“Lost Verizon” is the second episode of The Simpsons‘ twentieth season, and first aired October 5, 2008. Bart becomes jealous of his friends and their cell phones. Working at a golf course, Bart takes the cell phone of Denis Leary after the star throws it away in anger. Marge, per Leary’s advice, activates the GPS system on the phone to track down Bart’s every move; catching on, Bart attaches the GPS chip to a bird that migrates to Machu Picchu, Peru. Denis Leary and Brian Grazer (who also appeared in “When You Dish Upon a Star” as himself) both guest star as themselves. It was directed by Raymond S. Persi and written by John Frink.
Plot
When Principal Skinner makes a fool of himself on a freeway, Milhouse manages to catch the whole hilarious scene on his phone. He calls most of his friends to see Skinner getting beaten up by a drunken Barney, but can’t call Bart. This is also the scene where Sideshow Bob tries to run away by jumping onto cars, which Milhouse and others didn’t notice. When Nelson asks why, Milhouse explains it’s simply because Bart doesn’t have a cell phone. Later on, Bart is taunted for missing out on laughing at Skinner. Bart asks Marge for a phone; Marge explains she simply can’t afford to get a phone for Bart – she also can’t afford to fund a dream trip for Lisa to Machu Picchu. A depressed Bart takes a walk past the Springfield Glen Country Club, and is promptly hit by a golf ball. Angrily, he enters the golf course to hit the golf ball against the person who threw it at him; upon entering, it turns out Dr. Hibbert had accidentally hit him. Hibbert immediately pays Bart a dollar for retrieving the ball. Surprised, Bart takes the money and gets an inspiration: retrieving golf balls for money, in order to buy a cell phone.
A gleeful Bart is only $20 short, but his glee is cut short when Groundskeeper Willie discovers Bart is cutting in on his job. Willie confiscates all the golf balls, prompting Bart to return to his miserable mood. However, nearby, a celebrity golf tournament is underway. Celebrity Denis Leary (guest starring as himself) prepares to swing, but misses brutally when his cell phone rings at the same time. Angrily, Leary throws away his phone, which lands beside Bart. Bart quits his job and takes Leary’s phone all for himself. While going to inform Milhouse of his new cell, Bart receives a call from producer Brian Grazer (guest starring as himself), who asks Leary to star in the film adaption of Everyone Poops. Bart, realizing the phone belongs to Leary, pretends to be him. A mischievous Bart makes prank calls all over the world, (using names having to do with sex and the body i.e. Maya Normusbutt) has all of Leary’s money spent on New York Yankees hats and uniforms, among other pranks towards Skinner. Marge overhears Bart and Milhouse’s mischievousness, and finally confiscates Bart’s phone. Leary recalls his cell, and Marge answers, apologizing for her son’s behaviour. Leary, still angry with Bart’s tricks, suggests Marge activate the GPS system on the phone and return it to Bart, meaning she could track down Bart’s every move.
Somewhat guiltily, Marge activates the GPS system and returns the phone to Bart. Marge, with the help of the GPS system, is able to prevent Bart from watching an R movie, gambling at a horse race, and skating down steps and hurting himself. Bart now knows that as long as Marge and Homer have him under constant surveillance, he can’t have any fun. Lisa is shocked by Marge’s injustice, and tells Bart. Predictably, Bart grows angry, and decides to get revenge. He ties the GPS chip to the leg of a scarlet tanager, which flies away. Marge, thinking the bird is Bart, assumes that Bart is running away from her. While Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie are going through a nation-wide search for Bart, Lisa realizes that the bird is the one they had been chasing the whole time. After checking research on her laptop, she discovers the bird is migrating to Machu Picchu, her dream trip they couldn’t afford. She deliberately lets the bird go free, so the family can chase it to Machu Picchu.
Bart relishes his newfound freedom during the daytime, but quickly becomes frightened of being alone at night. When the Simpsons arrive in Machu Picchu in the morning, the family searches for Bart. Marge, despite being exhausted, won’t give up, but Lisa convinces her to rest on an ancient sculpture, below the statue of the ancient Peruvian God of the Sky. Marge, quickly falling asleep, is pulled into a dream world where the God of the Sky shows her Ancient Peru. He teaches her how throughout history, parents who over-parented their children could never set them free, which was how they were conquered by the Conquistadors. Upon waking, Marge learns that she cannot over-mother Bart, and must let him take steps for himself. Homer discovers that the family had been following a bird the whole time, assuring Marge she knows exactly where Bart is. Upon returning to Springfield, Marge asks Bart if he missed her. Bart says he didn’t notice they were gone (for two weeks), so Marge, depressed, goes upstairs. However, upon reaching the stairs, she is stopped by Bart, who quickly begs her to never leave again. The episode ends with Lisa asking Homer, “Where’s Maggie?” As it turns out, the family had left her in Machu Picchu, where she is being worshipped.
Production
During the table read of the script, a role meant for Matt Damon was included, but he did not appear in the final version of the episode. The episode is dedicated to Paul Newman, who guest starred in “The Blunder Years” and died nine days before the episode aired.
Cultural references
The Swedish barman is modelled on Ingmar Bergman, and his bar is in fact called Inga-Bar Beerman. The image of the barman in profile and another person in the background is from Bergman’s 1966 film Persona. The Australian barman resembles Crocodile Dundee, and so his bar is called Crocodile Drunkie. Skinner plays a human version of the arcade game Frogger when trying to cross the interstate for gas. Marge receives a collection notice from Allied Peas whose corporate mascot bears a striking resemblance to the Jolly Green Giant while paying for frozen peas on installment. Bart, Milhouse, and Nelson grill Twizzlers licorice. Bart suggests to Leary’s manager that he order New York Yankees hats and Derek Jeter jerseys. Leary is a real life Boston Red Sox fan, a large rival of the Yankees. Leary was born in Massachusetts and went to college at Emerson College in Boston. The episode title is a reference to the James Hilton novel Lost Horizon and has a part of the name of a cell phone company called Verizon Wireless, and the early plot of the episode is highly similar to that of the 2004 Disney Channel Original Movie Stuck in the Suburbs. When Bart finishes prank-calling the bars, he says “The sun never sets on the Bartish Empire”, refering to the motto of the British Empire.
Reception
In its original airing, the episode garnered 7.43 million viewers, a 3.6 rating and a 10% share. Robert Canning of IGN said, “This wasn’t a terrible episode, but it just wasn’t funny enough for such a serpentine storyline. Throw in a wasted Denis Leary, and you really start to think that ‘Lost Verizon’ could have been so much more”. He gave the episode a final rating of 6.7/10. Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict said, “it is a mostly solid episode, it feels like a missed opportunity for a show that garners more grumbles than acclaim these days”.
