So… it’s fair to say that the 2015 TSTO Holiday Event was a smorgasbord of goodness that could be added into our beloved towns. The kind of additions that inevitably will lead to tappers calling for more land (although somehow I still have plenty). Of course, not everything comes from the show and sometimes items are original. But how original are they? This is precisely what I sought to find out with the following items. Fair warning… this post is a bit of a Wookiee ramble but you might be interested in the origin stuff my random ADHD-ness discovered. (Also possibly discovered a squirrel or too lol.)
SO this whole post begins with a search for the ski chalet. It looks so familiar to me (Note: this happens sometimes more than I’d like and I can get quite goofy trying to find some things that elude me and Bunny’s knowledge). I must admit I looked all over for the ski chalet. I first checked out “Little Big Mom” (S11:E10) because that’s the most well-known skiing episode but other than the beauty of Flanders feeling like he’s wearing nothing at all… the ski retreat our favorite family goes to looks different than the blue one we could craft.
I then decided to head to “Mountain of Madness” (S8:E12). No ski retreats in this episode but I did actually find a ski lift that looks more like the item that came with Stupid Sexy Flanders than the one I referenced in my original WDTCF about Flanders snowsuit. When Marge can’t find Bart and Lisa in the Mt. Useful Visitors Center, the park ranger takes her to the chairlift for “an eagle eye view of the area below the chair lift”.
Of course, I wasn’t prepared to give up on the ski chalet so I looked one more time in “Double, Double, Boy in Trouble” (S20:E3) when our favorite family went to Aspen. This possibility occurred to me after I’d taken a break to write up other origin posts. Of course the ski lodge in this episode looks different too but I do love Homer rolling down the black diamond ski trail in a giant snowball with Bart.
It’s little moments like this that get my creative juices working in a different way. The ski chalet definitely looks like a Swiss home IMHO but for now, I’m done looking for it. Odds are if it exists, I’ll find it next round of origin posts when it’s too late, write myself a note and never get back to it. Jebus knows the file I use for all my post ideas/info is currently 13 pages long. Of course, all this gallivanting around episodes for origins (don’t get me wrong, I love and enjoy watching the Best. Show. Ever. whenever possible) got me wondering if it’d be fun to point out some possible origin ideas for different item from the 2015 TSTO Holiday Event. I decided it could be a neat post so I went ahead with it. There’s a few different things I think bear striking similarities to new items.
I mentioned Homer in a giant snowball in the Aspen episode and that got me thinking about the giant snowman from Act One. While it didn’t ring any bells for this walking carpet, I had fun building it. I especially like it with the scaffolding showing. Of course, when I first saw the load screen and started building the snowman, the first thing I thought of was a different giant pile of snow from “White Christmas Blues” (S25:E8). When Springfield ends up as the only town in the U.S. with snow, normal snowman making happens.
RIght after this is seen, Mayor Quimby happens across Wiggum who bent down to pick up a piece of candy and rolled down a hill. “You always think it’s the other guy that’ll turn into a giant snowball, never you. Have you seen Lou?” “There’s snow (breath)… in my lungs (breath).” “A lot of attitude in that hand Lou… a lot of attitude.” A few different items from this episode made it into our games so I wonder if Wiggum’s snowball might have inspired a designer or two?
That pile of snow would definitely make a great base for the giant one we have now. I’m probably one of the only people who thought of Lou trapped forever while it was being built. But what about the giant snowman? In the TV Series, there’s the Simpsons snowpeople and the Fever Cabin Snowmen we’ve discussed in previous origin posts. Maybe this one is just plainly the Best. Snowman. Ever. to parody Comic Book Guy? I guess if I was voting for best snowmen ever though, I’d have to pick the two from “Mr. Plow” (S4:E9). Any Raiders of the Lost Ark reference is gonna win my vote hands down. Why do I really want the giant one to melt just like this come TSTO Spring?
I bet there’s a bunch of folks ready for the snow melt in TSTO too. Next up… an easy one… Uncle Moe’s Exotic Petting Zoo from Act II of the event. While this one is a unique item, anyone who has seen “Bart Sells His Soul” (S7:E4) would recognize this particular brand of Moe goodness. Seems Moe is one bartender who knows when a brand works. Even when the Zoo was vandalized by Cletus, it had a callback to that episode. I just wish the vandalized versions were options for each one.
While I didn’t even bother with watching the show for the Fortress of Lonelitude, hopefully there are enough geeks here to realize this is a parody of Superman’s icy refuge, the Fortress of Solitude. I chose to show an image from the 2006 Infinite Crisis comic book series and one from Smallville which was one of my guilty pleasures for a long time.
My geek flag was flying high when I first saw this. Superman is my oldest kiddo’s favorite. Of course, lest we forget, we learned in “My Big Fat Geek Wedding” (S15:E17) that CBG has a Superman tattoo on his buttock. Now he just has a fortress to rest said buttock on when he’s in your game.
But that’s not the only fancy ice structure this event brought us. What about the fancy igloo? Honestly, I have no clue but I did laugh when my brain pan remembered this little piece of Simpsons funniness from “Adventures in Baby-Getting” (S24:E3). Remember The Nook of the North, an Ice Place to Visit? It’s right across the street from the Museum of Christmas Ornaments on Historic Route 33. I crafted a couple igloos and am presently pretending it is this place lol. For the record, this is the second holiday event I’ve wanted that museum and not gotten it. Maybe next year.
Coincidence that this motel happens to be in an episode with a Christmas item… I think not. Sure it’s not as fancy but igloos are hard to come by in this show. Bonus: The igloo motel is also a great place to mistake your husband for a stuffed walrus. C’mon Marge… you really think Homer lost weight?
I guess I should point out there are igloos among the robotic kiddos of The Little Land of Duff in “Selma’s Choice” (S4:E13). These aren’t fancy either and I’d have forgotten them if I wasn’t working on more than one post at the same time.
Last up… R.O.S.A aka the Robotic Offspring-Sitting Automaton. While I read through different forums that she was original, I figured this must come from the Jetson parody in “My Fare Lady” (S26:E14). Of course, there’s no Rosie in the segment but Bender and some other robots showed up. I think the mommy robot on the left looks like Rosie.
I guess you could count seeing Rosie from The Jetsons in “Replaceable You” (S23:E4) if you wanted. A clip of the show is seen when Frink and the nerds reprogram the Robopets to escape jail. “Mr. J., if I don’t get my green card, they’re gonna turn me into a washing machine.”
The true origin is the new cut scene that came with he appearance. So that’s really it my friends. Just some random thoughts from me about some of the different items in the Holiday Event that I didn’t cover as Where Did THAT Come Froms for what should be obvious reasons. I will say, if any of you know origins for any of this, please chime in. While I do have a vast knowledge of this silly cartoon which I adore, I am by no means perfect. Trust me when I say all this origin nonsense is a labor of love. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the event despite any hiccups or issues. I really thought it was swell. Stay classy and much love from the fuzzball.
TTFN… Wookiee out!