A Tale of Two Springfields

Season 12, Episode 2, Aired
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Episode Summary

When the phone company gives Springfield a new area code, Homer revolts taking the part of Springfield with the new area code (the poor side of town) with him. Soon it's Olde Springfield versus New Springfield. As mayor of New Springfield Homer runs it haphazardly and soon the population of New Springfield moves over to Olde Springfield, leaving the Simpson family as the only residents. It takes a Who concert to bring the two parts of Springfield together.moreless
8.0
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Cast & Crew

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  • Julie Kavner

    Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier

  •

    Harry Shearer

    Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, and others

  •

    Dan Castellaneta

    Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and others

Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • Badger, The Who, Two Springfields, Homer is Mayor of New Springfield... What could POSSIBLY go wrong

    2.5
    "Terrible"
    By futuramarama, Aug 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    Springfield is cut in two- New Springfield and Old Springfield.

    This episode has so much wrong- the badger scene with Homer's guts being ripped out {not that bad, I don't think, but certainly disgusting}, loads of bad characterizations, somewhat lazy ending, a horrendous ending, a gagfest with jokes that make you want to gag, I think.

    Certainly one of the worst season openers of the show. It had very, very little redeeming qualities at all, and it was a war of two Springfields, which wasn't interesting to start with at all.

    PS- Lionel Hutz can be seen climbing over Homer's wall, in case you never saw that beforemoreless

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    1 2

  • As funny and recommendable as electrocuting your own **** with a live wire.

    3.0
    "Bad"
    By asdfghjklm, Apr 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode is just pure garbage in my book. And I am not usually harsh, but this time I can't disagree more with the general view.

    Funny? Not at all. That would be a nice pretext to enjoy this episode despite being so chaotic and pointless, but I actually laughed twice. And neither of those laughs were too remarkable to compare with the jokes at older episodes.

    And, while the episode couldn't satisfy my demands in humour, it got worse and worse in plot and characterization. The storyline went nowhere and Homer was depicted here as a menacing psychopath that could have killed himself without remorse. I'm sorry my opinion is so conflicting in this occasion, but this is not the funny, lovely Homer I met. And I'm especially sensitive to the characters' depiction and everything related to empathy.

    So, terrible show at all, and proud member of my bottom 5. The intestinal strip-tease did the rest.moreless

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    0 2

  • Homer's the mayor of New Springfield.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Sami5118, Aug 06, 2010 Report Abuse
    When the phone company gives Springfield a new area code, Homer revolts taking the part of Springfield with the new area code (the poor side of town) with him. Soon it's Olde Springfield versus New Springfield. As mayor of New Springfield Homer runs it haphazardly and soon the population of New Springfield moves over to Olde Springfield, leaving the Simpson family as the only residents. It takes a Who concert to bring the two parts of Springfield together.

    What I liked:
    * Homer the mayor
    * They build a barrier to seperate the area codes
    * Homer gets The Who to play for New Springfield

    I think that it could have been better, but for the most part, it was a pretty good ep. Not one of season 12's best though.moreless

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    1 0

  • Homer becomes mayor of New Springfield

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By fenway98, Jun 23, 2010 Report Abuse
    When Homer finds out the town is split into two zip codes, he won't stand for it. He soon realizes that the rich side of town gets to keep the old zip code, whole the other side has to get a new one. He decideds to split the town in half, New Springfield and Olde Springfield. Homer is now the mayor of New Springfield, and gets The Who to play. But the who won't play until Homer takes down the barrier between New and old Springfield to settle their differences.

    I think this is a great episode. I loved the Homer getting attacked by the badger, and The Who guest starring.

    Overall Grade:95%/Amoreless

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  • Springfield is cut into two cities.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Hornets3, Sep 04, 2009 Report Abuse
    After Springfield's telephone area code splits in two, Homer spearheads a movement to divide the town itself in half along the new area code line. Guest starring The Who as themselves. This really was just a well-done episode that I really loved. The whole idea was funny, and the phone company jokes just added to the hilarity. It may not be the best of the season, but I really enjoyed this episode. Especially the whole idea of Homer being mayor. You have to love the badger at the beginning of the episode. This is absolutely a must see and under appreciated episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Seen inside the wall are the angel statue from "Lisa the Skeptic", a Santa Clause statue, and the Olemic Indian God of War from "Blood Feud". Edit
    • Homer uses chloroform to silence Marge. Homer has also silenced Marge like that in episodes "Mayored to the Mob" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge". Edit
    • The phone number for Animal Control is (555) X-TERM-N-8. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Pete Townshend declined to supply his voice for the show. He had his brother, Paul Townshend, substitute for him. Edit
    • Blackboard Joke: I will not plant subliminAL messaGOREs. Couch Gag: Bart plants a whoopee cushion under the couch. Homer sits on it and everyone thinks he's farted. Bart laughs. Edit
    • Homer sarcastically says, "Nice wiring, Bart" after trying to detonate the bomb on his chest. Bart then says, "It worked on the test corpse." The original line was, "It worked on the test goat." Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Homer: I can't believe those rats deserted us. They couldn't take one lousy famine! Edit
    • Homer: Well, Marge, looks like your insane experiment is over. Marge: My experiment? You're the one who came up with this whole idea … (Homer uses some chloroform on Marge) Edit
    • Quimby: Give us back our concert, Simpson. Homer: So, New Springfield's looking pretty good now, isn't it, with our ample parking, and daily Who concerts. Roger: Daily? Homer: We'll talk. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • When Kent Brockman's newscast shows a picture of Homer and friends on the steps of a home, the layout and poses match the cover of The Who's "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy" album. Edit
    • Homer imagines himself as a mayor, walking down the street in a western town, wearing a cowboy hat and firing a rifle, in a parody of the opening credit of the western show, The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors. Edit
    • Diff'rent Strokes The disc jockey presses a button and we hear "What you talkin' about?", which is Gary Coleman's catchphrase from Diff'rent Strokes. Edit

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