The Simpsons writer finally explains one of the show’s most random jokes

Rory Cashin

It comes from one of the show’s most famous episodes.

After over 700 episodes and 34 seasons (and predicting the future more than once), there is a good chance that each and every one of you has a particular line from The Simpsons that you quote in real life over and over again.

For us, it has to be a singular line from Bart to Lisa during Season 8, Episode 9, titled: El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer). Or, as it is probably more famously known as, the one where Homer eats too spicy chilli and goes on a weird trip with a fox voiced by Johnny Cash.

Having run off from the chilli cook-off, to the full embarrassment of Marge, he returns home a long time later and finds Bart and Lisa sitting at the kitchen table, having the following conversation:

Who is Mabel? How does Bart know her? What did he say to her? How come we’ve never heard of her before or since? Finally, one of the show’s writers Josh Weinstein took to social media this week to explain the joke’s origins:

“Story behind ‘I says to Mabel’: Homer story in the Chili episode was so full, we had no room for a kids B-story. So when Homer asks them where Marge is, they have nothing going on. What they’re doing that moment had to be 100% freestanding. Hence, Mabel.”

“And to be clear, because people have asked about this often, the Mabel line does not reference anything, it never appeared in a book or movie or anything. As far as I know, it is totally freestanding in the human timeline.”

“And no, there were never any Mabel-related lines before or after “So anyway, I says to Mabel, I says…” It was perfect. […] It’s one of those lines that it’s very randomness adds to its appeal.”

We couldn’t agree more. Let us all watch it again, shall we?

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