Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Mr. T on The Simpsons

Mr. T, is one of the most unique stars in the history of television.
The Simpsons, is one of the most unique SHOWS in the history of television.

It seems logical that the two would converge.

It actually took until season four for the Simpson's to make mention of Mr. T, and first appearance was not a good one.
In Lisa the Beauty Queen (aired in 1992) Lisa gets a wax statue at the Springfield Wax Museum.
When Lisa asks how they made her statue so quick, they said that they just put a new Lisa head on Dr. Ruth's body.
The next shot shows Dr. Ruth's head on a pike in the Chamber of Horrors. Mr. T's is next to Dr. Ruth.

While we are on the subject, both Mr. T and the Simpson's are immortalized in wax at the Movieland Wax Museum in Niagara Falls, Canada.
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The very next episode of The Simpsons, Mr. T was seen again. this time he was on the cover of a TV Guide Homer was reading.

In season 5, Homer is shown on several occasions expressing his admiration for Mr. T.
As a member of the barber shop quartet, The B-Sharps, Homer wrote a song about Mr. T. It prompted the following exchange.
Apu: This is worse than your song about Mr. T.
Homer: I pity the fool who doesn't like...he.

Consider that fool pitied, Homer.

In Deep Space Homer, Homer considers giving up his chance to be an astronaut. Marge tells him he may regret quitting. Homer than speaks of his biggest regret in life:
You're right, Marge. Just like the time I could have met Mr. T at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, 'I'll go a little later, I'll go a little later...' And when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked the mall guy if he'll ever come back again, he said he didn't know. Well, I'm never going to let something like that happen again!

This show aired during 1994, when Mr. T's comic book Mr. T and the T-Force was being launched. As part of the launch, Mr. T made appearances at comic book stores across the country signing free autographs and taking pictures. Many of these comic book stores were at malls.
I met Mr. T at the Franklin Mills Mall that year. Eat your heart out, Homer.

The next Mr. T reference on was during season six. It was the episode where Homer is accused of sexual harassment. The episode was titled Homer: Bad Man.

ME: See, that cat Homer is a bad-
ISAAC HAYES: Shut yo mouth!
ME: Hey man, I was just going to say the word 'man'
ISAAC HAYES: Ahhh shaddup anyway.
ME: I can dig it.

During the episode, Homer watches a comedian tell this joke:
I think about weird stuff, like what would happen if Mr. T and E.T. had a baby. You'd get Mr. E. T., wouldn't you? And he'd sound something like this: 'I pity the fool who doesn't phooooone hoooome.

Pretty good joke, lets see what would happen if Mr. T sired a child with other sci-fi characters:

Movie: They Live
Mr. T and Rowdy Roddy Piper: Rowdy Rod-T Piper
He would say "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick- hey wait, I ain't goin' on no plane Hannibal!"

Movie: Star Wars
Mr. T and C3PO: Mr. T3PO
He would say "Listen to them, they're dying, R2. Curse my metal body. I wasn't fast enough. It's all my fault, Fool."

Show: 3rd Rock From the Sun
Mr. T and The Big Giant Head: The Big Giant Mr. T Head
He would say "Is anyone still reading this? Even I stopped reading at this point."

Later that season, Homer joins a secret society. Mr. T was one of the leaders of the Stonecutters World Council, along with Mr. Burns.
Lets do one more
Show: The Simpsons
Mr. T and Mr. Burns: Mr. Burns
Isaac Hayes would say "I'm not going to ask again, SHUT YO MOUTH!"

Mr. T continued to show up in various ways on the Simpson's. Doctor Hibbert, who is always changing his hairstyle, once had a mohawk. He complimented the mohawk with a beard and some Mr. T-esque chains.

Also, he was part of the stage show the Simpsons saw called "That's Familiar"

Once, during a visit to the Simpson's version of the Museum of Television an Radio the see a debate between Mr. T and fashion critique Mr. Blackwell.
MR. BLACKWELL: Oh please, I've seen nicer chains on a set of snow tires.
MR. T: I pity the fool who derives self esteem from mocking other people's clothes.


Finally, in December of 2003, Mr. T guest starred as himself . He was part of Krusty's star studded Bar Mitzvah:
SIDESHOW MEL: Now let's meet a man who's musclebound and a man who's bound not to eat mussels; Mr. T and Krusty the Clown!
KRUSTY: T, I haven't seen you since we roasted Chevy Chase.
MR. T: Yeah, we were kinda rough on 'em. I felt bad for the guy.
KRUSTY: You mean you "pitied the fool?"

Mr. T then removes his mohawk and replaces it with a yarmulke. Literally. Like some bizarre human action figure, Mr. T removes part of his head and replaces it with another part. That must be what it is like to be Joan Rivers.

The show closes with a new take on a classic Mr. T line:
Mr. T: I pity the fool who didn't bring an envelope to this Bar Mitzvah!

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