The Simpsons go on a wee trip to Edinburgh in a new episode (Picture: Fox/TNI Press Ltd)
The latest episode of The Simpsons features references to the historic city of Edinburgh that some Scots have admittedly found ‘upsetting’ – but for an unexpected reason.
The new instalment of the animated TV series is centred around an iconic, recurring character from the show – Groundskeeper Willie.
The Simpsons clan jets off to the bonnie land of Scotland for Willie’s wedding to his love interest Maisie, voiced by Marvel and Doctor Who star Karen Gillan.
While in the Scottish capital, the ever-cultural Lisa Simpson makes the most of her time abroad to do a spot of sightseeing, which sees her wind up at the entrance of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, an annual hub of exciting, up-and-coming comedic talent.
As she’s walking along the street, she ticks off everything that she’s done so far, saying to herself: ‘Ok, I’ve rubbed the toe of David Humes’ statue, I climbed the Walter Scott monument, I ate something called a Scotch egg, which I very much regret.’
After the mention of the traditional Scottish dish – which likely caused Lisa some upset considering she’s a vegetarian – she then gasps at the sight of the Fringe Festival’s entrance.
‘The Fringe Festival! A celebration of theatrical irony and self-awareness!’ she proclaims.
Lisa walks over to a ticket booth, where she assumes she can buy a ticket for a performance called Musical: The Play, but the man inside the booth informs her: ‘Sorry darling, this ticket booth is Ticket Booth! A one-man show about a ticket booth. If you wanna buy a ticket for Ticket Booth, the Ticket Booth ticket booth is over there.’
The middle Simpsons child twirls with excitement, as she says to herself: ‘It’s so clever without being good!’
The clip of Lisa’s enthusiasm for Edinburgh tourist spots, and the Fringe Festival in particular, was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by writer Daniel Jackson, who remarked: ‘The Simpsons visit Edinburgh and it’s upsettingly accurate.’
The family follows Willie to Scotland to attend his nuptials (Picture: Fox/TNI Press Ltd)
Several people agreed with Daniel’s assertion, with one of his followers recalling one time that they went to Edinburgh Fringe in real life and ‘saw a one-man performance of Macbeth where all of the characters were done in the voices and personalities of Simpsons characters’. “Clever without being good” indeed.’
X user Amanda Fawcett admitted that she didn’t mind the humour being so on the nose, remarking: ‘”It’s so clever without being good” – they really came for us with this and i’m not mad about it.’
Writer and critic Kayleigh Donaldson added: ‘”It’s clever without being good” is a devastating summary of so many Fringe shows.’
Fellow writer Dr Emily Garside called the portrayal of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ‘so accurate’, while the official account for the festival also weighed in.
‘It looks like even Lisa Simpson made it to #edfringe this summer! If we’d known, we’d have welcomed her with open arms 😀 Fully expecting shows called “Ticket booth” next summer 🎟️ (PS Registration opens on 08 January 😉),’ the account posted.
The Simpsons is available to watch on Disney Plus in the UK and on Hulu in the US.
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The Simpsons go on a wee trip to Edinburgh in a new episode.