What an Idiot!/Western Animation/The Simpsons (animation): Difference between revisions

* In one of [[The Simpsons]] annual Halloween episodes, Homer decides on a whim to sell his soul for a donut, however just as he's down to the last piece, it's revealed that he keeps his soul if he doesn't finish the whole thing.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Homer (Or really, any member of the Simpson family) to throw the donut away, preventing the devil from taking his soul.<br />'''Instead:''' They keep the donut piece in the fridge; when Homer goes to the kitchen at night for food, the predictable happens.

* The Season 8 episode "Lisa's Date with Density" saw Homer engage in tele-panhandling using an autodialer. Several examples of stupidity abound:<br />'''First''': One of the Springfield residents that falls for Homer's "Happy Dude" scam is Abe.<br />'''You'd expect''': For Abe to recognize his own son's voice and to either hang up or call his son and ask why Homer is asking people for money.<br />'''Instead''': Abe (along with Jasper, who also knows Homer) sends money. He doesn't feel any happier, however.<br />'''Late one evening''': Homer has left the autodialer on to call residents who weren't home before, hung up or hadn't been called yet. The calls continue into the early morning hours, and it disturbs many people from their sleep ... including Ned Flanders, who repeatedly gets up to answer the phone, thinking it's his mother.<br />'''You'd expect''': Ned to either unplug the phone or – knowing Homer's voice, since he has listened to enough of the message to decipher who it is – to go to the Simpsons' residence and request that Homer stop calling.<br />'''Instead''': Ned keeps the phone plugged in, certain that his mother may be trying to call him. '''Even better''': Homer doesn't seem to get that the reason Ned's telephone (and his complaining) is disturbing the peace is probably because of his autodialer calling the Flanders' residence repeatedly.<br />'''The coup de gras''' came in the final act, when Chief Wiggum cited Homer for his telemarketing fraud.<br />'''You'd expect''': A competent cop to do the same thing Wiggum did with "Jimmy the Scumbag: arrest him for fraud and, having obtained a warrant, seize the autodialer.<br />'''Instead''': Uh boy -- what police incompetence here. First, neither Wiggum nor any of the other officers took the autodialer with them (for evidence) when Jimmy got arrested; instead, the autodialer is kept in the trash, allowing Homer to take it for his own scheme. Later, when Homer is charged with the same crime, 1. Wiggum shoots the machine (causing damage to evidence); 2. fails to take Homer into custody; and 3. (and most glaringly) tells him to bring the autodialer with him on his court date. "Otherwise, I got no case, and you go scot-free, you know," says Wiggum rather sheepishly.<br />'''And then''': Homer's court date, where '''you'd expect''': Homer have destroyed the evidence (since he was allowed to keep his autodialer), or at the very least erase the "Happy Dude" message.<br />'''Instead''': Homer apparently brought it to court – unseen in this episode – because he is ordered by the judge (who apparently has let him off easy) to record a new message apologizing to Springfield residents. Once he says, "I'm sorry" (in an apologetic tone), he then asks for more money through his new "Sorry Dude" scam.

* In "Missionary: Impossible," when Homer goes overseas to engage in a missionary trip, Bart has taken over the position of "man of the house" and takes over his father's job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Mr. Burns storms into Homer's workstation to reprimand him for years of poor performance.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Mr. Burns – even with his advanced age and declined mental acuity – to recognize that whom he is about to scold is not Homer, given that Burns and Bart have encountered each other numerous times.<br />'''Instead:''' Mr. Burns yells at "Homer" anyway, even as Bart tries to explain that he is not Homer.

* In "Cape Feare," Sideshow Bob, serving a prison sentence for armed robbery, is up for parole. '''Quick background''': Three years earlier, a gunman, dressed as Krusty the Clown, robs the Kwik-E-Mart. Krusty is identified as the suspect, is arrested, a motive of having to pay gambling debts established, tried and convicted. Sideshow Bob takes over Krusty's afternoon program and turns it into an educational program the kids can't relate to; Bart, convinced that Krusty is innocent, sets out to prove his idol's innocence and with help from Lisa eventually -- using clues they had been given earlier in the show -- exposes Bob as the culprit. Bob admits that he, while dressed as Krusty, robbed the Kwik-E-Mart, this in response to years of frustration of being a comic foil for slapstick. Since going to prison, Bob (a fan of high culture, the arts and any non-pop culture form of entertainment) has vowed bloody revenge on Bart.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' With numerous witnesses having testified against him and overwhelming evidence that he sent threatening letters to Bart (including several written in his own blood), the parole board to quickly and decisively deny Bob parole.<br />'''Instead:''' Bob is paroled.<br />Later in the episode, the Simpsons have been placed in the Witness Protection Program. Still, Bob is able to stalk the family and eventually tracks down Bart on the Simpsons' boat and corners him.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' For Bob to just simply kill Bart and complete his revenge.<br />'''Instead:''' Bob arrogantly asks Bart if he has any last requests, giving Bart the opening he needs. Bart requests that Bob sing to him the ''entire score'' of the "H.M.S. Pinafore". Bob complies ... and the score is long enough to give the pilotless, drifting houseboat to run aground, knock Bob of the boat and stun him long enough for the authorities to arrest him.