The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace
The Simpsons, season 10, episode 2. First aired September 20, 1998. 135 moments of about ten seconds each: open one for its frame, what happens and what's said.
← Lard of the Dance Bart the Mother → The whole episode as text
About the episode
Learning that his life may be half over, a depressed Homer finds a new hero in Thomas Edison and leaves his job at the plant to try inventing. His gadgets, including a makeup shotgun and an electric hammer, flop until he designs a chair that cannot tip over, only to learn Edison built one first. Homer heads to New Jersey's Edison museum, intending to smash Edison's chair.
- Written by
- John Swartzwelder
- Directed by
- Mark Kirkland
- Chalkboard gag
I will not file frivolous lawsuits
- Couch gag
- Theatre
- Production code
- 5F21
The synopsis is our own. Credits and guest stars from Wikipedia and the Simpsons wiki.
Every moment
-
Bart Simpson writes lines on a classroom chalkboard that repeat "I will not file frivolous lawsuits"…
“The Simpsons”
0:00–0:12 -
Homer stands at a red counter under a CAUTION sign as a glowing green rod hovers beside him, while the frail…
0:12–0:24 -
Lisa Simpson plays saxophone in a school band room alongside identical twin girls in purple dresses playing…
0:24–0:38 -
Homer gestures and talks with his arm outstretched
“Excuse me. Excuse me.”
0:38–0:50 -
No regular characters are visible; the scene is an aerial view of a suburban street with a tall lattice radio…
“Hey, Springfield, if you're driving, you may want to sit down.”
0:50–0:56 -
In a radio studio behind glass with an ON AIR sign overhead, a woman with a ponytail and headphones works…
“Hey, Springfield, if you're driving, you may want to sit down.”
0:56–1:06 -
In a radio studio lined with shelves of binders, Troy McClure sits at a microphone beside an older man…
“Our topless story, President Clinton has launched a new website.”
1:06–1:16 -
Homer Simpson sits behind the wheel of a pink car, eating a sandwich and steering as he chews
“website.”
1:16–1:26 -
Homer Simpson drives his pink car on a highway, holding a hamburger in one hand and the wheel in the other…
“Doctors say the life expectancy of the average man is now 76.2 years.”
1:26–1:35 -
Homer sits behind the steering wheel of a purple car, first wide-eyed with a grimacing mouth, then slumping…
“76.2, but I'm already 38.1.”
1:35–1:44 -
Homer Simpson is on a road beside a pink car with its driver door hanging open, a lane marking painted…
“Half my life gone and I'm only guaranteed 38 more years.”
1:44–1:57 -
Homer Simpson stands on a roadside by a pole, holding a black phone to his ear while a pink car and a red car…
“What are you talking about, Marge? I don't need a...”
1:57–2:07 -
Homer sits on the edge of a bed with a Flo-branded sack beside him, while Marge stands at the foot of the bed…
“Wouldn't you rather have your sugar bag?”
2:07–2:12 -
Homer sits up in bed while Marge stands beside him in a pink bedroom with a lamp and a framed picture…
“I'm halfway to my grave and I haven't accomplished anything.”
2:12–2:21 -
Under a red-lettered arch reading "THE GRAVEYARD OF THE FUTURE," a procession of mourners in dark clothes…
“No, Homer wasn't a great man.”
2:21–2:31 -
A moustached man in a red cardinal-style cap and red cape over a black robe, holding a small book, stands…
“Nor even an adequate man. And he certainly never accomplished anything.”
2:31–2:40 -
Homer is tossed in the bed of a dump truck while a crowd of mourners in dark suits, a red-robed man…
“There goes a real sack of crap.”
2:40–2:51 -
Homer Simpson sits on the edge of a bed with a purple headboard in a pink bedroom while Marge stands…
“Oh, Marge, no matter what happens in the future, promise me you won't vote for Lenny.”
2:51–2:56 -
Homer sits on the edge of a red-covered bed holding a bag of flour labeled FLOUR, while Marge sits beside him…
“Okay, but you've accomplished a lot. You've made me very happy.”
2:56–3:06 -
Homer Simpson sits up in bed against a purple headboard in a pink bedroom, with a framed portrait of Bart…
“I've wasted half my life, Marge. You know how many memories I have?”
3:06–3:14 -
Homer and Marge sit on their bed in a pink bedroom, with a flour sack in Homer's lap and a clock…
“38 years and that's all I have to show for it.”
3:14–3:28 -
Homer enters a pink hallway through a front door while Lisa in her red dress walks beside him
“Hi, Dad, how was work?”
3:28–3:40 -
Homer Simpson enters a pink room decorated with blue streamers and balloons, carrying a grey toolbox…
“Oh, I see you're having a party. I'll come back later.”
3:40–3:51 -
Lisa stands in a decorated living room with balloons and garland, facing a projector screen on a stand
“The kids and I want to show you all the great things you've done.”
3:51–3:53 -
Homer sits in a maroon armchair in a blue room with a pink arch, balloons and a projector while Marge…
“The kids and I want to show you all the great things you've done.”
3:53–4:07 -
Homer lies strapped inside a cramped spacecraft cabin beside a can labeled BEER PASTE, grimacing and gaping…
“There you are in outer space.”
4:07–4:17 -
Homer sits in a plush chair in a blue room while Bart points at him and Lisa stands nearby, and the scene…
“Remember when you almost became heavyweight champ?”
4:17–4:30 -
Homer, Marge with her tall blue beehive, and baby Maggie in a blue bow are together in a blue bedroom…
“Finish him! Finish him! Well,”
4:30–4:41 -
Homer sits in a purple armchair in a blue room with a framed picture and a pink balloon, first laughing…
“Oh, I should have punted. Turn it off, turn it off.”
4:41–4:53 -
Homer sits against a pink and blue backdrop, his eyes wide and hands raised as his mouth hangs open…
“Your family has asked me to take time out for my busy schedule to invite you to a very”
4:53–5:03 -
Homer and Bart in an orange shirt stand with Lisa, in her red dress and pearl necklace, in a pink room…
“Oh, stupid movie. Who invented these dumb things anyway?”
5:03–5:14 -
Lisa stands at the left of a pink living room while Homer sits shirtless in a red armchair with his arms…
“I thought he invented the light bulb. That too.”
5:14–5:24 -
Lisa gestures and talks beside Homer, a bald, stubbled, shirtless man with arms crossed in a red armchair…
“It's true. I read it on a placemat at a restaurant.”
5:24–5:35 -
Bart stands atop a globe in a library, arms raised, while classmates crowd around: a pale-haired boy…
“Go! Top of the world, Ma!”
5:35–5:44 -
Homer Simpson sits cross-legged between shelves of colorful books in a library and holds up a blue hardcover…
“Dad, what are you doing here? I'm reading about this Edison character.”
5:44–5:56 -
Yellow hands hold a large open book in a Simpsons cartoon scene, and an elderly man with grey hair, a grey…
“The stock ticker, the storage battery, even wax paper.”
5:56–6:04 -
Homer sits at a library table with Bart, the spiky-haired boy in an orange shirt, who kneels on the chair…
“That's great, Dad.”
6:04–6:14 -
Homer Simpson sits at a library table holding up a Hardy Boys book, The Smugglers of Pirate Cove…
“No, not this one. The Smugglers of Pirate Cove.”
6:14–6:27 -
Moe, the grey-haired bartender, Barney, the heavy man with messy brown hair in a pink shirt, Ned Flanders…
“So, this broadstand's up in the ocean. And this big wave knocks a baiting suit off.”
6:27–6:39 -
Barney leans on the bar beside Lenny and Carl, a Black man in a lavender jacket, while grey-haired bartender…
“So anyway, this is the part you'll remember for the rest of your lives.”
6:39–6:48 -
Homer Simpson stands in front of a dark green wall with a purple-framed door on the left and a red and green…
“Once upon a time, there was a man named Thomas Edison,”
6:48–6:58 -
Homer stands behind the bar at Moe's tavern while Barney sleeps slumped over the counter in front of a row…
“repeating telegraph And he was a firm believer in Fletcherism and he played the organ and”
6:58–7:09 -
Moe stands at the bar with arms folded, then leans in and gestures with open hands while talking to two…
“ever wore pajamas and okay I think we've been polite long enough here Lenny.”
7:09–7:23 -
Homer stands at a bar beside Barney and Carl sits on a stool at the bar
“Well, I remember where Edison worked.”
7:23–7:36 -
Homer and Marge lie in a bed in a purple-lit bedroom with an alarm clock and a lamp on the nightstand
“And then he worked on a machine to communicate with the dead.”
7:36–7:44 -
Marge Simpson sits up in bed beside a purple lamp and a pink pillow, gesturing with her hands and making…
“Everyone knows the man accomplished a lot.”
7:44–7:55 -
Homer and Marge are in bed in a purple bedroom under a blue blanket, with a framed picture on the wall…
“Well, you're not Thomas Edison.”
7:55–8:09 -
Homer is nude and shirtless at an open window, first clutching a white garment and then gesturing…
“No more lousy pajamas.”
8:09–8:20 -
Homer Simpson arrives home at dusk in the family's pink car, which pulls into the driveway…
8:20–8:28 -
Maggie sits in a red high chair at a kitchen counter while Marge feeds her from a spoon
“Well, I quit my job just like you said to.”
8:28–8:38 -
Homer Simpson stands in a kitchen beside green cabinets, holding a red Duff beer can against his belly, first…
“You said I should quit my job and become an inventor or you'd torch the house.”
8:38–8:49 -
Homer holds a can and talks and gestures in the kitchen while Marge looks on and Maggie sits in a high chair…
“Not the way I quit.”
8:49–9:01 -
Homer is shown riding a brown horse-shaped token labeled ME, while a grey-haired man in a blue suit…
9:01–9:07 -
Homer stands at first with his fist raised to his chin, eyes wide and mouth open as he looks off to the side…
“At my age, Edison had already invented 203 things.”
9:07–9:15 -
Homer Simpson sits at a counter in a bare room with a sink, stacked cardboard boxes and a chalkboard, writing…
“Let's see now.”
9:15–9:23 -
Homer sits at the kitchen table with a pencil resting on a spiral notepad marked INVENTIONS, while Marge…
“Something electrical might be good.”
9:23–9:34 -
Homer Simpson sits at a wooden table while Marge Simpson stands behind him with her arms crossed
“You look at this table and what do you see?”
9:34–9:44 -
Marge stands in a laundry room beside a pink laundry basket and a purple sink, first with her arms crossed…
“Homer, that's not a table. That's our dryer.”
9:44–9:52 -
Homer Simpson sits on a wooden chair in a cluttered basement beside a folding table holding a notepad…
“Hmm. This isn't working.”
9:52–9:59 -
Homer Simpson sits on a wooden chair at a blue folding table in a cluttered basement, first slumped…
9:59–10:07 -
Homer Simpson stands in a cluttered basement room of stacked boxes and papers, first at a blue table…
10:07–10:12 -
Homer Simpson sits on a wooden chair in a plain room, smoking a cigar at a blue folding table…
“You started smoking, Dad?”
10:12–10:23 -
Homer Simpson sits on a wooden chair in a plain room, holding a notepad and a dark cigar-like object…
“Yes.”
10:23–10:34 -
Homer Simpson sits on a wooden chair holding a notepad and pencil while Lisa and Bart stand facing him…
“As long as you hear annoying me, let's have a brainstorming session.”
10:34–10:46 -
Lisa Simpson and Bart Simpson stand in a basement beside a black tire and a cardboard box of books
“original idea. Okay.”
10:46–10:55 -
Homer sits on a wooden chair in a basement holding a spiral notepad and pencil, then stands chewing…
“Fluorescent booger. Mm-hmm.”
10:55–11:07 -
Bart and Lisa climb a wooden staircase with a metal handrail while Marge follows behind them carrying a pink…
“Lazy father.”
11:07–11:16 -
Marge Simpson stands holding a pink tray with a plate and a glass of milk, while Homer Simpson sits…
“Homer, you can't punish the children just because you can't come up with an idea.”
11:16–11:24 -
Marge Simpson stands beside a stairway in a green dress, carrying a pink tray with a tuna sandwich…
“Hmm. I brought you a tuna sandwich.”
11:24–11:37 -
Homer climbs unsteadily up a wooden staircase in a dim, unfinished basement while Marge watches from the right
“You stay here and guard my sandwich.”
11:37–11:43 -
Homer carries a tall stack of books while a thin, bespectacled man in a white lab coat, bow tie and pink…
“And these should give you the grounding you'll need in thermodynamics,”
11:43–11:50 -
Homer Simpson hugs a towering stack of books and binders in a cluttered laboratory with green walls, purple…
“hypermathematics, and of course, microcalifragilisticex.”
11:50–11:57 -
A thin man with glasses, a white lab coat, a blue bow tie and pink trousers stands beside Homer, who hugs…
“All you have to do is think of things that people need, but which don't exist yet.”
11:57–12:05 -
A bespectacled scientist with spiky light-brown hair, a white lab coat and a blue bow tie stands in a lab…
“Oh, well, possibly.”
12:05–12:14 -
Homer holds a tall stack of books labeled PHYSICS while a bespectacled scientist in a white lab coat, blue…
“Well, I suppose that would qualify.”
12:14–12:24 -
A bespectacled yellow-skinned scientist in a white lab coat, blue bow tie and red-banded headphones…
“These babies will be in the stores while he's still grappling with the pickle matrix.”
12:24–12:35 -
Homer saws a board on a workbench in a cluttered attic, then welds with a glowing torch while wearing a dark…
12:35–12:45 -
Homer writes Ω < 1 in chalk on a blackboard covered with circuit diagrams, then a glowing, smoke-wreathed…
12:45–12:56 -
Bart, Marge holding baby Maggie, and Lisa sit or stand behind a white-draped table in the pink living room…
“First, my all-purpose electric hammer for all your pounding needs.”
12:56–13:09 -
Homer Simpson stands in the pink living room holding a hammer and hitting at the wall, shouting as small…
“First, my all-purpose electric hammer for all your pounding needs.”
13:09–13:21 -
Homer is on his stomach on a teal carpet in the living room, pounding a nail with a hammer near a purple…
“Probably needs to be more powerful.”
13:21–13:28 -
Homer Simpson stands in a pink room with bullet holes in the wall beside a doorway
“Now, here's my Everything's OK alarm.”
13:28–13:39 -
Homer Simpson stands in the pink living room holding up a grey smoke detector near a wall with bullet holes…
“Turn it off, Homer.”
13:39–13:50 -
Homer Simpson stands in a pink room beside a wooden cabinet and a wall-mounted blue oval fixture…
“Now this next one's for the ladies.”
13:50–14:01 -
Homer Simpson stands in a pink room beside a wooden cabinet and a blue chair, gesturing and talking as he…
“That's every woman's nightmare. That's why I invented this revolutionary makeup gun.”
14:01–14:10 -
Homer Simpson aims a double-barreled shotgun at Marge, whose tall blue beehive is smeared with makeup…
“And now you're ready for a night on the town.”
14:10–14:22 -
Homer aims a shotgun in a pink living room, firing a blast of blue, red and tan paint that splatters…
“Oh, look what you did. Now I have to go get my cold cream gun.”
14:22–14:34 -
Homer Simpson stands in the pink living room in front of the brick fireplace, with framed family portraits…
“In the olden times, if you were watching TV and nature calls,”
14:34–14:45 -
Homer stands beside a brown recliner whose seat has a round hole cut in it, gesturing toward it…
“But now, with a lazy man reclining toilet chair,”
14:45–14:54 -
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are in the pink living room beside a brown recliner, with a framed family…
“Sure.”
14:54–15:02 -
Homer Simpson and Marge Simpson stand talking in a pink living room beside a framed picture of vases…
“Homer, all these inventions, they're... Yes?”
15:02–15:12 -
Marge Simpson holds baby Maggie, who sucks a pacifier and wears a blue bow, in a pink room with a red arched…
“I'm not saying you're a bad inventor.”
15:12–15:25 -
Homer Simpson stands in a pink room beside a blue cabinet with a framed photo of himself, looking at a white…
“But this is the best I could do.”
15:25–15:35 -
Marge Simpson stands in the living room holding baby Maggie, who sucks a pacifier and wears a blue bow…
“Oh dear.”
15:35–15:46 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie in her high chair, and Bart sit around the dining table in the pink kitchen dining…
“All week, my lifelong dream was to be the next Thomas Edison.”
15:46–15:54 -
Homer Simpson stands at the kitchen counter beside the green refrigerator, which has a heart-and-envelope…
“I guess I'll just give up my hopes and dreams and settle for being a decent husband and”
15:54–16:08 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Bart sit at a dining table in a pink room, with Homer in a white shirt and blue pants…
“I stuck a couple extra legs on there because I kept tipping over when I was trying to”
16:08–16:20 -
Bart stands against a pink wall beside a purple dresser topped with an orange bowl, first looking wide-eyed…
“Oh, yeah.”
16:20–16:24 -
Marge, with her tall blue beehive and green dress, Lisa in her red-beaded pearl necklace and white pearls…
“I did it! I'm gonna be rich!”
16:24–16:38 -
Homer stands before an Inventions board beside a poster of an elderly white-haired man seated at a desk…
“Look, Mr. Edison, I did it! I'm an inventor, and I owe it all to you!”
16:38–16:44 -
Homer Simpson sits on a red wooden chair in a cluttered storeroom stacked with cardboard boxes and piles…
“Look, Mr. Edison, I did it! I'm an inventor, and I owe it all to you!”
16:44–16:55 -
Homer Simpson sits on a red wooden chair in a cluttered basement, first gripping his hair and grimacing…
“Ah!”
16:55–17:07 -
Bart and Homer stand in a room with a framed Edison poster and an INVENTIONS chart on the wall, the chart…
“If Edison thought of that chair, how come it's not on this chart?”
17:07–17:19 -
Homer stands in a storeroom lined with stacked boxes and a red fire extinguisher, first gesturing, clenching…
“So we've got to go to the Edison Museum and smash it.”
17:19–17:31 -
Marge Simpson cleans a mailbox with a sponge from a bucket beside a pink car on a suburban street
“Yeah, hell damn fart.”
17:31–17:43 -
Homer and Bart ride together in a pink car driving down a dark highway at night under a full moon, with Homer…
“Man, I can't wait to smash that chair.”
17:43–17:55 -
Homer Simpson sits behind the steering wheel of a purple car at night, gripping the wheel with both hands…
“You know, he started a mushroom farm and an auto parts company,”
17:55–18:03 -
Homer Simpson sits at the wheel of the family car at night, grinning, smirking and raising his eyebrows as he…
“Oh, and later he raised turkeys. That was on his turkey farm.”
18:03–18:11 -
Homer Simpson sits at the wheel of a pink car on a wooded road, his eyes drooping and head nodding as he…
“By smashing my chair, you're only hurting yourself.”
18:11–18:24 -
Homer Simpson grips the wheel of a car on a night road lined with trees and a guardrail, grimacing as he…
“By smashing my chair, you're only hurting yourself.”
18:24–18:34 -
An elderly man in a brown coat, unnamed in the scene, is first seen crawling on a dark night road…
“I'll get you, you fat lunatic!”
18:34–18:44 -
Homer and a small Bart in an orange shirt appear in a scene that starts with a pink car driving…
“All right!”
18:44–18:53 -
Homer and Bart stand outdoors at dusk in front of a red brick factory, with Homer talking while Bart raises…
“All right!”
18:53–19:04 -
A uniformed tour guide in a khaki shirt, brown tie, wide-brimmed hat, and a green badge marked GUIDE stands…
“Okay, then.”
19:04–19:15 -
A tour group in a wood-panelled hall with balconies, including a woman with orange-red hair, an elderly woman…
“That's very good.”
19:15–19:27 -
A tour group of one-off characters stands in a wood-panelled hall: a woman with orange-red hair in a red…
“Ordinarily, folks, tour groups are not allowed to see it.”
19:27–19:36 -
A tour guide in a grey hat and khaki uniform with a GUIDE badge gestures toward a door marked GIFT SHOP…
“Now, no tour would be complete without a visit to Edison's Boyhood gift shop.”
19:36–19:48 -
A woman in a pink dress and matching pink hat stands at a shop counter beneath lightbulb-themed T-shirts…
19:48–19:56 -
Homer and Bart Simpson are in a laboratory-like room with a large orange wooden counter, shelves of jars…
“Now let's take care of business.”
19:56–20:03 -
Homer, Bart, and Mr. Burns are in a gift shop with a red rope barrier and a GIFT SHOP sign on the wall
“Either way, this is one invention you're not getting credit for, you inspiration hog.”
20:03–20:13 -
Homer stands in a wood-paneled room with red walls and framed pictures
“Invent your way out of this, Edison.”
20:13–20:26 -
Homer and Bart stand before a framed INVENTIONS chart on an orange wall, with two timelines labeled ME and DA…
“Look, Stun.”
20:26–20:36 -
Homer first stands over an elderly thin man in a tan suit and bow tie, grey hair at the sides, who is…
“This old-timey nerd and I have suffered the same frustration and heartache.”
20:36–20:44 -
Homer leans over the back of a seated elderly man in a tan suit and bow tie, gesturing with one arm…
“We're just a couple of dreamers who set the bar a little too high.”
20:44–20:52 -
Bart stands in a wood-panelled office beside Homer and the seated, thin, grey-haired Mr. Burns in a tan suit…
“Can I? No, but we'll stop off at the Da Vinci Museum on the way home.”
20:52–21:03 -
Bart and Homer watch a purple television in a pink living room with a striped rug
“Authorities say the phony pope can be recognized by his high-top sneakers and”
21:03–21:13 -
Homer and Bart sit side by side on a red couch in front of a pink wall and a framed sailboat picture; Homer…
“is apparently still inventing, despite the notable handicap of being dead.”
21:13–21:26 -
Homer, Bart, and Marge stand on a pink-walled room with Marge holding baby Maggie, who has a pacifier…
“And even more astounding, an electric hammer.”
21:26–21:39 -
A man with grey hair at the sides in a teal polo and a woman with short reddish hair, pink sweater…
“This brilliant innovation is expected to generate millions for Edison's already wealthy”
21:39–21:53 -
No Simpsons characters appear in this moment; it is a black title card sequence with no people on screen
21:53–22:02 -
The moment is a plain black screen with yellow-orange credit text centered on it
“Thank you.”
22:02–22:11 -
A black closing credits sequence with no people on screen
22:11–22:20 -
No characters appear in this sequence; it is a black end-credits roll of The Simpsons
22:20–22:29 -
No Simpsons characters appear; the moment is a black end-credits sequence
“Shh.”
22:29–22:38 -
A dark theater with a row of silhouetted audience members in the foreground, including a large figure…
“Shh.”
22:38–22:48
Who's in it
Bart Simpson, Homer Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Marge Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Moe Szyslak, Grampa Simpson, Ned Flanders, Barney Gumble, Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Kent Brockman, Lewis Clark, Wendell Borton, Richard, Professor Frink, Sophie Jensen, Buck-toothed girl, Marty, Emilie Mercer, Bill, Dad, Edison Museum Tour Guide, Son, Thomas Edison
Everyone who appears in it, from the Simpsons wiki. Every character