Original air date: 4/23/2006
Production code: HABF-11
When the Simpsons' plans for a nice family outing at the Frying Dutchman turn into a dining disaster, the family try to salvage the night by telling three tales of disasters at sea, of the Mayflower, the mutiny on the Bounty, and a Poseidon–esque adventure.
Tropes:
- Anachronism Stew: During the Mutiny on the Bounty story, a native asks the Bounty's crew if Robert Fulton already invented the steamboat and someone tells her it won't take long.
- Bad Boss: Capt. Bligh mistreats his crew by cutting off their water supply and dumping their mail into the sea. Following their vacation in Tahiti, he demands the crew to forget about the good times they had in Tahiti and forced them to sing in-a-round while whacking them with his sword to keep them singing. He even made a suggestion box out of the head of the subordinate who came up with the idea of it (Martin Prince); even the bullies themselves were disgusted about this as they lampshade it to Bligh during the mutiny.
- Bait-and-Switch: Lisa convinces Marge to save Homer from the authorities after she sees him praying to God. Then it turns out that Homer is praying for the family be murdered.
- Beyond the Impossible:
- Burn the Witch!: Invoked in the Mayflower segment:Bart: When we landed, I was going to denounce my sister as a witch.Lisa: I keep telling you, the ability to add two digit numbers is not witchcraft!Bart: Thirty one plus forty three?Lisa: Seventy four.Crowd: Witch! Witch! Witch!Homer: People, this is madness! We can burn the witch later!
- Changing the Majority: Homer and Marge are depicted as native Tahitian's in the second story
- Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: Bligh threatens to make the turtle he's marooned on into soup if it doesn't swim faster.
- Diabolus ex Machina: At the end of the Poseidon story, just when the survivors are about to rescued, the blowtorch from the rescue worker sets Sideshow Mel on fire. He even lampshades the irony.
- Dirty Coward: Bligh seems to be one—he mistreats his crew at every chance he gets, but the second they all mutiny against him, he's obviously very scared and at a loss for words. When Willie states that he can't sing in-a-round by himself, Bligh attempts to invoke this on Willie for that, only for an angry Willie to throw Bligh off the boat in retaliation.
- The Dog Bites Back: Combined with Rule of Three —
- Bligh severely mistreats the crew of the Bounty and sure enough, just as Willie predicted, a furious Bart leads the crew to revolt against him.
- After Bligh and Willie are cast off in a boat, Bligh mistreats Willie, who furiously revolts against him by taking the boat for himself and leaving Bligh on a turtle.
- When Bligh tries ordering the turtle he's on to swim faster, the turtle furiously dives down to the sea, taking Bligh with him.
- Dwindling Party: Several members of the surviving party of the SS Neptune die in their attempt to escape such as Lenny falling to his death, Comicbook Guy drowned and Sideshow Mel being burnt alive.
- Everyone Has Standards: The Puritans in "Mayflower Madman" are, unusually, shown in a light that makes them look very screwed-up by a typical modern viewer's standards, but the "Moe" character warns Marge in so many words that he is still counted as a bad husband.
- Despite their bullying behavior towards Martin Prince during the voyage, Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney expressed their disgust towards Captain Bligh for murdering Martin and using his head as a suggestion box.
- Felony Misdemeanor: In "Mayflower Madman," Homer is wanted by the royal guards because he dared question why the current era is named the "Jacobean Era" when the current ruler of England is named James and not Jacob.note
- Forgotten Framing Device: While the Simpsons are waiting for their meals at the Frying Dutchman, a seafood restaurant, Marge, Bart, and Homer each tell a story with a nautical theme. The episode ends at the end of Homer's story and we don't see the Simpsons at the conclusion of the story.
- Ghost Pirates: At the end of the episode, the crew from the second segment appear and turn out to have become a skeleton crew (presumably as a Shout-Out to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl).
- Historical In-Joke: The Moai heads are shown to be a guy named Lord Uglyface being dissatisfied with his likeness and demanding more statues until the sculptor gets it right.
- Insult Backfire: When told that he eats dolphin boogers, Capt. Bligh shrugs and admits that it might happen when one eats dolphins as often as he does.
- I Warned You: Willie does this to Bligh after the crew mutinies thanks to Bligh's mistreatment towards them. Bligh shrugs it off.Willie: (angrily to Bligh) I WARNED ya there be mutiny!
Captain Bligh: (annoyed and embarrassed) Just start rowing, Willie. And sing-a-round while you do! - Jerkass: Bligh is a big one, as he is a Bad Boss and thus performs a Kick the Dog at every opportunity, and even after the crew mutinies, he's still a jerk to Willie, who leaves him on the back of the turtle, who furiously dives down to the sea.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Willie has no support for the crew, he rightfully warns Bligh that mistreating the crew will drive them to mutiny, which is exactly what happens thanks to Bligh's abusive behavior.Willie: I warn ya, Captain: push this crew too far, and there will be mutiny.
Captain Bligh: Mutiny... on the Bounty? (scoffs and laughs) What have you been smoking?
Willie: Opium.
Captain Bligh: Besides that.- Willie even pointed out that he can't sing a sea shanty in-a-round by himself as it requires at least three or four people.
Willie: (unable to sing Row Your Boat in-a-round) I cannot do it! I'm only one man! - Karma Houdini: Moe never received comeuppance for imprisoning Homer. Although, Marge getting together with Homer is already punishment.
- Kick the Dog: Bligh does this to his crew by throwing away their mail from home, informing them the mail had cookies in it, rather bluntly informing Milhouse his father had died while baking said cookies, murdering Martin Prince and using his head as a suggestion box, and whacking members of his crew with his cutlass when their singing of a sea shanty displeases him. Even after being sent off in a boat with Willie after the mutiny, Bligh mistreats Willie, who furiously leaves him on a sea turtle while rowing away.
- Laser-Guided Karma: For being a colossal jerk and a Bad Boss to the Bounty's crew, Captain Bligh is left adrift in a boat when the crew mutiny against him, and is left on a turtle when Willie mutinies against him. He presumably drowns when the turtle goes underwater when he dares it to.Captain Bligh: (angrily while being underwater with the turtle) You call this DEEP?!
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall:Marge: Homer, you can tell the third story. Bart will tell the second, which is usually the weakest.Bart: Hey!Marge: I'm just trying to take the pressure off of you.
- Multiarmed And Dangerous: An uncooperative octopus armed with knives (one in each tentacle) in the Frying Dutchman's kitchen sets the plot of the episode in motion.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: In the first story, it's revealed that Moe murdered Marge's husband so that he can have her for himself and attempts to do the same to Homer.
- New Year Has Come: The third story takes place during new year.
- No Sense of Direction: When Bart takes command of the Bounty, he throws the helm in the sea and gets the ship lost. He's so bad at giving directions that two centuries later, he and the remaining crewmates (who all became living skeletons) are still looking for Tahiti in the next tale.
- Off with His Head!: Offscreen example. When the Bounty's crew wanted a suggestion box, Bligh gave them one. It was made of the head of the one who suggested it, Martin Prince.
- Oh, Crap!: Bligh, when he hears guns click behind him and realizes the crew are mutinying.
- Shout-Out: Burns rattles off a number of disaster (among other) films while steering the ship."Mm, I love the sea, Smithers. No earthquakes, towering infernos, China syndromes, apple dumpling gangs..."
- Song Parody: The Simpsons' performance in the third story is an obvious take on "The Morning After" from the original Poseidon Adventure.
- Stupid Evil: No matter how many times Captain Bligh is mutinied against he just can't stop being a Bad Boss.
- Superficial Suggestion Box: Bart tells the tale of the Bounty, and Skinner made a suggestion box out of Martin's head - the last guy who suggested a suggestion box.
- Tempting Fate: Capt. Bligh thinks his crew will never revolt. When he and Willie are left in a lifeboat, he dares Willie to revolt and it results in Bligh being left on a turtle, which he dares to dive (it promptly does so).
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Bligh, marooned on a turtle after Willie mutinies against him, dares it to go underwater, and when it does, dares it to go deeper. We don't see his fate but he presumably drowns.
- Upon taking over the Bounty, Bart throws away the helm.
- When Sideshow Mel was set on fire, he could have just jumped in the water to put it out, but instead he complains about the irony.
