Trilogy of Error
Encyclopedia
"Trilogy of Error" is the eighteenth episode of the twelfth season
, and the 266th overall, of the American animated television series The Simpsons
. It was originally aired on April 29, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company
. In the episode, Homer
's rush to the hospital to re-attach his severed thumb, Lisa
's rush to school to win the science fair, and Bart
's run-in with an illegal fireworks scheme are interconnected as each act tells the events of the same day, but from a different point of view.
The episode, originally titled "Go, Simpsons, Go", was directed by Mike B. Anderson
from a script by Matt Selman
, his second writing credit of the season. Frankie Muniz
of Malcolm In The Middle
guest-stars as Thelonious, while Joe Mantegna
reprises his role as recurring character Fat Tony
. "Trilogy of Error" is a parody of the movies Go
and Run Lola Run
, and imitates music and jokes from both. The episode has received positive reviews and was named the best episode of Season 12 by IGN
. Matt Selman
names it the best episode he has ever written.
who escapes to the Flanders' house, Marge calls 911. Chief Wiggum picks up, and mistakes the incident for attempted murder. He asks for the address so he can arrest Marge, making her lie, claiming it is 123 Fake Street. Chief Wiggum believes her. They drive off to the hospital, but on the way, they crush Rainier Wolfcastle's Ferrari
. While he is trying to break the Simpsons' car, they sneak into the Ferrari. Once at the hospital, Dr. Hibbert claims that the insurance will not cover the cost, so they drive towards Dr. Nick's clinic. Since Homer's thumb is starting to shrivel up, he stops by Moe's, where he gets a pickle brine solution. He gets distracted by drinking a beer, and because of his major blood loss, he passes out, saying random words. Barney Gumble wakes him up with coffee, and just as Homer rushes out the door, he sees that the Ferrari is gone. So, he hitchhikes (which at first does not work, because he has no right thumb), but Cletus' pickup truck eventually stops by. He drives Homer to Dr. Nicks. When they leave the truck, they discover that it is on fire. Just as Homer asks Cletus to drive him to Shelbyville Hospital, the truck gets stolen. Homer trudges along the roadside, and sees that he still has twenty miles to go. Since his thumb is fading again, he is just about to throw it away, but gets distracted when he sees Linguo's severed head next to him after shooting from town.
, his second writing credit for Season 12
after "Lisa the Tree Hugger
". It was directed by Mike B. Anderson
, his second directing credit after the Emmy Award
-winning episode, "HOMR
". Selman was inspired by the 1999 film Go
and devised the plot before pitching it. The episode was originally called "Go, Simpson Go" in an allusion to the 1998 film Run Lola Run
, the basis of the "Lisa's Day" segment. In the original draft, the second act would have portrayed Lisa travelling on the short school bus
and meeting children with amusing disabilities, but it was deemed "too radical" at the time. The production team also wanted to create a segment focusing on Marge
, but thought she was already too prominent in the "Homer's Day" and "Lisa's Day" segments.
During production, the staff found it difficult to choose jokes to start each part of the episode, since these jokes would be seen after each commercial break. There was also a debate on the appearance of Homer
's truncated thumb. The staff decided to add a thumbnail, although characters in The Simpsons do not have nails on their fingers and toes. It was also made to look older and in an increasingly deteriorated state as the episode progresses. The cost of "Trilogy of Error" was above average, despite contrary expectations on the part of the production team.
Selman made tie-in shirts for the production staff. During production of the third part of the episode, Selman went on vacation and the staff had to finish the act without him. The episode features music from Run Lola Run and guest stars Joe Mantegna
as the recurring character of Fat Tony
and Frankie Muniz
as Thelonius.
and almost crushes a bug. Marge and Lisa
steal Cletus's car and Marge nearly kills the same bug, but Lisa stops her.
. The episode makes a number of allusions to the 1999 film Go
, examples of which include Homer
and Marge
's theft of Rainier Wolfcastle's car after Wolfcastle smashes up their vehicle in the manner of Jack Nicholson
's character from the film. The "Lisa's Day" segment is also a parody of the 1998 film Run Lola Run
, and features music similar to the film's soundtrack and when Lisa dancing with boy Thelonius the part of song Happy Together
is played. Furthermore, the working title
for the episode was "Go, Simpsons Go". Homer expresses his belief that thumb re-attachment
only occurs in films such as "Gattaca
" and calls the Blue Man Group
a rip-off of The Smurfs
(which he doesn't like) while drunk.
The episode has received positive reviews, with most commentators calling it the best episode of Season 12
. In a 2008 Flashback Review, Robert Canning of website IGN
awarded the episode a rating of 9, describing it as "outstanding" and suggested that, "The Simpsons may have peaked in the '90s, but that doesn't mean the eight years since haven't delivered their share of quality episodes. This was one of them. And with so much plot to go over in this review, there just wasn't enough room to reference all the great lines. Like Dr. Nick's, 'Inflammable means flammable?!' and Cletus
' reference to 'TV magic queers'." Matt Haigh of the website Den of Geek has said the episode is "gold".
The episode ranked 20th in an AOL
poll to determine the top 20 episodes of The Simpsons. Matt Selman
considers this episode "the best [he] has ever written". Judge Mac McEntire of the website DVD Verdict
suggests that the greatest moment of the episode is Dr. Nick Riviera's line, "Inflammable means flammable?".
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a positive review, saying "À la the Treehouse of Horror episodes, it seems like shows with three distinct plots work well. Perhaps the fact that they don’t have time to meander benefits the program; with so little time for each tale, the writers have to keep things simple. And effective, at least in the case of 'Error'. It's a clever program that consistently entertains." The episode has an average grade of A from fan site The Simpsons Archive
.
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
, and the 266th overall, of the American animated television series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. It was originally aired on April 29, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. In the episode, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's rush to the hospital to re-attach his severed thumb, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
's rush to school to win the science fair, and Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's run-in with an illegal fireworks scheme are interconnected as each act tells the events of the same day, but from a different point of view.
The episode, originally titled "Go, Simpsons, Go", was directed by Mike B. Anderson
Mike B. Anderson
Mike B. Anderson, sometimes credited as Mikel B. Anderson, is a television director who works on The Simpsons and has directed numerous episodes of the show, and was animated in "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" as cadet Anderson. While a college student, he directed the live action feature films...
from a script by Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
, his second writing credit of the season. Frankie Muniz
Frankie Muniz
Francisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...
of Malcolm In The Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
guest-stars as Thelonious, while Joe Mantegna
Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
reprises his role as recurring character Fat Tony
Fat Tony
Marion Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico is a recurring character in the animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Joe Mantegna and first appeared in the third season episode "Bart the Murderer"...
. "Trilogy of Error" is a parody of the movies Go
Go (1999 film)
Go is a 1999 comedy thriller film written by John August and directed by Doug Liman, with three intertwining plots that happen to involve one drug deal. The film stars William Fichtner, Katie Holmes, Jay Mohr, Sarah Polley and Scott Wolf and features Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer, Timothy Olyphant,...
and Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run is a 1998 German crime thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain 100,000 German marks in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend's life...
, and imitates music and jokes from both. The episode has received positive reviews and was named the best episode of Season 12 by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
. Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
names it the best episode he has ever written.
Homer's day
At 7:03 A.M, while Homer is applying deodorant, Marge shouts out that breakfast is ready. Homer runs downstairs, but is surprised that Marge is serving a gooey cereal called "Mueslix." Lisa gets Homer out of the mess by showing him her school science project, a robot named Linguo, who corrects grammar. Homer breaks it by pouring beer down its throat, and Lisa runs upstairs frustrated. Meanwhile, Homer tries to get a brownie from Marge, who will not let him. Marge ends up severing his thumb. As Homer retrieves his thumb from Santa's Little HelperSanta's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper is a recurring character in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons...
who escapes to the Flanders' house, Marge calls 911. Chief Wiggum picks up, and mistakes the incident for attempted murder. He asks for the address so he can arrest Marge, making her lie, claiming it is 123 Fake Street. Chief Wiggum believes her. They drive off to the hospital, but on the way, they crush Rainier Wolfcastle's Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
. While he is trying to break the Simpsons' car, they sneak into the Ferrari. Once at the hospital, Dr. Hibbert claims that the insurance will not cover the cost, so they drive towards Dr. Nick's clinic. Since Homer's thumb is starting to shrivel up, he stops by Moe's, where he gets a pickle brine solution. He gets distracted by drinking a beer, and because of his major blood loss, he passes out, saying random words. Barney Gumble wakes him up with coffee, and just as Homer rushes out the door, he sees that the Ferrari is gone. So, he hitchhikes (which at first does not work, because he has no right thumb), but Cletus' pickup truck eventually stops by. He drives Homer to Dr. Nicks. When they leave the truck, they discover that it is on fire. Just as Homer asks Cletus to drive him to Shelbyville Hospital, the truck gets stolen. Homer trudges along the roadside, and sees that he still has twenty miles to go. Since his thumb is fading again, he is just about to throw it away, but gets distracted when he sees Linguo's severed head next to him after shooting from town.
Lisa's day
After fixing Linguo, Lisa misses the school bus. Finding her bike gone and seeing her parents leaving for the hospital, she runs to school but on the way gets a ride from Krusty. However, Krusty and Mr. Teeny mistakenly take her to the West Springfield Elementary School. While there, Lisa meets a boy named Thelonious, who is similar to her. After spending time with him, Lisa leaves the school and, needing a ride, stops at Moe's Tavern looking for her dad. Homer is not there, but she finds Chief Wiggum listening to a police radio. She identifies a voice as Fat Tony's. This causes Wiggum to speak into the receiver "Fat Tony, is that you?" and on the radio Legs, one of Fat Tony's henchmen says "This guy is wearing a wire" following what sounds like gunshots. As she leaves the tavern Homer comes in. Outside, Lisa finds Marge, who takes her to school, however the car runs out of gas as Marge does not understand how to read the Italian gas meter. Marge and Lisa see Cletus' truck and hitch a ride, but when he exits his truck they steal it and drive to the school themselves. They never arrive because Bart emerges from the manhole in front of them.Bart's day
The doorbell rings,and Bart answers it. It is Milhouse, he has found something in the woods. To get there, they ride Bart and Lisa's bicycles to the woods and find a cave full of fireworks. Bart tests some, only to blow up Dr. Nick's clinic. Bart and Milhouse hide in a building which is addressed 123 Fake Street, the address that Marge gave to the police. They are caught by the police and asked to help find the person selling the fireworks. Bart and Milhouse find Fat Tony but a voice comes out of the speaker hidden in Bart's clothes, saying "Fat Tony, is that you?". Fat Tony realizes that Bart has a wire and Bart lights the fireworks in Tony's hand to escape. Fat Tony chases the boys through the sewers until they emerge where Marge and Lisa are. Having been chased down the street, Bart and Milhouse get cornered. To save the boys, Marge throws Linguo at the gangsters and due to the mobster's bad grammar, the sparks from Linguo's body caused by the overload ignited the fireworks causing Linguo to explode, which also takes down the mobsters.Conclusion
Fat Tony gets arrested, and Homer expresses gratitude that no one was hurt, but Marge points out his severed thumb and Lisa's destroyed science project. Fat Tony offers a solution to their problems. Lisa brings the mobsters to the science fair, and Legs (one of Fat Tony's henchmen) successfully reattaches Homer's thumb while Lisa narrates the presentation for her class. Lisa gets an A for her presentation.Production
"Trilogy of Error" was scripted by Matt SelmanMatt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
, his second writing credit for Season 12
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
after "Lisa the Tree Hugger
Lisa the Tree Hugger
"Lisa the Tree Hugger" is the fourth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 19, 2000...
". It was directed by Mike B. Anderson
Mike B. Anderson
Mike B. Anderson, sometimes credited as Mikel B. Anderson, is a television director who works on The Simpsons and has directed numerous episodes of the show, and was animated in "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" as cadet Anderson. While a college student, he directed the live action feature films...
, his second directing credit after the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning episode, "HOMR
HOMR
"HOMR" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons’ twelfth season, originally aired on January 7, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The episode is the 257th episode overall and the last episode produced for the eleventh season...
". Selman was inspired by the 1999 film Go
Go (1999 film)
Go is a 1999 comedy thriller film written by John August and directed by Doug Liman, with three intertwining plots that happen to involve one drug deal. The film stars William Fichtner, Katie Holmes, Jay Mohr, Sarah Polley and Scott Wolf and features Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer, Timothy Olyphant,...
and devised the plot before pitching it. The episode was originally called "Go, Simpson Go" in an allusion to the 1998 film Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run is a 1998 German crime thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain 100,000 German marks in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend's life...
, the basis of the "Lisa's Day" segment. In the original draft, the second act would have portrayed Lisa travelling on the short school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
and meeting children with amusing disabilities, but it was deemed "too radical" at the time. The production team also wanted to create a segment focusing on Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, but thought she was already too prominent in the "Homer's Day" and "Lisa's Day" segments.
During production, the staff found it difficult to choose jokes to start each part of the episode, since these jokes would be seen after each commercial break. There was also a debate on the appearance of Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's truncated thumb. The staff decided to add a thumbnail, although characters in The Simpsons do not have nails on their fingers and toes. It was also made to look older and in an increasingly deteriorated state as the episode progresses. The cost of "Trilogy of Error" was above average, despite contrary expectations on the part of the production team.
Selman made tie-in shirts for the production staff. During production of the third part of the episode, Selman went on vacation and the staff had to finish the act without him. The episode features music from Run Lola Run and guest stars Joe Mantegna
Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. is an American actor, producer, writer,director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos , The Godfather Part III , Forget Paris , and Up Close & Personal...
as the recurring character of Fat Tony
Fat Tony
Marion Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico is a recurring character in the animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Joe Mantegna and first appeared in the third season episode "Bart the Murderer"...
and Frankie Muniz
Frankie Muniz
Francisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...
as Thelonius.
Deleted scenes
Two scenes were deleted from the final cut of the episode. Homer pretends to take his thumb off his hand for CletusCletus Spuckler
Cletus Delroy Spuckler is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Hank Azaria. Cletus is Springfield's resident hillbilly stereotype. He is very messy and is usually portrayed wearing a white sleeveless shirt and pair of blue jeans.- Biography :Cletus was...
and almost crushes a bug. Marge and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
steal Cletus's car and Marge nearly kills the same bug, but Lisa stops her.
Cultural references
The title of the episode is a reference to the 1975 made-for-television horror film Trilogy of TerrorTrilogy of Terror
Trilogy of Terror is a three-part made-for-television horror film, first aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on March 4, 1975...
. The episode makes a number of allusions to the 1999 film Go
Go (1999 film)
Go is a 1999 comedy thriller film written by John August and directed by Doug Liman, with three intertwining plots that happen to involve one drug deal. The film stars William Fichtner, Katie Holmes, Jay Mohr, Sarah Polley and Scott Wolf and features Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer, Timothy Olyphant,...
, examples of which include Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's theft of Rainier Wolfcastle's car after Wolfcastle smashes up their vehicle in the manner of Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
's character from the film. The "Lisa's Day" segment is also a parody of the 1998 film Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run is a 1998 German crime thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a woman who needs to obtain 100,000 German marks in 20 minutes to save her boyfriend's life...
, and features music similar to the film's soundtrack and when Lisa dancing with boy Thelonius the part of song Happy Together
Happy Together (song)
"Happy Together" is a 1967 song from The Turtles' album of the same name. Released in February 1967, the song knocked The Beatles' "Penny Lane" out of the #1 slot for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's only chart-topper. "Happy Together" reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in...
is played. Furthermore, the working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
for the episode was "Go, Simpsons Go". Homer expresses his belief that thumb re-attachment
Replantation
Replantation is the surgical reattachment of a body part by microsurgical means, most commonly a finger, hand or arm, that has been completely cut from a person's body...
only occurs in films such as "Gattaca
Gattaca
Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal and Alan Arkin....
" and calls the Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
a rip-off of The Smurfs
The Smurfs
The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
(which he doesn't like) while drunk.
Reception
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
. In a 2008 Flashback Review, Robert Canning of website IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the episode a rating of 9, describing it as "outstanding" and suggested that, "The Simpsons may have peaked in the '90s, but that doesn't mean the eight years since haven't delivered their share of quality episodes. This was one of them. And with so much plot to go over in this review, there just wasn't enough room to reference all the great lines. Like Dr. Nick's, 'Inflammable means flammable?!' and Cletus
Cletus Spuckler
Cletus Delroy Spuckler is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Hank Azaria. Cletus is Springfield's resident hillbilly stereotype. He is very messy and is usually portrayed wearing a white sleeveless shirt and pair of blue jeans.- Biography :Cletus was...
' reference to 'TV magic queers'." Matt Haigh of the website Den of Geek has said the episode is "gold".
The episode ranked 20th in an AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
poll to determine the top 20 episodes of The Simpsons. Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
considers this episode "the best [he] has ever written". Judge Mac McEntire of the website DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...
suggests that the greatest moment of the episode is Dr. Nick Riviera's line, "Inflammable means flammable?".
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a positive review, saying "À la the Treehouse of Horror episodes, it seems like shows with three distinct plots work well. Perhaps the fact that they don’t have time to meander benefits the program; with so little time for each tale, the writers have to keep things simple. And effective, at least in the case of 'Error'. It's a clever program that consistently entertains." The episode has an average grade of A from fan site The Simpsons Archive
The Simpsons Archive
The Simpsons Archive, better known as snpp.com or simply SNPP , is a Simpsons fan site that has been online since 1994...
.
External links
- "Trilogy of Error" at The Simpsons.com