Well, if he had turned the oven off, we wouldn't have gotten to hear about the aurora borealis at that time of year, at that time of day, in that part of the country, localized entirely within Skinner's kitchen
If Skinner had an Aurora Borealis to produce, he would've let Chalmers see it immediately. Do you know how impressive that would be to have the Aurora Borealis localized entirely within your kitchen?
@@Sonnakai “I once convinced a super intendant that I had aurora borealis localised entirely within my kitchen in this part of the country, at this time of day, at this time of year. And he bought it because I believed it.”
in 2018, i was a 13 year old boy from china who had just moved to the US with family, in a completely new environment. new school, new home, new internet, new people around me, and i was struggling to adjust because my english was terrible and i knew little about the western culture. i opened youtube for the first time to try and figure out what was popular over here, and i dug into the hole of memes. since i was lonely and didn't have much friends, i spent most of my time on this side of youtube, enjoying all the memes and ytps that were popular back then. but among all of them, the steamed hams meme stood out to me as incredibly funny, and i loved watching all the edits, even memorized the script of the original simpsons clip somehow. 4 years later, almost 5, life has changed and i now feel happy and at home here, but i always look back at the steamed hams meme with a smile because it kept me laughing when life was hard.
A U R O R A. B O R E A L I S. At this time of year? At this time of day? IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY? LOCALIZED ENTIRELY WITHIN YOUR KITCHEN?? No May I see it? Yes
I always found it odd that they are both wearing full suits and coats; despite neither being at the school. The fact that they are eating *lunch at Skinner’s mom’s house* implies that this is a weekend and school’s out; but that they dress in work clothes even during their off-days.
According to the creators, Chalmers is the only person in the show able to function outside of Springfield. He knows everyone is crazy, but he gets by by not asking too many questions so he doesn’t get sucked down a rabbit hole, hence why he indulges in Skinner’s lies.
Another underrated part of this scene: Skinner struggles to answer questions about the "steamed hams," then IMMEDIATELY is able to concoct the Aurora Borealis story.
All Skinner said in regards to the Aurora Borealis story was saying "Aurora Borealis" in response to Chalmers asking "What is happening in there?" and subsequently "Yes" after Chalmers' seemingly rhetorical sequence of inquiries.
This is the Golden Ratio of comedy. Not only is it so simple and easy to follow, but even if you'd never watched Simpsons before, if we were 1000 years into the future, and this were the only clip to survive a media purge, you'd completely understand both these characters, the comedy is super universal because of its simplicity, and in less than 3 minutes its crafted perfect parallel arc while ramping of the hilarity and absurdity of the situation.
Skinner is actually very relatable in this skit, because I too would rather let my house burn down than admit I made a mistake to someone important I was trying to impress.
@@JuhoEronenSpongebob isn’t just for kids, it’s a show for everyone. If you watch the original seasons of Spongebob you’ll see that it’s a perfectly worthy contender to the Simpsons.
@@walterthemighty7549 Eh, I would be inclined to agree, but The Simpsons had FIVE absolutely outstanding years (seasons 4 - 8), and three really sold ones (seasons 1 - 3). Spongebob only had three extraordinary seasons (1 -3).
Chalmers knows most of Seymour is saying is a lie, he just doesn't care. It just aurora borealis is a rare sight to behold and he doesn't want to miss it if Seymour is telling the truth.
The funniest part of this skit isn't any of the absurd lies or Chalmers reaction. It's the moment Chalmers asks to see the "aurora borealis" and Skinner legitimately thinks before responding "no"
This was actually shot in 3 takes. Take 1: Chalmers is OBLIVIOUS to Skinner’s lies. Take 2: Chalmers is SUSPICIOUS that skinner is lying. Take 3: Chalmers is AWARE that skinner is lying. These takes were spliced together to create tension, making the audience unaware of how much Chalmers knew.
@@benjamina6618 Sure! So, when they filmed the scenes between Christian Bale and Willem Defoe in American Psycho, they filmed three takes for every scene. One take where Dafoe's character knew Bale was the killer, one where he suspected he was the killer, and one where he had no idea that he was the killer. The editors then spliced these takes together to form each scene, making it extremely equivocal as to how much Dafoe's character knows. This makes the audience feel more uncertain and paranoid, just as Bale's character would be feeling under interrogation, and helps to create further tension.
"Aurora Borealis?! At this time of year At this time of day In this part of the country Localized entirely within your kitchen?! "Yes." May I see it? 😳" This part KILLS me. From the first time I watched it, to the millions of memes that followed, this part is just gold every single time.
And that these two men, who have worked with each other for years, never asked each other where they're from. And that Skinner pulled off the Albany thing so effortlessly that Chalmers didn't question it.
i mean they call hot dogs "glizzies" up there bc of some bizarre chain of events originating in washington dc, so honestly yeah i could see it too. i could see specifically albany inhabitants calling hamburgers "steamed hams"
@@JaxontheOkay We don’t say steamed hams, we say hamburgers here in Albany. Though I prefer a cheeseburger over a hamburger. Also we call them hotdogs but glizzies for comedic value, more popular with the youth. For example, I usually say hotdog but when I want to make a sus joke, I say “this nigga is eating a glizzy with the works, ayoooo”
snazztacular language doesn't evolve in that manner. You can't blame every piece of incorrect grammar on linguistic evolution or else i could be speaking french right now and call it english.
@@niccster1061 If it's used as a word, and people understand it, it becomes part of English. That's why "Doh!" was added to the dictionary, and why "stan" was, as well. Also, you could be speaking what is _technically_ French right now, and I might actually consider it to be English, because English borrows words from other languages- just as many other languages do, as well.
Plot twist: Chalmers didn't buy any of it for a second. It's just that he, as a politician, was impressed with Seymour's ability to lie at the drop of a hat.
He wanted a show and he got a good show, which is why he let it happen. It helped that in the end Seymour was still suffering because he still almost burnt his house down.
@@chaos_omega If I understand correctly, the office of Superintendent is a government-appointed position that works as the administrator of a particular school district. Therefore, it counts as a government office.
All of a sudden it MAY be possible at that time of day, at that time of year, in that part of the country-and just maybe, localized entirely within his kitchen.
My friend and I re-enacted this skit as a campfire skit at our summer camp, in front of the entire population of the camp. We also trained another friend to shout Seymour's mother's lines on cue. It went surprisingly well, and I got to go home knowing that I had taught Steamed Hams to many an uncultured person.
seeing old cartoons in this high quality is weird you can see all the artifacts of the old cartoon making proccess. the characters jittering slightly after every frame. the shadows under different layers of animation. all the imperfections in color filling. it's wonderful.
My favorite part of this ingeniously-written and impeccably-delivered clip is how Chalmers points out how absurd it would be to have the phenomenon of aurora borealis occur within Skinner’s kitchen, to which Skinner replies with a simple “Yes”. Chalmers then pauses as if immediately abandoning all logic and reason while seeming to actually believe Skinner. Chalmers reacts with a very intrigued and curious, “May I see it?” Skinner: ..... *No*
Hi! In a couple weeks from now, me and a buddy of mine will perform a live-action recreation of Steamed Hams for my Theatre class. I'll do my best to upload it. Expect it to come late February.
Random videos that nobody watches! “Ah- Aurora borealis?! At this time of year, at this time of day, localized entirely within your kitchen?!” Seymour: *_no hesitation whatsoever_* “Yes.”
watching this as i see aurora borealis for the first time, living in the midwest. its not extremely visible or the most breathtaking sight, but its my first and probably ever time and first thing that came to mind
2:28 You can actually see Superintendent’s thought process where instead of just pointing out Skinner’s lies and firing him, he decides to play along because he understands what skinner is trying to do and is sympathetic.
1:52 I love how Superintendent Chalmers takes one bite from the burger but somehow it magically grows back to a full burger once presented as grilled lol
I got to see aurora borealis at this time of year, at this time of day, in my part of the country, but it wasn’t localized entirely within my kitchen. Damn Skinner with his crazy explanations!
Fun fact : We had a very rare aurora borealis in France recently, it was visible in Belgium and Netherlands too. My reaction was "Aurora Borealis ? At this time of year ? At this time of day ? In this country ? Localize in Europe ?" So I bought steamed clams (at mac donald's)
Lines in this video that are statements of fact: “My roast is ruined!” “These hamburgers are quite similar to the ones they have at Krusty burger.” “You call them steamed hams despite the fact that they are obviously grilled.” “Seymour! The House is on fire!” “Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow...”
Superintendent: *takes bite of the hamburger* 10 seconds later: Superintendent: “despite the fact they are Obviously grilled” *shows whole burger, uneaten*
In episode 2F09, when Itchy plays Scratchy's skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe, that this is a magic xylophone, or something? Ha ha, boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.
Agree. Now it’s just a laughingstock of what it was. However, I continue watching it, because of Tress MacNeille. That woman was a very big part of my childhood. I can’t imagine the show without her. And I’ll make sure everyone gets hurt losing their childhood idol.
@@gokud.uzumaki1520 if you went blind you'd see he put it on the stove top. Not the oven the oven is the inside of machine. The top is called the stove you absolute dickwad
Memorised this whole scene as a kid, 20 years before any memes. Just an exquisitely crafted masterpiece of comedy. My fave bit now is that little aborted "uh..." Chalmers makes as he discovers Skinner sneaking out of his kitchen with the oven smoking.
The best part is how he doesn’t hesitate with Aurora Borealis but then has to think about his next answer when the superintendent asks if he can see it
I always wonder if Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria are actually aware of how much a cultural phenomenon this scene they worked on has become within the current modern age of the internet. It’s just too perfect. Even without the internet memes. This is gold.
