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Score: 8.7 Great 153 votes

Dial 'N' for Nerder

Episode Number: 414    Season Num: 19    First Aired: Sunday March 9, 2008    Prod Code: KABF07
Bart and Lisa pull a prank on Martin Prince that goes terribly wrong and they become burdened with guilt over Martin's untimely death. Meanwhile, Marge hires an investigative television show to follow Homer around after she suspects him of cheating on his diet.

Cast and Crew

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Writer: William Wright (II), Carolyn Omine
Director: Bob Anderson
Star: Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier),  Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and others),  Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson),  Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, and others),  Hank Azaria (Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Lou, and others),  Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and others)
Recurring Role: Karl Wiedergott (Additional Voices),  Russi Taylor (Martin Prince, Sherri, Terri and others),  Pamela Hayden (Milhouse Van Houten, Rod Flanders, Jimbo Jones, and others),  Tress MacNeille (Agnes Skinner, Brandine Del Roy, Dolph and others),  Marcia Wallace (Edna Krabappel)

Notes

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Blackboard Joke: None
Couch Gag: Five capsules rest on the couch as Professor Frink walks into the room and places a drop of water on them, resulting in a replica of each family member instantly expanding from them. Frink then has to throw the rest of the pail of water on Homer's to expand it out to full size. (edit)

Quotes

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(over a walkie-talkie as Homer enters a restaurant)
Host: The pig is in the sty.
Cameraman: (sighs) You know, I used to make documentaries about coal miners, migrant workers--things that mattered.
Host: (impatiently) Yeah, yeah...we're all whores, just get in there. (edit)
(Martin and Lisa are excavating for arrowheads.)
Martin: Care to make it a trio, Bart? You can brush and I can blow.
Bart: Well, I agree you blow.
Martin: Then it's a plan!
Bart: A lot of people blow, but no one blows like you.
Martin: High praise indeed!
Bart: When you look up "blow" in the dictionary--
Lisa: Bart, he's not gonna get it.
Bart: Fine. (edit)
Bart: Usually when I do something bad, I feel good. But not this time. Martin was like Jesus... only real. (edit)
Marge: I'd rather have a chubby hubby than a sexy exy! (edit)
(Marge is suspicious of Homer, who is wearing a fedora hat and a trench coat.)
Marge: Homer, where are you going?
Homer: Work.
Marge: It's 4 o'clock on a Saturday.
Homer: I, uh, have to... count the atoms at the nuclear plant. Conservation of mass! It's the law! (edit)

Trivia

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The motel where Homer cheats on his diet is called the Sleep Eazy Motel. In season 9's "The Cartridge Family" Marge and the kids stayed at the same motel. (edit)
The butterflies that Martin Prince raises are Monarch butterflies (Danaus Plexippus) (edit)
Music From This Episode
"I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan (Played during the video tribute to Martin.)
"Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)" by the DeEtta Little & Nelson Pigford (Played by the school's band at Martin's memorial.)
"Prelude in C Minor" for lute (BWV 999) by Johann Sebastian Bach (Performed on guitar and transposed to D minor; played on the Sanyo cassette player and by Nelson inside Martin's butterfly chamber.)
"Sabre Dance" by Aram Khachaturian (While Homer is getting amorous with the rotisserie meat.) (edit)

Allusions

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Puttin' on the Ritz
The restaurant where Homer is caught breaking his diet is called Pudding on the Ritz, a reference to the 1929 song and 1930 film of the same title Puttin' on the Ritz. (edit)
Cheaters
The show Marge hires, Sneakers, is a takeoff of the syndicated show Cheaters and it's host Joey Greco. (edit)
Bart: The bone's the very thing, methinks, to prank my sister and the dink.
Bart puts a twisted take on the famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, "the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." (edit)
NBC Mystery Movie
The conclusion of the episode mimics the title sequence of the 1970s NBC Mystery Movie (the figure with the flashlight) and mocks the series that were part of the movie (McCloud, Quincy, M.E., McMillan & Wife and Columbo). Also, Nelson's questioning mimics Peter Falk as Columbo. (edit)
Dial M for Murder
The title of this episode is a play on the title of the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film, Dial M for Murder. (edit)
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Community Reviews (18)

 
8.9
Great
Dial 'N' for Nerder
"Fine example"
Um...Okay
Continue » Posted Jul 1, 2008 10:42 am PST
8.0
Great
Dial 'N' for Nerder
"Above average"
Good episode.
Continue » Posted Jun 23, 2008 6:51 pm PST
8.6
Great
Dial 'N' for Nerder
"Exactly why I watch this series"
AWESOME!
Continue » Posted Jun 17, 2008 7:36 pm PST
8.2
Great
Dial 'N' for Nerder
"Well written"
If you don't want anything spoiled, don't read the rest of this review
Continue » Posted Jun 9, 2008 6:50 pm PST
10.0
Perfect
Dial 'N' for Nerder
"Well written"
Definitely one of my all-time favorite episodes. The A story was the best but the B story was still watchable.
Continue » Posted Apr 26, 2008 4:24 pm PST
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Episode Vital Stats

 
Episode: Dial 'N' for Nerder
Season Number: 19
Episode Reviews: 18
Episode
Score:
8.7 Great 153 votes
Rating Statistics:
superb: 49 (32%)
great: 45 (29.4%)
perfect: 35 (22.9%)
good: 12 (7.8%)
Other: 12 (7.8%)
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