The Simpsons episode
"The Ziff Who Came to Dinner"
Episode no.	327
Prod. code	FABF08
Orig. airdate	March 14, 2004
Written by	Deb Lacusta & Dan Castellaneta
Directed by	Nancy Kruse
Chalkboard	I will not speculate on how hot teacher used to be
Couch gag	The gag spoofs the 1977 short science education movie Powers of Ten, which shows the house, Springfield, the continent, the planet, the Milky Way, the universe, and back to Homer's body. Homer says, "Wow." Another version is also aired in which Homer says, "Cool."
Guest star(s)	Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff, Jay Sherman, Llewelyn Sinclair, Aristotle Amadopoulos, and Professor Lombardo
Season 15 November 2, 2003 – May 23, 2004
Treehouse of Horror XIV My Mother the Carjacker The President Wore Pearls The Regina Monologues The Fat and the Furriest Today I Am a Clown 'Tis the Fifteenth Season Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot Diatribe of a Mad Housewife Margical History Tour Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore Smart and Smarter The Ziff Who Came to Dinner Co-Dependent's Day The Wandering Juvie My Big Fat Geek Wedding Catch 'Em if You Can Simple Simpson The Way We Weren't Bart-Mangled Banner Fraudcast News
List of all The Simpsons episodes
Seasons
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"The Ziff Who Came to Dinner" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season. The episode aired on March 14, 2004. Simpsons redirects here. ... Image File history File links FABF08. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Al Jean (left) and David Mirkin (right), have both been writers for The Simpsons for more than ten years. ... Deb Lacusta is the wife of Simpsons star Dan Castellanetta. ... Daniel Louis Dan Castellaneta (born October 29, 1957) is an Emmy award winning American voice actor, actor and comedian best known for providing the voice of Homer Simpson and other characters on the long-running Fox animated series The Simpsons. ... 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. ... Nancy Kruse is an animation director on 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. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Powers of Ten is a 1977 short documentary film written and directed by Charles Eames and his wife, Ray. ... Springfield is the fictional city in which the animated American sitcom The Simpsons is set. ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ... (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. ... Jonathan Lovitz (born July 21, 1957 in Tarzana, California) is an American actor and comedian perhaps best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and for his show The Critic. ... This article is a list of recurring fictional characters in the animated American television situation comedy The Simpsons. ... The Simpsons 15th season (November 2003 - May 2004) began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with Treehouse of Horror XIV. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 (EABF) production line. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... My Mother the Carjacker is the second episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... The President Wore Pearls is an episode of The Simpsons first broadcast on November 16, 2003 as the third episode of the shows fifteenth season. ... The Regina Monologues is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, which originally aired November 23, 2003. ... The Fat and the Furriest is an episode from The Simpsons that aired in the fifteenth season on November 30, 2003. ... Today I Am a Clown is the sixth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... Tis the Fifteenth Season is the seventh episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, and the seventh Christmas themed episode. ... Marge vs. ... I, Doh-Bot is the ninth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, which originally aired January 11, 2004. ... Diatribe of a Mad Housewife is the tenth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, which originally aired January 25, 2004. ... Margical History Tour is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... Milhouse Doesnt Live Here Anymore is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, airing on February 15, 2004. ... For the The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episode, see Smart & Smarterer Smart and Smarter is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... Co-Dependents Day is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... The Wandering Juvie is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... My Big Fat Geek Wedding is the 17th episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, first aired on April 18, 2004. ... Catch em If You Can is the 18th episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, first aired on April 25, 2004. ... Simple Simpson is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... For the Farscape episode of the same name, see The Way We Werent (Farscape episode). ... Bart-Mangled Banner is the twenty-first episode from The Simpsons fifteenth season. ... Fraudcast News is the 22nd and last episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, first aired on May 23, 2004 in the United States on FOX.. *The Writers Guild of America gave this episode a 2005 WGA Award, winning the Paul Selvin Award, which honors works that focus on First Amendment... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... The Simpsons Season 1 DVD Digipak. ... The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 1990 and July 1991, beginning on October 11, 1990. ... The Simpsons Season 3 DVD. The Simpsons 3rd season (September 1991 – May 1992) began on September 19, 1991. ... The Simpsons fourth season originally aired between September 1992 and May 1993, beginning on September 24, 1992. ... The Simpsons Season 5 DVD Digipak. ... The standard Season 6 DVD box. ... The Simpsons Season 7 DVD Digipak. ... The Simpsons Season 8 DVD Digipak. ... The Simpsons Season 9 DVD Digipak. ... The Simpsons tenth season originally aired between August 1998 and May 1999, beginning on Sunday, August 23, 1998. ... The Simpsons 11th season (September 1999 - May 2000) began on Sunday, September 26, 1999 with Beyond Blunderdome. ... 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. ... The Simpsons 13th season (November 2001 - May 2002) began on Tuesday, November 6, 2001 with Treehouse of Horror XII. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 12 (CABF) production line. ... The Simpsons 14th season (November 2002 - May 2003) began on Sunday, November 3, 2002 with Treehouse of Horror XIII. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 13 (DABF) production line. ... The Simpsons 15th season (November 2003 - May 2004) began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with Treehouse of Horror XIV. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 (EABF) production line. ... The Simpsons 16th season (November 2004 - May 2005) began on Sunday, November 7, 2004 with Treehouse of Horror XV. The season contains six hold-over episodes from the season 15 (FABF) production line. ... The Simpsons celebrate Labor Day in this promotional artwork for the series 17th season. ... The Simpsons 18th season (2006 - 2007) began on Fox on September 10, 2006[1] and ended on May 20, 2007. ... The Simpsons 19th season (2007 - 2008) began airing on Fox on September 23, 2007. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... The Simpsons 15th season (November 2003 - May 2004) began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with Treehouse of Horror XIV. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 (EABF) production line. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Plot

Homer takes Bart and Lisa to a movie and he has to bring the Flanders family children with him, because Ned has taken the senior citizens for ice cream to celebrate the birthday of Jasper. However, at the Googolplex Theatre, every kid-friendly movie is sold out, and after listening to Lenny mention he had a small part in the horror movie The Redeadening as a gardener, Homer takes the kids to see the movie. The movie is very scary, causing it to scare Bart and Lisa at home, who think they hear noises from the attic. But when they look in the attic to see it, their fears scare them away. When Bart and Lisa arrange to have Homer and Marge look in the attic, they discover Artie Ziff living there. Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ... For the comic book series of the same name, see Bart Simpson comics. ... Lisa Marie Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Yeardley Smith; Lisa is the only character Smith voices on a regular basis. ... The following is a list of characters featured in the American animated television series The Simpsons. ... Jasper Beardley is a fictional character from the animated television series The Simpsons. ... This article is about the Google headquarters. ... Lenford Lenny Leonard, MPhys is a fictional character in The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... This article is a list of recurring fictional characters in the animated American television situation comedy The Simpsons. ...

Artie Ziff explains that he was living in the attic because he ran an unsuccessful Internet business, Ziffcorp (an Enron parody), and lost all his money after spending it on many extravagant items. He said he came to the family house because he thought Marge was the closest thing to him. Artie says he wants to stay in the Simpson house until he gets back on his feet, as long as he promises to be on his best behavior. Artie arranges to stay in the Simpson house and his first activity there is to read to Lisa from The Corrections. He then plays catch with Bart, but that goes unsuccessful. Homer then befriends him and takes him to Moe's Tavern, where ironically four other characters Jon Lovitz had voiced in the past sat where Lenny, Carl, Barney, and Homer would have sat: Jay Sherman (from "A Star Is Burns"), Aristotle Amadapolis (from "Homer Defined"), Llewellyn Sinclair (from "A Streetcar Named Marge"), and Professor Lombardo (from "Brush with Greatness"). Enron Creditors Recovery Corporation (formerly Enron Corporation) (former NYSE ticker symbol: ENE) was an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. ... Marjorie Marge Simpson (née Bouvier) is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons and is voiced by Julie Kavner. ... The Corrections is a novel of social criticism by American author Jonathan Franzen. ... Jonathan Lovitz (born July 21, 1957 in Tarzana, California) is an American actor and comedian perhaps best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and for his show The Critic. ... A Star is Burns is the 18th episode of The Simpsons sixth season. ... Homer Defined is the fifth episode of The Simpsons third season. ... A Streetcar Named Marge is the second episode of The Simpsons fourth season. ... Brush with Greatness is the 18th episode from the second season of The Simpsons. ...

After Marge watches the news and hears that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking for Artie Ziff. Artie was playing poker with Homer and his friends, Homer wins 98% of his company's outstanding stock. The SEC sweeps in to arrest Ziff, but Homer says he owns 230 million shares of Ziffcorp, making him the majority stockholder. To protect himself, he also blames Homer. Homer is taken into SEC custody, and placed on trial. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, commonly referred to as the SEC, is the United States governing body which has primary responsibility for overseeing the regulation of the securities industry. ... For the domestic fireplace tool, see fireplace poker. ...

When Homer is on trial, Marge blames Artie for Homer being likely to go to prison. She also suggests that no one likes Artie for one reason: he only thinks of himself (this also proven by a short can-can that Artie had imagined, with all the people Artie). Homer is eventually found guilty and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Visiting Moe's Tavern, Artie encounters Patty and Selma, and Selma comes to take Artie to her apartment after he mentions putting Homer in prison. As they spend the night together, Artie makes a plan to turn over his corporate books in order to admit he is the real crook. Ziff turns himself in, and Homer is released from prison. The family takes one last look at their "Uncle Artie", who uses a squirt bottle to put out the prisoners' cigarettes, much to their anger. Moes Tavern (also known as just Moes) is a fictional bar seen on the animated series The Simpsons. ... Patty Bouvier Selma Bouvier [[ The Bouvier Sisters (Patricia Patty and Selma, voiced by Julie Kavner) are fictional characters on The Simpsons. ...

Cultural references

This article or section contains too many minor or trivial fictional references. Mere trivia, or references unimportant to the overall plot of a work of fiction, should be deleted. See also what Wikipedia is.

• The name of this episode is a reference to the comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner.
• The opening scene is a spoof of the famous short film Powers of Ten, going from 10²⁶ to 10^-18 to Homer's head.
• The Song during Artie's flashback was the 1999 Lou Bega Mambo No. 5.
• The scene where Grandpa Simpson cowers in fear at Jasper's birthday party is reminiscent of the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, where patients of a mental hospital are convinced to "never leave the day room".
• The movie The Redeadening is a Village of the Damned and The Others parody. Furthermore, the idea of a doll possessed by a murderer is the premise of the movie Child's Play. Village of the Damned is also parodied in Wild Barts Can't Be Broken as The Bloodening.
• The sounds made by Artie that Lisa hears from the attic are very similar to the "ach-um" sound that Jay Sherman from The Critic makes. Jon Lovitz voices both Jay and Artie Ziff.
• Homer gets upset that someone is playing his theremin in the attic.
• The scene where Lisa cries while talking into the video camera after Bart bails on her is taken from The Blair Witch Project.
• Lisa states that Homer believes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is real, which is why he never read to her.
• When the family visits him in prison, the song Homer sings is based on "Turn Around" by Malvina Reynolds.
• Homer takes Artie to Moe's, where he meets Aristotle Amadopoulos (the Shelbyville Nuclear Plant owner from Homer Defined and Homer at the Bat, Llewelyn Sinclair (the acting coach and director of "Oh, Streetcar" from A Streetcar Named Marge), Jay Sherman (from the ABC/FOX sitcom, The Critic, and "The Simpsons"'s first and most infamous crossover episode A Star is Burns), and Professor Lombardo (the art teacher from Brush With Greatness). Like Ziff, all these characters are voiced by former Saturday Night Live castmember Jon Lovitz.
• Homer wants his friends to hide the fact he is going to jail from his family by pretending he joined the Blue Man Group.
• Some of the movies at the Googolplex are:
  • The Wild Dingleberries Movie, a reference to The Wild Thornberrys
  • Diet Coke: The Movie
  • The Fashion of the Christ, a reference to The Passion of the Christ
  • You're in the Matrix, Charlie Brown
  • A Matrix Christmas
  • The Re-Deadening
  • Teenage Sex Wager, a reference to American Pie (film)
  • My Big Fat Greek Salad (Homer made this movie up)
  • Eating Nemo
  • 3 Fast 3 Furious
• Ziffcorp's logo is reminiscent of Enron's, and shares the same fate.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Look up trivia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Man Who Came to Dinner, comedy in three acts written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart that debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. ... Powers of Ten is a 1977 short documentary film written and directed by Charles Eames and his wife, Ray. ... David Lubega (aka Lou Bega) (born April 13, 1975 in Munich, Germany) is a Latin-pop musician famous for his song Mambo No. ... Mambo No. ... One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest can refer to: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (novel), a 1962 fiction novel by Ken Kesey One Attempted to Fly Over the Cuckoos Nest But Didnt Give Himself Enough Clearing Room, (film), a 1975 film adaptation of the novel One... Village of the Damned may refer to: The 1960 movie Village of the Damned (1960 movie) The 1995 remake, Village of the Damned (1995 movie) The John Wyndham novel The Midwich Cuckoos, on which the movies are based. ... The Others has been the name of various films and TV series: In film: The Others, a 2001 film by Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston. ... For other uses, see Childs Play (disambiguation). ... Wild Barts Cant Be Broken is the eleventh episode of the tenth season of The Simpsons. ... For the play by Sheridan, see The Critic (play). ... Jonathan Lovitz (born July 21, 1957 in Tarzana, California) is an American actor and comedian perhaps best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and for his show The Critic. ... This article contains a list of recurring characters from The Simpsons with descriptions. ... Léon Theremin playing an early theremin The theremin (originally pronounced but often anglicized as [1]), or thereminvox, is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. ... The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 independent horror film, financed and distributed by Artisan Entertainment. ... For other uses, see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (disambiguation). ... Ear to the Ground, a posthumous release of Malvina Reynolds recordings on the Folkways label, 2000. ... This following is a list, by episode, of one-time fictional characters from the American animated television comedy series The Simpsons. ... Homer Defined is the fifth episode of The Simpsons third season. ... Homer at the Bat is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons third season. ... A Streetcar Named Marge is the second episode of The Simpsons fourth season. ... The Critic is an American animated television series that was originally broadcast on the ABC network in 1994 (and later on the Fox Network in 1995). ... For the play by Sheridan, see The Critic (play). ... A Star is Burns is the 18th episode of The Simpsons sixth season. ... Brush with Greatness is the 18th episode from the second season of The Simpsons. ... Jonathan Lovitz (born July 21, 1957 in Tarzana, California) is an American actor and comedian perhaps best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live and for his show The Critic. ... Blue Man Group (Blue Man, BMG) is a creative organization founded by Phil Stanton, Chris Wink, and Matt Goldman; it is centered on a trio of mute performers, called Blue Men, who present themselves in blue grease paint, latex bald caps, and black clothing. ... The Wild Thornberrys was an American animated television series. ... Diet Coke (sometimes known as Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light or Coke Light) is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. ... This article is about the film. ... This article is about the 1999 film. ... This article is about the character from Peanuts. ... This article is about the 1999 film. ... For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... This article is about the 1999 film. ... My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a 2002 romantic comedy film written by and starring Nia Vardalos and directed by Joel Zwick. ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ... Finding Nemo is an Academy Award-winning computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released to theaters by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. ... 2 Fast 2 Furious is the 2003 sequel to The Fast and the Furious. ... Enron Creditors Recovery Corporation (formerly Enron Corporation) (former NYSE ticker symbol: ENE) was an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. ...

Trivia

• Artie Ziff's "flush" is actually a straight flush; Homer should not have won the hand in the first place.
• Artie said he was an internet millionaire, but in Half-Decent Proposal, it says he invented a device that convert modem screeching to music (which since most modems no longer do that would also not be making money).

Half-Decent Proposal is the tenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. ...

References

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