Lemon of Troy facts for kids

"Lemon of Troy" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 14, 1995. In the episode, the children of Springfield try to retrieve their beloved lemon tree after it is stolen by the children of Shelbyville.

The episode was written by Brent Forrester and directed by Jim Reardon. For this episode, the animators designed a non-polluted version of Springfield. It features cultural references to the 1984 song "When Doves Cry", the 1981 film Mad Max 2, and the 1968 song "What a Wonderful World". The episode's title is a play on the name Helen of Troy from Greek mythology. The episode acquired a Nielsen rating of 8.1. The episode has garnered universal acclaim and is regarded as a classic episode of the show.

Plot

Marge lectures Bart on the importance of town pride after he writes his name in wet cement. Soon he realizes the joys of living in Springfield and is upset by anti-Springfield taunts coming from neighboring Shelbyville. Grampa explains this rivalry can be traced to the establishment of the two towns: Jebediah Springfield wanted a town which promoted chastity and abstinence, but Shelbyville Manhattan, founder of Shelbyville, was a proponent of cousin marriage.

The next day, Springfield's lemon tree is stolen by a gang of boys from Shelbyville. Bart leads Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, Todd and Database to Shelbyville to find the tree and return it to Springfield. Bart's posse locates the tree in an impound lot where the leader of the gang that stole the tree lives. Using Ned Flanders' RV, Homer leads the boys' fathers to their sons in Shelbyville. The fathers and sons demand their tree be returned, but the owner of the impound lot taunts them and refuses to surrender it.

Using a Trojan Horse strategy, Bart parks the RV outside a hospital, where it is impounded to the lot. When night falls, the Springfield men and boys emerge from the RV and tie the lemon tree to its top. The lot owner catches them but they manage to escape and return the tree to Springfield.

In the aftermath, the town elders of Springfield and Shelbyville provide their own endings to the tale. In Springfield, Grandpa lauds the triumphant return of the tree by the "heroes of Springfield"; Bart and Milhouse celebrate with a glass of lemonade made from a few drops of lemon juice (and a large amount of sugar). In Shelbyville, an old man makes up a story about the tree being haunted to cover the embarrassment of losing to their rivals of Springfield. The Shelbyville kids drink turnip juice instead, much to their disgust.

Production

The voice of Shelby's father is based on Walter Matthau.

Brent Forrester wrote "Lemon of Troy", his second episode of The Simpsons. Jim Reardon directed it. Early on in the production stage, the writers decided that the leader of the Shelbyville children, Shelby, and his father should be modeled after Bart and Homer. Shelby's voice was provided by Tress MacNeille, and Shelby's father was voiced by Hank Azaria, who based his performance on Walter Matthau as Dan Castellaneta originally based his performance of Homer on Matthau.

The writers wanted to have the Springfield children find an area of Springfield that was not decimated, and the animators designed a version of Springfield that was very idyllic. They drew several scenes of the children running through non-polluted streams and woodlands. The animators gave Shelbyville's nature a more dark feeling in comparison to Springfield.

it:Episodi de I Simpson (sesta stagione)#Limone di Troia

See also

In Spanish: Lemon of Troy para niños