Line #37 TakeThat/TheSimpsons


1	Being a LongRunner, ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has made plenty of shots throughout the years.
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5	* [[BitingTheHandHumor/TheSimpsons The writers have probably taken more shots at the Fox network than hunters have at actual foxes.]]
6	* One episode has Bart and Milhouse watching an obvious pastiche of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark.'' The Stan-pastiche mentions that they're at a concert with a band consisting of Steve Guttenberg, Calista Flockhart, and Farty the Crippled Robot. Farty farts out OJ Simpson, who declares he's gonna kill everyone and says how he's gonna find the real killer. This is followed by Bart wondering, "How do they keep things so fresh after 43 episodes?" ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' had previously lampooned ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', noting that the show's extremely long run had made it [[ItsBeenDone hard to find new ideas]].
7	* The show took occasional jabs at ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'', particularly [[ScheduleSlip the long gaps between new episodes]]. "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E3AnotherSimpsonsClipShow Another Simpsons Clip Show]]" also mocked their tendency to re-use old animation with newly dubbed voices, with a scene with Bart, Lisa, and Marge doing this and commenting on how ''Ren and Stimpy'' do this all the time.
8	-->'''Marge:''' "Yes, and when was the last time you heard anyone talk about ''Ren and Stimpy''?"
9	** It seems this rivalry is over, as Creator/JohnKricfalusi did the couch gag for an episode in 2011, and again for "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS27E5TreehouseOfHorrorXXVI Treehouse of Horror XXVI]]".
10	* The show has ripped into ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' a couple of times, though Creator/MattGroening has described his rivalry with Creator/SethMacFarlane as "affectionate", and [=MacFarlane=] even contributed the opening song for the last ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' movie.
11	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E8TheItalianBob The Italian Bob]]", a wanted police book in Italy cites [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter]] for "[[RecycledPremise plagiarismo]]" and [[WesternAnimation/AmericanDad Stan]] for "plagiarismo di plagiarismo".
12	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIII Treehouse of Horror XIII]]", Peter Griffin can be seen in the middle of a crowd of thousands of cloned versions of Homer.
13	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E15MissionaryImpossible Missionary: Impossible]]", Creator/BettyWhite hosts a TV pledge drive, urging viewers to call right away "if you don't want to see crude, lowbrow programming disappear from the airwaves." As she says this, she turns off a TV that has the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' logo on it. Notably, this episode first aired at a time when FOX was first threatening to cancel ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and critics wrote the show off as a crude ''Simpsons'' knock-off with [[CutawayGag pointless jokes]] and BlackComedy.
14	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E16TheWanderingJuvie The Wandering Juvie]]", as Bart and a girl from the neighboring female juvenile delinquent facility exchange insults, Gina responds to Bart calling her a psycho and a future skank by calling him a "family guy."
15	* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E21BlackWidower Black Widower]]" takes swipe at ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'': "It's like they saw our lives and put it right up on screen!" In return, ''Dinosaurs'' had Earl commenting they've made one big successful show and now others are making cheap rip-offs of it. Baby Sinclair replies, "Don't have a cow, man," a regular catch phrase used by Bart Simpson.
16	* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E15TheLastTemptationOfKrust The Last Temptation of Krust]]" references the trope itself, when guest star Creator/JaneaneGarofalo mocks Krusty's TV dinner jokes: "Take that, Swanson's!"
17	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E22TheySavedLisasBrain They Saved Lisa's Brain]]", when Mensa makes improvements in Springfield, the city moves up to #299 on the list of America's 300 most livable cities. Comic Book Guy shouts: "Take that, East St. Louis!"
18	* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud Marge Be Not Proud]]":
19	** Bart hides the tape with Brodka's message [[DiscouragingConcealment in the place no one would look for it]]: a tape cassette cover for Allan Sherman's "Camp Granada".
20	** As Homer reprimands Bart for stealing:
21	--->"We live in a society of laws! Why do you think I took you to all those ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' movies?! For fun?! Well, I didn't hear anyone laughing! Did you?! [[SidetrackedByTheAnalogy Well, except for the guy who did sound effects...]]"
22	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E8SweetsAndSourMarge Sweets and Sour Marge]]", Chief Wiggum tosses a few Butterfingers into a candy bonfire only to see them repelled unharmed: "Even the fire doesn't want them." Take That, soon to be ex-endorsement! Earlier in the episode, Springfield is declared America's fattest city. Homer shouts "In your face, Milwaukee!"
23	* In the DVDCommentary tracks for the earlier seasons, the writers and producers of that time explain Take That as [[MindScrew a taunt to counter unnecessary cheap shots at innocent targets]].
24	* Creator/MattGroening must really have something against [[{{UsefulNotes/Arbys}} Arby's]].
25	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E14DasBus Das Bus]]", Sherri or Terri states, "I'm so hungry, I could eat at Arby's!" The other children gasp in horror and sympathy.
26	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E19OldYellerBelly Old Yeller Belly]]": "People do crazy things in commercials.. like eat at Arby's."
27	** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E4TreehouseOfHorrorXVII Treehouse of Horror XVII]]" short "Married to the Blob", Homer eats a space-blob of goo that is trying to escape his body. Homer then proceeds to say "If I can keep down Arby's, I can keep down you!" After many ruthless escapes going as far as ''out his nostrils and ears''.
28	** From season 8's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E6AMilhouseDivided A Milhouse Divided]]":
29	-->'''Neighbor:''' "A possum drowned in the pool. You have any garbage bags?"\
30	'''Kirk van Houten:''' "[[BystanderSyndrome Just throw it over the fence and let Arby's deal with it]]."
31	** In Season 28's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS28E13Fatzcarraldo Fatzcarraldo]]", Homer searches for a good restaurant with non-healthy food to eat at, but all he could find are [[UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken Kentucky Steamed Chickpeas]], [[UsefulNotes/TacoBell Tofu Bell]], and Arby's.
32	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has also taken a jab or two at Mountain Dew, the most memorable of which being from "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E1TheCityOfNewYorkVsHomerSimpson The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson]]".
33	-->'''Homer:''' That khlav kalash was pretty bad, do you have anything to drink to get rid of the taste?\
34	'''Vendor:''' Mountain Dew or [[{{Squick}} Crab Juice]].\
35	'''Homer:''' Blech, ewwww! I'll take a Crab Juice!
36	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E18DudeWheresMyRanch Dude, Where's My Ranch?]]", Homer and Bart were offered a drink. As soon as they started drinking it, the man offering it said it was bear urine, which causes Homer and Bart to pause. The man then says it was really Fresca, wherein Bart and Homer spit it out.
37	* The show has itself been the target of a real-life Take That: [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush George Bush Sr.]] once held a speech with the phrase "We're going to strengthen the American family to make them more like ''Series/TheWaltons'' and less like ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''." This was a bad, bad move on the part of the presidential speechwriters, because the show retaliated by having the January 30, 1992 reairing of the Season 3 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E1StarkRavingDad Stark Raving Dad]]" open with a reworked scene from "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E2SimpsonAndDelilah Simpson and Delilah]]" where Bart sees the speech and remarks "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to [[TheGreatDepression the Depression]] too." The moral of the story is that you probably shouldn't pick on people who make a living out of comedy.
38	** There's also "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E13TwoBadNeighbors Two Bad Neighbors]]", where Bush senior moves into a house opposite the Simpsons. He gets to be the butt of nearly every joke.…while somehow providing one of the few sympathetic portrayals of Barbara Bush to be shown in an American sitcom. (But only as a pastiche of Mrs. Wilson.)
39	** Completely and utterly averted in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E2MrLisaGoesToWashington his first appearance]], when after Lisa exposes a corrupt Senator's land deal (taking bribes to allow drilling for oil on top of Mount Rushmore), an emergency expulsion bill is sent to President Bush. He signs it, commenting "This ought to make my bosses happy... all 350 million of them!" [[note]] Referring to the American people[[/note]] This is probably the only time in ''Simpsons'' history that politics has NOT been used as fodder for a Take That. Of course, this scene could be taken as satire, showing such an over-the-top positive view of American politics that it's easier to imagine as yet another Take That after all.
40	%%* There's been two shots taken at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney's California Adventure]].
41	* The Comic Book Guy acts as a walking Take That to geeky overcritical fans everywhere.
42	-->'''Comic Book Guy:''' Last night's Itchy & Scratchy was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. Rest assured, I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world.\
43	'''Bart:''' Hey, I know it wasn't great, but what right do you have to complain?\
44	'''Comic Book Guy:''' As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me.\
45	'''Bart:''' What? They've given you thousands of hours of entertainment for free! What could they possibly owe you? If anything, you owe them!\
46	'''Comic Book Guy:''' beat Worst episode ever.
47	* There's a real good take that in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E9HomerBadman Homer Badman]]". If you pause the television when the apologies at the end of the episode are showing, you can clearly see "If you're reading this, you have no life" and [[SelfDeprecation "If you're writing this, you really have no life"]]
48	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E6MargeOnTheLam Marge on the Lam]]", the Simpsons watch a public TV telethon, which was currently doing a live reading of ''Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion'', and Homer starts banging his TV screaming, "Be more funny!"
49	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E14BartHasTwoMommies Bart Has Two Mommies]]", Lenny and Carl are at a church ring toss game, and Carl remarks, "Ah, it's all a big scam." Lenny asks, "This booth?" Carl replies, "No, religion in general."
50	** Similarly, in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', as Grampa starts speaking-in-tongues in church:
51	-->'''Lisa''': Dad, do something!\
52	'''Homer''': ''(reading a Bible)'' But this book doesn't have any answers!
53	* Magazine/{{MAD}} magazine seems to come under fire a little as well, with most of the "hilarious" satire being shown as weak and simplistic by the show's standards.
54	* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E22RoundSpringfield 'Round Springfield]]" has [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Mufasa]] appearing in the clouds only to say to Lisa "You must avenge me, Manga/{{Kimba\|TheWhiteLion}}... I mean... Simba." An obvious stab at the theory surrounding ''The Lion King'' plagiarizing the anime series.
55	* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E1TreehouseOfHorrorXV Treehouse of Horror XV]]" has Ned, after getting Literature/TheDeadZone-esque powers of predicting people's death by touch, commenting upon seeing that Rosie O'Donnell's musical being closed down that he "didn't need special powers to know that was coming!", an obvious take that on the quality of the musical. Also falls into HilariousInHindsight (or HarsherInHindsight) when Rosie O'Donnell's revived talk show ends up being cancelled without even a series finale.
56	* Similarly to its cousin ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', the show takes a jab at Brown University, the Dean of Harvard snorting with derision when reassuring Lisa she still get into Brown.
57	--> '''Lisa''': Oh no! Not Brown! (echo) Brown, Brown, Brown...
58	* In one episode, the credits were "dedicated to those who died in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' movies." At one point, this comes up.
59	--> ''Unfortunately not [[TheScrappy Jar Jar Binks]].''
60	* Another episode has Moe scold Homer something along the lines of "Hey! Don't knock America! [[BaitAndSwitch Compared to the rest of the Third World, we're doing fine.]]"
61	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E12TheMansionFamily The Mansion Family]]", Homer complains that he didn’t win anything at an awards show. When Lisa [[ContinuityNod reminds him]] [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet he won a Grammy]], Homer says he meant an award worth winning. A disclaimer notes "Mr. Simpson's opinions does not reflect those of the producers, [[BaitAndSwitchComment who don't consider the Grammy an award at all]]."
62	* In the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS25E2TreehouseOfHorrorXXIV Treehouse of Horror XXIV]]" Creator/DrSeuss parody "Oh, the Places You'll D'oh!", when Homer's character [[Literature/TheCatInTheHat The Fat in the Hat]] is on the verge of death, he declares "I'm frightened of nothing, not even Hell's fires. Just don't let me ever [[Film/TheCatInTheHat be played by]] Creator/MikeMyers!"
63	* The writers were once [[ExecutiveMeddling "asked" to introduce a new character]] to liven up the show. The result was "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E14TheItchyAndScratchyAndPoochieShow The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show]]": an episode which has a new character be introduced to the titular cat and mouse duo which utterly ruins the show and is [[TheScrappy universally despised]] by everyone except Homer [[CreatorsPet who voices him]]. Meanwhile, a character named Roy appears out of nowhere, is treated as if he was [[RememberTheNewGuy always a part of the Simpsons family]], and vanishes without a trace in the end. Lisa even ''bluntly'' points out the writer's stance on it:
64	--> '''Lisa:''' Adding a new character is often a desperate attempt to boost low ratings.
65	* While waiting in line for the last "Angelica Button" ([[Literature/HarryPotter Harry Potter]] with the SerialNumbersFiledOff) book in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS19E15SmokeOnTheDaughter Smoke on the Daughter]]", Lisa's "Angelica" costume is criticized by Comic Book Guy for its inaccuracy - only for Lisa to inform him that she based her costume on the series' ''books'' rather than its ''movies''.
66	* When Homer meets Creator/GalGadot in "Bart's Not Dead", he claims to only know her from ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' movies, despite her being most famous for playing Film/{{Wonder Woman\|2017}}. When Gal brings up her role as Wonder Woman, Homer says that he's never seen any of those movies because he falls asleep every time he sees the [[Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse DC]] logo.
67	* The "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS27E5TreehouseOfHorrorXXVI Treehouse of Horror XXVI]]" ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' parody does a jab at the [[Film/Godzilla1998 1998 version directed by Roland Emmirich]][[note]]which also featured ''Simpsons'' cast members Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, and Nancy Cartwright[[/note]], by having Homerzilla get an American remake (with the title being shortened to "[[Film/GodzillaFinalWars Zilla]]") which ended up bombing greatly.
68	* In the ColdOpen of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS30E4TreehouseOfHorrorXXIX Treehouse of Horror XXIX]]", a sea captain tells Homer he's going to be sacrificed to "an evil god from the ocean depths" (Cthulhu), to which a horrified Homer first guesses [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants SpongeBob]].
69	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E14TheZiffWhoCameToDinner The Ziff Who Came To Dinner]]", with The Wild Dingleberries Movie, to a time where Disney and Nickelodeon were milking their televised cartoons and slapping them on the silver screen for an extra helping of profit, and permanently killed off any substantial interest in theatrical 2D animation (or at least for three decades and counting).
70	* In a reversal of BitingTheHandHumor, after Creator/{{Disney}} bought out the Fox studios along with ''The Simpsons'', a reel was made announcing the show's new streaming home of Creator/DisneyPlus. In the reel, an autographed photograph of former Fox owner UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch is seen in the trash can, and the Fox logos on some balloons have been taped over.
71	* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS29E09GoneBoy Gone Boy]]", Bart refers to [[Creator/CirqueduSoleil Cirque du Soleil]] as "Cirque du So Lame" and Sideshow Bob asserts that "they're pretty much all the same".
72	* In the "Dial 'Z' for Zombies" segment of "Treehouse of Horror III", some of the gravestones in the pet cemetery read "WesternAnimation/FamilyDog", "WesternAnimation/FishPolice", and "WesternAnimation/CapitolCritters". All three were animated shows trying to [[FollowTheLeader mooch off]] ''The Simpsons[='=]'' runaway success in breaking through the AnimationAgeGhetto, and were [[ShortRunners very short-lived]], having "died" by the time the ''Simpsons'' episode aired.
73	* In "Home Away from Homer", Homer walks past Bart and Milhouse laughing at something on the computer and demands to know what it is. "And if you say Creator/JimmyFallon, I'll ''know'' you're lying!"

Context TakeThat / TheSimpsons