In reference to the crayon in/out situation - Yes, my memory of the incident was bad.
Now, from the "Goofs" section of
here, the reference supplied in message 13:
This episode does not make sense because Homer could not become smart by taking the crayon out of his brain because of the "simpson gene"(mentioned in "Lisa The Simpson") that makes all male simpsons idiots.
"The Simpsons" program often is in reasonably close contact with "real life". Much of what happens in the program could conceivably really happen, although I certainly hope the are no Homers out there, at the controls of nuclear plants. Indeed, some episodes, such as the ones concerning the death of Flander's wife or the death of saxophonist "Bleeding Gums" Murphy have very serious themes.
That said, there are also the episodes that are much more in "fantasy'' territory. The Halloween specials and the episodes featuring the space invaders are prime examples. I think that the "Genius Homer" episode is very much tilted towards this "fantasy" type style, and should thus not be weight very heavily in the evaluation of the natures of the characters in general. After all, in a Halloween special, Ned Flanders might actually be portrayed as some sort of evil character. Are you going to hold such a thing against Ned?
pink sasquatch writes:
I think it is a defining moment for his character. He does it while he is alone, and importantly, doesn't speak directly to God about it as he does with so many other things in his life - such as the time he yells "God, it's me Ned!" after knocking over nine bowling pins (with the tenth following his plea).
He didn't respond to the proof with his faith as you "think" he should; he responded by attempting to hide the proof from the rest of the world.
This is the moment Flanders' faith is shown to be superficial.
Ned is faced with what I will call an "absurdism" - A proof of the non-existence of God. As such, might the only reasonable response also be an "absurdism"? How would you suggest that he should have responded, to maintain his "good Christian" status?
I also though of a possible alternate plot line. What if "genius Homer" would have presented Ned with a "proof" that Ned did not exist? Should Ned have read the proof, and upon finding it unflawed, promptly disappear?
Moose
{Added by edit:
Re: Dan's message 18 - I think that "Fat Tony", with the "How, may I ask, did you get past the hall monitor?" quote, would make a fine avatar for AdminJar.
Also fixed a typo.}
This message has been edited by minnemooseus, 03-12-2005 14:39 AM