The Squirt and the Whale

Plot

After a huge electric bill, the Simpsons buy a wind turbine at an energy expo. The power company drains the extra electricity, so Homer takes the family off the grid. Without wind, they have no power. Homer plugs fans into Ned Flanders’ house to run the turbine, but Ned cuts the cords.

One night Bart spins the turbine by hand so Lisa can watch House; he prays for wind, and a violent storm hits. The next morning, Lisa and Bart find a beached blue whale. Lisa names her Bluella and begs her parents to help.

Marge warns that beached whales rarely survive, but Homer gets the townspeople to try moving Bluella. They fail. Lisa stays overnight, reading Whitman’s “The World Below the Brine” to the whale. She falls asleep and dreams the Marines rescue Bluella with helicopters. When she wakes, Bluella has died from dehydration.

Cultural references

In this episode, Bart writes on the chalkboard, "South Park - We'd stand beside you if we weren't so scared," a nod to the backlash against the South Park episodes "200" and "201" and the resulting threats to its creators. Comic Book Guy, wearing a corset, declares he is Captain Kirk from Star Trek I; as the corset loosens, he transforms into versions from Star Trek I, Star Trek II, Star Trek V, Star Trek Generations, and finally Boston Legal, all allusions to William Shatner.

Bart and Lisa play tennis on a "Funtendo Zii" console, a spoof of the Nintendo Wii. The episode's title riffs on the film The Squid and the Whale. The exploding whale carcass and subsequent debris shower recall the botched 1970s removal of the Florence whale using TNT.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "The Squirt and the Whale" was viewed by an estimated 5.94 million households and received an 18-49 Nielsen rating of 2.8 and an 8 share, coming second in its timeslot and the second most viewed and rated show on "Animation Domination" after a Family Guy rerun. The episode received positive reviews from critics. Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode 9.3/10, calling it "an absolute gem" and "hilarious and heartwarming," and concluding it was "the best episode of the season so far."

Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave it a B, stating it was "a really well done version of a story we've seen a number of times" but remarked it "tried too hard to push for a happy ending." Sharon Knolle of TV Squad gave a positive review, saying "Finally, a good -- maybe even great -- episode." Eric Goldman of IGN described the opening chalkboard gag as "a humorous one." Robert Canning of IGN in a review of the season named it one of the best episodes of the season tied with "The Bob Next Door." The episode was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production at the 38th Annie Awards.