Ep. 38 - The Terminator with Matt Lynch

Season 5
Written By Bart Simpson

For our annual Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest this year, we unwrap “Grift of the Magi” (S11E9)—the Simpsons episode that gave us the name of this special—and its climactic spoof of James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984). Podcaster and prolific Letterboxd reviewer Matt Lynch joins us to break down the greatest movie ever made about a son sending his father back in time to have sex with his mother. (Oh yeah, and save the world in the process.)

Also in this episode:

  • The delicious stone soup of Cameron’s budget filmmaking and special effects

  • Is this a slasher movie? Does it simply borrow slasher tropes? Did those tropes exist in 1984?

  • How James Cameron makes corniness as well as Frank Capra

  • Why ‘90s kids saw T2: Judgment Day first, and why we need to break the cycle

Springfield Googolplex is taking a break for the holidays, but we will be back on February 4, 2025, with a new batch of episodes. In the meantime,  have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a cwazy Kwanzaa, a tip top Tet, and a solemn and dignified Ramadan.

For more of Matt Lynch, check out his popular Letterboxd profile, his thriller movie podcast The Suspense Is Killing Us, Scarecrow Video’s YouTube channel VIVA! Physical Media, or the massive library of Scarecrow Video itself and its awesome rent-by-mail program.

Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

Every Simpsons Reference to The Terminator

By our count, The Terminator has been directly referenced 8 times in the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons. The first reference appears in “Treehouse of Horror II” (S3E7) from 1991, 7 years after the release of the movie.

Scene References

New • Treehouse of Horror II (S3E7): When Homer wakes up inside a robotic body, his red-tinted vision mimics that of the Terminator’s in this movie.

There is arguably an earlier reference to this type of computer vision in Principal Charming (S2E14), but we think this looks more like a reference to RoboCop (1987), and the score in this moment seems to back up that interpretation.

Grift of the Magi (S11E9): When Lisa discovers the conspiracy to create a new toy by stealing the ideas of Springfield Elementary students, the result looks a lot like the T-800’s metal endoskeleton. Funzo even reaches out like the Terminator in the climax of the movie, moments before Sarah Connor crushes it into oblivion. “You’re terminated, [SQUAWK]er.”

Funzo even gets to recreate the Terminator’s iconic fake-out death, rising from the flames of the Springfield Tire Fire. However, his reign of terror—I mean, “love”—is thwarted by Gary Coleman’s kung fu/pro wrestling skills.

Small References

Selma’s Choice (S4E13): When Bart pulls a prank on a robotic George Washington at Duff Gardens, its turns toward him with glowing red eyes like the Terminator. (Unconfirmed)

Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood (S5E8): The local arcade in Springfield contains an official Terminator arcade game alongside a slightly less popular licensed movie tie-in game.

In real life, it seems like the were no arcade cabinets for Terminator video games until the second movie in the franchise, and this episode was released after T2, but the cabinet says “Terminator,” so we’ll take that at face value.

New • Treehouse of Horror VI (S7E6), VII (S8E1) & VIII (S9E4): Sound Effects Editor Travis Powers includes “The Trephinator” as his creepy credits in Treehouse of Horror episodes.

When You Dish Upon a Star (S10E5): Homer’s script for “The Termizer” bears a striking resemblance to the plot of this movie…

Extra Credit

Looking for more like this or an interesting double feature? Here are our recommendations.

Further Reading & Viewing

Bart Simpson
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Ep. 37 - The Magic Christian