Mad Men of Springfield: Dewey Largo

Welcome to another new addition to Addicts, the Mad Men of Springfield. We will be going into depth on the history and background of the male species running around our lil towns as well as those not yet in the game.

Just think about it. What Man living in Springfield is “normal”? Not a single one that I can think of. They all have at least ONE thing wrong with them. Seriously! Think about it. How many issues does Moe have? A Reverend a “little” obsessed with trains? An owner of a Kwik-E-Mart that goes to counseling with the same person that robs him, on a daily basis? Not to mention the “inbreeding” and other strange happenings going on at the farm. Oh the idiosyncrasies.

So sit back, relax, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy as we kram your brains with some Simpson knowledge of the MAD MEN OF SPRINGFIELD.

“My country tis of thee
My job is misery
Life disappointed me
I’m 53”
(Season 22, E1 “Elementary School Musical”)

In this weeks episode, let’s talk about a character fairly new to our games but someone who shouldn’t be new to you.  Someone you see in just about every episode of the Simpsons.  One of the newest premium characters to enter our silly little games.

I am talking about none other than Dewey Largo

 So how did he end up in our games? Where in the Simpsons TV world did he appear? Why is he so bitter? Well that’s look…

Dewey Largo is probably best known as he conducts the Springfield Elementary Orchestra in almost every episode of the Simpsons.  Yes, that’s him conducting Lisa has she plays the sax out of the class room in the opening sequence.  But there’s more to Largo’s madness than just a job that’s made him miserable, he’s also had a life that’s disappointed him over and over.  Let’s explore a few of those maddening moments.

In order to see what’s made the man, we have to first take a look and see what shaped his youth.  Dewey has had a life filled with disappointments and bad luck.  We find out about a chunk of this bad luck in Season 17 E12, “Homer’s Paternity Coot”, when the top of Mount Springfield melts and a mail carrier is discovered.  The mail carrier has been frozen at the top of Mount Springfield for over 40 years & when found they discovered a mailbag full of 40 year old letters.  When Kent Brockman reports on the story he reads one of those letters on the air. The letter was addressed to Dewey and the good news…he got into Julliard.  The bad news?  He found out 40 years too late.

Imagine how different Dewey’s life would have been if he gotten that letter 40 years earlier?  He could have gone to Julliard and been first chair in the Cincinnati Orchestra, instead of a miserable music teacher at Springfield Elementary. Instead of course he hears of this news while attempting to remove a tuba from Ralph’s head!

So perhaps Largo’s feelings of rejection from Julliard as a teenager led to his bitterness as an adult.  Or maybe we have to dig a little deeper & go a little further back into Largo’s past.  Back to his own Elementary School Days….

In Season 22 E1, “Elementary School Musical”, we learn that Largo attended the Expressions Performing Arts Camp as a child.  Despite the dreams they fill you with while at the camp, many (including Largo) soon realize it’s just a place where “people will you with fake dreams.”  Perhaps an indication that Dewey has been experiencing dreams being crushed since a young child.  Or even better yet, perhaps this is the place that setup his life of misery and failure.  (although nothing plum wine & Vanilla Wafers won’t cure 😉 )

Despite being a miserable madman he does have a few moments of happiness it seems, of course it follows massive rejection.  A perfect example of this comes from Season 22 E11, “Flaming Moe”.  Dewey is first rejected by the bouncer at the League of Extra Horny Gentlemen club, he won’t let him into the club because he’s not “fit” enough.  However, he finds his way over to Moe’s new bar, Mo’s, and meets a man.  The next time we see him he’s floating on cloud 9.  Leaves his job & runs away with his new boyfriend, also named Dewey.  Rejection followed by happiness.

Of course with 25 Seasons of The Simpsons and Dewey being a character introduced very early on, there are many many more instances of rejection & misery for Dewey in the show (like when he was a worse Groundskeeper than he is a music teacher, Season 17 E12, “My Fair Laddy”).  However, with so many examples I had to narrow it down to just a few, a few that I thought had the most impact on shaping Dewey’s character.

A once talented musician just trying to do his job, despite being miserable.  Once of Dewey’s best features on the show is his great facial expressions.  He’s got many faces when it comes to showing his pain and misery, and I think EA captured many of them brilliantly in TSTO.  What do you think?

So now that we’ve gotten to know Dewey the man, let’s take a look at Dewey the TSTO Character.  He joined our games via the Level 40 update as the premium character including with Miss. Hoover.  It’s only natural that he comes with the Lotto ‘N’ Liquor store and costs 150 donuts.  You can check out his hilarious questline, that perfectly shows his misery, in our Walkthrough post here.  So let’s take a look at how his tasks line up with his character:

Dewey Largo’s Tasks

There you have it…the man, the myth, the legend….Dewey Largo.  Ok so maybe he’s not all those things…but hey it sounded like a great way to wrap things up. 🙂

What do YOU think of Mr. Largo?  Did you make the purchase?  What are your thoughts on his personality?  Sound off in the comments below, you know we LOVE hearing from you!