The Simpsons episode
"A Tale of Two Springfields"
Episode no.	250
Prod. code	BABF20
Orig. airdate	November 5, 2000
Show runner(s)	Mike Scully
Written by	John Swartzwelder
Directed by	Shaun Cashman
Chalkboard	"I will not plant subliminAL messaGOREs
Couch gag	Homer sits on a whoopee cushion that Bart has planted.
Guest star	The Who as themselves, except for Pete Townshend (see Trivia below)
Season 12 November 1, 2000 – May 20, 2001
Treehouse of Horror XI A Tale of Two Springfields Insane Clown Poppy Lisa the Tree Hugger Homer vs. Dignity The Computer Wore Menace Shoes The Great Money Caper Skinner's Sense of Snow HOMR Pokey Mom Worst Episode Ever Tennis the Menace Day of the Jackanapes New Kids on the Blecch Hungry, Hungry Homer Bye Bye Nerdie Simpson Safari Trilogy of Error I'm Goin' to Praiseland Children of a Lesser Clod Simpsons Tall Tales
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"A Tale of Two Springfields" is an episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons. The title is a spoof of Charles Dickens' classic book, A Tale of Two Cities. Simpsons redirects here. ... Promo card for A Tale of Two Springfields. This work is copyrighted. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mike Scully Mike Scully is a former executive producer of the Fox series The Simpsons (Seasons 9-12, 1997-2001). ... The Simpsons writing staff in season 13, including current show runner Al Jean (fourth from left in middle row) and previous show runners Mike Scully (first from left in back row), David Mirkin (sixth from left in back row), and Mike Reiss (fourth from left in back row). ... One of the few pictures of John Swartzwelder. ... The three people are caricatures of (left to right) Rich Moore, Wes Archer and David Silverman[1] The following is a list of directors who have worked on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Shaun Cashman is an animation director for television shows such as King of the Hill and The Simpsons. ... Bart writes The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan The chalkboard gag is a running visual joke that occurs during the opening credits of many episodes of The Simpsons. ... The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... (left to right) Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Homer, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Brian Setzer guest starred in the heavily promoted season 14 episode How I Spent My Strummer Vacation. This is a list of guest stars who appeared on The Simpsons. ... It has been suggested that Bob Pridden be merged into this article or section. ... Peter Dennis Blandford (Pete) Townshend (born May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an award winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. ... The Simpsons 12th season (November 2000 - May 2001) began on Sunday, November 1, 2000 with Treehouse of Horror XI. The season contains three hold-over episodes from the season 11 (BABF) production line. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Treehouse of Horror XI is the first episode of The Simpsons twelfth season, as well as the eleventh Halloween episode. ... Insane Clown Poppy is the third episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Lisa the Tree Hugger is the fourth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Homer vs. ... The Computer Wore Menace Shoes is an episode of The Simpsons. ... The Great Money Caper is the seventh episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Skinners Sense of Snow is an episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons. ... is the ninth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Pokey Mom is the tenth episode of The Simpsons twelfth season, aired on January 14, 2001. ... Worst Episode Ever is the 11th episode of The Simpsons twelfth season, aired on February 4, 2001. ... Tennis the Menace is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Day of the Jackanapes is the thirteenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... New Kids on the Blecch is an episode from the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Hungry, Hungry Homer is the fifteenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Bye Bye Nerdie is the sixteenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Simpson Safari is the seventeenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Trilogy of Error is an episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons. ... Im Goin to Praiseland is the nineteenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... Children of a Lesser Clod is the 20th episode of The Simpsons twelfth season. ... Simpsons Tall Tales is the season finale and twenty-first episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Dickens redirects here. ... A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a historical novel by Charles Dickens. ...

Synopsis

While feeding Santa's Little Helper, Bart finds a badger in his doghouse. Bart and Lisa try to get rid of it themselves, but are unsuccessful. After Homer suggests they blow up the doghouse with dynamite, Lisa tells them to call animal control. When Homer calls them, he gets a tri-tone and a recording indicating that he did not enter the correct area code. Marge informs him that the phone company ran out of numbers, so they had to split Springfield into two area codes. One half keeps the old 636 and the Simpsons' half get the new 939. He is outraged that they changed the code so suddenly (even though Lenny and Carl say that they had weeks of advance warnings, including two weeks at area code camp). While at a town meeting, with Homer wearing a suicide belt, Lindsey Naegle shows a film (starring talking telephone Phony McRing-Ring) that attempts to convince the audience two area codes are better. The whole town agrees with it. However, Homer stands up, reminding them how terrible it was and points out that the original 636 code was kept by the rich side of town. When Homer fails to blow himself up, he leads a rebellion of the poor and goes off to form a new town. Genera  Arctonyx  Melogale  Meles  Mellivora  Taxidea For other uses, see Badger (disambiguation). ... Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth (kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. ... An animal control officer (also, more informally: dog catcher or dog warden or ) is an employee of, or a contractor to, a municipality, charged with catching stray or loose dogs, cats, and sometimes other animals, and bringing them to a compound or animal shelter, where the animals are held for... A telephone numbering plan is a system that allows subscribers to make and receive telephone calls across long distances. ... For the Simpsons episode, see $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling). ... Explosive belt (technically, a vest) worn by a Palestinian bomber captured by Israeli police An explosive belt (also called suicide belt, suicide vest or shaheed belt) is a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers. ... Lindsey Naegle (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is one of the recurring characters from the television show The Simpsons. ...

Homer names the town with the new 939 code "New Springfield", while the half of the town with 636 is now called "Olde Springfield". Homer is appointed mayor of New Springfield but shows disrespect for the office by using his sash as a napkin. Rivalry quickly ensues between the two towns. When Olde Springfield insults the inefficiency of his half of town, Homer cuts power to Olde Springfield. Olde Springfield retaliates by hijacking a beer truck and dumping its contents in the river. Homer and New Springfield strike back by cutting off the river into Olde Springfield; however this causes its inhabitants to find gold in the river and buy a bottled water factory. Homer decides to build a giant wall right through town, just like Berlin. When he tells his citizens they don't have enough supplies to get past tomorrow and that a wave of disease will kill the weak, everyone except the Simpsons leave. For the German DJ/producer team, see Sash!. // A sash consists of a cloth belt used to hold a robe together, and usually tied about the waist. ... A napkin or serviette is a rectangle of cloth or paper used at the table for wiping the mouth while eating. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... Location of Berlin within Germany / EU Coordinates Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DE3 City subdivisions 12 boroughs Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit (SPD) Governing parties SPD / Left. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ...

Now the mayor of a ghost town, Homer boasts to himself that The Who is coming to their town, when they are actually performing in Olde Springfield. Together, he and Bart are able to get them to perform in New Springfield. When Olde Springfield is waiting for the band, they find them in New Springfield and prepare to riot. Just before a major conflict, The Who suggests they get speed-dial to solve their rivalry. They also agree to play if Springfield tears down the wall, which Pete Townshend ends up destroying by playing a power chord. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Bob Pridden be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... In music, a power chord is a bare fifth, or a similar chord, usually played on electric guitar with distortion. ...

Trivia

• After Homer hears about the change of area code, the badger shows up and Homer goes "Go away! We got bigger problems now." This is a reference to the recurring sudden plot changes in most Simpson episodes.
• Pete Townshend declined to supply his voice for the show. He had his brother, Paul Townshend, substitute for him.[1]
• In syndication, all of the badger scenes (with the exception of the first) are cut, ans in other parts of the world, there is a scene right after the guard throws Homer and Bart into The Who's room, where Homer smashes a lamp to the ground, and Bart starts to kick the drum set. In fact, the entire episode was heavily cut for syndication. Originally 22 minutes and 11 seconds long, two minutes and 10 seconds were cut, and the episode was expanded 46 seconds to a length of 20:47. This is still about a half-minute shorter than most syndicated versions.
• This is the 250th episode of the show.
• Area code 636 is actually assigned to suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri^[2]; although this seems to reveal Springfield’s state, the real Springfield, Missouri is in a different area code. Area code 939 is one of two codes used in Puerto Rico.
• This episode premiered on terrestrial television in the UK on 5 November 2004, exactly four years after its original US airdate. It was also the first episode shown on Channel 4, which had recently purchased terrestrial rights from BBC Two.
• This is the only episode of the Simpsons directed by Shaun Cashman.
• When Lisa is trying to find out what badgers eat she goes on whatbadgerseat.com, a real site (whose logo is reminiscent of ask.com) made by the producers of the show.
• At the moment when Homer is introduced to the Who, the bands is heard playing the closing chords of what appears to be "The Seeker".
• The song played right before the end credits is Won't Get Fooled Again and not Homer's request of Pinball Wizard.
• The Simpsons' telephone number is given as 939-555-0113. The old area coded number of 636-555-0113 appears to connect to Mr. Burns; however, in Lisa's Date with Density, his phone number was 555-0001.
• The "angel skeleton" from Lisa the Skeptic can be seen in the wall dividing the cities.
• One of the Simpsons comic books published by Bongo featured a similar plotline in which Springfield is divided over the issue of use and access to a lake.
• The phone number for the exterminators is 983-7668 (X-TERM-N-8)

In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... Area code 636 serves east central Missouri, including parts of the city of Chesterfield, and all of Union, De Soto, and Troy. ... Housing subdivision near Union, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... State Motto: Not just another state Capital Capital City Largest city Capital City Governor Mary Bailey Known Congressional Representatives Antoine OHara (Senator), Herschel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofski (Congressman) Area Unknown Highest point 6144 m Naming There is a chance that the name of Springfields state is South Tacoma. ... Springfield is the third largest city in Missouri. ... The area code 417 serves southwestern Missouri including the principle cities of Joplin, Springfield, West Plains, Lamar, and Lebanon. ... The area code (939) for Puerto Rico, operates as an overlay for the original local (787) telephone area code. ... Terrestrial television (also known as over-the-air, OTA or broadcast television) was the traditional method of television broadcast signal delivery prior to the advent of cable and satellite television. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Channel Four Television Corporation be merged into this article or section. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Seeker was a two-man musical group consisting of Kenichi Ito (Guitar) and Daichi Kuroda (Lead Vocal). ... Wont Get Fooled Again is a rock song by the British rock band The Who, composed by band member Pete Townshend. ... Pinball Wizard is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera Tommy. ... Mr. ... Lisas Date with Density is the 7th episode from the eighth season of The Simpsons. ... Lisa the Skeptic is the eighth episode of The Simpsons ninth season, first aired on November 23, 1997. ...

Cultural references

• Homer imagines himself as a mayor, walking down the street in a Western town, wearing a cowboy hat and firing a rifle, in a parody of he opening credit of the Western show, The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors.
• When Kent Brockman's newscast shows a picture of Homer and friends on the steps of a home, the layout and poses match the cover of The Who's Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy album.
• Todd's woodpecker is a reference the Woody Woodpecker show.
• The self-referencing blackboard gag refers to the presidential election which was two days after the episode was aired. A controversy surrounding the election was the supposed use of subliminal messages.
• The timing of the episode coincides with Matt Groening's native northwest Oregon splitting into two overlapping area codes (Area code 503 and Area code 971).
• Moe's line "That fat, dumb, and bald guy sure plays some real hard ball" is a variation of a lyric in the song "Pinball Wizard" by The Who. The original lyric is "That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball".
• While waiting for The Who's concert in Olde Springfield, Principal Skinner seems to be dressed in Mod attire. Edna Krabappel is dressed as a typical groupie.
• The last part of the final scene - where the badgers descend upon Springfield - shows one badger, much smaller than the rest, some distance behind the others. This is probably a reference to several similar Looney Tunes cartoons starring Sylvester in which he is originally terrorised by a group of mice, but subsequently develops enough courage to "show them who's boss" and drive them all away. In each of these cartoons, the mice are shown fleeing the house, screaming and squeaking in fear, followed a little later by a baby mouse chattering incoherently in a voice that has been recorded at high speed.
• Homer telling the Arizona Cardinals representative to "keep walking" is a reference to how poor the Cardinals franchise has been.
• After they receive the gold from the river, Kent Brockman does an editorial about it and thanks Homer saying that they will all be covered in golden showers (a sexual term for peeing on your partner). He doesn't get it but the people off to the side laugh hysterically.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors, better known by his professional name of Chuck Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992), was an American actor and professional basketball and baseball player. ... Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a compilation album by British rock band The Who. ... Woody Woodpecker in the 1948 short Wacky-Bye Baby, directed by Dick Lundy. ... A self-reference occurs when an object refers to itself. ... Presidential election results map: Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney; Blue denotes those won by Gore/Lieberman. ... Matthew Abram Groening (born February 15, 1954[2] in Portland, Oregon;[3] his family name is pronounced ) is an Emmy Award-winning American cartoonist and the creator of The Simpsons,[4] Futurama and the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Area code 503 services several locations in Oregon, including Portland, Salem, Tillamook, Astoria and other locations in northwestern Oregon. ... Area code 971 services several locations in Oregon, including Portland, Salem, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham, McMinnville, and other locations in northwestern Oregon. ... Pinball Wizard is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera Tommy. ... It has been suggested that Bob Pridden be merged into this article or section. ... In the television series The Simpsons, the Springfield Elementary School is the school which Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson and their fellow students attend. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Edna Krabappel is a fictional character featured in The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. ... A groupie is a person who, while he/she may be a fan at some level, seeks intimacy (most often physical, sometimes emotional) with, a famous person. ... Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ... Sylvester may refer to: // Pope Silvester I (Saint Sylvester) Pope Silvester II Antipope Silvester III Sylvester of Kiev Sylvester of Moscow Sylvester of Assisi (companion of Saint Francis of Assisi) Sylvester of Marsico Sylvester Gozzolini, founder of the Sylvestrines Sylvester James, disco performer Sylvester Stallone, actor Sylvester McCoy, actor Sylvester... City Glendale, Arizona Other nicknames The Cards, The Birds, Big Red Team colors Cardinal Red, Black, and White Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt Owner William V. Bidwill General manager Rod Graves Mascot Big Red League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1920–present) Western Division (1933-1949) American Conference (1950-1952) Eastern...

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The Simpsons#A Tale of Two Springfields

The Simpsons Portal

• "A Tale of Two Springfields" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• "A Tale of Two Springfields" at the Internet Movie Database
• Complete Transcript
• Whatbadgerseat.com A spoof site created after the episode.