Tales from the Public Domain (17 Mar. 2002)

The family reads stories from a long overdue library book. First, Homer (Odysseus) struggles to find his way home after the Trojan War. Next, Lisa (Joan Of Arc) leads the French army after ... See full summary »

Director:

Mike B. Anderson

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator), James L. Brooks (developer),

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Mayor Quimby / Barney Gumble / Sideshow Mel / Krusty the Clown / Catapult Soldier / English Soldier #3 / Groundskeeper Willie (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Ralph Wiggum / Todd Flanders (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Moe Szyslak / Apu Nahasapeemapetilon / Captain McAllister / Carl / Professor Frink / Discus Stu / Chief Wiggum / Lou / English Soldier #1 / Viking (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders / Lenny / God / English Soldier #2 / Reverend Lovejoy (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Circe / Agnes Skinner (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brian Hamilton	...	Singer (voice)
Charity James	...	Singer (voice)
Karl Wiedergott	...	English Soldier #4 (voice)

Storyline

The family reads stories from a long overdue library book. First, Homer (Odysseus) struggles to find his way home after the Trojan War. Next, Lisa (Joan Of Arc) leads the French army after hearing the voice of God. Finally, Bart (Hamlet) avenges the murder of his father.

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Plot Keywords:

joan of arc | book | overdue library book | reference to shakespeare's hamlet | 2d animation | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 2002 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Gracie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title "Do the Bard, Man" is a play on the song "Do the Bartman" and the fact that Shakespeare is also referred to as "the Bard".

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Goofs

Hamlet (Bart) utters a line to himself that is supposedly unheard by other characters and refers to it as a "soliloquy." However, the other characters are on stage at the same time. This would make the line an "aside," and not a soliloquy. (A soliloquy is an extended monologue done with the character on stage alone.)

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Quotes

Ned Flanders: [as King of Troy, to Homer/Odysseus] Hi, O-diddley-ysseus!

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Connections

References The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Ghostbusters"
Written and Performed by Ray Parker Jr.

User Reviews

Probably the only decent episode from season 13

Has its share of lame jokes, but it isn't downright embarrassing, unlike...well, any other episode from this season. The Hamlet segment is surprisingly funny. The only thing that would have made it better is if the writers put in a few somewhat obscure jokes for people who know the play pretty well. It reads like the writers were just calling upon what they remembered from their stoner high school years and making obvious jokes about it. In previous seasons, you always got the sense that the writers really knew their stuff. The segment based on The Odyssey was also somewhat funny, except for the Disco Stu joke and the reused line from Krusty Gets Kancelled ("Time to take out the trash!").