In our silly lil game, we sometimes see things pop in that we have no clue as to their Origin. They seem familiar, but we just can’t pinpoint from where. So that is why we decided to make a fun lil reminder out of it. To let you know just Where Did THAT Come From?
So the snow melted and the green blinds us. WHat to do now but wait for the next event. I have to say I really liked the 2015 TSTO Holiday Event especially because of all the amazing things that came with it. It’s time again for me to dip into my noggin of Simpsons info and write about my favorite show. This post will go over the 4th prize from Act III of the 2015 TSTO Holiday Event that was earned by collecting 27400 Pacifiers/Binkies/Nuks/Soothers/Dummies/ Chupas… Baby Gerald. I’m so happy that EA not only decided to finally give us Maggie as a Christmas present but realized it only made sense to also give us the chance to earn her nemesis, Gerald. Honestly, he’s just one of those babies that you think of with Maggie. Obviously the writer’s feel this way too since Gerald found his way permanently into the HD intro that debuted with “Take My Life Please” (S20:E10) on February 15, 2009.
I also pointed out some sweet appearances by him in “The Longest Daycare”, a 2012 Academy Award-Nominated animated short, and in the couch gag for “Moonshine River” (S24:E1). I talked more about them in the origin for the Ayn Rand School for Tots but both revolve around Gerald wanting to kill butterflies and Maggie trying to save them.
Of course I can’t miss a chance to share the clip of the animated short again. Such a great piece of animation.
Of course, Gerald was a fixture in the show well before any of these appearances and even before the HD intro. I thought it might be fun to take a gander at a bunch of these. His first appearance was in “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song” (S5:E19). Bart brings Santa’s Little Helper to school which results in Principal Skinner getting fired. Bart ends up befriending Skinner but eventually Seymour decides to rejoin the Army. Bart ends up missing not only his friend but also his old principal/enemy. Lisa explains it well. “I think you need Skinner, Bart. Everybody needs a Nemesis. Sherlock Holmes had his Doctor Moriarty. Mountain Dew has its Mellow Yellow. Even Maggie has that baby with the one eyebrow.”
Thus we are introduced to the unibrow baby who we now know as Baby Gerald. We don’t have to wait long to see him again either. He’s right back in “Lady Bouvier’s Lover” (S5:E21). It’s Maggie’s birthday but no other babies were invited. “Maggie doesn’t seem to get along with the other babies.”
Could the blonde lady be Gerald’s mommy? I’m gonna go with no because of other episodes. One thing is for certain… Maggie doesn’t like him and the feeling appears mutual. Our next Gerald appearance is in “The Canine Mutiny” (S8:E20). Bart buys a Collie using a credit card he got using his other dog’s name… one Santos L. Halper. Laddie is a good dog… some (like Homer) might even call him a super dog. He fetches fruit, does back flips, can use the toilet, and later rescues Gerald and earns a medal. “Thank you Laddie for your heroic rescue… and baby Gerald, we can’t help but wonder what mischief you’ll get into next.”
So now the unibrow baby has a name and his mom has black hair. The blonde was definitely a babysitter and the rest as they say is… well more cartoon episodes. “The Joy of Sect” (S9:E13) is a fun episode involving the Movementarians and Gerald appears in it also. Although we don’t see them, his family must have also wanted to take an intergalactic vehicle to Blisstonia with The Leader. The Movementarian Compound includes daycare and a purple dinosaur. “We love him, he loves we, we’re the Leader’s family.”
In “Last Tap Dance in Springfield” (S11:E20), Homer’s eyesight has gotten bad. He’s sitting really close to the TV and at Eye Carumba, an eyeglasses shop in the Springfield Mall, he mistakes Baby Gerald for Maggie. This is also another glimpse of Gerald’s mom. She has a unibrow just like him in this one. In “Children of a Lesser Clod” (S12:E20), Homer tears his anterior cruciate ligament and can’t use his leg for two weeks but discovers he actually likes watching children that aren’t his and starts his own daycare center in his house. Lots of people take advantage of his baby prison including Gerald’s parents. No sighting of said parents in this episode.
The babies of Springfield become addicted to Roofi in “Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays” (S15:E8). Probably the only time a sentence similar to that can be okay in a blog post lol. Roofi of course is a singer but unfortunately, the sold-out concert is rained on during the Teletubbies custard eating, the babies all get fussy and the whole affair ends in disaster. Kent Brockman reports on the outrage caused by the bad babies at Cletus’ Farm… one million dollars of damage… ouch. The file footage used for the Tot Offensive is none other than Maggie and Gerald. Gerald is also on hand later when all the kiddos give their childhood germs to the singles trying to vote on Prop 242.
Another Gerald appearance comes when Santa’s Little Helper becomes a police K9 in “Stop or My Dog Will Shoot!” (S18:E20). SLH is none too shabby at his job. He chases down a drug dealing Snake to a playground and thwarts his escape. Gerald is on hand to shovel sand on top of the unconscious criminal.
In “Papa Don’t Leech” (S19:E16), the Simpson family lets Lurleen Lumpkin stay with them after they discover she’s washed up and broke, Lurleen sings about her deadbeat Daddy. Maggie dials up on her toy phone and shares the song with none other than Gerald. I guess in baby world, the toy phones can communicate with each other since in “Walking Big & Tall” (S26:E13), the same thing happens. Remember the town anthem shenanigans in that episode? Both former mayor Moleman and Pharrell Williams got sent out of town on horses but the good news was that Lisa and Bart wrote a great new town song that is now stuck in my head… again… thanks Gerald (menacing stare). When Bart and Lisa were working on “Why Springfield? Why Not?”, Maggie called up Gerald on her busy box. Apparently Gerald is a friend she shares music with AND her nemesis.
Our next Gerald sighting is in “Pranks and Greens” (S21:E6) during a playdate at the Simpson home Gerald and his Mom are part of the Mid-day mommies. Where else can you sing songs to teach babies not to poop in the tub? Gerald’s mom has her unibrow again… good for her.
While not a real appearance, the very end of “The Blue and the Gray” (S22:E13), a Valentine’s Day-ish episode, ends with Homer and Marge kissing in a heart shaped window as Maggie and Gerald cupids fly around, battle, and then wind up smooching themselves.
Not sure if it counts as a Gerald appearance but towards the beginning of “The Kid is All Right” (S25:E6), Maggie makes an effigy of Gerald with her Play-(Annoyed Grunt). Too funny. What does count though is Gerald appearing later in “Married to the Blob” (S25:E10). His unibrow appears in the trippy Hayao Miyazaki- inspired scene with Homer and Kumiko’s dad. I’m not terribly familiar with all of the Studio Ghibli work so can’t tell you which character he’s supposed to be but it’s funny. Also possible that this counts as much as the effigy.
For now, the anime clip is still up on Animation Domination so enjoy!
But Gerald’s just a baby. Doesn’t he have a whole future ahead of him? Well yes and no considering on your viewpoint of aging in The Simpsons but in “Days of Future Future” (S25:18) he does make an appearance. Apparently Maggie and him aren’t just rivals throughout their lifetime… at some point they decided to date. Is this awkward to anyone else? I think Mags could do much better.
In “My Fare Lady” (S26:E14), Marge has a ton of errands to do with no help from Homer including three birthday parties. One of them is Gerald’s first birthday. If you take a close look at the list in this image, Sherri and Teri decided to have separate parties. Gerald’s was at 2:30 PM. Also a shot of both his mom and dad. Apparently Gerald gets his distinctive eyebrow from both Mom and Dad.
Gerald’s most recent appearance I’ll mention is in one of the most recent episodes of the show in “Barthood” (S27:E9). If you read the episode recap you probably remember one of the promo images in it but if not, there’s a scene in the episode in the future. Bart and Lisa attend Milhouse’s high school graduation party before Milly is off to flight attendant school. Among the attendees though is Gerald, still goofy looking with his unibrow but apparently dating one Maggie Simpson.
So what started out as two nemesis resulted in possible friendship and if we are to believe the future episodes, possible romance? There are many stories of friends becoming enemies and vice versa. Maybe it’s just appropriate to describe Gerald as Maggie Simpson’s frenemy? Baby playdates may account for their passing friendliness. I think I’ll stick to the rivalry of “The Longest Daycare” and make the two fight for 60 minutes at a time.
What do you think of Baby Gerald? Did you earn him in Act III? Got an appearance you love that I didn’t mention? Do you think Mags and him will be a couple in the future? Sound off in the comments and happy skyfingering friends.
TTFN… Wookiee out!