Line #8 Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E10VivaNedFlanders


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/viva_ned_flanders.gif]]
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3	'''Original air date:''' 1/10/1999 ''(produced in 1998)''
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5	'''Production code:''' AABF-06
6
7	After Ned Flanders reveals that he's sixty years old and looks young because of his cautiousness and clean living, everyone begins pitying Ned for being a boring old man. To combat this, Ned joins Homer on a trip to UsefulNotes/LasVegas, where the two gamble away their money, drink themselves stupid, and end up married to two skanky barmaids who call upon Vegas' most popular entertainers to capture them when Homer and Ned plot to divorce them.
8	----
9
10	!!This episode contains examples of:
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12	* AccidentalMarriage: Homer and Ned's drunken marriages to Amber and Ginger.
13	* AnachronismStew: Most of the resorts depicted in Vegas are parodies of real life ones including several that went defunct years before this episode aired.
14	* AnalProbing: At the end of the episode, Homer and Ned come up with a cover story for their trip where they are [[AlienAbduction abducted by aliens]] and Ned is subject to a round of "gang probing".
15	* BackForTheDead: The Monty Burns Casino, last seen in season 5, is destroyed in this episode, prompting Homer and Ned to go to Vegas instead.
16	* BaitAndSwitch:
17	** Ned sees Grandpa Simpson and Jasper in a convertible with four sexy women and think that they're having the time of their lives. When the car drives off, it turns out Grandpa and Jasper are being held hostage by the women and were yelling help ("Shut up and take us to Dress Barn!").
18	** Homer, in a lascivious tone, comments that having two wives can have its advantages. We then get an ImagineSpot of Homer... lying in his hammock while Marge chops wood and Amber digs a hole.
19	** Also, Ned and Homer's attempted escape. See SoLongSuckers below.
20	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor:
21	** Ned goes to Homer hoping to get some excitement in his life. They both get more than they bargained for.
22	** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Homer's ImagineSpot of life with two wives. The actual polygamy seems to work out great for dream-Homer, but then he's suddenly stung by a bee while lying in his hammock - [[ComicallyMissingThePoint which is what convinces Homer]] that they cannot go through with bringing the Vegas wives home.
23	* BlatantLies: After [[https://frinkiac.com/video/S10E10/P4ObgcmkqOxhdIfVAEanyUskmdA=.gif Lance Murdock crashes]] from a botched stunt attempt, the announcer cheerfully says "He's, all, right, folks!" as he's tended to by medics.
24	* {{Bowdlerise}}: On the original Fox airing, when thinking of a number to bet on, Homer has the line "Barney's birthday is April 20th, same as [[{{UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler}} Hitler's]]..." The second Fox airing of this episode actually aired on April 20, which was also the date of [[UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} the Columbine High School massacre]]; as a result of this, the line was changed for the third FOX airing to "Barney's birthday is July 15th, same as Lassie's..." The replacement line was also used in the U.K. airings and is the one found on FXX and the DVD; the syndicated and Canadian airings both use the original line.
25	* CallBack: The Monty Burns Casino, introduced back in Season 5's [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E10Springfield "$pringfield"]], is demolished in the episode's beginning. Lisa brings up the end of [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E22TrashOfTheTitans "Trash of the Titans"]], and asks why the casino -- which hasn't seen any action since "$pringfield" -- was moved with the rest of the town if it had already fallen into disuse. Its absence prompts Homer to take Flanders to Vegas for fun.
26	* TheCameo: Ralph Steadman's caricatures of Creator/HunterSThompson and Oscar Acosta from ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'' drive past Homer and Ned, coming from Vegas with the Raoul Duke caricature complaining there are too many kids there.
27	* CouchGag: The family sits, and a live action hand spins the screenshot around, smearing the shot's paint.
28	* CreditsJukebox: The usual ''Simpsons'' end credits theme is replaced by Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas".
29	* CurbStompBattle: Homer and Ned get their asses kicked by almost everyone in Vegas, including Drederick Tatum, Music/TheMoodyBlues, and a white tiger.
30	* DrivenToSuicide: After finding out about their new wives, Ned tries to hang himself with his belt. Homer stops him, yelling "think of your wives!".
31	* GoodIsBoring: Springfielders are amazed at Ned's longevity and youthfulness until he reveals how much he's deprived himself in order to attain it, and Ned realizing this himself leads to the rest of the episode.
32	-->'''Ned:''' I resist all the major urges.\
33	'''Sideshow Mel:''' All of them?\
34	'''Marge:''' You mean you've never splurged and say, eaten an entire birthday cake and blamed it on the dog?\
35	'''Edna Krabappel:''' You've never licked maple syrup off your lover's stomach?\
36	''(Agnes Skinner glares at a nervous Seymour)''\
37	'''Bart:''' ''(leaning inside a church window, holding a crowbar)'' You've never snuck out of church to break into cars?\
38	'''Ned:''' No, no, and double no! I haven't done any of those things, folks. You name it, I haven't done it!\
39	'''Homer:''' Jeez, Flanders, you're sixty years old, and you've never lived a day in your life!\
40	'''Carl:''' Yeah, even the boy in the bubble had a deck of cards.
41	* HollywoodLaw: Homer and Flanders are both already legally married, so their Vegas marriages to Amber and Ginger would simply be invalid. Furthermore, since both men were clearly intoxicated, anyone who were to marry the couples would be legally required to turn them away until they sobered up.
42	* HolyBurnsEvil: Moe comes to the mistaken conclusion that the secret of Ned's [[OlderThanTheyLook youthful appearance]] is holy water; he splashes some in his face and immediately wails "Aagh, it burns!"
43	* {{Hypocrite}}: During Homer training Ned how to enjoy life, Homer throws Ned's notebook out the window, saying he needs to act impulsively. A few scenes later, Homer's giving more advice and says Ned should be writing this down.
44	--> '''Homer''': Where the hell's your notebook?\
45	'''Ned''': You threw it out the-\
46	'''Homer''': Never mind.
47	* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne:
48	--> '''Ned:''' This is all your fault. You and your stupid program!\
49	'''Homer:''' Blame me if you must, but don't ever speak ill of the program!
50	* IncrediblyLameFun:
51	** Ned realizes he's been having too much of this, and thus he asks Homer to help him liven things up a bit.
52	** Played with in a subtle joke where Ned says, "When I want to laugh, I'll take Creator/BobSaget, thank you very much." At the time, Saget was better known for his wholesome roles on ''Series/FullHouse'' and ''Series/AmericasFunniestHomeVideos'' than he was for the raunchy stand-up routines on which he had built his comedy career before and after ''Full House''. Ned would have had a HeroicBSOD if he had seen Saget performing in Las Vegas.
53	* IndubitablyUninterestingIndividual: When the church congregation points out how Ned has denied all of his lifestyle impulses, he realizes that he's become this. The point is driven further with this exchange with his family as they're driving home:
54	-->'''Ned Flanders:''' Can you believe it? It almost seemed like those folks were making fun of old Steady Neddie.\
55	'''Maude Flanders:''' Well, you may be a bit cautious, but what's wrong with that? Some people like chunky peanut butter, some like smooth.\
56	'''Ned:''' Mm-hmm, and some people just steer clear of that whole hornets' nest. I'll stick with just plain white bread, thank you very much, maybe with a--\
57	'''Maude, Rod, and Todd:''' ''[together]'' --glass of water on the side for dippin'!\
58	''[Ned slams on the brakes]''\
59	'''Ned:''' ''[downtrodden]'' Gosh darn it. Am I that pre-diddly-ictable? ''[sighs]'' I've wasted my whole dang-diddly life.
60	* InsaneTrollLogic: Homer asks if it would help if he and Ned swapped wives (apparently more than once).
61	* ItBurns: Moe says it after splashing himself with holy water, thinking it's what makes Ned look young.
62	* LanguageBarrier: PlayedForLaughs for The Comic Book Guy, who tells the car wash attendant to be careful with his "hilarious bumper stickers" that read "I Brake for [[Franchise/StarTrek Klingons]]" and "My Other Vehicle is [[Franchise/StarWars the Millennium Falcon]]", which he especially likes because he said it was given to him by a Creator/HarrisonFord look-alike...only for the attendant to vacuum them off anyway, as he doesn't understand English.
63	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The Monty Burns Casino is finally seen in an episode after the one from when it was built and it was commented in-universe how, one week after its opening, nobody would remember it until now.
64	* MuggedForDisguise: {{Averted\|Trope}}. While being chased, Homer and Ned grab a pair of janitors and fight them offscreen in a closet. The janitors walk away unscathed, whereas Homer and Ned collapse badly bruised.
65	* NoEnding: Homer and Ned are thrown out of Vegas and are forced to walk home. When the credits roll, they're being attacked by vultures.
66	* NotDistractedByTheSexy: When Homer fantasizes about being married to Marge and his Vegas wife simultaneously, sex doesn't come into play at all as he just figures two women will be able to do twice the yard work.
67	-->'''Marge:''' You know, Homie, there's ''so much more'' two wives could do for you.
68	-->'''Homer:''' I hear digging, but I don't hear chopping!
69	* OlderThanTheyLook: In this episode, it's revealed that Flanders is sixty. He apparently accomplished his younger appearance through "clean living, chewing thoroughly, and a daily dose of Vitamin Church".
70	* OhCrap:
71	** Homer and Ned waking up to find themselves not only hungover, but having gotten ''married'' (to women, not each other).
72	--->'''Homer:''' We are so dead.
73	** Homer and Ned being confronted by an angry Vegas mob leads to a rapid succession of these, as they see a tiger (which Homer mistakes for a lion), Drederick Tatum, and the Moody Blues.
74	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ned is noticeably less patient with Homer than usual in this episode, snapping at him several times, showing both how much stress he's under for various reasons throughout the episode (his midlife crisis, accidentally getting married, and just being subjected to Homer's ceaseless stupidity).
75	* RealMenCook: Apparently men who live in the impulse zone spit-roast meats over their chimneys using tires as fuel for the fire.
76	* RhymesOnADime: Music/TheMoodyBlues begin a rhyming piece (more precisely, a parody version of the five lines that both open and close their 1967 album ''Music/DaysOfFuturePassed'') concerning Homer and Ned's predicament and seeming cruelty of fleeing their Vegas wives until they decide to "can the poems" when it's "arse-whipping time".
77	-->'''Graeme Edge:''' Cold-hearted Homer ditching his wife, while ancient Ned runs for his life...\
78	'''Justin Hayward:''' Chips of blue, and red, and white, but we decide which-[[note]]is right, and which is an illusion.[[/note]]\
79	'''John Lodge:''' Oh, can the poems! It's arse-whipping time!\
80	'''Ray Thomas:''' ''(pulls knife out of his flute)'' I want fatty! ''(Homer screams)''
81	* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The opening scene of Mr. Burns' casino being demolished is based on the rising trend the real Las Vegas went through in the 90s where many of their resort hotels were demolished to make way for newer ones, as we see in ''[[{{Film/Casino}} Casino]]'' when the big corporations [[EvilPowerVacuum took advantage of the power vacuum the Chicago Outfit's absence left]]. Kent Brockman's statement on the casino being replaced by a "casino themed family hotel" comes from the criticisms several modern resorts in the 90s faced by trying to turn Vegas into a more "family-friendly" destination, since while the mob did commit violence, they at least cared about the tourists who came and gambled, while the corporations were impersonal as hell.[[note]]'''Sam:''' In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it's like checkin' into an airport. And if you order room service, you're lucky if you get it by Thursday. Today, it's all gone. You get a whale show up with four million in a suitcase, and some twenty-five-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his Social Security Number.[[/note]] Raoul Duke's complaint about there being "too many kids" in Vegas also reflects on this.
82	* RiddleForTheAges: Homer has an explanation for why Mr. Burns' casino has been taken with the rest of town but, when he was about to tell it, he was interrupted by the noise of the casino being demolished and the issue has never been brought up again.
83	* RuleOfThree: This conversation.
84	--> '''Ned:''' This may sound just a teensy bit insane in the ol' membrane, Homer, but I was wondering if you could show me how to have some fun.\
85	'''Homer:''' ''(with arms crossed)'' Well, well, well, so Flawless Flanders needs help from Stinky-Pants Simpson.\
86	'''Ned:''' Heh, heh, yeah, I guess I do.\
87	'''Homer:''' Welly, welly, welly. Mister Clean wants to hang out with Dirty Dingus [=McGee=].\
88	'''Ned:''' How 'bout it, Homer, will you teach me the secret of your intoxicating lust for life?\
89	'''Homer:''' Wellisy, wellisy, wellisy...\
90	'''Ned:''' Stop that!
91	* SeriesContinuityError: Ned is said to be 60 years old, however previous episodes, most notably "Hurricane Neddy", had shown he was a child in TheFifties with {{Beatnik}} parents, which would put him in his early 50s at most. Though since the show is still on the air in the 2020s, Ned would indeed be in his 60s or even ''70s'' by this point.
92	* ShamedByAMob: Ned is left feeling ashamed of how he's lived his life when everyone in the church is left astounded at how he looks so young at the cost of having done ''nothing'' for 60 years.
93	* ShoutOut: Homer makes reference to ''Film/TheGame1997'':
94	--> '''Homer''': ''(ominously)'' One day soon I will come for you... and then the game will begin. Could be in the middle of the night. It could be when you least expect it. ''(casually)'' Or whatever's good for you. I don't care.
95	* SimilarItemConfusion: When Mr. Burns' Casino is about to get demolished using bombs, one of the demolition worker overhears Bart say, "All right! Here comes the implosion" and responds to the other with "'''Im'''plosion? I thought you said--" and is interrupted when the plunger goes down. This confusion results in the casino being blasted into a huge dust cloud covering part of the town.
96	* SoLongSuckers: Subverted; Homer and Ned try to escape in a Vegas contest car with Homer, with Homer shouting this. Before they can pull off, however, the angry crowd beats them up and throws them out of town.
97	* StatusQuoIsGod: Lampshaded at the start of the episode, with the Simpsons discussing how Mr. Burns' casino seemed like such a big deal at first, then everybody forgot about it a week later.
98	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Homer taking the time to shout SoLongSuckers instead of driving off immediately lead to him and Ned being mobbed and beaten before they can flee.
99	* TookALevelInDumbass: Here we see Homer at his dumbest (up to this point in the series), not only becoming TheMillstone to Ned, but also for ''not telling blood from red paint''.
100	%%* TwinThreesomeFantasy: Played. Homer start to imagine the advantage of live with two wives. So, Homer's imagination conjures up himself lying in a hammock while Marge and Amber chop wood and dig a hole, respectively.
101	%%-->'''Marge:''' You know, Homey, there's so much more two wives could do for you...\
102	'''Homer:''' I hear digging, but I don't hear chopping!
103	* VivaLasVegas: The setting, naturally.
104	* WaxingLyrical: When Ned first asks Homer for some advice about living life to the fullest, he says "This may sound insane in the ol' membrane...", paraphrasing Music/CypressHill's "Insane In The Membrane".
105	* WhatDidIDoLastNight: Homer and Ned's drunken stupor, culminating in accidentally marrying Amber and Ginger.

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS10E10VivaNedFlanders