Tap just for "The Otto Show", an episode full of the trademark Tap banter and stage disasters that rival even the mighty 18 inch Stonehenge."[15] IGN named Spinal Tap as the '18th best guest stars' in the show's history for this episode.[16] Andrew Martin of Prefix Mag named Spinal Tap his favorite musical guests on The Simpsons out of a list of ten.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M..
  2. ^ a b c d Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "The Simpsons: Season Three Episode Guide – Otto Show". BBC. Archived from the original on June 26, 2004. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  3. ^ Martin, Jeff. (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  4. ^ a b c Reiss, Mike. (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  5. ^ Plume, Kenneth (February 10, 2000). "Interview with Harry Shearer (Part 2 of 4)". IGN. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Jean, Al. (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  7. ^ Archer, Wes. (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  8. ^ Groening, Matt. (2003). Commentary for "The Otto Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  9. ^ "Harry Shearer And Judith Owens Talk Spinal Tap, Marriage & The Simpsons". 4KQ Brisbane. June 10, 2016. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Chilton, Louis (April 21, 2023). "Simpsons fan uses audio processing to unearth 31-year-old lost Marge joke". The Independent.
  11. ^ a b The Associated Press (April 29, 1992). "Nielsen Ratings/April 20–26". Long Beach Press-Telegram.
  12. ^ Landmann, Dennis (September 23, 2003). ""The Simpsons – Season 3" DVD Review". MovieFreak.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  13. ^ Meyers, Nate (June 23, 2004). "dOc DVD Review: The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991–92)". Digitally Obsessed. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  14. ^ Jacobson, Colin (August 21, 2003). "The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  15. ^ "Movie DVD for The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season". Cinema Blend. June 18, 2004. Archived from the original on June 25, 2004. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  16. ^ Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian (January 4, 2010). "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances". IGN. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  17. ^ Martin, Andrew (October 7, 2011). "Top 10 Best Musical Guests On 'The Simpsons'". Prefix Mag. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.

External links[edit]

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