In last Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons (which I still watch), Moe falls in love with a woman on the internet. From her picture, she looks like a knockout. So he invites her to meet him at the bar:
Then we get twenty minutes of midget jokes. (The best is when Luigi the Italian restauranteur meets her and says, “Oh Moe, she’s a-beautiful! But so far away!”) But all through the episode I was thinking, “Haven’t I already seen a story about an internet romance where the woman turns out to be a midget?” Finally, I remembered: it was back in the heyday of Boston Legal. Here’s Mr. Denny Crane, waiting for his date:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsVrDXrx21U&start=30
And if you watched to the end of that clip, you saw a truly unfortunate commercial juxtaposition.
Now, this Boston Legal episode aired in late 2006, less than three years ago. This isn’t ancient history. You’re telling me that no one at Fox noticed when the Simpsons writers came up with the same plot? Then again, it’s possible that they knew about the similarity, and decided to do it anyway. The Simpsons take is obviously a lot different than the David E. Kelly take, so maybe it’s not such a big deal.
What do you think? Is this sloppy of The Simpsons, or am I just being a nitpicky Comic Book Guy?