One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
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| One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish | |
| |
| Season 2 Episode 11 | |
| Production Code | 7F11 |
| Original Airdate | January 24, 1991 |
| Written By | Nell Scovell |
| Directed By | Wesley M. Archer |
| Show Runners | James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon |
| Special Guests | Larry King as himself George Takei as Akira Sab Shimono as the Master Chef |
| Blackboard Text | “I will not cut corners.” (Bart uses ditto marks to repeat it) |
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Contents |
Plot
Bored with having meatloaf for dinner, Lisa suggests that the family, instead of having pork chops the next night, go to the new sushi bar, "The Happy Sumo". Homer reluctantly accepts, and the family drives to the restaurant. When they arrive, Homer starts by ordering a few things, but when he discovers that "this fish is delish!", he eats everything on the menu, including a type of sushi called Fugu. The chef in charge is busy making out with Edna Krabaple in the parking lot, so his apprentice has to slice the fugu, of which certain parts are toxic. The apprentice tries to do it carefully, but Homer becomes very impatient, and the apprentice is forced to serve it. It goes down a treat with Homer but, unbeknown to everyone, it is poorly prepared and Homer is told that he may have been poisoned. Homer and Marge go to the hospital, where Dr. Hibbert informs Homer he is indeed going to die and has 24 hours left to live, but actually has 22 (since Hibbert left Homer waiting too long). Homer is told that he is expected to go through five stages of grief, all of which he experiences while begging Dr. Hibbert to save him. He eventually accepts his fate and makes a list of all the things he wants to do on his lOne Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish.pngast day on Earth.
On his last day, the things Homer does are: have a man-to-man talk with Bart, in which he teaches him to shave. He then listens to Lisa play her saxophone. Then he borrows Ned Flanders’s camcorder to make a video for Maggie, which she can look at when she is older (he also briefly considers attending the Flanders family’s barbecue; accepting in the belief that he will be dead the next morning). He has to cross out "plant a memorial tree" so that he can reconcile with Grampa, until he is arrested for speeding. Homer calls Barney, who is asked to pay $50 to bail him out, because he doesn’t want Marge to know that he is locked up. After he is bailed and with not much time left, he tells off Mr. Burns, has one last drink at Moe’s with his friends, and then hurries home in time to say a good-bye to his family and be "intimate" with Marge. At midnight, Homer visits each family member, who are all asleep, and says goodbye. Feeling glum, he listens to Larry King read the Bible on tape, but falls asleep. Marge awakens the next morning and is panicked that her husband is not by her side. She runs downstairs and finds Homer, collapsed in his chair. As she mourns, she realises that his drool is still warm. She wakes him up and drums in the fact that he is alive. Homer then prances around in an overjoyed state and vows to live life to its fullest: which he does by watching a bowling tournament and eating pork rinds.
Debut Appearances
Characters making a first appearance in this episode are:
Trivia
- According to DVD commentary, the FOX censors almost didn’t let them use Shaft’s theme song. They had to dig up footage of the Academy Awards ceremony at which the song was sung in order to be able to use it.
- The karaoke patron that introduces himself as "Ritchie Sakai" is a caricature of producer Richard Sakai.
- The video at the end of the episode with Homer eating pork rinds on the couch is recycled from "Moaning Lisa", with bowling sounds (and credits) overlaid. He also seems to be munching on the same pork rind for the whole duration of the credits.
- This is the first episode with a shortened opening sequence (clouds, blackboard, SNPP, grocery store, sax solo, driveway, couch, credits). Additionally, a slightly different version of Lisa’s sax solo was introduced for use on this and other Season 2 episodes with this opening sequence.
- Also Starring Joey Miyashima as Toshiro the apprentice chef, and Diana Tanaka as the hostess.
- If Homer had in fact eaten blowfish poison, he would have far less than 24 hours to live. Less than 0.004 oz can kill an adult person in as little as 20 minutes.
Cultural references
- The title is a play on the Dr. Seuss book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.
- Bart and Lisa sing the theme song to the movie Shaft.
- The song Ritchie Sakai sang in the karaoke bar is “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” by Cher.
- Homer experiencing the stages of grief as he learns of them is a spoof on the movie "Airplane!"