Deus ex machina in The Simpsons

A

AlH

New member
I was just wondering... How many episodes of The Simpsons have ended with a deus ex machina?

The Canine Mutiny: It looks like there's no way Bart can get Santa's Little Helper back, but then the police find the blind guy's marijuana.

The Principal and the Pauper: The real Skinner gets sent away to another town, and Judge Snyder gives Skinner's name and life to Armand Tamzarian. That can't be legal.
 
Every episode ends with a deux ex machina for the most part. That's usually part of the joke. The characters are aware that something always convieniently happens to get them out of their occasional scrape.
 
Homer Badman: Homer is proven innocent because Willie just happened to be video-taping him and the babysitter.

Simpson Tide: Homer gets out of being charged because all the officers just happen to be busy.
 
Literally speaking, yeah, although it made more sense than some of the ones they've had.

Best moment in an otherwise subpar episode:
"DEUS - EX - MACHINA!!"
 
I forgot the name of the episode, but I think Homer and Bart were in a court and there was absolutely no way they could possibly win, when Otto comes in, yells "surfs up!", and the episode ends.

Another one is in Das Bus when all the kids are stuck on an island, when the narrator says, "who saved them? Well, let's say, Moe."
 
That would be "The Great Money Caper". I was thinking of putting that one down, although in a different perspective. First of all Homer and Bart weren't on court: Willy was, accused of the grifting crime they did. When Willie "shot" Skinner and Homer and Bart confessed it was revealed to all be a big hoax. Homer started asking how they could of put such a hoax together like that and before they got an answer, that's when Otto comes in with the Surf's Up ending. Even though it's a parodic response to an ending even Lisa admits "insults your intellegence" many people really disliked it.

Thinking about it (something even the writers will admit) The ending to "Mr. Plow" was pretty Dues-Ex Machina ish with god himself causing the heat to melt all the snow so Homer and Barney can't go into the snow plowing buisness together. Was kind of funny though that God answered Homer's challenge to him like that. Also technically "Pray Anything"'s ending was dues ex machinish since God stopped the flood he started when Homer learned his lesson about not having to pray for everything.
 
The Frying Game: Everything that was a result of the "death" of the old lady that Homer and Marge were helping was revealed to be nothing more than a reality series prank (with that ending being just as bad as the Great Money Caper's ending).
 
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